"Ow!" she said as Therandil fell over with a clatter. She'd forgotten that he'd be wearing iron boots along with the rest of his armor.

"Cimorene? Is that you?" Therandil said.

"Of course it's me," Cimorene replied, rubbing her ankle. "Open your eyes; the dust's settled." She looked up as she spoke and saw the dragon soar out of sight behind a cliff.

"I'm sorry," Therandil said, and then in an anxious tone he added, "I hope I didn't hurt you, stumbling into you like that."

Cimorene started to say that it was nothing and that it had been her fault anyway, when she suddenly got a much better idea. "I think you've sprained my ankle," she declared.

"Oh, no," Therandil said. He sounded truly dismayed, though Cimorene couldn't see his face because he was wearing his helmet with the visor down.

"I probably won't be able to walk for at least a month," she declared.

"And there's certainly no way I can climb down this mountain."

"But if you can't walk-" Therandil said, and paused. Then he squared his shoulders and went on, "-then I suppose I'll have to carry you."

He didn't sound as if he liked the idea.

"I don't think that would work very well," Cimorene said quickly.

"How will you fight when all the dragons come back if you're carrying me? No, you'll have to leave me here and go back alone."

"You can't stay here!" Therandil protested, though Cimorene's talk of when all the dragons come back had plainly made him nervous.

"I have to," Cimorene said, trying to sound noble and long-suffering.

"The dragons will make sure I get safely back to Kazul's cave, and a month isn't too long a wait, after all."

"I don't understand," Therandil said, and he did look thoroughly puzzled.

"There's no point in you or anyone else coming up here to rescue me for at least a month, not till my ankle's better," Cimorene explained patiently.

"Oh, I see," Therandil said. He tilted his head back and scanned the empty sky. "You're quite sure you'll be all right? Then I'll just be going before those dragons return." He turned and started down the path as quickly as he could manage in full armor.

4

In Which Kazul Has a Dinner Party, and Cimorene Makes Dessert

Cimorene watched Therandil go with feelings of great relief. Now she had at least a month to find a permanent way of discouraging the knights, for she was quite certain that Therandil would spread the news of her "injury." She decided to put up her sign anyway, just in case, and after a little looking she found a scrubby tree beside the path and hung the sign on it.

On her way back to Kazul's cave, she noticed that the two pieces of the ledge were still invisible, and she was very careful about crossing them. She looked down once, out of curiosity, and was immediately sorry. She was not comfortable with the sight of her own feet firmly planted on nothing at all, with the sharp, spiky tops of spruce trees in full view some fifty feet below.

Kazul arrived only a few minutes after Cimorene herself. Cimorene was looking for some thread to mend her skirts (which had gotten torn and stained while she was climbing along the ledge) when she heard the unmistakable sounds of a dragon sliding into the main cave.

"Cimorene?" Kazul's voice called.

"Coming," Cimorene called back, abandoning her search. She picked up her lamp and hurried out to greet Kazul.

"I'm glad to see you're still here," Kazul said mildly as Cimorene came into the large cave. "Moranz was quite sure you'd run off with a knight or a wizard. I couldn't make out for certain which."

"Is Moranz the yellow-green dragon who wanted to eat me?" Cimorene asked. "Because if he is, he's just trying to make trouble."

"I'm well aware of that," Kazul said with a sigh that sent a burnt-bread smell halfway across the cave. "But things would be easier for me if you didn't provide him with any material to make trouble with. Exactly what happened?"

"Well, Morwen came to visit this afternoon," Cimorene began. "We were talking about all the… interruptions I've been having, and she suggested putting up a sign .... "She explained why she had gone to put up the sign herself and told Kazul in detail about her meetings with the wizard, the dragon, and the prince.

"So Morwen was here," Kazul said. She sat back, and the scales on her tail rattled comfortably against the floor. "That simplifies matters.

Did you bring the sign back with you?"

"No, I found a tree and hung it by the path," Cimorene said, wondering what this was all about. "In case Therandil doesn't tell everyone about my ankle after all."

"Better still," Kazul said, and smiled fiercely, showing all her teeth.

"Moranz is going to regret meddling."

"Meddling in what?"

"My business."

"I'd like a little more of an explanation than that, if you don't mind giving one," Cimorene said with a touch of exasperation.

Kazul looked startled, then thoughtful. Then she nodded. "I keep forgetting that you're not as empty-headed as most princesses," she said. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable. This may take a while."

Cimorene found a rock and sat on it. Kazul settled into a more restful position, folded her wings neatly along her back, and began. "It has to do with status. Dragons aren't required to have princesses, you see. Most of us don't. There are never enough to go around, and some of us prefer not to have to deal with the annoyances that come with them."

"Knights," Cimorene guessed.

"Among other things," Kazul said, nodding. "So having a princess in residence has become a minor mark of high status among dragons."

"A minor mark?"

Kazul smiled. "I'm afraid so. It's the equivalent of, oh, serving expensive imported fruit at dinner. It's a nice way of showing everyone how rich you are, but you could make just as big an impression by having some of those fancy pastries with the smooth glazed icing and spun-sugar roses."

"I see." Cimorene did see, though she found herself wishing that Kazul had found something else to compare it to. The talk of dinner reminded her too much of Moranz's repeated desire to eat her.

"Moranz is young and not very bright, I'm afraid," Kazul said, almost as if she had read Cimorene's mind. "He seems to have the mistaken impression that if a princess behaves badly, it reflects on the dragon who captured her. Possibly it comes from his inability to keep any of his own princesses for more than a week. Some of the lesser dragons were very snide about it when he lost his third one in a row. I believe she sneaked out while he was napping."

"I don't see how he can blame his princesses," Cimorene objected. "I mean, if most princesses are unwilling, it must be fairly usual for them to try to get away."

"Of course, but Moranz doesn't see it that way. He's been trying to catch someone else's princess in a similar foolishness for years, and he's quite sure he's finally done so. He's undoubtedly spreading the story of your escape far and wide at this very minute."

"Oh, dear," said Cimorene.

Kazul smiled again, and her teeth glittered silver in the lamplight.

"He'll look extremely foolish when it becomes obvious that you're still here.

Which is one reason I've asked a few of my friends to dinner tonight."

"You've what?" Cimorene said. All her worries about Moranz were instantly replaced by worries about fixing dinner on short notice for an unknown number of dragons. "How many? What time will they be here? Where are we going to put them all?"

"Six. Around eight-thirty. In the banquet cave. And you won't be doing anything but dessert. I've already arranged for the rest of the meal."

"Arranged? With whom?"

"Ballimore the giantess. She's loaned me the Cauldron of Plenty that she uses when her twelve-headed son-in-law drops in for dinner unannounced.