Page Seventeen

And so the trio continued on their way across the magical land. Under normal circumstances, it would have been quite a pleasant walk since the sun was shining and the flowers were blooming. However--

"Are we there yet?" Chester complained. "The sun is destroying my complexion."

"You can borrow my hat," Winn offered, like the good little brother he was. "It protects you from UV rays."

"Ew, no. Those stripes are a fashion faux pas."

Winn lowered his head and shed a tiny tear inside his heart. Chester was so mean! Even if it had once belonged to an ugly mermaid, he had become quite fond of the hat. He was beginning to tire of his new sister, who complained a lot and kept flipping her hair.

"So like *flip* I was thinking that *flip*, I should start my own *flip* boutique! Oh, won't you help *flip* me, Winn? I know amber would look *flip* absolutely darling on you!"

Winn sighed. "Okay."

"All this walking is really bad for my dainty feet," Chester continued. "Anyway, isn't TIBADOR a dragon? He has wings, can't we just like ride on his back and then we'll be there in no time?"

"Uh," TIBADOR replied.

"Halt!"

A figure clad in iron strode up to them menacingly. Or, well, it was hard to be menacing when you were cuddly and walked on four legs.


"Who doth dare to tread upon this very ground?"

Chester frowned. "Are you a sheep or a goat?"

"Hi!" Winn smiled cheerfully, a little relieved that he finally got to converse with someone who didn't talk about floral patterns or have a speech impediment. "We're looking for a kingdom around here. Have you seen one?"

"Ah, yes." The little sheepgoat sneered."Ye haaaast reached the maaaajestic kingdom of King Georgey. However, no entry shall be permitted lest ye... take this handy tourist guide with you! Haaaave fun!"

The guard trotted over to a pile of glittery brochures and kicked one at Chester's head. He snapped his hooves and a gigantic golden gate materialized and creaked open before them.

They gasped.

Beyond the doors sprawled a great city littered with rickety sky-high buildings. Though it was by no means a pristine place, it was certainly very lively. People flooded the markets and shops in droves to haggle over merchandise and the three adventurers could see by their toothless grins and hacking coughs that the mermaid was right.

"Look!" Winn pointed excitedly. Above the steam and smoke in the center of the city stood a richly decorated marble palace with rose windows, elegant towers, columns, and other fancy things.

"Oh. My god." Chester gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand pinky-up because it was a lady-like thing to do.

TIBADOR nodded, "The palace is indeed having much grandeur."

"No, silly! I was talking about the salon over there!" Chester squealed. "I'm in dire need of a manicure after that nasty walk and I've always wanted a perm. And ooooh, look at all those shops! Come on!"

Before Winn knew what was happening, Chester had grabbed his hands and they stumbled into the kingdom.