A Dog in the Kingdom of Pen 2

Welp. The other one got too long for me to post in. So… here’s #2 of my forum for stuff! Anyhow:

A Dog in the Kingdom of Pen

Part 4: The Raspberry King

Warren, Catwing, and Riddlewit turned to see a tall girl with long, caramel hair and stormy grey eyes. She was wearing an olive jacket, jeans, and combat boots and was striding towards them determinedly.

“Who are you?” Warren asked. The girl walked up to the fountain and stopped, crossing her arms.

“King Daeus, of course,” she said sarcastically. Then she smiled warmly. “I’m actually Aspen. I’m a Shield-wolf. How is the Griffin?” Warren blinked, taken aback. Kingdom Pen kept getting more and more interesting: catwings, Griffins, Cheshire Catwings, Chasm Beasts, centaurs, and now Shield-wolves!

“Alia is taking him to Eskrey,” Riddlewit replied.

“Then we must go as well,” Aspen declared heroically. “We must remind the KaPeeFers of the Evil that slumbers inside the Treakle Peaks.” With that, the air around her shimmered. Warren gave a low growl as Aspen’s form melted like ice and was replaced by a beautiful white wolf with silver-blue eyes. The light from the fountain made her fur look blue-ish, and she stepped forward. Warren sniffed the air experimentally, but the wolf in the place of Aspen still carried Aspen’s particular scent-signature.

“Are you still Aspen?” he asked tentatively. A low grumble emanated from the wolf’s chest, and with a shock Warren realized that she was laughing.

“Sorry if I startled you,” the wolf answered. “I am still Aspen. Now, let us be off!” She leapt over Warren and Riddlewit’s heads and streaked out of Kapeeferton. Warren and Riddlewit glanced at each other, then bolted away after the Shield-wolf.

***

Warren’s paws pounded into the stone-paved road as he ran into the borders of Eskrey. As he passed through the gates, he slowed to a stop as he took in the magnificence of the capital. There were hundreds of buildings pressed together, but somehow it didn’t seem crowded. At the center of the city, atop a small hill, a magnificent castle rose up to the sky: Castle Regnis, home of King Daeus, the Princesses Emma and Kina, and Knight Kate.

“Wow,” he breathed. “This is amazing.” Riddlewit noticed him staring at Regnis and tapped his head.

“Warren!” the flying squirrel sat on his head and waved her paws across his line of vision. “Don’t stop now! We have to get to Regnis!” Warren blinked.

“Right! Sorry!” he barked and bounded forward, nearly knocking Riddlewit off of his head and earning him a “OI! WATCH IT!” from the flying squirrel queen. He wound through the streets until he reached the road that led up to the gates of Regnis.

When he reached the closed gates of Regnis, Warren sat on the stones of the road and whined. Riddlewit floated down to the ground next to him and looked up at him.

“How do I get in?” Warren moaned, discouraged. “The gates are locked!” Suddenly, the gate opened and a guard clad in metal armor exited the castle courtyard. Her shield bore the name SeekJustice, and a flock of origami cranes fluttered around her head.

“Do you have an appointment?” the guard asked. When Warren shook her head, she said “Then you cannot enter.” As she was about to enter back into the castle, Riddlewit jumped up and floated in front of SeekJustice.

“We need to see King Daeus immediately,” the queen declared. “I am Queen Riddlewit of the Flying Squirrels of the Kingdom of Pen and this is Warren, a KaPeeFer. We helped rescue Ezekiel, the Griffin of FileWriter, and the Griffin arrived with Alia sometime before us. We must see the King!” The guard looked them up and down dubiously, then gave a high-pitched whistle. Gusts of wind shook the hill, and at first Warren thought that there was a windstorm. However, a beautiful, gigantic dragon with golden scales rose up over the wall. Warren cowered in fear before the magnificent sight and prepared for the worst to come. The dragon opened her mouth and:

“WARREN! Hello again, my friend!” Snapper boomed and landed next to the castle guard. “Alia arrived with Ezekiel about half an hour earlier. Hurry, King Daeus has just called for a special council in the ballroom.” As she turned and opened the gates, the guard ran forward.

“I’m sorry for all of the confusion, by the way,” the guard apologized. “I’m SeekJustice!” She ushered them through the gates and into the courtyard of Regnis. Warren, Riddlewit, and SeekJustice then wound their way around a fountain and through the throngs of KaPeeFers until they reached the doors of the castle. Aspen, in her human form, then walked out of the magnificent double doors.

“Warren! Riddlewit! Come on, the council is about to start,” the Shield-wolf said. She pushed open the doors and allowed the golden retriever and the flying squirrel to enter, then rushed inside.

***

Warren exited the hallway into Castle Regnis’ gigantic ballroom and gasped. The arched ceiling stretched up as far as he could see, and beautiful glass chandeliers hung from hooks on the ceiling. The chandeliers, however, did not sport candles: the chandeliers boasted glowing raspberries that gave off a warm, golden light, much like the light that had surrounded Warren when he had entered the kingdom.

That feels like so long ago, he thought, smiling a little. Suddenly, a consciousness poked into his head next to his own. As he jumped back mentally, he heard a kind voice.

Warren, the mental voice said. It’s me, Alia. Hurry, you and Riddlewit must be up at the front, since you two and Catwing were the ones who rescued Ezi. And he is doing fine, don’t worry. Warren thought he heard her smile.

He and Riddlewit, who had apparently also heard Alia’s message, then wound their way through the throngs of people to a table near the front of the ballroom. Already seated at this table were Catwing and Alia. Then, a drumroll sounded and a man walked forward to the stage. He wore regal purple robes and had brown hair and eyes. And upon his head rested a crown with a…raspberry?…on top. Catwing motioned with a paw for them to sit down, and the golden retriever and the flying squirrel both took their places at the table.

“KaPeeFers!” King Daeus, for surely anyone with a raspberry crown in the Kingdom of Pen surely must be King Daeus, announced. “Knights of the Realm! Writers! Authors! GIF-Hiders! Order must be called!” The multitude of KaPeeFers began to quiet down, and Daeus motioned with his hand. At the signal, SeekJustice and a girl in an old-fashioned Sheriff’s uniform with a brown skirt escorted a black/brown-and-white Native American horse with feathers in her mane up to the table. On the horse’s back rested a litter, which carried Ezi. SeekJustice and the sheriff then helped the litter off of the horse’s back and onto the table. As the litter was placed on the table, someone shrieked. A girl with dark brown eyes and long brown hair rushed up, dropping the notebook and pencil that she had been holding, and cradled the poor Griffin’s head in her arms. Ezi gave a sleepy caw and blinked, nuzzling the girl with his beak.

“Ezekiel will be fine, FileWriter,” Daeus said kindly. “Thanks to Warren Luther, Catwing, Queen Riddlewit, and Alia, who brought him here just in time.” FileWriter looked up at Warren, her eyes shining with a light film of tears.

“Thank you for saving him!” she said and moved back behind the table.

“Now, onto the second matter that we are here today to discuss,” the Raspberry King announced. “It has been brought to my attention that Evil resides deep within the Treacle Mountains. Now we must decide how to counter it.”

Starring:

@warrenluther04

@catwing

Riddlewit, Queen of the Flying Squirrels of the Kingdom of Pen

@ingridrd

@seekjustice

@dragon-snapper

@alia

@daeus

Ezi the Griffin

@filewriterbase13x

With References To:

The Evil

@rochellaine

@jenwriter17

Tags:

@sam-kowal @kaya-young @supermonkey42 @allison-grace @emma-flournoy @notawriter @kate-flournoy @mnvalentine @that_writer_girl_99 @ariel-ashira @dekreel @everyone-else