A Chinnie Affair Pt. II

"Retreat!" King Gordy saw his friend fall and felt his stomach churn and his heart stop momentarily. Throwing caution to the wind he dove for Sir JR, scooping him up in his arms and turning to run for safety. He never saw the degu aiming his crossbow.
He never saw the arrow flying through the air.
He never saw the supposedly foolish court jester dive in the way to be struck by the arrow in the king's place.
But Murphy did.

Murphy rushed forward to save the fallen chin, but was held back by a strong arm. He whirled around to face Prince Benjy.

"You can't help him now. Look, they're already dragging him away. Do you want to end up in prison beside him?" To Benjy's surprise, instead of Murphy striking out at him as he'd expected, the chin burst into tears and collapsed onto his shoulder. Benjy didn't quite know what to do, and patted his friend's shoulder awkwardly. Once again, a shadow fell over the 2 chins. This time, though, it was not the same, kind shadow as before. This shadow made them shudder momentarily and move a little closer to each other. The shadow chin grinned evilly at Murphy and then whisked away. The two chins quickly stepped back and looked away from each other.

"Thanks" Murphy muttered gruffly, wiping his nose with his paw.

"Aw, nothin'!" Benjy retorted. Then he grinned, dispelling the awkward moment.



"Mother, if I MUST be forced into this horrid lifestyle, might I at least be allowed the lady of my choice to wait on me?" Princess Bumpster laid down her brush and turned to face her mother with an elegant swish of silk.

"I suppose, dear." Queen Helen was busy trying on a pair of emerald earrings and not paying much attention.

"Good! I will have Nibbles notified immediately."

"Nibbles, dear?" The Queen looked surprised. "Why, wouldn't you rather have a younger lady, one closer to your own age?"

"No! You said any and Nibbles it shall be!"

"I'm sorry, daughter, but you will just have to choose another. You see, Nibbles is expecting. She isn't to leave my care until the little ones have arrived."

Princess Bumpster stamped her foot. "But Mother! You would protect a wench of a chin who is to have an illegitimate litter?"

"Of course not, dearest! Whatever made you think that? Why, Nibbles and Sir JR have been married for almost a year now! They had invited us to bring you to the wedding, but back then you were a little chin who cared nothing for romance and were content to romp with your baby brother."

The princess could not contain her shock, and struggled to keep her jaw from dropping and her paws from clenching into fists. She daintily and VERY carefully smoothed her violet skirt. "How lovely for them both!" she forced with a gracious smile. "If you'll excuse me, mother, I have the most dreadful headache."



It was a lovely, sunny day. Sammy had come to take Izzy for a picnic by the sea, and Lizzy was hanging up laundry to dry on the clothesline beside the house. A stranger chin stared longingly at the cozy little cottage and the pretty young chin. Feeling eyes on her back, Lizzy, turned around. Seeing the stranger at the gate, she drew back a bit, but realizing it was broad daylight and Izzy and Sammy would be home soon, she relaxed, smiled, and waved. "Good day, sir!"

The chin looked astonished. "What are you waving to me for? I'm just an old bum!"

Lizzy was surprised, but her heart went out to the poor chin. She looked closer and noticed his raggedy clothes, worn-out looking paws, and gaunt face. "Would you like to join me for some lunch?" she called.

The chin looked hesitant, but quickly agreed. "I would love to!" He opened the gate and stepped inside. He wiped his grimy hands on his grimier pants, and held out a paw to shake Lizzy's hand. "I'm Snapdragon."

"I'm Lizzy," she replied, shaking his hand. "What brings you to these parts?"

"That's a very long story, I'm afraid." The two chins decided to go inside and prepare lunch as they talked. Soon the two were preparing food and chatting away as if they'd been friends for years.



"Well, Bamboo? How are we going to get out of this one?" Drizzt asked, peering down at the degus below. The net the 2 were hanging in swayed gently back and forth. "Hey, wait a minute, I have an idea! Help me chew a hole in this side of the net." The two busily chewed and soon there was a hole just big enough for a chinchilla to squeeze through. "OK, now do you see that branch over there? Help me rock the net!" They rocked back and forth, and soon the net was swinging like a pendulum. Drizzt squeezed almost all the way out the hole, then as the net neared the branch, he leaped, managing to grab hold of a pine cone and scrabble up! "Give me your hand!" he called. Bamboo looked down fearfully, then scrabbled out of the hole and at just the right moment leapt over to the branch. He sailed right over Drizzt's head!

"Help!!!" Bamboo cried. Fortunately, he smacked into a branch on the tree behind Drizzt, just a little farther down, and clung to it for dear life. Drizzt hopped onto the lower branch and grinned down at the other chin, then grabbed his hand and pulled him up to safety. "Well, now what?" he asked Drizzt, brushing bits of bark out of his fur. "Oh, yuck, I'm covered in sap!"

"That's it!" Drizzt slapped his friend on the back. "You figured it out!"

"Figured what out? That I'm covered in sap?"

"No! How we're going to get down from here!" Drizzt carefully inspected the tree. He found a nice, sticky, sappy spot and rubbed his hands in it, smearing it on his feet. "Come on, get ready!"

Bamboo copied Drizzt's motions, but wondered what on earth the chin was doing. He quickly figured it out, though, when he saw the other chin carefully climbing down the tree, using his natural chinnie climbing abilities and the extra stickiness of the sap to help him keep from falling. He grinned and followed him down.

Just as they got to the bottom, they broke into a run and dove into some tall grass. With their poor eyesight, it would be extremely difficult for the degus to find them. The two chinnies very quietly snuck away, crouching low to the ground. They reached an open clearing and broke into a run, pleased with their success and VERY eager to find someplace to dust off their paws!



"We know who you are." the intimidating black degu leader King Midnight glared down at Moe.

"So what? You know that I'm the king's court jester. Big deal!" Moe glared back at the king from his forced kneeling position and clenched his fists tightly around the chains that bound him.

"No, we also know that you've been a spy, working together with the rebel Dark Elf Drizzt...and that you know about me." A formidable looking black velvet chin stepped out from the shadows where he had been lurking. A black patch covered one of his eyes and he wore a long, dark gray cloak.

Moe stared defiantly at the chin. "Yes, I know who you are. And I know what you've been doing! You're a traitor to all chins and when I get out of here, I'm going to tell the king everything!"

"Everything?" the evil-looking chin laughed, a harsh, throaty sound. "My friend, you don't know the half of it."



Queen Helen and Lady Nibbles were out walking in the garden when they saw them. The king was pushing Sir JR out towards the women chins in a large, awkward wheelchair. "JR!!!" Lady Nibbles ran out to meet them. Sir JR was looking very tired, and he had a blanket over his lap. One of his feet was covered with a cast, and didn't look healthy at all. "What happened?"

King Gordy stopped pushing JR's wheelchair for a moment and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "They got him. Shot him through the leg. Doctor says it'll be all right, and if we're careful he won't need to have it amputated." The king looked as though he were going to cry. "They got Moe, Helen. They shot him, and they took him away. Benjy says that the arrow was meant for me..." a tear rolled down his face as he continued. "Moe is trapped in an enemy prison because he took an arrow for his king. He had something important to tell me, and I told him I didn't have the time. I didn't have the time!" Queen Helen wrapped her arms around her husband and rocked him back and forth. "It's alright, Darling. You know Moe...he can get out of anything! I'm sure he'll find a way to come home to us."



Why did Murphy act so strangely on the battlefield? What is her connection to Moe and the shadow chin? Will Sir JR be allright, and how will Moe escape? What does the evil chin know that he doesn't? Will Drizzt and Bamboo get back in time, and just who is this stranger chin Snapdragon that Lizzy has invited into her home? For the answer to these questions and the conclusion to "A Chinnie Affair" be sure to watch for Part III!!!

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