Green Doors and Red Dragons – Epilogue

 Well, Thomas was as good as his word, and had me into a new house before Christmas. Barely before, but he did make it on Christmas Eve. The house itself was…ummm…a bit unusual, to say the least. I should have known that Thomas would do something strange.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Cosmo and I arrived at a secondary portal Door (this one was keyed to only a few places and quite safe compared to the one I used to guard, which went anywhere.) I had really enjoyed my stay with the dragons, but I was ready to come back to my world with familiar sights and furniture my size.

Thomas whisked us off in a car, and by evening we were driving down dark country roads with snowy trees on either side of us. There were few other cars and Cosmo was allowed to peer out of the windows, which he did enthusiastically. With my new ability to understand some dragon, I enjoyed listening to his running commentary on what he saw. Since he saw better in the dark than humans, he was noticing all sorts of wildlife in the woods. He really wanted to get out and play in the snow, too.

Finally, the car turned into a pair of gates lit with Christmas lights and started down what seemed to be a driveway.

“Thomas, where on earth are you taking us?” I asked.

“You’ll see. It’s easier to show you than to explain,” he replied.

I wasn’t so sure I liked the sound of this, but he wouldn’t say anything else, so I didn’t have any choice except to wait.

About ten minutes later, we rounded one last curve and there was an enormous stone structure in front of us. Even in the dark, it clearly needed extensive repairs, but it was festively lit with Christmas lights, and a Christmas tree glowed in a front window. But what really told me that I was home was the front door. Or should I say, the front Door.

Because the Door it was, resurrected from being ripped loose from its anchoring magic and split into four separate Doors.

“Thomas, you didn’t? I thought you were going to leave it split because it’s so dangerous to have it functioning? I mean, that’s why I was guarding it in the first place, right? Thomas?”

He wasn’t answering me. He was rubbing his face and looking embarrassed, but he wasn’t answering.

“Thomas?!”

“I know. I shouldn’t have. But I’m sure I can figure out how to put protections on it, something to keep the bad things out…”

I growled. Cosmo giggled and imitated me.

Thomas continued. “You’re going to be out here anyway with Cosmo, so you might as well guard the door at the same time. I did fix it so that it can’t be hijacked like it was when Giganto kidnapped you two…” he trailed off.

“I’m glad to know that you realize what sort of danger that thing put us in, Thomas.”

He was wiggling uncomfortably behind the steering wheel now.

“I’ve arranged to have some, ummm…guards to live there with you. As you can see, the property is quite large, and when we’ve finished renovating, there will be plenty of space for visitors and guards and helpers…” he trailed off again. I think he knew he was digging himself in deeper and deeper.

“So now I’m expected to run a bed and breakfast for visitors from elsewhere? And take care of guards? I’m fine with being Cosmo’s foster mother. I couldn’t leave him now. But the rest of it? Thomas, what exactly is going on here?”
He sighed and unlocked the car doors. “Come on in. It’ll be easier to explain inside.”

I sighed and slipped a harness on Cosmo. He had a tendency to zoom off on his own, and I wanted him to stay close tonight. Then I followed Thomas out of the car and we crunched through the crusted snow to a side door. We couldn’t use the front Door, of course; it only opened magically to other worlds.

“This was originally a manor house in Europe,” said Thomas.

“You mean it was designed like a European manor house?” I asked.

“No. I mean that some industrial tycoon about a hundred years ago with more money than sense and a desire to feel like an aristocrat actually had the thing taken down stone by stone, shipped here, and reassembled. Not long after that he went broke, and shortly after that he died. His heirs were unable to dispose of the property. It seems no one wanted a large, drafty mausoleum like this when they could build new, comfortable homes. It has been for sale and falling down ever since.”

“Well, I think I can see why he went broke, if bringing this place over here was his idea of a good decision on how to spend his money!”

“Indeed,” said Thomas as he opened a gate to a small walled garden. This part had been fixed up a little bit – the walls were whole, and the door we were heading for was new.

Thomas opened the door into a huge old-fashioned kitchen. There was a fire glowing in an enormous hearth with an inglenook and bread ovens, a huge wooden work table, and a sink with a pump. The walls had been whitewashed at some point because a few flakes remained and the floor was stone.

“Thomas, this is ridiculous. If you think I’m going to live like they did way back whenever, you’ve got another think coming!”

He turned and grinned at me, and walked across the room to open another door. He bowed slightly and waved Cosmo and me through it. “Your apartments, m’dame.”

I stepped through and looked around suspiciously. Shining wood floors, comfortable furniture much like the stuff that the red dragons had incinerated, a small fireplace, filled book shelves, even a Christmas tree twinkling in the corner….I went into the next room. It held a big comfortable bed, dresser, and old-fashioned wardrobe. Next was clearly a room for Cosmo. I continued. A modern kitchen and dining area, a bath that was positively luxurious, and a work room with loom and spinning wheel and sewing machine and lots of shelves and drawers. I couldn’t see out of the windows in the dark, but I imagined that the view would be a good one. “All right, Thomas, this is good. In fact, it’s very good. Now then, what about the rest of this place?”

“You won’t need to do much. The Door is just through here, and there is an alarm on it, so you know if anyone is trying to use it. The others who will be living here will take care of themselves and help you with both Cosmo and the Door.” He opened another door in my new living room and we stepped through into the front hall. The Door was there, green and beautiful again with its magic restored. We went through an archway into the room that held the Christmas tree I had seen shining in the front window.

It was huge, almost brushing the high ceilings, and beautifully decorated. The tree had packaged piled under it, all sizes and shapes, and fir garlands hung all around the room. Candles twinkled on the mantle. This room had been restored to look like it had long ago, with flagged floors, lovely rugs and drapes and elegant furniture. It was a little too large and echoing to be comfortable for me, though.

“Thomas, this is beautiful.” I turned to face him. “Now who else will be living here?”

“I will, for one!” A familiar voice came from behind me.

I turned, and there stood Felix! “Felix?”

“I wish to make a study of your culture, and you need to continue your studies of the dragon language if you are to be a fit guardian for the little one,” he replied, clapping me painfully on the back. “I told you that the little token I gave you meant we would meet again!”

I reached into my pocket and felt the gift he had given me the last time I had seen him.

“Felix, I’m so glad you’re here!” I told him. And I was.

Thomas broke in. “Cosmo’s relative also want to be able to come and visit him. This place is large and isolated enough – and fire-resistant enough in many areas – to make a good place to house them. I know I didn’t ask you, but since you enjoyed your visit with the dragons so much I thought perhaps you wouldn’t mind?” He looked so hopeful and so afraid that I would be angry with him.

“Thomas….well done.” I told him, and he heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Others came into the room now. My good friends Jon and Rob, my dear neighbor Florence (with both cats, Isadore and Eleanora, who were winding through her legs), quite a few dragons – red, yellow, blue and green – and some humans that I didn’t know all came in. Someone brought in trays of food and drinks, music started playing, and all of a sudden, there was a party.

At midnight some friend of Thomas’s that bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus showed up and distributed gifts to everyone there. Cosmo got dragon toys, I got yarn and knitting things and some books on dragon, the cats got catnip mice…there was something appropriate for everyone.

When the party finally broke up in the wee small hours of the morning, I retired with Cosmo to my new rooms. Rob and Jon came with me, and after I got Cosmo settled for the night we sat down for a chance to catch up. Rob was staying for a few days’ vacation, but Jon was going to be here indefinitely, working on the renovations and setting up a computer network. I had been delighted to hear this.

“So you’re an otherworld traveler now, are you?” Jon smiled and punched me on the shoulder.

“Getting kidnapped by dragons wasn’t exactly the plan I had for visiting other worlds, Jon,” I replied.

“Yes, but it worked!” he chuckled. “But you know, I think I’ll just ask Thomas to take me along sometime. It sounds a little less dramatic, I know, and you do like to make an entrance and an exit…”

Rob was laughing so hard by now that he could hardly catch his breath. “Be careful Jon,” he wheezed. “She may have learned something from those dragons about causing pain!”

I just shook my head.  I settled contentedly into my new couch in front of the crackling fire and watched the lights on my Christmas tree while Jon and Rob tried to outdo each other teasing me, and let it all roll over me. It was really, really good to be home.

- She Wolf © 2007