Chapter 11: The Price of Rebellion

Princess Nataleigh lay on the floor of the cave rubbing her head and wondering what had hit her. There was a commotion going on around her, but her senses were out of focus and she couldn’t quite pull herself together enough to figure out what was going on. She felt dizzy and a little sick as she stared at the rock floor. Her breath came to her in short gasps.

Where am I, she wondered, and what is going on?
The last thing she could remember was running. She had been chasing after the Serpent’s Eye which had been stolen from her… by that witch! That filthy little sea hag had taken what she had come so far to possess! And she would not allow that.

She remembered now charging the little woman to get the Eye back. Frangen had shouted at her to stop. Frangen… what had happened to the inventor? He must have seen something she hadn’t because the next thing she knew, she had been snared by a net… and then things went fuzzy.

All she could remember clearly was the Serpent’s Eye in the hands of the wizard and how wrong that seemed. It should be hers. It belonged to her Father, anyway. Therefore it belonged to his children, not some horrible little dwarf.

And then the wizard was gone, replaced by a voice. The voice was unknown to her, and yet somehow familiar, like an old friend. She liked it. It understood her. It had offered her what she’d been seeking her whole life…freedom; freedom from rules and expectations, freedom to pursue adventure.

All she had to do was get the Eye back.

And then she was free of her bonds and it was within her reach. It was as if the Serpent’s Eye itself were calling her, wanting her the way she wanted it. The voice was so warm…
…and then her head exploded with pain and she found herself now staring at the cave floor.

The pain in her head throbbed. Something had struck her… and it hadn’t been soft.
Her eyes fell upon a colorful object lying on the cave floor nearby. It was a short rod of wood with a silly, blunt-faced head carved into one end. The head was wearing a yellow and red jester’s cap pulled over its eyes and had a large rubber tongue sticking out of its mouth. A cloth body had been attached to the stick, complete with stubby little arms and flat hands dressed in a matching jester shirt. It was a wooden-headed puppet.

She reached for it, realizing that this was the object that had struck her. But where had it come from? She wondered. And why would someone hit me with a puppet? Was this one of Hagwig’s cruel little weapons?

Finally she looked up and realized that there was a battle going on around her. The first thing she noticed was a little dwarf dressed in red and yellow Jester clothes that matched the puppet in her hand. He was challenging a small dragon, irritating it and dodging the fire that spewed from its mouth.

She couldn’t make out yet what he was saying, her head still spinning as it was, but before much could be said, the jester was knocked to the floor by Hagwig. The dirty little witch had attacked him from behind!

Anger toward the witch again rose up in the princess. She didn’t know who this little jester was, but if he was fighting the witch and a dragon, Nataleigh decided he must be one of the good guys. She started to push herself up to help when she realized that the dragon was moving across the tunnel toward someone else. It was Nathan! Her brother stood with a small pirate sword in one hand wearing his armor, facing the advancing dragon bravely. But there was death in the dragon’s eyes and though it was not very big, Nataleigh feared for her brother. Something was not right. There was more to this dragon then could be seen. And it knew her brother. It spoke to him as though they had met before.

Suddenly, the dragon drew back and roared and before anyone could do anything, it grew and changed and Nataleigh realized that she had been right. This dragon was no ordinary dragon. I was far more powerful than it had appeared. Now its true nature was exposed and nothing stood between it and her brother.

She could see fear in Nathan’s eyes as he watched the transformation. He was about to die! She was sure of it, yet she was frozen with fear herself, unable to move or even scream for him to run.

Then to her amazement, Nathan threw aside the pirate sword and, shouting a challenge to the dragon, exploded with power. His armor changed color and out of thin air a flaming sword and bright shield appeared in his hands. A crown appeared on his head and Nataleigh saw for the first time how much her brother looked like… their father, the High King!

The last of his words echoed across the tunnel to her as he engaged the dragon. “I do not walk in disobedience as my sister, lured by your deceptions. I have made peace with my father and know He is with me at this moment!”

And the dragon’s response, “Then come, your Highness. Embrace your end and witness the rise of my rule over Darrowold!”

The dragon lunged for Nathan and he struck at it, but the sword only glance from the dragon’s scaled hide. The battle had begun.

It was all like a bad dream in the princess’s mind. Everything seemed to slow down and become more intense. On her other side, the jester and the witch were still wrestling around on the floor, neither getting the upper hand. The princess wanted to do something, but her mind was a muddle. Her brother’s words struck her heart. He had said that she was lured by the dragon’s deceptions. What could that mean? She had never met the dragon. How could she be deceived by it? Disobedient to her father, yes. She had to admit that she had disobeyed in coming down to Darrowold, but deceived? That didn’t make any sense to her.

The Prince was being pressed back against the cave wall now, the full force of the dragon’s massive bulk crushing down upon him. Fire struck him and only his lion-shield protected him. Then the dragon lifted one massive claw to strike and Nathan ducked and rolled under the leg as he had seen Flindee do moments before. Jumping to his feet, he struck the dragon under the leg and ran for open ground. The dragon bellowed and twisted around to pursue him.

Seeing the monster charging in her direction, the princess backed away from where she had fallen and bumped into the Serpent’s Eye. Suddenly, the rest of her memories came pouring back into her mind and she remembered now how the dragon had come to be here. She saw it all clearly now: Panganiban’s pride as he summoned the dragon, the dragon’s attack on the wizard, and her… deception.

She could not deny it now. She had been deceived by this dragon. How had it known her? She still didn’t understand everything, but it was now clear to her that her obsession with the Serpent’s Eye and her rebellion against her father had nearly destroyed her. Realization struck home. Somehow this was all her fault. In trying to take matters into her own hands, she had made them worse.

Nathan was now fighting for his life as he was backed up yet again in the other direction and the two combatants passed by the princess and the Serpent’s Eye. He had managed to score several hits on the dragon with the flaming sword which had increased Snagglefang’s rage, yet the dragon could not penetrate the great shield that seemed to radiate an aura of protection on all sides of the prince.

As the dragon passed by Nataleigh and the Eye, he suddenly turned his attention from Nathan and smiled at her.

“So you have come to your senses, have you, little princess? That is too bad. I had so hoped to give you the world. But now I will show you the power that you have given up.”
Reaching out, the dragon placed a claw over the Serpent’s Eye and spoke. “Gart, I summon you!”

Suddenly, an image appeared in the crystal which grew larger, and as with Snagglefang, Gart the giant stepped out of the ball and entered the cave. Nataleigh had never seen the giant either and his brutish size and fierce features cowed her to her knees as he glared down at her on the floor.

On one arm perched a predatory bird of immense size that eyed her hungrily.

“Never mind the girl.” The dragon instructed. “Grab the boy and hold him! You remember the brave knight you brought to me, don’t you, Gart.”

The Giant turned toward the prince, whose eyes had grown wider at his arrival. The giant’s face turned red with anger. “Oh, yeah, I remember HIM, boss. Do I get to smash him THIS time?”
“Yes. But don’t damage him too much. I still have need for him and his sister. Just bring him to me… and have Reginald give Hagwig a hand with our naughty little jester.”

Seeing the jester across the tunnel, the giant grinned, exposing his single, yellow tooth. “My pleasure, boss. You heard him, Weggio. Fetch!”

With a screech, the hawk launched into the air, and before Flindee knew what had hit him, he was lifted from the ground between two gigantic talons.

At the same time, the giant moved to capture Nathan. Though the prince was armed and had grown since their last encounter, he could not long stand against the combined force of the giant and the dragon.