Chapter Three: Prophecy

   After much organizing and bumping into one another, the dwarfs settled into a neat little half ring of spectators with the one dwarf, who's gravely voice was quite distinctive, in the middle with Anna. He took off his funny little hat, one that looked very similar to a night cap, and bowed.

   "My name is Bondril. I am the leader of our humble crew. My fellow dwarfs are, Nondril, Fidril, Lidril, Dordil, Gorgil, and Diddil." He gestured to each dwarf as he introduced them. As each name was called the owner bowed deeply and mumbled, muttered, or murmured some common dwarfish greeting – most of which had to do with good shovels and rich soil to dig in.

   "Dordil," Bondril addressed a dwarf in the middle of the line, "I do believe you can release the young lady's dragon now."

   Anna clapped both hands over her mouth and squeaked, "I forgot all about Cornelio!"  Before she could get too much more upset, the dwarf named Dordil removed a small brown bag from his belt and handed it to Anna.

   "Here miss," he said, "He's already tried to bite me through that bag twelve times already. I don't much want to give him the chance to actually clamp his jaws on me!"

   Anna untied the string. As soon as the opening was big enough, Cornelio flew out in a flash of bright green scales and claws. He realized Anna was the one who had freed him and he slowed down just enough so that he wouldn't smack into her face. Anna jerked back in surprise. Cornelio veered to the left and up; that's when he spied the dwarfs. He flew full speed at them, mouth agape, flame flickering in his throat.

   Anna shouted, "Cornelio, no!" The dragon, confused by the sudden command, swerved sharply upward and arced in a big loop back to Anna's shoulder. He perched and glared at the dwarfs with an expression that meant he would bite them all if he could.

   Bondril watched the unbagging of the dragon with some interest. "Quite a magnificent creature. If I am not much mistaken, he will do you good in the near future. And that brings me to why you are here."

   Anna glanced around at the well lit forest clearing, "Where is here?"

   "'Here' is the middle of the Land of None. It is a stretch of land between the Kingdoms of the North, where you are from, and the Kingdoms of the South, where we are headed. I guess I should do a little explaining as to why we are headed to the South. It will take some time, so we might as well make ourselves comfortable." All the dwarfs scrambled to set up small collapsible chairs that where attached to their horses' saddles. All the dwarfs had one, and Bondril gave his to Anna. He was careful not to make any sudden moves around Cornelio though. The dragon had stayed vigilant on Anna's shoulder and had not moved an inch, save for his eyes and ears, which seemed to be constantly assessing the dwarfs' actions.

   After everyone but Bondril was seated, he began, "First and foremost, I humbly beg your pardon for kidnapping you. I'm afraid I don't even know your name."

   "My name is Anna," said Anna.

   "A good name it is too," said Bondril, and he began again, "I humbly beg your pardon, Anna. You see, things are starting to get urgent in Westerpond and the good people there are suffering more then ever before. There was a prophecy told long ago, that stated, among other things, that 'at the first full moon of the sixteenth year of the Hero's death, the queen's heir will return to Westerpond.' We are very close to that time, and you are the princess in the prophecy – the queen's heir."

   Anna interjected, "Me? A princess? That can't be right. I am only a poor baker's daughter."

   Bondril chuckled, "Well no, you aren't just a baker's daughter. Your father indeed is a baker, but your mother is, or rather is supposed to be, the queen of Westerpond."

   "But wouldn't we be living in a castle in Westerpond, then?" Anna asked.

   "Indeed you should be!" shouted one of the other dwarfs, whose name Anna was unsure of, "Your mother is the rightful queen of Westerpond although she knows it not."

   "Don't shout, Fidril." Bondril gently scolded. Then he resumed, "Anna, your grandmother, was married to the king of Westerpond long ago. They lived very happily and had a baby girl. But tragedy struck in the form of an evil man, by the name of Humphrey Lytton. He challenged your grandfather to a bet. He wagered that he could knock the king's crown off his head with a single piece of straw. If Humphrey won, he would become king; if he lost, he would grant the king anything he liked – one true wish. The king wore a very heavy gold crown, so he accepted the wager.

   "Well, Humphrey was a crafty man. He used his magic to grown a piece of straw as big and heavy as a small tree. He swung this at the your grandfather's crown and off it flew. Humphrey claimed victory and banished the the king and his family from the kingdom. However, before Humphrey Lytton could drive all the good family, the local wizard intervened as best he could. He called Humphrey Lytton a fraud. The wizard stated that you could not win a wager by using magic. The wizard's argument was this, 'While you used only a single piece of straw, the straw was cursed. Therefore your reign over Westerpond shall also be cursed.' The wizard then went into a trance and said the following prophecy." Bondril cleared his throat and began to sing in a slow lamenting tone:

       The King of Westerpond may have been cast out,

       The Queen and her Child may also have gone,

       But the spirit of the noble reside in the kinsfolk,

       And shall be carried on.

          It will return in the form of a Knight,

          Broad of shoulder and full of might.

       He will conquer the Shadow and make him dead,

       And the Knight will carry a banner so bright,

       But not until the Throne is seated with rightful heir,

       Will the darkness be replaced with the Light.

          Only then can we begin a hopeful new dawn,

          And start to be rid of the Humphrey Lytton.

       But, the hero cannot live forever, the dark will try to return,

       The Knight will weather the storm for as long as he can,

       But a time will come when even he must pass,

       After all, he is only a man.

          Only one thing can cast the Evil into a permanent cell,

          The answer is: The baker's daughter from Ironwell.

   Without pausing, Bondril stopped singing, and with a low whisper that harkened back to a wizard cursing a fraud, said: "'At the first full moon of the sixteenth year of the Hero's death, the queen's heir will return to Westerpond.'"