Turn Me Back!

Episode 14 - Air Aid

It isn't until we've finished breakfast that I can get my tablemates to talk about anything sensible at all. Halfway through the meal, Billy ambles up to the table. A scrap of what might have been Prince Theodore's shirt is dangling from the corner of his mouth. 

For some reason, the dragon is very taken with him. "Just look at him nibbling the tablecloth like that!" she coos. "Does he like lace?" A pile of doilies appears next to Billy on a footstool. He falls on them with obvious relish while the dragon crows and claps her paws together. If she's able to conjure fabric like that, why doesn't she just magic up clothing for her guests instead of complaining about the way they're dressed? I wonder sourly.

At long last, the talk turns to more serious things. Kayla explains our needs with brutal simplicity. "Kill the bandits, leave the camp and the hostages intact."

Fell replies with a businesslike air, "Fairly straightforward. And what would be our reward for involving ourselves in this little affair?"

"Little affair?" splutters Prince Theodore. "The future of the kingdom is at stake!"

"Isn't he darling," says Spindral, dreamily conjuring another pile of lace for a very fat-looking Billy. "I do so enjoy an indignant prince. You got a good one," she tells Isla.

"Oh, I know," the princess gushes. Then her smile fades. "But I'll be glad when I can get back to looking after my guests. I feel awful for deserting them and indulging myself in a premature honeymoon like this."

"Oh yes, you must get back to your guests," the dragon says. "Fell, I fear we must help them, if only for the sake of propriety."

"What about the sake of our treasury?" he responds, glaring at the dragon's nose.

"We will, of course, pay you handsomely for your trouble," says Kayla gruffly.

A smile lifts the corner of Fell's mouth. "What about your trouble, Wonder Woman?"

"You'll be in trouble if you don't shut your mouth!" she retorts.

Fell shakes his head and sighs. "Nevertheless, we would require some payment in advance. Fairly strenuous magic required. No help for nothing, as the saying goes."

"That's not even a saying," I grumble. One of Fell's eyes glares at a spot above my head. It reminds me of the tiara I'm wearing over my ruined hair. "Hey, what about this?" I pull it off my head and hold it up, along with one of the necklaces. "We could pay with these and then Princess Isla can reimburse the original owners, if they're still alive."

"Reimburse? Pah! We could pretend the bandits stole the jewellery!" exclaims Prince Theodore. Isla slaps him on the arm.

"Let me see those, please." Spindral inspects all the pieces I'm wearing and, with the authority only a dragon can command where jewels and treasure are concerned, pronounces them valuable enough to be worth helping us. "Okay then." Fell rises from the table, dusting crumbs off his clothing. "We'll return shortly." He climbs onto Spindral's neck and the next instant, they've both disappeared into thin air.

"I thought they'd take off and fly there," Prince Theodore says in the voice of a small boy who was denied a treat.

"Believe me, it's not worth it for the amount of ash that flies down your throat," I tell him.

"I'm so relieved they're going to fix our little problem," sighs Isla. "Such nice people."

Theodore huffs. "I hope you weren't paying too much attention to that Fell fellow. It looked like he had his eye on you."

"Which eye?" asks Isla, innocently.

I slap her a high five. "Must have been his other eye because the one I saw was definitely fixed on Kayla." We both turn to look at the blushing Kayla.