among the rocks to recover from the climb.
***
Great-Aunt Wilhelmina was overjoyed to be out in the fresh air after three years in the darkness of the cavern. Adolphus did his duty as a great-nephew and kissed her back to her dragon form, and she stretched her magnificent wings out and shook her great head happily.
“Well, well, A-doleful. So good of you to drop by with your friends… And thank you, Max, for getting me out of there. I really feel like a good holiday. Visit a few friends down south, maybe scout out a few new cauldrons for my collection. It should all be quite safe here in the mountain till I get back.”
“Umm, how will you get back in?” asked Olivia, looking at the huge dragon, and the very small hole they’d just crawled out of.
Great-Aunt Wilhelmina laughed, a rumbling, fiery sort of laugh. “Oh, don’t worry about that, little Pendragon!” she said. “From this side I’ve got a nice clear run at it. I can blast my way back into the cavern with a few good kicks.” She flexed her great back legs, and Max scrambled back out of the way. She was undoubtedly right. In fact she could probably flatten the entire mountain with a few good kicks. He was glad she seemed to be relatively friendly.
“I suppose we’d better be getting back to the castle,” he said. But at that moment, they heard a huge commotion further into the forest, and the crashing and neighing of horses, and then a great hunting horn, answered by another, and another, from all around.
They looked at each other, eyes wide.
“It’s a hunt!” said Olivia.
“That’s not a normal hunting horn,” said Max.
“It’s a dragon hunt!” said Adolphus, with a high-pitched squeal. “It’s a wild dragon hunt! Help, help! Murder! Run! Fly!” He flapped his wings in panic, took off – and crashed straight into a low-hanging branch.
Max and Olivia felt equally terrified. It sounded as if the hunt were closing in – someone had realised there were dragons in this corner of the wood, and surrounded them. They were pinned against the mountain, and there was nowhere to go but up and out into the open, where they could be shot at with arrows. It didn’t look good.
Ferocious scampered up Max’s neck and bit his dragon ear. “Max!” he hissed. “Change back! Quickly!”
Of course! Max had the antidote in his pack! He slid it off his neck and reached for the antidote bottle. Rapidly he pulled the stopper off with his teeth and shook the bottle at Olivia and then over himself. Within seconds they were standing, looking slightly shaken, but definitely human. Now for Adolphus. Max grabbed the frogspell bottle, hurled a drop onto the still dazed Adolphus and watched in relief as he shrank to a rather knobbly blueish frog with green spots. He turned to Great-Aunt Wilhelmina, who’d been watching with interest, one ear twitching at the sound of the hunt coming nearer. She looked down her long dragon nose at him.
“No, thank you, young Pendragon. Once as a frog is quite enough. And I’m not the slightest bit worried by this little collection of horses and humans – when you’ve got to the ripe old age of four hundred and forty-three, you no longer have to fear such things as dragon hunts. Since it looks as if you and my great-nephew are quite safe, I think I’ll be off.” She stretched out her great wings, and raised her head up into the sky. The sound of horns and neighing suddenly redoubled, and she grinned, and then looked back down at Max with her piercing golden eyes. “Something tells me I’ll be seeing you again, Max… Farewell till we meet again. And good luck with your spells!”
She took off, straight up into the sky. Suddenly the horns stopped, and Max could sense the entire hunt looking up in wonder at the huge dragon circling above them. She roared, and gouts of flame came scorching across the sky and burnt the tops of the tallest forest trees. The horses cried out in terror, and their riders were too busy
***
Great-Aunt Wilhelmina was overjoyed to be out in the fresh air after three years in the darkness of the cavern. Adolphus did his duty as a great-nephew and kissed her back to her dragon form, and she stretched her magnificent wings out and shook her great head happily.
“Well, well, A-doleful. So good of you to drop by with your friends… And thank you, Max, for getting me out of there. I really feel like a good holiday. Visit a few friends down south, maybe scout out a few new cauldrons for my collection. It should all be quite safe here in the mountain till I get back.”
“Umm, how will you get back in?” asked Olivia, looking at the huge dragon, and the very small hole they’d just crawled out of.
Great-Aunt Wilhelmina laughed, a rumbling, fiery sort of laugh. “Oh, don’t worry about that, little Pendragon!” she said. “From this side I’ve got a nice clear run at it. I can blast my way back into the cavern with a few good kicks.” She flexed her great back legs, and Max scrambled back out of the way. She was undoubtedly right. In fact she could probably flatten the entire mountain with a few good kicks. He was glad she seemed to be relatively friendly.
“I suppose we’d better be getting back to the castle,” he said. But at that moment, they heard a huge commotion further into the forest, and the crashing and neighing of horses, and then a great hunting horn, answered by another, and another, from all around.
They looked at each other, eyes wide.
“It’s a hunt!” said Olivia.
“That’s not a normal hunting horn,” said Max.
“It’s a dragon hunt!” said Adolphus, with a high-pitched squeal. “It’s a wild dragon hunt! Help, help! Murder! Run! Fly!” He flapped his wings in panic, took off – and crashed straight into a low-hanging branch.
Max and Olivia felt equally terrified. It sounded as if the hunt were closing in – someone had realised there were dragons in this corner of the wood, and surrounded them. They were pinned against the mountain, and there was nowhere to go but up and out into the open, where they could be shot at with arrows. It didn’t look good.
Ferocious scampered up Max’s neck and bit his dragon ear. “Max!” he hissed. “Change back! Quickly!”
Of course! Max had the antidote in his pack! He slid it off his neck and reached for the antidote bottle. Rapidly he pulled the stopper off with his teeth and shook the bottle at Olivia and then over himself. Within seconds they were standing, looking slightly shaken, but definitely human. Now for Adolphus. Max grabbed the frogspell bottle, hurled a drop onto the still dazed Adolphus and watched in relief as he shrank to a rather knobbly blueish frog with green spots. He turned to Great-Aunt Wilhelmina, who’d been watching with interest, one ear twitching at the sound of the hunt coming nearer. She looked down her long dragon nose at him.
“No, thank you, young Pendragon. Once as a frog is quite enough. And I’m not the slightest bit worried by this little collection of horses and humans – when you’ve got to the ripe old age of four hundred and forty-three, you no longer have to fear such things as dragon hunts. Since it looks as if you and my great-nephew are quite safe, I think I’ll be off.” She stretched out her great wings, and raised her head up into the sky. The sound of horns and neighing suddenly redoubled, and she grinned, and then looked back down at Max with her piercing golden eyes. “Something tells me I’ll be seeing you again, Max… Farewell till we meet again. And good luck with your spells!”
She took off, straight up into the sky. Suddenly the horns stopped, and Max could sense the entire hunt looking up in wonder at the huge dragon circling above them. She roared, and gouts of flame came scorching across the sky and burnt the tops of the tallest forest trees. The horses cried out in terror, and their riders were too busy
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