Hidden Dragons by Bianca D'Arc

on
the dark side of the building, after watching Isabelle and the
man—who was some kind of servant—enter the big barn. It took him a
few moments to find a good vantage point, by which time Isabelle
could be heard talking in soothing tones to both the people in the
barn and the animal she had been fetched to treat.
    When he finally got a good look at the
situation, Robert didn’t like what he saw. The animal in question
was indeed a big bull. He was stomping and snorting, pawing the
ground with a wild look in his eye. Several people stood around the
beast’s heavily-fenced stall, but nobody seemed brave enough to go
in there with him.
    Isabelle would have to, if she was going to
treat the animal, and that worried Robert immensely. The beast
could crush her or gore her, in no time at all.
    But then she began to whisper something to the
aggressive animal. The bull’s ears perked up and he gradually
quieted as she entered his stall. Robert watched in awe as she
gentled the massive creature and even convinced him to allow her to
examine him. She ran her hands over his belly and down his legs.
The creature seemed to revel in her touch and even tried to lick
her a few times, following her movements with its gaze.
    The bull followed her like a pet dog when she
moved toward the rail to speak with one of the men who watched from
afar. She spoke calmly, in a firm voice that didn’t seem to upset
the bull, but Robert saw her put her hand on the bull’s forehead
when the man spoke, seeming to calm the creature with her
touch.
    After a few words were exchanged, Isabelle
moved away from the rail and dug in her bag for a bundle of dried
herbs. Robert saw the older man send a younger one out of the barn
on an errand, and a few moments later, a bucket of water had been
brought in and handed over the rail to Isabelle. She crumbled her
herbs into the bucket of water and stirred, the bull watching her
actions with seeming adoration.
    When she stepped back, she led the bull to the
bucket and Robert watched in amazement as it lapped up the herb and
water mix with what looked like bovine pleasure—if there was such a
thing. Not long after, the bull’s eyelids started to droop and
Isabelle coaxed the creature to lie down on his side.
    She sat with him, petting him and speaking in
low, gentle tones, until the bull seemed to fall asleep. At that
point, she delved into her bag again and pulled out a stoppered
bottle with some kind of oil inside. She poured the entire bottle
of dark oil onto the bull’s belly and rubbed it in.
    Now that the creature was lying down, even
Robert could see the reddened patches on its hide, particularly on
its belly, where Isabelle was applying her medicine. She followed
the oil with a salve and then bathed the surrounding area with a
green gooey substance she had taken from her bag.
    By the time she was done, the bull’s underside
was a blotchy concoction of many colors—mostly green, brown and
yellow—but the animal looked at peace, and as if he would stay that
way for quite a while. Isabelle patted the creature’s head once
more before she left his stall, pausing to speak with the older
male, who was probably the stable master. She gave this man a few
more things out of her bag, and pointed to each one as she issued
what had to be instructions.
    After that, she seemed to deflate, yawning
hugely as she walked—alone—to the barn door. Robert ghosted around
the outside of the building so he could watch her progress. He
couldn’t believe nobody was going to walk her home. It was still
pitch dark out. Anything could be prowling out in the
darkness.
    And in fact, Robert soon realized the dark
shape on the roof of the barn was Growloranth. Apparently the
dragon didn’t want to leave Isabelle’s safety in the hands of a
mere human. Robert had to suppress a chuckle. Growloranth, it
seemed, was becoming as attached to the lady as his
knight.
    Isabelle began walking slowly toward her home,
but the back door to