For the next few days, nothing interesting happened. Not to Flax and the pup and not to the Queen.

What’s that? You want details?

Very well.

Flax and the pup walked beside the black stone.

They argued about whether they should turn back or not.

They both whimpered in their sleep and hoped the other one didn’t hear them.

On the third day, they left the flat land behind and climbed into low-lying hills, where the tree branches were even more twisted, and grey rock poked up through the grass.

They found seeds to eat, and roots and milk thistles, and they drank from the streams that crossed under the black stone. They saw bleating creatures in the distance, and several humans, but didn’t go anywhere near them.

They walked some more.

They argued some more.

They whimpered in their sleep …

As for the Queen, she signed letters.

And more letters.

She practised her deportment.

She ate cake.

She sat on an uncomfortable chair and listened to the ambassador from Quill talking about trade for two hours.

She tried not to wriggle. (‘A queen does not wriggle.’)

She tried not to complain. (‘A queen does not complain.’)

She signed more letters …

Have you had enough yet?

Of course you have. This is a story, which means we leave out the boring bits.

The only thing you really need to know is that Flax and the pup saw more dragons, rushing up and down the black strip.

Some of them were red. Some were silver or green. Some went east, some went west.

There were so many of them, and the whole thing was so strange and frightening, that on the fifth day Flax sat on the grass with her head in her hands and wept.

But then she stood up again and kept going. Because what else could she do?

On the seventh day, they came to a town.

The town, though they didn’t yet know it.

The town of High Kinnik, where the royal palace of Hallow can be found, surrounded by the royal park.