Читать книгу The Fairytale Trilogy - Valerie Gribben - Страница 18

Five minutes after their escape from the castle, Marianne had slipped into a welcome sleep. She awoke as Leo descended. Robin had secured her to the dragon by tying her hand to the money sack! That’s so nice of Robin to make sure I’m safe, thought Marianne, smiling.

“Marianne, I’m glad you’re awake!” called Robin, scooting over to her. “Do you like my security system? That way, if the money sack starts to fall off Leo, I can grab your hand and pull it back up!” Robin was beaming with pride over such a brilliant idea.

“Wonderful,” said Marianne, giving a jittery laugh as she undid the rope. “Why are we stopping?”

“Well, I have to admit that Leo is good for something. He spotted this town, and I realized that I haven’t eaten since yesterday. Plus, this big baby complained that the money was ‘toooo heavy!’ and he needed a break to rest his little self,” mocked Robin. “So we’re going to land,” he said, scanning the ground for a good place. “There! Next to that stream,” yelled Robin, pointing downward. As they flew lower, Marianne could see a town nearby, with smoke from the blacksmith’s shop rising and curling into the air.

“Won’t they think it’s suspicious that a pair of youths with holes in their shoes has a haul of money equivalent to an emperor’s ransom?” asked Marianne hesitantly.

“That’s why we’re going by the sword shop first,” said Robin, dismounting from the dragon as they landed. He reached up to assist Marianne, but Leo snapped open his wings and knocked Robin down. “The only thing I complained about carrying was you,” retorted Leo, gently helping Marianne to the ground. As Marianne stepped down, she grabbed her head in pain, “Uhh!” she cried, stumbling and smudging her dress. “Marianne, what’s the matter?” asked Robin, running over. “My head feels heavier than a rock!” said Marianne, in agony.

“You’re probably tired,” said Robin, “How about I go to town and give you a chance to bathe and do all that girl stuff?”

“Bathing isn’t simply for girls,” rejoined Leo, “It’s for anyone who wants to be accepted in society.”

Marianne seated herself on a rock, “Please be quiet! I always get headaches when I haven’t had anything to drink for hours.”

“I’m sure it didn’t help to be bobbed up and down this entire morning on top of a giant green rocking horse,” said Robin, glowering at Leo, who responded by sticking out a boa-constrictor of a tongue.

“I’ll watch over you, my lady, while you relax,” offered the dragon. “I need some time to stretch out anyway,” he added, scrunching up his shoulders and letting them fall.

“Since Robin’s heading into the town, do you need anything to eat, Leo?” asked Marianne, making her way light-headedly to the stream.

“No,” said Leo, flopping down and shaking the ground. “Troll is pretty filling.”

“Yuck!” said Robin, beginning to lug the money sack toward town. “Sorry to leave you here with this carnivorous catastrophe, Marianne, but I must be on my way.”

“I’ll be well guarded, Robin,” assured Marianne as Leo released two fiery snorts that singed the trees next to Robin’s head.

“I must work on my aim,” said Leo in a pitying voice as Robin made an effort to haul the treasure sack faster.

Marianne watched as Robin departed down the road. The water was inviting, and Marianne slid gracefully into its arms. Her headache subsided as she gratefully dunked her head under water, and her parched mouth drank in the refreshing liquid. Marianne took a thorough bath, even washing her hair. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if I found a rat still in here. She then settled down in the middle of the stream, looking at the aquatic creatures that emerged as she became motionless. A frog materialized from its river bank hole. A group of small fish darted by, one stopping to nibble Marianne’s little toe before she twitched it. The fish wiggled downstream in a hurry, its minute body throwing itself from side to side. Marianne glanced over at Leo. The gigantic dragon stared up into the heavens, occasionally moving his head a few degrees to either side. Without thinking, Marianne stood up in the stream, her dress clinging heavily to her legs, prompting the frog to spring back inside his home.

Marianne walked from the shaded grove of trees into the blinding sunlight. The air was becoming muggy, so she placed herself in the dragon’s shadow. “What are you doing?”

“Thinking,” came the reply thirty feet above.

“About what?” asked Marianne, unable to put a lid on her bubbling curiosity.

“My parents,” said the dragon.

“Do you remember them at all?” asked Marianne.

“No,” said Leo, heaving his chest out like wind filling the sails of a mammoth boat.

“Do you remember my parents, then?” said Marianne, biting her lower lip in anticipation.

“Yes,” said Leo, “but I can’t tell you about them.”

“Why not?” asked Marianne.

“Because, as my former Holders, they are entitled to privacy.”

“From their only daughter? Are you abiding by some ancient rule that the dragon community set forth? There are hardly any dragons left, anyway! Why can’t you—” Marianne could not finish her sentence because Leo moseyed away, shaking the ground Marianne was sitting on. A hundred feet off, he sat down again. Stupid dragon! thought Marianne, scowling at Leo. Marianne, surely you of all people know what it feels like to be lonely in this world, came a calming voice from within. Feelings of guilt rushed over her, and she buried her fingers in her hair, tilting her eyes upward as she did. I wonder if my parents are up there? she thought, as the wispy clouds tossed about in the air. A stiff breeze pushed across her face while she strolled over to Leo, her shoes flattening the tender grass.

“I’m sorry, Leo,” Marianne said, laying a hand on his treelike leg. “It’s difficult for me to be denied knowledge about who I am. When I play with my hair, when I bite my lip, sometimes I wonder if I got those habits from my parents.” She continued, “As I fall asleep now, I’m tormented with these thoughts. Do I laugh like my father? Do I cry like my mother? I can’t fit together the puzzle of who I am without all the pieces.” Marianne looked up again.

“You’re like your parents in that you’re kind. They always worried about you and Robin in this world. Once your father told me that he wished he could be like me and never have to leave your side. You could call him and he would be there to protect you.” Leo paused to snort. “I can’t tell you certain things because some knowledge must remain confidential. It would cause more trouble than it’s worth.”

“My identity is not trouble,” said Marianne, looking up at Leo stubbornly.

“Yes, but what goes with it can be,” said Leo, sagely. Marianne counted the isolated clouds, interpreting his terseness as an end to the conversation. An unhurried wind moved across the fields.

“Am I the only one who can control you? What if Robin got your glass orb?” asked Marianne, admiring her toes.

“Would you give me to Robin, or would he steal me in the dark of night?” asked Leo, positioning himself next to Marianne.

“I’d give you to him, of course. I think it would be beneficial so that you wouldn’t detest each other so much,” replied Marianne.

“If you had the cruelty to pass me to such a brainless braggart, yes, I must obey him. However, if he makes off with my globe, I would be under no obligation to him, and might have him for lunch if I felt so inclined,” said Leo, mildly.

“You would do no such thing!” cried Marianne.

“I must be given willingly by the Holder, or I will not comply with the thief,” stated Leo, relaxing his neck from side to side.

“Leo,” asked Marianne, “why can I see the future when I look into that ball?”

“I don’t know if what you envision is the future,” he said pensively. “Perhaps it’s a possibility of things to come.”

The day wore on in sweaty waves. Leo savored the humidity (“it nourishes my scales”), but Marianne was less enthusiastic. When the sun reached its pinnacle, she spent the time by the creek, poking holes in the mud with long sticks.

Bored, Marianne wandered back. “I haven’t a book to read, Leo. Will you tell me a story about something?” asked Marianne.

Once caught in a loquacious mood, Leo seemed to have as many stories as grievances about Robin. Marianne sat next to Leo under the shade of a large tree, listening as he regaled her with his adventures. The words swam speedily through her head like the fish in the stream. Under the sway of his descriptions she could feel the plush carpets woven with pictures of flying storks and could taste the marketplace air pungent with spices.

The neighing of horses disturbed Marianne’s dream travels. Opening her eyes, Marianne saw Robin, a smile stretching his face, as he displayed an assortment of provisions laid out in front of her. Behind Robin, two docile horses shook their heads.

“You have been busy!” said Marianne, getting up. “But what happened to the money? Surely this wasn’t that expensive!”

“They were fresh out of jeweled crowns, or I would have bought one,” said Robin, holding forth a small pouch. “Instead, I took to the liberty to—shall we say invest—the reward.”

“It’s rather light,” said Marianne, taking the money purse.

“Be careful when you look inside,” advised Robin, “I’m fairly sure the banker’s eyes fell out when I showed him our stash.”

“Robin, you are so funny!” said Marianne as she emptied the bag’s contents into her palm. Several gold coins fell out. Marianne gave Robin an unimpressed look. She gave the pouch another jiggle. A thin, circular object dropped from the bag, was caught in the wind’s breeze, and began to drift away. “Careful with that!” cried Robin, snatching it before the wind carried it into the tree’s branches. “We’re going to be eating off that for the next few years!”

“Well if it’s a plate, it looks like it will be a rather ineffective one,” said Marianne. “There’s a hole in the center. And what’s it made out of? Paper?”

“I don’t know what it’s made of; nobody does. But I do know that for all its apparent frailty, it’s indestructible.” At this Robin bent the disk in half, then watched as his purchase sprang back to its original form. “That’s why it was so expensive.”

“How expensive?” came the strained reply.

“This,” said Robin forcefully, holding it in front of Marianne, “is worth 9,900 gold coins. At least, that was the price. Wars have been fought for less than that.”

“But what does it do? All I see are some curious scratches.”

“What does it do? It allows us to not be robbed every other minute because we’re hauling around a sack of money! As for those ‘scratches,’ the merchant said that he purchased it from a trader who was passing through. It’s so rare that anyone would buy it for twice the amount I paid! On the back there’s some kind of lizard drawing imprinted.”

“That’s a dragon,” Leo informed him.

“Well, I suppose it takes one to know one,” shot back Robin.

Leo crossed his arms. “Robin, can you spell ignoramus?”

“Y-O-U.”

“That imprint is a depiction of one of the infinite kinds of foreign dragons.” Leo snorted confidently.

“And just my luck: I ended up stuck with the most cantankerous breed.”

“‘Cantankerous.’ I see you’re moving beyond the one syllable.”

“Bickering gets us nowhere!” Marianne handed the palm-sized article back to her brother. “Appreciative as I am of your investment, I have to wonder what happened to the rest of the hundred gold pieces. I hope these horses weren’t too pricey—after all, we do have Leo.”

“Well, for some reason, I didn’t feel like announcing to the world that I was the proud owner of this fire-breathing monstrosity!” Robin countered. “If anything bad happens in any town we visit, they’ll blame us before we can say—”

“You’re not my owner,” said Leo, crouching down and staring Robin in the face, his smoldering breath pulling Robin’s hair forward as he inhaled. “And as for your ludicrous claim that I could get you in trouble, I answer that you’ve been the one who’s needed me in every tight spot.”

“Stop this!” cried Marianne, barging between the two, who seemed on the verge of tackling each other. “First of all, Robin, I ask that you use some common sense and see that this fight would be completely one-sided unless you somehow achieve the ability to spit fire! And Leo, you shouldn’t let his gibes get to you so much! You’re probably a hundred times his age. Robin cannot change shapes, so I beg you, Leo, either go somewhere to cool off or switch forms.”

In the twinkling of an eye, Leo was inside the glass ball. “Thank you,” Marianne whispered, placing the ball back into her pocket.

“I suppose I should be the one to hold onto this.” Robin put his inscribed acquisition away. “At least my dragon doesn’t have an attitude problem,” he added. “Now, as I wanted to tell you before, the hundred gold pieces went for more than some ponies. Take a look at this, Marianne,” said Robin proudly, drawing out a sword. “It was the finest they had. Made by elves,” he added. The sword was indeed an incredible weapon. Its hilt looked like it was entwined with golden vines. “Watch this,” said Robin, grasping the sword with his hand. Immediately, the vines moved, contouring themselves to fit Robin’s hand. “It feels like you’re fighting with a weapon made out of air, the sword’s so light. The blade itself could split a hair.” Robin demonstrated by pouncing forward and deftly slicing off a leaf from the tree. Satisfied with his skill, Robin remembered Marianne’s hunger. “You must be starved.”

“Aren’t you even a bit hungry?” asked Marianne. “I mean, there’s food for both of us.”

“Well, the ride back here was kind of long,” said Robin, avoiding Marianne’s penetrating eyes. “Let’s say that originally there were provisions enough for three.”