Page 18 of The Timeless Vigilante

I’m not ready, he answered.

“But you will be soon?”

I will, the dragon stated. They put me in the Nest with the other dragons. I’m growing now. Much more than I was when buried for centuries. I’ll be ready as they predicted in three days.

“Good, because the curiosity is overwhelming,” Gen joked. “I want to see what strange anomaly you have. Are you a backwards dragon?”

What does that even mean?

“It means your tail is on your front and your nose is on your?—”

I’m not a backwards dragon, he interrupted before she could finish her joke.

Gen laughed. “Fine. Well, I’ll see you in a bit. Until then, well, I don’t know what. I guess you grow and I’ll train.”

And by train you mean break things, he teased.

“Exactly,” Gen said, disrobing and stepping into the shower. “Good night, Mr. Mystery Dragon.”

Good night, Weapon Slayer.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE STITCHING OF TIME

The Castle, The Gullington, Scotland, United Kingdom

When Gen exited her room at the Gullington that morning, feeling refreshed and ready for a new day on the Expanse, training, she was greeted by Sophia hanging out casually right outside her room, waiting for her.

“So, this is weird,” Gen joked, pulling on the sleeves of the same tunic she’d worn the day before. “Are you stalking me?”

“What’s weird is that you look like you’re from six hundred years ago and we need you to be a little more this century,” Sophia said with a casual smile.

Gen gawked at her with a mock look of offense. “Are you insulting my dress?”

“I’m saying that you need to update your look,” Sophia offered, leading them down the corridor to the staircase. “You don’t have to look totally modern by any means, but you should find an interplay between what you were and what you’re going to become. Something that is medieval and something a little modern. I love the idea of a conventional warrior for you.”

Gen laughed, grateful that she had such good friends slash family to help her navigate these strange waters of the new world. “Okay, well, what did you have in mind? Are we going dress shopping? Because I should tell you, I don’t wear dresses.”

Sophia gave her a knowing look. “No, because you’re a Beaufont. We wear them on our wedding days and maybe an occasion in between like graduation and what not. But we aren’t dress wearers. It’s in our blood, which I blame you for.”

“Accurately,” Gen stated with a victorious wink.

“I’m taking you to the most talented and intuitive seamster in the world,” Sophia offered as they made their way down the grand staircase of the Castle. “He will instinctively know you and what will be the outfit that will work best for you and your missions and your style. Are you ready to be outfitted?”

“Is this going to hurt?” Gen joked.

“Probably not, although you might accidentally get stuck with a sewing needle or two,” Sophia replied.

“I can handle that,” Gen remarked. “Just as long as I don’t have to wear a dress.”

Sophia shook her head. “No, it’s got to be something that you can throw a roundhouse kick in.”

“Exactly,” Gen said, smiling, grateful that the modern-day Beaufonts were so tough. It was nice to know that some things hadn’t changed.

A worried look crossed Sophia’s face. “But I will warn you that this seamster is a bit…different.”

Gen laughed. “I’ve been dropped into a world with magical fire lights and carriages without horses. How different can this seamster be?”

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