Nikki vs Rikky

Chapter 20 - Dragons and Dinosaurs

The princess stirred precisely when the two people left the room. Nikky raised her index finger involuntarily to her lips and hushed the drowsy girl, keeping a watch on the duo exiting the corridor.

They reached the staircase when the broad one stopped, looked around as if it didn’t want to be heard, and said, ’Wonder why these people need sleep at all? Look at us, so fresh and active throughout.’ Seeing his partner clueless, he shrugged and descended the staircase.

Nikky, who was keeping a watchful eye, saw no signs of danger. She climbed out of the hiding and nudged the princess. There wasn’t much time. She grabbed a bottle from the bedside table, twisted the cap and sniffed. It was water.

She sprinkled a few drops on the princess’s face, who woke up with a startle. The princess yelped but before it was audible enough to be heard by the captors Nikky had put her hand on the princess’s mouth, shaking her head.

‘Stay quiet, stay quiet. I’m here to help you. We are trapped and we need to get out of here.’

‘Trapped? Who are you?’ the princess asked. She was dressed in a blue shiny gown and wore a silver tiara on her hair that run down to her waist.

‘Yes, trapped. It’s a long story. Cogentoh, Loocidoh and Preecyzoh had come to this wretched palace to rescue you but they were caught by Capricia and her little people,’ Nikky said.

‘Little people?’

‘Yes. They were here in this room a while ago,’ Nikky said in a hurried tone. It was hard to believe that the princess did not remember anything, but Nikky realized that even she would have forgotten everything if not for the three helpful men.

‘You mean my two nannies?’ the princess asked a few seconds later.
Nikky understood the confusion but there was no time to explain.

‘We don’t have time. Don’t you remember Cogentoh, Loocidoh and Preecyzoh? Don’t you miss home? They have come all the way to rescue you. They are waiting for us at the mirror hill and if we make it before the sunrise we can escape. So we need to go, now.’ Nikky said pulling the princess’s hand.

‘Of course I remember them, but whenever I try to think of returning, I find something to do here, something that I enjoy,’ the princess confessed as she willingly agreed to be held by Nikky who was no bigger than her in size.

The two girls slipped out of the room and took the same route that Nikky had taken a while ago. They crept out of the window and ran to the spot where Nikky had fallen. Nikky looked at the steep cliff. There was no way they could climb it.

Looking at Nikky’s confused state, the princess asked her about the problem. Nikky narrated the whole story. ‘I think we are trapped,’ she said in disappointment.

The princess nodded as Nikky ended the story, and then looking around abruptly bent down and thumped the soil with her fist. ‘There is a way,’ she said calmly. Nikky was taken by surprise.

‘Do you see the soil?’ the princess asked Nikky who immediately bent down to examine the soil. ‘Isn’t it soft and cushy?’ It indeed was. ‘The mud is just a cover up. What’s beneath is a canvas fabric supported by elastic shock cords. That’s why the landing was soft and you didn’t get hurt. Now we can jump our way back to the top.’

‘That’s clever. How do you know?’ Nikky asked.

‘I come from Logicoh, remember?’ the princess said with a smile. ‘So some logic has rubbed into me even though I am young and …a bit foolish.’ They both held each other’s hand and started to jump. After a few small jumps they felt as if they were on a trampoline. It was fun.

No wonder the princess never wanted to return, Nikky thought.

She stopped herself from getting into a playful mood and made the final bounce. Up they went and landed on top of the cliff with a small thud.
‘Now we need to get to the mirror hill before the day breaks,’ Nikky said taking out the hand-drawn map made by Loocidoh. They studied the map carefully.

‘Here,’ Nikky said pointing at a bridge, ‘This is the last point and then we are at the mirror hill.’ She looked skywards. Night was turning into dawn. ‘We got to hurry. Run before we get caught by the little people,’ Nikky continued.

The princess wasn’t prepared for this. She picked up her gown to her knees and ran as fast as she could. Together they sprinted down the rugged slope when they saw the little people behind them. They were sprinting.

‘I wish we had horses,’ the princess said aloud, huffing and puffing. Nikky stopped dead on her track and bent over with her hands on her knees.

‘Why didn’t I think of this?’ she murmured to herself and then turning over to the princess she said, ‘Couldn’t you have called for anything better? Ferrari? But then we are under 16 and not allowed to drive, are we?’ she said and broke into a laugh.

‘I don’t understand you,’ the princess said sounding bewildered. ‘Never mind, just look around for horses,’ Nikky said looking around her. They saw the horses grazing on a meadow close by and ran towards the pasture. The princess mounted on one of the horses and asked Nikky to get on the other.

‘I don’t know how to ride a horse,’ Nikky said reluctantly. Swiftly, the princess bent down and pulled Nikky onto her horse.

‘Hold tight now,’ she told Nikky as the stallion thrashed its fore legs in mid-air. The princess then kicked it into a full gallop.

‘We are not too away from the mirror hill. We need to cross a bridge and then it is uphill,’ Nikky said navigating through the map and then looked behind her. The little people were catching up. When they were only at a hand’s length, Nikky said, ‘I wish there were dragons and dinosaurs to block the little people’s path!’

Nikky had just closed her mouth when the majestic and ferocious ancient species erupted out of thin air and blocked the way of the little people. It was a sight filled with marvel. ‘That’s some ancient fun,’ Nikky said.

They kept riding and were almost at the tip of the bridge when the horse suddenly came to a halt, neighing and stomping the ground with its hooves. The two girls looked puzzled. Only when they heard the shrill of an evil laughter they knew what had made the horse stop. ‘

Capricia,’ Nikky said.

No sooner she had taken Capricia’s name the bridge before them gave a loud creak and fell into the gorge. The princess straightaway went into her logic mode, while Nikky crossed her fingers and said aloud, ‘I wish the little people stopped following us.’

‘Do you think such real wishes could come true?’ It was the cold voice of Capricia followed by her evil laughter which echoed across the valley.

With nowhere to go, Nikky and the princess dismounted the horse. They were about to surrender when they heard the majestic sound of flapping mixed with intense roaring and growling. They turned back and saw the dragons, dinosaurs and the little people coming in their direction.

It looked like a warzone, with the ancient species, Nikky and the princess on one side and Capricia and her army on the other. The sun, which had barely risen, went pale and hid behind the clouds and ferocious wind started to blow. The princess sensed some hope and whispered, ‘We are downwind and it won’t be difficult to ride the dragon.’

‘You must be crazy,’ Nikky elbowed her.

‘Dragons maybe ancient in your land, but not in ours. In fact, I have one as my pet,’ the princess said and turned towards the dragon that sat the closest. She patted the scaly beast and began massaging its leg tenderly. It was a dragon’s weakest point, she knew.

The dragon stopped roaring and lowered itself on the ground. The princess mounted the beast and pulled Nikky along with her, and off it leapt into the air spreading its enormous wings.

It was too late for Capricia to realise her mistake.