Flynn trotted down the path. Rose bushes to the left. Rose bushes to the right. High, green, growing walls. Distantly but distinct, the singing sound of metal soldiers. And even more distinct, their very unique scent.
Flynn stopped a moment. To sniff the roses, of course.
And to wait. Soldiers were passing by. Take one more step, and he’d be found, but right here, even as they passed where he could see them, they couldn’t have seen him even if they looked.
The metal soldiers never looked. The not-metal groundskeepers looked. They were always looking. Someone had let them know to be on the lookout for Flynn.
But Flynn knew their ways. It had been a long time, and just like Tobias, he’d hoped to never come here again. But he always remembered. Every dangerous thing — and every delightful thing, too.
The world was full of things. New things were exciting, but these roses, which he’d sniffed before, were exciting, too.
Life was full of excitement. The dangerous kind, and the delightful kind. Right now, Flynn was getting a bit of both.
The groundskeepers passed by, not seeing him. They spoke to each other in those deep, warbling voices, their short, flattened tusks rocking back and forth in their round jaws. Flynn could pick out every single word, and they confirmed what he already knew.
They were looking for him.
His tail wagged slightly. Not too much — he couldn’t risk disturbing the leaves or flowers, couldn’t risk making noise that might alert foes to his presence. But he wasn’t afraid.
“Being stealthy.” That’s what Tobias had called it, during their many training sessions when he was younger.
Being stealthy was very, very fun. Treating danger like a game was something humans weren’t supposed to do. But for Flynn, being stealthy was “the stealthy game.” As Tobias always said: “Dogs are not humans.”
Tobias was quite intelligent.
And right now, he was counting on Flynn. Just like last time. Tobias had quite a knack for getting himself into trouble that he couldn’t get out of on his own.
But, then, Flynn had been in that sort of trouble before, too. And Tobias had gotten him out.
“Companions.” That was the word Tobias used for their relationship, and sometimes “partners.” Flynn liked “friends” better, but then, humans had a lot of different words for the same meaning.
With the groundskeepers passed, and no soldiers for a ways around him, Flynn trotted on ahead. No need to sprint, no need to dash. That could make too much noise. No need to slink, all down low and weasel-like, either. That was too obvious.
Trotting was perfect for stealth. When Flynn was doing good at the stealthy game, he could trot whenever he moved, and never get caught.
Down one path to the right, then another to the left. Stop, sniff the roses, let the groundskeepers pass. Trot on ahead, and then crouch down, but only because there’s a hole in the green, growing wall here and it’s too low to trot through.
Flynn was making progress. And he knew he still had time. Right from the start, when he’d warned Tobias about the card soldiers, and Tobias had told him to “Flank out wide,” he’d understood the situation and made the choice he knew Tobias would know he’d make.
He’d chosen not to fight.
Tobias trusted him, and he trusted Tobias. So when he’d smelled and heard the full situation, how many soldiers there were, that the funny rabbit was there, and knowing that Tobias had to protect people, he’d known what Tobias would choose to do.
So he had run, far from the fight, far from the danger. The funny rabbit would take Tobias and the others to the Queen’s palace, most likely through a looking-glass portal. Flynn would have to get there all on his own, on his own four paws.
So he had run, as fast as he’d ever run, dashing across the plains, through the forests, and round the towns of the Queen of Hearts’ huge, huge lands.
And for all his running, he’d been rewarded. He’d actually heard when Tobias had arrived at the palace, had actually heard that very not-nice queen’s voice, talking about how she’d take them to “quarters.” What a funny word for “rooms,” or, more likely, “prison cells.”
Humans made things complicated with their words.
So Flynn had time. First of all, to rest. He’d run an awfully long way, awfully fast. But after finding a nice shaded corner to catch his breath — and drink quite a lot from the cool stream flowing by — he’d started his stealthy search.
Through the hole in the green growing wall, he reached a completely closed-in square with growing green walls on all sides. He didn’t know what this place was for, but it was a good place to hide, and a good place to do what dogs did best: listen, and sniff.
Humans were all about observing the world visually. Dogs could do that, too — their eyes weren’t just for show — but Flynn’s memories, his understanding, his own mental map of this place, those were visual only as a faint afterthought.
Flynn “saw” the world through sounds and smells, through the feel of the wind, through the touch of the ground at his paws, through the taste of whatever his tongue touched, even the air.
His nose twitched, and he tracked a pair of guards with a groundskeeper as they marched past on the other side of the growing green walls. “Must find the dog before afternoon tea is over,” the groundskeeper was saying. “The Queen worries he’ll rescue Tobias again. We can’t disappoint her like last time.”
One of the soldiers responded in that shrill, painful metallic voice they all had. Flynn knew it was coming, so he tucked his ears down, protecting himself from the pain of that slicing voice while still understanding it, and its unique language.
The soldier was agreeing with the groundskeeper. And adding something. Something about another animal?
“We’re not supposed to worry about that one,” the groundskeeper said. “It’s too small to be any trouble. Her Majesty believes it is just running. If it’s no trouble to catch it, then catch it. Otherwise, don’t bother. Flynn is the danger.”
Flynn’s tail wagged. He quite liked that sort of compliment.
The soldiers and groundskeeper passed, and Flynn wriggled through a narrow gap that a person wouldn’t even notice. Too narrow for them to squeeze through. Not too narrow for Flynn. He’d get some leaves and twigs stuck to his fur, but nothing a good shake couldn’t get rid of. And if he ever got too dirty, Tobias was very good at brushing him.
Tobias was wonderful. And he was in trouble! So was Alice. Flynn rather liked Alice. She had nice hands and a pleasant laugh, and she liked him. He liked Ava, and Guinevere, too, even if Guinevere seemed like the sort of human that got herself into trouble a lot. Tobias was like that, too. Guinevere was nice to dogs, so Flynn liked her.
He wasn’t just being counted on to save Tobias. He was being counted on to save all of them! He hadn’t expected this kind of excitement when they’d come back to Wonderia. But then, Tobias’ plans almost never went to plan. The two of them were always getting into unexpected trouble, and then getting back out again.
What a wonderful, exciting life!
Sounds and smells marked many soldiers and groundskeepers in this part of the gardens. That wasn’t surprising, though. Flynn was much closer now to where the dungeon was, so of course they’d have more guards here.
The game was getting more fun by the second.
The wind wasn’t too strong, which was good. It meant he could smell perfectly in all directions. Nothing was going to surprise him today.
But… oh. Oh! What was that? A brand new smell, and brand new sounds. Flynn didn’t know anything like that. It was something small — the small animal that the bad guys were talking about? Then this small creature must be a friend! And Flynn quite hoped it would be a friend, because it smelled very nice, not like roses, but like other flowers and spices he’d smelled before. That short time, when they’d visited that lovely land: Haruo. Flynn knew those smells, but not the animal’s own smells — which meant it was an animal Flynn had never met before. And oh, it was quite small, which helped it out greatly, darting along through tall grass unseen, and even passing under the growing green hedge walls — Flynn was much too big to wriggle under the walls. This little creature must be smaller even than Flynn’s face to pull that off!
And the creature stopped. Flynn’s tail wagged. It had picked up his scent! From this distance, distance that kept them from seeing each other, but allowed them to sniff, and listen, and measure each other in non-people ways, they each got a sense of the other. Flynn’s tail wagged faster. He so wanted to play with this little creature. He could sense its energy and curiosity, its own excitement at playing the stealthy game with the soldiers and groundskeepers. They would be fast friends, no doubt about that, and wonderful playmates, Flynn was certain.
And then the little creature was darting forward again, coming straight towards Flynn. It popped out through a rose bush, deftly avoiding the thorns, and then hopped up onto a slender branch on the edge of a growing wall, so that Flynn and he could look at each other eye-to-eye.
It was quite a small creature, reminding Flynn a bit of the squirrels in Albia, with that very bushy tail and bright, inquisitive eyes. But it was smaller than a squirrel, and had longer, somewhat floppy ears, a bit like a bunny — not to be confused with the funny rabbit that served the Queen of Hearts, but an Albian bunny, the much smaller kind that doesn’t talk in human languages. One ear stood tall, while the other flopped, folding over at the halfway point.
Whatever this creature that smelled of Haruo was, it was friendly, inquisitive, and on a mission.
So, an instant friend for Flynn.
It took a moment for the pair to get a proper read on each other. They moved their tails in several different patterns, moved their heads around, twitched their ears, and there was plenty of sniffing and listening, of course. It was easier with dogs, because they “spoke” the same “language,” but the little creature had four paws, two ears, and a tail as well, and did much of its experiencing of the world through scent and sound. Those bright eyes could definitely see much more sharply than Flynn’s, adding an extra dimension to this new friend’s world. There were enough similarities for them to tune themselves to each other in a few moments.
“Akko.” That was the small creature’s name. And he belonged to a prisoner who was jailed along with Alice, Guinevere, and Ava. “Sheena” was her name, and Akko loved and trusted her almost as much as Flynn loved and trusted Tobias.
Sheena must be a wonderful human.
Akko also had information. A twitch of his nose, a flick of his tail, and a little bounce in his ears let Flynn know that Akko could lead the way to the soldier holding the keys to Sheena’s cell — and also to the keeper holding the key to Tobias’ “suite.”
Flynn was good at the stealthy game. But a much smaller, equally intelligent creature had a massive advantage when it came to gathering information. And Akko had started on the inside, too.
Yes, Flynn and Akko would make an excellent team. Friends usually did.
Akko gave Flynn a quick set of directions — scents to follow, smells to listen for, a specific layout of the area where their friends were being held. Not through vocals — there was one tiny sigh of breath, and a brief little chittering sound, but other than that, Akko understood the need for silence, and, like most four-pawed land animals, communicated best through body language, not sounds.
People — most people — needed words. Dogs and small Haruo-creatures did not. Yet another advantage of theirs in the stealthy-game.
Flynn made a brief request for Akko to consider his size when choosing a path to their friends, but Akko already had that in mind. And with that, they were off. Akko scampered on ahead, darting briefly and then looking back and waiting for Flynn to catch up before darting off again. Yes, quite a bit like a squirrel. He liked moving fast and waiting, rather than keeping a steady pace.
Flynn, meanwhile, trotted along after him, tail held high. He hadn’t wanted to come back here, never again. But there was no denying that this time was much more fun than three years ago.
——
“Are you sure they aren’t taking too long?” Guinevere asked. She’d gotten sick of sitting on the stone floor and had started pacing the cell. Ava had joined her, padding back and forth alongside her, tail upright, wagging now and then.
At least one of them was enjoying herself.
“You have to be patient when it comes to stealthy operations,” Alice said, as if that should be perfectly obvious, and as if she knew exactly what she was talking about. Which, of course, she didn’t. She was one of those insufferable children who had to always seem like she was the smartest in the room.
Ridiculous.
“Akko is quite small,” Sheena said, still seated, just like Alice, the picture of perfect calm. “And if he’s joining with Flynn, they’ll need to tune themselves to each other before they continue.”
“Tune themselves to each other?” Guinevere asked.
“It’s something that animals often do, particularly when first communicating with someone not of their species,” Sheena said. “They observe one another, make certain motions, take in scents and sounds. Essentially, they learn each other’s language.”
Guinevere bit back a snide retort. She was angry and frustrated and sick of being locked in a cage. She needed to calm herself, to not be ruled by her emotions. And more than that, she needed to be polite to the animals, both present and not. She knew well just how intelligent Ava was. It had seemed absurd when they’d first met, the idea of a dog being able to perfectly understand all of human speech. But Ava had proved time and again that she knew exactly what Guinevere was saying, even when using complex commands.
Dogs are brilliant. And Akko — whatever Akko is — must be equally brilliant, if he has that much trust from Sheena.
I only knew Flynn for a brief time, but he was clearly communicating with Tobias. And that swift command and reaction: “Flank out wide,” I think it was. Flynn reacted instantly, and then, presumably, made the clever choice to stay away and infiltrate the palace from the outside. He made that choice on his own — and Tobias, apparently, trusted and expected him to do just that.
It… still sounds a bit ridiculous. A dog, being trusted with that much. But, well…
Loathe as she was to admit it, Guinevere couldn’t deny that Tobias was an uncommon Knight. In good ways, mostly. He had a competence and steadiness under pressure that she rarely saw even from her vaunted bodyguards, the Knights of the Promise, in peaceful, relaxed contexts. Poor, sweet little Lancelot, competent as he was, was still so easily flustered. And he wasn’t the only one easy to tease, easy to wrap around her finger, easy to trick into letting her escape.
Escape. If only Guinevere could manage such a daring, flawless escape as she had from home! All her excellent planning and fantastic execution were now nearly forgotten to blunder after blunder. But here in this cell, what could she do? All the way here she’d had her arms pinned behind her, unable to properly use her glyph artes. And down here, there wasn’t a glyph she could call upon that would seal their flight. She couldn’t steal the lock from the door, or blast the door off its hinges. She still had the light from her home stored up, stolen, ready to be released, but she’d had no opportunity to put that to proper use.
So, much as it pained her, all she could do now was wait.
There were footsteps far down the hall. The soldier that patrolled this corridor — one of those alien, unsettling, metallic card-bodied soldiers — was starting his way back. Her way? Guinevere actually wasn’t sure. With a completely flat, rectangular torso, and a helmet that covered its face, and having never spoken a word in all the time they’d been waiting, Guinevere had no real way of gauging the strange creature’s gender. Was it even a living thing? Or was it some sort of magically-crafted automaton, a golem or something?
There was too much she didn’t know. She’d read and heard stories about much of Wonderia, but somehow nothing she’d ever come across had so much as mentioned a Queen of Hearts, card soldiers, or this dreadful palace.
Which seemed absurd. Unless Wonderia was even bigger, grander, and stranger than Guinevere knew it was. Which seemed more likely every second.
The footsteps suddenly halted. Guinevere and Ava stopped their pacing. Ava’s ears perked up.
There was a shift, a slight scrape, metal against stone. A strange, whistling sort of cry that hurt Guinevere’s ears and made Ava cry, darting to the corner to curl up in a ball. Then a crashing of metal, loud and sudden enough to make Guinevere jump. Sheena stood up, violet eyes bright with expectation.
For a few moments, all was silent. Then, Guinevere heard a jangling, like that of a single key on a keyring — much like what the soldier had been carrying. And along with it… footsteps. Not metallic, not heavy, no.
These were soft, padded footfalls. Four paws, trotting on down the corridor, nails clicking lightly against the stone. Ava uncurled herself, ears perking up, tail wagging slightly.
A moment later, Guinevere saw Flynn trot up to their cell, tail wagging, the keyring clutched in his jaws. And riding atop his head was a small, squirrel-like creature that must be Akko.
“Tobias’ trust proves well-placed,” Alice said, grinning as she came up to the bars. She reached out a hand, petting Flynn under the chin. “Who’s a good boy? Yes, it’s you! Well done, Flynn!” Flynn’s tail wagged faster.
Meanwhile, Akko leapt to the central crossbar of the cell, and from there to Sheena’s open hands, landing lightly in her palms. “You were swift!” Sheena said, smiling with proud affection. “And you’ve made an excellent new friend, I see. What’s that?” And Guinevere watched, somewhat incredulously, and somewhat jealously, as Akko made no sound, but instead swished his tail, twitched his ears and nose, and occasionally made motions with his paws, while Sheena nodded, responded, and asked questions.
They’re having a conversation. A real, two-way conversation, not just the one-sided talks I have with Ava.
Is this… is this real?
Is this something I could have with Ava?
“All right, then,” Sheena finally said, her smile never leaving her face. “I trust you. And he does seem to be in direr circumstances than we are.”
“Hold on, what’s happening?” Guinevere asked, as Akko leapt to the crossbar, and from there to Flynn’s head, and Flynn started to turn back down the hall — still with the key to their cell clutched in his jaws.
“They’re going to set Tobias free, first,” Alice said, completely unperturbed. “I think it was Flynn’s condition for the entire plan. Akko wanted to check in with Sheena, and Flynn wanted to see we were safe at least before rescuing Tobias.”
“You can understand them, too?” Guinevere asked.
“I can make inferences,” Alice said, with an insufferable little giggle.
“Wait, they’re actually —” Guinevere started, then thrust her hand through the bars, reaching for the retreating Flynn. “Flynn, wait! Come back! At least give us the key before you trot off! Flynn! Flynn!”
Flynn’s tail-wagging seemed, at least to Guinevere, like he was enjoying her protestations. But the lovely red-brown dog didn’t come back. He trotted on down the corridor, and disappeared around the corner.
“Is this really happening?” Guinevere moaned, sliding down to sit against the bars of the cell. “Freedom was right there, and he… he…”
“He goes to free his best friend first,” Sheena said with a patient smile. “And who can fault him? We should be honored that he chose to check up on our safety.”
Guinevere groaned, pulling her knees up, burying her face in her hands against them. Ava sat down beside her and licked her face. Doing her best to comfort her.
Begrudgingly, Guinevere had to admit…
It did help a little.
——
Tobias was left alone in his “suite” while Saoirse took the ladies to their much less refined cell.
But not for one second did he feel comfortable.
He’d been here before. This was the exact same “suite,” the exact same dolled-up prison cell, he’d been taken to in his previous visit. Made to look like — he shuddered — a honeymoon suite, with a glorious four-poster queen-sized bed, a tea table and chairs for two, a plush red loveseat, and a lavish bathroom with a tub definitely too big for just one person.
He had no intentions of being who Saoirse desired him to be for her. But even though he trusted Flynn to rescue him, even though he knew he wouldn’t give in to the Queen of Hearts…
Being in here made him sick.
He didn’t have long to himself. Saoirse returned in mere moments, the door locking behind her as she came in, carrying a tray of tea, as well as cookies assembled into a cookie house with artful perfection.
The only time Saoirse ever served anyone was when she was with Tobias. Many others in Tobias’ position might feel honored.
But not Tobias.
“Here we are at last, my darling,” Saoirse said with a breathy sigh. “Alone. Together. It’s been too long.”
“I had intended it to be much longer,” Tobias said. Playing a risky hand, that line. But it had come out of him faster than he could stop it.
Saoirse, though, merely laughed. “Oh, Tobias, you’re such a tease.” She put the tray down on the tea table, setting a cup and saucer in Tobias’ place before setting her own. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder. So you long to have a fonder heart before you return? How affectionate.”
“Don’t twist my words,” Tobias said with a clenched jaw. Here they were again indeed, three years later, and yet nothing had changed. He knew how she was, and yet he still got thrown off his guard in this verbal repartee.
“Won’t you make yourself more comfortable?” Saoirse asked, glancing at a set of scarlet clothing laid out on the bed just for Tobias. “You’re still in your coat and boots, still have your sword strapped to your side. Don’t act like you’re leaving again in a moment, Tobias.” She smiled, her scarlet eyes glinting. “You know I won’t allow that. I’ve waited too long to have you back, and I don’t intend to let you go this time.”
“I’m fine like this,” Tobias said. He took a seat at the tea table. And he didn’t miss that Saoirse had drawn attention to his sword.
She hadn’t taken it from him. And they both knew she wouldn’t.
They both knew she didn’t need to.
“Come now, enjoy,” Saoirse said, pouring tea for Tobias, and then for herself. She then plucked one of the roof “tiles” off of the cookie house, set it on Tobias’ saucer, and then plucked off a separate cookie for herself. She held it to her mouth, but didn’t bite it. Her eyes were fixed on Tobias. Watching, waiting.
Tobias picked up the cookie and bit into it. It had a satisfying crunch, bursting with sweetness and spice perfectly measured and mixed.
But of course it was delicious. The Queen of Hearts held all food and drink, but most particularly sweets and tea, to an impeccably high standard. And, in this area, she never disappointed.
“Well?” Saoirse asked, after Tobias took a second bite, and then a third, finishing off the cookie without saying a word. “How is it?”
“You know you don’t need to ask,” Tobias said. “They’re the same as they were three years ago.”
“I still want to hear you say it,” Saoirse said, smiling sweetly.
“It’s delicious, of course,” Tobias said. He added a heart-shaped block of sugar to his tea, stirred it, and took a sip. It tasted of roses and honey, and Tobias’ extra block of sugar balanced the slight bite that could follow with the Queen of Hearts’ particular blend. It was delicious, no doubt, and that bittersweet combination was a favorite for many.
But Tobias was more a fan of the straightforward-sweet.
Tobias set down his cup. “Now: when can I see the others?”
“We’re going to have afternoon tea, darling,” Saoirse said. She took a bite of her cookie, chewed and swallowed. Setting the cookie down, she sipped her tea, then set her cup down before continuing. “After that, I have a few matters of state to attend to — and I need to see if my groundskeepers have found lovely little Flynn. Then I shall return, and we can go together to check in on the promise-girl and the child.”
“They have names,” Tobias said.
Saoirse watched him for a moment, her smile not wavering. “We can go to see Guinevere and Alice when I return,” she said at length. “Now, please, let us not talk of others. I want to spend time with you, Tobias. It’s been three years. Regale me with tales of your travels! I know you never lie idle, but you’re so secretive that I can only truly know what you’ve been up to when I hear it from the source.” She leaned forward invitingly, and Tobias resisted the urge to recoil. The tea table wasn’t large enough for his tastes.
So, for a little while, perhaps ten minutes, he told her a tale of one of his journeys. He had been up to quite a lot since he’d last seen her, and this particular adventure wasn’t one with any sensitive information.
Saoirse listened with rapt attention, but when Tobias finished, she watched him with a steady, expectant gaze. “What is it?” he finally asked, when the silence became unbearable.
“One day, Tobias,” Saoirse murmured. “One day soon, you will tell me all your secrets.”
Never.
He said nothing, and after a moment, Saoirse sat back. She’d finished two cookies during his story, and her tea, while Tobias had half-finished his tea, and not gone back for a second cookie. The cookie-house was still very much intact.
“Now, then, shall we say farewell?” Saoirse asked, rising gracefully to her feet. “Only for a moment, of course. I’m never leaving you for long, Tobias. Never again.”
Tobias stood, and Saoirse came to him, slowly, watching him, gauging his response. He knew how this went — and he wasn’t looking forward to it. But he stood tall, firm, not retreating. He met her gaze with his own, didn’t look away for an instant.
Saoirse smiled as she stopped, just inches away from him. She was only an inch shorter than him, nearly impossible to notice when they were this close. He could feel her breath on his lips, could smell her perfume, a pleasing fragrance that wasn’t overbearing. For all the pomp and circumstance of her palace and her position, the Queen of Hearts was a master of subtlety. Especially when it came to increasing her appeal to men. Even Tobias had to admit, if it weren’t for her myriad of character flaws, her tyrannical cruelty, and her despicable personality, she might actually be quite appealing. She was certainly beautiful, and she accentuated all her best points with her dress, her posture, her mannerisms.
But beauty of body couldn’t conceal ugliness of heart. And Saoirse’s heart was festering with an arrogant, selfish wickedness that had caused thousands to suffer.
“What, Tobias?” Saoirse asked. “No farewell embrace?” She held out her arms, careful not to touch Tobias. Inviting, but yearning for him to initiate contact.
Which would never, ever happen.
“Not today,” Tobias said flatly.
“Hmph,” Saoirse said, pouting. She placed her hands on her hips. “You really do play hard to get, don’t you?” A moment later, she was smiling. But Tobias noticed a little twitch in her eye, just for a moment. “I’ll be back soon, my dearest. Please, don’t miss me too much. Or do, and let absence make your heart grow ever fonder for me. I hope you can be comfortable.” She reached up, as if to cup his face with her hand. But she stopped, just an inch away, her hand hovering there as she watched for Tobias’ reaction. Her smile turned into a bit of a smirk, and she lowered her hand, turned away, and strode from the suite. The door locked after she left.
And Tobias let out a heavy sigh. He slumped down into his chair, bowing his head, letting the tension drain out of him.
Knowing is half the battle. Knowing what was coming had helped, but it didn’t make putting up with it any easier.
We have to get out of here, as soon as possible. I can’t stand being in the same room with her. If it was just me and Flynn, we’d have more options, more freedom in how we get out of this. But I have to think of Alice, Ava, and Guinevere. If I’m too openly defiant to Saoirse, she might not be inclined to keep my guests safe.
And escaping with them won’t be easy, either.
He let out a sigh and sat back, staring at the ceiling. “Nothing to it but to trust Flynn,” he murmured. “Got me out of this last time. He’ll do it again. Until then…” He glanced aside at the cookie house. After a moment of deliberation, he picked off one of the confectionary rose bushes and popped it into his mouth. Unlike when Saoirse had been in the room, he let himself let out a pleased sigh as the sweet dessert melted in his mouth. “Oh, that’s good. That’s the trouble with this place. It’s terrible, it’s wicked, it’s awful, but wow the sweets are good.” He pulled the door off of the house and ate it in two bites, then stood up. He paced the suite, taking it all in — the plush furniture, the lovely decorations, the huge windows overlooking wonderful rose gardens and intricate topiary, the delightful cookie house and steaming tea… and the locked door, magicked against any interference. Only the proper key could open it.
Which left Tobias waiting for Flynn.
He chuckled, and took a seat on the bed, which, naturally, was just the right blend of soft and firm. “He’s always getting me out of trouble,” he said with a smile.
Elliot told me not to embark on this quest alone. And if I’d actually been alone, I wouldn’t have made it this far. He’d have been right.
Thank my lucky stars for Flynn.
He’d never forget how Flynn had wandered into his life, that fateful day thirteen years ago. Where that pup had come from, nobody knew. But he and Tobias had bonded instantly.
And time and time again, the bravest of dogs had gotten Tobias through the most harrowing of trials.
“Well,” Tobias said, sitting back, his hands pressed against the bed, “he’ll be along soon. And then… hmm. It’s likely Alice and the others are held nearby. We get them out, and avoid the escape route we used last time, since that would be too obvious. There’s no way we take the East Wing, that’s straight back through her audience chamber… West, then. Definitely west. Make tracks, look like we’re heading towards Eltaris Inlet, then double back through country to the eastern roads… hmm. I wonder how far Guinevere intends to travel with us? What’s her plan, anyway? I don’t even know why she came to Wonderia in the first place.”
It was nice, being alone. Tobias liked to think out loud, and more than that, being alone was the only time he could feel comfortable, more like himself. His stoic, serious Obsidian persona wasn’t entirely fictional. A great deal of it was real, born through painful traumas and hardships, and the walls naturally came up around others. But in these rare moments when he could truly bring down his walls, even for a few moments, he liked to savor them.
Even if they did take place in a cage.
He paced for a bit, eating another cookie. They were far more delicious than anything prepared by pure evil had any right to be. Just as he was going to sit back down, on one of the sofas this time, there was a sound at the door. His heart leapt for a moment, but he tamped down his expectations. It could be Flynn. Or…
The lock clicked, the door swung open, and in charged the greatest dog in all the realms. Tobias raced to meet him, was tackled to the floor by his twenty-five pound best friend, and embraced Flynn, petting him all over while Flynn smothered him with loving kisses.
“Even faster than last time,” Tobias said, grinning and laughing, his heart overflowing. “You’re fantastic, you know that? The best there is.” Flynn paused his licking for a moment, which gave Tobias a chance to plant a kiss on Flynn’s nose, and another on the side of his face. Wrapping his arms around him, Tobias buried his head in Flynn’s fur, savoring the warmth, the softness, the companionship.
“It really is good to see you,” he said, breathing a sigh that cast out all the tension he’d still been carrying while he waited. He sat back, and Flynn sat in front of him, tail wagging expectantly. Tobias knew that look, knew that tail wag, and a moment later, he wasn’t at all surprised to see a small squirrel-like creature clamber up atop Flynn’s head.
It sure was a cute little thing, though Tobias had never seen its kind before. Smaller than most squirrels, but with a similar body shape and bushy tail, and yet those eyes were bigger, brighter, more emotive and curious. And the ears were long, somewhat lopsided, one more upright while the other was folded over, but both were quite floppy and cute. Its fur was a pale blue, with faint silvery rings along its torso. The tips of its ears and end of its tail also had a more silvery hue to them.
“You’ve made a friend, I see,” Tobias said. He stretched out his hand, smiling. When the creature leapt to his hand and clambered up his arm, not even taking a moment to sniff him, Tobias was startled, but not at all disappointed. He laughed as the creature nuzzled his cheek and let him pet it, gently stroking those ears. They were so soft!
But then the creature leapt back to Flynn, and both of them looked at Tobias expectantly.
“Okay, right,” Tobias said, nodding. He took on a very serious, business-like demeanor, even though he was sitting cross-legged on the floor across from a dog and a squirrel-rabbit-creature. Because he knew what they were going to walk him through.
He needed to learn the new creature’s language.
There were some animals that used a variety of vocal sounds to communicate. But for all the attention that dogs barking, growling, howling, and whining got, the bulk of their “language” was body language. A tilt of the head, various types of tail wags, postures, other subtle movements, all formed a network of ideas and thoughts that led to complete, complex conversation. Tobias had learned much of Flynn’s language, though he felt rather disappointed in his progress, since it was more than obvious that Flynn understood with perfect fluency not only the Standardized Albian tongue but also several other languages, both Albian and Wonderian.
But he knew enough of Flynn’s language to work with him to understand the newcomer. As Flynn helped not simply translate, but teach, Tobias was able to get acquainted with the tiny new friend. “So your name is… Akko?” Tobias asked. An affirmative from Akko, confirmed by Flynn. “And you belong to… Shion.” That got a negative response, a repeat, and Tobias puzzled over the name for a moment. “Oh, Sheena! Got it. She’s the other intruder, the one Saoirse mentioned. She’s imprisoned in the same cell as my friends —” Friends might be a strong word for his relationship with Alice and the Promised Queen, but Tobias wasn’t going to correct the assumption and bog down their conversation, “— okay, that makes things easier. Or, well, simpler, at least. You have the keys, you’ve cleared the corridor…” He grinned, rubbing Flynn’s face. “Oh, you are just perfect, aren’t you? And you’ve secured an escape route? Which Alice and Guinevere and Ava can handle as well, right?” Flynn thumped his tail on the floor twice, and Tobias laughed. “Right. What am I doing doubting you?” He leaned in, resting his forehead against Flynn’s, who let out a steady sigh. Tobias nodded. “I love you, too. So much.” He pulled back and stood. “Well? Lead on, you two.” He checked his sword, recomposed himself as the stoic Knight Obsidian, and snapped a salute, fist to his chest, to the two animals that had rescued him. “Let’s get out of here. This time, for good.”