“These new shoes will surely frustrate, on each foot a brand new roller skate.”
The king, who had been getting used to the ice on the arena floor was hit by another brilliant blue flash. Suddenly his ability to manoeuvre went terribly awry.
In the distance clowns were pirouetting on skates. Where in the world did they get those? The other group of clowns had finished setting up a table and were sitting to the side, holding up cards with numbers on them as clowns performed a full routine worthy of the Olympics.
The king, however, was not being as graceful in his new footwear. Combined with his great speed and weight, the king was heading wildly out of control across the arena. Fortunately, just before he reached the dais where the lords were sitting, he was able to get his wings beating enough to pull himself up in to the air, unfortunately, this only succeeded in lifting him up slightly above the dais. His momentum carried him with great ferocity in to a certain startled red dragon.
The clowns at the other end of the arena cheered. The clown judges held up their cards. 1, 1, 9. Upon seeing his colleague's scores, the clown holding the 9 trotted to the front of the line.
Thomas was starting to feel fatigued. It was nothing to do with any physical exertion on his part. Somehow the magic he used seemed to drain him more each time he cast a spell. His vision was starting to blur, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. The king was already up and pulling himself free of the debris his crash had caused. He ripped off the skates and flew up into the sky to make another dive attack. What should Thomas do? More clowns? Probably not. He didn't know how much energy it would take for him to summon that many clowns again, and he was a little afraid of the clowns getting hurt for some reason.
The king wasn't going to give Thomas a chance to think this time. He immediately launched himself into a dive. Thomas looked around. The arena was a skating rink now, with clowns tables and score cards, there was very little that would allow for good cover. Thomas didn't have time to think up something clever, he would have to just throw a spell together and pray for the best.
“Steel with rubber in between, I summon a giant trampoline.”
Thomas waved his arms over his head hoping for the best. He closed his eyes and cringed waiting for the impending crash. As he did he blacked out at the exact same moment that a gigantic trampoline formed overhead. The king who was already in mid dive had no chance to pull out. Instead, he decided to hit the strange shield as hard as he could in hopes of breaking through. Having never had any experience with trampolines, this proved to be an almost fatal mistake. Increasing his velocity and momentum significantly, the king hit the trampoline with an earth shattering force. The trampoline being made out of solid steel and industrial strength rubber, did what any trampoline since the dawn of time had been designed to do in such a circumstance. It catapulted the king off with a force equal to, and being magical, perhaps a touch more than what the king had hit it with. Alkamire pinwheeled through the air and crashed into a wall beside the clown judges table, just narrowly missing the spear of a giant dragon statue. One of the clowns hopped over to the king who lay in a heap on the ground. He looked him over once, and trotted up to his head. Placing one hand on the dragon's nose, and honking a horn with the other, the clown then placed his hand over his mouth as if to say “Oh my!”
Alkamire was slow to get to his feet this time, and for once, his anger wasn't directed at Thomas. The clown who had finished honking the king's nose was in dire trouble now. The king's stance had changed. He was pulling his head back and taking in a deep breath. Thomas had a feeling he knew what was going to come next. It was up to him to save the clown.
“I summon an obsidian wall, to protect this over zealous goofball.”
The king let go of a stream of white hot fire toward the unfortunate clown. A moment before searing the clown out of existence, a wall erupted from the ice sending the white hot flames dancing to either side of the clown. The king swung his head back to Thomas enraged. Thomas was going to have to end this. Alkamire stomped purposefully toward Thomas. He stopped about 20 metres from where Thomas swayed weakly.
“This ends now Alkamire!” Thomas said in a hoarse voice.
“You are correct, wizard!” spat Alkamire. He rose his head back again and drew a very deep breath, Thomas was ready this time. He waited for Alkamire to finish breathing in as much air as he could.”
“Fire to flour in your lungs, breath out nothing but cake and buns.”
Cupcakes exploded from the kings nostrils. Whole loaves of bread came flying out of his mouth and slammed into Thomas. Even bread at such a velocity stung. Black Forest, Strawberry Cheesecake, Shortbread and an endless stream of confectionery masterpieces flew out of a shocked king's mouth.
“Back to how it first began, change this dragon to a man.”
Thomas fell as blue lightening struck Alkamire one last time. Thomas was done. A huge cloud of flour exploded through the air, and when the dust settled, the king was buried to his neck in a pile of varying deserts looking as bedraggled as Thomas felt.
Consciousness was fading in and out for Thomas. He could barely raise himself to a sitting position. The events appeared to have taken their toll on the king as well. Thomas remembered how much energy it had taken Alanna to hold the form of the dragon. The king had over exerted himself. It was unlikely that he would be changing back to a dragon now. Thomas knew that he wasn't done yet. He had to appear that he was not completely deflated. Slowly, with as much strength as he could muster, he got to his feet. Even the clowns in the arena had stopped their antics to see what was to happen now the battle was over.
“Enough!” The voice had come from the Green Dragon Lord. “No more is necessary. We have come to our decision.”
The Green Dragon stepped forward, casting a glance to Gatsby, he continued, “I should note that we would have come to a consensus much earlier, but one of us was not easily persuaded. Nevertheless, the majority of the dragon lords find that Thomas, master of wizardry, has not misrepresented himself.”
“This is ridiculous!” Gatsby roared as he came forward. “He was no wizard! This is some kind of trick!”
“I said ENOUGH!” The Green Lord turned on Gatsby. “We have been patient enough with you. These two have danced around to the tune of your song for long enough. Now it's time for you to dance to the tune of ours.”
“What?!” Gatsby looked in disbelief at the council of dragon lords.
“Alkamire, we leave it to you to discipline this poor excuse for a prince.”
The king was still in the pile of bakery looking utterly exhausted. There was no place that he could go in his current condition. Thomas sighed. He had to restore a little of the dignity that he had taken away from Alkamire Aqual.
“Cakes to Robes and bread to attire,
Dress the king of BlueShift, Alkamire.”
The piles of baking disappeared just as one of the clowns was about to bite into a chocolate chip muffin. Simultaneously, the king was engulfed in a swirling vortex of blue that left him in a regal looking outfit of Azure and Gold.
As he saw Alkamire's tired shocked expression, Thomas's eyes rolled back up in his head, and he collapsed to the ice. He didn't even feel the hard unforgiving surface as he hit it with a crack.
CHAPTER 28
SEETHING RED
When Thomas woke up, he was still feeling hazy and his vision was blurry. He seemed to be in a forest. The ground was soft, and the trees branches reached out above his head to shield him from the elements. Something was running through his hair. Thomas put a hand to his head. There was a large lump on the backside.
“How are you feeling?”
Thomas brought his head up slowly, the world spinning as he did. It wasn't a forest he could see now. It was Alanna's tree bed. Alanna? Had she been running her hand over his head?
“Hungry, dizzy, and I have a slight headache. Otherwise alright I guess.”
“You hit the ice pretty
hard.”
“I think I missed that.” Thomas groaned. “I'm alive I see. What happened after...”
Alanna closed her eyes and took a breath.
“After you passed out things got ugly.”
Alanna shifted, agitated.
“Father had you immediately taken to my room to rest, where some of his best medical staff cared for you. After you were carried out, a great argument erupted between Gatsby and my father.” Alanna looked sad. “I have never seen Gatsby act like that before. He accused my father of being weak, of going easy on you. He volunteered to let you face him when you regained your strength.”
Thomas must have visibly tensed, because Alanna laid a hand on his and smiled. “Don't worry, Gatsby was not interested in being subjected to what you put my father through.”
Thomas felt more than a little relieved, He knew that he would have to see the king again soon. He hadn't had a chance to talk to him in private since returning to BlueShift, and he wanted to find out how much of the king's anger was for show, and how much was genuine. He knew it was a meeting he was not looking forward to. As if reading Thomas' thoughts Alanna added, “Don't worry about father. He pushed you very hard, you shouldn't feel badly for the way you fought against him. If anything, it should be quite the opposite. He enquires often as to your health. I think he feels badly for how hard he has made your life.”
Thomas wasn't so sure of that. He had pushed his luck humiliating the king the way he had.
“The dragon council was in agreement regarding Gatsby. A majority of the leaders of other dragon nations harbour distrust of the Ganton dragons. This was just the sort of thing to push them over the line.”
Alanna's voice trailed off, “I had hoped that Gatsby would be different. The Ganton Dragon legacy is one of brute force and arrogance. I really thought that Gatsby was a bright spot in their otherwise dark history.” She shook her head sadly.
“The dragon council ruled that Gatsby should be exiled never to return.” Alanna looked crushed.
“I feel terrible about this Alanna. That was never my intention.” Maybe it would have been better if I had found some way to escape.”
“Don't be silly Thomas. If anyone is to be pitied it's you. Betrayed by the very people who placed you in this mess.”
How Thomas had come to be entangled in Gatsby's scheme no longer mattered to him. Their ruse for a relationship was slowly becoming very real to Thomas. He wondered if he really had any choice about leaving Alanna. Looking into Alanna's sad eyes, Alanna's beautiful eyes, Thomas knew the answer. The moment he had looked into those eyes, he had lost all control of his life. He would be led to happiness or disaster by those eyes.
“Gatsby is gone then?”
“Not yet. He is still in the city, he has until tomorrow to leave. Until then, he is free to roam as he wishes.”
Thomas swung his feet over the edge of the bed and sat up. His head swimming as he did. He had to find something to eat soon.
“Then we have to get going.”
“You want to see Gatsby?” Alanna seemed a little surprised.
“I have to talk to him at least once before he goes. I would think since he's been your friend for ages, that you would want to know what's going on too.”
“I do” Alanna admitted. “But I'm also a little afraid. I haven't seen Gatsby act like this before. I'm not sure what he would do to you if you saw him. I can remember a time when he wouldn't harm a fly, when he was completely carefree. Now, I just don't know.”
“I have to go, you can stay here if you feel uncomfortable.”
“You don't think that I would let you go alone, do you? I'm just nervous about seeing him.” Alanna took Thomas' hand in hers as he turned to leave.
“Thomas... I have something to tell you.”
“Yes?”
Alanna stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at Thomas' hand. The moment of silence stretched on for an eternity that Thomas' didn't want to end, but finally she spoke.
“I just wanted you to know, that no matter what happens, I won't treat you the way Gatsby has. I'm not proud of what he has done, but that's not the type of person I am.”
“I know that, Alanna.”
As Thomas opened the door to Alanna's room, he braced himself against the chill of the evening air. It was nighttime. A good deal of time had passed since his confrontation with the king. They needed to get going if they were to see Gatsby before he left.
*****
Alanna silently bit her lip as she walked behind Thomas through the city. It was night now, the moon was full overhead, and the sounds of the busy city life were dying down. Only a few taverns remained open, and of those, nearly all of them were already seeing off the last of their customers.
She had wanted to talk to Thomas about the journal pages that he had hidden from her. The ones that she had read only a few days before. She had felt terrible that she had violated his privacy, but admitting that she had, meant admitting that she knew he had feelings for her, and she didn't know if she could deal with that right now.
Alanna lead Thomas through the maze of streets to the inn where Gatsby was staying. After the confrontation had ended with her father, the guards were keeping Gatsby under surveillance until he left the following day. Alanna could guess at Gatsby's state of mind. He was imprisoned in the city that used to be his second home and on the verge of being kicked out forever.
They came upon the 'Comfy Quilt Inn' which was situated fairly close to the gates of the city. The inn's sign caught the flickering light from the lamps as it swung in the chill of the evening wind. The creaking from the old metal hinges were the only sound to be heard this late into the winter's night.
Thomas looked for reassurance that they were in the right place, and Alanna nodded. With guards standing watch, the building seemed more a prison than a place to rest. Thomas and Alanna stepped through the door purposefully.
The door opened to the common room, which reminded Thomas of Henry The Seer's home. It wasn't a remarkable place in any manner, but neither was it dilapidated. There were several tables of fairly plain design situated around the room, all of which were vacant. There was a bar area with a counter where two guards were sitting, talking quietly to themselves while a bartender cleaned glasses. The guards nodded at Alanna as she entered the tavern. She imagined that they were expecting her to make an appearance eventually, and did nothing to deter her.
“Is Gatsby in?” she asked.
“Yes princess. He's in the top room. Just climb the stairs until they end. That's his room.”
Well, that was that. Gatsby was there. She looked at Thomas. Thomas walked out in front of Alanna to lead the way up the old staircase. She could feel her nerves starting to kick in. Her heart was beating faster, and her hands trembled.
The staircase to the top floor seemed endless. It spiralled around and around, past several doors until it finally came to an end at a plain looking door with a knocker on it.
“Wow, he has the honeymoon suite.” Thomas said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Maybe he is already asleep.” Alanna said to Thomas.
Thomas took the knocker and quickly rapped on the door. “Come.” a voice responded from inside of the room.
Opening the door and stepping in, Thomas first noticed the odour. The room smelt vaguely as a gym locker might if dirty clothing had been left there too long. Despite the lingering unpleasant smell, the room was probably one of the nicer ones the inn had to offer. The floors were made from a nicely finished wood, the bed was as large as three normal sized beds, and was carved with all manner of patterns. The main window overlooked the streets and the gate that led out of the city. The large fireplace, which was roaring over in the corner, bathed the room in a warm light that contrasted against the cold features of the individual that sat with his back to the door from which they had just entered.
“I expected you would be coming eventually.”
Thomas walked wit
h trepidation over to a chair next to Gatsby, and sat down. Alanna took the chair to the other side, and the three of them sat in silence, each waiting for the other to speak.
It was Thomas that spoke first. “I had to come Gatsby.”
“I know.” Gatsby said. His expression never changed. He neither looked at Alanna or Thomas. He stared into the fireplace, like a snake being entranced by a charmer.
“I just can't figure out what's going on. Why?”
Gatsby just sat there, saying nothing. Then finally he broke the silence.
“Thomas? Would you mind if I talked to Alanna for a moment alone?”
Alanna's heart skipped a beat. She had been afraid of this.
“It's alright Thomas.” She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. “Wait downstairs for me.”
Thomas didn't seem to want to move. “I came here to get some answers. I am tired of not knowing what's going on. I feel like I have been shoved into a slippery chute with no idea of what lies at the end.”
“Please Thomas?” asked Alanna.
Thomas grunted in frustration. “Fine.” He got up abruptly, marched to the door and slammed it closed without another word. Alanna needed answers as badly as Thomas, and it seemed that Gatsby was only willing to talk to her.
A few moments after Thomas retreated down the stairs, Gatsby finally broke the trance the fireplace held over him and turned to face Alanna.
“I am sorry for putting you through this Alanna.”
“I'm not sure if I can accept that Gatsby. I'm just as confused as Thomas is. This whole thing was your idea.”
Gatsby sighed and closed his eyes. “I know. I'm sorry.”
“Do you have any idea what you have put us through Gatsby? You concocted this plan to free yourself from me, you involve Thomas, then you turn around and throw him at the mercy of my father, believing him to have no type of power to defend himself?! He's an innocent bystander in this, and you put him in harm's way for your own sake!”
“How was I to know the king would send you off on some deranged mission to see The Oracle?”