Trouble in the Land of Dwarves
Chapter 12
Riding the Wind
What Nathan had no way of knowing was
that his request had already been answered.
For at that very moment, Princess Nataleigh
and Maid Madelyn were well on their way
over the Renegade Forest in search of the
coastal work shop of three dwarven
inventors. The two maidens had become
friends very quickly and had not stopped
talking since they left the camp of the Jolly
Men. Maid Madelyn had always been one
of Nataleigh�s favorite dwarves to watch in
her magic mirror. She had always wanted
to meet the young warrior maiden and learn
how to fight like she did. Her father would
never allow her to participate in the combat
training with her brother.
�Melee fighting is no place for a
maiden,� he had said, �and warfare is
especially ugly when women are
involved.�
Nathan was younger
than her and already his training had begun.
�I never get to have any fun.� she had
complained on more than one occasion until
the idea of action and adventure had filled
her every thought. It was this very thing, in
fact, that had pushed her to leave the Palace
of the Heart and come down to Darrowold.
She was tired of being treated like a girl.
She wanted to be a warrior like Maid
Madelyn. And now, here she was with her
hero on a valiant quest to save all of
Darrowold!
What Nataleigh
didn�t realize, was that Maid Madelyn had
always wished to be treated more like a lady
than a warrior. The young renegade maiden
had always heard of other young dwarven
lasses who were cared for and sought after
while she remained seperated and alone, an
outcast from normal dwarven life. The truth
was, Maid Madelyn had been with the Jolly
Men for so long that she no longer knew
how to be lady-like, and she found herself
drawn to the young princess in all her pretty
clothes and proper manners.
So
the two had much to talk about as they rode
the winds on Jewels back, asking each other
all sorts of questions until finally Maid
Madelyn asked one that was rather
uncomfortable.
�So tell me,
young Princess. If your father forbade you
to leave your ivory palace in the clouds,
then why did you disobey him?�
Nataleigh felt her chest tighten with
guilt, but she quickly answered with a
question of her own. �How else would you
have been warned about the Serpent�s Eye
if I hadn�t taken the risk of
disobeying?�
Maid Madelyn
had already expected this answer and was
ready with another question. �Do you not
have any other way of sending a message to
those of us below, but to come
yourself?�
Nataleigh was
definitely feeling uncomfortable now and
wanted to end these questions so she said
something very rash at that moment that she
knew was wrong and caused her to blush in
shame.
�No.� she lied.
Maid Madelyn did not let it end
there. She was sitting behind the Princess
and could not see the sick look on her face
and asked again. �But didn�t you mention
that your Brother had a talking dragon
that...�
�I said, No!� Nataleigh
interrupted sharply. She was getting upset
that Maid Madelyn was questioning her
obedience and wanted to forget the whole
subject. �I mean... well....the dragon isn�t
very smart and this was too important and
um,... oh look! There are the cliffs by the
sea that I was telling you about! We�re
there!�
Nataleigh shouted the news
in her nervousness, relieved to have
something that would change the subject.
Maid Madelyn let the subject go as Jewel
began to drop lower in the sky towards the
rocky cliffs.
Within moments,
they were over the top and gliding down the
far side where they hoped to find the
entrance to the dwarven workshop near the
water�s edge. With the new excitement at
reaching their destination, Nataleigh soon
forgot the bad feelings in her heart. When
they tried to come back she pushed them
away.
�I don�t see why it�s so
bad.� she kept telling herself. �I�m doing
something good and no one is getting hurt.
My father would understand.�
But of course, she didn�t realize that
her decision had already put her little
brother in great danger; that at that moment
he was the prisoner of the most evil being in
Darrowold with very little hope of
escape!
And so she continued
into the next step of her quest with the thrill
of excitement in her blood drowning out the
voice of her disobedient heart until she
could no longer hear it.
Chapter 13
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