by E. D. Baker
Annie, Liam, and Azuria went in first. It seemed like a large room until Millie and Audun joined them and nearly filled up all the space. “Why does the king want to see us?” Annie asked the two dragons. “Have we done something wrong by bringing Rotan here?”
Audun shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said, although he didn’t look too sure.
“Maybe we broke a rule or something,” said Annie.
“If we did, it was one we don’t know,” Liam told her. “Let’s just wait and see. Maybe it isn’t anything bad.”
Annie was imagining all sorts of dire punishments for those who anger the dragon king until she saw that Liam was inspecting the room. “Have you noticed that there are no seams or gaps between the walls and the floors?” he asked when he saw her looking his way. “This place is amazing!”
“Dragon magic, remember?” said Annie.
The door into the next room opened and an elderly dragon peered in at them. “King Stormclaw is ready for you now,” he said. “Audun, hello, my boy! And Millie, you’re here as well! It’s so good to see you both!”
“Hello, Grandfather,” said Audun. “What are you doing here?”
“Your grandmother lives here now, so I decided to join her. I’m teaching the young ones and fill in where I’m needed, and—” The old dragon glanced behind him as if someone else was talking. “What? Oh, yes, I’m getting them. We’ll be right there!” When he turned back, he winked at his grandson. “Some dragons are very impatient. You and I can talk later. We mustn’t keep the king waiting!”
The old dragon shuffled backward into the next room, leaving the door open. Millie and Audun followed him while Annie glanced at Liam. “He didn’t seem angry. Maybe the king isn’t, either.”
“If it gets bad, we can always use a postcard and leave,” Liam said, patting his pocket.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Annie murmured as they left the room.
Taking Liam’s hand, Annie stepped into the audience chamber and stopped. Azuria bumped into her and was about to complain, when she looked up and saw the room. Far larger than any great hall Annie had ever seen, the room was imposing, with its high ice ceiling and polished black stone floor that reflected the light coming through the walls of ice. It occurred to Annie that this was where the ice levels ended and the stone levels began, making an impressive setting for the audience chamber.
Aside from Annie and her friends, the end of the room where they stood was empty. At the opposite end of the audience chamber, five stone pillars supported life-size dragon statues. Annie and her friends were crossing the smooth stone floor when one of the statues moved and Annie realized that they were real, living dragons. She could hear their magic now; somehow the different melodies seemed to blend together, although one was more distinctive than the others.
Even from a distance the one in the middle looked huge; up close he would be enormous. “That has to be King Stormclaw,” murmured Annie.
Audun led the way. When he was still a good distance from the pillars, he stopped and bowed his head. Millie hurried to stand beside him and do the same.
“I think you’re supposed to bow,” Annie whispered to Liam as they joined their friends. Liam nodded and when he bowed, Annie curtsied, which wasn’t easy in the heavy layers of clothes she was wearing. Azuria made a half curtsy while mumbling about her aching back.
“At least they have manners,” the dragoness with the gray-tinged scales grumbled. “I don’t mean your grandson and his wife, Song! We know that they’re polite! I mean the humans. Most of them are so uncivilized.”
“That’s quite all right, Frostweaver. I agree with you completely,” said the stately dragoness seated beside the king.
“Ahem!” When the king cleared his throat, both dragonesses grew silent. “Welcome, Millie! Welcome, Audun!” said the king in a deep voice that carried throughout the room. “It is good to see you again. I’ve been told that you brought us another evil wizard to keep on ice.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Audun. “His name is Rotan. He has been stirring up trouble throughout the human kingdoms. Rotan was plaguing our friends Princess Annabelle and Prince Liam when they came to us for help. Our friend Azuria, the Blue Witch, fought him with great skill, but still he would not be vanquished. We came to you in hope that you would stop his rampage, which Frostybreath did this very day.”
“I do so like it when dragons talk in the formal style like that,” said the dragoness seated on the other side of Audun’s grandmother. “Everyone did it when I was a girl.”
“I apologize if bringing the wizard here was an imposition, Your Majesty, but it was the only place I could think of where someone would know what to do,” Audun told them.
The king waved his forepaw, dismissing Audun’s apology. “I quite understand,” he declared. “No one can handle such matters as well as ice dragons. You were right in bringing him here. Tell me, are these three humans the people you mentioned?”
“They are,” Audun told him. “King Stormclaw, may I introduce Princess Annabelle of Treecrest and Prince Liam of Dorinocco. And this is Azuria, the Blue Witch, who now resides in the enchanted forest in Greater Greensward. You remember her, don’t you, Grandmother?”
“Of course I do,” said the dragoness. “We met during that horrible incident with the snowmen. Hello, Azuria! I hope you have recovered from your ordeal.”
“I’m just fine now,” said Azuria. “Thanks for asking!”
“Why did you not turn to Millie’s mother, the Green Witch?” the king asked Audun.
“Because she was in Upper Montevista visiting my grandparents King Bodamin and Queen Frazzela,” said Millie.
“I haven’t seen Frazzie in ages,” said Song of the Glacier. “How is she doing?”
“Quite well,” Millie replied. “The last time I saw her, she spoke of inviting you to visit her again.”
“I’d like that!” said Song of the Glacier. “We had so much fun the last time I visited Upper Montevista. I took her on a tour of her mountains. She loved seeing them from the air! And she served the most marvelous eels every night I was there!”
“If we have finished hearing about your visit, may I proceed?” grumbled the king.
“Of course!” said Song of the Glacier, but Annie noticed that she gave Millie a warm smile.
“You say your friends are from Treecrest and Dorinocco,” said the king. “I’ve never heard these names before. Are they south of Aridia?”
“I don’t know where they are, Your Majesty, except I don’t believe they’re anywhere near the kingdoms we’ve heard about,” said Audun. “Our friends used magic postcards to get here and aren’t sure which direction they’d have to head to go home.”
“How interesting! Do you have these postcards with you?” the king asked, speaking to Annie and Liam for the first time.
Annie gave Liam a glance and nodded. “I have them right here, Your Majesty,” said Liam as he reached into his pocket. When he pulled out the postcards, he held them up so the king could see them.
“Bring them to me, Audun,” the king said, leaning down and squinting. “They are quite small and I would like to inspect them for myself.”
Liam seemed reluctant to hand the postcards over, but there was no way around it. He glanced at Annie and shrugged before giving them to Audun. Annie squeezed Liam’s hand. She could understand his reluctance; the cards had rescued them more than once. However, the dragons seemed honorable and she doubted they would try to keep the postcards.
The king seemed to find the cards fascinating. He examined each one before turning to Liam and saying, “How do they work?
“Just put your finger on the picture and wish you were there,” said Audun.
King Stormclaw hurriedly gave the cards back to Audun. “They are most definitely not for me,” he said.
“Put your finger on the picture . . . That sounds like the way you get to the Magic Marketplace,” said Song of the Glacier as Audun retu
rned the cards to Liam.
“Where did you get the postcards?” asked the king.
“A witch gave them to us as a wedding gift,” said Annie. “Liam and I just got married.”
“I bet the witch bought them at the Magic Marketplace,” Azuria announced. “I haven’t been there in a long time, so I don’t know what new things they might have, but the postcards sound like something they would sell there.”
“Do you think they’d have postcards for Treecrest or Dorinocco?” Annie asked, feeling hopeful for the first time in days. If they could get postcards for either kingdom, they could return home that very night.
Azuria shrugged. “Probably.”
“My mother has a tapestry that’s a map for the marketplace on the wall of her tower. We could go back to Greater Greensward and use it,” said Millie.
“That isn’t necessary,” declared Song of the Glacier. “I have a map for the marketplace in my chamber. You may use it if you’d like.”
“Have you forgotten already?” Azuria asked Annie and Liam. “We went to my castle to find my old map. I have it right here!” She reached into the sack that held the possessions she had retrieved from the ruins of her chamber and pulled out a torn scrap of parchment.
“It looks awfully dirty,” said Millie.
“And quite small,” agreed Song of the Glacier. “I suggest you use mine. It’s much larger and you can all place your fingers on the wall surrounding the fountain at once.”
“You touch the picture of the wall surrounding the fountain if you want to go to the marketplace,” Azuria explained to the king.
“Will you be leaving soon?” asked King Stormclaw.
“We’d very much like to, if you don’t mind, Your Majesty,” said Liam. “Annie and I are both anxious to get home. If there’s a chance they sell the postcards we need at the marketplace, we’d like to go there as soon as possible.”
“I understand,” the king replied. “Song, why don’t you take these young humans to your chamber and show them your map? Audun, I expect you to go with them and help them find this postcard vendor, then report back to me. I’d like to hear more about this marketplace and what they sell.”
“I’m going, too!” said Millie. “I haven’t been there since the last time my mother took me, and that was before Felix was born.”
“I was going anyway,” Azuria declared. “I even have my shopping list with me.”
King Stormclaw was climbing down from his pillar when Audun’s grandfather came over. “I’ll see you when you come back,” he told Audun. “I could use a visit with some friendly faces. I can’t tell if your grandmother is happy I’m here or not, and the king has made it plain that he doesn’t like me.”
“Millie and I shouldn’t be gone long,” Audun promised. “We can have dinner together tonight.”
“I look forward to it,” his grandfather said, looking pleased.
CHAPTER 16
Annie was uncomfortable from the moment she stepped into Song of the Glacier’s suite. Everything was oversize to fit a dragon. There was polished wood furniture everywhere, from a table long enough to seat a dozen full-size dragons, to cupboards with carved-front drawers depicting dragons, and oddly shaped seats where a dragon might rest. Most of the seats were cushioned with rich, patterned fabric. Annie might have thought they looked inviting if she had been twice her size. As it was, the room and the furniture in it made her feel tiny and insignificant, a feeling she really didn’t like.
Annie was still looking around when Song of the Glacier drew her grandson aside. “Before you go, tell me, Audun, is something bothering you?”
“Yes, there is,” Audun replied. “It was something Grandfather said. He isn’t sure that you’re happy to have him here.”
Song of the Glacier sighed. “I suppose that’s because I’m not sure myself. You know I love your grandfather, but in the time I’ve been a counselor to Stormclaw, the king and I have grown closer. I told you once that before old King Bent Tooth declared that I had to marry your grandfather, I knew that my true love was Stormclaw. Although I came to love your grandfather, my love for Stormclaw never changed. Now I’m torn, loving two dragons and not knowing what to do.”
“When you and the king were talking in the audience chamber, I thought you two sounded like an old married couple,” said Audun.
“I know,” said his grandmother. “I’m as comfortable with him as I am with your grandfather, except when they’re both in the castle. Ah, well, it’s my problem and I’ll have to deal with it. Look, your friends are waiting for you. The map is in that drawer.” The old dragoness pointed to a table at the side of the room.
While Audun found the map, his grandmother took a small cloth bag out of a chest and handed it to Millie. “Here are some coins. Buy Annie and Liam any cards they want. The cards will be a wedding gift from the dragons. If you have any money left over, buy some for me as well. I want to see how they work. See if you can find one for Upper Montevista. I really would like to visit Frazzie again. By the time you get to be my age, many of your friends have moved away or died off. You should cherish the few you have left.”
“I’ll see if I can find some for Greater Greensward, too,” said Millie. “And there might be others that you’d like.”
“All set,” said Audun. He had already spread the small tapestry on the table where Annie and Liam could examine it. “All we have to do is touch the wall surrounding the fountain. See, it’s in the middle of the marketplace. When we get there, you’ll see that the fountain is on a raised platform. We’ll be able to see the entire marketplace from there.”
“Including the postcard stand,” Annie said, crossing her fingers.
“I hope so,” said Liam. “We’ve been wearing the same clothes since we left home, and this shirt really itches! When we get home, the first thing I’m going to do is—”
“Is everyone ready?” Audun asked. “Put your finger on the wall when I count to three. Just think about how much you want to go there. One, two—”
“Wait!” cried Millie. “You forgot again!” She glanced down at herself, then looked pointedly at Audun.
“What?” he asked, obviously confused.
“We’re dragons! We can’t go there like this!”
“Oh, right,” said Audun. “We’ll change at the same time.”
“We usually do. Ready, set . . .”
The air shimmered around both dragons, and a moment later two humans stood in their places. Although Annie had liked Millie as a dragon, she liked her even more as a human.
“All right, let’s try this again,” said Audun. “One, two, three!”
The wall in the picture was made of thread, just like the rest of the tapestry. Annie was surprised when it felt cold and hard to the touch as if it really were made of stone. She blinked at a puff of air, and when she opened her eyes again, she was standing in the center of a busy marketplace with her friends by her side. They all drew their hands back from the wall at the same time and turned to look around.
The noise in the market was a little overwhelming at first. Merchants shouted, dogs barked, customers called to one another, singing swords sang while metal clanged on metal at the stall where people were trying out armor, meat sizzled on a nearby grill, and magic wind chimes rang, stirring up a breeze. Annie took a deep breath, trying to decide what smelled the best as the breeze wafted different scents toward her. Was it the meat that a cat was using tongs to turn, or the enormous flowers that nearly hid the stand displaying them? The savory meat pies were enough to make Annie’s mouth water, but the delicate pastries that were so light they floated above the table almost made her forget why she was there.
“Anyone see the postcard stand?” asked Audun.
“That might be it over there,” Azuria said, pointing in a direction Annie hadn’t even looked at yet.
She spotted it then, a stand with tall racks placed back to back on each of the tables. Customers flocked around the racks, picking and choo
sing among the assorted postcards. A witch with pale green hair collected payment, while four dogs kept watch for shoplifters.
“Follow me,” said Audun as he stepped off the raised platform.
Liam took Annie’s hand and together they walked through the crowds, amazed by all the strange and exotic goods for sale. Annie found one stall displaying enormous seeds like the giants could have used to grow their vegetables. Intrigued, she took a step closer and almost tripped on a rabbit wearing an oversize vest.
“Want to buy a sundial, lady?” the rabbit said, opening his vest to display sewn-in straps holding miniature sundials that seemed to provide their own light.
“Hey you, no unlicensed peddlers in the marketplace!” shouted the vendor selling the giant seeds.
The rabbit looked furtive as he closed his vest and hopped away, but Annie saw him stop another customer when the seed-selling man was no longer watching.
“This is it, all right!” Azuria called to them as they reached the stall she had spotted. “Look at all these postcards. I might have to do some traveling and visit a few of these places. Look, here’s one that shows a shipwreck underwater.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to go there,” said Liam. “You’ll end up at the bottom of the ocean if you do.”
A number of the people examining the cards must have heard him, because suddenly there was a rush toward the very card Liam was warning them about. Before he could ask what was happening, all of the cards showing Nastia Nautica’s ship were gone.
“Why do you suppose they wanted that card?” Annie whispered to Liam. “That’s the last place I’d want to go.”
“Who knows?” Liam whispered back. “The people here are very odd. Just don’t say anything about a card you want, or all the copies might be gone before you get there. You go that way and I’ll go this way. If the cards we want are here, we’ll find them faster if we split up.”
Although Annie and Liam went in different directions, Millie and Audun stayed together as they wandered around the tables, examining the cards. Azuria drifted away to talk to some women who were waving at her.