Dusty Red ~ Part 14

It comes again! The day that you will always remember as the day that you read Dusty Red! 

I find it quite interesting when I think back to how this thing started, in a Dusty Town in the middle of Australia. I have now got more instalments than Gillian -- the person I got the idea of this from -- but she doesn't actually post a part every week, so she's got a good reason. Her last post on the story was some time in April I think, but she's done plenty of other posts since then on other things. Sometimes the story seems kind of pointless, but that could just be because there is no story goal, and I can't really make one. When I started writing this I had no idea at all that we'd end up in a random underground realm full of fantasy creatures! If anyone had told me that on the 14th of March (when I did the first post) I probably would have laughed, but here we are! And here are the Leafits and Twigins and the whole realm of Esueño with its Dragontíre and  other random things! I must be crazy to write thing like this, but then that's no new discovery really.

Option number three was voted in by my lovely commenters, many thanks to all of you, and even to those who read and don't comment. I hope you enjoy Dusty Red instalment fourteen!

“It has hatched,” Larzik murmured in an awestruck voice. “The Fræd Dragon has hatched.” 

Flicks looked down at her hand, realising what she was holding for the first time. It was a small dragon, with thin cream coloured wings folded by its side of smooth, green scales, not unlike those of a Blue-tongued lizard. The Fræd dragon’s eyes blinked up at Flicks like glittering jewels.

The guards stared at Flicks, unsure what action to take; Flicks just stared at the dragon and the dragon just stared at Flicks. One of the Dragontíre cleared his throat nervously, “Umm…” He hesitated, “Where did you get that?”

Flicks looked up. “I didn’t exactly get it,” she replied. “It kinda got me.”

Larzik took a step forward and spoke in a trembling voice, “You…you are the Dragontwins?”

Skilf looked at Flicks then shrugged, “Well, that’s what your Queen was saying.” 

Flicks glanced towards Kendal, but suddenly frowned, he was no longer there. She turned around, her gaze sweeping the whole room. The only occupants were her, Skilf, the trembling Larzik, the three guards and, of course, the dragon resting on her hand. Flicks nudged Skilf, “Where’s Kendal?” she murmured, “Did you see him leave?”

Skilf started and looked around the room as Flicks had done, she turned to the guards, “Hey, you guys, did you see the other person who was in here with us leave?”

All three guards frowned. “Other person?” one said. “I didn’t see anyone except for you.”

Skilf walked over to a door on the other side of the room. She jerked it open and stuck her head out. She turned again a moment later. “No one out there,” she said, kicking the wall angrily. She spun on the guards, “He was the thief! The one who stole the Dragon egg! I’m sure of it.”

“We must inform the Queen at once,” Larzik’s high voice quavered slightly.

Flicks shot a sidelong glance at Skilf and tried to suppress a smile, “I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.”

The guards looked around awkwardly. “Should we go look for the person you were talking about?” it was the one who had spoken before.

“Er...yea, I guess so,” Flicks answered.

“What’s he look like?”

“Ermm, well, his tall, and…well…er…didn’t you see him when we arrived?” Flicks asked, at a loss of a description.

“Ah, the tall fellow with the crooked nose and the brown hair?” the guard nodded, “I know the chap.” He turned to his companions, “Let’s go then.”

They tramped from the room, leaving Flicks and Skilf with Larzik who was standing nervously to the side, wringing his hands. “I can escort you to her majesty the queen,” he stammered. “She’ll not be cross with you a’cause ye slammed the door, ‘twas only me who got the guards.”

Skilf looked at him suspiciously, “But why should we go to the queen?”

Flicks shook her head. “I don’t see why we need to do anything. If this is the dragon,” she motioned to the creature sitting on her hand, “Then everything should be fine. So what if Kendal took it, he doesn’t have it anymore.”

Larzik wrung his hands even harder, “You don’t understand miss,” he explained timidly, “He is a powerful wielder of magic if he is the one who took the stone. If he joined our enemies he could destroy the whole world!” The Imp-Goblin’s voice became shrill at the end of the last sentence and he gave a great shiver of terror.

Flicks raised her eyebrows, “Ah…I see.” It occurred to her that she’d been saying that quite a lot lately.

“I still don’t see how it will help, but I guess we could go to the queen again if we must,” Skilf said. “So long as she doesn’t do anything crazy.”

“I wouldn’t be afraid of that. I’d be more afraid of her telling us to do something crazy,” Flicks replied with some heat.

Larzik nodded his head vigorously, “Yes, it is a good idea to see the queen she is wise, very wise.” He turned to the door, “I will take you to her, I will, she will be pleased to see you again.”

“That’s what you think,” Skilf muttered, unconvinced, but she followed Flicks and the Imp-Goblin out the door.

In the corridor Larzik seemed very eager to please the two girls and he chattered away about all the prophecies about Dragontwins and the Fræd Dragons. Flicks tried to ignore him but the constant high pitched voice was getting on her nerves.

“Would you mind being a little quieter?” she asked eventually as Larzik lead them through a door to the side of the hall they’d been walking along. But the Imp seemed not to hear and kept chattering about the time when a pair of humans had pretended to be Dragontwins and all the chaos that ensued from that event.

“Sometimes my grandfather would say to me, he did, ‘If you don’t hear these stories,’ he says, ‘I might just--’”

But Flicks cut him off. “If you don’t shut up I might just spifflicate you,” she said, now thoroughly annoyed.

“Oh yes, I will shut up. Anything you say, I will do whatever the Dragontwins command me, I will,” Larzik said, hearing her now. “I--”

“And if you only partially shut up bad things will happen,” Skilf interrupted darkly.

Larzik promptly fell silent and it was only a short time until he opened a door and pointed inside, mouthing the words, “She’s in there.”

Flicks smiled inwardly, Larzik seemed to be taking his silence very seriously. Inside the room Flicks found Queen Alwyn sitting at a table, looking at a large piece of parchment spread out over it. She looked up as Flicks and Skilf entered, Larzik closing the door soundlessly behind them.

“So you have decided to help after all?” Queen Alwyn asked, a faint smile playing across her lips.

“Well,” Skilf said slowly, “We wanted to know what it was you proposed us to do.”

The Dragontíre Queen motioned the two girls to sit down and they did so, albeit slightly apprehensively. “I rather thought you would have worked it out yourself after reading the prophecy,” Queen Alwyn said. “But if you have not, I shall have to tell you myself. You must go after the magic rune stones. They will show you what to do.”

~

I'm pleased to say that I actually thought up these options quite easily, except for the last one, but my baby sister, Ann, gave me inspiration. When I asked her what the third option should be she said, "Back." So I thought up an option where they went 'back' somewhere, even if I have no idea where that somewhere might be...

1. Larzik stepped forward and knelt in front on the queen, his head bowed slightly, “Permission to accompany the Dragontwins m’Lady?”

2. Flicks looked at the Queen long and hard. “I see,” she said again.

3. Before Flicks or Skilf could reply there was a sudden flash of blue light and Flicks felt herself being dragged backwards by some invisible hand. Oh no, she thought tiredly, not again.

~

Don't forget to comment and I hope you have a lovely weekend! Oh, I have one thing left to say...

"Friends! This is the day you will always remember as the day that--"........ *splash*

Fare Thee Well!