by Suzie Taylor
“Speaking of home, I wonder what the time is?” said Ben a little worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m starving,” said Emily. “Where are they taking us? It must be way past lunchtime.”
The path gradually became steeper and almost as a response, Growler received a message that caused him to urge them on faster so it became quite hard going. Eventually they came to the top of the hill where they rounded a corner into a narrow passage and had to walk single file for a short distance. From there they emerged one by one into a wide open space. The ground had levelled and the mottled glassy stone floor ended at a semi-circular platform, the flat edge of which marked the precipice of a deep chasm. Far below, the lake shone like a colourful mirror and a majestic jewel–like island rose in the form of a tall stalagmite. A narrower stalactite reached down from the darkness of the ceiling almost meeting it to create a column, but at the point where the drips of water would have been, there shone a bright point like a star. Trees that sparkled like diamonds grew around the shores of the island and a narrow path wound its way up to a mysterious doorway. Bug dragons and other more bird-like creatures, swooped and flew across the water, calling to each other, until the shores were covered by an ever increasing crowd. Above the island, high up on the roof of the cave, there was a small cluster of pinkish clouds.
There was no time to stand and discuss the view however. Growler barked out his orders and the children found themselves being grasped under the armpits once again and swept off their feet into the open air.
Emily screamed as they swooped down over the water and the soldier who carried her glanced down apologetically and slowed his pace a little. Gypsy decided it would be a joke to sway Nadia from side to side and do a few aerobatics, but to her disappointment Nadia staunchly refused to make a sound. In contrast Ben whooped in delight, whilst Alf curled up as best he could and shut his eyes. It was not a long flight to the island however, and they were soon dropped gently on a spongy lichen covered shore.
“I thought they might have given us wings or let us ride,” Emily protested, hunching her shoulders uncomfortably. “That hurt my arms.”
“You’re such a wuss!” said Ben. “I thought it was awesome! You got all the luck Nadia!”
Nadia, who was standing a bit unsteadily, snorted.
Alf still hadn’t opened his eyes and stood as stiff as a poker. Emily touched his arm sympathetically. “We’ve landed Alf, it’s ok,” she said.
Alf tentatively opened one eye and then the other but his hands remained clenched.
The crowd of bug dragons on the shore parted to let them through and they were herded along a narrow path and up towards the doorway at the foot of the stalagmite mountain. Everything inside looked unusually dark. Upon entering they found that it had been hollowed out to form a wide circular room, the walls of which were entirely decorated with complex glowing patterns, carvings and statues. The ceiling rose high up into a point and was illuminated by a mysterious wavering aurora that reminded Ben of the Northern Lights except that the light seemed to extend both upwards and downwards from a moving stream, and small fragments of glitter-like dust twinkled and drifted through it. In the centre of the room there rose a glistening limestone waterfall that had grown almost to the tip of the stalagmite. This was festooned by an impressive metallic looking vine that was liberally hung with jewels, baubles and chains that glistened under the cool shafts of light. Other less recognisable treasures were liberally strewn or piled on the floor leaving only a narrow path for them to walk on. Ben noticed a few pieces of broken CD amongst it all and silently pointed them out as they passed.
A formidable looking group of soldiers and officials sat on the various platforms of the limestone waterfall but one in particular was unmistakable in his magnificence. The King of the Bug Dragons!
The children approached warily. He was huge – at least twice the size of Growler, who stood respectfully close by. Unlike all his subjects, he had webbed wings that were solid rather than transparent, and his large feet were heavily ribbed on the soles; clearly adept at running and clinging to the damp stone of the cave. Luminescent scales of crimson and royal blue covered his body and the long hairs on his head and neck were tipped with fiery brightness. Around his neck he wore a complex crown like collar. As the children approached he folded his wings, sat upright on his throne and looked down on them disdainfully.
Ben cleared his throat awkwardly. “Greetings uh… your highness…”
“Majesty!” whispered Nadia.
“Majesty! Of course. My name is Ben, and ...er this is...”
“Nadia Rumble,” Nadia announced clearly, stepping forward.
“Emily,” said Emily.
“Alfred the Great,” said Alf.
The King’s expression remained grim.
“Maybe we should have bowed?” whispered Emily. She did a graceful ballet curtsey which Nadia tried to imitate, Ben bowed and Alf muttered ‘Live long and prosper,’ whilst making a sign with his hand.
The King acknowledged their efforts with a slight nod. “I am Awesome the Magnificent,” he pronounced with great seriousness. His voice was loud and deep but the accent strange. “On what business do the likes of you enter my domain?”
“Awesome the Magnificent?!” whispered Nadia incredulously. “What sort of a na...” but Ben stepped on her toe.
“Sorry for disturbing you your Magnificence, but we just wanted to know what became of the things your people stole from us and why they trashed our house and ah…. you know… why all this hostility when we’ve done nothing wrong? That earring hanging to your left for example; that belongs to my Mum.”
The King raised an eyebrow.
“Well you stole it and I’d like it back. That and the opal looking pendant. Why did your people steal them from us?”
The King turned to his officials and said something in his own language which produced answers that largely consisted of growling.
“Don’t like the sound of that,” whispered Emily in a worried tone.
The court seemed to be in agreement with the King and he turned back to address them.
“The ‘opal’ as you call it was not yours,” he rumbled. “It belongs here and should never have been taken.”
“We didn’t take it!” Ben protested. “I bought it in a charity shop for five bucks!”
The King’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward slightly. “Are you telling me you don’t know what it is?”
“It’s... a nice colourful stone of some sort?”
The King grunted and made another brief comment to his companions. Some nodded knowingly and others shook their heads apparently in disbelief.
“Did you not observe the star that graces the top of this mountain?”
“Yes but...”
“And you did not recognise it?”
The penny dropped. “You’re telling me Mum’s necklace is that star? It didn’t look anything like that when we had it!”
The King considered Ben’s reply for a moment before responding. “Perhaps then your dullness can be forgiven,” he intoned magnanimously. “The Spectrum stone has merely used you to facilitate its own return.”
“Well, no, the stone didn’t do anything - you guys came and took it,” Ben persisted. “Anyway, what about Mum’s earring? You can’t tell me that came from here. Dad had those earrings specially made for her.”
“Poor recompense for the trouble you have caused,” said the King sitting back on his haunches. “You take a great liberty in making demands of me boy... Not only do you seem to think I owe you something, but your carelessness has alerted the enemy so they have increased in strength and number. Felantia is now guarded day and night! Our freedom has been restricted.”
“I’m sorry... I...” Ben shrugged. “I... we had no idea.”
“You are ignorant fools,” said the King.
What’s ‘ignorant?’” asked Emily.
“Now hang on a minute,” said Ben. “You invaded our space remember? W
e were just investigating...”
“We are not fools your majesty,” said Nadia boldly. “We are brave explorers on an expedition to discover new things beyond our own world.”
“Scientists on a research assignment,” said Alf. “To boldly go where no-one has gone before!”
The King regarded them disparagingly. “You have blundered into our domain with no understanding and stirred up the enemy with your carelessness. Scientists? Explorers? You do not belong here; look at you – you cannot even perceive your own surroundings without help! Give me one good reason why I should see you as anything other than an inferior species.”
There was a tense silence and in that moment Alf farted loudly and clearly so that it echoed throughout the entire chamber.
“Sorry,” said Alf.
A ripple of mirth echoed across the assembly. The King’s mouth twitched then one of his officials suggested something and he laughed out loud; a curious wheezy grunting sound that reverberated from deep within his body. The children stood uncomfortably under the ridicule looking to one another for support.
Ben sighed and shook his head. “Well that went well.”
As soon as the laughter died down, Mouse squeaked loudly and buzzed forward. Why were the children being treated with such disrespect? It had been agreed in court that they should not be denied entry if the water wraiths let them through, so why was blame being landed at their feet? If they had been enemies the Wraiths would have sensed that and kept them from entering. They were merely children! Scamp had even got away with bringing them in the hard way! Carcawrass was the only enemy... these humans were, as the King had wisely deduced, simply vessels facilitating the return of the stone. They deserved gratitude and reward not hostility.
Mouse was tiny in comparison to the King but he was not afraid. He spoke passionately and reasoned as best he could but his arguments fell on deaf ears. Why didn’t anyone take him seriously? He clenched his little fists and his tone reflected his frustration. He pointed to the earring. They should at least get that back.
“What is it with mouse?” whispered Nadia. “He’s not afraid of anyone.”
“Maybe they’re related,” suggested Ben. It was a ludicrous suggestion given their size difference but as soon as he’d said it he realised that he was probably close to the truth. A beautiful female dragon standing close to the king who bore an uncanny resemblance to Mouse had joined in with the discussion, apparently trying to reason with both of them. “I reckon he might be a prince! A bit of runt perhaps, but a prince nevertheless.”
“Not just him,” said Nadia. “Look – I reckon he and Scamp might be brothers!”
“Well I’ll be Bamboozilated!” said Alf. “I think you’re right!”
“At least Mouse is on our side,” said Emily.
The King finally dismissed Mouse with a gesture of impatience. Scamp at that point felt the need to put in a suggestion.
The King laughed.
“So be it,” he chuckled. “Take them away.”
Growler, Gypsy and four other soldiers stepped forwards and prodded the children to make them move, forcing them to back out of the throne room.
“Hey! Where are you taking us?” Ben protested, as they were herded away. “We need to get back home!”
But the King dismissed them with a wave of his hand and turned his back.
“Maybe they’re gonna release us back to the wild after all,” said Alf.
“Doubt it,” Ben grumbled as he was prodded from behind. “They think this whole thing is a joke.”
They were propelled back out into the strong light of the city, and once Emily had finished sneezing, they were grasped firmly in their captors’ claws and flown back over the lake. This time it was a much longer journey. As they skimmed close to the water’s surface, Ben could see the shapes of large aquatic animals moving in the depths. Surely they weren’t going to be dropped! Gypsy deliberately went a little too low so that Nadia was dunked until she was wet from head to toe, wriggling and kicking her legs in protest. She remained tight lipped however and refused to give her antagonist the satisfaction of yelling. Growler snapped at Gypsy who immediately rose back to the same level as the others whilst Nadia clenched her arms and gasped from the shock and cold.
Despite the discomfort and unfortunate nature of their circumstances, it was a flight Ben would never forget. They passed under archways, wove their way around elegant stalactite buildings and through tall crystal trees and huge vines. A flock of exotic looking birds joined them for a short time, swooping and playing rather like dolphins around a sailboat. They flew between a series of fine misty waterfalls that showered down from the cavern ceiling like fine ribbons of light and far in the distance Ben could see the waterfall where they had entered the cave and wondered if they would ever make it back home.
Their captors eventually swung round and began the descent towards a series of stumpy stalagmites dotted over a sloping expanse of rippled limestone. There they landed in an open space and released the children who staggered to regain their balance. Emily grimaced as she rubbed her hands against her sides where the claws had dug in.
“Hurts,” she grumbled.
“At least you’re dry,” said Nadia.
All around were cages and enclosures containing a variety of animals the like of which they had never seen or imagined. Many of these had taken exception to having their peace disturbed and were bellowing, squawking or grunting in protest. The children stared at them wide eyed, but before they had a chance to fully take stock of their surroundings they were hustled down a side path by an elderly looking bug dragon armed with something similar to a cattle prod. After a short walk they arrived at a large enclosure with a wide opening and were pushed inside. The elderly bug dragon flicked a switch and nodded to the soldiers before walking away. Nadia took a step forward and discovered that they were barred from escape by an invisible force field.
“What is this?” she demanded. “Funny looking prison.”
“It’s the zoo.” said Ben grimly.
The others stared at him in astonishment, as the reality of their predicament sank in.
“They’ve put us in the Zoo?!” said Nadia incredulously.“They can’t do that!”
“At least it means we’re not scheduled for termination,” said Alf.
“They can’t do that...” Nadia repeated.
“They just have.” Ben sighed and began wandering around the enclosure looking for any sign of weakness in its construction. “And I’m pretty sure it was Scamp’s idea.”
“I don’t know,” grumbled Nadia, “the King didn’t take us seriously at all - and I bet his name isn’t ‘Awesome’. He was just being stupid on purpose.”
“He did pronounce it differently,” said Alf. “Awesome not Awesome.”
“He knew exactly what he was saying,” said Ben. “And I’m sure that’s how he thinks of himself.”
The walls and ceiling were of solid rock and the interior was decked out with climbing apparatus that was too high for them to reach. Even when Ben stood on his toes he could only just put his hands around the first bar. A large padded hammock was likewise raised a good distance off the floor.
“Whatever this was designed for, it was bigger than us... with much longer arms.” Alf observed, “Like a giant gibbon or something.” He reached up, poked the hammock from underneath and wrinkled his nose. “Smells funny.”
There was a shuffling sound from the hammock and it began to move. The children exchanged glances and backed away nervously. The bed continued to heave and change shape.
“Whatever it is, it’s big...” warned Ben. “Let’s just hope it isn’t a carnivore. Don’t do anything sudden. Nadia...!”
“Ok, ok.”
After much heaving around, a small fuzzy face peered over the edge of the hammock and gazed solemnly at them with large liquid eyes.
“What the...?” began Nadia, and then the face was joined by a dozen others, all piling up on each other as th
ey jostled for a look at the newcomers, yawning and blinking the sleep out of their eyes. The first one climbed out of the hammock and dropped to the floor where it proceeded to stretch and scratch itself. The others quickly followed suit.
Ben sighed with relief. Whatever they were, they didn’t look dangerous.
“Don’t be too sure,” warned Alf. “They look harmless but they might be able to shoot acid or something.”
In proportion to the children the creatures were about the size of rabbits and covered in soft fluffy hair that was vaguely striped along the back. They varied from pale blond to almost black but the tips of the hairs were of a contrasting colour giving them a two tone effect. Each animal had six fuzzy legs with suckers for toes. Their ears were large and delicately fringed and their tails fanned out with stiff long hairs at the end. A flexible trumpet like nose protruded from their faces like a trunk and could be rolled up neatly or extended and flared.
“What in the world are they?” asked Emily.
“You tell me,” said Ben.
“They’re very cute and fluffy!” She took a step towards them and the creatures instantly took fright and scattered, leaping to impossible heights up the walls and climbing equipment, honking excitably in a variety of different notes as they excitably in a variety of different notes as they went. From their various perches they were able to ping from one spot to another, their legs acting like springs and the flaps on their sides helping them to glide. The children watched fascinated.
“Well, whatever they are, I don’t think they’re gonna eat us,” said Ben. He sighed and sat down with his back against the wall.
“I might eat them though,” said Nadia. “I’m starving. It must be way past lunch time by now.”
As if in answer to her complaint, Gypsy and the zoo keeper returned with their bags, bike helmets, a tub of water and a plate full of chopped insects which was pushed into the enclosure. Gypsy then settled down and made herself comfortable on the ground outside – apparently the designated guard.
“They’ve been through our bags,” sighed Ben. “My knife has gone.”