Lucy

by Chris Coppel

  She watched as the others followed the Terrier’s lead, and with a feeling of great trepidation, eased herself between the ornate fencing and followed them.

  They could hear peals of laughter coming from the crowd of human onlookers, standing on the other side of the front gates of the palace. Lucy glanced over and saw a sea of wide-eyed, amazed expressions as she ran by. She also saw small, rectangular things being pointed at them by almost every biped. As they ran past the onlookers, she heard an odd, beeping coming from some of them and bright flashes from others.

  It looked as though they were going to make it across the palace forecourt and through the railings on the other side when a line of uniformed humans appeared from within the building and cut off their line of escape.

  The seven dogs came to an abrupt halt, as they looked for another route. They turned back the way they had come and saw that more uniformed humans had blocked off that route as well. They began to panic. It could not end now! Not because of a silly shortcut.

  “Psst,” a voice said, “You lot. Over here!”

  They turned and faced the palace. There, under an elaborate portico, were two Corgis, frantically signalling to them.

  “Through here, quickly,” one of them commanded, in a fine well-bred voice.

  The seven didn’t give it a second thought, as the humans were closing in fast. They dashed towards the two sturdy little animals, and at their direction, followed them through a side door and into the palace itself.

  “I’m William,” said one of their benefactors, “and she’s Mary.”

  Mary nodded back at the others as they ran. They charged through a small hall then into a far grander, marble-floored entrance. The highly polished floor caused them all to slip and slide as they tried to follow the corgis down another passageway. That one was covered in a deep red material and contained dozens of images of very serious looking bipeds, all hung one after the other along the walls.

  Just before they reached the end of the hallway, the Corgis gestured for the others to slow down.

  “We have to walk here,” Mary stated.

  “Rules of the house you know,” William added.

  They led the seven down a couple of steps and into an extremely attractive room, decorated in rich blues and floral prints. As they passed through the space, they saw a familiar looking female biped seated in a large, comfortable, wing chair drinking a cup of what Mary announced was tea. The woman looked over the top of the two circular glass things that she wore on the bridge of her nose, and though clearly surprised, smiled at the passing canine troop.

  The two Corgis gave her a slight bow then proceeded on. The others all followed, except for Angel, who stood stock still staring at the woman.

  “Angel,” Rodney snapped.” Yo! Angel, come on.”

  Angel turned and looked to the others with a dazed expression.

  “But that’s . . . that’s . . .”

  “Now Angel!” Rex commanded.

  Angel turned back to the woman and dropped her head to the floor in a truly grand bow, then backed the entire way out of the room.

  The Corgis led them out of the Queen’s sitting room and into what was doubtless, the most beautiful garden any of them had ever imagined.

  “Do you know who that was?” Angel asked in a whisper, as she nudged Lucy.

  “No, and we haven’t got time for your trivia just now Angel,” Rex stated, flatly.

  “But that was the Queen!” Angel said in an awed tone.

  “What’s a queen?” Lucy asked.

  The entire troop came to an abrupt halt, as William and Mary turned and stared at Lucy in complete and utter astonishment. “Did I hear you correctly?” William asked, incredulously.

  “What’s a queen?” Mary also sounded shocked.

  Even Rodney seemed amazed. “Lucy!”

  “Sorry,” she said, with a slight edge to her voice. “Alright, so tell me. What is a queen and what’s all the fuss?”

  “The Queen, or Her Majesty, is the sole ruler of Great Britain, the Commonwealth, and all her kingdoms and subjects around the world,” William stated proudly.

  “She’s the crowned Monarch,” Mary added, also with great pride.

  “She looked a little familiar,” Lucy said, trying to recall just where she’d seen the face.

  “I would think so,” William tried to keep the exasperation from his voice. “Her Royal Highness is . . . ”

  “I know,” Lucy said excitedly. “It was on those funny, little, sticky things that my Man would put on paper bits, before giving them to Fergus at the gate.”

  “What!?” William exclaimed.

  “I think she’s referring to stamps,” Angel volunteered. “I think Lucy’s referring to the picture of the Queen on postage stamps.”

  “Ah,” said William.

  “I see,” said Mary.

  There was a slight pause, at which point both William and Mary turned to Angel and asked, “What’s a postage stamp?”

  “I hate to break up this delightful and highly entertaining conversation,” Rodney said sarcastically, “but can we get a move on.”

  He gestured back to the Palace, and to the scores of uniformed humans that were flowing out of it.

  “You may have a point,” William offered. “Come on then, let’s make for the wall.”

  Mary and William broke into a fast run, which surprised the others considering the Corgis exceptionally short legs.

  They dashed through hedges, under thickets, over a stream, and finally, out of breath, came to a halt at the base of an enormous wall. It was so high that Lucy wasn’t even certain where it ended.

  “You’re not expecting us to get over that, are you?” Rodney asked, nervously.

  “Hardly, old boy,” William responded. “Actually, I’m going to show you a little trick of ours, if you will permit my indulgence.”

  “Please,” Rodney replied. “Be our guest.”

  “Good! You see that door just behind those bushes?”

  They all looked and did see a very secure-looking metal doorway, set into the formidable wall.

  “Yes,” Rodney replied.

  “Mary and I have been working on a little something that we’ve been dying to try out. What we hope will happen is that the guards, that’s what those uniformed bipeds call themselves, will open the door for us, allowing you lot to make a dash for it while we keep their attention.

  “Why would they do that?” Rex asked.

  “Watch and see. Here they come,” William whispered.

  Sure enough, the guards were approaching the wall with long, purposeful strides.

  “Stay hidden until we give the word,” Mary’s voice was full of almost childlike enthusiasm.

  William and Mary edged along the wall, and made their way to a small, open drain located under a particularly thick bush. As the others looked on, William to their surprise, stuck his muzzle down the drain and began barking. Mary moved to the metal door and started whining and scratching at it in both a believable, and quite pitiful, way.

  The seven were impressed. William was giving the impression that he had somehow become shut out of the palace gardens. His voice, directed into the drain, did indeed sound muffled and distant. Mary’s antics at the door completed the ruse perfectly, giving the bipeds good reason to believe that her brother was somehow stuck on the other side of the wall.

  “Oh, blimey!” one of the guards exclaimed. “One of Her Majesty’s Corgis has got out! Quick, open the gate!”

  Another guard stepped forward and located the appropriate key from a large ring. He inserted it into the metal door and opened it wide. The guards stepped out onto the pavement. William chose that moment to dash out from under the bush, and together with Mary, sprinted through the doorway, and dashed between the legs of the puzzled guards.

  �
��Good luck!” William cried to the others, as he and Mary charged down the road, followed closely by the breathless humans.

  Rodney led the group through the wall and in the opposite direction from the Corgis, who seemed to be doing an excellent job of keeping ahead of their pursuers. He kept the others running at a fast pace because, as he pointed out, the grey van was probably not that far behind.

  They came to a large road that seemed to run into an even larger circular one. There were only a few red and green lights to control the vehicles, and for a moment, there was great concern as to how they could circumnavigate this obstacle. Pru rolled her eyes then suggested that they all relax and simply follow her.

  She led them to a flight of steps that seemed to descend into a good-sized tunnel. Though slightly apprehensive, Pru insisted that she had travelled within these passages hundreds of times; and other than them smelling a bit rank, they were perfectly safe.

  They followed the Afghan down the steps and proceeded along the lengthy tunnel, all the while, garnering amazed glances from passing humans.

  As they neared the halfway mark and could clearly see the steps on the far end, they suddenly spotted two unmistakable shapes, descending into the same tunnel. Skull Face and Squat Lady. Both grinned menacingly as they approached the dogs. Lucy looked over her shoulder and was not in the least surprised to see Fat Man with a club at the ready, as he too descended the steps while eyeing the group.

  “Quick! They haven’t got us yet,” Pru cried, and suddenly turned down an adjoining tunnel that the others hadn’t even noticed.

  They were instantly surrounded by hordes of bipeds, all oblivious to their presence, as they dashed every which way in a crazed, manic manner.

  “We’re in a tube station,” Pru yelled, trying to be heard over the noisy crowd. “Keep going!”

  They passed through the human obstacle course, with more than one abrasive tone being directed at them. They came to another set of steps that seemed to delight Pru enormously.

  “You ready?” she asked, excitedly.

  “For what?” Rodney snapped.

  “For heaven,” Pru cried over her shoulder, as she bounded up towards a square of light..

  The others all followed, as her excitement began to infect their own senses. They reached the top of the steps expecting to see an extremely different world, but instead only saw a busy street filled with an astonishing quantity of very loud, and very smelly, vehicles. They could taste the odour of the street on their tongues and turned to Pru in anger for tricking them into believing that some form of utopia had been near to paw.

  Pru ignored their fierce glances and signalled them to keep moving. They were about to refuse when they heard a commotion at the base of the steps. They saw Skull Face and the others break free of the tube station crowd and start up towards them.

  They followed Pru, who after only a few yards, turned sharp left then waited for the others to catch up.

  As they reached her side, they each in turn showed complete and utter astonishment at what they were seeing before them.

  Only one, traffic free road separated them from the biggest park in London. All they could see were trees and grass for miles in almost every direction.

  “It’s beautiful!” Angel cried.

  “It is that,” Rex agreed.

  “And it’s all ours,” Pru cheered. “Let’s go get it!”

  As they started across the street, they looked back and saw that their pursuers weren’t even attempting to follow them into the park. It was simply too big a challenge to catch them in there.

  “We’ll get ya, you little beasts!” the Squat Lady yelled after them.

  The seven kept right on running until their paws were solidly planted on the soft, sweet-smelling grass of Pru’s favourite park.

  “We should be able to stay hidden in here for weeks,” Rodney stated confidently.

  “That must be how they named it,” Pru said, smugly.

  “Named what?” Rodney asked, as he lowered his muzzle to a little bunch of wildflowers at his feet.

  “The park! It is the perfect place to hide. That’s why they named it…Hyde Park.”

  “Nice going Pru,” Rex said, with sincerity. “Very nice going indeed.”

  CHAPTER 13

  The park was as wondrous as Pru has promised. Even for a country animal like Lucy, who was used to almost limitless expanses of green, Hyde park had a great deal to offer. True, one could turn and face the looming structure of brick and stone that surrounded it, but there was certainly no need to do so.

  As the seven moved along one of the seemingly endless selections of pathways, Lucy was astounded to observe just how beautifully maintained the place appeared to be. Off to the side, were little fenced-in enclosures that looked like Cook’s vegetable garden, only far better tended. Each contained different varieties of plants and blooms that fascinated Lucy, not only because they were so different from what she was used to, but by the extent of the varieties themselves. As she looked from one type to another, then saw still more ahead of her, she began to realise just how narrow her own view of life had been prior to her leaving the cottage. She had become comfortably content believing that her surroundings at her home were all that existed. It never dawned on her that the world continued on far beyond her line of sight. That was an entirely new concept for her. Lucy began to realise, even in her limited way, that there was clearly so much more to life than she could possibly ever see. At least on that day. Maybe tomorrow she would see it all.

  The thing that utterly amazed her once they were in the park, was the behaviour of the males. Prior to entering the green oasis, they had been responsible, even if somewhat pig-headed animals, whose general goal was to do little more than seek out shelter and food. Lucy considered those to be good, sensible challenges, and was therefore caught completely unaware by their startling actions once in the park.

  Rodney was the first, and his downfall was a lone pigeon that was attempting to sun itself on a small patch of dense lawn, well off the pathway. One moment Lucy had been having a thoughtful conversation with him, and the next, he was charging at a near breakneck speed toward the poor bird. Added to that, was the fact that Rodney began barking. Not in an adult manner, but in a rapid-fire, almost maniacal way. He began to drool, to pant, to yell, and to chase his flying adversary every which way imaginable. Needless to say, he never came close to his prey, and only served to bring the group to the attention of any human within a two-mile radius.

  The pigeon finally gave up any hope of a restful moment in the sun and flew off towards the city for some peace. Rodney returned to Lucy’s side, breathless, wet, and by that point, embarrassed by his slip in decorum. Lucy was about to ask him what had made him go from a serious and mature leader to a ranting, dribbling beast in a matter of seconds, when Rex suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, “Squirrel!”

  Well, that was it. The four males practically tripped over each other to pursue one tiny, grey creature, whose only great sin was to have descended from his tree to recover a dropped acorn. Lucy could hear, even from where she stood, the poor animal’s yelp of surprise as the four crazed lunatics charged towards it.

  The squirrel made it to the next tree and scaled its barky side in mere seconds, leaving the dogs barking like crazy animals at its base.

  Unfortunately, this was just the beginning. The males chased every pigeon, every squirrel, and even other male dogs for most of the remainder of the day. At one point, Pru, Lucy, and Angel walked the other way, praying that no one would think them associated with the four idiots that were clearly suffering from some sort of lunacy.

  The final straw came when they first saw the lake in the centre of the park. Lucy was just thinking how truly serene and picturesque it was, when her four disgraced friends came charging by her, yapping away like puppies, and proceeded to chase a family of geese into the
water. As if that were not bad enough, they followed the poor waterfowl, and paddling as best they could with their non-aquatic bodies, tried to keep up with the geese.

  When the males eventually wore themselves out to the point of exhaustion, they stumbled back to the peeved faces of the three females. Rodney shook his soaking coat over them all, sneezed, then asked in an almost childlike tone, “So what’s to eat round here?”

  Lucy looked at the sopping wet Yorkie then at the other three equally soaked and exhausted males. She had to smile. Her annoyance ebbed, and though realising that she could not allow herself to let go to the extent they had done, there was something strangely liberating about their actions. The four dogs looked young and alive, as they stood panting and dripping before her. Their eyes held a new sparkle that had not been there that morning. There was a distinct glow emanating from them that Lucy tried to accept as being the result of a day in the sun and fresh air; though deep down, she knew different. This was not simply a sheen on their coats. This aura was coming from inside. Their mad, carefree, cavorting had somehow released from these simple hounds, the spirits of their wild and unrestrained ancestors. Much to her amazement, Lucy felt a pang of jealousy. She wanted to experience the same total release of energy as they had done. She wanted, for just a moment, to relinquish all shackles of her heritage and breeding and behave like a wanton beast of prey. She didn’t have a clue how this could be achieved. She just knew that she wanted it.

  Somehow, Lester must have read her mind because he suddenly stepped forward and spoke gently into her ear.

  “No one will think badly of you Goldie,” he said in a peaceful, almost dreamlike voice. “Go on, give it a try.”

  Lucy stepped back in shock, realising that Lester had somehow picked up her thoughts. She tried to compose herself and ignore both him and her own inner urge. As she tried to fight down the intrusions that had seeped into her usually sensible and correct thinking, she spotted a flock of pigeons land less than twenty dog lengths from them.

  Even though exhausted, Rodney and Rex looked about ready to charge this latest target when Lester stopped them, and calmly told them to just hold on. They’d had their fun. It was time for someone else to try it.