11
A King's Ransom
Awaking with a yawn, his very first thought was of Janice. Although he was alone, snuggled up under his favourite duvet, he imagined wrapping his arms around her and falling asleep against her gorgeous smelling body. A vision of the dragon council hauling him off to the deepest darkest depths underground shocked him awake. Knowing what he was doing was wrong, as Richie did, he couldn't help but feel at the same time it was so... right. Running his fingers through his long, unkempt hair in frustration, reluctantly he got out of bed, wondering why things had to be so complicated. Sure a day of misery lay ahead of him, it was then that he remembered.
'I'm going to see the king, with Tank and Gee Tee.'
That cheered him up. With all thoughts of Janice and his highly illegal relationship banished, he scooted off to have a shower, singing happily as he did so. Twenty minutes later he was pristine and had finished his breakfast. During all of this, it had suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea about what form he should go in to visit the king. In theory, he supposed he should go in his natural dragon form; certainly Gee Tee would, and he supposed that meant Tank would as well. But, while he still felt a thrill being solitus, he was much more comfortable in the human guise that he spent so much time in. Ironic really. Still in two minds, he headed for the piano in the living room, yanking back the tall, glass, Galileo thermometer that stood atop it. Silently, the piano swivelled out to reveal a dark segment in the floor, through which the top of an intricate, metal staircase could just be made out. He'd thought he'd been fighting with the decision on which form to assume, but as it turned out he hadn't really. It was human guise for him all the way and he was sure the king wouldn't mind and would want him to be comfortable, especially spending so much time himself in that particular form. Bounding over to the gaping hole, he stepped through into the darkness just as the piano started to swivel back into place.
A short journey later and he found himself heading away from Buckingham Station towards the council chambers for his rendezvous with Tank and Gee Tee. Looking at his watch, he realised he'd done his normal thing of being early, only this time it was by nearly quarter of an hour. Knowing that the chances of Tank being able to hurry the old mantra maker along to get to the chambers on time were remote, he settled in for a bit of a wait.
'Oh well,' he mused, stopping for just a second to take in all the tall and opulent buildings, something he considered absolutely staggering. Continuing to stroll pleasantly down a side street, waiting to be met by the sight of the stunning council building, he turned a corner only to be greeted by a sight far more surprising. There, standing halfway up the steps to the council building, stood Tank in his human persona, alongside Gee Tee who looked absolutely majestic in his dragon form, a far cry from the normally frail old shop keeper he was used to seeing. Tank waved, having spotted Peter as soon as he'd turned the corner. Returning his friend's gesture, all the time watching the master mantra maker, who seemed to be captivated by the lava pools on either side of the steps, Peter rushed on over to the plateau that Tank and Gee Tee stood on.
"Morning," greeted Tank, slapping Peter on the back.
"Hi," offered Peter, a little out of breath.
"Hello young one," announced Gee Tee, watching his reflection dance across the bubbling pool of lava.
"Hi Gee," put in Peter.
"So," said Tank, "How are you feeling Pete? Excited about seeing the king again, I bet? I know I am."
Nodding eagerly, Peter agreed with his friend.
"A small part of me's nervous of course, but I can't wait to see him and find out more about my grandfather."
"And don't forget," added Tank, "he's got some stuff to give you as well. You know, the stuff your grandfather left you."
"Oh yeah," quipped Peter, "I'd almost forgotten all about that. I wonder what on earth it could be?"
Gee Tee poked the lava in the pool with one of his well worn talons, all the time listening to the two youngsters.
"Anyway, now that we're all here, shall we proceed?" boomed the old shopkeeper.
Peter looked nervously at his watch.
"Ummm... it's not really time yet. We're still a little more than ten minutes early. I wouldn't want to catch the king unaware."
Gee Tee let out a loud chuckle, all the time stirring the lava pool.
"Poppycock child. It should be impossible to catch the king unaware, as by his very nature, he is the king. Anyway, I think you'll find he's already aware of our presence. Let us proceed without further delay." With that, the old shopkeeper grabbed a huge handful of lava and to the surprise of both Peter and Tank, splashed it all across his giant scaly face. Instantly Tank bolted forward, stopping a moment or two later, after seeing how much Gee Tee enjoyed the experience, so much so that he was shaking his head and roaring with delight, much as a dragon half his age would. Gee Tee turned and looked at the two youngster's gobsmacked expressions.
"It's good for the complexion, you know?" he announced, before letting rip a great big belly laugh and stomping off up the steps towards the building's entrance. Sharing a look, not knowing what to make of what had just gone on, both friends broke into smiles, before deciding it was best to catch up with the shopkeeper before he had a chance to make any more mischief.
Located directly behind the shiny new council building, the king's private residence could only be accessed through a newly built link bridge. By the time Peter and Tank caught up with Gee Tee, he'd just made his way into the lobby, tutting at this, huffing at that, nearly starting a fight with one of the King's Guards who were stationed throughout the building in abundance, for something he'd uttered under his breath. Tank quickly apologised and led his boss back towards the reception desk, where they all explained who they were and that they all had an appointment with the king. Unsure at first, the reception dragon checked the state of the art computer, confirming that they were indeed expected, and then sent them on their merry way, the brightly lit floor panels in front of them guiding them to their destination. It didn't take too long for the master mantra maker to start moaning about that either, much to Peter and Tank's amusement.
One of the oldest buildings in the whole dragon domain, the king's private residence was also one of the grandest. It had been the biggest landmark in and around Buckingham up until the new council building had been erected directly in front of it. Although the council building had only been up and running for the last year or so, the planning and building work for the spectacular structure had been going on for the best part of five years. That doesn't sound much, but in dragon terms that's a huge timescale, particularly when you think of the way in which their mantras can create, modify, warp or destroy pretty much anything, in very much the blink of an eye. When in the planning stage, the council building had been intended to be on a totally different site. It was only after dozens of meetings that the present site was discussed as a possibility, and even then, only as an afterthought. But the more the council, and in particular, the dragons responsible for security, thought about the idea, the more momentum it seemed to gather, Eventually, with the king's reluctant approval, the new council building came into being, right, smack bang in front of the king's private residence, with the only way now in or out, through the lobby of the brand new council building. It had been chosen this way purely for security reasons; in the unlikely event that the king was ever in danger, one way in and one way out was a lot easier to defend, and the council building's defences, although they didn't look like much, were the toughest in the dragon domain.