“Remind me that I never want to sleep in a caboose again,” said Shemar.
“I slept very nicely,” said Senta.
“That’s because you had the bed.”
“I slept fine too,” said Benny. “I think it was the rocking.”
“I think it was the aftermath of an adrenaline rush,” said Shemar. “I’ve never seen someone so afraid for so long.”
“I wasn’t afraid. I’m just a cautious man.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being afraid,” said Senta, “if you have something to be afraid of.”
“I think gorgasauruses and achillabators qualify,” said Benny.
“When do we need to report in to M&S Coal,” asked Shemar. “I’ve got the map marked with where you found the coal. Here.”
Senta accepted the map. “We should probably take it right over.”
“Let’s do it then,” said Benny. “I want to get home, get something to eat, take a bath, and then sleep.”
“A man after my own heart,” said Senta.
The three young people made their way across the growing town. Lizzie workers were thick. On Bay Street, not only were they paving the way with red brick and pouring cement sidewalks, they were also laying down gas lines and putting up gas streetlamps. The general impression was that the town had grown while they had been gone, even though they had only set out the day before. They saw the triceratops, Harriet, pulling the trolley down Pine Street, but at the moment, she was travelling in the opposite direction they were.
“You know it’s about tea time,” said Benny when they approached Town Square. “We could stop at the Bakery Café on our way to M&S.”
“I could eat,” said Senta.
The three headed for the entrance to the bakery but were intercepted at door by Gaylene Finkler. She held up her hand like a cop directing traffic.
“Sorry Senta, you’re not allowed in.”
“What? Why not?”
“You may have gotten the Justice to drop the charges, but we can’t have you assaulting our customers.”
“What the hell are you talking about Gaylene?”
“I’m talking about what you did to Edin Buttermore yesterday afternoon. You threw him right across the table. He’s not very athletic and you could have really hurt him. Not to mention the broken dishes. We have to pay for those.”
“Are you blinkered?” asked Shemar. “Senta wasn’t even here yesterday. I mean she wasn’t even in town.”
Senta held up her hand to stop him, but Benny stepped in.
“She was with us the whole day yesterday and today until right now. She never left our sight.”
“Well, I know what I saw,” insisted Gaylene. “More than a dozen other people do to, including my brother. You’re not going to accuse him of lying about this are you?”
“I didn’t say you were lying about it,” said Shemar. “I’m just saying what I know.”
“Maybe you are lying!” Benny raised his voice. “Maybe you’re all lying. It seems to me like people are always out to get Senta, whether she deserves it or not!”
“You think sometimes I deserve it?” Senta asked.
“Not now,” he murmured. “I’m sticking up for you.”
“Well if it wasn’t you,” said Gaylene, “then it had to be some kind of magic, and where would we go to look for magical trouble…hmm… I wonder?”
“Fine, fine Gaylene. Have it your way,” said Senta. “Benny, you and Shemar go ahead and eat. I’m going to go home and take a bath before I check in at the coal company.”
“Are you sure?” asked Shemar.
Senta nodded and headed down the road toward her home. The tower was dark and quiet when she got there, which suited her just fine. Unfortunately the froredor was completely empty and there wasn’t much in the cupboard either. She found a box of baked cheese nests that was empty but for one bite and a single tin box of Teddy Sweet Men. She ate them, vowing to make a trip to the vegetable market on the south side of town the following day.
Popping up to her room, she took a long hot bath with scented bath crystals. As she climbed in, her doll staggered across the room, pulling the latest Somersby magazine to her. Senta floated in the steaming tub as she read about the opera that opened in Brech City sometime before the now nine month old periodical had been published. It had been attended by the elderly Duke of Brumming, accompanied by Mrs. Primula, the Prime Minister’s wife. There was a photograph of the two of them together. Mrs. Primula was very ugly, and the Duke… well, he was just really old.
After drying off, Senta looked through her wardrobe for something to wear but it was almost as empty as the cupboard downstairs. With a sigh, she looked at the foot of her bed to see what Zurfina inspired creation could be found, but was surprised to find nothing there either. Finally she found her violet velvet dressed shoved under the bed, next to the remnants of an opened gift box. With the help of magic, she cleaned it and repaired the small fray near the neckline. She was still hungry, so she decided that after visiting the coal office, she would go see Hero. Her friend could always be counted on to whip up something anytime someone was hungry.
The offices of M&S Coal were filled with desks but only two were occupied as Senta entered. At one was an older woman in a brightly decorated dress. She was thin, with tight skin stretched unflatteringly across her thin nose and sunken cheeks. Her lips were almost non-existent. At the other was a chubby man in his late thirties with thinning golden hair and bright blue eyes. When he looked up and saw Senta, he jumped to his feet, disturbing most of the papers and nick-knacks on his desk and toppling his chair, which he immediately fell over.
“Oh, hello Mr. Buttermore,” said Senta.
Mr. Buttermore scrambled to his feet, not standing up all the way, but remaining in a sort of crouch like a sprinter at the starting line. His eyes shot from one exit to another.
“No worries,” said Senta. “I have something for you…”
Buttermore dived for the rear exit, tripping and flying across another desk, sweeping everything on it off onto the floor with him. On the other side of the desk, he rolled and came to his feet without ever stopping and in a flash he was out the door and gone.
“I think he’s more athletic than people give him credit for,” said Senta.
“This is no way for a young lady to act,” said the woman getting to her feet and confronting the sorceress.
“Mrs. Fandice, I just wanted to drop off this map.” She pulled a folded paper from the air.
“Poor Mr. Buttermore has a difficult enough life without you treating him this way.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“And you didn’t do anything last evening either?”
“About what happened at the café,” said Senta. “I didn’t… I mean I’m sure whatever happened, it was an accident. I would never hurt Mr. Buttermore.”
“Hmpf.” Mrs. Fandice took the map and went back to her desk.
Senta left and immediately headed for Zaeritown. Looking up at the sun, she realized it was well past tea. Maybe Hero would ask her to stay for dinner. After all, it was her birthday. She walked past all the staring locals, walked up to her friend’s door, and knocked. She heard a shout from inside. A second later the door opened to reveal Hero and standing behind her was a Zaeri girl Senta had never seen.
The other girl pushed past Hero and it was only after she shoved Senta to the side to get through the door that Senta realized who she was. The girl ran across the small yard and then down the street.
“What the hell did you do to your hair?” yelled Senta after her.
“Sen…Senta…” stammered Hero. “You… who… what?”
“This might not have been such a good idea,” said Senta.
* * * * *
A great field of purple flowers stretched as far as the eye could see. The one-foot tall flowers, each with five petals danced back and forth, enjoying the sunlight streaming down from above. In unison, each blinked the very hu
man looking eye that was located in the center of its petals. Winding through this endless and very bizarre garden was a small path, barely a foot wide, of packed soil as though it was the product of ten thousand years of having been trod on by bare feet.
Yuah Dechantagne walked down this narrow path alone. She had gotten used to the smooth, dirty feeling of the light brown earth on her bare feet. She had almost gotten used to being naked. She had not gotten used to the purple flowers and inwardly cringed when their wet eyeballs touched her calves. She’d walked this path more than a dozen times already, and each time she did, it felt more natural, more inviting, more like where she belonged. But it wasn’t the thing that brought her here again and again. It wasn’t the thing that called to her. It wasn’t the thing that compelled her to rub milky white liquid on her eyes. She knew what that thing was. She knew what its name was.
Yuah had walked for what felt like days. Even so, she was surprised when she spotted something in the distance. She had known that there was something here besides the purple flowers. It had called to her. But it had seemed so elusive. Now there it was. She walked faster, gave up trying to avoid the flower’s eyeballs, and then broke into a run. She ran and ran until at last she fell to the ground exhausted. She rolled onto her back, crushing dozens of plants. The others leaned over and ogled her.
Sitting up, she looked at her would-be destination. It was much closer than it had been, but was still far away. It was a castle, a magical palace, the kind that could only exist in fairy tales—with high towers and crenellated walls, with ornate stonework and shield shaped windows. It was the kind of castle that would be home to perfect princes and beautiful perfect princesses.
Suddenly the world fell away and she felt herself tumbling in space. Opening her eyes, she found she was back in her own bedroom. The golden wallpaper with its intricate pattern of pink roses between golden bars looked grey and dull. She sat up. The gold floral carpeting on the floor was dull brown. The pink lace curtains on both the windows, as well as the pink lace canopy draped above the big brass, bed was flat black. Standing beside the bed was a lizzie, it’s yellow eyes and white teeth the only contrast to its dull grey skin. The creature reached out and touched her shoulder.
“Get your claws off of me, you damned filthy reptile!” she shouted. She grabbed the small, half full bottle beside her and jumped to her feet. “May God lay a pox upon you and all your kind!”
She stomped out of the bedroom and immediately ran into Cissy who was standing just outside the nursery door.
“Get that animal out of my room!” she shouted, and then staggered past the balcony and down the stairs.
Once downstairs, Yuah made her way to the bathroom and locked the door after her. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water in her face and then she hiked up her nightdress and sat on the flush toilet. Staring at the bathtub made her long for a soak, but she would have had to get the lizzies to heat up water and she didn’t want to wait. She cleaned herself, got up, flushed, and then washed her hands with soap, again splashing water on her face. Then she climbed into the dry tub and lay down. She rested her head against the side and rolled her eyes around beneath their lids. Then she opened the tiny indigo bottle and once again applied the opthalium to them. She immediately felt the tugging sensation in her stomach and then she was back, right where she had been, within sight of the beautiful castle.
She continued on her way, no longer running, but walking with purpose. The castle grew larger and larger as she grew nearer, but when it seemed that she should have reached it, the structure was still a long way off. It was much larger than it appeared and only when she finally reached the edge of a great moat, uncrossable because a great drawbridge was up, did she realize that this castle was truly enormous. Before she could ponder whether she should turn and make her way back to her starting place, the drawbridge began to come down, lowered on clanking, creaking chains. The massive wooden gate lowered until it hit the ground. Yuah walked across what was now a bridge, wondering why anyone would build such an amazingly large construction. She passed through a long entryway and into a vast courtyard that seemed as large as Hexagon Park in Brech City.
“So you have come.” A booming voice echoed.
A moment later, thunderous footsteps announced the arrival of a monster. It was a giant. Yuah didn’t even reach up to his knee. Man-like in general form, the giant was misshapen, with a hunched back and great bulbous growths upon his face. He was as naked as she was and his body was as horrible as his face. With six steps he crossed the garden and stopped just before he squashed her beneath his boat-sized foot. His beady eyes regarded her.
“You have come,” he repeated. “You are here and now at last, the very renowned Pantagruel shall have his wife.”
Reaching down, he attempted to snatch her up in his bloated fist. She dived out of the way and ran as fast as she could toward the castle entrance. The earth shook as the giant took a step to follow her. She kept running. The earth shook again, this time almost knocking her from her feet. Yuah ran through the entryway, knowing the giant was too big to pass through, but when she looked back he was still following her. Though still much larger than she was, he had shrunk from his great size and could now pass through the gate. Her feet thumped across the wooden drawbridge, but she didn’t hear him. She glanced back to see than he had grown again to monstrous proportion, now able to simply step across the moat.
Not watching where she was going, Yuah stubbed her toe on a rock and went flying through the air. She expected to crash headlong into the purple flowers, but she didn’t. Instead something lifted her up and carried her high, high into the air. She thought at first that the giant had her, but looking up she saw that this was not the case. An angel held her. The angel was in the form of a beautiful woman with long blond hair that cascaded down past her shoulders, impossibly thick, all the way to her waist. From her back grew a pair of great wings, as white as newly fallen snow, as white as faith and hope, twelve feet from tip to tip. Her naked body was smooth and supple and sublime and beautiful. Her face was just as perfect. Her eyes were spaced wide above her prominent cheekbones and small but perfectly formed nose. Her full lips smiled crookedly exposing straight teeth as white as her wings.
“Pantagria?” gasped Yuah.
“Yes, I am your Pantagria.”
* * * * *
“I’ve had just a terrible birthday,” said Senta.
She sat lay next to Bessemer on the enormous pile of pillows. His great body was behind her, his tail wrapping around to her right, his great armored head on her left. Though they weren’t touching, she could feel the heat of his body all around her.
“I’m sorry Pet. I have noticed that you’ve seemed out of sorts for the past few days. What’s the matter?”
“I’m fine. I’ve just been in a bit of a funk.” She folded her arms across her chest. “It just seems like nobody has time for me. Fina’s gone. Graham and Hero are all off on their own business. There’s really no work for me. And you sleep all the time.”
“It’s not my fault. I’m a dragon.” Bessemer lifted his head and turned it around to look at her. “Besides I’m up now. Maybe we could do something.”
“Could we get out of town? That’s what I really want to do.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I need a change. I think this warehouse is getting to me.”
“Me too. Let’s go back to the tower.”
“No. You can’t fit in it anymore anyway. We need to get out and see the country.”
The dragon raised his head and cocked it to one side.
“I could see some of the countryside and you could eat a dinosaur.”
“I am a bit peckish,” he said.
“Then it’s settled. Let’s get out of here.”
Bessemer slid open the warehouse’s great door and stepped out into the cool air of the night. There was no one to be seen nearby, just shadows in the gas street lamps as the mist rolled in from Cre
scent Bay. Shutting the door again and locking it, Bessemer turned to Senta.
“Are you going to walk?”
“It would be ace if you could give me a ride.”
“Do I look like a pony?”
“You could do it, couldn’t you?”
The dragon turned around to look at his own back, covered with foot long spikes the length of his spine.
“I don’t think that would be safe. You’d be skewered for sure. Maybe I could carry you in my hands.”
“Like a sack of flower? I don’t think so.”
“What are you going to do then?”
The girl waved her hand and spoke. “Uuthanum pestor uusteros jonai.”
Senta disappeared and in her place was a small brown bird. With a flick of its wings it shot up and landed on the dragon’s nose.
“Very impressive,” said Bessemer. “You’ve been studying. I wouldn’t mind trying that myself. All right then, hold on.”
The steel dragon shot into the night sky, the little bird holding on tightly.
* * * * *
The wardrobes on the top floor of the tower, in Zurfina’s study, were off limits, but Senta didn’t care. She used magic to bypass the lock and the ward and opened the wardrobe against the wall. Inside were hundreds of bottles of curious herbs and mysterious powders and below them were jars filled with horrid little things. She picked one of the latter and carried it to the center of the great circle drawn on the wooden floorboards. Within this circle was a series of smaller concentric circles, and within them, strange writing. The jar she had chosen was filled with liquid the color of urine, and suspended within this liquid was a small leathery body, looking something like a cross between a dragon and a human baby. It had a small pointed face with a pinched nose and tiny curled horns and wings upon its back. As Senta stared, it shifted position and opened its eyelids, revealing tiny black rodent eyes.
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