Journey to the Red Mountain

Chapter 4

It was not an easy task, but with the aid of several guards, Astron and Rob were able to lug the traveller through the corridors and up the stairs of the Palace. They now sought somewhere to place him. The first empty room they came across was the old nursery. A guard opened the door for them and they stumbled in.

“Move that table over by the fire,” ordered Astron, and the guard did so. Together he and Rob laid their wounded charge down on the table top as gently as they could to avoid injuring him further.

“Right,” said Astron as soon as they were relieved of their burden. He gestured to the guard. “Albert.”

“Yes, sir?” spoke the eager youth, excited that the Defender of the Realm had actually remembered his name.

“Go find the princess and bring her here, quick as you like. She’s probably still in the Great Hall.”

“Yes, sir!” responded Albert, who shot out of the room like a lightning bolt.

“Rob,” continued Astron, “send that other guard to fetch some new clothes and towels, then help me get this fire burning higher. We need to get him warm and dry quickly.”

Rob nodded and carried out the order. Together they proceeded to do everything in their power to nurse the wounded dinosaur, who had begun to shiver from the damp and cold. Tensely they waited for the princess to arrive.

“Poor chap,” said Rob with a shake of the head. “I wish we knew more about him. What was he doing out in a blizzard like this, for instance?”

“I don’t know. And if Alyssa doesn’t come soon, there’s a chance we never will.”

Alyssa glanced anxiously around the Great Hall. She managed to keep a pleasant look on her face, but inside she was beginning to worry about Astron. He and Rob had been out an awful long time now, and it was nearly time for the desserts to be unveiled. Rob never missed a whole meal like this. She felt obliged to go and ask after them, but she could not abandon the numerous guests they had. Nevertheless, her mood was rather irritable, and in between keeping watch, she found time to reprimand her offspring for their table manners.

“Violet! Keep your claws to yourself. Elbows off the table, Arnor! Frederik, eat your meat! Slow down, Rose!”

The king made hasty excuses for his grandchildren and Johnny sat observing with quiet amusement as he finished off the bowl of stew in front of him. Despite the bustle, Alyssa spotted the young guard coming briskly toward them from the entry hall. She stood as he came up and bowed.

“Your Highness,” he spoke.

“What is it, Albert?” asked Alyssa without hiding the urgency in her voice. “Is Astron hurt? Or your captain?”

“No, milady!” Albert shook his head for emphasis, delighted that the princess also knew his name. “Quite the contrary. They’re both upstairs and quite well.”

“What on earth are they hanging about up there for?” She spoke with less urgency and more annoyance.

“Well, they found a wounded dinosaur in the woods and brought him to the nursery. They asked me to come and fetch you. It’s rather an emergency, I suppose.”

“Take me to them right away!”

“Shall I go with you, my lady?” offered Johnny, also rising.

“Yes, thank you Johnny.”

“Can we come too, mother?” asked Rose, preparing to rise as well. She and Arnor were curious to see a wounded dinosaur.

“No, you stay here with your grandfather,” instructed the princess. “I shall return soon, I promise.”

“Okay, mum,” said Frederik, happy that he would not miss out on his apple torte.

“Right. Lead the way, Albert. But let’s use the exit through the kitchen so as to cause less of a stir.”

Albert again bowed, then quickly led the two out of the Great Hall.

Rob stepped back and mopped his brow with the back of his foreclaw.

“Hot work, that,” he said. “Especially with that ruddy fire going.”

“I know, Rob,” said Astron. “But at least he’s dry now, and the fire should keep him warm until Alyssa gets here.”

He regarded the strange dinosaur who lay on the nursery table more closely. He was an Alvarosaurus of sorts, though his scales were a darker shade of green than usual. Now dressed in a clean tunic and wrapped in a guard’s cloak, he bore a notable scar above his left eye and, Astron guessed, an interesting tale to go with it. That was a genuine battle scar, unlike the pathetic little marks on his own forearms, which he had received from a silly childhood accident. He watched as Rob investigated the traveller’s belongings.

“Exciting life this fellow must lead,” he commented, testing the string on the longbow. Setting it down, he picked up the sword and unsheathed it. He looked the blade up and down as he wielded it. “I’d say he’s chopped more than cabbages with this one, the way it’s worn.” He sheathed it and put it back. “There’s enough here to start a one-dino war.”

“Right you are, Rob. The question is, who exactly was he looking to start that war with?”

Just then, Alyssa came into the room with Johnny and Albert.

“What do we have here?” she asked, rushing over to the wounded Alvarosaur.

“Got that stuck in his leg out in the woods, milady,” Rob explained, indicating the stick. “We didn’t want to take it out for fear of hurting the wretched fellow. Sorry about the mess on the table.”

“Don’t worry about it, Rob,” said Alyssa, examining her patient. “The wound is pretty bad, but at least the leg wasn’t broken. You and Astron did well to leave the branch in, but we can take it out now. It’ll hurt a bit, but we have to have it out of there to bind the hole.” Without a second thought, Alyssa held down the leg with one claw and pulled the stick out with no more than a pained twitch from the unconscious dinosaur. She tossed the b****y thing into the fire and began binding the wound.

“Do you think he’ll live, Alyssa?” asked Astron as she began to apply the dressings. “He’s been out like that for some time.”

“How long was he exposed to the cold before you found him?”

“Not too long, I’d say. We heard the crash of the branch falling and found him just a minute later.”

Alyssa thought for a second.

“He’ll probably live. There’s a chance he won’t, of course, but he looks like a tough sort, and you got to him pretty quickly. He should wake after a good long sleep, though that leg will take much longer to heal.” She paused. “You and Rob go down and get yourselves something to eat before it’s all gone. I’ll look after things here. Albert, Johnny, you can go with them.”

“All right,” said Astron. “We’ll leave you to it then. I’m sorry we missed the fun.”

“Don’t be. You did what you had to, and I’m sure this dinosaur will appreciate it immensely.” She smiled at him as the three prepared to leave. “Oh, and if you could send Martha up while you’re down there…”

“Of course,” replied Astron. Then he, Rob, Johnny, and Albert left to join in what was left of the night’s celebration.