Dragons and Cross-dressers – Chapter thirty one
Arthur grumbled loudly.
"You don't have to carry me, git…"
There was a pause.
"You can put me down now…"
Another pause.
"Put me down, you wanker!" He finally snapped.
Alfred turned his head to face the blonde on his back with a confused grin.
"But dude, you were just complaining about having sore feet a few minutes ago."
Arthur now turned to Francis who rode a large brown horse. "And why does the Frog have a fucking horse?"
"Because ze kind cart owner gave it to moi and I can afford it, tu pauper prince." He said with a boastful smirk, looking down at the prince who clung to the knight's back.
The truth was that he continually groped the man for the entire journey and to get rid of the nobleman, the cart driver gave up one of his horses.
The trio had been dropped off at the road side and pointed in the general direction of the Black Bazaar. They had been wandering for an hour, when the prince complained about being lost and having sore feet and being tricked by the cart man and anything that caught his attention.
He was suddenly surprised when the blond knight swept him off his feet and gave him a piggy-backed. He knew the knight was still badly injured though, despite resting on the cart journey.
They had been on a cart for about half a week, arguing with each other constantly.
It was morning at the moment and dew coated the world around them. The landscape was peaceful, with high rolling pink granite hills, covered in small foreign mountainous plants and strange blue-ish green grass.
The air was thinner up here and moss grew in most places because of the dampness in the elevated atmosphere.
The only break in the rocky landscape was a huge, jagged mountain that poked out of the hills menacingly.
"Whoa! What a big mountain." The American marvelled slightly.
The prince tsked. "It's a volcano, you wanker." He pointed to the top. "See, there is a crater at the top."
Francis nodded. "Oui. And someone at ze pub did mention zat ze bazaar might be inside ze hollow of a dormant volcano."
"So how do we get in?"
"Let's try the door." The knight blurted out, pointing his finger in a random direction.
"Alfred, don't be so stupid! Where would there be a do~" The prince stopped when he followed the knight's finger to a single door standing near them and the volcano.
The three men looked at it in confusion. It just stood there in an open space. It seemed like a weird statue, just a door frame, a door and a door handle. They approached it slowly and cautiously.
Francis slid from the horse's back and circled the wooden door completely, showing that it indeed went nowhere.
They all glanced at each other puzzled.
Suddenly it swung open.
The men jumped in surprise as a four horse drawn carriage suddenly squeezed out of the tiny door. It appeared impossible but the large structure really did fit through the door. The driver just ignored them as he continued his trip forward.
The door closed automatically behind him
The nobleman opened the door and looked through it with a shocked face. The knight and prince joined him moments later. All three men were staring into the centre of a hugely massive, gigantically big cave.
It was the inside of the volcano.
"Sacréd bleu…"
"Cool, dude!"
"It's a portal..."
Alfred stepped forward first with the prince on his back, followed by Francis. The air smelt vastly different inside, a lot more musty and warm compared to the cool, fresh mountain air outside.
They could not feel the actually movement through the portal. It felt like they had simply stepped through a normal door. The wooden door shut quietly behind the trio.
Now that they were in the bazaar, loud yells and shouts filled the air of sellers and buyers.
The place was probably the size of a large city, all fitted inside a volcano.
On the ceiling were hundreds of large pale yellow crystals. Each one emitted bright white light like a mini sun.
"Sun stones!" Arthur pointed out loudly so he could be heard. "I've read about them! It's like having a sun in your house and they last for hundreds of years!"
"Really!" Alfred shouted back.
"Yes!…. And can you put me down already!"
"Oh right! Sure, dude!"
The prince slid from the back and stretched slightly.
Francis, who was pulling the horse behind him, was looking around the stalls. "'ow will we find mon dragon!" He shouted to the other two over the crowd's noise.
Suddenly a woman called out, beckoning them closer so they could talk normally.
"A dragon, ye want? Ah ye come ta the right place then."
She was probably in her 60s, hunched over from old age and wrinkled like fine leather.
She sat by a large wooden box covered with a cloth. On the cloth sat several bags of pink glittery powder. A wooden sign said 'Charming Powder. 5 silver per bag.' It was illegal to make people fall in love against their will.
"You know where they keep the dragons?"
"Yes, yes. Down this street, second left, third right, first right and straight ahead is the coliseum where dragons can be seen." She smiled sweetly despite her blatant illegal business. She hummed slightly.
"They says there is a new dragon today. Yup. A new dragon. I saw the moving house with it coming down this street. Rumours are that it's red."
She snorted.
"There never been a red dragon before and there never will be. Human don't get red hair and neither do dragons. It's a hoax, a rumour, gossip fer the foolish. Lots of people believing it though. Fools are gonna try and take it, they says."
They glanced at each other uneasily. They knew a red dragon existed and if other people were trying to get to him, it would cause more problems in the future. The old woman continued, obviously a gossiper who enjoyed a good chat.
"There is a new dragon anyway, even if it's not red. They gonna fight it today too. Wanna test it fer fighting. It's very expensive to see though though. Far too expensive fer an old lady like meself ta see…. unless… someone would buy my merchandise."
She gestured to the pink dust. Francis shook his head.
"Non merci, madam." He replied quickly, steering Alfred away who looked very fascinated with the glittering pink. The charming dust seemed to be drawing him.
She tsked but remained passive otherwise.
The men huddled in a tight group away from her stall.
"Right. We now know where we are going chaps. Once we arrive, we will have to find a way in."
"Can't the French dude just pay for us?"
Francis sniffed in offense. "I am a nobleman; not ze wallet… And non - I 'ave spent ze money I 'ad on ze clothes and medicine."
"Oh." was the short reply from the blonde knight.
"Let's follow her directions then, you wankers."
The three men made their way down the various streets, squeezing through thick crowds and avoiding the illegal stalls which sold strange items like unicorn horns, mini monkeys in a jar, man eating books, dark curses, fossilised phoenix feathers and captured leprechauns.
They eventually made it to the public entrance.
It was packed with people, pushing and struggling to get in to the infamous place. It was easily the size of a palace but shaped like a rock dome. The three stared at it.
"Bloody hell… How the fuck are we meant to break into this?"
"I asked ze people but zey say there is only two entrances. Ze public one and ze private one for ze dragons and traders. It is worse than zis one apparently. Heavily guarded so no one can enter at all."
Arthur scowled at this information. "Then how do we enter with hardly any money?" He snapped, crossing his arms.
"Oi! Is that you, Francis?" The men flinched in surprise. "Kesesesese!~ It is! It is! Mein gott!"
"Gilbert?" The Frenchman looked surprised but happy.
The two embraced once they got close to each other. The nobleman took that chance to feel up the albino's ass before he was pushed away.
"Ah Francis! It's been too long!"
"Five years, mon amis!"
"Kesesese~ You should hear vhat has happened to me!"
"Maybe later, Gil... I 'ave business 'ere. We can 'ave ton beer and talk, oui?" He was ignored though.
The German continued. "I got this huge debt and vas made a slave for 2 years! It vas very unawesome. Then mein bruder got me out of it. Takes after me in the awesome gene, you know."
The nobleman's eyes widened. "A slave? Tu? Non!"
"Ja! But I'm fine now. No more debt. In fact – West and I are rich. Kesesese!~"
He laughed loudly again and Francis smiled in relief. They were best friends after all, even if they had been separated for a few years.
"Ve own this awesome dragon arena." He gestured to the dome.
The smile froze on the French man. In fact, the other two men froze as well. The albino was clueless to the sudden tension.
"Mein gott. This is so awesome! I never thought I vould see you again. I've met Toni again recently too. He is still in business with some Italians, though you knew that. West is fucking the younger one. Ah, lil Feli is so cute~."
He suddenly noticed the pale, shocked look on his friend's face and the two behind them. The group was obviously travelling together.
"Francis?"
"Ah. O-Oui?"
"You know vhat? I vill tak you and your friends on a tour around mein awesome arena! Ve have a very rare guest from a Russian trader. A red dragon! Come on! I'll take you around back."
The three followed the German, still stunned at the turn of events.
They were lucky to have such an easy way in but it was unlucky for Francis who was going to either betray the dragon or his friend.
They now entered the arena.
(A/N – I mentioned earlier that France, Spain and Prussia were best friends here but have been separated for years. France didn't know about his friend's new arena until… just now actually.
I am finally out of hospital! Finally! 3 days was far too long for me! I know some people stay for much longer but gosh I was bored.
I couldn't use my laptop much because I got headaches and then there was that fire. It was on the floor above but smoke came down and set off the alarm on my floor. It was freaky when all the door suddenly shut, closing you in your room. You can open them with pressure. They were there to stop flames from spreading.
Luckily, I survived my stay in hospital.
Though I still have a chest infection and have to take yellow, banana flavoured antibiotics.
I wrote this really quickly compared to other chapters. I think it might not be as good though…
Review please!)