“How the hell did you do this?” Junipor Reigns looked over the sprawl of scattered armor pieces laid out on the table. Each segment was crafted from castle forged iron, the metal was so refined it was hard to look at it without drooling over it. Even the chainmail links and leather pieces were of the highest quality. Her eyes were drawn to the series of engravings carved along the neck guard, and the trim of the shoulder pauldrons. Those very engravings were inlaid with gold and silver, Junipor had never heard of such a practice as to use precious metals to decorate body armor in this way.

The chest piece glossed like it had been chiseled from obsidian, which hid the collection of scratches and gauges. Sand caked into the chainmail, only for it to turn into frost soaked mud upon exiting the Sacred Sands. The leather buckles were strained, and its horse woven stitching was loose. Every single piece of the armor from the boots to helm was in need of maintenance and repair.

Junipor studied the armor with exquisite detail for hours before figuring out where to start, and how best to begin repairing it.

The Dragon knight seemed well that morning when he stumbled into the forge carrying crates of his armor. He was now wearing fresh pantaloons and a thick tunic over his broad chest. He had to cut two giant slips in the back for his wings to fit through. Even in the crack of dawn he looked attractive, he held a foreign handsomeness that quite frankly stunned her. His eyes were a little clammy, evidence of his late night drinking.

“Its a long story,” Junipor had to curtail a squeal upon hearing his voice. The Knight’s accent held a gruffness underneath layers of nobility that made him seem even more interesting.

Junipor’s tail was wagging. “I would like to hear it.”

“Maybe another time,” The dragon shrugged his meaty shoulders, “I’m not fit to stand until I find something to eat. I heard there was a forge in town, but it was closed for the longest time. I’m glad to see that you finally opened it.”

Forge Master Dameroon had been away on business the past week, and with Junipor in recovery the forge had been shut down. It didn’t cause major concern, most of the townsfolk only required basic supplies from it and thus didn’t panic when they couldn’t order new nails or fix household tools. “The forge master was across the Isle until now,” Junipor barely hid a stutter in her voice.

The dragon cocked his head to the side, “So you’re not the forge master?”

“I’m just an apprentice,” Junipor straightened her posture as if proud of the title.

“What is a beautiful girl like you doing as an apprentice?” His question seemed strange, Junipor wondered why he thought it strange.

“Um…apprenticing stuff.” Junipor rolled her eyes. She was tempted to flex her bicep to show off, but feared it would look pathetic. She couldn’t stop her tail from wagging though.

The Dragon scratched at the back of his neck while studying her. “Well, thats something new I guess.”

“May I ask a question.” Junipor’s voice was a little high pitched. For some reason it took a lot of courage for her to ask anything.

“Sure?” The Dragon responded curiously.

“Why are you here? Whats a Dragon doing all the way this far north?” In million thoughts flew through her mind as to explain why a Dragon from the far lands across the sea would come to the tundra’s of Fanfow. She even had a dream the previous night of a daring Dragon Knight slaying a mighty beast stalking the lands near the edge of the world! She dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, he was on a sacred mission to save the world.

“Now thats an important question,” For some reason, the Dragon’s tone wasn’t nearly as exciting as Junipor expected, “you see I’m on a special mission from my king.”

“King?” Junipor knew nothing of Dragon politics or rulership. She had no idea that there was a King of the Dragons, but wasn’t surprised to hear of it. In truth, most Pharines knew little of what extended beyond the frozen lands of their nation. Much of the world didn’t seem to welcome them anyway.

The Dragon noticed her curiosity, “Yeah the Dragon lord himself,”

“So your an important person I take it?” Junipor leaned forward on the crafting table. Her tail was fanning back and forth even faster.

The Dragon grinned and shot her a ‘absolutely’ sort of look. “Extremely.”

Wait am I flirting with a Dragon? Junipor gulped realizing that she couldn’t stop. “So whats an extremely important person doing all the way out here?”

“Looking for…” His stomach growled loud enough to break his statement, “Tell you what, why don’t we talk about it over breakfast.”

Junipor caught her breath, her cheeks burned. She wanted to say yes immediately, but feared she would be made a fool of for rushing with him to the tavern with leather greaves and a smelting apron. Her ears fidgeted thinking about how she must’ve smelled of sweat and charcoal. No! She decided it would be best to demonstrate her worth to this warrior by making his armor shine like new, and then take him up on the offer. Apparently the Dragon was staring at her as she processed this entire train of thought in silence. Junipor shrieked realizing she had been standing silently thinking for over a minute. “I gotta start working on your armor.”

Shit! He must think I rejected him, what do I do? Junipor tried her best not to freak out.

“Lunch then?” He asked while scratching the stubble of his chin.

“Sure!” Her voice spiked, “…sure I guess.”

The Dragon laughed. Junipor couldn’t tell if he was making fun of her, or simply found her humorous. “Sounds good, shall I meet you here?”

Junipor wasn’t thinking straight at this point, “My house, you can meet me at my burrow just after the sun begins to fall.” She wasn’t about to accompany this Dragon to the tavern without first cleaning herself up. She didn’t think about how having him meet he at her own home would seem scandalous.

“And just where do you live?”

A sweat strolled down her brow as Junipor told him where her burrow was located. It wasn’t too far from the forge.

“You know I never actually got your name?” This time it was the Dragons turn to sound awkward.

“Junipor! Junipor Reigns.”

He found the name humorous, “My name, my lady, is Aimar Vox Melus.” He offered her a short bow. Junipor swallowed upon hearing him refer to her as ‘my lady’.

“By the way thats an interesting trinket,” The Dragon pointed to the necklace around her neck.

“You meant this?” She touched the Drakestone.

“It’s Drakestone isn’t it?” He asked inquisitively. It was strange for him to suddenly bring so much attention to such a small trinket.

“Its a keepsake from my father,” Junipor felt the narrow edge of its tooth shape. She never knew where her father acquired it, or why he gave it too her. Only that it was all she had left of him, so she treasured it.

The Dragon offered a nod, “Hard not to notice, amid other things.”

Junipor’s cheeks burned yet again, her tail was now wagging so furiously it was brushing the nearby table behind her. “You jest,” She rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke.

“I most certainly am not,” the Dragon smiled.

“If you say so…” Junipor’s hands were feeling clammy.

The Dragon’s eyes were hard not to gaze into, Junipor wished he would stay longer. As he walked toward the door to leave, Junipor offered a wave of farewell. All the while her tail wouldn’t stop shaking. The second he left, Junipor exhaled a long held breath of relief. The tension in her shoulders slackened, and she sat down on the stool to collect herself.

She looked down at the collection of armor pieces, deciding she would start repairing the chest piece first. She would save the chainmail for last, that would take an entire day to cleanup.

A small chirp caught her attention, Junipor glanced to the side to notice Francesca sitting in the shade at the corner of the room. The fennec sat studiously while looking up at her.

“What are you looking at?” Junipor scoffed.

Francesca hopped onto her shoulder an rubbed her cheek against the back of Junipor’s neck. Junipor sighed, looked down at the armor, and got to work.