Chapter V

Jonathan’s eyes fluttered open to the light of sunset coming through the little window, which faced the west, illuminating the little chamber in which he had been sleeping. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, trying to recall where he was. As he pulled himself off the bed, memories of that morning came flooding back to him, and he had to sit back down, overwhelmed. For a moment, he thought it all must have been a dream; after all, it was so fantastic that it was hardly realistic. Where he was and what was in front of him, however, did not coincide with his idea of realistic, either. Still, that didn't mean that he really was a guest in the royal palace; such a thing was too good to be true.

As his mind cleared of the fog of sleep, Jonathan's eyes drifted over the room to which he had been taken by the frizzy-haired girl. He had been too exhausted, before his nap, to thoroughly examine his surroundings. With the rich tapestries hung on the stone walls, it definitely looked like the inside of a castle, but Jon still was not convinced. So, he stood up and walked over to the little window, through which all the sunlight was shining.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but it certainly was nothing compared to the astounding view that the window afforded. He was up so high! He could barely believe that the girl had led him up to such a height. Looking down, the people walking in the courtyard below him appeared to be no larger than the ants he had liked to watch as a child. He felt like he must be flying, he was up so very high. It looked as though he could reach out and touch the clouds, which were pink with sunset. What amazed him the most, though, was just how far he could see. From his vantage point, he could see the entire western side of Cavelnar.

For a moment, he imagined that he could see all the way to his family's farm, and a wave of homesickness washed over him. Just now, his brothers, Henry and Elliot; and his uncle, Jesse, would be finishing their work. His mother, Joanna; his aunt, Amelia; and Berta would be preparing the evening meal, while Rebecca would be occupying Tessy on the floor. His father, Frank, would be sitting in his rocking chair by the door, like everyday, and perhaps he would be smoking his pipe. Jonathan missed them all dreadfully. He hadn't seen them in over a year, and not a day went by when he didn't think of them. It was getting better, though. Recently, he had come to think of Sir Steven's as a second home. How far away it all seemed now!

Jonathan was so lost in his memories of home that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at the door. For a moment, he feared that whoever was at the door had come to send him away; after all, this was too good for him to believe that it could actually last. He did not ponder this for long, however; there was no sense in that. Instead, he walked steadily to the door and gently pulled it open, to find the same little girl he had met before his nap grinning up at him and holding a tray of food.

“Hello, Jonathan! Look what I've brought you,” the girl said brightly as she brushed past him and into the room. “I know you must be famished! I'm sorry I didn't bring you anything sooner, but we've all been so busy with preparing for tonight's banquet that it completely slipped my mind.” She set the tray down on the table beneath the window and turned to look at him. “Well now, don't you look nice after your bath,” she observed before climbing up to sit on the bed.

Jonathan blushed crimson at the girl's compliment. He was mentally frazzled by the familiarity of her quick, cheerful speech. He stuttered his thanks awkwardly as she grinned at him, her short legs dangling from her seat on his bed. Upon examining the girl, he noted, “Well, you look pretty nice, too. For a girl, anyway.”

“Yes, well, Nana made me take a bath too. I'm supposed to stay all clean and neat because we're having a big banquet tonight, but it's just so hard!” she lamented as Jonathan sat in the chair and began to eat his dinner. “And it's not like a bath makes me look so much better, anyway,” she added mournfully, “A bath can't make my hair stop being all frizzy and messy, and a bath can't make me any less skinny. Nana says that I'll grow out of it someday, but I'm not so sure she's right. Anyway, it's not like it bothers me that much... I lost my front teeth! Wanna see?” the girl asked randomly. Then, she grinned wide, showing Jonathan the space where her front teeth had been. He was caught off guard by her quick change of subject and, having nothing to say, merely ooohed and continued eating. She continued cheerfully, “I would show you the teeth, but Nana took them away. She didn't like it when I carried them around with me, because she said it was gross.” She pouted at this fact, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration. After a moment of silence to mourn the lack of teeth in her pockets, she asked, “So, Jonathan, where do you live?”

Surprised that she was letting him get a word in at all, Jon replied, “I live at the home of Sir Steven. I work in his stables, but today-”

“You work in his stables?” the girl asked, interrupting him, suddenly alert and interested, “Does that mean that you get to work with his horses? All the time?” After his confirmation of this fact, she continued enthusiastically, “Oh, how splendid it must be! Ah, to spend all day with those beautiful, elegant animals! It must be heavenly.” Now, Jonathan did not find it very heavenly or splendid to shovel horse dung all day. He kept such thoughts to himself, however, for he enjoyed hearing her speak of such an ideal situation. She continued blissfully, “I do so wish I could spend the whole day with horses. I love them so! But Nana won't let me ride one. She says I'm too short, but I think she's wrong. I'm plenty tall enough! Don't you think so?”

Jonathan did not know how to respond to this, for he, in fact, did not think that Lydia was in any way tall enough to be riding horses, but he did not know how to tell the girl that without upsetting her dreadfully. Hesitantly, he attempted to reply calmly, “Well, you know, Lydia-”

“You think she's right!” she interrupted him in anger, leaping off the bed to stand in front of him, “You don't think I'm big enough to ride a horse! Well you know what? I am big enough. I've grown three inches this year! And I've lost four teeth!” she fumed, her pain at his opinion evident on her face. She looked as though she was about to cry, and Jonathan instantly tried to soothe the unhappy girl.

“Oh, Lydia, it's not that I don't think you're not old enough or smart enough. It's just that you're so small, and I'm afraid that horses are so big that you'd get hurt,” he said anxiously.

“Well, it's not like that's my fault!” Lydia responded miserably, her eyes filling with tears. “It's not like I don't try to be taller, but I can't make myself grow faster! I mean, how old do you think I look?” she asked him, suddenly, eerily calm. Jonathan did not know how he could answer her question without upsetting her, but he didn't have to, because she continued before he could get a word in at all, “Most people think I'm only eight or nine years old, on account of my short stature, but I'm not. I turned eleven this past summer. Eleven!” her voice grew louder, and she was no longer so calm. In fact, she was growing rather upset again as she continued, “I'm already eleven years old, and everybody still treats me like I'm a baby! It's not fair!!”

“I don't understand,” Jonathan confessed as she stood there on the verge of tears, for he was too flustered himself to find a way to calm her. “How come you're so small? I mean, does anybody know?” Suddenly, he had a dreadful thought, and he had to ask, “Was it, I mean, did you have the plague?

“Oh, no, not the plague,” she sniffed as she wiped her eyes with a sleeve. “No, nothing like that.” Her answer brought him relief, but it did not seem to calm her much.

“Well, then why? Does it run in your family or something?” he asked impertinently.

She seemed to become almost angry at his words, but before he could take them back, she replied sourly, “Some people think so.” Upon seeing that Jon did not understand what she meant by this, she tried to explain by saying, “I grew up on the Western Islands.” These words only brought more confusion to Jon, and Lydia was growing quite frustrated with his ignorance. “Don't you know what they say about little people who're born there? They say we've got dragon's blood!” she very nearly shouted at him through the tears running afresh down her cheeks.

Jonathan was shocked at her words but still did not fully understand what she meant by her reference to the place of her birth. Even so, he did understand the insult of which she spoke; anyone from Bellen understood that. Dragons were considered to be a most primitive and savage race, and deformities or abnormalities were often blamed upon having the blood of these despised creatures. Thus, to have dragon's blood was a shameful thing, and Lydia's response to this insult was perfectly understandable. Jonathan felt great compassion for the little girl and felt compelled to comfort her. So, he pulled the child into his arms as she began to sob. “Oh, Lydia, that couldn't possibly be true,” he gently assured her, “No one who is so sweet and nice and bright as you could have dragon's blood in their veins.”

He was pleased to see his efforts rewarded when she lifted her face to look up at him hopefully and asked, “Do you really think so?”

“Of course I do!” he reassured her kindly, “I really, really do. I wouldn't lie to you. And I'll tell you what,” he added, “You may be a bit too small for horseback riding now, but if it's alright with your Nana, when you've lost all of your teeth, I'll teach you to ride myself!”

“Really, truly?” she asked him, and upon seeing him grin and nod, she hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shirt as she repeatedly thanked him. Suddenly, she pulled back to look at him, her face streaked with happy tears, and said, “Thank you so much, Jon. You're the best friend I've ever had!”

Jonathan was touched by her sincere words and her sweet, trusting embrace. He wondered how little kindness she must have met with in her life to make her feel so grateful for his friendship. He brushed the tears off her face with a hand as he replied tenderly, “Oh Lydia, you're my best friend, too”

Her face was filled with wonder, and she asked him in an awed voice, “Oh, really? Oh, Jonathan, do you really mean it?”

He was again moved by how much his friendship seemed to mean to the girl. It made him think that she really must not have found any real friends in all her life, and he was determined to show her that there were people in the world who would value her friendship, starting with him. He smiled at her and replied to her uncertainty, “Of course I mean it. I'm all alone here, and you're the only person who's taken the time to speak to me. So, yes, Lydia, you're the best friend I think I've ever had.”

She hugged him tightly again, as he gently patted her back. “Oh, Jonathan!” she said as she embraced him, “We'll be the best of friends! Best friends forever!” Suddenly, she pulled back from his arms to look him in the eye, and, very seriously and slightly hesitantly, she told him, “You know, Jonathan, I've never really had a best friend before. Have you?”

After reflecting on that for a moment, he had to reply, “You know, I don't believe I ever have, either!” He smiled at the way his words lit up her face, making her look absolutely adorable, the light of sunset glinting off the happy tears that streaked her cheeks.

Suddenly, upon glancing toward the little window, the girl nearly leaped out of his arms, appearing very flustered and upset, as she said, “Oh, my! It's so late! Oh, Nana won't be happy, and the princess will be so cross! I'm sorry,” she addressed him apologetically, “But I've got to go. They'll want my help, what with the banquet tonight, there's bound to be lots to do. They'll be wondering what's taken me so long. I'd really better go. Nana will be worried, not that she ever isn't worried.” He stood as she began to bustle around him to collect the dishes from his meal.

“Well, thank you for the meal and for keeping me company,” he said gratefully as he held the door of the chamber open for Lydia, who was holding the tray of empty dishes. “It was very nice.”

“You're very welcome,” she blushed, “I'll be back in a while to get you for the banquet. It shouldn't be long now.” Then, she looked him in the eye to ask hopefully, “And you're really going to be my best friend? Really?”

He assured her again of his sincerity, as he shooed her out of the room, reminding her of all the people waiting for her help with banquet preparations. As he closed the door behind her, he had already begun to miss the little girl's company. He was nearly heartbroken at the thought that she was so lonely and unsure of his friendship. He walked back to the small table and sat in the chair, thoughtful and impatient for the banquet to begin.