Benjamin and Mary

Benjamin replied, "Mary, you know that they are thieves, and why is it this far out? I think that the dragon may have sent it as a spy."

"Well, if the dragon is sending spies out here, then let him. They will find that it has been a dry year, and that there is not much here for them to loot. It might be interesting to hear what the critter has to say."

Checkers lay as still as could on the ground, not wanting to scare the man with the spade. She was afraid that he was going to snap her neck. The man said nothing, apparently deciding not to kill Checkers at this moment. Mary approached, and bent down.

"Now, whoever you are, I am going to ask you a few questions. Be honest. First, do you understand what I am saying?"

Checkers replied quietly, "Yes."

"Good. Do you have a name?"

"Checkers."

"Checkers, stay perfectly still, or Benjamin is going to have to lower that spade, and that will be the end of you. I hope you understand. We will not hurt you."

Checkers could feel someone trying to remove her spear, which was fastened in place in her quiver. Checkers then called for Mary.

"Mary, if you want to disarm me ... the spear is locked into place. Please do not lift me up. It could be dangerous to you." Checkers was thinking about the mechanism that released the spear. If she accidentally bowed her head quickly, it would release the mechanism, which might be interpreted as an attack by these two. She was in no condition to fight now. She continued, giving instructions, "First, you will have to disconnect the collar around my neck from the central strap to the quiver. There are a couple of links connecting the two - once you have done that, my collar and belt can be safely removed. Then I think that you can safely slip the shoulder strap over my head. At that point, I will be defenseless."

"Why are you telling us this?" asked Benjamin.

"I have a mission, although it is not from the dragon. I hate the dragon. If I do not tell you the truth, you might think that I am trying to escape. You would probably kill me, and I will not be able to complete it."

"Everybody says that they hate the dragon. He sure goes out of his way to cultivate you harpies, though," replied Benjamin. "We will find out what your mission is when we arrive home."

Checkers felt calloused hands feeling for the buckles at the small of her back, and felt them being unfastened. She then saw weatherbeaten hands removing her collar, and then felt the weight of her belt fall away from her hips.

Mary then bowed down again. "We are going to tie your hands together so that you do not fly away. Once that is done, Benjamin will remove the spade from your neck. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

The two farmers used Checkers' shoulder strap as a makeshift rope, and bound her two hands together. Mary made a remark about how human she looked. Checkers said nothing, but felt further degraded by that. It was bad enough that they thought that she was with the dragon, referring to her as 'it'. However, she understood that she was at their mercy now. She needed their help.

"Benjamin, I do not think that it is in a position to harm us. Let it up." Checkers felt the pressure on her neck ease. With her hands tied behind her back, she struggled to stand on her knees. She looked at her captors for the first time. They both towered over her. The man looked an ogre in a classical painting, with a powerful, fleshy body and a coarse face. The woman was shorter, and more wiry. Her face had been reddened and wrinkled by the sun, but her deep-set brown eyes were kind, and seemed to show a lot of life. Checkers thought that her face was ugly, but Mary's intervention was forcing her to drop her preconceptions about what was ugly. Checkers knew that if Benjamin were in her position in Glider territory, he would likely be dead by now.

The farmers were looking at her. Benjamin spoke.

"Checkers, we are going to take you home. It is about a quarter of a league from here. Will you be able to walk that far?"

"I do not think so, Benjamin. I barely made it here, across those grasslands."

"Mary, I am indulging your humour. What should we do?"

"Checkers is light. You should be able to carry her."

"Aye, but will the stink from the harpy come out of my shirt? You will have to wash it out."

"I had not thought about that, but you should carry the critter anyway. Perhaps we can give it a bath in the creek when we get home."

"What I do for love!" Then Benjamin laughed, and Mary joined in with her. "Don't go soiling me, harpy, or you will regret it when we get there."

Benjamin slung Checkers over his right shoulder like a rag doll. She had mixed emotions. She was happy to be alive, and possibly having a roof over her head. She was worried what these two were going to do to her. The lack of respect that these two animals were showing to her people was appalling. "We are the civilized ones, and they are talking about us as if we were children or animals. Foul-smelling indeed. Anybody would smell after days of hiking or flying across the plains with just a few glorified puddles to wash in!"

1. Benjamin carries Checkers to his cottage.

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