Free Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising by Simon R. Green Page A

'The Forest Land needs the money more than I need a magic sword. Royalty has its responsibilities, remember?'
    'I remember,' said Julia. 'It'll be hard, going back to all that nonsense. Back to formal gowns, and etiquette, and Ladies-in-Waiting to stop you doing anything that might be fun.'
    'I'll be there too,' Rupert promised.
    Julia smiled. 'That'll help,' she said, and reached down to squeeze his hand briefly.

    Tall, majestic oaks lined the road they travelled, heavy branches ablaze with the bronzed tatters of autumn leaves. It was barely evening, but already the sun was low in the sky. Rupert frowned as the chill breeze stirred the trees; winter seemed to be coming early this year. As if the Forest didn't have enough problems. . . He shook his head slowly and breathed deeply, savouring the familiar rich scents of wood and leaf and earth that filled the air, telling him he was nearly home. Home. The word roused many memories, few of them happy. Rupert reined the unicorn to a halt, and turned to the dragon.
    'Uh, dragon ... I think it might be better if you were to ... well . . .'
    'Make myself scarce for a time?' The dragon smiled, revealing row upon row of pointed teeth. 'I understand, Rupert. We don't want to panic everyone rigid just yet, do we?'
    Rupert grinned back at the dragon. 'Quite. They're going to find it hard enough pretending they're happy to see me again, without having to cope with you as well.'
    'Fair enough,' said the dragon. He crouched down, and waited patiently while Julia carefully dismounted.
    The dragon then moved unhurriedly off the road, stepped into the surrounding trees, and vanished.
    Rupert's jaw dropped. 'I didn't know dragons could make themselves invisible.'
    'We can't,' said a disembodied voice from far back in the trees, 'but we're very good at camouflage.
    How else do you think we find food? When it comes to sneaking up on things from behind, thirty feet of dragon isn't exactly inconspicuous, you know.'
    'Fine,' said Rupert. 'Fine. I'll see you later, then, after I've had a chance to sort things out with the Court.
    Oh, and, dragon . . . if you come across any small, fat, stupid-looking birds, don't eat them. They're a protected species, by order of the King.'
    'Too late,' said the dragon, indistinctly.
    Rupert shook his head resignedly. 'Ah well, it's about time we thinned out the dodos again.' He turned to Julia, who was waiting impatiently in the middle of the road.
    'If you've quite finished,' she said, ominously. 'It is getting late . . .'
    'Oh sure,' said Rupert. 'The Castle's just down the road; we're almost there.' He hesitated, and then swung down out of the saddle.
    'What are you doing now?' asked Julia.
    'Well,' said Rupert awkwardly, 'it'd look rather bad if I came back riding the unicorn while you had to walk. You'd better ride him the rest of the way.'
    'No thanks,' said Julia.
    'I really think it would be better ...'
    'No,'said Julia, firmly.
    'Why not?'
    'Because I can't ride a unicorn, that's why not!'
    Rupert looked at the ground, and scuffed some dirt with his boot.
    'Oh,' he said finally.
    'And what's that supposed to mean?'
    'It means he's thinking,' said the unicorn. 'Always a bad sign.'
    'So I'm not qualified to ride a unicorn,' said Julia. 'Big deal.'
    'Unfortunately, around here it is,' said Rupert. 'Unicorn, you've gone lame.'
    'No, I haven't,' said the unicorn.
    'Yes, you have,' said Rupert. 'That's why both Julia and I are having to walk.'
    'I suppose you want me to limp,' said the unicorn.
    'Got it in one,' said Rupert. 'And do it convincingly, or I'll see you're fed nothing but grass for a month.'
    'Bully,' muttered the unicorn, and walked slowly away, trying out various limps for effect. Rupert and Julia exchanged a smile, and followed him down the road.
    The crowding trees soon gave way to a clearing, a moat, and the Castle. Rupert stopped at the edge of the moat, and frowned at the raised drawbridge; normally the Castle was only sealed during states of