The King's Touch

The king circle encircled Fred's cuff between his thumb and four fingers and squeezed without exerting his full strength. *Pop*. The cuff opened and it and the chain fell to the ground.

Fred's jaw slackened as he looked at the king. The king shrugged his shoulders. Fred said, "I didn't think that the dragon would go to all this trouble if it were this easy to get out. Let me try the left cuff." Fred encircled his left cuff with his free hand, squeezed ... and the cuff stayed fast. Fred squeezed harder. The cuff stayed fast. Fred clenched his left cuff with as much strength as he could muster. The cuff stayed fast.

"If Your Excellency would be willing to try my left cuff, I would be grateful." Fred said.

The king's hand encircled Fred's left arm cuff. Squeeze. Pop. Clang.

The king raised his eyebrows, then nodded his head, and said, "Let me." He popped the shackles off Fred's legs without exerting himself.

The king said, "You may rise, Fred." Fred stood up, and stumbled forward, as his blood had not fully returned to normal circulation. "Don't hurry. I believe that the dragon, whatever his plans are, wants us to stay alive for a time. Odd, though. I do believe that I have kept myself in good shape, but I am not sure it was my strength that loosened your shackles."

Fred bowed slightly, and told the king, "However you did it, you have restored my confidence, Your Majesty. I admit that it was starting to slip. But now I feel refreshed in mind, if not body. Do you have a plan in mind?"

The king said, "Explore the space that has been given to us. Find food and water. Find a place to sleep. Agree on a place to relieve ourselves when the time comes. We may be here for a moment, but we may be here for a while. And when the young lady awakens, find out more about her. The dragon brought her here for a reason."

Fred said, "Sir, could the lady be a danger? She may be a witch, or a demon that is a trap that the dragon set for us."

The King said, "Yes, that could be. But maybe she is not. What are you suggesting?"

"Be careful. Maybe we consider not releasing her, even if we could. Maybe we search her for hidden potions. At least be careful of what we tell her about ourselves."

"So noted. But let us not go too far down that road. If we close ourselves off to her too much, if we show nothing but distrust, then we will get that in return. Our minds and our eyes should both be open."

The king and the knight then agreed on the next action.

1. Explore the area outside this room for a short time, and come back.
2. Try to open one of Melissa's cuffs, to see if either the king or Fred can do it.
3. Search Melissa discreetly. They may find something that gives a clue as to who she really is.

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