The Golden Winged Horse

Chapter 11

The White Prince Inn was just like being sat in an old cottage. It reminded me of a holiday to England when I was twelve and a quaint little restaurant we'd eaten in one night. The magic of the place had captivated me from the moment I saw it and this was like reliving that all over again.

Thinking of memories like that from happier days with my parents caused a wave of nostalgia to rise inside me. I loved my parents but their lack of affection had done its damage over the years. All of my childhood memories lacked hugs and kisses. Maybe that was why I was such a cuddly person now I'd grown up.

As I looked around the inside of the inn, the old wooden tables and the low hanging beams on the ceiling gave me such a homely feel, I didn't want to leave. An open fire crackled away at one end of the large room, surprisingly warming the entire place. The bar stretched from one end to the other, with numerous tables all scattered around the aged wooden floor.

Calico, still holding my hand, said, "Where would you like to sit?"

My eyes lit up in an instant. "By the fire," I replied, grinning. I wanted familiar sounds of home around me, just for some comfort at least.

The barman, a cyclops, had done nothing but stare at me since we walked in and the dozen or so creatures enjoying their glasses of cloudy liquid couldn't take their eyes off me either. Just as I struggled not to squirm under their scrutinous stares, the black wooden door we'd just walked through flung open courtesy of the two dogs I'd now seemingly gained ownership of.

Like some important figure had just told them all to get back to their own business, the staring crowd busied themselves back to whatever they were doing. The dogs ran to my side, tails wagging and their eyes bright and full of glee.

"Who's good bo—" I glanced up at Calico and said, "Are they boys?"

Calico grinned. "They are actually asexual. Dogs in our world are like certain creatures in your world. They change sex depending on their environment and what sex is needed to continue the population. This particular breed of dog however is not very common and they only breed in very specific circumstances."

We sat down in front of the fire with a table large enough for four in between us. I reached down and fussed the dogs, calling them 'good dogs' instead of being gender specific. The more fuss I gave them, the more they wanted, they were like demanding babies. As soon as I took my hand away, they'd whine and push their noses against my leg.

"I've got to ask," I said, looking up at Calico. I let my hands dangle either side of my chair, fussing each dog with one hand. "What was that? What they turned into?"

He looked over his shoulder and caught the bartender's attention, then lifted his hand to indicate we wanted serving. "There are a lot of weird and wonderful creatures here. As they are, in their current state, they're not going to protect anyone or anything to the death. They need to be at their utmost potential of fearsome and deadly. The amount of love and affection they get and how happy they are also feeds into their shift size. If they have to protect you again, they will be bigger than they were just now."

My mouth dropped wide open. "Bigger? Like, how big?"

He pursed his lips for a moment. "I can only compare to creatures you are familiar with...like your rhinoceros or hippopotamus. Perhaps slightly bigger."

I didn't know what to say but I suddenly felt a lot safer having these little fellows by my side than I did before.

"Yes, Sir?" the bartender said, addressing Calico but looking at me.

"Two Calamansi's with a drop of Aricot please. Are you still serving food?"

The bartender nodded.

Calico glanced at me quickly, as if assessing something, then said, "One flame grilled Quagga with bunyip sauce and one infused river Serval with moon basil and cured rabbit bread. Also, a side of crocotta bread for my companion here."