[stylist] Trials of an honorary Dragon: chapter 14 (new chapter).

[helene ryles]

Liza 3: The Parvesh Clan by Liza Bronze
6/1995


One day, Talmon fluttered in with unwelcome news about a prospective
mate for me.
I was sitting motionless on the carpet, gazing into space in a
listless sort of way.  The house felt so empty without Nadia there. I
tried to visit Nadia at NIRC a few times but I was denied entry.  The
letters I wrote to Nadia remain unanswered.
It’s almost a year since Nadia was last here, but Nadia’s room is just
as she left it before going to school on that ill fated day.  I never
could clear away her toys since I felt an overwhelming sense of
sadness whenever I enter her room.
 I sense that Nadia is in danger, but I am up against two powerful
witches, and nobody is prepared to help me get Nadia back.   They all
believe Madrella and Beria rather then me.   They must think I’m just
some foul mouthed cop with nothing better to do, then kidnap other
people‘s kids.
I gazed resentfully at Talmon as he flew through the door, flapping
his leathery wings in an excited manner.  Even Talmon had fallen out
of favour after he refused to help me get Nadia back.
Suddenly I was envisaging myself with a very attractive looking
grey-skinned guy.  He was about ten years older then me, and carried
both a red and white cane, and a walking stick.   I envisaged us
cuddling together.
"What's all this nonsense about? I told you before; I don't want to
find a mate. I just want Nadia back," I signed.
I pictured Nadia happy and safe in the company of other children.
"Sorry Talmon, but I don't buy that.  If she was ok, I'm sure she
would return my letters.   So far she hasn't answered any of them.
Talmon shrugged.   I was visualizing Nadia busily playing with a group
of other children, then I visualised this guy again.  This time he had
three children with him, all carrying long white canes.  There were
two teenage boys, and a little girl.
"I don't want to replace Nadia!  Nadia's in danger.  She needs our help."
Talmon carried on trying to reassure me about Nadia, while telling me
about this guy he had found for me to get married to, as if I'd want
to marry at a time like this.
It seemed this man; Vinny Parvesh was the man my Aunt Arielle had married.
When my aunt Arielle left him, Vinny had been so upset that he tried
to work magic in an effort to bring her back. The spell Vinny was
working on went horribly wrong, and he suffered from a stroke, which
left him completely deafblind and paralyzed.   It took him several
years to recover from the stroke, but fortunately most of his movement
came back.  So now he just needs a walking stick as well as his long
cane.
It was his mother who wanted to find another wife for him to replace
Arielle.  My aunt Beria had alerted Talmon's attention to Vinny
Parvesh.  Talmon had already gone to visit Vinny, and decided he liked
him.
“No Talmon! I’m not interested in this Vinny Parvesh.  Not at a time
like this.”
The images of several unpleasant looking men flooded my mind, then the
image of this older deafblind guy again, followed by a question mark.
"I don't want a mate!"
The image of that awful Dragon Judge flashed into my mind again.
Talmon was reminding me that I didn't have any choice in the matter.
Since the six months had elapsed, Beria would be required to find me a
mate.  I wondered how long I would have to endure him for, until we
could finally get divorced.
I may not have any choice in the marriage, but I could choose how our
meeting was arranged, and I was not going to be delivered to this guy
like a package. I would get to wherever this guy lived independently,
thank you very much.


              ***  ***  ***

It was a very steep climb up the mountain ranges, to the entrance of
the Parvesh stronghold.  Every now and then I would pull out my
monocular to see if I could find a building of some sort.   Anything
that resembled a door would do. I didn't even know what I was looking
for.  All I could see was more bits of purplish red rock, spiky
shrubbery, and the occasional goat.  In no time at all I was well and
truly lost.
I had a map in my backpack which I had bought earlier that day, from a
man running a stall at Keraina market place.
Right now the lighting was no longer good enough for me to read it by.
 Still I had memorized the route as best I could.  This was the
mountains where the Parvesh Stronghold should be, but I could not see
any sign of a building at all.
After morosely tramping round the mountainside for what seemed an age,
I peered closely at my large print watch.  By that time it was getting
too dark for me to read the watch.  I could only assume that it was
very late.
I must have been walking for hours without getting anywhere.   I was
wondering if there was anything here.  I was now bitterly regretting
my obstinacy in refusing to let Talmon bring me here.
As if that wasn't bad enough I heard the 'Beep Beep' of my cochlear
implant batteries running flat.  I looked in my rucksack for my spare
batteries, but I couldn't find them anywhere.
By this time the light had faded completely.  I did not relish
spending the night out here, but there was nothing else for it.  So I
anxiously reached out for the boulders.  Occasionally I had to pull my
hand back when I came in contact with one of the spiky leaves.
Finally my hand touched a flattish boulder which was big enough for me
to sleep on. I put my head in my hands in despair.  Tomorrow I would
try to re examine the map to see where I had gone wrong.  If that
didn’t work I would just have to summon Talmon.

                           ***  ***  ***


                          ***  *** ***

At first dawn, I woke with a start.  A hand touches mine.
"Are you Vinny Parvesh's prospective wife?" finger spelt a pair of
grey-skinned hands.  I could smell a trace of goat on the speaker.  I
looked up to see an attractive looking boy wearing a loose cotton
shirt and matching trousers.  He looked about fourteen.   The long
white cane he carried helped me recognise him from one of the visual
images that Talmon had sent me.
"I'm Liza Bronze.  Is there a house round here? I've been sent to meet
Vinny Parvesh."
"That's my father.  I'm Pluto Parvesh.  I was going to come and sit
here, to wait for your dragon to arrive with you.  I’ve never met a
dragon before.  Only your dragon appears to have got here before us.
Why drop you off here though? It would have been easier to fly to the
front of our cave.”
“Your family lives in a cave? I spent all yesterday trying to find a
building.”
“No wonder you got lost then.  If you grab my arm, I'll take you there now."
"I'm not blind."
"Yes you are.  You’ are just in denial.  I had a classmate like that.
In the end he was transferred to some school for the blind, since he
couldn’t keep up with the rest of us, having no blind skills to speak
of.  I don’t suppose you even know how to use a long cane."
"Yes I do, but I never need it during the day."
"You will definitely need it now, if you hope to keep up with me."
I didn't like being ordered to use my cane in this manner, but I
realised this Pluto was right.  To follow people in this sort of
terrain, I really need to know what was underfoot.  By using a cane I
could use my sight for following the boy with, without having to look
at obstacles all over my path.  I just hoped nobody saw me with it.
A few hours later we came to the entrance of a cave.  It was partly
below ground level.  I would never have found it by myself, even if
I‘d known what to look for.
"Meet my Granny," Pluto told me, introducing me to an older,
round-faced woman.  She was quite plump and was wearing a sari.  She
looked me up and down rather sceptically.  I guessed she must be my
prospective Mother-in-law.   The woman took my hand. She began to
lightly touching the tips of the first three fingers of both my hands
to form what I could only assume must be some sort of code.   I had no
idea what the woman was saying to me.
"Sorry, I don't use that form of communication," I explained. I was
feeling more useless by the minute.
"My mother wants you to follow her into the cave.  She was using
finger braille.   Don't you know finger braille at all? That's how my
father communicates as well as tactile sign language and finger
spelling.”
"Does this cave have any lighting?" I asked as I was about to be
plunged into the pitch dark mouth of the cave.
"I'm afraid not.  Granny likes things to be left as nature intended."
"So do you all have to get about in the dark?"
"I was born completely blind so there is no light and dark for me.
The sighted witches can all create their own light by magic, but
granny and a few others like to go about in the dark.  She advises you
to get used to it now, rather then later on when your sight
deteriorates further..."
"What makes her think it's going to?"
"Please humour her.  There is sure to be lighting in the dining room
which is where we are heading for.  I can help you if you will just
grab my arm. "

I could smell a faint dusty smell as we plunged into the darkness of
the cave.  The air felt quite damp.  As we went further down the
corridor I could smell cooking.  It made my mouth water.
Pluto put my hand on the cave wall, which had a very smooth wet feel
to it.  I could feel a ceramic plaque with braille letters on it.
"Sorry, but I can't read braille."
"Well it is about time you learnt.  We have these braille signs up as
my father gets disorientated since losing his hearing.  His epilepsy
doesn't help matters either.
Pluto led me into a large well lit room where several people were
eating. It was so well lit that I was momentarily dazzled.  It took my
eyes a while to adjust to the light after being in the pitch black
corridor.
There were a lot of people in this room.  I could sense that most of
them were witches. Most of the witches were female, although there
were several male witches here too.  Most of the witches, wore cotton
tunics with matching trousers.
I could tell the witches in this room were discussing me, but I had no
idea what they said.  If only my cochlear implant batteries hadn't run
out.  I hoped at least one of these witches would be willing to
conjure up some batteries for me.
Just then a woman in a brightly coloured tunic gave me some delicious
smelling soup to eat.  I was very hungry after my long trek the day
before, so I had several helpings.
After I had eaten, Pluto came back.  He came with an older teenage boy
wearing jeans and a tee-shirt that said 'meat means murder' on it.
There was also a five year old girl.  She was wearing a black lacy
blouse and matching trousers.  They both carried long canes and were
just as mobile as Pluto.
"Hello, this is my brother Pyre and my little sister Sunniva.  Pyre
can't stay long as he is very busy trying to find work.”
“How old are you all?” I asked in some confusion.  I remembered Pyre
as a baby.   Aunt Arielle used to take him when she came to visit me.
I was about twelve at the time.  I had assumed the boys would still be
at school.
“Pyre is seventeen, I'm fourteen, and Sunniva is five."
"How come he has left school then?"
"Pyre has a very high intelligence.   He left school at the age of
nine.  After that he went on to a special university for gifted
children.  Now he has a degree in criminal psychology.   After that he
went to medicine school for a few terms.”
“Was that for gifted children too?”
“No, he only managed to get in by using an aging potion and lying
about his age.  He went off the rails a little, after mother left us.
He got really involved in politics.  He also used to take Sunniva with
him and pretend that she was his daughter. They threw him out after
that.”
“Oh dear! What about you and Sunniva?”
“We’re both at Starhorn, it‘s a private boarding school.  Sunniva will
be going to the university for gifted children too when she’s older.
As for me, I’m afraid I’m just an ordinary boy.   When I leave school
at eighteen, I mean to do a degree in veterinary Science.  My family
aren't too encouraging because there has never been a blind vet so
far, only a few blind doctors.  Granny's been trying to steer me into
music school since I'm good at music, but I'm also good with animals.
When father's goats get sick, I've been able to help cure their
ailments."
“I meant about your mother.  How did you and Sunniva react when she left…?”
“Oh her, I’m much closer to father…” and Pluto trailed off.
"Where is your father anyway?" I asked after a long silence.
 “I'm sorry but Father says he would rather not have to see you.  His
apologies for wasting your time but he isn’t interested in remarrying
just yet.”
“Oh right, the only reason I'm here is some dragon judge is forcing me
to find a mate.  If your father would rather not see me, it really
doesn't bother me at all.  In fact it would come as a relief."
"Really? So that makes two of you.  Some of the women mother has been
finding have been dreadful.  Granny is getting really desperate to
find him just about anybody, as she thinks it will take his mind off
things, but it's just upsetting him more.”
I had no idea how to respond to this.
“Don’t worry,” Pluto continued, “I suggest you just hang around for a
few weeks, make your excuses and leave.  That‘s what the other women
do.  Another thing, I hope you don't mind eating vegan food while you
are here.  We are all vegans; it’s one of the rules of the Parvesh
clan."
"Not at all; I'm vegetarian myself apart from eating fish now and again."
"No, you can’t be vegetarian if you eat fish. A fish is not a
vegetable.  How about a game of cards?”
I nodded.  Pluto pulled out a packet of brailled playing cards.  He
dealt out eight hands for himself, me, Sunniva, and some of the other
children that he had introduced as his cousins. We spent most of that
day playing rummy.  A couple of sighted cousins helped me by providing
magically induced lighting.  It meant I could see the cards in front
of me.  I could also see them staring at me.
 I watched the children talking, feeling very cut off that I had no
idea what they were saying to each other or me.
Later dinner was served.  They served us vegetable curry, with lots of
flat bread and aromatic rice.  It was as tasty as the soup had been.
This was followed by cheese cake and ice-cream.
“I thought you said you were vegan?” I asked as I finished the desert.
“We are.”
“Doesn‘t cheesecake contain cheese? That‘s not vegan.”
“Not necessarily, we make ours with tofu.”

After the meal we all had a game of scrabble until my prospective
mother-in-law came back to take Sunniva to bed.  I watched her arguing
with the little girl.  Eventually they left the room.
"If you grab my arm, I will take you to your room," Pluto instructed,
soon after they had gone.
After being guided down a series of dark corridors, I was escorted to
a little room.  Like the corridor, it was also completely dark.  The
boy placed my hand on soft cotton bedding.
"I'm sorry we don't have a light for you today.  We will sort it out tomorrow."
So I got undressed and felt for my bed in pitch darkness.  At least
the bed felt very comfortable, and there was a delicious smell in the
room.  It helped me get to sleep.

I had just drifted off when a hand touched my shoulder.  I could smell
patchouli in the air.  I wondered who it was.
"It is Pyre here,” a hand finger spelt, “Pluto says you want some
cochlear implant batteries.  I can get them for you.  Father probably
won’t be interested in marrying you, but you can always go out with me
instead. I‘m up for grabs.”
"No thanks, I‘m about twelve years older then you," I told him.
"12 years isn’t such a big age difference.  Mother was more then
twelve years older then father.  In fact she used to be my father’s
school teacher before she married him. As long as we are both adults…”
“Which you aren’t,” I observed.
“I will be eighteen soon, so the age difference won‘t matter after
that.  I want an older girlfriend, especially a hottie like you,” Pyre
finger spelt in a slow but deliberate way.
“What makes you think I‘m a hottie?”  I asked.  After all the young
man was completely blind so how did he know what I looked like?
“I overheard my cousins discussing you.  They all think you are very
beautiful. I also like the sound of your voice.”
Now I knew he was just flattering me.  As far as I was concerned my
voice sounded terrible. When I was at mainstream school all the other
children used to make fun of my voice, all the time.
“Excuse me Pyre, but I really want to get some sleep.” I told him bluntly.
“Goodnight then Liza.  I‘ll get the batteries tomorrow.   The offer is
always there, if you ever change your mind,” and with that the boy got
up and left.

A pair of tiny hands woke me up the following morning.
"Good morning.  I’m Sunniva.  Why aren't you vegan?" she finger spelt.
"I like fish too much.  My dragon catches them for me." I explained.
"How dreadfully cruel of him,    How would he like it if someone
attached a hook to his mouth and dragged him into an atmosphere where
he couldn't breathe at all." The little girl replied with quick angry
strokes of the hand.
"Talmon doesn't use hooks.  He pounces on the fish from the air," I explained.
"Well that's hardly better.  I think it’s very wrong to kill and eat
animals for food."
"I don't eat any land animals."
"Why do you eat sea animals?  What have they ever done to hurt you?"
And so the interrogation wore on.  My occupation and dietary choices
had been heavily criticized by this relentless little girl.  She had
an amazingly large vocabulary for such a young child.
In the end I felt my way out of the room in order to get away from her.
I felt my way along a smooth rock wall.
I was very close to tears when I bumped into someone coming the other way.
"Are you the woman that Mother wants me to marry?” Asked a slender
pair of hands.  He was using tactile sign language, in the pitch black
corridor.   He smelt strongly of goats.
“I’m Liza Bronze.”
“I hope you won't be too offended by my absence.  My mother wants me
to get married to just about anyone.  They don’t consult me on the
matter and I’m sick of it.  I wish she would stop sending all these
dreadful women here.  I don't know what mother has told you, but I‘m
not in the least bit desperate to get married again.  I want to get to
know a woman first before I agree to anything like that.   I was very
hurt when my wife Arielle left.  I am told she is your aunt.  I only
hope you haven't inherited her lack of commitment."
"If you are after commitment, I have already committed myself to my
dragon Talmon, and all my dogs.  I also have a niece called Nadia whom
I'm very concerned about.  You won't have me all to yourself."
"I wouldn’t want that.  I come with three children, an infuriatingly
bossy mother and a flock of goats.  I got fond of one of the women
that mother selected but she wanted me to leave my family.  She
wouldn’t even agree to me bringing Sunniva and Pluto with me.    I’ve
been wary of those women ever since…”
"I’m glad you chose your children.  I find Sunniva hard to get on with
but she‘s your daughter so I‘d just have to take her as part of the
package.”
"Oh dear, has she started getting in your face already?  I’ll have to
have a few words with her about that.  She’s been offending all the
other women too.  Sunniva was only three when Arielle left us.  After
that I had a stroke...  Would you like to go and sit down in my room?
Mother has installed a lamp in for you there.  We can have a game of
cards? I would be happy to talk to you, as long as we don‘t get all
touchy feely.  I like my own space."
 When the lamp was switched on I could see how attractive Vinny was.
He had lovely soft waist length hair, and a long shaggy beard.   After
a game of cards we carried on chatting in tactile sign language, for
the rest of that day.
We were only interrupted a couple of times when a witch came with our
food.  It tasted as delicious as the food that I had eaten the day
before.
By the end of the week I fell in love with Vinny.    He had a lovely
sweet nature which I found particularly appealing.

A few weeks later I took Vinny outside to meet Talmon.  I could summon
Talmon by pressing the Bronze family talisman, and visualising Talmon.
I threw my arms round Talmon’s scaly neck as soon as he landed.  After
that I took Vinny over to stroke Talmon.  He spent some time feeling
Talmon's scaly form.  They seemed to be communicating together.  Vinny
had a big smile on his hansom face.

Later that day, a few hours after Talmon had left, I looked up to see
a goat staring at Vinny and I.   He was chewing up my dress.  I hadn’t
noticed the goats before as I had been so absorbed with Vinny.
I sprang to my feet; peering round to find the rest of my clothes but
the goats must have eaten them.  Vinny reached for me and pushed me
back down again.
"Don't worry, nobody ever comes here.  It's nice being in the nude.
Do you want to marry me?"
"Yes. Not because I have to, but because I really love you, Vinny.   I
hope you don't mind if I don't change my surname though.  I want to
stay a Bronze."
"No problem, Arielle was really keen to become a Parvesh.  Some
relatives suspect that's all she was after from me, but at least she
stayed until after Sunniva was born."
"I also intend to keep my job as a police officer, as well as my
meetings with the dragons.  I'm sure you can come with me once Talmon
clears it with the other dragons first."
"Oh good, I would love to meet other dragons. I like Talmon."
"I would also like to bring my seven dogs here."
"I don't mind, but I'd have to clear it with the goats first, and my
mother too.  She‘s not very keen on dogs, so we might have to put up a
fight. "
"If she refuses you can always come and live with me and Talmon?"
"I'm not sure the goats would be too happy about that.  This is their home."
"Well, they should have thought about that before they ate our
clothes," I told him, lying back down in his arms.
I was looking forward to getting married to this man.  If only I could
invite Nadia to the wedding.  As smitten as I was with Vinny, my
concern for Nadia was still gnawing at my mind.