Bentwhistle the Dragon Box

by Paul Cude

  The space all three of them found themselves in was... HUGE! Not just the height either, but the diameter, and it WAS diameter, as the area they'd entered was completely circular in nature with massive wide oblongs stretching off it in a couple of directions. A light marble floor with ancient text smattered amongst it set off a giant stone plinth, smack bang in the centre. Marble railings of the same colour looked down upon them from tens of floors above. On top of all of this, the room had a sense of... destiny to it. There was definitely something special and it echoed throughout the entire level. You could feel it in the air; it was everywhere.

  "Ahhhhhh, you made it I see," boomed a voice from somewhere up above.

  As one, the trio looked up, scouring the balconies for any sign of the voice's owner.

  "Sorry to confuse you all. Over here."

  Turning round, all three were greeted by the sight of the king descending the elegantly curved staircase, made from the same kind of marble as the floor. Peter and Tank immediately dropped to one knee. Gee Tee chuckled from behind them.

  "You can cut that out for starters," ordered the king, from the bottom step of the staircase. "Get up at once and stop being so silly. You're my guests, not loyal subjects today. You could do worse than to take a leaf out of this dragon's book," urged the king, motioning to Gee Tee. "He doesn't bow or kowtow to anyone. Am I right?"

  "You would be correct... Sire," replied the master mantra maker, grinning.

  "Oh... very funny," said the king, breaking into a broad smile, patting Gee Tee on the shoulder, having to stand on tiptoes in his human form to do so.

  Peter and Tank got to their feet.

  "It's good to see you again... shopkeeper. I'm sorry it's been so long."

  Peter was glad to see the king had assumed his human guise, and was happy that he'd chosen his own preferred form as well. Despite having spent days thinking and dreaming about coming here, he still felt a little overwhelmed by the situation. Maybe it was the magnificent cane the king carried that made him instantly recognisable, looking both strong and flexible at the same time, with that sparkling blue trident carved into it that pulsed away regally. Or perhaps it was the fabulous ring that adorned the middle finger of the monarch's right hand, although as he'd previously found to his cost, it didn't always choose to reveal itself to everyone. Pushing all thoughts of the king's power and position right to the back of his mind, in order to enjoy the day and learn as much as he could, a shiver ran down his tail, despite the fact that he wasn't even sporting it at this very moment.

  "It's good to see you to little one. It has been a very long time indeed," rumbled the old shopkeeper, only a few feet from the king. Sighing visibly, the king added,

  "I'm sorry. I really should have invited you here before."

  "Yes you should have," replied Gee Tee forcefully.

  Peter and Tank both froze on the spot.

  'Oh my God,' thought Peter, 'the king's going to go absolutely spare. We're all going to get chucked out.'

  Scrutinizing Gee Tee for what felt like a lifetime, while Peter and Tank looked nervously on, finally the king clipped the master mantra maker across the wing, and they both doubled up with laughter. Peter breathed a sigh of relief as the potentially awkward moment passed, turning into nothing more than larking about.

  Backing off from Gee Tee a little, as he was the only one in his natural form, the king addressed all three of them.

  "I'm glad you could all make it today. It's really good to see each and every one of you. I so rarely get any visitors, well... any that I look forward to seeing. But isn't there someone missing?"

  Peter's heart skipped a beat, having known full well the king would ask, and was absolutely dreading having to answer.

  "Umm... well... Richie had some... human stuff that she just couldn't get out off, I'm afraid. She sends her best regards."

  Nodding knowingly, the king paused to think for a few seconds.

  "Well, shall we start the grand tour?" he asked, flinging his arms open wide. "It's quite the place you know," he added, turning and heading back towards the spiral staircase. Following quickly on his heels, Peter went first, with Tank bringing up the rear, cajoling the old shopkeeper along. For his efforts, Tank was quickly shooed away with a flea in his ear, the master mantra maker letting him know in no uncertain terms what he would be transformed in to, permanently, if he tried to mollycoddle him again. Tank raced to catch Peter up, walking alongside him, just behind the king, as they reached the first floor.

  "Here are my personal chambers. It's where I eat, sleep, keep all of my private belongings and bathe," announced the king wistfully, before continuing on up the staircase.

  Glancing back over their shoulders, Peter and Tank watched as Gee Tee reached the landing of the first floor. Both knew better than to ask if he needed any help. Heading up after the king, albeit at a much slower pace in an effort to help the old shopkeeper, Tank leant across to Peter, and very, very quietly whispered,

  "I don't think he believed you about Rich."

  Peter leant back and replied,

  "I don't know about him, but I didn't believe me."

  Tank shook his head as he turned to check on his boss's progress up the stairs behind them, before wishing he hadn't, after the look the old dragon threw him.

  Catching up with the king on the landing of the second floor, they waited patiently for Gee Tee to reach them. It didn't take long.

  "This, my friends," announced the king, "is my private library."

  As Gee Tee let out a long snort of flame, Tank quickly pushed Peter to one side, saving his friend from being scorched by the wicked looking jet, the king eyeing the three of them suspiciously.

  "Anyway, as I was saying, this is my private library, and the finest repository on the planet, more complete than Rome's and with tomes, mantras and magical artefacts that they could only dream of."

  Peter stood, amazed. Up until he'd met the king in hospital he hadn't realised that he'd even had a private residence, let alone a private library. Thinking back, it had probably been mentioned during his time at the nursery ring, and yes he had an eidetic memory, but there'd been so much information to process and store, it was easy to miss out the odd thing or two. A fleeting look at his friends showed that they were not the least bit surprised. Tank looked nonplussed, while the master mantra maker had a look of... hunger in his eyes. What was going on?

  "Well, I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in viewing the library itself, so perhaps we should move on to the next level, and view some of the plant species in my arboretum?" said the king matter-of-factly.

  A look of absolute horror crossed Gee Tee's face, with Tank going pale at the thought of missing out on the library, but barely able to contain his excitement about there being an arboretum. Just as the old shopkeeper was about to speak, he was interrupted.

  "Just kidding," laughed the king. "Now the only rule I have is that you really shouldn't try out any of the mantras that are here. If there is one you want to test, bring it over and we'll try it together, as long as it's not something too dangerous. All the artefacts are quite safe, but I would ask you to be as gentle as possible with the tomes as some of them are really quite old."

  Smiling at the king, Peter wondered exactly what he'd let himself in for, as Gee Tee shot off at an unbelievable pace, belying his age, clearly determined to make the most of this rare opportunity. Tank walked off after him casually, but Peter could tell his friend was almost as excited; the little skip in his step and the not quite beaming smile on his face told their own story.

  Falling into step alongside the king, who, on noting the speed with which Gee Tee left them, had decided he just might need to be on hand rather quickly, just to... oversee things, Peter finally felt relaxed and happy to be there.

  "It's good to see you again my boy," prompted the king. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch to see how your recovery's been going, but things have been a bit... manic."

  "I understand," replied
Peter. "I bet you hardly ever have a moment to yourself, being in charge of... everything."

  Letting out the biggest belly laugh in the kingdom, the two of them turned the corner into the library proper, to be greeted by row upon row of shelves, ninety feet high, that seemed to go on as far as the eye could see.

  "It does often seem that way my young friend, but it does have its own rewards. I get to directly influence the future of our kind, leave my mark on history, and," he whispered quietly, "I get the finest charcoal imported directly from Japan. What more could any dragon wish for?"

  Despite the fact that he was grinning broadly, Peter got the impression that the king really wasn't as happy as he claimed. It was nothing that he could put his finger on, more like instinct, or a gut feeling. There and then he vowed to himself to find out more should the opportunity arise.

  Far off in the distance, Peter could just make out Tank, scanning a shelf of tomes intently, and could also hear Gee Tee's giant footsteps padding about from somewhere much further away.

  Sweeping his arms in one long motion, the king indicated the library as a whole.

  "Go and explore; we've got plenty of time, and not many dragons ever get the chance to wander through this place."

  Not needing to be told twice, he turned in the opposite direction of Tank and set off down one of the aisles, looking up towards the top of the shelves as he did, dumbfounded at some of the things he noticed, even in that first aisle. There were plenty of rolled up scrolls bound with ancient pieces of twine, mixed in with dusty old books that looked as though they hadn't seen the light of day in centuries. Coming to an abrupt halt only a few yards into the aisle, he reached up as high as he could, and very, very carefully, pulled down a brown, ragged, dust encrusted book. On the spine of the book in gold italic, it read, 'Designs and mantras intended to aid in the creation of submersible crafts by Leonardo da Vinci.'

  Blowing the thick covering of dust off the front cover, Peter began turning the delicate pages very gently. Page after page of drawings, sketches and writing flew by. There was hardly any space on the paper that hadn't been used. Writings and equations littered the margins, doodles danced around the headings, all of them wondrous. There were mantras that made things air tight, kept pressure at bay, and drawings of great mechanical arms that held all sorts of equipment, from nets to catch sea creatures, to intricate fingers that would pick up rocks and minerals. It was fascinating and he couldn't resist tracing his fingers over some of the drawings and the fantastic script, trying to imagine what it must have been like to work with someone as great as da Vinci. From an early age the young dragons were all taught about him with stories that amazed and astounded, not only about his dragon life, but about everything he achieved on the surface. He was one of the truly unsung dragon heroes. Brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Gee Tee stomping about somewhere not that far away, carefully he closed the ancient book, slipping it back into the gap that he'd taken if from. Slowly and steadily he continued to make his way down the row of shelves, ensuring that he looked at each and every book, as far as he could see.

  On his achingly slow journey down the aisle, he came across books about alchemy, plants, witchcraft and creatures that he was sure were mythical, but by the looks of it had, at some point in history, existed. Scrolls and weathered tomes about underwater cities and jungle islands that contained dinosaurs that had avoided extinction took up shelf after shelf, with titles such as 'Less skull leads to a healthier bowel' and 'Jazz up your mating ritual; ten sure fire ways to decorate your scales with human remains to make you irresistible'. It seemed to him that everything ever written by, or about, a dragon existed here somewhere on these shelves.

  Continuing on his journey, he stumbled across a small alcove that contained a massive glass case. A document sat on view, framed and backlit. Intrigued, he wandered over to get a better look. Ancient paper looked perfectly preserved, on which read a surprisingly modern day text in English. Realisation hit him like a herd of stampeding buffalo as he continued to read. This wasn't a prophecy, this was... THE PROPHECY! The one in which...

  "Ahhhhh," sighed the king. "I figured you'd be the one to find it."

  "This is the, the..."

  "Yes, the prophecy, where it all began. I know."

  "But... it actually exists?"

  "It does," replied the king. "But you already know what I'm going to say next. You can't tell anyone. There are reasons why dragons aren't supposed to know."

  "That's why in the nursery ring we were taught that the prophecy and the agreement were never actually written down, but were magically agreed, verbally," Peter suggested.

  "That's right," observed the king. "They were agreed verbally, with a binding magical agreement, so what is taught is strictly true. But they were written down as well, so that in time to come, a record would be held for all to see, a record of what we as a race agreed to, and why. This, my young friend, is all that remains of that written record."

  Fascinated, Peter nodded before going back to studying the document in its glass case, as the king hovered over his shoulder.

  "Why is it written in modern day English?" he asked.

  Much to Peter's disappointment, the king guffawed.

  "Both the agreement and the prophecy were originally written in ancient Hebrew, and that is what you see before you, part of the original document. The reason it stands out in modern day English to you, is that part of the binding magical enchantment translates the text into whatever language the reader is most familiar with. This, I am led to believe, was the only way at the time that the Basilisks, the Hydra Queen, the Manticores and the Heretics of Antar would all agree to sign up to such an agreement."

  Astonished at the ancient document, he couldn't begin to comprehend the complexity of the magic that had gone into the translation process, let alone about the part making it binding. It was truly staggering to behold.

  "The... ah... ah prophecy itself, was it all about guiding and protecting the humans?" he asked sheepishly.

  Considering Peter's question with a much more serious look on his face, the king leant to one side, and while scratching his chin, replied,

  "I think you know I'm not at liberty to answer that question. But if it's any consolation, then if I could tell anyone what I know, then it most definitely would be you."

  At just the mention of the word 'prophecy,' the words ingrained in the king's head threatened to overwhelm his memory, appearing as if on a chalk board right in front of his face. Becoming instantly alert, the ring had its power ready to be called on, aware of the importance held within the text. As Peter continued to study the ancient document, the king studied the words floating inside his head.

  "Millennia from now, when today's apes have evolved to be more civilised, a dark shadow will fall across the world. Enemies old and new will form a powerful alliance, their goal: total domination.

  With the planet ravaged, scorched, on fire, only the pure white brilliance of a dragon can free it from the devil's grasp. Or so it would seem.

  In our most desperate time of need, one stands above all others. An ape evolved, or is it something more?

  Humanity, as it will become known, is to be guided, protected, nurtured and cherished. All of our destinies depend upon it."

  Whenever he thought about the prophecy, the same series of questions always ran through his mind. When would it happen? It had been over twenty thousand years since the prophecy and the agreement had been reached, and there was still no sign of it coming true. Who was the white dragon? In the history of the dragon kingdom, not one single, all-white dragon had ever been conceived... NEVER! Of course there are dragons that are partly white, but not one single fully white one. Would it ever happen? And just why was it so important to protect and guide the humans of this world? What part did they have to play in all of this?

  Opening his eyes, not realising that he'd even closed them, he tried to shake away all the negative thoughts. So much about the prophecy
bothered him, as it had no doubt the dragon monarchs before him. He'd always just supposed that things would unravel as they were supposed to, if indeed the white dragon ever made an appearance. Brushing aside the pointless thoughts, he offered the young dragon with him the most encouraging smile he could.

  Peter returned the king's smile, feeling all warm inside as he thought,

  'Things just keep getting weirder and weirder. Here I am in the most amazing and secret place in the entire dragon kingdom, alongside the king, who, by his own admission, wants to confide in me. Four months ago I was just a normal dragon, now all of a sudden I'm involved in all of this. I just can't get my head around it all.'

  Patting Peter on the back, the king suggested they move on. Continuing on up the aisle they were in, they stumbled across a huge bookcase with literally hundreds of noses carved into it. Craning his neck to look up at the very top, Peter could just make out the words 'Aroma Therapy'.

  Unable to pass it by, he just had to stop and take a look. Hanging back, the king, had anyone been there to notice, had a smirk which definitely had the potential to become a giggle, and maybe even blossom into a huge belly laugh.

  Adjusting his head slightly, Peter looked at the title of the first book in the section, shaking his head as he did so. It read 'Ahhhhh Bicester!!!'