Sofia and Hugo spent most of the afternoon being honoured by the trolls and eating as much as they could from the trays and trays of delicious food offered by them.
The trolls had offered Jalapeno poppers as the appetiser with a cream cheese filling, which was delectable. The meal was followed by Lasagna alla Bolognese made with beef mince and fresh lasagna sheets. The pair was impressed by the trolls' impressive Italian cooking. Finally, for dessert, they had crème brûlée, which had a crunchy topping. The meal was filling. It had already been 2 hours since they'd been there.
"Hugo, I think it's time for us to go back," said Sofia as she stepped down from her throne and expecting Hugo to do the same.
"Before we go, let's meet the dragons which I told you about," said Hugo as he too stepped down from his throne.
"I'm not sure," said Sofia, checking her watch.
"Come on, it won't take much time now that our lunch is over. Also, you won't get an opportunity like this every day, trapped in a fantasy book where you can meet mystical creatures," said Hugo. He said a quick apology to the trolls for not staying with them as their king and queen much longer.
"Fine, then. Where are yourmysticaldragons now, Hugo?" asked Sofia, now eager to witness a dragon from a book.
"Oh well, we must cross that wall, separating the trolls and the dragons. Follow me," he replied as he beckoned Sofia to follow him.
Just within minutes of being trapped in the book, he seemed to know the whole place. It was rather impressive, Sofia thought, following Hugo's lead.
The walk was longer than she had expected, and now they were at the foot of the gigantic wall which separated the dragon and troll realms. There was a huge gate at the centre of the wall with two guards on either side of it. They were dressed in heavy silver armour, which also covered their faces. Each of them had a sleek, sharp sword as if ready to strike anyone trying to pass through them.
Sofia glanced at Hugo, who seemed rather relaxed to encounter two heavily armed guards who would grant no mercy if troubled. "Ahem..., Hugo?" she said, trying to get his attention as he was lost in humming a tune just outside the gate, a few yards away from the guards.
"Yes?" he asked, turning to his side to look at her.
"Well, what's your genius plan to get past these guards? If it isn't anything logical, I suppose we will be dead on the ground before we even think of going back to the castle. They look like they wouldn't let anyone, human or troll to get past this gate." Sofia said, casting a nervous glance at the guards.
"Don't worry. The trolls have told me how to deal with them," he said nonchalantly.
He led her to the guards."Num conceditur nobis transitum? Ad tantum hospitium venimus, non ad nocendum."he said to the guards.(Translation: Is passage granted to us? We come only in guesthood, not to harm.)
He glanced at Sofia, who had an amused expression on her face. She opened her mouth to ask something, but she thought it was better to ask later. The guards looked at each other and one of them asked Hugo,"Dicite, quaenam sint nomina vestra et ex quibus terris advenistis?"(Translation: What, then, are your names and from which lands have you come?)
Hugo articulated proudly, his chin up high:"Ego sum Hugo, princeps coronatus regni Albingoriae; haec vero est Domina Sofia, princeps regni Enchancia."(Translation: I am Hugo, crown prince of the kingdom of Albingoria; and, this, indeed, is Lady Sofia, princess of the kingdom of Enchancia.)
"When did you learn such good Latin?" asked Sofia, amused.
"Well, I wanted to confide in my diary in a language which no one else could decipher," he replied.
The guards opened the huge gate, and both of them felt as if they'd been transported into an unimaginable world. There were tall and massive towers made of stone, probably 70 feet tall, which housed the mythical, fire-breathing dragons. They saw large puffs of smoke from the windows of the towers.