Page 1 of Taming
Chapter One
Beautiful Monsters
White flashes of moonlight glint against the glossy surface of the three objects in the old mage’s palms. Interest fires all through my veins as she lowers them into the dirt, pushing at the dust until it makes a nice mound over the three items. She pats the dirt sweetly once more before turning away, her long dress skimming against the ground as she returns to the dark cottage. Her white hair sways against her back as she leaves, never once looking out at the road where I stand.
I’m a drifter. In a way, I’ve been a drifter my entire life. In the last five years, I’ve taken the job pretty seriously though. This small, quiet village within the Kingdom of Minden is nice, unnoticeable, and easy for someone who wants to disappear to do just that.
That’s what I love about it.
This mage, Agatha, may be as old and dusty as this village itself, but she’s my only friend. I came to check on her. Every few days I stop by to visit with her and gossip about who the Prince is sleeping with now and why it isn’t me.I’m wasting the beautiful curves of my youthas she likes to tell me. I don’t have the heart to tell the blind woman that the Prince isn’t nearly as attractive as she thinks he is.
I might be a little bit of a bitch sometimes, but I’m not about to crush an old woman’s fantasies. That’s just cruel.
That’s what I came here for: mindless chatter. Until Aggie started ominously burying something in her front yard. People only bury things for two reasons: to remember what they once had, or to hide what they once had.
The thin material of my dress brushes lightly against my thighs as I quietly make my way up the dirt path. A few overgrown bushes line the front yard, concealing one window and skimming against the glass of the other. Not that she could see me even if she looked out.
But she’s a mage. A powerful mage. Much stronger than myself.
If she wanted to know what waited outside her little home, she would.
Hesitantly, I linger near the dirt that’s piled over the objects she buried. My gaze shifts to the arched front door. I came here for a visit with a friend.
I don’t have many friends. Okay I don’t have any aside from Aggie if I’m being honest. But fuck, she buried something under the light of the full moon. She all but did a ritual out here with a sacrificial goat. She could have disposed of them in a clandestine place, but she didn’t. I can’t just ignore that.
I lower myself, falling onto my hands and knees, and begin clawing at the dry dirt. It’s a rapid and almost manic drive to find out what lies here. My conscience is quickly pushed aside as the dirt sinks into my nails with each handful of earth I rip away. The clinking sound of my bracelets makes my nerves skitter with every sound they make. A smooth curve beneath rocky particles of dirt glides against my fingertips. My palm sweeps over the hard surface once more, pushing aside the grit to see the three objects underneath.
They’re … eggs.
Enormous eggs.
Large animals are worth a large price.
The animal trader in me is already mentally calculating what a beast this size could be worth. Imagine what three of them would be valued at.
With both hands, I try to steal away the top one, my arms aching as I realize the monstrous eggs are just as heavy as they look. My gaze flickers back to the golden glow of Agatha’s front window. I could come back for the other two, but it’s a mile-long walk. Would she come back out tonight?
I pull at the end of my skirt and quickly try to pile the three eggs into the thin material. A tearing sound rips through the silence, but as I stand, they hold in place against my body; straining against the cloth but not falling to the ground.
I’d hate to harm one of them.
I feel like an asshole. Who steals from a blind woman? Who does that?
… I do.
Why would Agatha bury them? She isn’t as familiar with creatures as I am. Perhaps she thought they were useless. She’s blind, so perhaps she didn’t realize they were eggs at all.
But she’s also a mage. So it’s even more likely she knew what these things were and wanted to rid herself of them as quickly as possible.
I, on the other hand, am not about to throw away money, or the lives of whatever these animals may grow up to be.
Their lives will be worth living. I want to make a profit of course, but honestly, I just can’t stand the thought of not helping them. I don’t show it, but my little, slightly selfish heart loves these types of mysterious creatures.
Raising and selling magical animals is just a business for me. I can’t get attached. I have to make a living in this world the only way I know how.
On awkward steps, and with aching arms, I carry the boulder like eggs home. The dark forest surrounds me, shutting out the majority of the moonlight and making me stumble more than once before my small shack comes into view.
Glowing embers of ruby eyes greet me as I get closer. The sweet little hellhound rubs his warm temple against my thigh as I pass, but I don’t have a free arm to return the affection to my pet.
