Page 13 of Ava's Legacy of the Dragons
They marched through one cellar passage after another, here and there were puddles on the floor, then the corridors became dry again. They didn't encounter anyone, and nothing could be heard. Apparently, they were deep beneath the city. Still, they didn't speak a word to each other.
Lilly walked in deep concentration, and Ava didn't know her way around at all. She couldn't rule out that a conversation would reveal their location. Meanwhile, all the questions were slowly burning a hole in her stomach. But she didn't want to scare Lilly. The little one was still a child, even if life hadn't treated her well.
Eventually, they reached a staircase. Lilly turned to Ava, her finger on her lips.
"Wait here. I'll check if he's alone." Her voice was so quiet that Ava could barely understand her. She nodded, and then the girl pushed the lamp into her hand and crept up the stairs. Her steps didn't make a single sound.
As Ava waited on the landing, she grew increasinglyrestless. Lilly's fate touched her, and the danger from the soldiers kept her on high alert. Nevertheless, her thoughts wandered to the glowing find in her bag, which she constantly felt against her hip.
A dragon egg. She had found a real dragon egg. And she was in a world where dragons lived and were part of everyday life. In a world where there was a king who posed a threat. Why else would neither the voice in her heart nor Lilly want the soldiers to get their hands on the egg?
It wasn't long before Lilly appeared at the top of the stairs. With a finger to her lips, she motioned for Ava to come up. Ava crept up the steps, her heartbeat quickening once again. When she reached Lilly, the little girl took the lamp, extinguished it, and led her through a dimly lit hallway into a back room.
Bolts of fabric were stacked on a shelf, and on a wide table lay an unrolled bolt and scissors of various sizes. Measuring tapes, wooden rulers, and countless needles confirmed that they had landed in a tailor's workspace.
A conversation could be heard from the adjacent room. It was the deep, leisurely bass of an older man and the excited voice of a young woman. Ava couldn't see either of them, as a curtain shielded the passageway from unwanted eyes, but Lilly remained relaxed, so she too waited and listened.
"Thanks to you, I will be seen at the ball tonight." The customer let out a subdued squeal.
"You're always seen, my dear. Thank you for your trust."
"I thank you. You are a true master." There was a rustling, a shop bell rang, and a door closed. Shufflingsteps approached, and just a moment later, an elderly man stepped through the curtain.
His hair was white as snow, but thick and cut short, his mustache danced on his upper lip, and countless wrinkles on his round face told the story of his life. He must have laughed a lot, for around his bright eyes was a halo of lines that made him likeable at first glance. He was dressed in an elegant suit that was tailored to his body, with a pair of scissors in the breast pocket and pince-nez perched on the tip of his nose.
"Good evening, Ava, my name is Ernesto de Ricardo." He smiled kindly and extended his hand, which Ava took.
"You know my name?"
"Of course. Lilly told me that you're hiding an interesting item in your bag.“
Ava cast a questioning glance at the little girl, who nodded encouragingly.
"You can trust him. I know enough delicate details about him that he would never dare to betray me."
The old tailor laughed, and Ava couldn't help but smile too. The voice in her heart remained silent, so she dared to comply with Lilly's request. After a fleeting glance at the curtain, she took the egg from her bag and held it out to Ernesto de Ricardo.
"So it's true." His eyes widened, and he stretched out his hands as if to take it in his arms. But just before he touched it, he pulled his fingers back and shook his head in disbelief. Only now did she notice that Lilly hadn't touched the egg even once either.
"I warned Lilly not to joke about such things, but apparently she wasn't joking. I should have known." He cast a loving sidelong glance at the girl before turning to Ava. "Where did you find it?"
"On the riverbank in... my world?" Sticking to the truth seemed wisest to her. In any case, it inevitably became evident in every conversation that she was unfamiliar with this world, not to mention how out of place she looked.
The tailor froze, but then quickly moved again, perhaps to cover up the reaction. "In your world, I see. And how did you manage to bring it here despite the vigilant soldiers?"
No one at home would believe her, but here other things were possible, so she stuck to the truth again. "When the soldiers questioned me, a huge dragon appeared. It roared. At first, I thought it was going to attack us, but somehow it seemed to be talking to the guards. Shortly after, they let me go, albeit reluctantly."
Ernesto raised his white eyebrows. "What kind of dragon was it?"
At a loss, Ava shrugged. "It was whitish-blue and big. And its roar was deafening."
With a knowing look, Lilly crossed her arms over her body, her eyes resting on the dragon egg. "So close to the passage, it could only have been an air dragon. After all, they protect the borders."
The tailor nodded. "It confirms what we suspected."
Ava raised her eyebrows questioningly. "What did you suspect?" Although she didn't know if she could make sense of the answer, she had to ask questions if she wanted to finally understand what was going on.
"The king has betrayed us all!" Lilly spat out the words with hatred, which made Ava prick up her ears.
