Potlendh Page 17

  “Lies!” Kurt blurted out behind his visor, his voice both muffled and magnified. “I know this kind.” He pointed at Cassandra. “They are spies, my brother. They mean to do us harm by spying out our weaknesses. No doubt they are others hiding outside our walls awaiting their signal to begin an attack.”

  Such words caused a great stir among the onlookers, and because they respected Kurt’s military prowess and knowledge they believed that he was telling the truth.

  “Peace, brother,” Bart said calmly. “Do we have any proof of such an army?”

  “Yes!” At this Kurt stood up quickly, and if he had not been wearing his visor, people would have been shocked to see such a spasm of pain cross his face. “Bring in the guards.”

  At this point the two guards that the twins had knocked out and stolen their clothes were brought out from the hidden door behind the thrones. These poor fellows were totally embarrassed, for they had not been given any clothes to hide their underwear. And then, when the crowd gasped (some with horror, some with amusement), they really wanted to run out of the throne room and hide.

  “These brave soldiers of the FOB,” Kurt continued, “were mercilessly ambushed and shamed. Since they are bereft of their armor, we can only infer that there are two intruders hiding among us, two intruders who are bent on doing great harm. Even now, they may be outside these castle walls, planning acts of sabotage and destruction to prepare the way for an invading army.” Kings always like to talk in such high language, and Kurt loved to talk so warlike since he enjoyed the sport of fighting, and I think that he was basically an unhappy person because there was no one to make war on.

  “What do you know of this,” King Crane asked Uniqua.

  Uniqua shrugged her shoulders the best way a Unicorn can imitate a human. “Nothing, Your Majesty.” Now, she didn’t really lie because she had no way of knowing where the twins were at the moment, and she didn’t see them knock out the two hapless guards. She suspected that the twins had stolen their armor and were probably inside the castle, but she wasn’t going to tell the king about that. So, in truth, she spoke the truth as best as she understood the truth without giving away the twins.

  “It is that vile creature’s doing!” Kurt now pointed at Cassandra with vehemence, which is a whole lot of anger.

  “Now, brother,” Bart said calmly, “if you hadn’t gone off and started your ridiculous war against the Dragons in the first place, no one would have hurt feelings right now.”

  Kurt turned towards Bart, seething with a new kind of pain, for he felt that Bart has just insulted him. Remember, this king was not called the Hurt for nothing, and he thought that Bart was making fun of his burnt body. But to keep the pretense of peace between the brothers—for they often disagreed with each other but tried to keep their disagreements private—he made no mention of the perceived insult and continued with his accusations against Cassandra.

  “They would not share!” he shouted. “Her kind is the most selfish of all the peoples of our Island. All I asked for was a bounty, a gift, and they would not share! I was in the right to take what was fairly mine!”

  Cassandra was getting hot under the collar; that is, if she was wearing clothes that had a collar. All of these old arguments had been baseless years ago, and she was angry that Kurt was bringing them up again here in the throne room. And the angrier Cassandra became—well, you know that her bulk was beginning to increase so that she was now larger than the Rabbits.

  “We shared with you with what we had,” she proclaimed. “But you wanted it all.”

  “Liar!” Kurt shouted back. “What about the riches you have hidden beneath your castle? You gave nothing of those to us?”

  “What riches? You mean the trinkets that we dug up out of the earth to decorate our castle? Do you mean the fine dishes my Rabbits served on your plates, cooked from the finest vegetables of the Island? What more did you want?” Cassandra was now as large as Uniqua. “You wanted everything, and you destroyed everything. Now no one has anything!”

  “Look out!” Kurt warned, and he drew his sword. “She is going to attack! Death to all Dragons!”

  To try and describe the complete pandemonium that followed would be both rather difficult and several pages long. So, I’ll give you the highlights, and you can fill in the rest with your imagination. It is too bad you cannot insert a movie in the middle of the book, because that would be the best way to understand what took place next.

  Kurt briskly walked forward to skewer Cassandra like some kind of giant shish kabob. The other two kings leapt to their feet to stop the attack. The Rabbits, in order to protect their mistress, really started the whole mess by suddenly turning Ninja. They started hopping all over the place so fast and furious that it would have been really hard for any of us to follow. They hit the guards running, and there were people being knocked all over the room. The Rabbits moved so fast in such a beautifully choreographed fashion, they became mere blurs of fur to the naked eye. People were yelling and screaming, flying and falling from the blows of the Rabbits. The crowd tried to run from the room and the balcony, but since they were all trying to get out at the same time, no one could escape.

  Then the whole fracas ended when suddenly Uniqua ran forward and thrust her horn right into Kurt’s chest. Was it the cry that Kurt made that caused everyone to stop fighting and fleeing? Was it the sight of the Unicorn’s horn piercing the king’s body that horrified everyone in the room? Whatever it was, you could have heard a pin drop, as everyone froze and dared not move—not even breathe. For all they knew, King Kurt was dead.

  The twins, however, rushed forward, forgetting their disguises and the need to blend in with the Dwarfs.

  “Uniqua!” Karen shouted as she came up alongside the Unicorn. “What have you done?” Carl joined her, his shock so visible on his face and preventing him from speaking.

  Indeed, no one in the whole throne room spoke a word but gazed upon the grisly scene as if it were surreal, meaning that they could not possibly believe that such a thing could happen. Then Uniqua’s horn began to emanate a soft hue of blue, which gradually grew brighter and brighter until it nearly obscured her, the twins, and—more importantly—King Kurt. As the people started to shield their eyes against the brilliance, they could barely make out the outlines of the king and the Unicorn, so engulfed in this light were the pair. And then, the light disappeared in a flash, as if for one brief moment a camera’s light bulb had lit up a room and then just as quickly went out. When everyone could focus their eyes again, they saw a different scene. King Kurt lay prone on the floor on his back. Uniqua was squatting on her haunches; her head drooped so low that her muzzle touched the floor. The twins were holding her, as she looked so tired and drained from exuding so much of her magic.

  Only King Crane dared to move at this point. He was so terrified that he literally had to will his legs to move forward. Presently, he stood at the head of his brother and knelt down slowly, keeping a wary eye on the Unicorn, lest he, too, be speared by her deadly horn. But Uniqua neither had the inclination to harm the second king or the energy to do anything except rest in the arms of the children. King Crane then started to lift the visor of King Kurt’s helmet, and he had only raised it an inch or so when he suddenly jerked his hands away accompanied by a gasp.

  Turning slightly to his left, he cried out, “Quick! Let the medics approach!” Several pairs of feet were heard running toward the two kings. King Crane began to unstrap his brother’s armor and toss it aside. The clothes underneath were not even torn, and there was no sign of blood or gore on his brother’s body. King Bart fairly ran from his throne to his elder brother’s side to view for himself the damage done to his younger brother’s body.

  “He’s alive!” one of the medics exclaimed as he knelt down beside King Crane, and he was the one who tore open Kurt’s clothes to examine his chest for the ghastly wound caused by the Unicorn’s horn. But there was no hole, no gash, no torn flesh. In fact, there were no burns, no cha
rred flesh, no sign of the burning the king had received when he had fought against the Dragons.

  “It is a miracle!” King Crane shouted out in a voice mixed with great joy and tearful happiness. He carefully removed his brother’s helmet, and instead of a face that had been so horribly mutilated and malformed, a beautiful countenance lay quiet and repose in sleep.

  “How is this possible?” King Crane directed his question to the Unicorn.

  If Uniqua had the proper facial muscles, she would have smiled rather enigmatically at the king (which means that it would have been a mysterious smile or a smile full of secrets, but not a smile that would have meant that the king was stupid for asking such a silly question with an obvious answer). “Magic, Your Majesty,” she responded, her voice sounding very tired.

  “We need to move the King to his bedroom, sire,” the medic who had spoken earlier told King Crane.

  “Do so,” King Crane commanded. Then he turned to the Group. “You are all very strange creatures—” he began, but then he looked at the twins who had already removed their fake beards and their helmets. That is when he sat down hard on the floor in total amazement. “Children!” he exclaimed in wonder. “I have been defeated by children!” For at this moment he understood a great deal of what had taken place between the capture of the animals and the miraculous healing of his brother. Two of his best soldiers had been overcome and humiliated by two children. He shook his head in disbelief and then finally had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. “I am at your mercy,” he eventually spoke, “but I am at a loss how to deal with you. A Unicorn, a Dragon, three Rabbits that can best an entire army, and two children who—” he didn’t finish the sentence.

  “Perhaps if we kindly request our guests to return to their rooms,” King Bart filled in the lapse of his brother’s speech. “Then, at a more proper time, we can reconvene and more courteously discuss their arrival, their import, and—more importantly—how we should deal with and treat these visitors.”

  King Crane looked up at his brother and merely nodded his assent. Thus, the Group (Uniqua helped up to her feet and supported in walking by the twins) were once again escorted by Dwarf guards—most of whom were limping, having been soundly whipped by the Rabbits and sporting a lot of bruises on their bodies—who treated the guests with a great deal of respect.

  Karen and Carl, although offered rooms of their own, chose to remain with Uniqua, anxiously caring for her as she lay down on the floor of her exquisite room and entered into a healing meditative state.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE BOAT

  The following morning, the first visitor that greeted the Group was a strikingly beautiful woman, King Kurt’s wife, Irene. She walked with gracefulness, more like a ballet dancer than a queen. Not exceptionally tall, her form slender, long silky hair that fell straight upon her back, it was her eyes that immediately attracted your attention and held it in fascination. The twins, long accustomed to living in the Pacific (and thus the Orient), at once recognized that she was of Asian descent, but the rest of her face belonged to a different lineage. She bowed so low to the Group in a manner that flowed like running water, as if she were not a queen but a subject of one.

  Cassandra sat on her haunches in a far corner of the room, kind of in a brooding mood, as she was not very happy. The three Rabbits had ringed themselves in front of her in a protective stance. Uniqua sat on the floor next to the luxurious bed upon which the children were sitting.

  “You have my eternal thanks,” Queen Irene spoke, and her words mirrored her beauty, her tone silky soft and filled with a tenderness that matched her gentle nature.

  “It was the only right thing to do,” Uniqua answered her, feeling nearly one hundred percent again. “I felt that this silly war, which has only caused great harm and discomfort to all parties, had to come to an end once and for all.”

  “I thought you had—” Irene faltered.

  “Killed your husband?” Uniqua finished the sentence. She whinnied a giggle. “No way. It is so easy for us all to hurt, maim, destroy, and kill. And from such actions come only more hurting, maiming, destroying, and killing. It becomes an endless cycle. But when one has the power to heal, then the cycle of healing begins, and all the old wounds, both physical and psychological, finally fade away. Where once there were enemies, now everlasting friendships can be formed. Love replaces hate; understanding overcomes mistrust, envy, fear, and loathing. It was to this end that I acted, and I hope that I have done more good than harm in my actions.”

  “You have done something wonderful,” Irene told the Unicorn. “You have restored not just his beauty as a man, but you have changed him inside as well. I love my husband, even with all of his faults. Even as a child, he was restless and often angry. He would pick fights with his brothers over the silliest things. I never knew why he was always so angry. It was one place in his heart I could not touch or understand. But you have changed all that, too. Whatever it was that made him so angry is now gone, and I can never repay you or thank you enough for all that you have done.”

  Uniqua raised herself up and took a few steps to close the distance between her and the queen. She then breathed on the woman with a soft breath that smelled like the sweetest roses. “Be of good cheer, Queen Irene, and let your past worries and concerns fade like yesterday’s sunset.” And the change in the queen was marvelous to see. Her face lit up with a lovely smile, as if all of her burdens had suddenly been lifted and she was a young girl again.

  “Please,” Karen asked after a pause so as not to disturb the moment. “Could you tell us about yourself? How did you come to this Island?”

  Karl jumped up and pushed a large, well-cushioned chair over towards the bed so that the woman could comfortably sit down.

  “My story?” the queen repeated. “It is not very long nor complicated. It might not be very interesting, but I will tell you because you asked.

  “My grandfather was a fisherman, and he and his crew used to work the coasts of China. My husband’s family came from the Philippines, and often his grandfather and my grandfather would work their boats close to each other, and they became good friends. Then one day, some pirates in their terrible boats started chasing their fishing boats. Now, you must also understand that sometimes their wives and children would work the fishing boats with them, and while this was not the usual case, this was the situation that day.

  “I don’t know what you have heard about pirates, but these pirates were terrible people. They loved to kill people just for the sport of it, and they do not value human life, even their own. So, while our grandparents tried to sail as fast as they could away from the pirates, they could not sail fast enough, for the pirates had very fast ships. I believe they had some kind of powerful engines that pushed their ships quickly through the water, while the fishing boats relied solely on sails. It looked very bad for our grandparents. They could not sail back to the mainland, because the pirates had cut them off, having three boats. So, our grandparents sailed towards the open sea.

  “Just about when the pirates were getting so close—they started firing on the fishing boats with their weapons—a strange mist rose up from the sea. My grandfather thought that it was a gift from the gods, and he started heading into the thickest of the mist. My husband’s grandfather was a bit more afraid of the mist, but when he saw his friend steering into the mist, he, too, knew that this might be the only way they could escape from the pirates.”

  “My grandfather, whenever he told this story, always had a strange look in his eye, as if he were reliving that very moment. His face was all kind of shiny like, and he has this boyish look of wonder. He said that when the mist finally disappeared that the pirates had also disappeared, and before them lay this Island. I believe they arrived at the northeastern point of the Island and sailed south until they came to this land. Even then they marveled at the high wall that stretches all along the coast. They did not know that the wall was really a part of a huge Dwarf-made cavern that
encloses our land.

  “When they landed their boats, the Dwarfs who lived in this land greeted them warmly. They were just as curious about our grandfathers as they were about the Dwarfs. You see, the Dwarfs had never seen big people before, and our grandfathers had never seen so many little people. And, in the end, when the Dwarfs asked our grandfathers to remain with them and build a new home, our grandfathers agreed, and that is how our people came to the Island and have been here ever since.”

  “So, your father and mother must have intermarried,” Karen surmised.

  “Yes. My father is Chinese, and my mother is a Filipina,” Irene confirmed.

  “I’m curious how King Kurt’s father became king,” Karl rejoined.

  “That might be a longer story,” Irene confessed. “Let’s see. How can I make it short? There were about twenty or so humans who had come to the Island. The Dwarfs themselves numbered nearly a thousand or two, and they had a kind of monarchy for a government. Their current king was very old, but he did not have any children. All of the Dwarfs were afraid that after the old king died there would be several wars between the richer Dwarf families to see who would be the next king. Believe me when I tell you that Dwarfs do not like to fight. They really enjoy their work and their hobbies, which is either making beautiful things out of stone or writing stories or making and singing songs. So, the wisest of the Dwarfs approached our grandfathers and asked them to rule over the Dwarfs.

  “So, a contest was devised among our grandfathers to see who should be king. Remember that our grandfathers were friends, and they realized that if one of them should be king that it might ruin their friendship forever. So, they decided that a king should not be a tyrant—you know, where a person has all the power and then makes everyone else suffer. They agreed that a king should be a kind of representative of the people, someone everyone could look up to and love. But at the same time, everyone should have the same kinds of freedoms that many democracies in the world enjoy.”