The Dragon King

by Patty Jansen

  Then the column set in motion.

  Nellie travelled in the coach with Wim, the children, Jantien and Yolande. The plan was to let Jantien and the children out once they got to the edge of the city. Henrik had given her a list of places where they might find safe shelter. Jantien wanted to help hand out sweets, but it would be safer for her to hide.

  The long column snaked through the fields. Mustafa and his elephant went first, followed by the zebra horses and the leopard on a leash. The parrots sat in their cage on the wagon, screeching their heads off. They seemed to enjoy themselves.

  Then came the coach with Nellie and the others. Henrik sat with Adalbert Verdonck’s coachman in the driver’s seat. Nellie could hear their voices talking and laughing.

  The day was nice and the sky pale blue. The sun hung low over the fields.

  Sections of the road were muddy, but once they came to the small villages, most of the roads were paved with cobbles. That made the journey quicker but the clatter of hooves and wheels over the cobbles was very noisy.

  They could see the city in the distance.

  Soon, they were between the small farms that grew vegetables and kept chickens, pigs and cows. Here and there, people were working in the fields, feeding their sheep or cows or mending fences. The balloon got a lot of attention. Farmer’s wives and families came out of their houses to stare at it. They walked along with Esme, who didn’t once stray from her path.

  Mustafa had climbed onto her back, and continued to feed her carrots from a bag attached to the saddle.

  They came to the outskirts of the city, where the poor people lived in rows of little houses, sometimes with very small plots of land. People ran to the side of the road to have a look at the passing column and marvel at the balloon.

  Mustafa produced a metal funnel that made his voice louder when he spoke into it. They were a travelling group of artistes, he said. They were coming to bring cheer to the city. Everyone would get free sweets.

  Soon, a horde of children—and older people—followed along. Those at the back of the crowd got their sweets from Koby, who threw handfuls of them into the audience from her position high above the street.

  The crowd swelled and swelled.

  People came running out of side streets. Koby was throwing sweets down from her perch, and the people were putting them in their mouths. Children came with grubby little hands; young men came with eager looks on their faces; young women danced with dainty moves, as if afraid that so-and-so from next door would notice; and grandmothers followed with half-closed eyes that could only see the good times of years past, when for half a cent you could buy a bag of sweets so big that you could eat one every day for a month and still not run out.

  Many people followed the parade, asking for more sweets. Nellie had told Koby and the others that it was important that enough sweets remained to hand out in the market place, because the people there were the most likely to visit the main church and be influenced by Shepherd Wilfridus.

  They came past the council building where a queue stood for people to receive their food rations. Henrik tossed a handful of sweets onto the desk where the officials asked for names and other details. Several men leaned forward to grab the treats. They put them in their mouths.

  “We’re going to see the fair Regent of this town,” Mustafa called. “Come along and tell him you want to see our animals and parade. Come along if you want to go for a ride in the balloon! If she likes you, Esme might let you feed her carrots.”

  And many people came and followed. They cheered.

  Chapter 22

  * * *

  FINALLY, THE PARADE with the elephant, the wagon and balloon, the horses, goats and parrots, the carts with beautifully dressed-up people and all the citizens tagging along, keen to get more sweets, arrived in the middle of the city. They crossed the marketplace and went through the palace gates. There was a short holdup at the gate when Mustafa held his talk about bringing fun to the city for the benefit of the palace guards. Nellie couldn’t hear what was said, but a lot of guards came to the gate, and after protests and pleading from Mustafa and promises of sweets, the palace gates opened.

  Madame Sabine had said several times that Casper loved sweets.

  The coach rattled across the cobbles of the forecourt. Nellie sat on the side facing away from the palace. The crowd of citizens had to stay at the gates because only the parade of colourful people and animals were allowed inside. Against the dreary grey buildings of the city, they looked very colourful indeed.

  The coach stopped and the coachman jumped off the driver’s seat to open the door. Nellie felt like she had stepped back in time to when she would travel with Mistress Johanna like this.

  It had not been warm inside the coach, but the air outside was positively freezing. Nellie pulled the sides of her coat closer around her. Her legs were stiff. They had only been underway for half a day—not long at all compared to how far some people travelled—but Nellie rarely sat still for that long.

  The steps to the coach were narrow and hard to navigate in a dress where one couldn’t see one’s feet.

  Looking up at the majestic building where she had spent a substantial part of her life, a wave of nerves overcame Nellie. Certainly at least one of these guards would recognise Lord Verdonck’s coach or his coachman. Then again, Adalbert Verdonck never used the hospitality of the palace when he came with his father.

  Floris and Gisele were pulling in the rope to bring Koby and the balloon down. She was shivering with cold, but her eyes shone.

  “You can see so much from up there!” she said to Gisele.

  They gathered the people who were going inside. Not everyone was, because Floris and some of the women didn’t want to risk being questioned by anyone. Agatha, however, said several times she had nothing left to lose. She had left her children with Jantien, who was taking them to one of Henrik’s safe addresses. The risqué low-cut dress had transformed her from a frumpy peasant to an elegant dame. She didn’t look half as old as Nellie had previously guessed her to be. She walked next to Madame Sabine—an unlikely friendship—who covered her face with a veil.

  Nellie shivered. She was uncomfortable in this dress. She was really not made for this type of clothing.

  Finally, the party started up the palace steps. Mustafa led, dressed in a bright purple jacket, a red- and black-striped top hat and blue trousers. He had twirled his moustache into curls and carried a walking stick which he threw into the air and caught deftly. The giant snake hung draped over his shoulders. Lila walked next to him on a leash, and Koby took the leash with the zebra horse. One of the parrots sat on her shoulder and the other fluttered over the party, screeching. Esme climbed the steps with her master, but because only the small doors were open, she didn’t fit through. Koby offered to stay outside.

  The remaining party went into the palace foyer, with the rear end of the column carrying the many baskets and boxes of food they had brought for the celebration.

  Two servants were scrubbing the floors, but Nellie tried not to look at them, for fear they would recognise her. If she felt nervous, she could only imagine what Madame Sabine must feel like.

  They went into the ballroom, passing through a guard consisting of two teenage boys in too-big guard uniforms.

  Nellie had expected chaos, with food on the floor and broken furniture and other things that came with wild orgies, but the first thing that struck her was how orderly and clean the room was. The tables stood in straight rows. While it was clear that people slept here, the row of mattresses lay against the outer walls of the room, and all the blankets were neatly folded. The floor was swept, the tables clean.

  The places on the dais that would normally be taken up by the venerable old advisers of the king or the Regent were now taken up by younger people. Nellie recognised quite a few of them, and noticed how they looked much older and quite well presented.

  She saw Bruno at the table. He sat with a straight back, his chin up. He wore a
cloak that resembled the king’s carmine cloak but it was a different garment, because Nellie remembered seeing the Regent wear it. His sleek black hair hung like curtains on both sides of his narrow face. On his lap, he held the dragon box.

  Behind them, up two further steps, stood the king’s throne.

  In years past, it was the only piece of furniture no one had moved from its original position, in the hope that one day the succession problem would be solved. No one had touched it or attempted to sit in it.

  Mustafa walked forward leading the leopard by the leash. He stopped in front of the dais and bowed. The gathered youngsters moved aside so that a path opened to the throne. The leopard sat down, its tail twitching.

  “We present to you the animal extravaganza.” He turned around and waved his hand at the group of people behind him. Nellie stood next to Madame Sabine. The sweat ran down her back, even though it wasn’t very warm in this room. “We bring you exquisite food, sweets, cakes, and sausages. We would have brought the elephant, but she doesn’t fit through the door.”

  There was a bit of laughter at this, and some of the noble sons and daughters started to relax.

  “What is your business in this town?” asked a clear voice, old enough to have obtained a man’s dark tones, but still young enough to sound like a child, and Madame Sabine took in a sharp breath.

  It was Casper, and for Nellie, the first sign she’d seen that Madame Sabine felt anything towards her children. Nellie could see Frederick at the edge of the group, next to a noble daughter who looked barely older than twelve.

  Again, Mustafa bowed. “We have come here for a celebration and hopefully to solicit custom of the well-off citizens of this town. We arrange parties, we entertain, we show exotic animals and we cook.” He held out a box of sweets to Casper, and the boy took one, popped it into his mouth and chewed.

  He nodded. “Tastes good.” He took another.

  Nellie let out a breath that she hadn’t realised she was holding. It might just be that this plan would work.

  “Make sure you give the guards some sweets as well,” she whispered to Hilde next to her.

  At this moment one of the parrots at the back said loudly, “You idiot.”

  Sniggers broke out among the noble sons and daughters.

  “We truly mean no harm,” Mustafa said. “We are a band of travellers in need of shelter, and funds to feed our animals. The countryside is very poor indeed, and not many people are happy to have us. They spread rumours that the animals are dangerous. Can you imagine it? Look at her.” He bent down and patted the leopard on the head.

  While he was speaking, Bruno’s eyes met Nellie’s. She was sure he recognised her. He gave a tiny smile.

  “Well then, what are you waiting for,” Casper said. “Bring out the tables. Let’s have a feast.”

  “We have brought a variety of exotic foods that we would like you to try,” Mustafa said. “We have sausages and wines and exotic spices and sweets. We would like to share these things with you as our gratitude for hosting us in your city.”

  He was doing an amazing job as entertainer. Nellie remembered how he would take groups of people around his animal park and delight them with his strange accent and funny stories.

  Servants drew the tables across the room.

  Nellie was sure that one or two of them recognised some of the people in the party. No disguise was foolproof. But they said nothing and did as was ordered. Most importantly, people in the party offered them sweets.

  Food was brought up, and the women shared the sausages and cakes they had made. For a while everyone was happy, and the talk was about animals and where they had come from.

  Mustafa walked the leopard and the zebra horse around the hall so that everyone could look at it. The youngsters could pat the leopard, but the zebra horse was a cranky creature, likely to kick or bite. Casper needed to demonstrate that, to the great hilarity of his friends. Just to prove that he hadn’t quite grown as serious as events suggested.

  The youngsters were not as reckless as Nellie had expected, but they’d arrived at this situation because they were stuck for ideas of how to get out.

  So they partied.

  It was all they could do. While the city was hungry, they partied. When they didn’t know what to do, they partied. Banquets and plenty of wine solved everything. In this case, it really would.

  Nellie took one of the sausages, cut small slices and made sure that everyone had a piece and that she spoke with everyone. She asked the noble girls their names and who their families were, and she made compliments about their dresses and their hair.

  In between the levity, she heard that most of the girls were in the palace because they’d had disagreements with their parents, who thought Casper was a menace to the city, and the girls considered Casper a friend.

  One girl confided in Nellie that she couldn’t see how Casper’s behaviour was any worse than that of his father, and that none of the older generation objected to the Regent’s banquets. “Just because they’re not invited, that’s why.”

  Nellie badly wanted to ask why the girl thought the doors were shut and they couldn’t go to their homes, but that would give away that these “travellers” were more knowledgeable about the city than they should be, although the whole plan was probably about to fall apart anyway.

  Another girl added, “It’s just horrible what they did to Prince Bruno. Our parents are ashamed, and that’s why they don’t like us here, because we hear his stories of how the church locked him up for years, and they know we will blame our parents for allowing it to happen. I was only five when the king and queen died, but my parents were adults, and they should have asked about Prince Bruno, but they didn’t. They were cowards and they believed the church.”

  The first girl said, “Shhh, Amalia, why do you think these visitors want to know about this? You’re going to get us all into trouble.”

  Nellie bowed and backed away. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to cause trouble for you.” She resumed her course around the hall.

  When people asked, she would tell stories about her travels, mostly exaggerated from the time she travelled with Mistress Johanna. If you had a long life, you could find quite a few things to use as embellishments.

  She made up how she was a servant at the court of the Red Baron, and told them about the forbidding castle, and she could do a reasonably good job because she had actually been inside the castle. She told them about the magical forest and, for a while, everyone was happy.

  Nellie went to serve Prince Bruno as well. She asked him quietly if he was all right, to which he said that he was. She didn’t dare ask anything else, like whether the dragon was in the box, and whether he had indeed fought the shepherd and lost.

  From close up, he looked even more fragile than he had when they first came in. He knew his position was dangerous. He knew he wasn’t ready to fight.

  She gently touched his hand when he took a piece of the sausage she offered. It was all she could do to reassure him. She remembered him as four-year-old boy, but the adolescent Bruno was still too disturbed to confide in her. Yet she must help him, even as he rejected or ignored her. He was not ready to face this.

  She couldn’t ask him what he was doing here, and whether this meant that he was Casper’s friend or was trying to use Casper, or whether Casper had wanted to take the throne for himself. In the end, it was not relevant, because they were all prisoners in this magnificent palace.

  And then came a commotion at the door.

  Someone shouted, and the two guards posted there were trying to keep a person from coming in.

  A man called out, “Let me through, you imbeciles.”

  It was Shepherd Wilfridus.

  Show time.

  Chapter 23

  * * *

  SHEPHERD WILFRIDUS strode through the hall, his robes flying, sidestepping the guards who tried to stand in his way. The guards themselves were young boys, no match for the shepherd.

  He w
alked straight through the gathered circus troupe party.

  He did not stop in front of the dais, but climbed the steps in a single jump, belying his age, and grabbed Casper by the arm.

  “What do you think you’re doing, boy?” His voice was like a snarl.

  “Take your hands off me.” Casper pulled his arm out of the shepherd’s grip.

  The shepherd clearly hadn’t expected that, and gave Casper an angry look. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you ever listen to what a superior tells you?”

  “I am not your servant,” Casper said. “I am the legal successor to the Regentship.” His face was pale, but he sat straight.

  “You wish.”

  “I have more claim on the position than anyone else. You don’t have the right to bully me about.”

  The shepherd took in a sharp breath.

  No, he had definitely not expected that.

  “You will do as I say. I am through with this ridiculous behaviour of yours. I have left you free rein since your father died because I took pity on you. It’s finished now, and it’s time you start listening to me.”

  “I don’t need to listen to you. My father was appointed Regent, and I have assumed that position.”

  “I did not appoint you to that position. You’re a brat.”

  “I’m sixteen. I’m an adult.”

  “I did not appoint you.”

  “Well, in that case, I may just have to ask the king’s advice.”

  And everybody turned around to Bruno, who looked very small and skinny.

  In the tense silence, he rose from his seat, walked across the dais, up the two steps and sat down in the empty throne where nobody had sat for over ten years.

  The shepherd’s eyes widened. His mouth opened and closed as if he were a dying fish. He glanced at the guests and the food on the tables, much of which had not been produced in the kitchens.