The Noble Mr. Prickles

CHAPTER NINE

  The next morning Tabby was woken up by a very loud servant who practically pulled the reluctant child out of her bed. Fortunately, the servant did not notice Advan, who was coated in the child's drool and very upset about it. Tabby put the dwarf on the table with the others and instructed him to go in the doll house while she got dressed. The humans were waiting for him in the front room.

  "How did you sleep?" Jack asked him, chuckling.

  "I've had more pleasant nights trapped in dragons' lairs!" Advan growled. "But I did make some progress with her."

  "Really?" Javan asked.

  "She's taking me to the throne room this afternoon," Advan told them. "A delegation from the Southern Giants is coming and Donovan wants her there to greet them."

  "Good work," Javan said. "Do you think you can convince her to take all of us?"

  "I don't know," Advan said. "Ill try."

  "Oh little human thingies!" Tabby called from outside. "Come on out!"

  The four of them went out onto the table top. Tabby was dressed and waiting for them. Her puppy sat at her feet wagging his tail.

  "Are we going to play now?" Javan asked. Now that it looked like they would make it to the throne room without having to pretend to like the games, he did not sound as enthused about the prospect.

  "Not right now," she said. "I'm going to go eat breakfast and when I get back, we'll play."

  "Breakfast?" Jack asked. They had not eaten anything since the previous afternoon and were getting hungry. "Could you bring us back something to eat?"

  Tabby seemed surprised by the question. Apparently she was so used to the concept of them being toys that she forgot that they were living, breathing creatures in need of food and drink.

  "I'll try," she said.

  "And Princess," Advan called, "Can you get me bowl of water or something? I need a bath."

  "Oh, I can do that!" she said. She had a pitcher of water on the table next to her bed. She went there and poured some into a bowl.

  "A bath, Advan?" Javan asked. "I thought that dwarfs rarely bathed."

  "Dwarfs rarely get covered in drool," Advan replied.

  Tabby had paused, looking confused at the table. She scratched her head.

  "What's wrong?" Advan asked her.

  "I thought I put them here," the girl said.

  "Put what?" Javan asked.

  "Never mind," she said. She brought the bowl over for Advan and left the room.

  "What was she looking for?" Jack asked.

  "Wasn't that where she put our weapons?" Lazarah said. "Could they be missing?"

  "If they are, who took them?" asked Advan.

  Javan had an idea who might have taken the weaponry, but he didn't want to say anything yet. What good could Mr. Prickles do with or without the weapons anyway?

  "No bother," Advan said. "They aren't doing us any good on that table, are they? Now, if you'll excuse me..." He grabbed hold of the bowl of water, three times his size, and slowly dragged it to the side of the doll house. The others laughed quietly at him and went inside the doll house to wait for their breakfast.

  About half an hour later, Tabby returned to her bedroom. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gigantic mess of eggs, sausage, and toast and put it in a pile in front of the four warriors. The pile was nearly three feet tall and pieces of lint and dust were stuck to it, but it was food and they were hungry. They began picking away the lint and putting the food onto the doll house plates.

  "Don't take too long," the giant child told them, "I want to play soon!"