Flame stared up at the stone ruin, her face blank with amazement. A dusty carving in a brick by the doorway read, St. Cinderline's Convent and Educational Centre for Young Lady Dragons. It was barely legible, but it told Flame clearly enough that she was in the right place.

'Oh, Flicker.' She raised her eyes to the crumbling roof. 'Now what would you do?'

The answer came to her, in Flicker's voice, clear as day inside her head. 'I'd go on.'

Flame took a deep breath, straightened her spine and walked through the open doorway. The entrance hall was dark, having most of its walls and ceiling still. A sliver of light illuminated a half-crumbled stone staircase. Flame walked over to the stairs, climbed the first three and looked upwards. Then she stepped back rapidly when she heard noises from above.

Moments later, a shower of grit descended from the tower, followed by something of substantial size that hit the ground with a loud thud. Flame hesitated a moment, then picked the object up, and saw that it was a leather-bound book. She blew on the cover. Dust sprayed in all directions, and then she was able to read the words Prisoner Log.

'Prisoners?' said Flame. She looked back at the tower and called, 'Is someone there?'

There was no answer. Then suddenly there came a slow, wheezing creak. Flame whipped round in alarm. Her eyes followed the direction of the sound, and she saw an old, frayed tapestry swaying on its hangings. With the book under her arm, Flame went over to the tapestry, pulled it back and saw a huge oak door on rusty hinges. She stared at the door, which stood ajar, and then looked down at the book.

'A dungeon?' she said quietly. 'And someone clearly wants me to go down there.'

Flame pushed the door open. It creaked painfully, just as it had before. She made her way down a flight of stone steps, and was surprised to see a fiery glow beckoning her onwards. She walked on until she found herself in a vast underground room lined with padlocked doors and flaming torches. She took a moment to drink in the sight, the astonishment clear on her face. Then she remembered the book, took it in both hands and opened it.

'"Sister Mary-Firelight",' she read aloud. '"Crime: vanity. Miss Burnice Ingram. Crime: sticky fingers at dinner with Father Brimstone." Wait a minute…' She began turning the pages very quickly, scanning each one as she went. Then she stopped, gasped and read, '"Lady Igrange of Houghton Regis. Crime: marriage against the wishes of the Mother Superior and the senior sisters"!'

'Well,' said a voice, 'there you have it.'

Flame shrieked, dropped the book and clutched her hand to her heart. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then said, 'Who's there?'

'Over here, my dear.'

Flame looked round and saw a hunched figure sitting by one of the padlocked doors. She walked over to the person, crouched down and peered under the hood that obscured its face. Then, not for the first time that day, she gasped.

'Mysterious Crone!'


Sir Loungelot, who was now heading the small procession, stopped suddenly. Sir Blaze and Flicker both skidded to an abrupt halt.

'Hang on a minute,' said Loungelot. 'Why are we walking? We could have been there by now if we were flying!'

'Princess Flame was walking, according to that serf,' said Flicker. 'If we don't keep our feet on the path, we may lose it.'

'Looking for someplace, fellas?'

The three dragons looked down, and saw that the pixie was standing in their path.

'Some nunnery in Dunstable,' said Blaze.

'Nunnery in Dunstable, eh?' said the pixie. 'That's not very interesting in itself, is it? Are you looking for something special that's there? Or someone? If so, I can find 'em for you just like that.' He snapped his fingers. 'Here's the deal, one wish each, so how about it?'

'Milords,' said Flicker, 'I would strongly advise against this.'

'Of course you would, Flicker,' said Loungelot, 'but you might be wrong. Remember Avalon?'

Flicker scowled. 'Please, Milord, don't talk to me about Avalon. I don't know what happened to me there - I turned into a complete idiot. Anyway, yes, I might be wrong, but we can't afford to take that chance. You are Knights of the Square Table, above such frivolous things as wishes. Let us not forget that the Code of Chivalry forbids both covetousness and quick fixes.'

'Hey, lighten up, kid,' said the pixie. 'Isn't there anything you really, really want?'

'The only person who can give me what I really, really want is my king,' said Flicker.

'Your king?' The pixie burst out laughing. 'If you wait for some old guy in a crown to notice you, kid, you'll be waiting forever… and ever… and ever… and -'

'Oh, do shut up,' said Blaze. 'We're in a hurry. I'm looking for my sister. Have you seen her? She's a dragon princess wearing a very stylish pink frock and headdress.'

'Maybe I've seen her,' said the pixie, 'and maybe I haven't.'

'Milords,' said Flicker, 'we know that the Princess took this path, so I suggest we keep following it. We must be on our way. Please.'

'He's right, Loungelot,' said Blaze. 'Come on. Last one there is a rotten egg!'

The three dragons set off once again, with the pixie yelling after them, 'You'll be sorry when you're old and withered and you still didn't get what you wanted! You'll be waiting forever… and ever… and ever…'


Flame was sitting by Mysterious Crone on the stone floor, cradling the prisoner log in her lap.

'So… this is an evil nunnery,' said Flame.

'Yes,' said Mysterious Crone. 'Now, don't go getting any ideas about nunneries in general. This one just happens to be an evil nunnery, that's all.'

'I've always thought of places like this as being rather like my father's Code of Chivalry: well-meaning, but terribly restrictive if you actually want to do anything.'

'Some nunneries are lovely, I'm sure. But not this one.'

'How do you know so much about it?' asked Flame. 'Who are you?'

'I am Sister Mary-Firelight,' said Mysterious Crone.

'Sister Mary-Firelight… from the book?'

'That's me.'

'Then you were imprisoned down here for vanity.'

'That's right.' Mysterious Crone raised a hand to her wizened face. 'I don't think I was so vain as all that, but they were very strict, those nuns. Well, at least I got out of it in the end. Not like your mother, my dear.'

'My mother? But how…?'

'I knew you from the moment I saw you signing that petition in Loitone. Well, I guessed, anyway. You must be the daughter of Lady Igrange. You look just like her.'

'Yes,' said Flame, 'I am. If you knew my mother, then perhaps you can tell me what happened to her.'

'Is that what you came for?' asked Mysterious Crone. 'Or are you here to learn patience, as you told me before?'

'Both.'

'I see. Well then. For many years, the sisters pretended to be happy for your mother after she'd married King Allfire. They kept in close contact with her, and feigned great joy when you were hatched, Highness. Then, one day, the Mother Superior asked her to come back for a novices' reunion. They asked her to bring you as well.'

'Me?' said Flame. 'Why?'

'Because they wished you harm, I suppose,' said Mysterious Crone. 'Anyway, Igrange didn't bring you, as you've probably worked out. Perhaps she suspected something wasn't right, and didn't want to risk you. But she risked herself. She was so trusting, she came, only to discover there was no novices' reunion.'

'And they threw her into the dungeon?'

'That's right. Now, this is where I come in. Igrange was thrown into my cell, where she told me everything I've just told you, and plenty more besides. We had all the time in the world, you see. It was good to have someone to talk to while, little by little, I prised up one of the flagstones and dug an escape tunnel inch by inch with a rat's skull.'

'Then you escaped?' asked Flame.

'Yes, I did. The nuns were never going to let us out of there. But your mother… now, I don't want you to think badly of her, dear.'

'Why? What did she do?'

'Nothing. She said there was no need to dig a tunnel, because soon her husband would come to rescue her.'

'My father came here. He said that Mother was already dead by the time he arrived.'

'Perhaps she was,' said Mysterious Crone. 'Or perhaps the nuns just told him that to get rid of him, while she was still rotting in the dungeon. We seemed to be there an awfully long time. The King had no way of knowing there was a dungeon, you see. If a Mother Superior tells you your wife is dead, you jolly well believe her. Anyway, your mother waited and waited to be saved, while I kept on digging my tunnel. And then one day, well, she died.'

'How?' asked Flame. 'I mean, what exactly did she die of?'

'It might have been the lack of food,' said Mysterious Crone, 'or it might have been that what little they gave us was so very bad. We ate exactly the same, she and I. The only difference is that I survived and she didn't.'

'That's not the only difference,' said Flame. 'You tried… you kept going… and she didn't. Blazing dragons - this means my mother actually died of patience!'

'So what have you learnt, my dear? That it's all right to be impatient after all?'

'Well, I've learnt what happened to my mother, at least. Thank you, Mysterious Crone. I mean… Sister Mary-Firelight. So… is this nunnery really cursed, then?'

'It surely is, my dear,' said Mysterious Crone. 'Shortly after your mother died, most of the nuns were wiped out by disease, and the rest… well, eventually they all either fled or died of old age. Those that remained tried to bring in new novices, but no one would come.'

'This must all have happened in my lifetime,' said Flame. 'The place has become a ruin very quickly, hasn't it?'

'That's because it is cursed,' the crone said, 'just like the town of Loitone. There came a day when the Mother Superior, being the only person for miles around with any kind of authority, agreed to grant Loitone city status. But just as she was about to sign the document, the pen turned to ashes in her hand; her throat closed up, and she died gasping for breath. There now, end of story,' she finished, her tone brightening. 'Will you be off home to Camelhot now, my dear?'

'Yes,' said Flame, getting to her feet, 'I suppose I will. But what about you, Sister? What will you do?'

'Don't you worry about me, dear,' said Sister Mary-Firelight. 'I'll be all right.'


Sir Blaze came to a sudden halt and said, 'Ooh, look, a ruined nunnery.'

'This must be it!' said Flicker, striking out ahead of Blaze and Loungelot. 'Oh, I hope we've come to the right… Flame!'

As Flame appeared in the doorway, Flicker cannoned into her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

'Flicker?' she said, accepting the embrace, but she looked annoyed. 'I told Daddy not to send anyone after me!'

'But you must have known he would,' said Flicker, letting go of her and taking a step back. 'He's worried about you. We all were.'

'There was no need,' said Flame. 'I'm not a child.'

'Come on, Flame, don't be cross,' said Blaze, who was idly examining the claws on his fingers a few feet away. 'This is what big brothers are for. I understand why you came here, sis, but I do hope it hasn't made you forget your family back in Camelhot.'

'Of course not,' Flame said in surprise. 'Why on earth…?'

'Queen Griddle's not happy about you going off to learn about your mother,' said Loungelot. 'She's almost as upset as when Blaze left.'

'Naturally,' said Blaze. 'Mumsey loves you, Flame, almost as much as she loves me. You know, you're the closest thing she's got to a daughter. Eww, look, a horrid big spider on my tunic!' He brushed the creature away with a shriek and a grimace.

'Oh, honestly!' said Flame. She sounded exasperated, but no longer angry. 'This was just something I had to do - it's got nothing to do with how I feel about Stepmother Griddle. She must know I love her.'

'Maybe you should remind her when we get back,' said Flicker. 'So… did you get what you came for, Flame?'

'Yes,' said Flame, 'I rather think I did.'

'Smashing,' said Blaze. 'Now, how are we getting back to Camelhot? By air?'

'Let's walk for a bit,' said Flame. 'I've got a funny feeling we haven't quite finished with this quest yet.'

'We?' said Loungelot. 'I thought you wanted to do this alone.'

'Well,' said Flame, 'you're all with me now, so we might as well do it together.'

'Do what?' Loungelot asked suspiciously.

'I'm not sure yet,' Flame said, as she set off along the path back to Loitone.


When he saw the four dragons walking back between the fields, the pixie ran out from among the mass of yellow flowers, and stood in front of them.

'Come on!' he said. 'Tell me what you want! What you really, really want!'

'Oh no,' said Blaze, 'I'd forgotten about you.'

'I hadn't,' said Flame, 'and what I really want, Mr Pixie, is for you to tell me what it is that you've been waiting for.'

The pixie stared at her for a moment before answering. Then he said, 'How… how do you know I've been waiting for something?'

'Well, it just seems to make sense,' said Flame. 'It can't be any fun, standing in the flowers waiting for people to walk past and then trying to get them to ask for wishes, so I'm guessing you're under some kind of curse. There's a sort of… well… deep-rooted melancholy in the way you say, "forever… and ever… and ever", and so on.'

'Okay, you got me,' said the pixie. 'Years ago, I was sent away from my home to find materials to build houses with. When I got here, a dragon nun promised she'd fetch me some stone, and told me to wait. I've been waiting here ever since.'

'But if she's not coming back, can't you just leave?' asked Flicker.

The pixie shook his head. 'I'm stuck here until I get what I'm waiting for. The girl's right - it's kind of a curse. Stupid evil nuns!'

'I see,' said Loungelot. 'So you thought you'd trick unsuspecting travellers into making wishes, did you?'

'What would have happened if we'd succumbed?' asked Blaze.

'You would have been waiting forever for your wish,' said the pixie, 'just like me.'

Flame, looking sickened, shot a glance at Flicker.

'That isn't very nice, you know,' said Blaze.

'Hey,' said the pixie, frowning. 'I'm a pixie, and I'm cursed. You want nice, you're looking in the wrong place.'

'Hang on a minute,' said Flame. 'Let me think about this. What exactly needs to happen for you to be released?'

'Isn't it obvious?' said the pixie. 'I need a dragon nun to give me some stone. And one of you guys won't do - it has to be a dragon nun.'

'Any dragon nun?' asked Flame.

'Sure,' the pixie said, with a shrug. 'It doesn't have to be the one who made the promise. She just said one of the sisters would give me some stone.'

'But then there's no problem,' said Flame. 'There's still one nun left, and there's plenty of stone lying about. If I went and got her, and she gave you just a little bit of stone, would that send you home?'

'I guess,' said the pixie.

'All right then,' said Flame. 'Wait here. Er, I mean… I'll be back in a minute.'

She turned and ran down the path, then kicked off from the ground and started to fly.

'Yeah?' said the pixie. 'I can trust her, can I?'

'With your life,' said Flicker.

'Okay,' said the pixie, 'but what's the point? I've been here for like a century and a half. If I go home, they'll have built their houses long ago, and there'll probably be a whole new generation of pixies living in them.'

'But you'll be free,' said Flicker.

'And all the new pixies will love you and ply you with food when you tell them of your adventures,' said Loungelot.

The pixie shrugged. 'Yeah, I guess.'

Before too long, Flame landed on the path with Sister Mary-Firelight, who was clutching a lump of stone in one hand.

'My dear pixie,' the old dragon said. 'If I'd only known.'

She handed the stone down to the pixie, who took it in both hands, then promptly vanished in a shower of tiny stars.

'Sis,' said Blaze, smiling, 'you are an absolute angel. I never would have thought of helping the pixie. I thought he was just being a nuisance.'

'All the more reason to get rid of him,' said Flame. Then she turned to Sister Mary-Firelight, and said, 'Well, for the second time, Sister, what will you do now?'

'I shall go back to Loitone and live in emotional peace,' she said. 'Oh, I've just thought! Do you suppose someone made a wish with that pixie that Loitone would win city status?'

The five dragons all looked blankly at each other.

'Oh well,' said Loungelot. 'Even if that dratted pixie was still here, there's probably nothing we could have done about it. Now, can we please go home?'

He set off down the path. Blaze and Flicker followed. Flame made to leave also, but Sister Mary-Firelight touched her arm and said, 'You do still love and respect your mother, don't you, my dear?'

'Of course,' said Flame. 'Love is all about seeing past people's faults, and when it comes to mothers, we can learn from them too. Believe me, Sister, I know all about loving people with an over-abundance of patience. Goodbye now. And thank you.'

She squeezed the old nun's hand, and then hurried off after her companions.


'…and so you see,' Flame said to Flicker, under the night sky, as they followed Loungelot and Blaze onto the drawbridge, 'whichever way you look at it, it was patience that killed her.'

'So,' said Flicker, 'does this mean you've learnt that patience is actually a bad thing?'

'No.' Flame stopped walking, as did Flicker, and they turned to face each other. 'I've learnt that I was right about some things, but I've also learnt that a little bit of patience doesn't hurt. My mother believed someone was coming for her, and she was wrong, but the difference is that I'm betting on a certainty. I know you're coming for me, Flicker, and waiting a little longer isn't going to kill me. I won't try and make you push for it anymore. Just let's not stop talking about it like we did before, all right? I couldn't bear that.'

'That's fine by me,' said Flicker, 'so long as you don't start wearing that purple dress again. I like you the way I've always known you, impatience and all.'

'Oh, Flicker,' said Flame. 'I only did that when I was starting to think you'd given up on… well…'

'Inventing?'

She smiled. 'That's right. Inventing. I - AAAAH!'

Flame shrieked and shielded her face as a mass of colourful streamers fell onto her head and shoulders.

'Surprise,' said Clinker.

'Welcome home!' said Cinder.

'Surprise,' Clinker said again.

'Welcome -'

'Thank you,' said Flame, 'very much. Goodness, this really wasn't necessary.'

As she made her way into the courtyard, she saw that the walls had been draped in paper chains. There was even a banner hanging from the balcony, which read, Welcome Home, Princess Flame. Sir Burnevere, Sir Galahot and Sir Hotbreath were all wearing paper hats, and standing by a table filled with refreshments. Loungelot and Blaze were already with them, accepting their paper hats from Burnevere.

'Father!' Flame saw King Allfire on the other side of the courtyard, and she hurried over to him. 'What is this all about?'

'I told Cinder and Clinker to prepare the castle for your return,' said Allfire. 'I thought they'd just dust a bit, and maybe plump up your pillows, but… well, what they've done here is no exaggeration of our feelings. I'm awfully glad to have you home, Puff.'

'I'm awfully glad to be home,' said Flame, hugging him.

'Did you learn patience, my dear, as you wanted to?'

'Yes, Father, I did.'

'And did you find out anything about your mother?'

'Well,' said Flame, her smile wavering, 'I found out that you were right about her. She was very, very patient, and trusting too. I know that she was a wonderful dragon, and in the brief time that I had her, she must have been a wonderful mother. But at least I didn't grow up without any mother at all. Where is Stepmother Griddle?'

'She's in her room,' said Allfire. 'She'll be glad to see you home, Puff.'

Flame hugged her father again, and then went running inside. Allfire watched her until she was out of sight, then turned to see Loungelot standing over him with a paper cup in one hand and a large sausage roll in the other.

'My Liege,' he said, 'I have returned your daughter safely to the bosom of her family.'

'Indeed,' said Allfire. 'I am indebted to all of you. I must say, that squire of yours looked particularly keen to retrieve the Princess. His name's Flicker, isn't it?'

Frowning, Loungelot followed Allfire's gaze. He found himself looking directly at Flicker, who was accepting a fairy cake and a pat on the back from Sir Hotbreath, and wearing a self-conscious smile.

'Yes, My Liege,' said Loungelot. 'My squire's name is Flicker.'

'Splendid, splendid,' said Allfire. 'Well, I must to bed. Goodnight, Loungelot.'

'Goodnight, My Liege,' said Loungelot, unable to suppress the dark look on his face.


Flame pushed open the door, stuck her head into the room and said, 'Stepmother?'

'Flame!' Griddle dried her eyes, leapt from the bed onto her feet, and tried to look furious. 'You must never do that again, you wicked girl!'

'I'm sorry, Stepmother,' said Flame, venturing further into the room. 'I just had to go, but I'm back now, and I'm very glad to see you. In fact, I want to spend all day with you tomorrow. Do you think we could make a George for next week's bonfire?'

Griddle's mouth wobbled for a moment, then flew open, and she began to weep openly. Smiling, Flame went to her stepmother and put her arms around her.