2: THE DONKEY
Nick slept on a grassy bank for the remainder of the night, away from any suspicious looking trees. When he awoke he found himself face to face with a grey, hairy beast. Nick screamed and jumped to his feet before running. After a few seconds he stopped and turned around. A small donkey stared back at him, curiously. There was a large clump of dark, curly hair on it’s head.
Nick smiled slightly. A donkey might make his journey a little quicker. If he could catch it. Slowly, he approached the donkey.
“Here, little donkey,” he said, picking a clump of clover and holding it out to the donkey. “You don’t mind giving me a ride do you?”
“I don’t think so,” the donkey replied.
“Huh?!”
“I said push off. I’m not carrying you anywhere!”
“Donkeys can’t talk!”
“I can.”
“But- but-”
“Goodbye.”
The donkey turned its back on Nick and trotted away.
“Hey! Come back! I really need a ride!” Nick called, chasing the donkey.
“No! I’m not giving you a ride because I’m not a donkey!”
“Yes you are!”
“No I was a man before. A duke actually. Then the sorcerer Kevino turned me into a donkey.”
“What’s your name?”
“Howard,” the donkey replied, glumly. “I’m trying to find my way back to the castle where I met the sorcerer. I hear that the person he’s protecting has magical powers – maybe they can turn me back into my true self!”
Nick stared at Howard. Wasn’t princess Brianna’s castle guarded by a powerful sorcerer?
“This Kasino,” he said casually.
“Kevino,” Howard corrected.
“Right, Kevino. Is he protecting a princess?”
“Could be, not sure. Sounds right – a princess in a castle, evil sorcerer. I think the name began with a ‘B’”
“Princess Brianna!” Nick exclaimed.
“Brianna? Name rings a bell, I think, but-”
“I’m on a quest to find her,” Nick interrupted. “I want her to be my wife,” he continued, dreamily.
“What? And you’ve never even met her?”
“No, but I hear she is beautiful, with blue eyes and curly blond hair.”
Howard shrugged, or did the donkey equivalent at least.
“Sounds a bit strange, wanting to marry a girl you know nothing about. She could be ugly or she might be-”
“She’s a princess! She can’t be ugly! Brianna is the fairest in the whole land!” Nick argued.
“If you say so. Right, I’ll be off then.”
“Where to?”
“The castle, dummy! I don’t want to be a donkey for the rest of my life! Look at my hair! It was lovely before, long and wavy. And I had a magnificent room in the king’s castle.”
“But we could travel together!”
“I’m not giving you a lift,” Howard warned. “You’re too heavy! Anyway, I am a duke and dukes don’t carry anyone, not even princes.”
“Alright,” Nick replied. “I’ll walk, but it’ll be nice to have some company.”
“Okay then, prince – what was your name again?”
“It’s Nick, Nick Carter.”
“Nick and Brianna. Has a nice ring to it.”
“I know,” Nick replied, smugly.
The two companions set off for the castle. Howard, or Howie as Nick called him for short, knew only that the castle lay to the west. So that was the direction in which they headed.
For the next few days, they journeyed through countryside. The weather was hot and dryand they spent the nights sleeping in the cool grass or by sky blue lakes. One day, the road began to climb upwards and the number of fields diminished. They walked through a bare, dead wood full of thin sickly trees. The weather grew much colder and Nick sensed that they were walking through a land of hopelessness.
Late in the afternoon, snow began to fall. The icy flakes settled thickly upon the ground and Nick knew that they would freeze to death if they spent another night in the open.
As evening fell, Nick and Howie grew wearier. Their feet (and hooves) ached terribly. Nick forced his companion to keep moving. If they rested and fell asleep, they would surely perish in the bitter cold.
When they were just about to give up, Nick suddenly saw lights up ahead. He urged Howie onwards along the rocky track and, as the swirls of snow cleared, they found themselves staring at a tiny town. It was no more than a single street of buildings but they could see a sign for an inn just ahead. In the background, Nick could just make out mountains looming in the darkness.
They were saved.
As they entered the town, however, an arrow landed in the snow a few steps away.
“Who are you and what do you want?”
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