BEWARE - chapter seven.

Hey *o* Please come in and have a seat *O*
Have you brought the food today ... How very sweet of you *O*
Flutes ... and a fine omelette *o* Chicken - both fried and barbequed - yummy *o* Spareribs and coleslaw *O* I have to find Johnny now *o* He´ll love this *O* Japanese candy ... and a Danish apple pie for dessert *o*
Thank you, my dear fri ... ends *o*
Hey, baby - that´s the dessert - the thing you eat last, you know -o* Can you now be a sweet boy, Johnny, and keep your fingers out of the whipped cream on the apple pie and sit down *O*
And the rest of you too - please settle down comfortably *o* Then I´ll go on telling my story ...
The rock ledge the witch Vivian La Regina brought us to were about a hundred yards up on a steep windy cliff side. And the mountain went further up into very low hanging clouds or thick fog, so I was not even able to see where it ended. Johnny hugged himself because the wind was so cold. He was after all only wearing a thin shirt and a pair of long legged shorts. And I had his sandals in my hands because he in all the confusion had forgot to get them on.
I fared a bit better having a cardigan on though wind tugged in my long skirt so I had to hug the cliff side not to fall over and doooooooown ...
Johnny probably guessed my vertigo were bothering me and came over and hugged me to him so I wouldn´t have to see how far down there was.
"We haven´t got time for all that lovey-dovey nonsense’s" princess Irma snarled. I could feel Johnny tense and whispered "No, darling!! We are "out numbered" so to speak by those two having both wand and gun so will you please keep your temper, baby?" A moment later I could more sense than see Johnny nod and relax a bit. And then he turned towards them but as the sweet man he is still kept himself between me and the drop so I didn´t have to see it.
"What is it we are suppose to do here. I can´t see any dragon here - black or otherwise ..." he said still sounding angry to me but clearly trying to control himself. Vivian didn´t answer. Just indicated we should follow her. So we did - slowly and carefully.
And after rounding a corner on the ledge we saw a tall, narrow gap in the cliff wall just broad enough for one human to enter at a time. "You two go in here" Vivian said pointing "The black dragon Speem is at the end of this tunnel. How you get the Holy Grail from her I don´t care ... Whether you charm her or fight is up to you. But you will get it for me or you´ll be punished when you come back here without it"
For a moment I though about giving in and telling her where the Grail was.
But Johnny whispered "Easy, Meepsie-girl - we will find a solution ... As long as there is life there is hope, you know" ... I wasn´t so sure about that. Having heard some stories about Speem. But he had been right so far. And I didn´t much like the thought of betraying a friend either no matter how tempting it was.
So down we went. Vivian thoughtfully provided us with the sort of electrical lamps miners use fastened around their head so we had our hands free. I thought of asking for the princess´ gun. But didn´t think we would get it. And it wouldn´t amount to much against a large - perhaps crazy - and at least magic wielding, fire breathing dragon anyway.
When we were well away from the witch and her princess Johnny whispered "Now you do wish you had chosen Rambo instead of Sam, don´t you? He would have ripped both gun and wand from them faster than you could say ... "Big old cry baby, you!" I am sorry, Meepsie-kin - I am just a dumb actor ..."
I reached forward and hugged him a bit. And then whispered giggling in his ear "Rambo is played by an actor - dumb or not - but ... you are my smart, sweet boyfriend. You did very well, I think, sweetie"
"I lied" Johnny didn´t sound so sad now "You don´t have an appointment with Par-Salian at all"
And no, I hadn´t. But I still love Johnny´s way of trying to get us out of our trouble *o* Although what we should have done if Johnny´s sweetness and charm haven´t got us so many able friends, I don´t know ...
I'm not sure if threatening with violence - and violence done by other persons - are more morally acceptable than doing the violence yourself. I was just one happy chicken that it had work so far *o* Now we had to try and handle Speem as well too.
After about half a hours walking - and sometimes almost crawling on our hands and knees - Johnny, who was walking in the front, whispered he could see a weak light. So we turned off our lamps and walking cautiously forward to a stop just outside the tunnel - on another ledge at the side of a gigantic cave ... Lit by a greenish flickering magical light which came from nowhere in particular and everywhere all at once.
Speem´s lair. Filled up with gold and precious stones and other treasure ...
We should for a very long time stock still and listened intently and tried to see through the eerie gloom after signs of the dragon being at home.
Finally Johnny sighed in a whisper "This will take weeks. It is even more cluttered than our house at home" I hushed him - smiling a bit. Johnny-boy is just as able as me to make a mess. But to be honest - he also does his fair half of the cleaning it up again *O* Especially if we can do it together and talk while doing so -o*
But I didn´t think comments on the dragon´s house keepings skills - or rather lack of same - would endear us to her if she happened to overhear ...
Then I smiled a bit broader and whispered "Anyway - the Grail isn´t here, remember, sweetie? We will just have to convince Speem we are two very innocent little lambs lost in the woo - erm, in her cave and just passing through. Get her to tell us where the other entrance is so we don´t have to go back to those two bi ... women. And hope like crazy that she is not the kind of dragon who shoot - roast - trespassers under the motto "Fry first. Ask questions later ...""
"There is another entran ... Oh, yes, of course there is" Johnny sound irritated at himself. But still remembered to whisper "No normal size grown-up dragon could get through that little rabbit hole - seen with dragon´s eyes, that is - we came through. I am just being stupid. Well - I think, she isn´t here or we would probably have seen or heard her by know ... Should we try exploring a bit? Maybe we can find the way out before she comes back"
So we walk cautiously down the narrow ledge. And I tried very hard to imagine that I COULD NOT fall down. That sometimes helps on my vertigo *o*
Down at the actual floor of the cave there was a loads of precious items. But Johnny went straight for a pile of clothes off in one corner and started to look through it hurriedly. After a moment I heard a quiet "Hurrah!! Come over here, sweetie. Here is warm clothes. Arabic it seems ... I can´t see if it was originally intended for men or women since it is just long flowing robes. But you try this bright red one on - there you go ... You look very beautiful, babe!!"
Now I don´t know about that. I can´t see I am as beautiful as Johnny claims. But I didn´t mind hearing it of course -o*
On the other hand Johnny blushed - but also looked quite happy - when I claimed he was more dashing than old Rudolf Valentino in a royal blue robe made of velvet and with gold embroidery on the neck line and shoulders. He smiled - gorgeously - and took a step back to take a deep bow ... And then a tremendous crash sounded behind him.
He had accidentally stepped into and overturned a small table and tipped an ornate blue teapot standing on it to the ground. And almost at once after the crashing sound one could a little child start bawling sounding terrified.
"A-a-a ch-child he-here ..." Johnny stuttered.
Then he saw her sitting on the ground. A beautiful little girl about three yard old. With a lot of dark brown curls and dark eyes. And howling like a banshee with bellyache! But Johnny quickly picked cute small siren up. Sat down with her in his arms and rocked back and forth gently while he mumbled something sweet and comforting in her little rosy ear.
And since he has a way with little children ... And old men - butlers - and women -o* - and doggies and dwaggies - I mean dragons *O* - even most cats love him Not to mention Danish chi - women ... one fat Danish woman at least *O* What I mean is that the little girlie was very soon looking just as adoringly up at him - with her thumb deeply buried in her mouth - as the baby squirrel (or I for that matter *o* ) has ever done.
"There-there. That´s much better, isn´t it, my little sweet chops. Now can you tell me - what´s your name, darling?" Johnny cooed at her ever so gently
"What is she doing in a dragon´s lair is probably more to the point" I thought. But left the "third degree" to the cutest cop ever to have graced the silver screen *O*
"Yasmina" the child mumbled.
Or that is at least what I think she said. It was a bit difficult to understand her with her thumb in her mouth like that.
Little by little though we managed to persuade her to tell what little she knew. She was a little djinn ... Three years old as I had guess. But added firmly "I´ll soon be five!!" And Johnny just smiled and said "Yes, sweetie. Of course you will" And noooo ... she didn´t know where her parents were. And their names were of course Mummy and Daddy!
... O.K. she was only three, so it is understandable she didn´t know that much. But frustrating none the less. We gathered though that she had apparently been abducted from a quite ordinary kindergarten’s playground - somewhere in England if you could go by her accent - by some unscrupulous magic-thieves.
Maybe I better explain here as I did to Johnny. That some wizards claim that if you get a djinn early enough in life and train said djinn firmly - or cruelly in my opinion - you can harness this djinn´s formidable magic powers to your own dirty little ends.
No need to say my sweet gentle Johnny was very outraged when I told him about that. So in order not to get him too excited - with the child there and all - I didn´t tell him then and there that some people steal dragon´s egg right out of the nest too in order to get a "tame" dragon later ...
"We got to get her out - get all of us out of here" Johnny said - sounding both worried and angry. "Speem should not be allowed to keep this little one just like that! To do all kind of awful things to her. We must also find her parents for her somehow. ... Vivian and the princess would probably love to have this little sweetie here - instead of the Grail, I mean. ... not to mention what they might do to me - or us both even - when they find out that they´ll not be getting the Grail either. So that is just all the more reason for us NOT to go back to them and to get out of here before they get into their heads to follow us or something"
I agree with that. And suggested that he should stay put in the corner by the clothes and take care of the baby - not a Mission Impossible for my sweetie - while I tried to find some magic object that might get us out. I suggested that if Speem came they could hide in the clothes - though I doubted Johnny would listen to that - but at least he would hide the child.
I also explained that "I don´t much want us to meet the dragon coming in while we are going out. So I would prefer to "swoosh" out of here magically instead of risk walking out into the dragon´s teeth. But since I "left home" so abruptly and therefore without my wand or wishing sticks or anything I have to find something here we can use"
Johnny happily accepted my assignment for him. And I started to pad quietly around trying to find something magical.
Now there was of course plenty of magic stuff. It was a dragon´s lair after all *o*
There were magical swords which killed every time you draw them out of their scabbard - brrr!!! Further on I found a bridal dress which according to the label attached from the shop would burn up the unlucky person donning it - what do one say to that ... Somehow all the magical things I could find had something to do with death and destruction, so I hurriedly replaced said items on their piles.
Then I suddenly gasped out loud. "What is it, Meepsie?" Johnny called and started to get up.
"Ye-yes, you be-better come and see, ba-baby .... I think, Spee-speem is dead ..." I stuttered.
So Johnny came over with Yasmina in his arms. And she said - with very huge eyes and safely up on Johnny´s arm - "Biiiiiiig dwaggie ..." And she was quite right ... Speem had been enormous. But luckily for us she was now as dead as a doornail ...
"Well, that solves one of our problems, I guess" Johnny said after having looked at the corpse with just as big eyes as the child for a little while. "It seems somebody has stuck something - a lance probably - in her heart ... Perhaps Tom - erm, Sir Lancelot ... But now we can walk out of here without any problem, can´t we, Meepser *o* ? ... unless the killer - nah, he would have said or done something before now if he was still around, wouldn´t he? We haven´t actually been little quiet mice - eh, Yasmina-sweet *o* ? And he wouldn´t be that afraid - or NOT afraid at all - of us after killing her ..."
So we did just walk out. Peaceful and quietly.
But first we took a couple of blankets and shawls in the clothes´ pile to keep the child and ourselves warm. As Johnny said; we might very well end up sleeping out at night.
We also emptied some wine bottles and filled them with water from the spring in the cave too. Johnny was at first feeling sad wasting the very good wine. But when I said we couldn´t very well give the child wine or get roaring drunk ourselves just now he quickly poured the costly drops out himself.
But we left the actual treasures to other people. For all I know Speem might even have heirs somewhere.
And as Johnny so sweetly claimed; he had all the treasure he wanted. All three of us together and in good health and likely to get out of all this alive too *o*
... but this chicken is a bit shaken still thinking of those huge dead dragon eyes, so do you mind very much if we leave the next chapter of the story until tomorrow? You don't ... Good *o* See you then *O*