Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

his people, and I his only daughter. Being lonely after my mother’s death, my father remarried, to a woman comely but proud, and under her influence have I suffered these seven years. And now the King my father is dead, and my stepmother hath cast me out, to wander alone and friendless through the world. Alas! For I am—”
    â€œIn great distress. We know. You said that before,” Shiara said. “Why didn’t
you
throw
her
out when your father died? It would have saved you a lot of trouble.”
    The Princess’s blue eyes filled with tears and she bowed her head. “’Twas not within my power to work harm against her, alas. And now I seek some prince or hero who will take pity on my destitute state and return me to my proper place. Woe is me! That I should be without help in such distress.”
    â€œSounds like a lousy excuse to me,” Shiara muttered under her breath. Fortunately, the Princess didn’t hear.
    â€œI’m afraid we can’t help you get your kingdom back,” I said. “I’m very sorry. But if there’s any other service I can do for you, I’d be happy to try.”
    â€œDaystar!” Shiara’s voice was horrified, and suddenly I realized what I’d said. I swallowed. At least I’d only promised to try.
    â€œThere is one thing,” the Princess said. She raised her head, and her eyes were very bright. I went cold. The Princess smiled sweetly.
    â€œGive me your sword,” she said.

7
In Which There Is a Good Deal of Discussion
    I STARED AT THE PRINCESS . Then I shut my mouth and swallowed again, hard.
Mother isn’t going to like this at all,
I thought. I was just about to draw the sword and give it to her when Shiara said, “Wait a minute, Daystar.”
    I stopped and looked at her. She looked at the Princess. “Daystar hasn’t got a sword.”
    â€œWhat?” the Princess and I said at the same time. The Princess frowned. “I am not blind, to be so easily deceived. See, there it is.” She pointed to my scabbard.
    â€œThat,” said Shiara triumphantly, “is the Sword of the Sleeping King. So it belongs to him, not to Daystar, and Daystar can’t give it away.”
    The Princess looked very puzzled. I thought for a minute. Shiara was right, but she was wrong, too. I mean, it was obvious what the Princess had
meant,
even if she hadn’t said it right. I sighed and reached for the hilt.
    Shiara turned on me. “Daystar, what are you doing?”
    â€œGiving her the sword,” I said, tugging at it. The sword wouldn’t come out of the sheath. “You know as well as I do what she meant.”
    â€œWell, if all those wizards and sorceresses can be picky about the way people say things, why can’t you?” Shiara was so mad I expected her hair to start burning any minute. “You can’t even get it out of the sheath! You only said you’d try to do what she wanted. Well, you’ve tried. Isn’t that enough?”
    I sighed. “I’m sorry, Shiara, but it’s my sword, and I’m not a wizard. I just have to do it.”
    â€œDaystar, you . . . you . . .” Shiara gave up and just glared.
    I tugged at the sword again, and Shiara turned her back. The Princess still looked puzzled. I shook my head and unbuckled the whole sword belt. I stared at it for a minute, then held it out toward the Princess. “Here. Take it.” My voice seemed too loud, and I realized that the woods had gotten very quiet. The Princess smiled and took hold of the scabbard. I let go of the sword.
    There was a rumbling noise, and the Princess said, “Oh!” very loudly and dropped the sword belt. The point of the scabbard hit the ground, and there was another rumble, and an enormous geyser of water shot up into the air.
    I saw the Princess cringe, and Shiara fell backward. Then I couldn’t see anything but white spray. A voice said,