Page 43 of A Knight’s Reward

“Like my mama.” Ewan grinned around a big mouthful of chicken.

Dominic nodded before scratching his chin. “Somehow, I cannot remember the woman’s name. Let me think⁠—”

“Gisela!” the little boy yelled.

Heat warmed her face. “Nay, I do not think⁠—”

Dominic snapped his fingers. “Well done, Ewan. Her name was Gisela.”

She snorted. “I suppose in your tale, roosters could lay silver coins?”

Dominic grinned and swallowed his bite of bread. “Her beauty was so extraordinary, the villagers knew she was the one—the maiden to be left as an offering for the fearsome dragon ravaging their lands.”

Ewan’s eyes grew enormous.

A shiver trailed down Gisela’s spine, as though she felt Ryle’s hands upon her. The way Dominic had said “dragon” suggested his story held a hidden meaning.

“The woman refused her fate. However, the villagers feared the dragon’s wrath. They believed giving her to the beast was the only way to pacify it. Before she could run away, they tied her hands, dragged her to the old oak tree near the dragon’s cave, and bound her to the trunk. They ignored her pleas for mercy and left her to become the creature’s slave.”

Ewan grimaced. “Ugh.”

“Indeed.” Dominic pulled off another morsel of bread and held it between his fingers. “The beast was hideous. As big as a stable and a hundred times as smelly.”

Ewan clapped a hand over his nose. “Ew!”

“The dragon had glowing yellow eyes, huge fanged teeth, and claws like sharpened daggers. When Gisela saw it lumbering toward her, she almost fainted with fright. She tried to get free, but her bonds held fast. Breathing fire and smoke, the beast mocked her attempts to escape. It slashed her bindings with its claws, picked her up in its jaws, and carried her back to its cave. There, she became its slave. She toiled amongst the bones of its prey, always aware the dragon might gobble her up, too.”

“She could run away,” Ewan said. “When it slept.”

As I ran, Gisela thought, while Ryle dozed, slumped over in a drunken stupor, the bloody knife resting on the table beside him.

His expression grim, Dominic shook his head. “She longed for her freedom, but the dragon kept her chained. When it no longer chained her, it kept close watch upon her. Only after many weeks did the beast cease watching her so closely. One night, she slipped away, taking a lantern to light her way.”

As I fled, Button, with you in my arms and Ryle’s knife in my bag. I sold his wretched dagger to buy you food. I went hungry, but I did not care. I cared only that you were safe.

“What happened?” Ewan asked.

“She fled far away, where she thought the dragon would never find her. She began a new life. She met a young farmer and fell in love. For the first time in months, she was happy.”

Refusing to look at Dominic, Gisela discarded the leg bone and took another piece of chicken. Strange, how his tale seemed to mirror her life. A coincidence. Naught more.

Ewan groaned. “You are not going to tell about them kissing, are you? Ugh! What about the dragon?”

Dominic laughed. “The beast was furious when it realized Gisela was gone. It stormed off into the surrounding lands, looking for her, destroying all in its path. One day, it found Gisela and her beloved farmer.”

“Uh-oh,” Ewan said.

“Aye. The dragon demanded she come back to its lair. Gisela refused. Desperate to help her, the young farmer offered the dragon as many sheep as it wanted to eat, in exchange for her freedom. However, the selfish beast coveted her. It narrowed its eyes and roared fire.”

As Ryle will roar at me when he finds me—right before he kills me.

Gisela sensed Dominic’s gaze upon her. The chicken in her mouth seemed tasteless, its flavor obliterated by bitter fear.

“Gisela could not go back to her life of slavery,” Dominic went on. “She would never leave her young farmer, and she did not want the dragon to kill him or anyone else. In secret, she took one of the farmer’s knives. When the dragon tried to take her in its jaws, she pulled out the dagger and plunged it into the beast’s heart. The mighty dragon bellowed and thrashed its tail, but she had delivered a mortal blow. It died. Gisela and her farmer rejoiced.”

Ewan rolled his eyes. “Remember, naught about them kissing.”

“All right,” Dominic agreed. “However, they lived long, happy lives together. Never again were they threatened by dragons.”