Dragonkeeper 2: Garden of the Purple Dragon by Carole Wilkinson Page B
Authors: Carole Wilkinson
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he’d just solved a puzzle that had been eluding him. The servants stared at the baby dragon. The Princess leaned forward in her chair to get a closer look. The Emperor stood with his mouth open,looking more like a startled boy than an Emperor.
Kai blinked and made a high sound like a single shrill note on a flute repeated again and again. He was terrified. He’d never had so many people staring at him before. He turned into a bucket, then a pot plant, then back into a dragon again. There were groans of discomfort from those who had continued to watch the shape-changing. One of the Princess’s maids was sick.
Then Ping heard different sounds, high-pitched but tuneful. It took a moment for Ping to realise that the sounds weren’t the dragon’s. They were coming from Princess Yangxin. When the small dragon reappeared, the melody broke out again. The Princess was laughing. The guards and servants stared from the dragon to the Princess, not sure which was the most miraculous. Not only had a dragon materialised in front of them, but also the Princess, who hadn’t smiled in years, was laughing. Dong Fang Suo laughed with her. It was infectious. The ministers and servants began to chuckle. Ping smiled too.
Kai saw the Emperor’s smiling face. His sounds changed to happy flute notes.
“His name is Kai, Your Imperial Majesty. Long Kai Duan,” Ping explained. “I didn’t know it the last time I was here at Ming Yang, but the dragon stone was an egg. When we reached Ocean, Kai hatched out of it.”
The little dragon ran over to the Emperor making excited noises, like someone blowing the highestpossible notes on a flute. The Emperor looked down at the purple creature at his feet. He shook his head in amazement.
“Hello, Kai,” the Emperor said. “My name is Liu Che.”
“Lu … Lu,” said the dragon voice inside Ping’s head, trying to pronounce the unfamiliar name. “Lu-lu!”
Ping was very glad no one else could hear.
The Emperor laughed as Kai sat on his gold-embroidered shoes.
“This is a most auspicious day,” he announced. “Heaven has chosen to deliver a gift to me. Where is the scribe? Let him record that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the first year of my reign, a new imperial dragon appeared at Ming Yang Lodge.”
• chapter twelve •
T HE A USPICIOUS S PARROW
“You didn’t trust me to care for the dragon, Ping?”
It was the Emperor who spoke this time. Ping felt
her cheeks burn.
Ping and Kai were moved out of the animal cage and into a chamber in Ming Yang Lodge. It was just as lovely as the one that Ping had stayed in the last time she was at Ming Yang, but this time it was Kai who slept in the comfortable bed. Ping was expected to sleep on a straw mattress on the floor.
A cook came to ask what the dragon ate. Ping gave him a long list of insects. The cook went away with a perplexed look, never having been asked to serve such things before. Not long after, a servant arrivedand presented Kai with a platter of worms, snails and caterpillars, artfully arranged and decorated with butterfly wings. There was also a large bowl of milk. It was three times the size of the meals he’d had on Tai Shan, but he ate it all, including the decorations. Ping thought that for the first time in his short life he had enough to eat. When Kai had finished eating, the servant brought Ping a small bowl of gruel.
They were allowed to walk in the gardens whenever they wished, but some things hadn’t changed. The pair of imperial guards was never far behind them. Ping tried not to let Kai out of her sight, but it was hard to keep up with him. He was enjoying his freedom. On Tai Shan, Ping had never let him go far. Worried that he might trip over his big feet and fall down a cliff, she had only allowed him to play in the restricted space around the pool. Now he could run around wherever he pleased.
Ping walked slowly up Ming Yang hill. It would take her a while to recover her full strength. She
Kai blinked and made a high sound like a single shrill note on a flute repeated again and again. He was terrified. He’d never had so many people staring at him before. He turned into a bucket, then a pot plant, then back into a dragon again. There were groans of discomfort from those who had continued to watch the shape-changing. One of the Princess’s maids was sick.
Then Ping heard different sounds, high-pitched but tuneful. It took a moment for Ping to realise that the sounds weren’t the dragon’s. They were coming from Princess Yangxin. When the small dragon reappeared, the melody broke out again. The Princess was laughing. The guards and servants stared from the dragon to the Princess, not sure which was the most miraculous. Not only had a dragon materialised in front of them, but also the Princess, who hadn’t smiled in years, was laughing. Dong Fang Suo laughed with her. It was infectious. The ministers and servants began to chuckle. Ping smiled too.
Kai saw the Emperor’s smiling face. His sounds changed to happy flute notes.
“His name is Kai, Your Imperial Majesty. Long Kai Duan,” Ping explained. “I didn’t know it the last time I was here at Ming Yang, but the dragon stone was an egg. When we reached Ocean, Kai hatched out of it.”
The little dragon ran over to the Emperor making excited noises, like someone blowing the highestpossible notes on a flute. The Emperor looked down at the purple creature at his feet. He shook his head in amazement.
“Hello, Kai,” the Emperor said. “My name is Liu Che.”
“Lu … Lu,” said the dragon voice inside Ping’s head, trying to pronounce the unfamiliar name. “Lu-lu!”
Ping was very glad no one else could hear.
The Emperor laughed as Kai sat on his gold-embroidered shoes.
“This is a most auspicious day,” he announced. “Heaven has chosen to deliver a gift to me. Where is the scribe? Let him record that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the first year of my reign, a new imperial dragon appeared at Ming Yang Lodge.”
• chapter twelve •
T HE A USPICIOUS S PARROW
“You didn’t trust me to care for the dragon, Ping?”
It was the Emperor who spoke this time. Ping felt
her cheeks burn.
Ping and Kai were moved out of the animal cage and into a chamber in Ming Yang Lodge. It was just as lovely as the one that Ping had stayed in the last time she was at Ming Yang, but this time it was Kai who slept in the comfortable bed. Ping was expected to sleep on a straw mattress on the floor.
A cook came to ask what the dragon ate. Ping gave him a long list of insects. The cook went away with a perplexed look, never having been asked to serve such things before. Not long after, a servant arrivedand presented Kai with a platter of worms, snails and caterpillars, artfully arranged and decorated with butterfly wings. There was also a large bowl of milk. It was three times the size of the meals he’d had on Tai Shan, but he ate it all, including the decorations. Ping thought that for the first time in his short life he had enough to eat. When Kai had finished eating, the servant brought Ping a small bowl of gruel.
They were allowed to walk in the gardens whenever they wished, but some things hadn’t changed. The pair of imperial guards was never far behind them. Ping tried not to let Kai out of her sight, but it was hard to keep up with him. He was enjoying his freedom. On Tai Shan, Ping had never let him go far. Worried that he might trip over his big feet and fall down a cliff, she had only allowed him to play in the restricted space around the pool. Now he could run around wherever he pleased.
Ping walked slowly up Ming Yang hill. It would take her a while to recover her full strength. She
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