Something enormous splashed in the middle of the river, sending wavelets over the bank almost to our feet. Torches were held higher, their light reflecting off the water where ripples continued to arrow in our direction. Whatever was out there was coming our way. Their swords drawn, my knights ran to join Eadric on the riverbank.
"Get back, Your Highness!" said the young man as others hustled me behind an outcropping of rock. I could hear the cries of the ladies-in-waiting as they huddled together close by. The men hovered around me for a moment, but when one of the villagers near the water called out, they ran back to join their companions, shouting, "Stay there!" to me and taking their torches with them. I tried to follow them, only to have the one man who had been left to guard me block my way. Retracing my steps, I strained to hear what was going on while trying to think of how I could help without it being obvious that I was using magic.
I heard running feet, the slap of something large and wet on stone, a man crying out, then Ferdy's familiar voice. "Slash, hack, chop and whack . . .," he sang, which meant that Eadric was fighting the sea monster.
Hiking up the hem of my gown, I was trying to climb the rock to see if I could help when there was a high-pitched keening and the rush of wings, and something hit me in the chest, knocking me back the few feet I had climbed. I landed on the ground with an Oof! then struggled to sit up, realizing when I couldn't that something heavy was weighing me down and had started to lick my face. My hands met scales when I tried to push it off.
"Emma," said the voice of an adolescent dragon, "I've been looking all over for you. See what I won!"
I rubbed my eyes and tried to see my assailant in the near dark. From the sound of his voice I knew it was my friend Ralf, but I couldn't make out what he was doing. "Ralfie," I said, "you shouldn't be here!"
Ralf backed out of the shadow of the rock and into the moonlight. "I had to come, Emma. I've been looking all over for you and then I heard you were here and I had to show you my award! See," he said, using his claws to hold up a ribbon that dangled from his neck. Some sort of oddly shaped stone hung suspended from the ribbon, twirling in the dim light.
"How did you win it?" I asked, peering at the stone.
"I graduated from dragon geography class with top honors," he said. "We're going to have a big feast to celebrate, and my parents and I want you to come. It's tomorrow night and . . ."
The sea monster roared and it must have been fairly close, because water splattered down on us from above, drenching us both. Then the sound receded as if the monster were moving off.
"Thank you for inviting me, Ralf, but you shouldn't be here. If those men see you, you'll be in big trouble. Please go back to your parents' cave. I'll come see you as soon as I get home."
"But Emma," Ralf whined, thrashing his tail. "I really want you to come! It won't be the same unless . . ."
"Over here!" someone shouted. "It's a dragon!" I glanced up to see the man who had been guarding me standing only a few yards away, hefting a pitchfork in his hand.
"Ralf," I whispered, "please go!"
"That man has a poky thing, Emma!" said Ralf. "I can't go; he might hurt you! Where's Eadric? Why isn't he here to keep you safe?"
"That man isn't going to hurt me, Ralf, but he will hurt you if you don't go! Please, Ralf, just. . ."
"Back away from it, Your Highness!" shouted the man. "Even the small ones are deadly." Other men had begun to gather behind him, including some of my knights.
Ralf began taking deep breaths to stoke the fire in his belly. He had only recently begun eating gunga beans and hot flami-peppers to get his fire going. Although his flame was feeble compared with what it would be someday, it was enough to injure someone. I didn't have any choice. If I didn't use my magic, someone was bound to get hurt.
The man with the pitchfork was edging around Ralf, with the little dragon turning to face him. "Prince Eadric!" called the townsman. "Here's another dragon for you to kill!"
Eadric shouted, but I couldn't make out his words. It was Ferdy's voice that rang out loud and true above the noise around me.
Take that, you monster from the deep!
It's time for your eternal sleep.
With one more slice and one more whack
I'll see that you cannot come back!
I shrieked and froze where I was, pretending to be frightened. Holding my hand over my mouth as if I were terrified, I whispered the beginning of a spell.
Hide this dragon-scale and claw,
Tooth and fiery breath
The sea monster roared, and a huge chunk of bloody flesh flew over the boulder and slammed into my legs, sending me sprawling. The rest of the spell I was about to say flew out of my head.
Ralf had built up a good flame. Nearly five feet long, it kept the men from getting too close. Unfortunately, maintaining such a big flame while dodging the jabbing pitchfork made him a little light-headed and confused. By the time I was able to sit up and saw that Ralf had began to fade from sight, he was whimpering and his flame was sputtering.
"That dragon's wearing a magic charm!" shouted another townsman when Ralf had nearly faded away. "Look, he's disappearing!"
"Get him before he's gone altogether!" yelled another voice.
I groaned when I saw that the incomplete spell hadn't been enough. Only parts of the little dragon had disappeared. Everything covered with scales had faded away, which meant that his body, wings, tail and head were gone. His claws were gone, too, as were his teeth and the last of his flame. Unfortunately, his eyes were still visible, as were the pads of his feet and the tip of his nose. His award still dangled from his invisible neck, and when he ran toward me, I could see his damp footprints in the torchlight.
"Ralf," I said under my breath. "Go home!"
"Not until I know you're safe," he told me.
The men rushed me, pushing me away from Ralf so they could form a circle around him. Happy that I'd been forgotten once again, I took the opportunity to whisper a new spell.
Murky fog, come to this place.
Of this dragon leave no trace.
Neither print nor sound nor scale.
Of this dragon leave no trail.
A thick fog rolled in off the river, enveloping everyone and everything. It was a strangely silent fog, absorbing all the sounds Ralf made and some of the men's as well. While the men floundered around, trying to find Ralf without hurting each other, I backed away and called his name. A moment later, the little dragon bumped into me. Nudging me with his nose, he pushed me away from the men. When we had gone far enough that they couldn't hear us, I bent down and wrapped my arms around Ralf's neck.
"You're very brave, Ralf," I said. "Thank you for protecting me."
Ralf may have tried to say something, but the fog still absorbed his voice.
"I need to take the spells off you, but we have to be very quiet. Those men are awfully close. As soon as you're back to normal, you'll have to go home. And don't worry. I'll be fine. No one is going to do anything to me. Understand?" With my arms around him, I could feel the little dragon nod. I said the spell quickly before anyone could interrupt us and was still hugging him when he reappeared.
"Remember, you're going to come see me when you go home again," said Ralf.
"I won't forget," I said.
The little dragon licked my face with his hot, rasping tongue before slipping away into the night. Although I was relieved to see him go, my nerves still jangled. I hated the way doing magic in secret made me feel. When Eadric and I were wed, if he became king of Upper Montevista, I'd be queen of this country. I didn't like the thought of lying to my future subjects, now or ever.
The fog had dissipated into the night, leaving the air cold and clammy. The men soon found me and assumed that I'd wandered off while trying to get away from the dragon. Eadric was with them, having dispatched the sea monster with Ferdy's help, but I could tell that he was not as jubilant about it as he would have been only a few years earlier. Getting to know
dragons had made it harder for him to kill monsters, even when he didn't have a choice. Eadric didn't tell me any details other than that he'd be sending some of his men to protect the villagers from passing sea monsters. He did, however, seem concerned about me.
"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked. "The men said you were in real danger."
I patted his arm. "I was fine. Ralf came looking for us, which wouldn't have been a problem if your friends from Chancewold hadn't seen him. He's gone now, but I promised we'd go for a visit as soon as we could." Yawning, I leaned against him and rested my head on his shoulder.
"Let's go find our tents," Eadric said, hugging me to his side. "It's been a very long day."
I was fighting to keep my eyes open when he lifted the flap to my tent. Swaying on my feet, I gazed bleary-eyed through the opening, too tired to take another step. Eadric swung me into his arms and kissed me on the cheek as he carried me inside, setting me on the bed in the corner.
He was straightening up when Hortense stormed into the tent. "Have you no sense of decency?" she hissed at him. "You shouldn't come anywhere near her tent at night. And you!" she said, rounding on me. "You should be ashamed of yourself, letting him in."
"We weren't doing anything," I mumbled sleepily, feeling like a small child.
"That doesn't matter. You two should never be alone in here, especially not at night. Do you know what you're doing to her reputation?" Hortense said, turning back to Eadric.
"But we're getting married as soon as we can arrange it!" said Eadric.
"Hmph!" said Hortense. "As if that mattered! Queen Chartreuse was right to send me. Who knows what you two would be up to if I weren't here!"
Having a lovely kiss good night, I thought as Hortense ushered Eadric out of my tent. Too tired to change into my nightclothes, I stretched out on the bed and fell asleep.
Five
Eadric woke everyone before the sun was fully up the next morning. He said he wanted to get an early start, but I had the feeling that he was afraid the maidens from the town might embarrass him again if we stayed longer.
I was still tired, so I chose to ride in the carriage with Li'l and Shelton. Maybe I'd be able to sleep a little longer. "Li'l told me about the sea monster," Shelton announced once the carriage was under way.
"I heard the noise and went to investigate," said Li'l. "That thing was big! Eadric was brave to fight it the way he did. When it dragged him into the water, I was sure we'd never see him again, but then he popped up like a cork and climbed out."
I could feel a knot form in my stomach. "Eadric was in the river?"
"For a really long time," she said.
"I wish I'd been there," said Shelton. "I could have shown him how to fight a sea monster. Remember when the three of us climbed into that sea monster's mouth and . . ."
"I remember," I said, not wanting to think about Eadric facing something like that alone.
No longer sleepy, I signaled for my carriage to stop long enough for me to get out and reach Gwynnie. Eadric was happy to see me and just as tired as I was. We rode together, enjoying each other's company without needing to say a word. After a time I dozed in the saddle, and Eadric may have as well. When my head nodded sharply, waking me with a start, we were in the foothills and could see the snowcapped mountains in the distance.
By noon we'd entered a pine forest so dark that it seemed as if night had fallen. I was wondering how much farther we'd have to go when Eadric said, as if reading my thoughts, "My parents' castle isn't far once we get out of this forest."
"So we'll reach it tonight?" I asked, looking forward to a nice soft bed.
"No, but at the rate we're going, we'll be there tomorrow. We're making really good time. If I didn't know better, I'd say that it was almost magical." Eadric smiled when he said it, but I thought he looked a little wistful.
"It would have been a lot faster if some people had more understanding subjects in their kingdoms," I muttered.
"Isn't it almost time to eat?" Eadric asked, patting his stomach.
I glanced up, but the trees blocked my view of the sky. When I started to look away, something dark darted past at the edge of sight. "What was that?" I asked.
"I didn't see anything," said Eadric.
Another dark shape shot through the trees, squawking. "Did you see that?"
Eadric shrugged. "It was probably just a crow."
"It was too big to be a crow," I said, shaking my head.
And then they were all around us, landing beside the horses like a small noisy flock. If Bright Country hadn't stayed so calm, I'm sure Gwynnie wouldn't have either, but she only snorted and pranced a few paces, letting me calm her with my hand and a few soft words. The knights behind us had a more difficult time with their mounts, who bucked and fought the reins while the carriage horses screamed and tried to rear up.
Although it seemed like more at first, only four witches hopped off their broomsticks, cackling and talking all at once. "Hello there, lovebirds!" called a familiar voice. It was Oculura, the witch who had moved into the old cottage in the enchanted forest near my castle. Her sister, Dyspepsia, was there as well, looking as sour-faced as ever. I'd never seen the other witches before.
"Why don't you introduce us?" said the shorter of the two, a woman with curiously pale skin.
"Princess Emeralda, Prince Eadric," said Oculura, "I'd like you to meet my friends Klorine and Ratinki. Klorine is the pushy one." The witch who had asked for an introduction had come forward with her hand extended. It took me a moment to realize that she wanted to shake mine.
"Pleased to meet you," she shouted, pumping my hand up and down until my shoulder ached. "I've heard so much about you two. When we learned that you were going to pass through our woods, I made sure we came out to greet you." I nodded, slighdy dumbfounded. Klorine had a very odd way of talking. Not only did she speak loudly, enunciating each word distinctly, but she paused after each sentence as if waiting for someone else to speak, although it was obvious that she hadn't finished what she was going to say.
I waited for her to say something else until she looked at me expectantly and smiled. "Urn, yes, well, it's nice to meet you," I said, turning to Eadric for help when the woman wouldn't let go of my hand. He didn't notice, however, because he was squirming under the unyielding gaze of the other witch, Ratinki. Skinny and wrinkled like an old apple, she had to be one of the oldest women I had ever met. With the dirt on her clothes and skin and the odor wafting toward us, she also had to be the smelliest.
"Let go of her hand," said Oculura to Klorine, prying the little witch's fingers from mine. My hand had gone numb, so I shook it while they both looked at me apologetically.
"Sorry," Klorine nearly shouted. "I'm not used to talking to real people. I live in a cave with an echo for company."
"You remember me, of course," said Dyspepsia, looking grumpy. As I'd invited them to visit us at the castie only the week before, I thought it was a very odd question.
"Hello, Dyspepsia," I said. "It's nice to see you again."
Apparently mollified, she grunted and rubbed the small of her back. "Back's paining me again. Broom riding does it every time."
"Got anything to eat around here?" interrupted Klorine.
Eadric perked right up, turning away from Ratinki for the first time since her arrival. He grinned when I said, "I'll see what I can do."
While the servants tended to the horses and the knights stood guard, Eadric and I joined the witches at the base of a tree. I'd invited the ladies-in-waiting to sit with us, but after seeing our guests, Lucy claimed that she'd rather eat our normal travel fare in the shelter of the carriage. Hortense made a point of sitting between me and Ratinki, who spit onto her palm and used the moisture to wash her hands. Although Hortense looked horrified, she didn't say anything to the witch.
We were making ourselves comfortable on the blanket when Ratinki spoke for the first time. In a rough and gravelly voice, she turned to Hortense and said, "I saw th
e way you looked at me. I'm going to turn you into a slug for that."
Pointing a wavering finger, the old woman said,
That young woman sitting there
Didn't have to stop and stare.
Make her be a slimy slug,
A slippery, gooey, squishy bug.
"No, wait," I said, throwing up my hand as I recited a quick blocking spell. There was a soft fizzling sound and . . . nothing happened. Hortense continued to sit there looking as prim and proper as always. When it was obvious that she wasn't going to change, I turned to Ratinki and said, "Please don't cast spells on anyone in my party. I need to get them back to my kingdom just as they left it."
"You are good!" the old witch growled. "Oculura said that you were powerful, but I didn't believe her until now. I've never seen anyone block one of my spells before. And that was fast, too!" She scowled and rubbed her mottled scalp under her wispy white hair.
"You'll have to excuse them," said Oculura. "Ratinki and Klorine live deep in the woods and don't talk to people very often."
"Do you live in a cave, too?" I asked Ratinki.
"Wouldn't dream of it!" she exclaimed. "Damp, nasty things! I have a nice little one-room hovel with a good rebuilding spell. Every time the villagers burn it down, it's back three days later, good as new."
Even Eadric looked horrified. "The villagers burn your home?"
Ratinki nodded. "Every few years. I don't mind too much—gets rid of the vermin."