Arthur and the Invisibles 4: Defender of the Seven Kingdoms

Chapter 18: A Beautiful Sunday

Everyone sat in anticipation around the table. They had been doing so for the past half hour or so, dipping in and out of conversation. The wonderful afternoon sun shone proudly through the glass of every window in the house, which combined by the flowery tablecloth, cast the dining table, as well as the plates and eating utensils that lay on it, into a wonderful shade of yellow. The perfect blue sky that was residence to only a few wandering, white clouds that strayed far from the blazing heat of the sun meant that the house was filled with oppressive heat, so a light breeze glided in through the back door, which had been opened because of the intense heat of the afternoon. As well as this, the kitchen oven was also blazing, which only added to the sweltering warmth that filled the house, making it quite difficult to bear. But the combined personalities and conversations of Armand, Rose, Archibald, the Bogo Matassalai, and, of course, Arthur himself, made for a delightful atmosphere of patience. 

Even Martin the police officer and his somewhat clumsy but friendly partner Simon had happened to drop by, on account of a 'mysterious beam of light that was seen for miles'. But having found nothing, the two had graciously accepted the families requests for them to stay for dinner.

"So this lady says to me: 'Who are you?' So I say, 'I'm a police officer'. And then she says: 'Where's your badge?'" Simon explained, momentarily pausing to put his hand to his badge, making sure it was still there. Martin took the opportunity to take over the story.

"So then he runs across the street like a lunatic to the police station, peeks his head through the door, not even bothering to knock! And he says to me..." Martin leaned forward slightly. "'Chief! I lost my badge!'" He spoke in a high, raspy voice, which caused everyone to burst out laughing. Waiting for the laughter to die down, Martin continued. "Now I'm just at the drinking fountain, having a nice refreshing drink. I'd been filing police reports all day. So with a mouth full of water, Simon runs in yelling. I spin round so quick I begin to choke, and Simon just looks at me like I'm an alien or something! So after I've stopped coughing, I look at him, and I point at his jacket, barely managing to wheeze 'There'." Martin finished, with a point of his hand to demonstrate.

"I then run back across the street, back to the lady, and say 'right here!' And point to my badge. She then says: 'Isn't it supposed to be three fingers above your right pocket?' And I reply with 'No, three fingers above my left.' And she just stands there and says 'Sorry, my bad.'" Simon finished, which caused an even louder round of laughter from everyone around the table. But Archibald had noticed something behind him, and gently tapped his knife against the glass in his hand. The room fell silent, as all heads turned to Archibald. 

"And now, my dear friends, I present to you Daisy's chocolate pie." He announced with pride, as Daisy emerged from the kitchen with a huge plate in her hands, greeted by a loud round of applause from everyone. Daisy moved round to the centre of the table, placing the enormous, glossy brown pie. 

"Wow." Simon stated in awe.

"Very nice, Mrs Suchot!" Martin agreed.

"So who's going to cut it?" Daisy asked, as everyone glanced at everyone else, before an unexpected voice answered the question.

"I'll give it a go!" Simon announced courageously, as if he'd just volunteered himself to go on a noble quest. Arthur, for one, knew what that felt like. Martin sighed, but Simon quickly stated: "Don't worry, Chief." before Martin had a chance to reply. Daisy reached out and handed Simon the knife. He immediately began to shake as the blade approached the smooth, chocolate surface, but Arthur, who happened to be sitting next to Simon, gently placed a hand on his shoulder, accompanied by a friendly smile. This was apparently all he needed, as his hand steadied, and he began to cut the enormous pie into twelve equal slices, which were then handed out to everyone around the table. As Simon sat down, he mouthed a 'Thank you' to Arthur, who nodded kindly in response.