Jacqui

“maybe she was mocking his sincerity, but he didn’t care. “He’ll understand if I —” “Trust me,” Ivy said, putting her hands on his arms and walking him backward to the front door. “We need to get out now and wait for a better time.” She looked truly sorry, as though she’d failed him. And so worried. He didn’t want to make anyone feel as unhappy as she looked. He put his own hands over hers and stopped her momentum. “I do trust you,” he said. “Don’t be sad. I’m sure everything will be all right after I talk to him. In a month, I mean,” he clarified quickly. “At the next audience.” She gave him a relieved smile. “I think I know somewhere you can stay.” He wanted to say, Can’t I stay with you? but it was pretty clear he wasn’t welcome in the Dragonslayer’s cave. So he followed her without arguing to the cave of a man she called “Uncle Stone,” who looked like a taller, sadder, slightly less hairy version of the Dragonslayer. “Yes, fine,” Stone said glumly. “I have room, if he’s not too loud.” “I imagine he sings in his sleep,” Ivy said, “but apart from that, the strong, silent type.” “Thank you, sir,” Leaf said. “I have to go give Foxglove my notes on the dragons and what happened out there,” Ivy said. “But I’ll come check on you after that.” Her”
― Tui T. Sutherland, Dragonslayer