Wendell and Rupert peered into the magic mirror. They could see Tony on the "other side," beckoning them forward.
"Let's go," said King Wendell. He also stepped through. Lord Rupert hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and followed his monarch. For a moment he felt like he was moving forward at a tremendous speed, and he saw (or thought he saw) dozens of mirrors hurtling towards and past him. He was falling through the sky toward an island, an island with buildings...many buildings...
They were so TALL...
And then he completed his step, onto grass. They were trees all around. The harsh light of the mid-afternoon shone around them. The king was looking around, and Tony was doing an odd little dance.
"New York City!" he was yelling as he hopped around on one leg. "New York City! I'm back! It's so good to be back home in the greatest city of all time!" He settled down a little bit as he realized what he'd said. "No offense, Your Majesty...the 4th Kingdom is great."
The monarch smiled. "It's quite all right, Antony. I understand the power of homesickness."
"Why, this place is rather nice," said Lord Rupert. "Very arboreous...where are the buildings?"
"Oh, this is just Central Park," Tony responded. "You can follow me into the city." He frowned, and gestured at the mirror portal. "Uh, what about that?"
"I instructed Chancellor Griswold to turn it off five minutes after we went through. That way we'd have enough time to get back in case we'd run into trouble. And he'll reactivate it five hours from now," said the king.
"Good, that should be plenty of time for me to get what I need and still show you around. You're going to love Manhattan."
***
Lord Rupert had only been downtown for five minutes and already he was a bundle of nerves. The people of New York City seemed the roughest, pushiest bunch he'd ever seen; the population of Snow White Memorial Prison had seemed nicer. They kept shoving he and his monarch around, but Tony, who was used to it, was shoving back. Why, in the 4th Kingdom, being overly cheeky to nobility could get you a light jail sentence.
And it was so FILTHY...how could Sir Antony love this place?
"I forget, Antony, how much farther is it to your home?" asked King Wendell.
"Not too much farther, Your Highness, 81st Street is only a few blocks from the park."
"Good. The sooner we vacate these streets, the happier I will be. Tell me, Antony, what are all these advertisements promoting? Such as...Wendy's? That's not what I think it is, is it?"
"Oh no, not at all. Wendy's is a chain of fast food restaurants. If you're hungry but in a hurry, a fast food restaurant can fix you a meal in under five minutes. There's Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King..."
"I see. And, Coca-Cola?"
"A brand of soft drink."
"A what?"
"It's hard to explain...I've got some back at my apartment, you can try one."
"I look forward to it. And Viagra?"
Tony coughed. "It's a medicine...if you have a certain problem, it helps you overcome it."
"What kind of problem?"
The ex-janitor was saved from severe embarassment. "Oh, look, there's my apartment building. Your Majesty, Lord Rupert, follow me." With Tony leading the way, they elbowed their way into his building and in front of a set of metal doors.
"Where do these lead?" asked Lord Rupert, privately adding to himself that hopefully it was somewhere cleaner than this.
"This is an elevator," replied Tony as he pushed the 'up' button. "You can use them to go up or down a building very quickly."
"Ah," said the king in a burst of sudden inspiration, "So this is what Virginia trapped the trolls in." As Tony nodded, the doors opened and the three stepped in. He pushed the button for his floor. The elevator gave a slight shudder and began to ascend. Lord Rupert jumped and began to look around nervously.
"There's nothing to worry about, Your Grace," said Tony, barely restraining a chuckle. He mentally added to himself, *At least, not if they got a new repairman.* Fortunately, it seemed to be in good working order, and thirty seconds later the elevator stopped and the doors opened again. They exited, and he began to lead the way to his apartment. "I hope Virginia's still here." He knocked on the door, which he was glad to see had been fixed since he had left. Behind him, the king and the lord summoned their best noble postures.
A few seconds passed. Then the door opened to reveal--
"Virginia!" Tony opened his arms wide.
"DAD!" A grin quickly took over her face, and she gave him a very tight hug that he eagerly returned.
"How ya doing?"
"I'm fine, Dad, how about you?"
"I'm great. Hey, we have a couple of guests." He stepped aside to reveal King Wendell and Lord Rupert. Virginia, obviously surprised, did a little curtsy.
"Your Majesty, my lord, welcome to the Lewis residence. It isn't much, but it's home."
"No need for the formalities," said the monarch. "I'm just honored to return to the..." he tried to think of a good word for the cramped, dissheveled Lewis residence that he had visited once before. "...Domicile of such a great family."
"Well, don't just stand around outside, come on in and make yourselves at home!" She turned away and walked off into the depths of the apartment. "Wolf! We have company!" Tony's eyes narrowed as he and the nobility entered. Though the half-lupine had proven to be a loyal friend, companion, and hero, his father-in-law-to-be still had a bit of a blind spot where his relationship to his daughter was concerned. It had not been helped by the last thing Wolf had said before departing from the 4th Kingdom.
Speak of the devil; Virginia returned with her fiance, who was wearing an apron and a ridiculous looking chef's hat, signifying that he had probably been engaged in one of his two favorite pursuits: cooking food or eating it. If he had a *third* favorite pursuit, it probably involved Virginia, and he didn't want to think about that.
Especially if that apron and hat were involved.
When Wolf saw them, his eyes lit up and he almost ran to them, his arms wide in that over-affectionate animalistic way that he had. "Tony! Tony! How great to see you!" He gave him a large bear hug. "How's the father of the light of my life?"
"I'm fine," he replied, "Though currently unable to breathe."
"Oh! I'm so sorry." The ex-con let him go, then looked behind him and saw Wendell and Rupert. He gave a highly theatrical (almost ludicrously so) bow. "Your Highness! Your Grace! How fares the Fourth Kingdom?"
"It fares well," replied Wendell. "Noble wolf, how do YOU fare in...Manhattan?" He pronounced the foreign syllables a bit hesitantly but perfectly.
"Very well indeed, Your Majesty! They can do wonderful things with food here! There's this great recipe called 'burger and fries,' it's simply divine, you MUST try it!" Virginia placed a hand on his shoulder, and he calmed himself somewhat.
"I'm glad to hear that. And it is fitting that you mention food. You see, I had wondered if we may stay to dine with you and fair Virginia, for I have two announcements to make that you will be glad to hear." Everyone started; Virginia and Wolf at the thought of making dinner stretch; Tony at the thought that King Wendell had another surprise up his royal sleeve; and Lord Rupert at the thought of dining in this hovel.
"Let's go," said King Wendell. He also stepped through. Lord Rupert hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and followed his monarch. For a moment he felt like he was moving forward at a tremendous speed, and he saw (or thought he saw) dozens of mirrors hurtling towards and past him. He was falling through the sky toward an island, an island with buildings...many buildings...
They were so TALL...
And then he completed his step, onto grass. They were trees all around. The harsh light of the mid-afternoon shone around them. The king was looking around, and Tony was doing an odd little dance.
"New York City!" he was yelling as he hopped around on one leg. "New York City! I'm back! It's so good to be back home in the greatest city of all time!" He settled down a little bit as he realized what he'd said. "No offense, Your Majesty...the 4th Kingdom is great."
The monarch smiled. "It's quite all right, Antony. I understand the power of homesickness."
"Why, this place is rather nice," said Lord Rupert. "Very arboreous...where are the buildings?"
"Oh, this is just Central Park," Tony responded. "You can follow me into the city." He frowned, and gestured at the mirror portal. "Uh, what about that?"
"I instructed Chancellor Griswold to turn it off five minutes after we went through. That way we'd have enough time to get back in case we'd run into trouble. And he'll reactivate it five hours from now," said the king.
"Good, that should be plenty of time for me to get what I need and still show you around. You're going to love Manhattan."
***
Lord Rupert had only been downtown for five minutes and already he was a bundle of nerves. The people of New York City seemed the roughest, pushiest bunch he'd ever seen; the population of Snow White Memorial Prison had seemed nicer. They kept shoving he and his monarch around, but Tony, who was used to it, was shoving back. Why, in the 4th Kingdom, being overly cheeky to nobility could get you a light jail sentence.
And it was so FILTHY...how could Sir Antony love this place?
"I forget, Antony, how much farther is it to your home?" asked King Wendell.
"Not too much farther, Your Highness, 81st Street is only a few blocks from the park."
"Good. The sooner we vacate these streets, the happier I will be. Tell me, Antony, what are all these advertisements promoting? Such as...Wendy's? That's not what I think it is, is it?"
"Oh no, not at all. Wendy's is a chain of fast food restaurants. If you're hungry but in a hurry, a fast food restaurant can fix you a meal in under five minutes. There's Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King..."
"I see. And, Coca-Cola?"
"A brand of soft drink."
"A what?"
"It's hard to explain...I've got some back at my apartment, you can try one."
"I look forward to it. And Viagra?"
Tony coughed. "It's a medicine...if you have a certain problem, it helps you overcome it."
"What kind of problem?"
The ex-janitor was saved from severe embarassment. "Oh, look, there's my apartment building. Your Majesty, Lord Rupert, follow me." With Tony leading the way, they elbowed their way into his building and in front of a set of metal doors.
"Where do these lead?" asked Lord Rupert, privately adding to himself that hopefully it was somewhere cleaner than this.
"This is an elevator," replied Tony as he pushed the 'up' button. "You can use them to go up or down a building very quickly."
"Ah," said the king in a burst of sudden inspiration, "So this is what Virginia trapped the trolls in." As Tony nodded, the doors opened and the three stepped in. He pushed the button for his floor. The elevator gave a slight shudder and began to ascend. Lord Rupert jumped and began to look around nervously.
"There's nothing to worry about, Your Grace," said Tony, barely restraining a chuckle. He mentally added to himself, *At least, not if they got a new repairman.* Fortunately, it seemed to be in good working order, and thirty seconds later the elevator stopped and the doors opened again. They exited, and he began to lead the way to his apartment. "I hope Virginia's still here." He knocked on the door, which he was glad to see had been fixed since he had left. Behind him, the king and the lord summoned their best noble postures.
A few seconds passed. Then the door opened to reveal--
"Virginia!" Tony opened his arms wide.
"DAD!" A grin quickly took over her face, and she gave him a very tight hug that he eagerly returned.
"How ya doing?"
"I'm fine, Dad, how about you?"
"I'm great. Hey, we have a couple of guests." He stepped aside to reveal King Wendell and Lord Rupert. Virginia, obviously surprised, did a little curtsy.
"Your Majesty, my lord, welcome to the Lewis residence. It isn't much, but it's home."
"No need for the formalities," said the monarch. "I'm just honored to return to the..." he tried to think of a good word for the cramped, dissheveled Lewis residence that he had visited once before. "...Domicile of such a great family."
"Well, don't just stand around outside, come on in and make yourselves at home!" She turned away and walked off into the depths of the apartment. "Wolf! We have company!" Tony's eyes narrowed as he and the nobility entered. Though the half-lupine had proven to be a loyal friend, companion, and hero, his father-in-law-to-be still had a bit of a blind spot where his relationship to his daughter was concerned. It had not been helped by the last thing Wolf had said before departing from the 4th Kingdom.
Speak of the devil; Virginia returned with her fiance, who was wearing an apron and a ridiculous looking chef's hat, signifying that he had probably been engaged in one of his two favorite pursuits: cooking food or eating it. If he had a *third* favorite pursuit, it probably involved Virginia, and he didn't want to think about that.
Especially if that apron and hat were involved.
When Wolf saw them, his eyes lit up and he almost ran to them, his arms wide in that over-affectionate animalistic way that he had. "Tony! Tony! How great to see you!" He gave him a large bear hug. "How's the father of the light of my life?"
"I'm fine," he replied, "Though currently unable to breathe."
"Oh! I'm so sorry." The ex-con let him go, then looked behind him and saw Wendell and Rupert. He gave a highly theatrical (almost ludicrously so) bow. "Your Highness! Your Grace! How fares the Fourth Kingdom?"
"It fares well," replied Wendell. "Noble wolf, how do YOU fare in...Manhattan?" He pronounced the foreign syllables a bit hesitantly but perfectly.
"Very well indeed, Your Majesty! They can do wonderful things with food here! There's this great recipe called 'burger and fries,' it's simply divine, you MUST try it!" Virginia placed a hand on his shoulder, and he calmed himself somewhat.
"I'm glad to hear that. And it is fitting that you mention food. You see, I had wondered if we may stay to dine with you and fair Virginia, for I have two announcements to make that you will be glad to hear." Everyone started; Virginia and Wolf at the thought of making dinner stretch; Tony at the thought that King Wendell had another surprise up his royal sleeve; and Lord Rupert at the thought of dining in this hovel.