Donkey surveyed the sorry pile of bricks with a skeptical eye. "Dis ain't goin' so well."
Dalia shook her head in agreement.
"D'you know anyone that might be able ta help?" Donkey inquired.
Dalia looked thoughtful, "I used to know a Genie—"
"Well, that's great!"
"—but he's now owned by this really evil guy who can get unlimited wishes from him."
"Oh."
"If you're not up for it—"
"Oh, who says I ain't up for it?! Geeze, I laugh in the face of danger!" Donkey exclaimed.
"Okay. Put on your diapers, because I'm ready to go!"
Dalia scooped Donkey up onto her back, and he asked, a little perturbed, "Why diapers?"
"For when you wet your pants," the dragon grinned, taking off into the air and almost losing her passenger.
"Hey slow down, woman! I ain't ready to lose my lunch!"
"We have quite a journey ahead of us," she replied. "It'll take forever if I go slow."
"Yeah, well, you won't need to bother goin' if you drop me, because it would take days to clean up my guts from a fall at this height!"
Smirking, Dalia picked up speed, ignoring the screaming pack animal on her back.
The dragon had eventually slowed down a little, and they were soon above their destination.
Looking down at the dark towers, Donkey winced. "About this evil dude—were you just exaggeratin', or is he really as messed up as his choice of home seems to say he is? I mean, would it've been more appropriate for us to come in here wit' guns blazin', or will we actually be able to take him on alone?"
"We don't have any guns, Donkey," Dalia reminded him.
"What? No guns!? Aw man, we're really messed up now," Donkey whined, looking like he was about to hop off Dalia, sprout wings, and fly into the opposite direction. "Where's an ogre when you need one? Oh, that's right—I forgot, he's on his honeymoon! I'd much rather be on my honeymoon than flying towards some really evil Genie-wielding—"
Dalia grinned, "Are you trying to ask me something, Donkey?" The pack animal's eyes widened at what she was suggesting, and before he could say something about not being ready for that kind of commitment, the dragon rolled her eyes and spoke, "I think I can handle the man."
"Yeah, but remember, you said so yourself, dis guy has a genie! And infinite wishes! That doesn't rate high on the list of possible guys to take on and survive!"
Laughing, the dragon set down on the ground, which was covered with damp, silver stones. Rain came down upon them, and angry black clouds surrounded the castle. Donkey looked at them skeptically. "How come it's all dark and stormy over here, but over dere—" he gestured with a hoof, "—it's all pretty-like?"
"That's the nature of the beast, I guess," Dalia shrugged.
Donkey glanced at her, a strange look on his furry face. Then he broke into a grin, "Now that's funny."
"What?"
"Well, you said it was the nature of the beast, and you're a beast," the donkey chuckled.
The dragon's eyes narrowed. "You're a beast, too."
"Yeah, but you're ever so much more beastly than m—" Donkey cut off when he saw the fire curling out of Dalia's nostrils. He backtracked, "Uh, I mean, you're a very pretty, very very lovely beast. Me, I'm just some butt-faced, no-good donkey, an all-around jack ass."
Dalia tried to keep her angry expression, but she couldn't help breaking into a smile. It was hard to stay mad at him for long, even if he did have a big mouth. "Let's just go inside," she suggested, willing to put the incident behind them.
They walked up to the large wooden doors that could have fit the dragon inside easily. They creaked open ominously by themselves, and Donkey turned and looked at Dalia, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Well, I'd say you have good reason to be," she grinned at him as they walked inside. She thought this adventure was kind of fun.
It was pitch-black inside the castle, but Donkey could make out rows of knights in dull armor lining the walls. He glanced backward, and the door shut with a clang.
Donkey gulped and tried to bring some humor into the situation, "Hey, you want to hear something funny? My dentist's name is James Spaulding."
The dragon just stared at him.
"Okay. So I don't have a dentist. It just seemed like the right thing to say," he grumbled.
"Tink," came a noise from their right.
Ever the nervous one, Donkey swerved to the side. A suit of armor stared at him emotionlessly.
"What's wrong?"
"Didn't ya hear that?" Donkey frowned.
Dalia shook her head, and the two started forward.
"Tink," it said again, louder this time.
Turning and glaring at the suit of armor, Donkey groaned, "You can't tell me you didn't hear it that time."
The dragon stalked forward and tapped on the suit of armor with a large finger. Clang clang.
No further noise ensued, so, shrugging, she started to walk away.
But then it came again, "Tink tink." After a second, it added, "Ding. Dong. Dong. Ding."
Raising an eyebrow, Donkey rapped on it.
"Tink! Ding! Tink! Dong!"
The dragon lifted up the face piece, and out flew a very agitated fairy. Letting out an exclamation of astonishment, he groaned, "It's the firefly from hell!"
"That's right!" Dalia yelled, watching the bright fairy quickly fly into the darkness.
"Huh?"
"It's Tinkerbell!"
Donkey stared at her for a moment, and then his eyes widened in understanding. "Ah. Ding dong as in a bell. Man, do I feel stupid!"
Smiling, no longer nervous, the two trotted forward on all fours, chatting happily.
That is, until Dalia noticed the moving suit of armor bringing down an ax onto Donkey's head.
"Donkey, look out!" she cried.