by Linda McNabb
Prince Blaise almost stamped his way out of the reception hall and Toby knew it was a good time to make himself scarce.
“Your Highness, should I fetch the Master Groomer now?” Toby asked boldly and his master just flicked his hand in a dismissing gesture, obviously too angry to speak. Toby dashed off, glad to be out of the range of his fists.
He ran through the courtyard, near Klel’s shelter, on his way to the front gate. The guards allowed him to use it freely now he was the prince’s page and he made full use of the time it saved.
Toby!
A voice drifted softly across the courtyard and Toby stopped. Who had called him?
Toby!
It took several seconds before he realised it was Klel calling him. Klel had never spoken loud enough to be heard this far away. Toby rushed over to Klel’s shelter and almost tripped on a loose stone as he hurried inside.
“Klel, what’s wrong?” He looked frantically at Klel for a second before it struck him. Klel wasn’t lying despondently in the corner as he had been last night. He was up on his feet and his eyes were glowing. He looked bigger, taller than usual, even though his eyes were still only level with Toby’s. He had regained some of his pale golden colour but there were still patches of dull brown under his eyes and on his tail.
Gems. Feel gems. Must have gems.
Gems? Only last night Klel had said there were none around.
“Where?” Toby asked the excited dragon.
Nearby. Come closer, closer. Klel looked as happy as a toddler smelling a freshly baked cookie.
“The visitors!” Toby exclaimed. “One of them must have brought gems with them.”
Fetch them. Klel made it sound so easy.
Toby was about to explain that he couldn’t just go up and ask who had the gems but Klel’s expression stopped him. He didn’t look angry or even demanding, he looked desperate.
CHAPTER EIGHT
PRINCESS KAYLENE
Toby hurried back inside, as there was no point in going to fetch the Master Groomer now. He dared a glance at a visitor’s necklace. Were they real gems or just glass? He couldn’t collect up all the jewellery in the castle and take it to Klel to see which ones he wanted. He would be thrown in the dungeons for life if he tried to take even one piece.
A sudden thought struck him and he smiled. Of course, he was a sorcerer, even Klel had said so. If Sanelle showed him the rune for invisibility he wouldn’t get caught.
Toby saw through one of the windows that Sanelle was in the rose garden and hurried down to talk to her. He crept along the back hedge that sheltered the roses from the wind.
“Sanelle!” he whispered as he came up alongside her.
“Toby?” Sanelle peered over the top of the small hedge, looking surprised to see him crawling in the fresh snow. “Come out of there.”
“I shouldn’t be here,” Toby explained and Sanelle nodded and pretended to be examining one of the few hardy roses next to the hedge. “Meet me at the stone seat by the statue. It can’t be seen from the castle.”
“What’s up?” Sanelle asked when she arrived there a minute later.
“Klel says there are gems in the castle,” Toby told her and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Really? I haven’t felt them. I’d like to get my hands on those,” Sanelle said thoughtfully and smiled at him. “The things I could do if I had some gems. Rubys, emeralds…”
“We need them for Klel,” Toby interrupted her. “He says only gems will heal him. Or a neckband King Herat took many years ago.”
“His magic is that low?” Sanelle looked horrified.
“Yes, I need your help to get them,” Toby told her. “Teach me the rune for invisibility so I can find them without being seen.”
“It’s not that simple,” Sanelle explained sympathetically. “You need a master.”
“That’s what Klel said too. Why do I need a master?” Toby asked in frustration.
“To give you your ‘word’,” Sanelle replied cryptically.
“I need a word?” Toby frowned.
“It has to be passed on from master to apprentice,” Sanelle replied apologetically. “Our word has been passed through our family for generations.”
“No master, never a real sorcerer,” Toby repeated Klel’s words and Sanelle nodded.
“Can’t you be my master and tell me your word?” Toby asked in desperation.
“I don’t know but I guess we could try,” Sanelle said with a frown and picked up a stick from the ground. She leaned over to the snow behind the seat and drew three lines. “This is the rune for being invisible.”
“Is that it?” Toby looked at the three curved lines, feeling that it should somehow be more complicated.
“Just draw it.” Sanelle handed him the stick with a look that said he should just shut up and get on with it. “And then say ‘Sapphire’.”
Toby didn’t comment this time and drew the rune in the snow. “Sapphire.”
He didn’t feel different and he saw the look of disappointment in Sanelle’s eyes.
“I guess I’m still an apprentice,” Sanelle said sadly.
“It didn’t work?” Toby looked at his arms to see if he looked any different. “How do you know, you’d see me anyway?”
“I’d feel it if you were using our ‘word’,” Sanelle explained. “You need your own master. It’s best if I go and find the gems.”
“But you were caught in Prince Blaise’s suite. Why didn’t you use this rune then?” Toby had a head full of questions but didn’t know which one to ask first.
“Blaise has my ‘word’ inscribed on his talisman along with the null-magic rune. If I’m too close to it I can’t invoke any runes at all.” Sanelle stood up and kicked at the snow in frustration.
“You… Girl!” A shout made Sanelle stop and Toby hid on the snow-covered ground behind the seat.
“Pardon, Miss?” Sanelle turned to the girl, who was walking towards her. From Toby’s angle all he could see were feet and the hems of their huge dresses.
“Fetch me a drink,” the newcomer demanded and Toby almost laughed. How would Sanelle take to being ordered around like a servant?
“Pardon Miss, I am a guest here, as you are,” Sanelle replied politely.
“Don’t you know who I am?” the girl asked loudly and Toby was sure he saw one of her feet stamp in annoyance.
“No Miss.”
“I’m Princess Kaylene, daughter of King Robet, of the North Kingdom.” She paused as if expecting applause or a bow but got neither. “And I ordered you to get me a drink.”
Toby couldn’t help but think that this princess and Prince Blaise would be perfect for each other. They were both demanding, bossy and self-centred.
“I will pass your request on to the next servant I see, Your Highness,” Sanelle spoke evenly, her temper firmly in check.
“Then leave. I wish to be alone!” Princess Kaylene did indeed stamp her foot this time.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Sanelle’s skirt brushed the ground as she curtsied and Toby saw her walk quickly away. Princess Kaylene sat down on the stone bench and began pulling the petals off one of the few roses in bloom.
“He can’t make me… I won’t…” She muttered to herself before starting on the next rose.
What was he supposed to do now? Lay there and wait until she ran out of roses? Prince Blaise would be furious if he was gone much longer. His fingertips began to tingle and he rubbed them together to warm them up but the tingle didn’t go away. He wriggled to a more comfortable position and froze as a twig snapped.
How the Princess heard it over her muttering Toby had no idea but a second later she turned and saw him behind the seat. Toby just stared at her, not knowing what to do or say. Her curly blonde hair hung over one of her brilliant blue eyes and it was clear she had been crying.
“Who are you?” she demanded as she grabbed hold him and dragged him to his feet. “Why are you spying on me?”
“I’m T
oby. I wasn’t spying, Your Highness,” Toby replied and pulled himself free of her grip.
“Did my father send you? He can’t make me go to Cousin Paulo’s farm. I won’t go!” The princess was yelling by the time she finished and she glared angrily at Toby.
“Your father didn’t send me, Your Highness.” Toby began to back away but she caught hold of him again.
“We’ll just see about that shall we?” Princess Kaylene stormed along the path, dragging Toby with her.
She dragged him into the castle and towards King Herat’s meeting room. It was a long thin room and mostly taken up by a polished oak table surrounded by beautifully carved chairs. Toby knew that the king held all his important meetings in here. She opened the doors and barged in, completely ignoring the two guards outside the door.
The room had only four people in it, but all four were kings. It was the most powerful room of people that Toby had ever seen and the princess didn’t seem at all bothered that she was interrupting them.
“Father!” Princess Kaylene did not wait to speak her mind. “Why did you have this young lad follow me?”
Toby objected to being called a young lad by her as she looked to be younger than him but now was not the right time. Toby knew which one of the kings was her father as he had been to the castle before. He was taller than the three other kings and he had short, straight blond hair and a close cropped beard.
“Daughter, you simply cannot barge in here like that.” King Robet stood up and frowned at his daughter’s rude behaviour. “I apologise gentlemen. This is exactly the sort of behaviour that you need to stop, Kaylene. A few years on the estate down south will make you realise that the sun does not rise just for you.”
“I won’t go.” Princess Kaylene stamped her foot and shoved Toby away from her. “And stop having me followed!”
“You will go, as soon as we’ve concluded our visit here, and, I didn’t have you followed.” King Robet turned his attention to Toby now. Toby wished he could just turn and run but he knew it would only make things worse. He stared at the floor and waited to see what King Robet would do. “Who is this lad?”
King Robet turned to King Herat who shrugged his shoulders in ignorance. It didn’t surprise Toby that his king didn’t recognise a servant who had grown up in the castle for the last twelve years. He didn’t see them as people, just servants.
“He’s my page.” A voice from the corridor, where the doors still stood open, made Toby’s heart almost leap through his mouth.
“And what was your page doing in the rose gardens, following a royal princess?” Princess Kaylene turned her bluntness full-force onto Prince Blaise.
“Well?” Prince Blaise redirected the question at Toby who just stood and stared, unable to think of a way to explain.
“I… like flowers,” Toby stuttered and then looked down at the highly polished floor as he felt a blush colouring his cheeks.
“Collect your things, lad,” King Herat ordered flatly. “Then get out of the castle.”
Tears of shame stung at the corners of Toby’s eyes. How could the word of a girl younger than him, a spoilt one at that, get him thrown out of the castle? He backed slowly out of the room, looking up just as he left. The princess didn’t look so sure of herself any more but she made no attempt to withdraw her accusation.
He started walking down the corridor, slowly at first, but then he began to run. At a time like this the last thing he thought he would notice would be his hands, but that was what kept bothering him. They tingled all the way in from the garden and after the pace the princess set he was definitely not cold. He shook them as he ran but it wasn’t until he was half way down the corridor that they felt normal again.
He went to his room and pushed his meagre belongings into a canvas bag. He seemed to be doing this far too often lately but this time was the last. There was no way he could stay near the castle now as even Aggie would not stand up to the king to keep him here. She would be terribly disappointed in him for this.
He didn’t know what to do about Klel though. He had promised to get the gems but how was he going to do that now? And Sanelle, how could he find the talisman for her? He had no intention of breaking either promise but being kicked out of the castle would make it a lot harder.
He headed for the main courtyard, intending to go and see Klel on his way out, but word of his dismissal had spread already and the guards barred his way. Nathan was on duty and he waved the other guards away, coming to stand in front of his brother.
“Sorry Toby,” Nathan rumbled as he stood blocking Toby’s access across the courtyard. “I can’t let you through.”
“Tell Klel I’m sorry, Aggie too.” Toby knew that Nathan thought he was nuts for thinking Klel could understand but his brother would tell the dragon anyway.
“You can leave by the front gate but do it before the captain of the guards sees you.” Nathan raised a weak smile and shook his head in dismay. “Imagine you fancying a princess! You’re lucky they didn’t hang you, brother.”
Toby’s mouth dropped open wide. Is that what everyone had been told? He wanted to tell his brother what really happened but the captain of the guards was heading their way and Nathan hurried him through the main gate.
“Good luck, Toby,” Nathan called softly.
Toby trudged slowly through the snow, which had begun to fall again. He decided to stay at the shelter until he had kept his promises to Klel and Sanelle, then head north to look for his father.
He felt, rather than saw, someone walking next to him. He ignored them but they kept pace with him for almost five minutes. He looked up in frustration, ready to tell them to go away but he stopped walking in surprise when he saw who it was.
“Sanelle!”
She was dressed in the clothes she had arrived in and she had hacked off her hair in such an untidy fashion that she must have used a blunt sword to do it. From a distance she would look like a poor farm boy and had even smeared dirt on her pretty face.
“I couldn’t let you leave on your own.” Sanelle poked him in the ribs with her elbow and started walking ahead of him. “Come on, we’ve got to find somewhere to stay.”
CHAPTER NINE
STEALING A DRAGON
Toby hurried to catch up once the shock of seeing Sanelle had passed.
“But you came to get even with Blaise and free your mother,” Toby reminded her. He couldn’t force himself to give Blaise his official title anymore.
“And I will,” Sanelle assured him as they reached the outskirts of the small town that supported the castle. Most of the food was grown down here and many of the workers lived here too. “Tomorrow we’ll go back and get the gems for Klel, and then we’ll find a way to get the talisman.”
“We will?” Toby was astounded at the self-confidence Sanelle showed. He had intended to go back but not so soon after being banished.
“As long as we keep away from Blaise I can keep us safe.” Sanelle stopped at the edge of a small market place and bought several apples. She threw one to Toby and took a bite of her own.
“We still don’t know who’s got them though,” Toby pointed out.
“Didn’t you feel them?” Sanelle stopped chewing and stared at him. “Princess Kaylene was wearing them,” Sanelle told him and Toby realised what she was talking about.
“My fingers, they tingled when I was near her!” Toby exclaimed. At last, a real sign that he was a sorcerer.
They reached the centre of the market place and Toby saw a crowd was gathering around a covered wagon that had just pulled up. It was drawn by the skinniest horse Toby had ever seen, and the poor animal had been left hitched up to the wagon while its master set up a platform.
There were letters on the side of the wagon’s cover that once would have been bright red but now they were faded to a dull orange. This traveller had obviously been around a long time. Toby studied the letters and formed the words slowly in his mind.
“Chilton’s Cures.” He smiled at hi
s success then frowned. Most of the townspeople could obviously not read or they wouldn’t waste their time there.
Sanelle had wandered off to buy some more food but Toby stayed at the back of the crowd to see what sort of response the traveller got once the people knew what he was selling.
“Ladies and Gentlemen.” The man stood up on his platform and Toby frowned to see that he still hadn’t taken care of the poor animal that brought him here. “People of…” He paused and looked around for someone to supply the town’s name.
“Castletown!” a young boy called out and the man nodded in appreciation.
“People of Castletown. I am Healer Chilton and I have here something that will change your lives.” He reached under a covered table that he had placed on the platform and pulled out a bottle of green liquid. “No more aching backs, no more illness, no more baldness…”
People had started to wander off already. It was hardly surprising, as travelling healers couldn’t really expect to compete with a dragon’s scale, although this was the first one he had heard that promised a cure for baldness.
“What’s he selling?” Sanelle asked as she came back with a bag full of delicious smelling food. She looked at the wagon and laughed. “He’s hopeful.”
“Good people!” Healer Chilton called as he realised his customers were leaving. “Where else could you get something that will cure everything?”
“The dragon up at the castle,” was the reply from the boy who had told him the town’s name. He was the last one standing in front of the platform and obviously had nowhere better to be right now.
“A dragon?” The healer looked astonished and sank cross-legged onto the platform so that he was at eye-level with the boy. “Tell me more.”
Toby didn’t take much notice of the travelling healer and the boy as he and Sanelle sat under a tree to eat. It wasn’t until the boy started taking some men to the healer that he thought there was something going on. The men the boy fetched for the travelling healer weren’t the kind that Toby would trust if his life depended on it, he wouldn’t even trust them with his lunch.