Page 28 of Markets & Mooncakes

I shake my head, hoping to clear some of my thoughts.

"Ember, come," I say more sharply.

She ignores me again, and I let out a frustrated sigh.

"If I may make a suggestion, Your Highness?"

I spin around to find Lady Sun Jinglan in the doorway. I blink a couple of times, not really knowing what to make of her appearance, especially when Mama hasn't instructed me to entertain her this evening. "What suggestion?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

She steps into the room and sets an embroidered bag down on the table. She shakes her hand, causing her sleeve to fall back out of the way before picking up a piece of the meat. "You need to tell her what you have before you make her want it." She goes up to Ember and holds out the meat.

My dragon immediately snaps to attention, but thankfully doesn't let out a stream of fire. It's a relief. Mama would not be happy if my actions resulted in our guest being burned.

Lady Sun Jinglan steps back. "Ember, come!"

She throws the piece into the air just as Ember swoops off the oven and lets out her orange flames, heating the room and searing the meat scrap before snatching it out of the air. Ember returns to her spot on top of the oven, looking as satisfied as a tiny dragon can possibly look.

"You try," the ambassador's daughter instructs.

I'm sceptical about whether it's going to work for me, but it's worth trying. I pick up a piece of meat and take it over to Ember. She starts paying attention immediately, her eyes focused on the food.

I step back and clear my throat. "Come, Ember." My voice wavers slightly.

But my dragon still comes. She's a flurry of green wings and orange flames as she claims the food for herself. I'm impressed.

Ember returns to the oven and looks around the room as if expecting more food to appear by magic.

"How do I make it so that she can go longer distances? And that she comes when I ask instead of when I have food?" I ask, excited at the prospect of understanding more about how to train my dragon and completely forgetting how I'm supposed to be acting around the ambassador's daughter.

"You do it like this until you are sure that she understands, and then you move further back. When she is good at it, you can take away the meat," she says.

"Ah." I nod, thinking about how that works. "How do you know this? Are dragons common in Shengda?"

She shakes her head. "There are some at the palace. When my father would take me to visit, my cousins would show me the dragons and teach me how to make them learn."

"My sister said that you're related to the Empress." I don't know why I need to say it, but the statement slips out before I have time to think about it.

"Related to?" Lady Sun Jinglan echoes.

It takes a moment for me to realise that she's checking because she doesn't understand the words. "Sorry, that you're part of the Empress' family," I say, hoping that it's going to be enough to make my question clear.

"Ah, yes. Her Imperial Majesty is the sister of my father's cousin."

"That's too many steps for me to know what they're called."

To my surprise, she laughs. "She is the Empress, so it does not matter. That is what she is called to me."

"Did you know her well?"

"No." She looks over at Ember, who is now happily curled up. So much for the rest of the training session. "You are lucky to have such a beautiful dragon."

"I am."

"She will bring you much luck."

I'm not sure how that's true, but I know better than to question it, especially when it's probably a Shengdanese superstition about the dragons. "I hope so."

"I did not expect to find you down here, Your Highness," she says. "I was searching for Chef Matthews."