Dizgaia ~ The Dreamfinder's Daughter

Chapter 15 ~ A Royal Engagement

The wind blew through Mia's hair as they rode Figment through the sky, high above the cobblestone roads and multi-generational buildings of Main Street. After her encounter with The Mad Hatter and The March Hare, riding a giant dragon through the sky was no longer so frightening. Now, it was invigorating, and if anything, Mia felt safer way up here where the bad guys couldn't reach her.

Soon, the cityscape gave way to meadows and lush forests. Mia breathed deeply, leaning back against her father's broad chest. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to concentrate on the wind in her hair, the sun on her face, and the sound of Figment's mighty wings flapping loud and rhythmically. She'd become so relaxed that, for a moment, she'd very nearly dozed off until her father's voice alerted her that they were nearing their destination.

"There, Miandra. There it is."

He pointed and Mia followed his finger to a flat-topped mountain which rose up out of the forest. There, on its summit stood Cinderella's castle - the real Cinderella's castle. From here, it looked like a giant alabaster model with lovely blue trim, not so unlike the one in Disney World; though that one was designed as an optical illusion to simply look larger than it was. This castle? It was genuinely immense! Not only that, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Mia had seen the castle through the atrium windows of the Imagination Institute, but then it had been so far away. Now, they were drawing ever closer to it, and its impressive scale was quickly becoming apparent. The topmost spire practically reached to the clouds. Figment had to plunge through a layer of white mist to even reach the castle, set as it was in such a mountainous region.

"Wow," breathed Mia as the clouds parted and they descended towards the outermost courtyard. "It's definitely well-fortified. That's for sure."

To land within the castle walls could be viewed as an attack against the castle, so Blair guided Figment to the front courtyard just outside of the castle gates. Mia and Blair hopped off and Figment reverted back to his natural form. For a moment or so, both Dreamfinder and Figment were a tad wobbly.

"Oh my... Twice in one day. Truthfully, I'm not so sure I could do that a third time."

"Yeah," said Figment, shaking his head. "It's making my head spinny."

Blair took off his top hat and ran a gloved hand through his disheveled hair. From atop the castle wall, two men dressed in uniforms similar to that of the Royal Police, with the addition of short blue capes, called down to them.

"Who goes there?"

"Professor Blarion Mercurial," Blair called back, putting on his hat.

"And Figment!" called Figment.

Blair glanced at his daughter with a smile before calling up again. "And Miandra Mercurial. We seek an audience with the princesses!"

The guards exchanged surprised looks and called to someone on the other side. With a loud creaking and clanking, the front gates were raised, granting them entrance to the castle. Mia followed her father and Figment over the small bridge and into the castle's inner courtyard.

Standing on the other side to greet them was what Mia could only assume was a dwarf, though this man was nothing like the depictions of the dwarves in Disney's Snow White. This particular dwarf was more reminiscent of a dwarf from the tabletop roleplay game, Dungeons & Dragons, or better yet, something from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Short statured, but thick and formidable, and dressed in chain mail and leather armor, Mia could have easily believed this dwarf to be Gimli or Thorin Oakenshield. He had vibrant blue eyes and a long blonde beard tied into three braids. In spite of the deadly axe strapped to his back, the dwarf wore a wide, amiable smile on his face.