The Dragon's Apprentice: Part 6

By LINDA McNABB

He was so cold he couldn't feel his feet by the time he reached his small room. It was directly off the main stables and smelled strongly of houses and hay. A pile of leather straps lay heaped in a corner. Steffan would have to clean them now, it was his job anyway but Toby had done it for him to try and make friends. Toby sighed. It obviously hadn't worked.

He sat on his small, hard cot and rubbed his feet with equally cold hands. He didn't pack his clothes into the small haversack hanging on the end of his cot, instead he put them all on. Even then he was still cold.

Toby folded up the haversack and shoved it into his coat picket. He could hear the Master Groom yelling down one end of the stable so he turned the other way and left by a small door at the back.

It was only a five-minute walk to the castle's main entrance but Toby wasn't headed that way - that was for visitors. He headed south around the back of the castle to the entrance for the servants and merchants. The road to the front entrance was paved with magnificent marble slabs from the south and was a very impressive sight. The path to the rear entrance was a dirt track, which ran around the base of the castle.

Toby walked slowly along the top of the low stone wall marking the edge of the track and saw a cart had recently passed, leaving two ruts in the deep snow.

When the snow stopped a small break in the clouds allowed the sun to creep through. A glint over the castle courtyard caught Toby's eye and he stopped to squint into the weak evening sun.

A pale dragon was flying in lazy circles around the perimeter of the courtyard, prevented from going further by a thick chain around one leg. Klel was looking a little better today and Toby smiled. Lately Klel had been a dull orange colour which showed his health wasn't good. The winter had been long but he should get better as the warm weather arrived. Klel loved the sun.

It had been several days since he's seen Klel and Toby was keen to talk to his friend. He was so engrossed in watching Klel he didn't notice three older boys come silently out of the trees ahead. One of them jumped onto the wall and Toby nearly ran right into him.

'We want a word with you,' Steffan yelled as he pushed Toby off the wall and jumped down to join his friends, Nevan and Roggar. His black, untidy hair was blowing wildly in the brisk wind. Toby sighed to himself and stood up, brushing the snow from his clothes.

'We wanna make sure you don't show your face around the stables again,' Nevan added, wiping a dirty hand across his runny nose. It was impossible to tell what colour his filthy hair was and Toby could smell him from several feet away. If anyone's smell frightened the horses, it would be Nevan's.

'You got what you wanted. I won't be around any more.' Toby knew it would be almost impossible to talk his way out of the fight that was brewing. Steffan was too thick to realise he'd already won without using his fists.

'Yeah, but you made trouble before you left,' Roggar added, pushing up his sleeves ready to fight. Roggar was taller than the other two by a head and they were both taller than Toby. It wouldn't be a fair fight but Toby was used to that.

'How?' Toby asked bluntly.

'Pa wanted to know why it takes three of us an hour to get the horses in when you did it by yourself so quickly!' Steffan yelled. He was always yelling. Toby wasn't sure if it was because his father yelled all the time or if he had a hearing problem from being yelled at all his life. 'Now he expects me to do it by myself and if I take longer than you he's gonna punish me.'

Toby almost laughed. He had managed to get back at Steffan without even trying. Unfortunately he didn't quite keep the smile from his face.

'Right, here comes lesson number one. Keep outa-my-life,' Steffan bellowed as he and the others advanced, stamping large holes in the snow as they walked.

'I don't want to fight,' Toby insisted as he ducked away from Steffan's fist then felt the second swing connect as a voice from behind distracted him.

'Need a hand, brother?' A deep, rough voice made them all turn towards the stone wall where two young men now stood. One was leaning casually on a sword, the other on a longbow. Toby touched at his swollen and bleeding lip, slightly annoyed that his milk-brother, Nathan, had interrupted his concentration.

'Now the fight looks more even.' The archer's voice wasn't as deep but carried a confident tone, and the glint in his eye said he was looking forward to fight.

'This ain't nothing to do with you, Cole,' Nevan complained sounding like a petulant child.

'Three against one.. I think that makes it our business, doesn't it Nathan?' Cole replied.

Publisher: HarperCollins.

Price: $14.95.

Age group: 9-12 yrs.


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