Chapter 20
Life As TekeLiyen
"Teke!"
I opened my eyes, yawned, and quickly got to my feet. I knew Topaz's voice when I heard it, and I was looking forward to seeing her. I hadn't seen her for a couple of days.
"There you are," she said, slightly opening the door and spotting me.
"Where did you expect me to be?" I asked her in Tandeen.
She looked at me blankly. I guessed she was working out all the words in her head, finding the meanings of them, and putting them into a sentence.
"I guess you are right," she replied after a moment more.
I stretched and yelped. I swung around to see who had bit me. It was Byte. He was on my left, his leash stretched as far as it would go. He had just finished yawning and clamped his teeth down on my tail. I turned around, hit his muzzle with my tail, and smiled at Topaz. A difficult thing to do, because Tanjas weren't made for smiling.
"Just a small walk around the palace for today. And all of you can come this time," she said.
The two guys smiled at me, then at Topaz. She came over, untied us all, and made us promise to stay by her. We were done with our training. She led us to the door, made sure we would obey her, and opened it.
There was so much excitement! Everywhere we looked, there were people rushing around. They were running through the halls with silverware, sheets, or some other object in their hands. I wondered what it was all about.
"Dad's having a big dinner tonight with the two other dignitaries from the other kingdoms. He's having the Kings, Queens, Jokers, Royal Advisers, and so many other people coming. All of the servants are hard at work. They're hurrying because they'll get extra pay if they're done on time."
I nodded and looked at Topaz. She was starting to keep up with the things going on around the kingdom. She kept close to the wall through part of the tour, then gave up and brought us back to the room. She said it was much too crowded to continue. We were a bit disappointed, but we had promised to obey her. She left us in the room, untied and free to roam. We messed around for a while. It was nice to have the ropes far away for once.
After an hour, we heard footsteps outside the door. It was obviously going to be the Tanjas, so we rushed to the middle of the room and sat down. We waited for them to enter and tie us up. I reminded the guys not to speak Tandeen.
We wouldn't speak Tandeen while the Tanjas were in the room, because we wanted to know their plans without them knowing that we knew, if that makes sense.
I growled Code at the guys, and they growled back. The Tanjas opened the door and were a bit surprised that we were free. As expected, they walked over and tied us up. They walked around trying on belts and hats, given to them by my husband as presents. Then they left.
They had been invited to stay for another week, just in case we forgot our training or acted up. Plus, Brayan wanted to visit with them for a little longer. They were just hurrying out to the party.
"And we'll be stuck here all night," mumbled Dagger.
"Yeah, we miss out on everything," grumbled Byte.
"I totally agree," I moaned to them.
"Come on guys! You're not missing out on this one!" cried Topaz from the doors she had just opened.
I laughed and jumped to my feet. She hurried over and untied us. She then put collars around our necks and attached leashes to them. I had green, Dagger had black, and Byte had blue. We looked very nice with our collars and leashes on.
"Act like dogs, but ‘trained' dogs, if you please. Just for tonight. Just in front of the guests. Okay?" pleaded Topaz.
We all smiled and whined, nodding our heads. She gave us a doubtful smile and led us out the doors. She turned around, closed them, and led us down the hall.
We entered the royal dining room. It looked grand! Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, white table cloths were spread over circular tables, and the best silver was laid out on the tables. I was proud of the servants.
"Stay close," whispered Topaz.
She was wearing a beautiful gown. It started dark blue and faded to light blue, then white. She looked gorgeous in it.
"Greetings, Princess Topaz," said a Queen nearby.
Topaz stopped, curtsied while holding three leashes, and continued walking. We stayed close by her. It was very crowded, and we didn't want to get tangled. Not to mention, it was what Topaz had told us to do. She led us around table after table, dignitary after dignitary. Finally, we reached the desired table. Topaz had brought us to her father's table. It was the only rectangular table in the room and stood out.
"Darling, what are these dogs doing here?" whispered Brayan as Topaz curtsied for him.
"Father, they shouldn't be cooped up in the room on such an exciting night. I figured it would give you a bit of...well...class to have trained animals in the house," she said, smiling sweetly.
Brayan looked doubtful be said no more about it. Topaz sat in the chair next to her father's and looked around. It was a beautiful set up.
"Dara, do you think they will like us?" mumbled Byte.
I looked at him and also replied in Tandeen, saying,"I suppose so. I don't see why not."
Dagger looked at us and smiled. He seemed confident.
"Okay you three, behave yourselves. I'm letting you off your leashes, but you still need to mind you manners," commanded Topaz.
She unhooked our leashes and said, as if she were speaking to dumb dogs,"Manners!"
We nodded slightly, hoping no one would notice. Most people were chatting across the table.
"Follow me," I whispered to Dagger and Byte in Tandeen.
They scurried away with me when our leashes were taken off. I hurried to the doors of the dinning room, Dagger and Byte close on my heels. We stopped at the doors and huddled to the side.
"I'm not sure what we should do with this time. I'm not seeing much of a threat right now. Those Tanjas are acting a bit strange today. I'm not sure how though," I told them.
They agreed and gave me a few suggestions. We came to no conclusions and decided to mingle with the dignitaries. Maybe we would hear some interesting conversations? We split up.
I trotted to a beautiful young lady that looked like a princess. I sat by her and listened. She talked for a moment, then noticed me. She stopped the conversation, bent down, and tried to pat me on the head. I jumped back, growling, and ran through the crowd. I glanced back to see her frowning.
As a guard dog, I didn't want to seem like I was some pet. After all, my main reason for being in the palace was to guard the family. I slowed down and sat by the Queen who had addressed Topaz while she had been searching for her father. The lady didn't notice me, and she kept talking. The discussion was about hair, and not interesting at al. I moved on.
"TekeLiyen!" yelled a voice somewhere near the far end of the dining hall.
I turned around and looked to see who had yelled. It was Brayan, the King! I got off my but and scampered across the room. I slid to his side and looked up at him. I saw the princess who had tried to pet me standing next to him. She didn't look too happy. Brayan smacked me across the muzzle. I was offended he would do that to me. Especially since I was his wife!
"Get out of my dining rom, dog," commanded Brayan in a low tone.
I put my tail between my legs and raced through the room and out the door. Dignitaries watched me run, but I didn't care. How dare my husband smack me! I ran out of the palace and jumped on the five foot wall that lined the stairs. I whined and lay on it. My nose stung, but my heart stung even worse. He had hit me! Never in my entire life had my husband struck me. I whimpered and looked out at the village. It looked quite peaceful.
An hour later, the guests were led outside by Brayan. He was showing them the royal courtyards. I was sleeping when the first came out, and it was an abrupt awakening. A Queen had apparently seen a rat run by her, and she was screaming and fussing now. I jumped down and chased the vermin down. After I'd killed it, I brought it to her in the courtyard and laid it at her feet. She smiled nervously, gave me two pats on the head, and went to inform Brayan there was a rat in the courtyard that needed to be cleaned up. I had made a little bit of progress.
"Well, the dogs have just been trained, Princess Lialir," said Brayan.
I was coming around the corner and overheard his answer. The princess I had snarled at was nodding slowly to Brayan. Brayan spotted me and called me over. He gave me a stern look, then told the princess to reach her hand out and pet me on the head. The girl was about Topaz's age, but she was very timid around animals. She slowly reached out, patted my head twice, and yanked her hand away. She giggled and did it again. I behaved myself this time. I figured I had gotten the smack for growling at a princess. I had only been playing my part. My nose didn't sting, but I was still hurt on the inside.
"Do you mind if she stays close to me? Excuse my rudeness sir, but this is quite boring to me, this tour of the courtyards," said Princess Lialir.
"Of course, whatever you want. Now hurry, my other guests are getting restless," answered Brayan.
I timidly took a step forward. Princess Lialir reached down, scratched behind my ears, and motioned for me to follow her. We caught up to the group and trailed as far back as we could without losing sight of them. Their conversations were so boring. At least, to a kid it was. I was a bit interested, but I wasn't a teenage girl anymore.
"Topaz told me your name was TekeLiyen," said Lialir in Code.
I picked a paw up, tilted my head to the side, and barked back,"She did?"
I was quite curious about her knowing Code. She walked to a corner of the section of the courtyard we were in and sat on a gray stone bench. I walked over and sta on the ground beside her.
"Yes, she did," replied Lialir. "You know Code? She didn't tell me that. I thought it was a slim chance you'd know it, but I figured I might as well try."
"Yes, I know Code," I answered.
"That's funny. I just thought you were a dummbbb... I mean..."
"I know. You thought I was a dumb animal," I finished for her, chuckling.
"I'm sorry," she said, hanging her head.
I looked up at her and replied,"That's alright. I try to make people think that."
She turned to look at me, still blushing, and asked,"You do? Oh."
I smiled. I could tell she was a bit confused by that, but she didn't ask anymore on the subject.
"I hope you know your way around the courtyards, Teke," said Lialir. "Oh, Topaz told me that was your nickname. Is that okay?"
I nodded, smiled, and got up. She stood up and followed me through the courtyard. We zigzagged for a while until we came to the steps of the palace.
"It was nice meeting you, Teke," said Lialir.
She bent down, kissed me on the head, smiled, waved, and hurried up the steps. She disappeared inside the door. I smiled and walked up the stairs. I was ready for some sleep.
When I got to the room, the Tanjas were in bed, and Dagger and Byte were asleep by the pillar. They weren't tied that night, and I was grateful. I didn't want to be tied up for bed. I hurried to their sides and curled up next to the cold stone pillar. I close my eyes, sighed, and drifted off to sleep.
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