The Dragon's Treasure, Part 3 (For Love of Dragons) by Caitlin Ricci

C hapter Eleven
 
    Isabelle awoke to an empty bed with the bright morning sunlight hitting her in the face. She sat up slowly and frowned at the hollow dent in the sheets where she knew Faolan had been last night. His side of the large bed was already cool to the touch. She wondered where he went in the mornings but never questioned him about it. They were getting along and becoming comfortable with each other. There was no reason to ruin that by prying into something which didn’t concern her after all.
    She slid out of bed and rose to her feet. But she quickly sat back down though as a sudden wave of dizziness hit her. She ran her hands through her long tangled hair a few times before again standing. There was no dizziness this time but her stomach felt a little uneasy. She poured herself a cup of hot tea and began sipping it as she curled up in one of the large chairs in the room. Someone had left her a few small cakes to have with her morning tea for breakfast. She ate them slowly as her stomach seemed to calm down with each tentative bite.
    A small knock drew her attention to the door.
    "Come in," she called after swallowing a mouthful of cake. A bright blonde head poked around the corner of the door, followed by a widely grinning little boy. "Caden!" In an instant Isabelle had him in her arms and was hugging him tightly.
    " Izzy !" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around her too.
    “What are you doing here? You look so good," she asked him as they sat down and she poured him a cup of tea and passed him a cake.
    " Kylin said I was doing well enough to come see you for a change," he said between hungry mouthfuls. “And he forgives us for sneaking out before. He actually told me to get out of bed this morning and to go play.”
    "That’s wonderful Caden. You are looking so much better."
    He nodded quickly and then took another large bite. "I feel stronger too. Is this what you have for breakfast every morning?" he asked as he eyed the rest of the cakes greedily.
    Isabelle giggled and passed him the plate to finish off.
    "Usually this is it. Do you like them?"
    "They are great! I haven't been allowed to have anything solid since we came here. Kylin was afraid it would make me sick. Since I can be out for a little bit today though he said that I could eat as much as I wanted as long as I felt alright. Where do these come from? When Kylin says I'm all better I'm eating these everything morning!" Caden exclaimed with large eyes as he ate another in just a few bites.
    Isabelle laughed and rubbed her brother’s tousled hair. "I’m not sure where they come from actually. Something is always here waiting for me with a pot of hot tea. I just assume Faolan orders it for me before he leaves in the mornings."
    Caden became quiet and put a half-eaten cake back on the plate.
    "Is something wrong darling?" Isabelle asked as she pulled him into her arms.
    "Do you think he’ll like me?" he asked softly.
    Isabelle smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I think he will like you very much. Hopefully he’ll come back here before you have to go back to Kylin and then you could meet him and see for yourself. Now what do you say to me getting dressed and then I’ll take you on a tour of the mountain?"
    Caden grinned widely. "Only if you get dressed really quickly. I'm glad you forgave him for what he did. Like I said, it wasn't as if he really had a choice."
    She quickly kissed his cheek and handed him his half-eaten cake before slipping away.
                  . . .
     
    Isabelle lay up to her neck in the warm bath. It had been hours since her dizzy spell that morning but her stomach had never fully recovered. After a quick tour of the parts of the mountain she was familiar with she and Caden had finished off a small meal back in her room. They had spent another hour with her reading Caden a storybook from Thadius’s library before returning to her rooms for Caden to take a nap and her to get cleaned up. Thankfully they had