“Then we must leave at once!” Maid Madelyn began to gather her things for the trip. “If we cannot stop them before they leave, then we will prepare to meet them on the field of battle when they return! Serpent’s Eye or not, we can stop them before they reach the Magic Castle!”
"I think Madelyn is right!” Tiny Bud said, standing to his feet as well. “What good is a key if you don’t get to use it? When King Balderdash hears of this, he will call every Knight in the kingdom to battle. We will stop them!”
Bill Crimson rubbed his chin. “If we attack them by surprise when they get back we might even be able to take the Serpent’s Eye away from them. Then we will have it and we could use it to enter the Magic Castle.”
“I don’t think it is wise to let those villians even get their filthy fingers on the Eye.” said Friar Tub, licking his own fingers and wiping them on his robes. “It will be harder to take it from them once they have it and there is no telling what powers it may give them once they have it.”
Tiny Bud heaved a great sigh. “But what can we do? The King must be warned and we six cannot stop them by ourselves?”
“I can!” declared Maid Madelyn as she strapped on her quiver of arrows.
“Peace, Madelyn.” cautioned Brumble. “Your heart is valiant, but even if we had the power to stop them ourselves, I do not think we have the time. We are further from Castle Dingle than we are from Castle Bouldergold after all. They will set sail in their ship before we get there and we have no ship of our own in which to pursue them.”
They all paused for a moment, thinking about what their leader had said. Then Princess Nataleigh’s face brightened with an idea.
“Wait a minute!” she shouted. “I know where we could get a ship!”
They all looked at her in surprise.
“Well, it’s not really a ship, but it travels through water, and it’s very fast and it’s secret!”
“What is this fantastic vessel, young Princess?” asked Friar Tub.
“It’s a submarine!”
They all looked at her with a blank look on their faces.
“A what?” Billy asked.
“A submarine.” Nataleigh repeated. “It’s like a boat, but it has a top over it that keeps water out of the inside and you can go under the water with it.”
“A submersible boat?” said Friar Tub in awe. “Incredible.”
“Where is this magic ship?” asked Brumble Wood.
“It’s not magic.” Nataleigh corrected. “It’s science. There are some very smart dwarves who invented and built it in their workshop by the sea.”
“We don’t know of any inventors by the sea.” scoffed Billy. “Are they friend or foe?”
“I don’t think they are bad. They are explorers. I think if we tell them about a new place to explore, they will be very excited to help us!”
“But, Princess, that still leaves us with the problem of getting there in time to follow the pirates.” Brumble reminded Nataleigh.
“You forgot about Jewel!” Nataleigh beamed. The idea of being able to do more in this adventure excited her. She never thought about stopping the bad guys herself.
“Of course!” said Friar Tub, getting excited himself as he realized the possibilities. “The young lady’s flying pony could get anywhere fast!”
“You truly are a lady of royal blood, dear Princess, for offering your vast knowledge and resources.” Brumble bowed low to Nataleigh as he reached for his own battle gear and continued. “Tiny Bud and I will take the pony and find these inventors by the sea. The rest of you must ride as quickly as possible to warn King Balderdash! Now if you will be so kind as to direct us to where we might find these fellows with the underwater boat, my Lady, we will be off at once!”
Nataleigh was shocked and didn’t know what to say. Her entire plan of action had just been changed right before her eyes. She really wanted to meet King Balderdash. even though she knew that she ought to get back to Amiera, but now that she had thought of this new plan, she wanted to be the one to do it. It didn’t seem fair somehow. All she could do was watch as Brumble Wood walked over to Jewel with Tiny Bud right behind him.
But when Brumble attempted to mount the Wind Runner, Jewel whinnied in protest and moved away from him. He tried again, coaxing the pony with soothing words, but the result was the same. Jewel would have nothing to do with the two dwarves.
Finally in frustration, Brumble turned to the Princess. “If your Majesty would be so kind as to instruct her noble steed to grant us passage, our gratitude would be most forthcoming.”
Nataleigh just looked at the woodland archer. She hadn’t even understood what he had just said, but she was sure it had something to do with giving him some help with Jewel. Her heart wasn’t in it, but she was about to speak to Jewel when Maid Madelyn stepped forward.
“I have a better idea.” she offered. “The princess and I will go on the pony.”
Now they all looked at Maid Madelyn.
Brumble turned to look at her curiously. “Are you saying, you wish to go off alone? Just the two of you maidens? Surely, Tiny Bud and myself are the better choice for this mission. It is too dangerous for ladi...”
“Don’t even say it, Brumble! We ladies can handle ourselves just fine!” Madelyn scolded. “It’s the Princess’s pony anyway, and it wouldn’t be proper for one of you to go with her alone, so I’ll go!”
None of them could argue with Madelyn’s logic, though Brumble tried to think of something. Finally, after a few moments of tense silence, he shrugged his shoulders in annoyance and motioned for the others to follow him as he headed for the horses. Tiny Bud and Billy Crimson were quick to follow him, but the friar lagged behind.
“Farewell, Ladies!” he waved as cheerily as he could, then walked away after the others. “Blessings upon you both in your courageous quest to save us all!”
And with that, the two maidens were left alone.
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