Thomas Kindercook and the Pink Pyjamas

  “Alanna was an old friend of mine. One thing you need to understand about dragons Thomas. While we treat each other with respect... the different races of dragons don't socialize. The Alkamire Blue Dragons, the Ganton Red Dragons... we live out our lives without interfering in each others affairs.”

  Gatsby finished straightening his collar and sat down to put on some dress boots.

  “Alanna and I were exceptions. She and I were explorers at heart. The Alkamire and Ganton Dragon villages were not that far away from each other back then. We were young, and both loved adventure, so I suppose it was inevitable that we would keep running into each other while exploring. At first we tried to ignore each other, but, eventually, we started to scout together.”

  Gatsby stood up, “How do I look?”

  Thomas shrugged.

  Gatsby sighed.

  “I guess no amount of preening is going to prepare me for this.”

  “So why is Alanna angry with you?” asked Thomas trying to steer Gatsby back onto subject.

  Gatsby took in a deep breath and let it out. “Well... the last time that I saw Alanna, I was supposed to go to a fairly important dinner with her, and I stood her up, I suppose.”

  “All this over a dinner?” It didn't make sense to Thomas.

  Gatsby fiddled with one of his buttons. “Well, I suppose it was sort of an important dinner.”

  Thomas was going to ask about it when a voice bellowed from downstairs, “Gatsby! I wouldn't keep Alanna waiting all day if I were you.”

  Gatsby did a little jump and headed out the door. Just as Thomas was about to follow, Gatsby poked his head back in. “Thomas?” Gatsby seemed apprehensive as he spoke disjointedly. “Why don't you take a look around the town. I don't think this is something that you would be particularly interested in.”

  “But the Shadow!” Thomas began, but Gatsby just waved him off. “We're in BlueShift now. You should be perfectly safe here. I don't believe any Shadow would be dim enough to enter a dragon city!”

  Thomas, not feeling at all better by Gatsby's reassurance, just nodded as Gatsby disappeared again. All of a sudden, Thomas was alone in this new world for the first time since coming here. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was still lurking out there. Waiting.

  CHAPTER 8

  ALANNA

  Talk was sparse as Gatsby was escorted through the city toward the Royal Palace. The city had prospered since the last time Gatsby had been here, several hundred years ago. The buildings were more modern looking. Large statues of various lords and ladies of the Alkamire Dragons stood all around the city. Most of the statues were adorned with jewels and inlaid with gold. Others were made of jade and other exotic rocks. Even the streets themselves were a work of art. Beautiful Lapis Lazuli mosaics of dragons adorned the tiles that made up the sidewalks. The streets appeared to be granite, though a very lovely granite with a lavender hue to it. The city was truly breathtaking.

  The sudden motion of an arm being thrust across his chest woke him up from drinking in the sights of the city. His entourage had come to a halt. He realized with a start that they were at the palace gates. “This is it.” Allan announced. “We're here.”

  “Ah yes... the palace looks incred...”

  “Gatsby! Listen closely. I know that you're the son of Ganton, but if you hurt my sister again, I don't care what your title is. I will make it my life's work to make yours a living nightmare.”

  Gatsby looked into Allan's cold eyes. There was no denying it. He was trapped. Absolutely no way out. He had no doubt that Allan meant every word that he said and he really couldn't blame the fellow. Allan was just being a good older brother. His sister and he had been very close, and it didn't help that Allan had never liked Gatsby, even before this entire fiasco had started.

  Gatsby sighed, “Allan, don't worry. I mean to make amends with your sister. I have been running from this day for a long time, it's true, but I swear that I will make it up to her.

  Allan didn't look convinced, but he opened the gate without another word and motioned for Gatsby to go inside.

  The palace really was amazing, it hadn't just been nervous banter, the palace of the Alkamire had always been a sight to see. 300 years of the finest craftsmen and artists had just made it that much more amazing. Gatsby began to realize just how much he had missed the atmosphere of the palace, and the company of his best friend, Alanna.

  He walked down a long corridor which led to the main greeting area. BlueShift had always been a peaceful land where very little crime manifested itself. As a result, there were few guards. The guards that were there however, were alert, dressed in traditional uniform and looked ready to act. Gatsby imagined that thousands of years with adversity probably made for mostly inexperienced officers. They were more for show than for protection. That wasn't to say the guards weren't ready for a fight. They looked as if they kept themselves very busy getting ready for just such an occasion, even if it never came.

  *****

  Thomas watched from around the corner as Gatsby entered the palace. He had never seen a place like this before. The walls were so blue they almost disappeared into the sky. The statues were of warriors, standing in various poses as if ready to attack, or defend. There were so many statues standing around that Thomas almost didn't notice that there were actual guards standing amongst the statues. He guessed the statues gave the impression that there were more guards around than there actually were. Actually there were quite a few places where someone might be able to sneak into the castle unnoticed. Thomas was sure about one thing. He had to get inside of the palace and make sure Gatsby was alright.

  Being careful to avoid being noticed, Thomas walked around the outer wall until he had found the perfect place to make an attempt to breach the palace walls. A large oak-like tree stood outside one of the main walls. The years had allowed it to reach for the window above, and no one seemed to have thought to cut it back. Thomas supposed that when every resident could fly already, there was little need to protect the palace from people climbing. It was going to take some careful navigation, but Thomas thought he could make it to that window.

  *****

  Gatsby entered the main chamber used to greet the general public on special occasions. One thing was for sure, this was no special occasion. Other than the throne, and a few chairs for other nobles and people of mention, the room was dark and rather empty. The doors closed behind Gatsby trapping him in the greeting chamber. He had a sudden flash of panic. Then the doors to the side opened, and in she stepped.

  Alanna hadn't changed in three hundred years. She was still the kid he had played with as a youth. Sure, she had matured a bit, but to him, she would always be the one with whom he had explored dirty tunnels, swam in lakes infested with all manner of dangerous creatures and wrestled wild animals. That's what, he supposed, made this all the more difficult. She looked like a girl of about 18, but as a dragon she was infinitely older. She was well over 1000 years old.

  Alanna walked purposely into the room, pronouncing every footstep as if each step were a word to be weighed and heeded. In contrast to her gait, her face was serene. She didn't even look in Gatsby's direction. Alanna walked to the throne in the centre of the room, turned with her eyes cast down, and sat. For what seemed like an eternity, she sat there in silence, but then Alanna finally levelled her gaze at Gatsby, and Gatsby almost wished that she hadn't.

  Her features became as hard as stone. Her stare was so piercing that Gatsby could hardly stand it.

  “Nice weather we have been having” chuckled Gatsby nervously. He cleared his throat. “Well that is if you don't count the rather odd amount of wind and lightening lately...”

  “Three... HUNDRED years Gatsby.”

  Oh there was no question. She was royally furious.

  “Ah ... yes... about that...”

  “THREE HUNDRED GATSBY!”

  Gatsby shuffled and tried to keep from looking at Alanna. He was pretty sure his heart would
stop if he had to suffer her gaze again. Gatsby sighed and searched for some strength. Somehow he had thought time was going to make this easier. How wrong he had been.

  “I am... sorry... Alanna.”

  “Sorry?! SORRY?!” Alanna's voice, usually calm and serene was shrill, piercing the depths of the palace. Several of the servants had already requested leave for today when they heard that Gatsby was coming. Those unfortunate enough to be there were trying to find work far enough away that they wouldn't hear the ensuing storm. Sadly, there was no such place.

  “THREE HUNDRED!”

  “Yes. You... mentioned that.” Gatsby muttered at his feet.

  Gatsby summoned up the courage to look at Alanna. She was quivering with rage. Gatsby had never seen her this angry, not even when Gatsby had drenched a young Alanna in her brand new dress with a bucket of mud he carelessly had slung out the door.

  “I truly am sorry.” Gatsby walked up toward Alanna. “It just wouldn't work Alanna. You were my best friend... are... my best friend.”

  Alanna took a deep breath and let it out. “You left me there, on the most important night of my family’s' life. The entire city had shown up for the dinner.”

  “Don't you see? Didn't you get it? It was important to your family. It was important to my family, no one ever asked whether or not it was important to me. Whether it was important to you.” Gatsby hated how hurt Alanna looked.

  “It was to be the dinner to announce the engagement between the Alkamire and the Ganton” Tears welled in Alanna's eyes. “The engagement, between you... and I. When you left, the relations between our clans were irreparably damaged. Your long absence has done nothing but emphasize it all the more.”

  Gatsby dragged one of the noble's chairs over to Alanna and sat down beside her.

  “When you didn't show up... it killed me Gatsby. I thought you would at least get in touch with me. Explain to me why you hadn't shown up. But you never did. Did you know that I searched out your father? But he said you had left. He had no idea where you were. No one did.”

  Gatsby laid his hand on Alanna's and felt the sorrow welling in him. He had never meant to hurt his closest friend.

  “I travelled for a long time.” His voice was so quiet at first, that the large room seemed to suck it out into the vacuous recesses.

  “I had no real idea of where I was going, I just had to leave. I couldn't go home, I couldn't see you. There was no where for me. As time passed, I found myself drawn back.”

  Gatsby drew a deep breath and let it out.

  “Actually, I have been living not so far away from here for the past few years. Close to the caves where we played many years ago.”

  A moment of silenced passed between them and Gatsby took Alanna in. She really was a stunning girl.

  “Your friendship meant too much to me. I couldn't go down that path with you. I kept trying to tell you before that night, but every time I tried, I ... I just couldn't.”

  Alanna shook her head, “You know it doesn't matter, 300 years, a thousand. My father is stubborn, he will insist on keeping you here and marrying us the first chance he has now. The opportunity to bring the Ganton and Alkamire together have consumed him Gatsby. You can't escape him now.”

  “This isn't what you want Alanna... is it?”

  Alanna looked down at her feet, “No... no... of course not. But it's too late.”

  Seeing Alanna so utterly deflated stirred something in Gatsby. He wasn't used to seeing her be anything less than a rock in a storm. Even rocks wear down after a while he supposed. It wouldn't be so bad would it? Having to be with her forevermore? But that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted it to be the way it had always been. The two of them adventuring. Slinging insults, mud, whatever was around. Her father was a hard dragon to reason with, however. Alkamire Aqual. He was the founder of the Alkamire Dragons. He had so many sons and daughters that Gatsby couldn't see how the man could even keep their names straight. He was fairly certain there could be thousands of grandchildren by this time. It was an empire by family alone. Alanna however, was Alkamire's most precious daughter. The chosen heir to the Alkamire throne. He wanted a link to the Ganton Dragons more than anything. It made sense to him that the two children of the kings, the very best of friends should wed.

  Marriages in royal families were seldom about love. They were usually political moves that improved their position on the social ladder, or increased the power of the throne. In his own family, marriage was often a way of gaining wealth.

  Suddenly it came to Gatsby, maybe there was a way out!

  “Alanna! Your father, all he really cares about is the connection to the Ganton Dragons right?”

  Alanna's deeply contemplative look was finally broken by an expression of obvious confusion. “It's the most important thing to him in the world.”

  A slow and gradual smile crept across Gatsby's face. He would have to apologize to Thomas someday.

  “The connection to the Ganton Dragons is a powerful one, for sure.”

  He paused for effect.

  “But what about a link to another world? To someone so powerful that they can cross the boundaries of time and space?”

  Alanna was frowning at Gatsby. She knew something was up. “What are you thinking Gatsby?”

  “I happen to know a human who has just travelled across dimensions to get here. I am travelling with him currently.”

  Gatsby was fairly sure he had a way out now. Alanna wouldn't be able to deny it.

  “As far as I am aware, there is only one other human who has ever been able to do this before. He's the reason why we have travelled to BlueShift. My companion is trying to find out what happened to him, and I believed that possibly, you might know.”

  Alanna nodded. “The dimensional wizard. Edric Greenshoot. He became ruler of Westminster!”

  “Indeed? Well, that sounds favourable. Do you think your father would consider letting our matter settle for a connection to such an individual?”

  Alanna was stunned. Her eyes bulged beneath her heavy frown. Was Gatsby trying to pawn her off on a total stranger?

  “Now before you get angry, just listen. This will free both of us! He's a traveller, he can exit and enter this realm as he pleases. You marry him, your father thinks he's getting a link to another dimension and a powerful wizard. In reality he will last roughly 100 years... he will probably leave here long before then. You will be married in name, but in reality, you'll be free. I will be free. We can go on living our lives as it was before. It's brilliant Alanna!”

  A wave of adrenalin washed over him like a river of wine in which he bathed. He dared let himself believe that freedom might be attainable for the first time in centuries. He felt a little bad for Thomas, but it would be in name only, and he was sure that the Alkamire Dragons would be a valuable asset for Thomas. Three hundred years and the key to unlock the box he had been trapped in had finally fallen right into his lap.

  “Of course my father might be a little disappointed, but that's a matter for another time.” He hoped that was the case. His father could be brutal.

  Alanna was just about to say how ridiculous it was when she stopped herself. As a princess, she needed to think about this from all angles before answering. Their parents had set up the marriage without their consent. How was this any different? At least they were in control of this. Gatsby seemed to see Alanna only as a comrade. Someone to hang around with. The truth was, she really did love Gatsby. She always had. She had allowed herself to get into trouble for 'conduct not befitting of a princess' more than once in order to be close to Gatsby. If the three hundred years of absence hadn't made his feelings clear, talking to him now had cemented them. It was obvious now that he didn't reciprocate her affections. He had gone to great lengths to avoid this for so long. Now he was scheming to get out of their relationship. This wasn't how she wanted his affection. Tied by parents and politics, it would never work.

  Gatsby was literally sitting on the edge
of his seat, basking in the euphoria of his idea, waiting for Alanna to go along with his crazy plan. She did her best to mask her disappointment, but she never really had allowed herself to believe it would end any other way.

  On the other hand, working with Gatsby, she would have a better chance of showing him what he was missing. Married to this human wizard... in name only... hmm. This wizard was travelling with Gatsby now... she would have to travel with her new fiancé as well. Her father wouldn't like it of course, but if they were to be married, she didn't think that he would argue too much about her tagging along with her new fiancé after Gatsby had ran off for three hundred years the last time. At least if she was with this human, he would have a hard time running away. This really might work. The wizard must have meant quite a bit to Gatsby to risk coming to BlueShift. Alanna couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy. On the whole, she felt a little bit better. Gatsby may have his plans, but she had her own as well.

  “I will have to think about this Gatsby.”

  Alanna decided to change the subject for the moment.

  “Gatsby? Why exactly are you here? I don't believe it's to see me obviously. Are you really here to help this companion of yours? He is a wizard after all. Couldn't he have managed this on his own?”

  He had to think quick! Telling her that Thomas was going to visit Edric Greenshoot in order to figure out how to get back to his own world would undermine his whole plan. She had to believe that he was a powerful wizard or none of this would work. He didn't want to lie to her anymore than he already had.

  “Thomas, the human I am travelling with, wishes to see Edric. As they are both wizards from the same realm, I imagine they have things to discuss. He's unfamiliar with our world, and needs someone to guide him. I agreed to take him to someone who could help, and as I was mentioning earlier, I believed that you would have the best knowledge of what might have happened to this other human that passed through here, so I brought him to you.

  Alanna smiled, “It seems that you have found your liaison then.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You need someone to get you an audience with Edric right? The Alkamire dragons do have the best relationship with the humans at Westminster. I will go along to facilitate a meeting between you.”