The Runaway Dragon (7 page)

Nort folded his arms. “His spells never go wrong.”

“Hers do,” someone said, but though Meg whipped her head around, she couldn’t tell who had spoken.

Meg braced herself and took a step forward. “I haven’t answered your question, Lieutenant Staunton.
I
stole the arbalest.” Only it hardly seemed like stealing when the thing came straight from her father’s armory.

Lex sputtered a bit, then stopped to listen. Dilly had come to stand beside him, her face filled with concern.

Lieutenant Staunton stared at Meg. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“To protect my dragon,” Meg answered. “It appears I have been misled about the purpose of our journey.”

“I see,” Lieutenant Staunton said coldly. “And did it not occur to you that the weapon was meant to protect us against a great many dangers along the way?”

“Yes,” Meg said. “Was it meant for Laddy, as well?”

Lieutenant Staunton said, “It was. But only if necessary, according to your father.”

Meg knew, with angry triumph, that there was more to it than that. “And what about
you?
Was there any doubt in your mind that you would have to shoot my dragon?”

Lieutenant Staunton didn’t answer for a moment. Then he said, with impressive formality, “No, there was not.” He paused. “May I ask what you have done with my weapon?”

His
weapon? Meg stood up straighter, wishing the man didn’t tower over her. “It has been decomposed and is no longer available for your use.”

“I see,” the man said again, glancing at Lex. “Release the supplies master,” Lieutenant Staunton said wearily. “He is not to be punished.” The guards let go of Cam, who took a quick step back.

Meg made a move to leave, but Lieutenant Staunton wasn’t done. “Wait, please. Princess Margaret, I may not be able to send you to your room, but I’ll do the next-best thing. You will be kept under close guard for the remainder of our journey.” He looked around at everyone’s watchful faces. “In fact, I will give serious thought to turning back.” With those words, Lieutenant Staunton walked away in the direction of his own tent.

The remaining guardsmen didn’t seem quite so friendly now. Meg sighed and went to pick up her plate. She wasn’t hungry anymore.

“You had to do it,” Dilly said softly. “I
told
you Nort was a gugglehead.”

“What is it about boys and dragons?” Meg asked with asperity. Dilly shrugged, knowing Meg really didn’t expect an answer. Meg pictured Lieutenant Staunton meeting with her father and Captain Hanak, all three of them chortling and rubbing their hands together as they concocted their ruthless plan to shoot Laddy out of the sky. She scowled and took a bite of beef, forcing herself to finish her dinner.

Meg’s quest wasn’t nearly as pleasant the next day. Though Lieutenant Staunton had allowed them to travel
on, he’d made it clear that Meg was in disgrace and that the company might turn back at any moment. He had assigned two guardsmen to ride on either side of Meg, so she was no longer able to laugh and talk with her friends along the way. Neither of the guardsmen was Nort, and neither seemed inclined to converse with Meg.

If she twisted around in her saddle, Meg could see Dilly’s worried face and Lex’s sympathetic one, but of course she had to face forward to keep Chloe on track. For the first hour she rode along dully, her eyes as much on Chloe’s neck as on the road. It was only the thought of reaching the forest that kept her spirits from utter gloom. Perhaps they would find Laddy soon and everything would be all right. Then she remembered the spears and the crossbows. Laddy was still in danger from Staunton’s men.

Last year when Prince Vantor had boastfully tried to kill Laddy, Meg had stolen the little dragon right out from under the man’s nose and spirited him away. Some people thought Laddy was simply a souvenir of her adventures, but Meg knew better, though it was hard to put into words. Maybe she felt this way because Laddy’s mother was dead, and Meg was the closest thing he had to a mother. Besides, Laddy had helped her fight the Battle of Hookhorn Farm and save her father’s kingdom. He was worth fighting for now.

Meg’s mouth tightened. It didn’t matter if she was being treated like this. What mattered was keeping Laddy
safe. It might even be better to go back home, to stay away from Laddy and hope for the best. But the thought made her heart sink. Meg couldn’t go back till she had found out where Laddy had gone, and why. She lifted her head. Lieutenant Staunton or no Lieutenant Staunton, this was still her quest.

The day was long and hot. They were all relieved when they drew near to the edge of the forest, that first fringe of tall trees with its promise of shade. But there seemed to be something in the road, some kind of commotion at the front of the company. Everyone was stopping, and Meg craned her neck to see why.

At last word spread through the guardsmen, and Meg was told she was needed. She slid down from Chloe, hurrying to where Lieutenant Staunton waited with a frown on his face.

Beside him stood a peculiar little figure, an old man with bright, sparkling eyes and a gray beard down to his belly. The top of his head came up only to Lieutenant Staunton’s shoulder, and not just because he was bent with age. The man’s face had so many wrinkles there wasn’t room for one more. He wore a cracked leather vest and a crooked felt hat that must have been green many years ago but had since turned a sort of brownish color. When he saw Meg he bowed, nearly falling over.

“This person wishes to speak with you,” Lieutenant Staunton said in disapproving tones.

“Good day,” the man said in a voice as creaky as his clothes. “Are you the royal young person on a quest?”

“Yes,” Meg said, bewildered.

The man took out a little green notebook and a brass pen to make a note. “Oldest, middle, or youngest child of your parents?”

“Only,” Meg said. “What are you writing?”

The man looked at her consideringly. “The bad luck of an eldest and the good luck of a youngest. Might cancel right out.”

“Now, see here,” Lieutenant Staunton began, but Meg was already talking. “Who
are
you?” she asked. “What do you want?” And, as an afterthought, “Have you by any chance seen a dragon?”

The old man tucked the notebook away, beaming. “First things first.” He cleared his throat. “Ahem. I am old and alone and nigh unto death.”

“Hardly,” Lieutenant Staunton said.

The old man ignored him. “Could you spare a crust of bread, kind traveler?”

Meg was baffled, but she wasn’t about to refuse a request that simple. Maybe the old man really was in trouble, though she wasn’t sure what to make of the notebook or his odd questions. “I have a roll in my pocket. Will that help?”

The man nodded, pleased, and Meg gave him the roll, which was only a little squashed. He bit into it happily.
Everyone waited while he ate the entire roll and then burped.

“Now will you answer my questions?” Meg said.

The old man bowed again.
“Now
, good Princess, I am going to help you get through the enchanted forest.”

HERE FOLLOWED A THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE
interlude in which Lieutenant Staunton argued that the forest wasn’t particularly enchanted that he knew of, which turned out to mean that the forest wasn’t marked “enchanted” on the guardsman’s map. Staunton also thought that the old man, whose name was Quorlock, only wanted a free lunch, also breakfast and dinner. Meg responded by acting on her strong belief that anything Lieutenant Staunton didn’t want, she wanted.

Despite Meg’s supposedly disgraced status, she was able to get her way, with the result that the old man joined the company as a guide.

Unfortunately, Quorlock hadn’t seen Laddy. “But you will find, Princess, that those who enter the enchanted forest discover help therein.”

“What kind of help?” Meg asked, interested.

“Magical, mysterious, and unexpected help,” Quorlock said, his eyes twinkling.

If Lieutenant Staunton hadn’t been so proper, he would have rolled his own eyes. Instead he begrudgingly arranged for Quorlock to ride in Cam’s wagon. At the front of the company, he might actually have been useful. As it was, Meg couldn’t ask the old man any of her questions about the enchanted forest.

If there was ever a forest that deserved to be enchanted, it was this one. Oaks and maples, ash trees and beeches: the trees here were older and taller than the trees in the wood by the castle. Their heavy branches twisted out over the path, whispering greenly in the wind. Half-glimpsed animals, a low hum of insects, and the distant calls of birds, not to mention a sort of listening sensation, made Meg sure that at any moment she would see something new and magical.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. The guardsmen seemed more tense and alert than usual.

The tension broke a short while later when Lex fell off his horse again. The guardsmen pretended they weren’t smiling, but Meg didn’t bother to hide her grin. Not that Lex noticed. He tried to recover his dignity by using the occasion to confer with Lieutenant Staunton about Laddy’s location—which suited Meg perfectly. She slipped off her horse and went back to talk with Dilly. The guardsmen glanced at each other, but there was no point in trying to stop her, so they didn’t.

“Lex keeps telling jokes,” Dilly said darkly.

“Oh no,” Meg said. Lex and jokes didn’t really mix.

Cam joined them. “Why isn’t the old man up front, Meg? He told me he offered to guide us through the enchanted forest.”

“One guess,” Meg said.

“Lieutenant Staunton.”

“Exactly.” Lieutenant Staunton was arguing with Lex at the moment. Apparently Lex’s magic showed that Laddy had touched down somewhere off to the southwest, and the path through the forest was still heading south. Lex wanted to leave the path or at least send a small party off to the southwest, but Lieutenant Staunton said they should keep going south and then veer off later.

To no one’s surprise, Lieutenant Staunton won the argument. Lex wasn’t wearing his customary smile as he joined his friends. “This could get interesting, you know,” he told them.

“Why?” Meg asked.

Lex turned to look at the forest. “If it really is an enchanted forest, there will be surprises. Also rules, and I don’t like rules very much.”

“Forest
rules?” Dilly said incredulously.

Lex nodded. “Stories matter in an enchanted forest. I just hope the forest doesn’t get too fussy about it where we’re concerned.” With these cryptic remarks, the wizard
walked to his horse and clambered on, still looking thoughtful.

None of the others knew what he meant, so Dilly changed the subject. “Maybe the lieutenant will forget about keeping you away from us now.” She tried riding alongside Meg once Meg had returned to Chloe and Cam had gone back to the supply wagon. But Lieutenant Staunton hadn’t forgotten. At his signal, the two guardsmen assigned to watch Meg flanked her, sending Dilly back to her place beside Lex. One of the men gave Meg an apologetic look as he did so, which made her feel the tiniest bit better. Not everyone was as coldhearted as Lieutenant Staunton.

It wasn’t quite noon when Meg heard a cry up ahead. Something had crossed the path and was now rushing alongside them between the trees. Without hesitation, the guardsmen on either side of Meg whipped their horses around and followed it. Meg only saw the creature herself for a second, but it wasn’t a sight anyone could forget: a great white stag with a forest of many-pronged antlers crowning its head. The creature looked like an animal, but its pelt was so pure a white that it practically glowed, whiter than anything Meg had ever seen, even snow.

Every single one of Meg’s ten guardsmen raced after the stag, though Nort gave her a frantic backwards look
as he left. Lex started to follow, too, but his horse didn’t want him along and bucked harder than ever before. Lex promptly flew through the air again, hitting the ground hard as his bad-tempered horse disappeared into the forest after the others.

As for Cam, he was fighting to race the wagon between the trees, but there wasn’t room. Cam’s wagon hit the trunks with a wooden crunch, and he flipped off sideways into the underbrush.

Meg’s startled scarf gave an earsplitting cry of alarm, leaping from her shoulders to rise high overhead. Lex’s magic carpet hid behind a tree.

All of this took less than a minute to happen. Meg jumped off her horse, hoping Chloe wouldn’t bolt. She had to see if Cam and Lex were hurt. Dilly was right behind her.

But even placid Chloe was snorting and rearing, apparently wanting to run after, or run with, the stag. She and Dilly’s horse disappeared into the forest. Meg thought the camp cook was helping when he pulled the two carthorses loose from Cam’s wrecked supply wagon. Instead he hopped on one of the horses and rushed off, with the other horse whinnying wildly after him.

Shaking her head, Meg turned her attention back to her two friends. Cam and Lex were more bruised than anything else, though Lex was a little wobbly and kept repeating, “Where’s the stag?” Cam tried to slip away into the forest, but Dilly brought him back over and over
again until he seemed to return to himself. Then he sheepishly set about examining the ruined wagon, while Lex lay propped up against a tree trunk, blinking as if it were a lot of work to move even his eyelashes.