When in Rome or Finally The Rescue

What the heck is Rome?

"Not what but where darling," Ismie says as we walk into the cells.
I just realized that the Narrator always titles these entries in my journal. This makes me nervous.
"It's called foreboding. He is planning evil things for your future." Ismie says as we look at the collective of my friends and their new collection of jail-friends.

"Hi," I say waving at Max and Jane. "Miss me?"

"Well, it's about bloody time!" Jane manages to yell before Max slaps his hand over her mouth then makes an awful face when she bites his finger.
"It's been a few weeks since you left," Max says through gritted teeth.
"It's not my fault," I reply, " It was the narrator who went off to do other things."
"Who?" Max asks.
"That is some bloody fine excuse girl!" Grimm snarls from his cage. "I am no animal girl!"
"Look, could we speed this up, perhaps?" Prince Charming asks from his cell.
"You!" A troll screams lunging for the bars.
"Me?" I squawk.
"Not you, twit. HER!" The Troll snarls.
I look at Ismie, she shrugs.
"Me," She says.
"I'm gonna kill you!" It snarls.
"I think not." Ismie who twitches her wand.
"What are you going to do?" the garden gnome snarls. "DAMN!"
"Do we need the keys?" I ask, Ismie hands them over. I start unlocking cells. Max embraces me as I open his and Jane's. We kiss.







and kiss.







"I think we get the point," Jane interrupts.
Max lets me go.
I hand him the keys and make some oblique hand gestures.
Jane embraces me. We kiss







and kiss.
"WE GET THE POINT!!!" Grimm yells.
Ismie embraces me.
"STOP!" EVERYONE yells.
Ismie gives me a peck on the cheek.
"There's always tomorrow," she says and turns Grimm into a garden gnome.
"What did you do that!" Grimm squeaks. "Hey, I don't squeak!"
"Just wondered if it would work," Ismie says. "Dwarves resist magic so you just never know."
"Gnome's are basically Dwarves." Another garden gnome says.... it's the annoying one- can't remember his name.
"Hey! My name is Sproggut-"
Right the annoying one.
"Hey! I wasn't finished, My name is-"
"Well, it is about time! Did you get my treasure?"
It's Prince Charming.
"Technically no," I answer.
"Technically, you were supposed to slay the dragon." He says trying to look casual and authoritarian at the same time.
"Technicalities," I say thinking that he'll never pull off anything but confused.
"I can see why you are still single," he fires back.
"I can see why you are still a virgin!" I fire back.
"I am not a virgin." He says weakl-
"Stop doing that!"
Stop doing what?
"Making me look bad by assigning passive descriptions to how I talk."
Oh.
"Yes, oh," He says triumphantly.


"Don't stop," Max says. "This is good stuff."
Everyone is watching us argue.
"Oh grow up!" Prince IgotanegothesizeofCharon yells.
"I DO NOT!" He yells.
"Charon is pretty big," His Man-at-Arms remarks.
"Who's side are you on!" Prince Touchypants accuses.
"Oh, that's mature." Duke Ivan says from the doorway.
"You are such a virgin," I reply.
"That's the last straw, I will smite you even if you are a girl, Girlie!"
I punch him. He goes down like a pageboy at his first knife fight.
"I suppose, I will have to protest about that." The Man-at-Arms says.
We look down at Mister Glassjaw together.
"Nah." I say.
Ismie joins us.
"Nice punch."
"I need a Drink." Grimm says.
"You're going alone, if you think we are going back to the Parasite Inn."

The other version of the story was better

The Parasite Inn Barkeep appears at our table.
"I know you."
Ismie looks up in surprise, then she shrugs.
"Of course you know me," Ismie replies.
"No, I know you!" and then he points at me.
"I was in here a couple of nights ago," I said. I give him my best smile.
"You're trouble." He says.
I shuffle nervously. I glance at Ismie.
"It wasn't my fault, I tried to warn them, but the dwarf, the ogre, the prince, the-the ogre's wife she-"
"Nah, I like the other version better," the barkeep announces and cracks a big toothy smile.
I gawk?
Gape?
"I like the other version better as well," Ismie says.
I glance at her and try to discreetly shake my head.
"What other version?" The reassembled gnome Sprogsgutt asks.
Dammit.
"Where's the harm in that?" Ismie says and pokes me in the ribs.
So I jumped.
Ismie laughs.
The Barkeep laughs.
I find myself standing with a lute in my hands on a stage I didn't realize was even there. A spotlight falls on me.
Before I can form a coherent thought to protest, I strum the lute, then sing.
"Well, I'll tell ya!"
No, no, no, no, no, no!
"I love this bar."
Tobias Keith hates me.
I mean if I knew who Tobias Keith was, he'd hate me.
"No!" The Barkeep yells. "The other song!"
Nuts.
"I'm not as good as I once was?"
"That's the one!" The Barkeep yells.
Nuts.
Then Anne the waitress pops up at my side.

Me: "She said-"

Anne: "I've seen you in here before."

Me:"I've been in here a time or three!"

Anne:"Hello my name is Princess Trinity.
meet my sisters Joela and Bethany.
We're all feeling kind of bored tonight
and you're the only knight in this place
if you're up for a rescue, then we can put a big
fairy tale reward on your face!"

Me: "This in not going to end well."

Anne: "That's not the song."

There's a growl from the bar.

Me: "Lady! I might be wrong!
but I am not as good as I once was
I am going to need some more beer now
not long ago I was having a good time
I am not committing another crime!"

Anne stops looks at the barkeep, gives a shrug before slipping off the stage.
I take a deep sigh of relief, I can now escape.
The Ismie sweeps me off my feet and sings.

Ismie: "I could put my enemies down low
I could say them words real slow
I can probably love you all tonight
I might be brave enough
I am not as good as I once was
but I am evil when the going gets tough."

I am caught somewhere between blushing and screaming in abject betrayal.

There is applause.
Ismie, not you too.

Me: "I still hang out at this bar with my pal Ismie.
I've known her since we turned me into a from last summer.
Little did I know that it would be such a bummer."

Ismie: "Last night we had a few drinks,
got into a fight based on matrimonial demands!

Me:"Then things just got way out of hand!

Ismie: "I just had a great idea!"

Me: "Is this part of the song?"

Ismie: "I'm not as good as I once was,
but I can still spin a spell or two,
I'm sorry about the whole frog thing,
besides, that wasn't me, it was Witch Matilda Bleu!"

Me: "I'm listening, tell me true!"

Ismie: "Do you trust me, Charlie?"
Me: "Are we still singing?"
Ismie: "We can if you still want to."
Me: "The Crowd is getting ugly."
Ismie: "Hang on, I've got it all well in hand."
Me: "Could we just leave it to the backup band?"

Ismie: "Well, I am not as evil as I once was,
I could have toasted this place,
I would have roasted that guy's face!
My how the years have flown
done it all in a silken ballroom gown,
I could really hold my own!
But if they really want a song tonight
they aren't getting it without a barroom
fight.
Now quick as a cat let's get out of sight!"

and then we turned invisible.
All hell broke loose, chairs are flying, table smashing. At one point Anne, the cute waitress comes by wailing away at Sproggsgutt with a frying pan. shards of ceramic gnome are flying in all directions. There are elves fighting orcs, there are dwarves fighting elves, there are orcs fighting each other.
Ismie is sitting in her chair next to me laughing into her hands trying and succeeding at not making a noise. I am ducking around next to her as the chaos continues.
"When did all these people show up?"
Ismie considers for a long moment.
"I think it was in the middle of the second verse.

Then Duke Ivan's men charge in and arrest everyone in sight.
We remain invisible.

After they all are gone, we reappear.
"Well, that went well, don't you think?"
"I dunno...."
Ismie pats me on the arm.
"Let's go turn ourselves into the Duke Ivan the Horrendous."
"Horrible."
"I know it's horrible, I was just being facetious," Ismie says.
"I know, I just think that's a horrible idea."
"You worry too much."
"It's because I am not a witch, I guess."
"True but we can fix that."
Ismie smiles at me so sweetly that I get chills.


"I like the other version better," the barkeep says as we walk out into the night.

"What version is tha-" Sprogsgutt asks as the door swings shut.
"You know it's good to be a witch," Ismie says taking my arm.
I am afraid to ask.
"You shouldn't be afraid, my lovey."
Well, I am.
"I am going to take such good care of you."
Help!
Ismie laughs as we walk into the moonrise.

"Charlie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Roll Curtain.




"We are just going to the jailhouse, right?"
"Oh, we will get there eventually.

50 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes and Goblins: Attempt 15

So here we are.
Prince Charlie who is probably Princess Charlie.
"Princess Charlotte!"
"Shut up Max!"

Princess Jane who would like to be called Princess Emily.
"Plain Jane!"
"Shut up Max!"

Grimm the Grumpy, my aide-de-camp.
"No argument there."
"Shut up Max!"

Max the Scoundrel or as we like to call him, Mister Smolder!
"Hey, no fair! That's my signature move."
"Not working!"

Just the four of us.
So far we've lost two goblins, goblins exploding in air.
"And bouncing." And bouncing (Grimm seems to find this hilarious).
and Crikey, hot tubbing it into a moat.

I feel like I am missing someone.

"The Gnome, Cogspinner." Grimm says between sips of some homemade concoction he's mixed up out of canned beans, dried fruit and armor oil.
"Yer twitching again Girl." Grimm says.

Yes, but is it imagining that brew or is it that other thing....dammit I have already forgotten it!

"The Gnome."

Dammit the Gnome.
"Where is he, anyway?"

"Brewing this crap." Grimm says. '"Erm, got him chained up in the pantry."

"You left a gnome alone in our food supply?"

"What?" Grimm says, then burps.

"Aren't Gnomes, exceptional thieves and tinkerers? I ask.

Max is already running for the door.
We are both in the hallway when we hear Cogspinner cackling.
Jane looks up from the pantry door as we approach.
"It's locked!" She says as she tries the door knob.
There's an audible click then what sounds like a match being lit.
I dive tackle Jane pushing us both down the hallway.
"What the Heck Char-"
It's at that point the pantry door blows off it's hinges as a gout of blue flame billows out and around us. The explosion is deafening as the entire tower shudders.
I am deaf since Jane is screaming and I can't hear anything. I sit up to find a disheveled Max with torn clothing grabbing me as I somehow manage to keep a grip on Jane to drag us back down the stairs. I am vaguely aware the the top of the tower is now missing. I feel the rush of air as the younger dragon soars over us in a rush of scales and leathery wings.
Max stops, says something to us then starts gesturing madly.
Jane and I look back.

Imagine if you can the top part of our tower in flight soaring away into the sunset accompanied by a lot of flames, a smoking gnome clinging to something that looks like a stove pipe, tons of debris- tower blocks and a dragon in pursuit.
Soaring might be an elaboration.
"....wow that was one hell of a blast radius." Max observes.
Jane and I look at him like he is crazy.
He shrugs and points in the other direction.
As the tower, gnome and debris hit their apogee and then plummet towards the sea, I tear my eyes away from the doom of Cogspinner to look around.
Frankly blast radius might be an understatement.
There is not much left of the castle. I mean the whole thing was a ruin anyway, but what was left is now basically spread out in a circular field of collapsing stone, wood, walls, stairs and- could it be?
Dragon bits.
I know, kind of disgusting and I feel kind of bad since the momma dragon wasn't all that bad except when she was trying to eat us or burn us alive- actually I don't feel that bad.

"Woah." Jane says as she takes in that there is little left as the rest of the castle crashes down like a waves spreading out from where a very large stone has been tossed into water.
"Eww, is that?" She says.
"Yes, that was our nemesis." Max says.
"Make sure you don't lose track of that dragon's head." I say.
The two of them look at me with abject horror.
"What?" I shrug. "I need to give it to my dad."

50 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes and Goblins: Attempt 14

So, to recap: the goblins stole Crawley's chair and now he has to sit on the floor.
The only goblin to escape bounced over the way confirming Grimm's theory of elasticity on goblins.
We have almost been rescued once by a handsome prince with a non-competition clause.
We are still stuck in this tower with two annoying ravenous dragons.
We are really sick of canned food.
I am in love with a brilliant man who has no imagination.
Hey, give that back!

"Oh, I'm a brilliant man!"

"With no imagination."

"We'll see about that!"

I spend the next hour chasing Max up and down the tower until he trips over Grimm and I tackle him.
We roll around on the floor until we both surrender in giggles (from us) and grumbles (from Grimm).
Jane- I mean Emma comes in and looks down at the two of us lying on top of Grimm. She shakes her head and sits down next to me.
We sit up and try to look serious.
Grimm stands up and swears in a language I have never heard, but it sounds violent and bad, then glowers at me.

"This is all your fault!" and stomps out of the room.

"Was he talking to me?" Max says.

The two of us girls look at Max and nod.

Max hangs his head.

"I guess I need to apologize?" he says peeking up at me through his hair.

He is so cute. Jane giggles and then I burst out in giggles too.

Max sits up with a look of triumph on his face.

"Sonovabirch!" Grimm yells.

We all look to where he just left.

"You're dead now Max." Jane says

"Yeah-" I start to say then Grimm starts cursing even more.

Curiosity overcomes all of us and we wander out to the window (well one of them).

Grimm is leaning out the window and yelling curses at the ground.

"Where's Crawley?" I ask looking around.

"Getting inspired by goblins!" Grimm yells "You bastard, I hope you burn!"

We crowd to the window and look down.
There is nothing new down there. I mean there is the rubble, the remains of bones and zeppelin, and wagons and a bathtub and...
The tub gets up and moves slowly for a while in the general direction of the gate.
Grimm keeps swearing until he realize that we are just looking at him.
"What?"
"Well, it is a pretty smart plan." Max points out.
"Here comes the dragon." Emma says (hey! I am just trying the name out.)

Sure enough, in comes teenage dragon who belches a gout of fire which flows over the cast iron tub. No visible result. The tub takes the blast well, then rises a bit and continues scooting out of the courtyard.

"Well look at that." Max says.

"Here comes mama dragon." Emma says.

Sure enough mama dragon leaps over the teenage dragon lands on the tub and grasps at it.
To it's credit the tub refuses to be crushed and the mama dragon's claw fails to fin purchase on it's smooth bottom. The legs have been removed.

"Well look at that." Max says.

The mama dragon stands up looks at the tub and shrugs. The tub scoots away. Both dragons sit there are watch it scoot out onto the drawbridge.

"Uhoh." I say.

Both dragons breath fire onto the drawbridge; for a moment, it looks like nothing happens, then a perceptible crack is heard, then a groan.
Crawley gives a scream of terror, rolls the tub over and makes a run for it even as the drawbridge collapses into splinters about the vastly deep chasm. Crawley and the tub pause as if for effect before plunging down into the abyss.
Crawley screams all the way down.

"Well look at that." Max says.

So much for escapae attempt number 14.

50 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes and Goblins: Attempt 11-12

Attempt 11: Create a distraction while the rest of us sneak out the back.
Problem #1: Who will be the distraction?
My solution is that it should be Crikey.
Crawley's suggestion that it has to be Jane, since she is the princess and the only person the dragons won't incinerate on the spot.
Jane says it should be the goblins since it's really their fault she's there in the first place.
Max say it should be Grimm since dwarves smell like old beer and taste like sour milk.
Grimm shoves his hand in Max's mouth and says are you sure that's sour milk.
Max is now throwing up. He stops long enough to curse all dwarves.
The goblins say it be me, since I am a better princess than Jane.
Someone speaks up and says that there is no back door.
We all freeze in place and turn to the speaker who is apparently in the closet.
The someone stops speaking (high pitched voice like a small child or maybe a grandparent or both).
The room gets very quiet.....Max and Grimm sneak over to the closet, count to three and then push it over.
There is a high pitched squeak, a crash and then a muffled voice says:
"Real mature- guys."
The goblins suddenly have rusty knife and hooked daggers out.
"Gnomes." They both say.
"Looks like we found our distraction." I say.

It's just one gnome. (think dwarf no beard, not much hair).
He crawls out of the closet, once Grimm opens it to let him out.
He has Jane's bodice on.
"It's not what it looks like." He says holding up his hands.
"You mean you're not a gnome?" Max asks.
"You mean you're not a cross dressing perv?" Jane asks.
Crawley screams inarticulately and goes for his throat, Grimm trips him.
Grimm grunts and says "Smells like a goat more than a gnome."
The Goblins go for the gnome who uses dazzle on them and the goblins wanders around in a daze.
What is dazzle you might ask?
I have no clue, one moment, two bloodthirsty gnomes are racing towards the gnome and then the gnome throws up his hands (well his arms which are really short) and BAM. smoke and bubbles appear out of thin air and the goblins wander around in a stupor.
You asked.

One hour later, Cogspinner, the gnome, is dangling by a rope with a big sheet tied to him reading
"Eat Me." painted on it in tomato juice.
The rest of us are sneaking out the "back" which turns out to be a dead end.
"Fuking Gnomes." Grimm say staring at the collapsed passage out. Looks like the Zeppelin crushed it when it crashed and exploded.
"Told you so." Cogspinner says behind the Sodimir (who jumps out of his skin...figuratively- because otherwise that would be so much eww).
We all turn to glare at the Gnome.
We all stare at the Gnome.
My brain starts screaming.
(No distraction).
"Fuke!" I whisper.

What follows is a mass charge back to the tower.
There is a lot of noise, stumbling, tripping, crying and pushing....mostly by Crawley and the goblins.
But we all make it back inside.
"Fuking Gnomes!" Grimm growls.
Cogspinner shrugs and heads for the pantry with a can opener.

My brain starts screaming.
"Where are the dragons?'
Everyone stops and looks at me.

We go look.
There is a knight fighting the younger dragon- and winning. There is a pack of men-at-arms fighting the other dragon and losing but slowly.
We are at the upper door (the one with no landing).
The Knight stops with his sword locked in the claws of the dragon and looks at us.
We gape at him. He shrugs apologetically and whistles to his men.
One of the men-at-arms disengages and rushes over to the knight.
The knight points at us.
We wave.
The man-at-arms does a facepalm.
What is a facepalm?
let me show you.

The Knight holds up his hand to the Dragon with one finger up in the universal sign of "wait a minute."

The Knight smacks the man-at-arms on the back of his helmet. There is an audible clang.

The Knight sheaths his sword, and shrugs, whistles to the others who desist in their attack and apologize to the rather confused dragon. They walk over to the knight, who turns to us and says.

"Sorry, didn't realize you were already spoken for already, my lady."

He bows and turns on his heel and marches away out of the castle.

The man-at-arms hurries after apologizing.

"Sorry, my prince, our intel assured us that she wasn't rescued yet." 

"Obviously, it was bad intel!" The knight/prince says before disappearing from view.

"Well Fuke." I say.

There is an audible sob from Jane.

So there you have it.

Attempt 11- total fail.

Attempt 12 (the rescue) or as I put it. The Epic Fail.

Jane turns to me, tears on her face and says.

"This IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Then she runs away bawling.

Well crying. That's how Max tries to sell it.

I'd say blubbering.

As it turns out, I get to be the one to go comfort her as I am the only other female.

I would have made Cogspinner do it since he might as well be female....but she hates him more than she hates me.

"Jane?"

I find her in her room. she is huddled in the far corner head on her knees sniffling.

"Go away/" she says trying not to sob again.

"I would but no one will let me out of this room until you forgive me...or kill me."

I go over and sit down next to her. 

She looks at me and I can see she is not really mad at me.

I put my arm around her and she leans her head on my pauldron. Then it hits me.

It's the Fuking armor!

"I think I need some help getting this armor off."

Turns out to be a liberating experience for both of us.

Without the armor, I turn out to be a girl like her. She finally relaxes and a giggle escapes her lips as she gets what I just got.

"It was the armor that killed the rescue." she says quietly while smoothing out my shirt.

I take off the shirt and pants as Jane blushes.

"What?" I ask.

"You are so pretty without all that steel." She says looking at me.

I blush right down to my toes. No one (other than my mother) has ever called me pretty before.

"Can I try on one of your dresses?"

Jane laughs and the moment of admiration goes away as we go to her wardrobe and look through her dresses.

Turns out, we are almost the same height and shape. 

It feels weird wearing a dress. For one thing, I feel the breeze on my legs and- well if you are a guy, try on one sometime or get a kilt if you are too manly for a skirt/dress.

I feel pretty and I am okay with that.

What's more, I have a best friend and coconspirator now. 

50 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes and Goblins: Attempt 4

Parachute/glider.
Breakfast.

"I know, lets make a Parachute!" I announce to all gathered eating something called Canned Hash (which looks disgusting but if you get past the salt and graininess, it is really disgusting but edible).

"What is a Parachute?" Max asks.

"Seriously?" Then it hits me that a parachute is one of Ralph's inventions. So I explain it.

"A parachute is a device made out of cloth-" I began.

"Ooh, like our bed sheets?" Jane interjects.

"Yes! And you gather the corners and tie them with ropes and uh, add some more ropes to the sides near the middle. Then you take the other ends the ropes and tie them to an object like a" I look around trying to remember what Ralph said to tie them to. "a chair."

"And?" Crawley says.

"And we launch it out the door at the top of the tower and parachute down out of the tower."

"Girly, I see a problem here." Grimm says between mouthfuls, of course, he loves this stuff.

"What is that?"

"Assuming this cock-eyed contraption actually works what's going to keep it from going straight down the dragon's gullet?" Grimm adds burp to accentuate his point.

"I, uhm, it will drift away on the breeze?"

"Right!" Grimm says while cleaning out a can with his finger.

"it's a good plan." I grump.

In the end Crikey, I mean Crawley  volunteers to try this item out.
Two hours later, four sheets, 3 left over ropes, and one chair. We are at the upper doorgetting ready, we push the sheets out and Crawley steps out for the chair when a blast of hot air and fire comes up from below and the sheets inflate on the wind and the chair rips out of Crawley's grasp to soar out over the castle.

"Would you look at that?" Grimm says "It works"
Crawley looks sick as the chairachute (yes I wanted to call it that) drifts away

"We can make more-" I begin to say.

Then the sheets catch fire and the whole thing plummets back to the courtyard and smash on the stones into tiny splinters.

"Well, I might have overstated your success girlie." Grimm says.

Crawley still looks disappointed.

Max looks down, puts his arm around me, sighs.

"Well Prince Charming, back to the drawing board?"

I just slouch and stomp my way back inside.

"How about a glider?"

"No."

"How about we tie a rope to the \dwarf and swing him out as bait and when the dragon swallows him we ride the dragon to freedom."

"I think I am going to kill Max."

"Good luck on that stumpy!" Max says before making for the door.

"No!"

They both stop and look at me.
Then Jane looks in at me.
Then Crawley.

I just shrieked out no.

I am such a girl right now.
At first I feel horror
And then the smile comes out.
Max is grinning.
Grimm is not.

It is all good.

50 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes and Goblins: Attempt 3

We could make wings and glide out of the tower?

"That's idiotic!" Jane

It worked for Icarus and Daedalus.

"Who?"

Those greek guys who escape from King Minos buy flying.

"Uh, not to be a downer, but Icarus wings melt and he died." Max puts in.

Dammit, forgot about that stupid kid.

"Kids ruin everything." Crawley says.

"Besides all we have it a feather bed and no candles." Jane interjects

"Goose Feathers." Max sighs.

We could build a hot air balloon out of sheets and - nope I got nothing.

"No more fire!" Crawley screams and then bursts into tears and flees the room.

Battering Ram!

"Now yer thinkin'" Grimm says from where he has been sleeping in the corner.

So we search the tower.
Three floors later, two wardrobes, 2 tables and 3 beds and not enough wood to make a good ram.

How about the rafters
We all look up.
"Who's got an ax?" Grimm asks

Wait, I thought you had an ax?

"Well, I did, but I lost it when I was outrunning and jumping away from that Dragon."

Ohhhh, right. Nuts.

Well no one has an ax. I have a sword.

which proves to be a complete waste of time. Swords are not axes by any stretch of the imagination.

Grimm tries anyway. Chips my sword. At least he didn't break it.

We all stare at the rafter in anger.

"It'd make such a good ram." Grim sighs.

In the end we go to bed. except Crawley's bed is broken- it looked promising. he takes the bath tub.
Jane and I end up in her bed again.
Grimm takes the bed from Max with one well placed fart.
Max ends up on the couch.
So do I since Jane snores.
Max and I snuggle down on the couch.

"Your feet smell."

"You could sleep up here with me instead of that end to end, foot to head approach you are trying." Max  says and waggles his eyebrows at me.

His eyebrows are a lot more attractive than his smelly feet.
So we end up snuggling face to face in each arms.

Max gives me the smulder.
I shove him off the couch.

"What?" Max stares in shock.

"That looks is trouble." I say and a giggle escapes.

"It's always worked for me in the past." Max says as he tries to climb back onto the couch.

"Until you tried it on me....wait have you used it on Jane?'

"Yes, I mean no- I mean...I don't know what I mean..." Max looks very cute right now kneeling by the couch.

"It didn't work on her either did it?"

Max slumps and huffs in a very charming way while scowling at the same time.

"No."

I could kiss him right now but I don't.

I lean back and star at the rafter and contemplate my need to kiss him.

After a moment, I look back at him to invite back into my arms and find him asleep, his head leaning back against the couch.

Nuts.

50 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes and Goblins

Attempt #2
Rope ladder.
Problem not enough rope.
also it's flammable as max who is currently 40 feet down just found out.
Imagine if you will:
I mean it, imagine it.
Jane, Grimm and Myself peice together six pieces of rope, sheets, 2 belts and one nightgown (I am not judging)
"Dammit all I loved that nightgown!" Crikey Crawley whimpers as Max prepares to descend.

"Relax Crikey." Max says in a placating tone. "I am sure it won't come to harm."

Famous last words.

So down Max went as we struggle to lower him.
Forty foot later, we ran out of rope.
"It's only another 60 or so foot! Jump!" Grimm yells.

"Funny." Max yells back.

"Try swing for that ledge!" I yell.

Max starts swinging out for a ledge some 25 feet away.
We watch him run sideways along the tower side and jump out into space and swing out and up and miss the ledge. On his way back, his shadow alerts the Dragon- let's call him Fussypants.
Fussypants snorts out a fireball which misses Max.

"Ha you missed!" Max yells and laughs.

"Did not." Fussypants yells back.

"I am still her, very unlit." Max retorts.

"Uh Max?" I call as Jane starts screaming.

"Oh crap." Max says and starts a hasty assent.

Crikey's Nightgown is ablaze.
Then the first rope is aflame and the others soon catch fire.
I have never seen a man run straight up a tower wall until today.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Max yells as he rapidly ascends and actually makes it into my arms before the whole rope thing turns mostly to ash in our hands and we drop the remains into the courtyard.

Max and I look down.
Crikey is crying, so is Jane.
Grimm is guffawing.
well scratch attempt number 2.

50 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes and Goblins

 Ralph, our Court Wizard once told me that there were 50 ways to leave your lover. I was 13. When he said it he was musing with these strings hanging out of his ears attached to a tiny box he held in his hands. When I asked Mom about it she said it must be a magical device like a scryer or fortune teller's ball that gave him secrets that had kept our kingdom of Stonehaven safe from the multitude of mistakes that my Father, the king kept making. Mom was pretty miffed with Dad at that point....
Anyway, when I was 17, I asked Ralph about it hoping to gain some insight into why everyone loved Prince Hal but no lady or princess had professed her love for me...
I know what you are going to say and no, I am not into girls but I am a Prince and these are things I thought Princes must be and as far a Ralph was concerned- I considered it something a Prince should know about... I mean escape plans.

To put it briefly, I was in a bit of a pickle, I mean, besides being stranded with a cute guy, a decent although a bit annoying princess and a conman who was probably less then trustworthy. I really need to get out of here, slay a dragon and take Princess Jane back to Stonehaven and show my twit of a father that I was as good as any prince.
Fine. I have issues. Half the time I don't know whether I am a Prince or a woman and frankly it's driving me quite mad.
Also Max.
I mean Max is driving me quite mad. He keeps giving me the "smolder" and while I have thus pretended that it's not appealing my insides melt into this puddle of goo almost every time. Like yesterday, we went down to the bottom of the tower to see if we could get the door at the base open, It's locked. Apparently this Goblin called Snargle has the key but he's been relocated to Upper Arctica and no one has been able to remind him of this fact. I had this idea we would use my sword to pry out the nails in the boards holding the door together.
First, I let Max try -cause he's a guy and guys always have something to prove to me. He failed, turns out that while he's a guy, he's not a "beefcake" and who should expect such a debonair rogue like him to be.
This is when he gives me the smolder.
I laugh in his face and snatch my sword away from his hands.
I try to pry open the door, and fail although I make a good show that I am only getting started.
Then I get Mister Debonair to join in on the fun and we grunt and groan and strain and suddenly I find that we are facing each other and our hands are touching on the sword and our faces are inches apart and I can smell his sweet breath on my nose and he gives me the smolder.
I must have gone soft in the eyes because he puckers up and tries to kiss me.
I panic and head butt him.
"Ow!" Max yells and stumble back his lip swollen and red where he bit it when I slammed my forehead into his mouth.
"You crazy-" he stops and just glares at me as I try to not look flustered.

"If ye think that's bad, see what she does when you try to pinch her ass!" An all to familiar voice pipes from the now open door.

I spin around, drop my sword and gape at Grimm who stands in open door.

"Grimmy!" I yell and fling myself into his arms.

Well, that was attempt number 1.
I mean it worked, not that Max and I got the door opened but that Grimm found out that you can open the door from the outside but not the inside (who makes doors like this, I mean besides Gnomes and Goblins and somebody Ralph calls "Call Center Owners?")
This was astounding news, or it would have been- save that in my relief and excitement at seeing Grimm alive and us stumbling around as I hugged him we stumbled into the doorway and it slammed shut behind him.
Totally his fault.

"Of course, it's MY fault." Grimm says as the three of us gaze at the re-locked door.

7 Ways to Escape your Lover, a Dragon and a bunch of Damnable Gnomes Intro

The Good News!
1. Max took off the dress and put on his regular "adventuring clothes, whitish shirt, blue leather vest, and pantaloons (pants) forest green, boots and bracers (some men look good in bracers)

The Bad News!
1. Max left the room and changed in private. Not that I think he's got a hot body or nothing...

The Good News.
1 Princess Buttercup wants to be called Jane for a while, I don't personally blame, coming up with all those mispronunciations while fun was exhausting....
2. Crikey says that there might be a back door to this place.
3. The screams of terror and roars of rage have gone silent outside.

The Bad News.
1. Jane is actually somewhat likable when she isn't being all princess buttercuppy. I was enjoying hating her.
2. Crikey is mad that I won't stop calling him Crikey and now won't say where he saw this "door" of his.
3. The screams of terror and roars of rage have been replaced by an ominous silence.

The Problems with Princesses part 6

Once upon a time there was a rather shy awkward girl who became a princess when her mother married a king and they lived happily until Princess Jane turned 15 and grew boobs. Then her mother, the Queen noticed that the King could not take his eyes off her daughter's boobs. The reason for this of course was that the Queen was a decidedly A cup woman and her daughter must have gotten her breasts from her father's side of the family.
Now since, the Queen was a jealous person by nature and while she did love her daughter somewhat- I mean it was great when her daughter was small and cute but now she was taller and bustier and this just would not fly anymore. So the Queen suggested that the King find "their" daughter a prince to marry. The King, however, liked having the daughter around although he claimed it was for her personality.
The Queen was having none of this and contrived to have her daughter go into the Princess Rescue plan, ironically run by Gnomes (damn Gnomes)
I say damn Gnomes because they are little conniving cutesy con artists who are only slightly more trustworthy than Steam Goblins- which is to say not at all. (my opinion)
The Princess Rescue program would place a Princess or a maiden wishing to become a princess in a perilous place with a noble true love requirement (a NTLR) which pretty much guarantees a Prince Charming but not THE Prince Charming (he's taken). So when Princess Jane was entered into the Princess Rescue program, the Gnomes (at her mother's request) kidnapped Jane while she was in a drugged sleep after a dosed cup of Hot Chocolate (having had one of these despicable drinks- long story).
To add the insult to injury, they changed her name to Buttercup (legally I am told) because no one wants to rescue a Princess Jane. I can see their reasoning although I would have held out for something more exotic, myself like Esmeralda.
Also, what those Gnomes didn't tell anyone is that not only that the program was full but since the partnership with the Steam Goblins had gone south, quality had gone to hell. So, when Princess Buttercup was placed it was in a run down castle in a remote and actually very dangerous area (i.e. the prince charmings only hit the slightly perilous areas that are a lot easier to find a nice beautiful and easy to handle blonde princess) Oh and they dyed Jane's hair Blonde (did I not say that?).
So Jane Buttercup's life sucked, well it did when she woke up in a vast ruined keep where a grumpy young dragon lived (apparently Momma Dragon has not been out until today) Well good news comes in big bad packages- yikes!
Gosh this fairy tale sucks.
Then all of it got better by accident.
Max Rayder showed up one day to steal the dragon's treasure, this turns out to be 60 gold pieces, 6 gems, a tarnished crown and a case of Bubble UPside Pop. Max says it was supposed to be a dragonslayer sword and 600000000000000000 gold (how he planned to carry all that wasn't covered)
Max came with 3 partners.
1. Crowley (who I call Crikey) who was the idiot who trusted a Steam Goblin to tell him the truth that landed the four of them in this pickle. Apparently Crowley has agreed to pay for his mistakes by posing as Princess Buttercups
2. Mat Rimgar who made the mistake of volunteering to talk it over with the dragon about letting everyone go and now is dragon poop.  Yeah the Dragon ate him, max says it was almost whole so at least Mat didn't suffer except from extreme embarrassment since his last words were "Hey guys there's nothing to be worried about, I got this-"
3. Artee Dice. Well he's missing with the dragonslaying sword that may actually be solid gold. The last time Max saw him, Artee was hightailing it out of the keep laughing while the dragon ate their horses.
and Max the thief makes four.
So, here the rather sour Princess and Max and Crowley sit with a stack of canned food (gnome brand stuff) and 2 dragons and wait for their collective Prince Charmings to come get them out of this pickle.


and that would be me......
arrgh.

The Problems with Princesses part 5

Max looks over at me and gives me the Smolder.

That is to say, he hikes his eyebrows up an inch or so.

"That two fifths of an inch"

Wait.

"you measure that kind of thing?"

"Oh yes, this is a very exact science, the Smolder."

Okay, he raise his brows two fifths of an inch, widens his deep brown eyes a hair-

"two hairs."

Two hairs. purses his lips just like a duck and puckers up like a baboon.

"now you are just mocking me."

I am mocking him.

"It's cute like when Prince hal does it, but you just look ridiculous."

"It's the Princess Dress, isn't it?"

"Yes, what's the story with that?"

Max jumps to his feet, twirls the dress is a swirl and bows while waving his hand with a flourish.

"I am mocking the Dragon!"

I look at him, I look at Princess Buttercup,  I shrug.

"Which Dragon?"

Max gawks.

"You mean there's more than one?"

Yup.

Rule # 2, never underestimate a Dragon.

"That's more like Rule #14." Max says

"Really?"

"Yes,  I stole a copy of the Rulebook from Stonehaven last year." Max says..

Well that explains why Ralph sent me here.

"Oh boy."

"I am that magnificent!" Max declares with triumph.

"Actually the wizard that owned that rule book sent me here to slay the dragon but I think he really wants his book back."

"Oh." Max says and deflates back down onto the loveseat.

"Hello? I am still sitting here!" yells the Princess.

"What's with her?" I ask.

"Well." Max says. "She's really a princess who is waiting for true love's kiss from a prince."

Well, I am not kissing her.

"That makes two of us."

"I hate you both." Princess Buttercup says.

The Problem with Princesses Part 4

Crikey looks confused as he follows our gazes to the fourth wall which is to say nowhere since in a work of fiction the fourth wall is an imaginary line barrier between the 3 of us and you my readers.
For one insane second, I am afraid that my readers will respond but nobody ever comments on blogs like this, they just read them and chuckle and then look at me in this embarrassed way before slamming the door of his tower room in my face and telling me to go build a snowman somewhere else.
I love Ralph the somewhat Magnificent but he makes for a lousy audience.

"I am confused." I say as I gracefully flounce into a reading chair.

The Guy Princess gives me the most subtle of head shakes.
Princess Buttercup frowns down at me.

"Your chair?" I say.

"Yes." Princess Buttercup says and starts her own flounce towards it.

"Tough." I say and point at the loveseat.

Princess Buttercup opens her mouth and closes it and opens it and closes it as her face goes even more red.
"But-!" she splutters.

"I do not splutter!"

I don't know, it certainly looked like a splutter.

"Max?"

So Guy Princess has a name. Max.

"I well, I mean - I don't..." Max says then walks very ungraciously over to the loveseat and collapses into it.

Princess Buttercup pouts.

"I am not pouting! Stop being so mean!"

"You're pouting." Max says as he stares at the ceiling.

"Fine." I say and clamber out of the chair and plop myself onto the other chair which turns out to be amazingly uncomfortable

"More like sitting on a pile of logs" Max says.

I grumble and groan and slide onto the loveseat next to Max.

Princess Buttercup triumphantly stomps over to the reading chair and enthrones herself upon it.

"I don't STOMP!"

"That was a stomp." Max says.

"Is his name really Crikey?" I ask jerking my thumb at the old dude.

"MY name dear lady, is Crowley." Crikey says. "Shall I get your personages a cup of tea?"

He really said that.

"Imperially trained." Buttercup announces.

Crowley bows and leaves the sitting room by the same door Butterbuns came in.

"You just can't resist mocking me, can you?"

I admit it, it's fun.

"I hate you. I hate all of you."

The Problem with Princesses Part 2

First a Disclaimer. Max is not actually Flynn Ryder, although despite what either of them say neither are as good looking as either of them claim. Well there is the smolder, but -that is another story altogether. Max is shaking his head a lot at this point. Also Max seems to think that we as a "couple" are just like Rap and Flynn, frankly I don't see it. Now Grimm is nodding his head. Wow the two of them in agreement. Who'd have thought that this was possible?

But I digress.
Imagine, if you will. a dark foyer, the pitched sounds of Dragons roaring and people screaming- well I mean Luke, Wilks and Alex screaming and yelling and Grimm shouting and cussing but off in the background as I come to realize that I am, in fact in the arms of a guy wearing a silky dress sprawled beneath me. Our faces are nearly touching as I huff in deep guffaws of breath in relief at not being a pancake or a dead body at the bottom of a bottomless chasm- although I have to admit that the chasm would then not actually be bottomless.
But I digress. He, the guy in the dress has big eyes or they are just really wide right now.

"Dude, are you going to get off me, say, anytime today?"

Ah there goes the whole romantic notion of rescuing the Princess Butterbuns....

"Anytime would be soon enough."

"What?" Yes, i am so enraptured at this moment where I have met and by met, I mean, finally met the love of my-"

"DUDE! Not cool. Stop trying to kiss me!"

Is that anger or fear?

"Crikey!!!"

Who says Crikey anymore?

"Coming master."

Well, that explains why he is not a quaint antiquated princess, and thus just an obnoxious bossy pants. instead.

I feel myself being lifted by the arms backwards and up from the scrabbling arms of the Princess Butterdrop.

Soon we are all standing in the darkened foyer peering at at other, I can still see a guy in a silky gown that is pretty tight on him, Next to him is a gnarly old guy whose name is Crikey- I think. I resolve to wait until the Princess Butterbins says his name again before making a fool of myself.

"Crikey, but we need better lighting out here."

Dammit. Talk about ambiguity.

"This way master, we will retire to the sitting room." and the old guy who may or may not be Crikey shambles off towards the left and what turns out to be a beaded curtain. Very girly, I have to say and that is saying a lot.

"After you" the Princess Buttercrunch grumbles and gestures towards the curtain door.

"Ladies before Knights." I say automatically and then feel like a fool as there is clearly no ladies or knights present.

"Suit yourself." Princess Butterfinger says and then strides off without even the hint of a sway. Although there is a manly strut.

I do have to say that the Princess Butternut is very manly, I mean butch for a "Rescue Princess," I guess that would explain why he/she is still trapped in the tower here.

The Sitting room is well lit and this is definitely a guy in a princess dress, something is definitely wrong....

"Great, a girl in a knight suit, something is definitely wrong" The guy in the princess dress says.

this is not going to end well.

The Problem with Princesses Part I.

So after I got Grimm untied and helped the boys out of the pot we agreed that the best plan was to beat feet and go back to Ankora and buy a Dragon's head and tell dad that we were successful and never talk about this again although I am fairly sure I wasn't convincing since I had this big silly grin on my face the whole time.

Escape proved to be a bit harder than everyone thought since the "kitchen' was in a maze of warrens within the ruined castle - you know I never appreciated what a warren was until then? I mean you hear people talk about them but until you are lost in one it's just not the same kind of thing.

"Would you please focus, Lassie?"

"Shut up Rabbit Stew."

"I am going to regret not kicking you off that cliff, Lassie."

I am guffawing at this point. Alone, since the gravy soaked guards are edging away from Grimm.
I only stop when we hear the Dragons coming.
Yep, I said Dragons.
We run. I actually am fast for my age and size.
"It's because yer a stinking girl!" Grimm yells from the back.
"You're just jealous!" I laugh.

Given the fact that we are all about to die, i am deliriously happy for some reason. So happy that it takes me awhile to realize that I turned left and the men turned right. I am completely lost in this warren of caves, tunnels and stairs.
Wait, stairs means up.
So I race up stairs and come to admire that having long legs has some distinct advantages as Grimm yells
"Stairs! I hate bloody stairs!" from somewhere off to my left.
The stairs start to spiral upward and then I am on them as they run around the edge of a turreted wall going around a large hole that might be a tower. Well no where to go but up. the empty space is quite large but I spot a door going out at the top of the stairs going out. As I open it and step into the portal the air shivers around me and a large scaled shape rips up behind me soaring straight up through the space. The air blows my hair around and I stumble out onto a parapet above a courtyard.
"Dammit!" comes a yell from the opposite wall where there is a pallisade covering it. I catch a glimpse of Grimm moving very, very fast through it, a few steps ahead of Kreos who is in full charge.

"Fuke!" I hear this below and glance over down to the courtyard where three brown figures are running in several directions as a large shape plummets past me and slams into the cobble stones sending everything shaking as Mom the Dragon lands in their collective middle as they scatter away from her. She is the biggest Dragon I have ever seen.  Which only makes two now, but I have decided two is enough. I do what any noble prince would do in this case, I almost yell to catch the Dragon's attention, then think better of it and head back indoors to avoid embarrassing myself with a silly thing like heroics.
One small problem, can't find another door.
After a rather fruitless search, I stop place my hands on my hips and consider my options.
That is when I hear an audible chuckle behind me
I say audible like a bullhorn being blown right behind me.
I spin around to find Kreos glaring at me with a bandage on his chin which is to say Grimms cloak is tied in place over my knick in his cheek.
I figure I have about 20 yards and 4 seconds to do something amazing.
I wave and stick out my tongue.
Says this for Prince Charlie the Brave, Say she's spunky when the going gets rough.
By the time you do say it I will be make dust down a random parapet wall headed for what turns out to be a dead end which is to say the wall stops in a gaping hole and the door I was aiming for is about 30 feet out over the abyss leading into a very sturdy looking tower.
For the first time in my probably soon to be very short life I just run faster and accept that I will never make that jump no matter what. At least, I will be long dead before I hit the gully floor and die bouncing off the rocks. Unless the Dragon catches me mid jump and bites my head off, of course.
I am at full run and jump out into space in armor.


My understanding of physics is limited to how far an arrow will probably go and how many times I can poke a bullfrog with a stick before he hops away.
In other words I jump about 8 feet and plummet to my death.
I hate everyone at this point.

Save the Dragon does try to snatch me from the air and misses catching me but manages to hit me in such a way that I am propelled in a fairly graceful arch back up and over the abyss right to the door which opens right as I reach it and I am face to face with a pretty surprised guy as I slam into him and we fall into the interior of the tower safely away from the cursing Dragon.