Lesser Prince (Guardians of Gaeland Book 1)

by Jamie McFarlane

  “What are you talking about?” Amber’s voice was still quite shaky.

  Filbert ducked out from behind a tree at the sound of her voice and made a beeline for her. His ears lay back and he struggled to place as much of his body onto Amber's as possible. She worked to calm the frightened little dragon.

  “Hmm, can’t really see either demon.” Sam moved up the hill toward the castle in order to get a view over the wall. They were within a few yards of the wall and couldn’t see beyond it or on top of it. A stone lion matched his movements, keeping the small group between itself and its twin. Even with its graceful stride, the footfalls were heavy, breaking through the crusted snow.

  Amber tried to scoot back, her legs and arms churning. The sudden movement of the statue had raised her alarm. Filbert, unnerved, bounded off squealing, as he pumped his stubby wings to fly.

  “Hey, it’s okay. They’re on our side.” Tig held out a hand to help her up. Amber reluctantly took it and eyed the lions suspiciously. “Where’d they come from? Were they here when we came through the gate?”

  Tig chuckled and explained the portion of their encounter that Amber had missed. When he got to the part where he described the two gargoyles leaping to the top of the wall and the screaming that followed, she interrupted, “So did they kill one?”

  “Not sure. I think so. Something pretty gruesome happened up there,” Tig responded, looking up at the stone wall.

  “Guys … yeah, they pretty much got one.” Sam had climbed up the hill to where the line of gnomes now stood frozen on the snow. The lion had kept pace with him and sat once more. It was surprising how the lion could change from animated to looking like a lawn ornament.

  Amber was wobbly as she and Tig moved up to where Sam stood. From his vantage point they saw the two gargoyles frozen on the edge of the wall. The lower half of a demon lay between them. “Those things got him?” Amber’s voice quaked.

  “I think that’s a safe bet.” Tig responded. “We only heard it. But, if you saw how those guys came tearing down here - the demons never stood a chance.”

  “We left our packs and stuff back at the tent,” Sam worried. “Do you think I should try to go back and get them?”

  “No way. Not unless we can get one of these guys to go along,” Tig responded, pointing at the gargoyle.

  “They can’t go,” a high pitched voice offered.

  Tig looked around to find the speaker. It had come from near the castle, but he couldn’t locate it. “Who’s there?” Tig called.

  “They can’t go. They are limited to the castle and its grounds.”

  Tig finally located the speaker. A tiny man, no taller than a wine bottle, stood on one of the lion's platforms next to the castle door. He wore a mustard colored beret, a green jerkin over brown pants and mustard colored leather boots. He also held a small rapier in one hand. Looking normally proportioned, this stocky little man reminded Amber of a doll she had gotten once for Christmas.

  “Who are you?” Tig asked.

  The small man retorted, “Considering that you are the intruder, perhaps you should identify yourselves first.”

  Amber couldn’t help herself as she expressed, “Oooh, he's so cute.” The little man’s wide face frowned but he held his ground. He was taller than the stone gnomes, but was very much flesh and blood.

  “I am Tigerious Parnassus and these are my friends Amber and Samuel Elendahl.”

  “As I live and breathe.” The small man removed his hat and bowed deeply at the waist. “Please forgive my impertinence, Your Highness. I am your humble servant, Jar.”

  “I am very glad to meet you, Jar. But please don’t do that,” Tig stepped forward to greet the little man. The stone lion kept pace with him. He reached down, offering his hand. Jar grasped one of Tig’s fingers and shook it.

  “Don’t do what?” Jar asked.

  “Don’t go all ‘Prince’ and ‘Your Eminence’ and all that. I’m just Tig and this is Amber and Sam.” Tig didn’t want to offend him, but he'd had enough of the whole prince routine.

  “Alright, Just Tig, how about you shut the gate and we can move inside. Feels like it could snow.” Jar’s voice wasn’t squeaky as much as it was high-pitched and nasal.

  One of the stone lions joined Tig on his way to the gate. He asked the gates to close and rejoined the group.

  “You should probably ask the castle to reset the defenders. No use in having the lion follow you around all day. I doubt the demon will be coming back, now that the gargoyles are active,” Jar explained patiently.

  Tig reached out to the closest lion and felt the cold stone under his hand as he stroked its mane. “Thank you for saving us. Please return to guarding the castle,” Tig said cautiously. It seemed to work. The twin lions strode majestically back to their pedestals and froze in place, like they’d been standing there for a century.

  The gnome archers turned, much to Amber’s surprise, and jogged back through the fluted stone columns by the front entry. They climbed back to the various windows and porticos they’d abandoned earlier. The few remaining birds fluttered back. Most spectacularly, the stone gargoyles climbed down from the perimeter wall and up the front steps of the castle. Without hesitation, they jumped the ten yards straight up in the air, landing perfectly on their perches.

  “Wow,” Amber said.

  “This way,” Jar beckoned and strode through the timber doors. Inset into one of the original doors was a smaller set of doors, not much taller than Jar, standing open – probably how the little man had come out of the castle. Jar shut it and stood to one side, looked up at Tig and suggested, “How about I sit on your shoulder, so I don’t have to shout to be heard and," he looked at Amber suspiciously, "so no one steps on me.”

  Tig knelt down in front of the door and helped the little man up. Jar hooked his hand under Tig’s cloak collar and said, “That’s better. Go ahead and open the door. The lock is magic, but if you are who you say, you won’t have any trouble.”

  Tig pushed on the door and felt magic pass through his open palm. A mechanism within the door whirred and scraped as the doors swung inward. They stepped into a foyer shaped very much like the Main Residence in West Virginia. Grand staircases led to the second level on either side of the wide entryway meeting elegantly on the second level at the back of the room. Tig felt a bit of déjà vu.

  Even though the foyer, staircase and ballroom doors were nearly identical to the Main Residence back home, the entryway differed in a number of significant ways. On the first floor, following the curve of each staircase, Tig had been expecting tables adorned with flowers. Instead, there were small, permanent booths with low countertops. The booths were no more than two feet tall and the counters displayed all sorts of miniature wares.

  While the booths were loaded with goodies, no gnomes could be seen anywhere, which struck Tig as odd. “Where is everyone?” he asked.

  “This is the bazaar where we do most of our trading,” Jar explained. “When the castle’s defenses were activated, everyone cleared out just in case the doors were breached.”

  “Does that happen a lot?”

  “First time in a century and a half. So you can imagine that people are a little concerned.”

  Sam had wandered over to inspect a brass rail punched through the ballroom door. It was suspended from the ceiling via thin cables and ran three feet off the ground. It came out of the door, down the length of the hallway and hugged the right staircase wall, keeping above the booths. The rail then turned the corner and went up to the next level.

  “What’s that railing for, Jar?” Sam asked.

  “That’s the tram. They must have shut it down due to the defenses and all.”

  “You really have a sweet setup here,” Tig said.

  “Wait until you see the lift.” Jar’s face lit with anticipation. “Go ahead. Be a little careful, we’re not really set up for human sized visitors.”

  Navigating the hallway was precarious, as the booths and tram took up
most of the available space.

  “Don’t try to open the right hand door. It’s been secured so the tram can pass without problems. The left door can be opened. Just go slow, in case someone is behind it.”

  Tig pushed the door open and was amazed. What had once been a beautiful ballroom was now a miniature village. All around the outside walls, small colorful adobe styled boxes were stacked one on top of the other. The lowest boxes were wide, providing a platform for smaller upper levels, complete with balconies and stairs. Small iron railings, flower boxes, tables and chairs could be seen, but still no other gnomes.

  Halfway down the wall on either side, hot air balloons sat on the ground. The balloons had baskets large enough to carry two or three gnomes. Cables on either side of the baskets ran from floor to ceiling.

  The brass rail that entered through the door ran the length of the village. At several key points the rail dipped down so that riders could get on or off. Brightly painted cars sat next to the platforms where the railing dipped.

  Before they could take in anything more, a window opened in a nearby apartment. A gnome who was considerably younger than Jar poked his head out. “Is it safe to come out, Jar?”

  “Yes, sure is, Mix. Could you spread the word? Parnassus and Elendahl visitors.” Jar turned to Tig, “Are you hungry?”

  Tig realized he was famished and imagined that Amber and Sam were as well. “We haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

  “That’s easily resolved. If there’s one thing gnomes know, it’s food! How about I take you to where there are still human type accommodations left. Hold here for a moment and I’ll see about some hospitality.” Jar pulled himself up on Tig’s shoulder and without warning leapt nimbly to a nearby balcony, somersaulting in mid-air as he did so.

  Old Friends and New

  Filbert wrestled free from Amber’s grasp as Jar bounded off. He flapped his chubby wings and landed in an open space in the middle of the village. The space was suspiciously sized to fit him perfectly.

  Word of safety spread and gnomes appeared in doorways and windows. Some were brave enough to exit their homes and stand in front of the trio, looking up with unmasked astonishment.

  A small voice exclaimed “Big Blue!” and a gnome child ran to where Filbert was resting. The boy was undeterred by Filbert’s size and clambered up, wrapping his small arms around the dragon’s neck.

  Amber stepped forward and knelt down near the boy and the dragon and scratched behind Filbert’s ear. The child, who wasn’t much taller than Amber’s outstretched hand, looked up at her with his large brown eyes and innocently asked, “Are you friends with Big Blue too?”

  Amber smiled widely and answered, “Yes, he’s such a good little dragon. Does he live here?”

  The boy stepped up on Filbert’s leg and crawled behind the dragon’s head. “He lives where he wants, but he visits us all of the time. My name is Lego, what’s yours?” The boy didn’t wait for an answer, but instead pulled on the fur behind Filbert’s ears. Filbert recognized the request and flapped his chubby wings, lifting off the ground with the boy securely resting on his back.

  Jar popped out from a hallway. “The secretary has called an emergency council meeting and would like to meet with you after dinner. How about we take you to the tower and get you a bath and some food?”

  “What’s in the tower?” Sam asked.

  “You might have noticed that our buildings are too small for your group, but we left the tower alone just in case big people returned. Back the way we came, if you don’t mind,” Jar instructed.

  Tig placed Jar back on his shoulder and the gnome led them to the foyer turned bazaar, while a fully-loaded tram car zipped along its rail.

  “Just follow the tram. It’s going in the same direction we are.”

  Tig walked up the steps slowly and carefully. The tram rail and market booths narrowed the once generously wide stairs so much that Tig was afraid he might stumble. None of those booths would support his weight.

  At the top of the stairs, Jar pointed down the short hallway that Tig knew would end in a T-shape intersection and join up with the castle's main hallway. What he didn’t know was where the tower might be. He didn't remember a tower at the main residence in West Virginia.

  As expected, they reached the main hallway, which was also flanked on both sides by gnome buildings. As far as Tig could see, the hallway was stacked two or three buildings high with the same adobe style construction. The bright colors were well lit with Faerie-Globes.

  “How many gnomes live here? It’s all so pretty.” Tig asked, while picking his way carefully through the hall.

  “Thirty-five hundred or so,” Jar responded.

  Tig was stunned. They were definitely an industrious group. Gnomes stared as the group walked by. It wasn’t every day that humans - check that - elves walked through these halls.

  An arched stone frame outlined a massive wooden door at the end of the passageway. The gnomes had been careful not to build in front of the door. The tram rail U-turned, crossing from one side of the hallway to the other. It wasn’t too hard to stoop down and carefully pass under the brass rail. Tig was grateful to finally find a place where he could stand without worrying about causing damage.

  “The door should open for you. It’s been locked for centuries, although we have access through the basement level for maintenance. It’s all part of The Agreement. Are you here to change The Agreement?”

  “I don’t know about this agreement. Maybe you could tell me about it?” Tig again felt magic pass through his body and into the door. It pushed open easily and they stepped into an expansive circular room, roughly one hundred feet in diameter. The room had fifteen foot ceilings and was ringed with windows that spilled light onto the highly polished marble floor. Finally, more ‘normal’ elf-sized furniture was arranged in various groupings defined by richly woven rugs in copper, bronze and taupe.

  “Is this where we’ll meet with the council?” Sam asked.

  “No, this is just the Main Tower Entrance. The meeting room is on the Residence level. I don't come here. Only the maintenance crew has regular access.”

  “Maintenance crew?”

  “We maintain the entire castle. Everything should be in good shape, but it is old. If you find something not working right, just let someone know and a crew will fix it. Gnomes are particularly excellent at fixing things.”

  Jar continued, “The council will be here in two hours. There are quarters available for a nap, as well as hot water for baths. Katinwal will clean your clothes.” He called out, "Kat?"

  “Over here,” a female voice rang out from across the room.

  “There she is. She’s in charge of the Wizard’s Tower.”

  A red-haired gnome skipped toward them dressed in a bone colored, ankle length skirt and brown leather vest. Her hair was neatly braided into a single pony tail that bobbed along behind her.

  “I thought they were crazy. The royal family back in Gaeland! How wonderful! I’ve so much to show you. You are dusty. How about a hot bubble bath? I have the finest soaps anywhere. Have you eaten? Those clothes are horribly dirty. When is the last time they were cleaned? Wait! What are your names? Oh yes, I'm Katinwal. Most people call me Kat. I forgot. I get so excited.”

  Tig and Sam exchanged amused looks. Apparently, something Kat said caught Amber’s attention. “Bubble bath?” she asked. “I can have a bubble bath?”

  “Of course you can! Just ask and we’ll get you anything you need!” Katinwal skipped over to Amber. “You may go, Jar. We have them now.”

  “Thanks, Kat,” Jar said. "Please, sir. Would you put me on the floor?"

  Tig did so and Jar gave a slight bow before he left the room.

  “This way.” Kat skipped toward a large circle in the middle of the room. “There’s a circle like this on each level,” she explained like a museum guide. “Stand in the middle and ask the tower to take you to any one of five levels: Wizard’s Library, Residence, Guest Quarter,
Main Entrance and Basement.”

  “Where are we now?” Sam asked.

  Kat giggled, “That's a good question, young sir. We’re on the Main Entrance level. Tower, could you take us to the Residence?” Instantaneously, they were transported.

  The Residence was less formal than the Main Entrance level. While there was a circular center area, it was much smaller. Instead of windows, twelve doors broke up the solid interior wall. Some were larger with glass panes while others were smaller and made from solid wood. Tig could see a dining room and a kitchen through the closest openings on the left. All of the doors were closed except for three of the solid ones to the right.

  Kat gestured around the space, “Choose one of the open rooms. They’re all the same. Jobie will have a feast prepared for you when you are ready. I placed a robe on each of your beds and if you leave your clothing next to the bed, they will be cleaned for you. You’ll have to wear robes for dinner. I know it’s informal, but we haven’t had time to commission clothing and what you are wearing is filthy.”

  ***

  Sam was the first to emerge from the bath, a little disappointed to find his clothing already gone. Kat had warned him, but he felt weird dressed only in the thick bathrobe hanging in the bathroom.

  The room was well appointed with a four-poster bed, two ornate dressers and an s-shaped seating area. The previous occupant’s possessions were nowhere to be seen and the room felt like a hotel rather than a home. Sam had to admit, it was the fanciest hotel room he’d ever seen - even on television.

  Two windows looked out over the courtyard. The castle sat on a low rise next to the lake but the tower reached well above the trees. Sam’s window pointed due east, toward the elven glade, over fifty miles away. The castle wall bumped along through the trees, following the terrain as far as the eye could see. Beyond, was the forest Sam knew gave way to the meadow where the group had camped two nights before. He imagined he could see the spot where their tent sat abandoned and hoped his map still lay beneath the cot.