The Dragonwalk Highway: The Fellowship of Thirteen

28 - The Successor

Dragonwalk Castle loomed on the horizon. The sight of it lightened our trio's step, made their packs lighter, and ripped laughter from their cracked lips. Zelda, Oron, and Mo were battered, bruised, and exhausted. Zelda was noticeably limping and large patches of Mo's fur were burnt. Oron laid sprawled out on Mo's back like his big furry friend was a medical stretcher. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he glanced toward the castle's parapet.

Zelda limped faster as more and more of the castle came into view. "By the Creator, I never thought I'd see it again."

"It was real iffy there for a while," Oron agreed. "Especially during the second half of the journey. I mean, the first half to the Tree...brutal! But the journey back was on a whole 'nother level."

"Absolutely," Mo agreed. "I thought we were done for on the Cliffs of Despair. And the mermen on the Raging River? That was another claw biter."

"And I don't think any of us will ever forget the exploits of Kiwi Von Raspberry," Oron said. He kissed his index finger and pointed to the sky. "We'll never forget you, mate."

There was a moment of silence for the memory of Kiwi Von Raspberry.

They approached the sanctum of the Inner Kingdom through the Fields of Indifference. The fields were once the main agriculture area of the kingdom until the fields dried up and offered nothing more to the people of the Dragonwalk Kingdom. It guaranteed their approach would go unnoticed since the entire area had been abandoned long ago...which helped since they were traveling with a giant razorback bear.

"You'll have to hang out here, you hairy mingebag," Oron told Mo. "You'll scare the shite out of the villagers."

"So how are we going to play this?"

"Hmm." Oron thought about it. "Let's go with Plan 66. Yes, that seems to be the way to go."

They smashed heads together and Oron escorted Zelda toward the gates of the outer wall.

"What was all that about Plan 66?" Zelda asked Oron.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it. Now let's get you on that throne."

The Fellowship of Thirteen entered the kingdom to absolutely no fanfare. The Princess had ditched her poofy dress and was now wearing a green riding hood with the hood up. Oron looked as anonymous to the villagers as he was to himself. It was quite a different environment than the Princess's grand departure the previous lunar.

They strolled through the market side-by-side, but the streets that had once seemed like home now made her feel like a stranger. She had never been no one before. She tried to soak it up while she could since it was most likely the last time she would be anonymous ever again.

"I feel strange being back here," she said. "Everything seems—different."

"It's the same. You're different. Just be thankful you know a place well enough to know it feel unfamiliar. Everywhere I go I have to wonder if I've been there before, if there are people there I've pissed off, if I've burnt the bridge already. It's exhausting."

"Those days are over. It will be a new beginning—for both of us."

They followed the white brick roadway back to where the journey began: Dragonwalk Castle. When they reached the gates, the guards demanded they stop.

"Piss off," the guard said.

"I demand to see the King," Zelda said.

The guards laughed. "And who the hell are you?"