Thomas Kindercook and the Pink Pyjamas

  “Can I take this off now?”

  “Just hold on a second.”

  The rumbling sound of a crowd, much like the sound of a river coursing through rocks, grew louder. Wherever he was, there was quite a large crowd joining him. Finally horns cut through the idle chatter and the room grew quiet. As the crowd grew hushed, a cheerful melody began to play. Thomas recognized the song immediately. It was the music you would hear at a circus! Alanna pulled the blindfold off Thomas.

  Thomas blinked. They were in a giant red striped tent. No wait! Thomas recognized some of the statues and marble work. This was the arena! It had been transformed into the big top! There were high-wire rigs, Trapeze, large dangerous looking wheels, and three large circles dividing up the floor of the arena. The seating area as well had been transformed to accommodate humans. The masses of people that had lined up outside were now seating themselves. Clowns were walking through the aisles handing out popcorn and cotton candy. Thomas saw many of the lords who were present at the king's dinner. King Alkamire and his wife were seated at a box in the centre of the arena tent, looking quite satisfied.

  Thomas couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that the clowns he had summoned had started a new life here.

  “This is their home now. I thought that your spell would eventually wear off, but they never disappeared after your battle, and had no place to go, so father has set them up in here.”

  “This is the perfect place for them. It's not that different from back home.”

  The show was getting underway now. The clown that had honked the kings nose, evidently was the ring leader. He announced the acts that were coming, and narrated the story that the clowns acted out. Though mainly comic in nature, the tale still incorporated a sad narrative of adversity, loss, and finally triumph.

  Thomas was grateful for the performance, but he was lost in thought. He constantly looked at Alanna, who was laughing, crying, and totally absorbed by the tale the clowns were spinning. Thomas, was totally lost in her.

  The performance ended to thunderous applause. Every individual there was on their feet cheering and whistling. Thomas, carried away with the atmosphere of the moment, cheered at the top of his lungs.

  “Thank you Alanna. This means a lot to me.”

  Alanna held Thomas' arm and turned his attention to a large group of clowns bringing out an enormous cake. There was enough cake there to feed an entire army, or, every person here. On the cake in letters larger than life, was, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS!'

  “How?”

  “I read your journal.” Alanna replied meekly. “I'm sorry. But I'm glad that I did. No one should be alone on their birthday.”

  “You don't have anything to apologize for.” Thomas felt himself fighting to keep control of his emotions. He wasn't sure how manly it would appear if he couldn't keep from being overwhelmed by the smallest gesture. He turned to scan the crowd, nonchalantly scrubbing at his eyes. But it wasn't a small gesture.

  The cast of a thousand clowns filled the arena with music, playing their instruments, singing 'Happy Birthday'. The crowd joined in after a few rounds of singing. The whole arena was in a celebratory mood. The evening stretched late into the night. The audience, having sated themselves on popcorn, cotton candy, and cake, started to disperse from the largest celebration they had ever experienced. King Alkamire and his wife bid them a good night, and then the two of them were alone, with only a few clowns cleaning up after the storm.

  It was a lot for Thomas to take in. He didn't know if there would ever be another night to compare to this one. He couldn't haven't imagined a better birthday, save if his grandfather could have been there to enjoy it with him.

  “Why go through all this trouble Alanna?”

  “Because I love you too, you fool.”

  Alanna kissed Thomas again as if to emphasize the point and for the first time since coming to this new world, Thomas felt that he was home.

  CHAPTER 31

  SHADOWS, SLINKS AND STORM DRAGONS

  The boy and girl were sitting in some sort of tent amongst a crowd. The girl leaned forward and kissed the boy. Victor snorted, his breath distorting the image on the surface of the liquid in the glass of seeing. How often was love the undoing of others.

  Victor's eyes glazed over momentarily and he momentarily lost his train of thought.

  A dark street, rain coming down in torrents, A man of ageing years, a woman of unmistakable beauty. The man's voice was hoarse and wrought with emotion. “I beseech you, tell me why? I trusted you!”

  Victor broke out of his uninvited trance. The boy and girl were holding hands, watching some sort of absurd performance by people in make-up and ridiculous clothing. Victor noticed the boy's almost unnatural preoccupation with the ring on his finger. He seemed to rub his hand ever few minutes to make sure that the ring was still there. Hmm. Victor wondered if the ring played any part in this wizard's power. Wizards often used objects as aids to enhance or even give them their abilities. This could be important.

  The odd humans in makeup were now honking each others noses. The world had certainly taken a turn for the worse since he was in charge. Victor pushed himself away from the bowl and eased his gaze back to the Shadow. He would fix things once he was in charge again. The girl would be that boy's undoing. That was how things always ended with such arrangements.

  Victor sighed. The boy was the target, not the girl. Unfortunately, he seemed to be a formidable wizard.

  “Shadow, summon the Slink.”

  Without a word, the Shadow sunk to the floor and disappeared into the rest of the Shadows. When you told the Shadow to summon anyone, his method of delivering them left them, well, not just a little bit uneasy. That was exactly how he liked his victims to be. A little bit off centre. Never really knowing what was going on. It was easier to manipulate people who were still trying to clear their head.

  Minutes later, the Shadow reappeared with a disoriented Slink named Gill. Slinks, just like the Shadow, were at one point human. One of Victor's many creations involving experimentation on his loyal minions. The difference between the Shadow and the Slink was, those who became Slinks, chose their fate. Slinks still retained most of their human looks and personality. They could converse normally, and seemed quite charming if need be. They were, due to some side effects, often quite lean, almost to the point of being boney, and quite tall. As a benefit of his powers, they gained the ability to move rapidly. Very rapidly if they chose. Watching a Slink move at high speed would make you disoriented and slightly ill. They also were able to blend in with their environment and had the nimblest of fingers of any of his creations. Many was the time that he had used the Slink to pilfer a document from a lord here or a communique from a captain there. All done before anyone had a chance to figure out what had happened.

  “You. You're Gill, are you not?” Victor examined the back of his hand rather than look directly at the Slink.

  The Slink warped the air around it as it dashed closer to the throne and Victor.

  “That will be quite close enough thank-you. Please. Stay still if you will.”

  Gill bobbed his head in Victor's direction. “My only wish is to please my master. What is it that you need my lord?” Gill looked around the room as if the answer lay in some dark corner.

  “I have use of your services. I need you to fetch something for me.” Victor grabbed the bowl of seeing from the stand beside his throne, and carefully took it over to where Gill was standing. “Do you see this boy?”

  “Yes?” the Slink answered nervously. It had done many missions for Victor and not all of the things that it retrieved were pleasant.

  “More importantly, do you see the ring on his finger?”

  The Slink bent forward and concentrated on the image of Thomas in the rippled water of the bowl of seeing. “Y.. Yes my lord.”

  “I need you to fetch this ring for me, and bring it back here. Do you think you could manage that?”

  Gill had never had any problems
before with such things. He actually prided himself one being one of the best procurers of items. “Yes, that shouldn't be any problem at all.”

  “Good, then you will find him in BlueShift. He will more than likely be near this girl,” Victor indicated the girl holding Thomas' hand, “I believe her to be some form of royalty, so be cautious.”

  “Don't worry my lord. I will be discreet as usual.” Gill flashed a large toothy grin that would have made any normal person start checking their pockets.

  As Gill turned to leave, Victor walked over to a window in the tower that overlooked the courtyard. It was that time, when the night was at its darkest. Not a star dotted the sky, and clouds blotted out the moon entirely. Despite this, the courtyard was lit up as if it were a midsummer's day. Along the top of the walls that surrounded the courtyard, were lit cauldrons of fire, that burned heartily on pitch-wood and scraps that had been gathered. Smoke rose out of the cauldron in angry billowing clouds. The stench of pitch and wood thick over the courtyard. This did not seem to bother the beings in the courtyard, who were busy, battling one another. Dragon on dragon, some in human form, others as beasts, hurling electrical bolts at each other, smashing one another into the ground and walls. Their training had progressed quite nicely under Victor's scrutiny.

  “Shadow, I am going to give you one more chance. A last chance.” Victor turned from the window and walked toward it. “We need to neutralize this wizard boy.” Victor continued to walk around the Shadow. “Unfortunately, your presence announces itself long before you arrive. Gill will be able to get close and get that ring for me, but in case that's not enough, I need a contingency plan. Clearly, this boy is interested in this young lady dragon. It's going to be up to you to capture her. This time however...” Victor held his hand up toward the courtyard window, gently swirling his hand around in the air. The Shadow watched with a bad feeling growing inside. As Victor's arm swirled through the air, distant rumbles of thunder shook the old castle walls, then sudden lightening streaked into the courtyard, briefly fetching cries of shock and terror, which died down as quickly as they had erupted. Lightning struck now. Again. More and more often. Beyond the window overlooking the courtyard, creatures were scrambling for cover, but Victor merely continued to swirl his arm. The clouds drew in close to the window, the wind whipped through carrying papers and debris throughout the room. Finally as the earth began to shake, and it seemed the castle would not be able to take anymore of the elemental assault, dark black clouds twisted through the window and wound themselves around Victor's swirling arm. Victor turned his gaze to the Shadow and held out his arm in its direction. A funnel of black smoke tore through Victor and bolted out from his outstretched arm toward the Shadow. It lifted the Shadow into the air and spun it around like a top. Being formed of darkness, being surrounded by black swirling clouds, made it appear that the Shadow had been devoured by the unnatural cloud. Flashes of light shot out from inside of the cloud. The ground continued to shake. Bits of bricks vibrated out of the ancient wall until in a great climactic earth shattering boom, the cloud disappeared and a creature dropped to the floor.

  All was quiet. The Storm Dragons that had been sparring outside, had long fled to their barracks. Even the wind seemed scared now to make a noise. Victor weaved a weary line back to the throne and sat down waiting patiently for his creation to rise.

  Slowly the Shadow brought itself to its feet. Only it wasn't really its own feet. The feet were the feet of an elderly man. Victor sat, exhausted, on his throne examining his creation. The creature before him looked old and decrepit, well into his eighties. He was gnarled and had a slight hunch. His old skin hung gauntly on his frail bones. His hair hung in long wavy locks that fell beneath his ribcage and his beard had a life of its own, snaking out in every direction. The hollow looking man wasn't one that you would fear seeing. He looked the sort of soul one might take pity on at a marketplace, and give a couple of coppers to. Only his clothing looked more pitiful than he. Not so dirty that it might drive people away. He looked like someone who had been living in adversity for some time.

  All in all perfect, thought Victor.

  “How do you look like your new form Shadow?” Victor said with a wry twist of the mouth.

  “Sire?” The Shadow looked thoroughly confused.

  “Relax, you are still yourself. This will mask who you are completely. I need you to head out to find these two. Wait for an opportunity to arise where the girl is alone. You have to lure her in close. As soon as she is within your grasp, you will return to your normal self, and you will then take her. Bring her back to me here. She will not have time to react.

  The Shadow was wobbling around on his new frail legs. He didn't seem all that pleased with his new condition.

  “This is your last chance Shadow.” Victor motioned with his hand, dismissing the elderly gentleman.

  The Shadow rambled out of the room disjointedly. Meanwhile, Victor sat deep in thought. He was almost ready for his strike. He was so lost in thought over his coming war, that he didn't notice the man standing in the doorway, waiting patiently.

  Victor squinted hard. “Who's that? Who's there?”

  A young man stepped out of the Shadow of the doorway and into the middle of the room. “Lord Victor. I bring greetings from my family, the Ganton Dragons.”

  “Who are you?”

  “My name is Gatsby.”

  CHAPTER 32

  AND THE PINK PYJAMAS

  “You have to be kidding.” Thomas was standing precariously on the side of the cart, stacking the last load of provisions that the palace servants had brought out at Alanna's request and she was still coming out with another cart load of clothing. “You don't remember how arduous the first time was?”

  “Don't worry Thomas, I am only bringing the essentials this time.” Alanna was busy flitting around from parcel to parcel, taking note of what was there, frowning when she perceived something was missing.

  “How is this only the essentials? We had half as much the first time!”

  “I don't want to be unprepared this time.”

  “That's right, you only had a day of cart duty last time.”

  Thomas sighed and reached into his pocket to retrieve a package of 'Francisca’s truly the best in the entire world, mints.' and popped one into his mouth. He had found the mints in a small sweets shop on the edge of the city. The shop had boasted the best collection of sugary confection to be found in all of Alumia. However, they were far from the 'best' mints he had ever had. Thomas exhaled a sad minty breath and continued to pack things onto the waggon with care. “Tell me again why we don't just fly to Westminster?”

  “Do you do a lot of flying?” Alanna asked wryly.

  “Only on planes.”

  Alanna frowned, and then relaxed. “So how would you propose that you will fly to Westminster then?”

  “Well, I sort of thought I would... ride you.”

  “Oh?” Alanna twirled around. “Notice anything?”

  “New dress?”

  “No handles. So unless you don't mind being carried in my claws, I think we are stuck walking, wouldn't you say?” Alanna was acting impassive, but Thomas could detect a slight undertone of contempt in her voice.

  “I just thought you might have some sort of, you know, harness or saddle.

  Alanna's eyes bugged out and her mouth dropped open.

  “What do you think I am?! Some sort of pack animal?”

  “I just meant...”

  “I know what you meant. You seriously believe that dragons are meant to be beasts of burden? We are a race of highly intelligent sophisticated beings! Your comment reduces us to nothing more than subservient creatures of menial labour.”

  Thomas knew he had somehow managed to mess up an otherwise pleasant morning by suggesting something that, at least to him, was quite rational.

  “Alanna, I was thinking of the time we would save. Your father wants this done quickly, why is this such an issue?”

 
“It just troubles me that you would think that the use of dragons for transportation by humans would be so common that there would be a market for....” Alanna twisted her mouth in distaste, “harnesses.” Alanna was working herself into a frenzy. She played at checking boxes and ropes, but she was really using this as an excuse to parade around and wave her arms in the air. “And it's not just any old dragon you want to harness. It's the princess! Hey everybody, come get a good gander at the foreign human riding his fiancee, the best of the beasts of burden, princess!” Alanna was practically snorting now with each word.

  “I guess that's a no then.”

  A dangerous look was burning in Alanna's eyes, she stepped closer to Thomas.

  “Mint?”

  “What?! You think a mint is going to make things better?!”

  “Well...” Thomas took his best shot at a charming smile, “They are 'Francisca’s truly the best in the entire world, mints.'”

  Alanna screamed in frustration and started after Thomas. Thomas backed away and tripped stumbling to the ground, getting the truly best mint lodged in his throat momentarily. Luckily for him, Alanna walked into a wall. Or rather a man shaped like a wall.

  “G'morning princess.” Tretchbolt had managed to sneak up on them in the midst of their little argument. No easy task for a wall to do.

  “Tretch!” Thomas said relieved. At least Thomas had something to use as a shield with Alanna flying off the handle.

  “Thomas.” Tretchbolt acknowledged. “What's going on here?”

  “That dimwit thinks he can saddle me up and ride me to Westminster!” Alanna didn't stop glaring at Thomas, even to talk to Tretchbolt.

  “Ah. Well... it wouldn't be unprecedented.”

  Alanna turned to Tretchbolt with a look of utter disbelief on her face. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, during the wars of Theonian Empire, that's exactly what happened. Humans worked war machines from atop the backs of dragons. You might argue that a dragon is a good enough weapon in itself. The truth though? In battle, fire is great, for the first couple of tries, after that you are so exhausted a forest galoppy could best you. Working with the humans provided more balance. The war machines had a great supply of ammunition, the dragons provided mobility that the humans couldn't attain by themselves, together the two became far more deadly together than apart. Something that was desperately needed to hold off the invasions of the Theonians.”