Part Three. The Great and Magical Lord Volpetail�s Enchanted Castle Far Far Away!
"To think, upon our meeting there was a hungry and frightened pimple faced young man with only a belt, pair of boots and an old bow to his name. Now we're two fattened up spoiled cream puffs. Never has this town seen a finer wedding, and never shall it again! You should be so proud, I know I'm proud of you, Master!"
A second week had passed since the fox tailed child had made that promise, and now the young man's truest wish had finally come true. The fox tailed child lay back on a velvet pillow, now a clean child with a combed tail and hair who kept those jingle bell boots polished daily, they were propped up on two more pillows, for the moment. The two were conversing in Lord Volpetail's private suite where they now lived together in the grand palace. Volpetail's wife was away currently being fitted for a new gown to wear at the grand ball, the third one since the marriage.
The great and magical Lord Volpetail simply sank to his knees, after having made sure the door to his chamber was locked, and wept as he often did to the fox tailed servant in privacy.
Nearly swallowing a grape the wrong way, both ears flattened as those bright yellow eyes widened, "On second thought . . . I am no longer proud. What's gotten in to you? Have I not granted you your real truest wish?"
"Of coarse you have, you have married me off to a princess where I shall live forever in her father's palace . . . but I cannot live this way! I am too afraid to speak to my own wife for fear that she should find me out for who I truly am, and would it not be suspicious that I stay here forever when I am said to have an enchanted palace of my own far far away? No, I am afraid I will be found out for sure sooner or later, and then we shall both be doomed!" Lord Volpetail bellowed and wiped his face on his arm.
"Then continue not speaking to her! She loves it! As long as you continue the way you are, you will not be found out. Everybody loves the great and magical Lord Volpetail!" one clawed hand took a glass of wine and the child took greedy gulps from it, speaking rather confidently to the young man.
"That is just it, my fox tailed servant, everybody loves the great and magical Lord Volpetail, not me!" the young man the child had named Lord Volpetail pled, "Nobody knows me now but you, and I am afraid because of that. Should not the great and magical Lord Volpetail have his own palace to live in with his wife?"
The child gurgled in the glass a moment, then swallowed it's contents, "Very well. Leave it to me, but this time I shall ask for more then boots to call my own. You have always been very greedy and cold to me, never wishing if I was well or if I had eaten or if I had means to make my own life. Well, now, that is what I wish for in return. When I have gotten my great and magical Lord Volpetail his enchanted palace far far away then the great and magical Lord Volpetail shall forever treat me and care for me as any lord treats and cares for his own son."
"You? Treated as my own son? . . . Well, very well then, if you can give me my own castle then I suppose there will be more then enough room to spare for you," the young man had to stop and think about this a little bit harder then usual, but then made a bit more of a hasty agreement then the fox tailed servant was used to.
Nonetheless, the child smiled and leaned forward to pet the kneeling Lord Volpetail on the top of his head, "Worry not, Master, I shall take care of everything as usual!"
That night, there was an other spectacular ball and the great and magical Lord Volpetail remained silent, wrapped in his shroud of mystery that kept his wife in such awe. The charming fox tailed servant bowed to all the ladies and cut in for a dance with the new bride. Those jingle bell boots flew across the dance floor as the child swished that silver tail like a flag, entertaining the child's own dance partner as well as the rest of the dance floor with acrobatic flips and skilful bursts of foot work. And the ever giggling merwoman took the king to the dance floor as well where they merrily competed with the younger dance pair for dominance of the floor. In wonderful sport, and much lighthearted fun, it ended with a laughing draw. Indeed, the palace had never known such fun before the great and magical Lord Volpetail arrived to grace them with his presence.
After the dance, however, the child waved down the music, leapt onto the head of the dinner table, tapped a wineglass with a spoon, and made Lord Volpetail very very nervous.
The wife of the great and magical Lord Volpetail danced up to him and took his arm and looked to their servant. And the king applauded the charming child and asked what the child had to say. So all ears were on the jingle bell boot wearing youth, and the fox tailed servant replied, "Gracious king sacred crown, Milady Princess wife of the great and magical Lord Volpetail, and wonderful people of this land. The great and magical Lord Volpetail has asked me to make an announcement!"
The great and magical Lord Volpetail suddenly felt rather faint.
All ears were on the child in anticipation.
"My master has had a wonderful time here and he loves all of you very very much!" there was applause, but a pair of clawed hands waved for more attention, "And although he's had a wonderful stay with his wife's people, the great and magical Lord Volpetail has decided that he shall now depart with his wife to his enchanted palace far far away."
Sobs burst out among the guests, Lord Volpetail's wife leapt into his arms in joy, and the king hung his head with a sigh then turned to his son in law.
"Well, Lord Volpetail, I have greatly enjoyed your stay, never has this palace known such fun. And though it breaks my heart that you are leaving, I am also overjoyed that I have known the honor of your presence, you truly are as great and magical as legend says! But I have decided that I shall not let my daughter part so abruptly, no, instead, with your permission, I would like to come and visit your palace with my daughter to escort the two of you to your home together with as much grace as I can. Though you are far greater then I in wealth and resource, please grant me this humble request for I greatly wish to see the future home of my only daughter."
Cradling his overjoyed wife, the great and magical Lord Volpetail felt a chill seize his forehead, and wide silent eyes darted to his servant upon the table.
With that white tipped silver tail curling up to one side, each ear perking upwards and a knowing twinkle in those wide yellow eyes, the jingle bell boot wearing servant smiled with much mischief.
The very next day, carriages were loaded with a grand dowry and the clip clop of the horses rang out, echoing under the drawbridge as the royal coach exited the palace over looking the sea and headed straight through town. The king, his daughter, his merwoman, and his son in law the great and magical Lord Volpetail were comfortably seated in the head coach on top of which the loyal fox tailed servant sat to drive the horses with a long whip.
And as the town's people looked on, seeing the line of coaches and noting their favorite herald perched upon one waving farewell to them all, their tasks were slowly dropped once more. The people gathered around, running after the caravan and asking the guards what was going on. The royal guards told them that the great and magical Lord Volpetail was leaving with his wife and that the king was leaving with them for a visit.
Terribly jealous, the Innkeeper packed his own bags hastily and tied them to his mule and set out after them. The blacksmith and his apprentices witnessed this along with many merchants and the three brothers who lived just outside of town. Angry that the Innkeeper was allowed to see the enchanted castle of the great and magical Lord Volpetail yet they were not, they all packed their own bags and set out after them as well.
Soon, the maids in the palace, already missing their mistress, ran out into the streets; and they were followed by all of the servants and cooks.
Finally, the entire palace and town was cleared and every person was on the road following the great and magical Lord Volpetail, curious to see his wonderful enchanted palace even if it was far far away.
Further up the road, the royal coach driven by the fox tailed servant in jingle bell boots was following the road into the dark shade of a forest. A guard rode up to the head coach to ask if this was such a good idea because there had been much talk of bandits in these woods.
The king answered, leaning out the window of the coach, "There is no need to fear when we travel in the company of the great and magical Lord Volpetail! He has strangled dragons with his bare hands, certainly a few bandits are no match for such a hero!"
Volpetail's wife giggled and leaned upon his shoulder with pride, so happy to have such a wonderful hero for a husband! And the great and magical Lord Volpetail sat in his usual mysterious, brooding silence, staring thoughtfully out the window into the dark woods.
But the conversation was interrupted by an arrow singing out of the dark woods and landing upon the coach. All at once, voices went up, horses bucked, and the bandits appeared in the trees around them with bows drawn; the guards hadn't even enough time to draw their own weapons.
An especially cruel and greedy thief stepped forth with blade drawn, ready to take the easy pickings; he must have been their leader, "Well well, what have we here? Look boys, the king has sent us a present!"
"This is not for you, thief, but for the great and magical Lord Volpetail. And he is here with us and will protect us from you!" the king shouted out the coach window to the thieves with much confidence as his daughter squealed and huddled against her husband's chest, and the merwoman clung frightened to the king's arm.
"Ha ha ha, is that so? And am I supposed to be afraid of this great and magical lord?" the thief and his men burst out into laughter, but it was quickly cut off by the loud snapping of a whip.
As the sword wielding thief had been distracted with his own amusement, the fox tailed servant stood upon the coach and used that long whip to painfully strike the bandit's hand and grasp the hilt of the sword from him, "Ha HA! Who's laughing now, thieves?" the child swung the sword at the end of the whip around in wide circles, guiding it through the air and sliced the bows of each of the bandits rendering their aims useless.
The royal guard gasped in wonderment at the fox tailed servant's feat and drew their own weapons.
The head bandit was enraged and drew a dagger, calling for his men to do the same and they all leapt from the trees. But just as the two forces were merging for attack, a look out bandit screamed from the rear that an army was approaching. In complete disarray, the rouge band scattered and fled into the trees just as the peasants of the town and servants of the castle reached the last coach carrying the dowry.
The fox tailed servant reeled in the sword on the whip and sat back down, snapping the reigns and ushering the horses forward once more.
"My darling husband, why did you not drive away the awful bandits for me?" Volpetail's wife asked, rather disappointed that she did not get a chance to see her new husband in action, and her father nodded in agreement, wanting to know.
"Oh, you know, after killing so many great and terrible beasts, my great and magical Lord Volpetail would have felt bad to hurt those poor fools because they are just so weak and insignificant to him!" the fox tailed child called in from atop the coach, and the king and his daughter nodded in agreement thinking that this made much more sense now.
They traveled on and the fox tailed child sang out stories of the great and magical Lord Volpetail and his exploits so that the army of guards, coaches, and peasants could hear. They traveled along winding roads over rocky terrains and taking a right at every fork they came to until the king mentioned that he had never been this far from his home before and asked how much longer until they arrived.
That was when the fox tailed child stood and called for the Innkeeper to come take the reigns, who had been one of the most dedicated listeners of the tales, "Now, good sir, you drive the coach and I shall leave a mark at every fork for you to follow. I shall take a horse and ride ahead to tell the servants to prepare for our arrival!"
The Innkeeper gladly accepted, and one of the guards came forth and dismounted proclaiming that he had the fastest horse in the kingdom and would allow the fox tailed servant to ride it to their destination.
Spurring the fastest horse in the kingdom on with jingle bells, the fox tailed servant rode forth as fast as the mount would carry the child.
"You are ever so lucky to have such a wonderful and dedicated servant, milord!" the king proclaimed admiringly.
The great and magical Lord Volpetail nodded.
Through the land, the hills, the mountains, and the green valleys, the fox tailed child rode on following the long dusty roads in search of an enchanted palace . . . or something. And ahead from the water, dark clouds could be seen shadowing over the lands. Shading that brilliant yellow gaze with one clawed hand, the child witnessed flocks of ravens and crows cawing and swirling and fleeing in the masses from the lands closest to the sea. Those boots jingled as they moved from stirrup to saddle, and one hand stretched forth over head until it closed around the claws of a passing raven, pulling the fluttering mess of ragged sable feathers down. The child sat once more and held the struggling bird, then spoke in a firm yet concerned tone, "Magpie, why are you and your kind flocking so? What lies ahead in my path should I go towards where you flee from?"
"Unhand me and hold your tongue, servant! I happen to be a royal among my people! Address me with more courtesy and pry your naked hands from my feathers at once!" the long tailed crow cawed in a raucous voice.
"I currently keep the company of much nobility! Please take no offence, gracious lord of the wings!" the child released the bird until it's talons were perched upon one finger and the fox tailed servant bowed that pointy eared head forward in apology.
The bird took a more regal stance and cocked it's long razor beak to one side as it cooly regarded the child with one cold amber eye, "Yes, that is much better. And now I shall tell you what you wish to know for your humble change of tune. You see that stone castle by the sea there? The man's castle. A bull beast made all of fire has made his home beneath it for very long and fed from the unhappiness of the men for so long it even spans before my own hatching. But something has happened, and all of the unhappiness has disappeared! He is simply furious with this turn of events and has emerged seeking the men, but since they have all gone he has set out to destroy all in his path! I beg to you, fox, do not continue on this path for it leads to certain doom for you and me!"
But the child's gaze did not falter as it stared off to the stone castle by the sea, and a calm even toned voice answered, "My brave lord of the wings, I am afraid I have no choice but to proceed. I understand the evil news you give me, and am not taking it lightly. But that is the castle of my great and magical Lord Volpetail and he shall be happy by day's end no matter what obstacles stand in my path!"
That sharp beak turned to the fox with astonishment as it hung ajar. The fluttering of ragged pied and black wings rushed over head with the retreating birds, but the magpie upon the fox's clawed finger remained steady as it replied, "You are certainly more loyal than any feathered servant I have known! Truly a noble among your kind, fox, and if you wish to proceed then let not the birds sing forever of my cowardice!"
"Very well, wing lord, but we must hurry! My master approaches as does the dusk!"
The raven lord spread his wings and pushed the air aside as he took flight, and the horse sped forward once more as the three creatures descended into the coming darkness.
