Chapter Sixteen
Arthur grew weary of following tracings and had by now decided that this Mistress Time was an over inflated myth, fluffed up by superstitious, gullible, stupid, (he wasn't in a very good mood) Denizens. Scamandross still scoured the floors of every place they ventured and thus far had found nothing but purely gold tracings, no more the black ones they had started out with. They were in the Atrium now, repugnant Chauncey with his nose pressed to the floor, tail wagging, like some sort of deformed dog Arthur thought bitterly. They'd been on this wild goose chase for weeks now and he tired of it. Come and get me, Mistress, he taunted. "Come and get me, we shall duel, or whatever and I shall vanquish you or be vanquished and we can both go on with our eternities" he grumbled.
There was an abrupt halt in their progression as there always was when Chauncey's sniffer had picked up on something, a tracing. Surprise surprise. "What now," Arthur wasn't really asking. He knew what the answer would be.
"It's recent," The doctor replied. "Very, recent. Like just moments ago."
Arthur's ears pricked up. "Can you figure out who it is?"
"It's begun to turn black around the edges, like reverting,"
Arthur's enthusiasm evaporated. Another hitch, another feckless moment in this impossible search.
"I think I know where they are now,"
"Go on," Arthur instructed, none the more intrigued than he had been the last time.
"Your Mansion my lord," Scamandross sneered as he new very well this would shock Arthur into new realms.
"M-m-m—my mansion, in u-u-Upper House?"
"Is there another then?" Chauncey piped.
"Oh shh you rodent" Arthur snapped. He would spend the next little while apologizing for that one when this was all over.
"The very same, Upper House"
Up Starts.
"He should be back soon," Dame Primus assured as she beat her wings to heft the teapot and pour for their guest. The gates banged open with a metal clang and Dame sighed. "He's back. He'll be glad to finally meet with Time. I'd say it's about time we get this over with" She chortled at her own pun. "Your wings are looking a bit tarnished, you don't suppose"
"That Time's lack of control is changing me even? I think so, I feel some of my old gloom beginning to settle in," he stuck out his tongue, "Look, it's even beginning to go black on me"
"And your brother," Dame ventured.
"A tint of gold here and there in the feathers, his tone is brightening, we have to get this sorted out right now"
Arthur came bursting through the doors then, stopped in his tracks at the sight of the tea party gathered in his home. " You, we've been tracing you?"
"If it's of any consolation, I didn't know, at any rate, we should get going" Noon rose to his feet and his wings beat slightly. Black was merging with the gold of his feathers, the whisper that he had as Dusk struggling against his more open voice"
"The tracings changed because you changed" Arthur pieced together. "Any now they're changing back because,"
"Time is running out"
"How do you know how to get there?" Arthur demanded. He was insulted that a chief servant had information that he did not.
"I once knew the Mistress myself, she was locked away and I saw her no more. When the Architect left I forgot the way. Now that her presence is being made known, I can find her again. A heart never truly forgets the way. My how time flies" he whispered and pointed into the air his pocket watch flew up and began ticking, then it popped open, the gears inside exposed. "Sometimes the way to go forward, is backwards" Noon stuck his finger into the watch and began winding and messing with the gears. "Time is my essence," he chanted. "As she always has been"
The next moment they were gone, doctor Rat and all. Dame sat alone sipping her tea. She always got left behind.