I've lived in the mud quarter in the entire life, watching as the fireguards came every five years to select the prettiest girls to go to the Seat to start new lives--husbands, houses without a speck of dirt, and enough food that hunger wasn't a constant pain in your belly.

This year it's my turn.

And the dragon that forces our kingdom to cower under our magnificent dome and hide behind stone walls hasn't shown any signs of leaving.