Changing Paths-A Paw Patrol Story

Chapter Seven

Dom and Sweetie walked into the throne room and met up with the Princess, her butler, and the Earl. In front of them was another man that Dom hadn't seen before. He wore a black suit, white shirt and gloves, and a black hat with a golden strap above the bill. The man had his hands folded in front of him as if he was waiting for further instructions.

"Who's that?" asked Dom.

"The Princess's chauffeur," she replied. "He drives the limousine."

Dom looked at her. "Limousine?"

Sweetie looked at him. "You thought that she was going on her business trip in a royal carriage or something?'

"Kinda, yeah," he replied.

The limousine was more impressive than Dom thought. The exterior was painted white. The grills, side mirrors, and rims were gold chrome, and the windows had a dark tint. The interior of the limo was as spectacular as the outside. All seats were white leather, and a light blue carpet lay across the floor.

Dom whistled in amazement. "That's a nice car."

"It cost a fortune," Sweetie said. "But what better to present yourself than this?"

"Yeah, cause nothing says 'We are all the same like a limousine that costs more than a house," Dom sarcastically.

Sweetie laughed. "Yeah, but it's still pretty nice."

The Princess and the Earl walked up to the door, and her butler opened the door. The Earl got into the limousine. "Well, I'm off now," the Princess told Dom and Sweetie. "How do I look?"

"As a princess should," Dom said.

The Princess smiled. "What a smart response," she said. "Thank you for guarding the crown.

"It's an honor, Princess," he said.

"Sweetie, would you like to come along?"

Sweetie glanced at Dom. "Um, no, I think I'll be fine, Princess," she replied. But thank you for the offer."

The Princess smiled. "Anytime. I will be back soon. Butler, please escort them back into the castle. After that, I believe the Earl asked some favors from you while we're gone, yes?" The butler nodded, but he didn't say anything. "Wonderful," the Princess said. She entered the car, and her butler closed the door.

The driver pulled the car away from the castle. The butler got behind the pups and motioned inside. He led Dom and Sweetie into the throne room, and the doors closed behind them. The butler bowed and went upstairs.

"Does he ever talk?" asked Dom.

"Not a lot," Sweetie said. "He keeps to himself a lot. I think I've only heard him talk four or five times."

"Huh," Dom exclaimed. "Well, I better get to work."

"Yeah," Sweetie said. "I have other things to attend to. What if we catch up later?"

"Sure," Dom said.

"Okay," Sweetie said. "Come on, Busby." From somewhere distant, Dom heard a beep. A second later, Busby rolled up next to Sweetie. "Bye," she said.

"See ya," Dom said.

As Sweetie walked away, Dom thought about what Chase said about her. Sweetie's not an evil pup, he said. She looks for attention, which leads her to trouble. That's all.

Dom walked around the crown, watching out for anything that could be a threat to the crown, but until then, he found nothing except a very surprised spider on the column.

"Jeez, Chase made this job sound fun," he told himself.

Two hours passed, and still nothing. At that point, Dom wanted something to happen so he would no longer be bored. He heard an eagle's screech, but he didn't think much of it. It will be a long night.

Sweetie slipped into a staircase that led further down into the castle. The stairs opened into a corridor three meters across and about a hundred meters long. The hallway was lit only by torches on the walls. The ceiling arced twenty feet overhead, so it was not very visible. The carpet under her feet was losing its color from age. Moss grew in cracks in the walls.

The Princess never permitted Sweetie to enter the older parts of the castle. Now, Sweetie could see why. It was like going back in time to a time before technology and electricity.

Wooden doors went along the sides of the corridors, three on each side about ten feet apart. On the far end stood two arched doors. The wood around the edges was rotten. The doorknobs, once polished steel, were now rusted and worn down.

The right door was propped open with a cold breeze coming through the crack. Sweetie tapped Busby, turning him off. She put him in the corner, out of sight.

Sweetie opened the door and walked into the room. Her eyes scanned the room as they adjusted to the darkness. A king-sized bed sat in the middle of the far wall, where the dust in the air settled on it. Old books, chairs, broken drawers, and other trash littered the floor. Two large windows faced the city. The moonlight entered the room, creating a ghostly scenery.

In front of one of the windows was a boy looking outside. He wore a maroon jacket with fur around the collar, gold buttons, and a black belt with a gold buckle around his waist. His wavy brown hair slicked towards the back of his head. He wore tan pants and brown boots.

"You're late," the boy said.

"Sorry, I got distracted," Sweetie said. "But can we get on with this? What do you want?" Sweetie didn't want to be there longer than she had to.

The boy turned his head slightly and smiled. He extended his arm, and a golden eagle landed on it. "You know, exactly, what I want." He turned around completely to face Sweetie. "I, the Duke of Flappington, want to be the ruler of Barkingburg."