Peter, Tank and Gee Tee continued following the brightly lit floor panels, on a route that really made no sense at all. All three of them could tell that from a directional point of view, they'd doubled back on themselves three or four times already. By now, the old shopkeeper was getting very... disappointed.
"This is beyond ridiculous," he snorted.
"I agree wholeheartedly," added Peter. "It really doesn't make much sense at all."
Tank paused to think for just a second.
"I think I've read about this somewhere," he said quietly to the other two.
"And just where would that be?" enquired his bad tempered boss. "In a holiday magazine. A few hours in the council building will seem like a week, because that's how long it will take you to find your way to your destination."
Ignoring the aforementioned jibe, Tank continued.
"If I'm not mistaken, the computer guiding us is designed for security reasons, to never follow the same route twice, in any one day, all for the protection of the king, of course."
"I should have thought the king would have been able to protect himself," huffed the master mantra maker, his breath getting shorter all the time due to all the walking they'd done.
Just then the three of them turned a sharp corner and stood at the entrance to a raised glass walkway, known affectionately as the link bridge. Simultaneously, they all gasped at the view from the perfectly polished windows. Below them, dragon kings gone by were carved into the rock that supported the king's private residence; the attention to detail was staggering. Stunning white pillars ran down each side, some at least a quarter of a mile long. Arches made from the same bright, white rock towered overhead. Inscriptions circled the white pillars, while dragon faces stared out from the deep set arches. The walkway ran across what appeared to be a bottomless chasm, separating the brand new council building from the historic private residence of the king. In many ways it seemed a shame that the council building had been built right in front of the magnificent structure that housed the king in his free time. And Peter wasn't the only one to think so, with many members of the dragon community at large having kicked up quite a fuss during the planning stage of the new council building. But security had won the day, trumping aesthetic beauty as it normally did here in the dragon world. Of course he could appreciate that from a defensive point of view, it was indeed very well protected. But protected from who? There had been no wars for a very long time, and unless the king knew something that nobody else did, then it all seemed a bit like overkill to him.
Leading the way across the link bridge, Peter nervously glanced down into the chasm. It made no sense of course, a dragon, even in a human body, being afraid of heights, but that's just how he was. Tank followed closely behind him, with Gee Tee scraping his tail along the glass at the back of the group, amused by Peter's fear of the chasm they were now crossing.
Once across the bridge, the trio walked beneath a large, white stone arch where, much to Gee Tee's relief, the guiding lights on the floor vanished. Continuing along the path they were all on, as there was nowhere else to go, the three remained totally silent, each in awe of the great building they found themselves in. It was rare for anyone to visit the king's private residence. Most of the king's business was carried out in the council chambers: council meetings, press briefings, bestowing honours, they were all worked through in the council building. Only the king's closest allies, friends and family were ever invited into his private residence, something all three of them were aware of now more than ever.
Exiting the short tunnel, a cooling breeze ruffled Peter's shoulder length hair in a rather pleasant sort of way, as he adjusted his eyes to the much brighter environment. A huge cone of flame swept its way out of Gee Tee's mouth in a moment of surprise at the amazing space they found themselves in. Tank, who'd been standing directly in front of the master mantra maker when it happened must, Peter thought, have experienced this from the old dragon before, as he reacted with super speed, throwing himself forward and then rolling off to one side, all in one silky smooth motion. Peter was impressed, both by Tank's quick reflexes and the heat from the flame that Gee Tee had generated. Most of the cone had been a searing blue, with a touch of white hot flickering orange and yellow around the outside, which was impressive for a normal dragon, but doubly so for an elderly one. For a split second, he wondered if the old shopkeeper had been at the Peruvian ink. He was pretty sure he hadn't. Peter knew that despite all the shopkeeper's bluster and bravado, he was as keen as anyone to visit the king, in this of all places.
The space all three of them found themselves in was... HUGE! Not just the height either, but the diameter, and it WAS diameter, as the area they'd entered was completely circular in nature with massive wide oblongs stretching off it in a couple of directions. A light marble floor with ancient text smattered amongst it set off a giant stone plinth, smack bang in the centre. Marble railings of the same colour looked down upon them from tens of floors above. On top of all of this, the room had a sense of... destiny to it. There was definitely something special and it echoed throughout the entire level. You could feel it in the air; it was everywhere.
"Ahhhhhh, you made it I see," boomed a voice from somewhere up above.
As one, the trio looked up, scouring the balconies for any sign of the voice's owner.
"Sorry to confuse you all. Over here."
Turning round, all three were greeted by the sight of the king descending the elegantly curved staircase, made from the same kind of marble as the floor. Peter and Tank immediately dropped to one knee. Gee Tee chuckled from behind them.
"You can cut that out for starters," ordered the king, from the bottom step of the staircase. "Get up at once and stop being so silly. You're my guests, not loyal subjects today. You could do worse than to take a leaf out of this dragon's book," urged the king, motioning to Gee Tee. "He doesn't bow or kowtow to anyone. Am I right?"
"You would be correct... Sire," replied the master mantra maker, grinning.
"Oh... very funny," said the king, breaking into a broad smile, patting Gee Tee on the shoulder, having to stand on tiptoes in his human form to do so.
Peter and Tank got to their feet.
"It's good to see you again... shopkeeper. I'm sorry it's been so long."
Peter was glad to see the king had assumed his human guise, and was happy that he'd chosen his own preferred form as well. Despite having spent days thinking and dreaming about coming here, he still felt a little overwhelmed by the situation. Maybe it was the magnificent cane the king carried that made him instantly recognisable, looking both strong and flexible at the same time, with that sparkling blue trident carved into it that pulsed away regally. Or perhaps it was the fabulous ring that adorned the middle finger of the monarch's right hand, although as he'd previously found to his cost, it didn't always choose to reveal itself to everyone. Pushing all thoughts of the king's power and position right to the back of his mind, in order to enjoy the day and learn as much as he could, a shiver ran down his tail, despite the fact that he wasn't even sporting it at this very moment.
"It's good to see you to little one. It has been a very long time indeed," rumbled the old shopkeeper, only a few feet from the king. Sighing visibly, the king added,
"I'm sorry. I really should have invited you here before."
"Yes you should have," replied Gee Tee forcefully.
Peter and Tank both froze on the spot.