Page 16 of Under the Dragon's Spell
Well, Tyrel had said that he was dirty rich, so I shouldn't be surprised.
"Should we ring the bell?" I pointed at the gate.
"Yeah. I guess." Michael pushed a button in the wall to the side of it. There was no intercom, but after a minute, the gate sprang open, allowing us inside.
A paved road led to the white building where we were expected. Michael and I walked it side by side.
"So…" I started, trying to make conversation. Trying to check out the competition. "What made you apply?"
Michael blushed and avoided my eyes. "Uh… It's too silly to say."
"I'm sure it isn't. Really, I only sent my application because my brother nagged me." And because I'd always wanted a baby. But I wasn't going to say that last part to someone I'd only just met.
Michael laughed quietly and I got the feeling that he never made any sounds louder than that. "To be honest? Well, I'm a big reader. And dragons… well, they've always fascinated me. I mean, they're the stuff of legends, right?"
I shot him a thoughtful look. "I guess we don't know much about them, if that's what you mean."
"Yeah, they live on these islands all by themselves and all we really know are stories and we don't know which are true… Drives me crazy. Especially because some people claim we all have a bit of dragon blood inside us. How can we know so little about something that's a part of us?"
We know so little because they don't want us to know more.I didn't say it, but the thought wouldn't leave my mind either. To Michael, I simply nodded. "So you wanted to get to know a dragon for yourself."
"Yeah, I don't… I don't really know about all the other things, like having a baby and all that? That's probably stupid of me, but here I am. The cat who gets killed by his curiosity."
I patted him on the back. "I'm sure it won't be that bad. You can always leave when you want out." Part of me wanted him out as soon as possible, but another part of me was starting to like this curious, soft-spoken guy. It might not be all bad to have a sort of friend on the property.
"Do you really want to have Tyrel's baby?" he asked me.
I bit the inside of my cheeks. "I've always wanted a baby," I said, and left it at that.
We reached the front door of the house after another minute. There, we were greeted by an employee of the family whom I could only assume to be a butler. He was clad in a nice uniform and appeared to be in his late forties.
"Come in, come in," he ushered us inside. "You have been greatly expected."
I pulled the front door shut behind me, coming to stand in an entrance hall that was bigger than my brother's kitchen. A large marble stair case led up to the second floor on my right, and while I glanced at it, the butler took my suitcase.
"We will have these brought up for you," he said. "I am Paul, by the way. Such a pleasure to make your acquaintances." He didn't ask for our names, so I assumed he already knew who we were from the pictures on our applications.Oh God, that picture.My cheeks burned with the knowledge that otherpeople had seem me in that stupid costume. I could never tell Luca about this.
"Let me show you to your rooms." He went up the stairs, leaving our luggage behind. Michael and I exchanged looks, and then we followed.
The second floor hallway was long. Red carpet covered the floor and identical doors lined the walls to either side of it. I had no idea what lay behind any of them, but I suspected a lot of bed rooms. I wondered how many visitors this family got, and whether most of them were human or dragon.
The butler stopped in front of a set of doors toward the end of the hallway. "You two will be rooming next to each other. I hope that's not a problem. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you find it lacking anything." He pointed to another door on the other side. "That's the bathroom. I'm sorry there's no ensuites. I'm afraid this house doesn't provide all the luxuries of the main manor."
"That's okay," I said.
Michael nodded.
I wondered if he was as overwhelmed by everything as I was.
"I'll leave you alone for a bit to get settled in," Paul said. "You'll be given a tour of the house shortly and then we'll all have dinner tonight at seven. Please make sure to be in the dining hall on time. The mistress doesn't appreciate tardiness."
The mistress.
Did he mean Tyrel's mother? I remembered what he'd said about her. From the sounds of it, it seemed like she was as much a part of the selection process as Tyrel was. If I wanted this job, I needed to get her to like me, too. It didn't look like any of this was going to be easy. I only hoped that Tyrel's mother was not as difficult as her son.
Paul left. I nodded at Michael, and then I entered my room.
It was as spacious as Paul had said it would be, but at this point, that didn't surprise me anymore. The bed was aking, of course, and looked super comfortable. I was tempted to lie down for a nap, but first I inspected the rest of my surroundings. Shelves full of books lined the walls. Most of them seemed to be fiction and nothing on dragon lore or anything, of course. Opposite my bed was a TV set and… next to the DVD player I found a copy of Pitch Perfect.
