How to Slay a Dragon - Bill Allen [47]
“You just wait,” Lucky huffed. “Greg’s going to do more than just distract Ruuan.”
I can’t even distract these three, Greg thought.
“He’s going to slay him,” continued Lucky, “and then you and everyone else who doubted him will be sorry.”
Obviously the two were both crazy, but Greg at least liked hearing Lucky defend him. He puffed out his chest and shot the princess his best what-do-you-have-to-say-about-that? look.
“I’ll be happy to apologize to his ashes when the time comes,” Priscilla said snootily, causing Greg’s chest to deflate so quickly he was lucky he didn’t whiz around the forest like a burst balloon. “Now, let’s go. We’re wasting time.”
“Go where?” Greg groaned.
“You’re welcome to come if you want, Princess,” said Nathan, “but we’re not headed straight to Ruuan’s. We’re stopping off at Simon’s first.”
“Simon’s? How irresponsible. What about my sister?”
“Relax,” Lucky said. “Penelope is still safe at the castle. She won’t even be taken for a couple of days.”
“Quiet!” Greg screamed.
The others finally fell silent and stared at him.
“What’s this about Ruuan coming for Penelope?”
“You remember Ruuan, Greg,” said Lucky. “The dragon?”
“Of course I remember.” He pointed at Priscilla. “He was supposed to have taken her.”
Priscilla offered him the same look she’d used when Nathan said he didn’t have a healing spell. “Ruuan never took me.”
“Prissy?” Lucky said. “Don’t be ridiculous. Sure, technically I guess she’s a princess, but—well, look at her.”
“What about me?” Priscilla snapped.
“But King Peter said she was missing,” Greg insisted. “He was all sad and everything.”
“No,” said Lucky, “he said she couldn’t be with us. Besides, Prissy is always missing.”
“Sasha!”
“See how headstrong she is? King Peter can’t control her. He was just sad because he hoped she’d want to be part of such a historic event.”
Priscilla looked concerned. “Daddy was sad?”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Greg said. His mind was reeling again, but this time not from his injury. “If it was Penelope everyone was worried about, why didn’t we just stay at the castle and guard her, make sure Ruuan never got to her? I would have even helped if I could. Who knows? I could have stood lookout or something.”
Lucky shook his head. “No, that’s not how it’s written at all. The prophecy was very clear about us heading into the Enchanted Forest.”
“What? Who cares about the stupid prophecy? Don’t you see? You never even needed me. If you’d have just taken that room full of magicians and set them on Ruuan instead of me, you wouldn’t have had a problem.”
Lucky rolled his eyes. “Have all of King Peter’s magicians go against a prophecy? You might as well ask the sun not to rise in the morning.”
“But—”
“Why would anyone even want to go to Simon’s, anyway?” Priscilla asked Lucky.
“Greg wants to find out more about the prophecy,” answered Nathan. “He wants to be as prepared as possible when he faces Ruuan.”
Priscilla once again tilted her head back to regard Greg down her nose. “Believe me, preparations aren’t going to help. You’re probably right though. He should talk to Simon. Once he sees what a doddering old fool the man is, maybe he’ll climb off his high horse and realize the prophecy was supposed to be about Marvin Greatheart, not him.”
“I already know that.” Greg nodded toward Lucky and Nathan. “Tell them.”
“Oh?” said the princess.
“Look,” said Greg, “I’m sorry about your sister, and I wish there were some way I could help, I really do. But I wouldn’t stand a chance against a dragon. I just want to get back home.”
The princess studied him a long while, as if trying to determine the truth of his words. Greg didn’t know why, but he found himself struggling to look sincere. Suddenly Priscilla’s eyes widened. “Oh, you poor thing.”
Greg tried to ask what she meant, but she cut him off. “We better see Simon, after