Chapter 80

  I used the pot to heat water over the fire and emptied the treasure filled bowl into the cave before using it to wash the dishes. Then I returned to the labour of sorting the treasure.

  There were crowns, tiaras, strands of pearls, necklaces, and rings amongst the treasure. I wondered if they were worth as much dented and tarnished as they were from the dragon’s treatment, or whether the dragon only valued them for the material they were made from, rather than the beauty of the object wrought.

  “It is a pity you have such a dismal education,” the golden-haired man observed from his throne. “I would not mind the company of someone educated.”

  I pushed back my instinctual bristle at the insult. I was considerably more educated, I knew, than many in my kingdom, and certainly more so than most princesses. He was lonely, however, I thought, and wanting conversation, but disdainful of starting one with someone he considered beneath him.

  “What are you reading about?” I prompted.