Chapter One Preview: Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon
It's time again! Time to tease the first chapter of my next book. In this case it is a children's chapter book called Thaddeus Whiskers and the Dragon. My six-year-old really loves this book, and that is why I wrote it. It's a read aloud adventure for the younger set, and if your kid is 10-12 they'll be able to read it to themselves and enjoy the adventures of a tiny orange kitten, a large green dragon, some rats, a princess, and a couple of wizards.
Sound interesting to you? The kindle version is up for pre-order right now. Just click the link below.
If you're more a paperback type, you'll have to wait until March 1st, but in the meantime, here's chapter one.
Enjoy!
Chapter
One
Thaddeus
and the Wizard
Thaddeus
F. Whiskers had been presented to Princess Clarice upon her eighth
birthday by the palace wizard. He was therefore the most famous and
beloved kitten in the entire world. Yes, the world contained many
kittens, but none of them could claim the title of royal companion.
None but Thaddeus.
The
wizard chose Thaddeus because of his brilliant orange coat and
jewel-like green eyes. The clever wizard had woven enchantments about
the kitten, blessing him with a state of eternal kittenhood. Almost
two years had passed, and Thaddeus still fit comfortably in Clarice's
hands.
Thaddeus's
purple pillow lay at the foot of Princess Clarice's golden throne.
Her throne stood beside the towering seat of her father, King Victor
the Third. While Thaddeus’s seat was the smallest, this was only
due to the ungainliness of human bottoms. Thaddeus knew he was every
bit as important as those with larger seats.
Visitors
to the court marveled at how tiny Thaddeus remained. Clarice, also
small for her age, beamed while lords and ladies fawned over her
precious pet. Thaddeus would puff out his chest, stick up his nose,
and regally twitch his whiskers.
Today,
Thaddeus wore a golden collar, for it was Clarice’s tenth birthday,
and he was the guest of honor. Clarice had demanded it be so. Clarice
always insisted that her kitten receive as much attention as she did.
It was one of the many things he adored about her. One by one, the
inhabitants of the palace approached the throne and laid their gifts
at the princess's feet where Thaddeus inspected them. He sniffed at
packages and pulled at ribbons. All seemed perfectly acceptable as
gifts for a princess such as Clarice. He nodded his approval.
The
palace cooks brought baskets of cookies, many in the shape of
kittens, frosted in orange butter cream. The royal seamstress had
sewn a lovely gown. Thaddeus gazed at the silken skirts and imagined
how soft they would feel against his paws. The palace jeweler had
made Clarice a charm bracelet, each charm an image of Thaddeus in a
different pose: Thaddeus napping, Thaddeus pouncing, Thaddeus
stretching. Thaddeus batted at the bracelet when Clarice dangled it
before him.
As
the procession of presents ran on, he tucked his paws beneath him,
curled his tail about his body, and yawned. Clarice wiggled in her
seat.
King
Victor glanced at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. “Don’t
fidget, dear. Soon there will be cake.”
“Thaddeus
is bored,” said the princess.
Thaddeus’s
ears twitched at the mention of his name. He gave an inquisitive,
“Meow?”
“Tell
Thaddeus there will be chicken and cream for dinner if he waits just
a bit longer.”
Thaddeus
listened politely as Clarice relayed the information. He always
wondered why the king didn’t address him directly. He was right
there, for fish’s sake.
The
last gifter approached: Hermes the Great, the palace wizard. The old
man’s title seemed a bit of an exaggeration to Thaddeus. Other than
having the wisdom to give Thaddeus to Clarice, Hermes never did
anything the kitten felt was “great.” Last year his gift had been
a sugar plum tree that constantly yielded encrusted, sticky plums.
Clarice had gotten a stomach ache, and several of its treats had
stuck in Thaddeus’s fur. The tree was quietly moved to a far corner
of the garden and forgotten.
This
year, Hermes’s hands were empty. Thaddeus suspected the wizard
hadn’t remembered the party until the last minute, or perhaps he
hid something up the long sleeves of his crimson robes. Thaddeus
didn't particularly care. He was ready for his chicken and cream.
“My
king, my princess, and my royal feline.” Hermes bowed low.
Thaddeus
sat up and eyed the wizard.
“Upon
your most illustrious tenth birthday, I must thank you, Princess
Clarice, for a decade spent making the world a more beautiful place.”
The wizard’s blue eyes twinkled.
The
princess nodded, reached down, and rubbed Thaddeus’s ears. Thaddeus
purred. Clarice knew just how to pet him, not too fast or too slow.
Her fingers were small and soft. Most things bored Thaddeus, but not
Clarice. She was wonderful. He gazed up at her appreciatively.
She
smiled and scooped him onto her lap. He settled into the folds of her
pink damask gown. Her hand ran down his back, smoothing his orange
fur. He snaked his tail around her wrist, then whipped it back.
“On
this birthday, I am focused on improvement. Your furry friend, his
name is Thaddeus F. Whiskers, correct?” Hermes asked.
“Yes.”
Clarice muffled a yawn with the back of her hand. Thaddeus stood on
his hind paws and tried to rub up against her chin, but was simply
too short.
Poor
Clarice. She's probably as bored as I am. When we get to our room, we
shall play hide and seek. That will make up for all this sitting
around, Thaddeus decided.
“If
I may be so bold as to ask, my princess, what does the F stand for?”
The wizard stuck out his white beard, as if pointing at Thaddeus with
his chin.
“Fluffy.”
Clarice blushed.
Beneath
his fur, Thaddeus blushed as well. Fluffy had, in fact, been his only
name for several weeks, before eight-year-old Clarice decided the
moniker too childish and had chosen Thaddeus, a more dignified name.
Thaddeus appreciated the re-dubbing. He never felt like a “Fluffy.”
“He
is more sleek than fluffy, is he not?” Hermes continued.
Thaddeus’s
short, orange fur bristled. Did Hermes dare to suggest Thaddeus was
in some way inadequate? Such foolishness! He sniffed and wiggled his
nose.
“Yes.
He is perfectly sleek.” Clarice twirled Thaddeus’s tail.
Hermes
flushed, the tip of his nose glowing like an ember. “Of course, he
is perfect, but how would you like it if he were perfect . . . er?”
He
waved his hand and a white dandelion appeared between his fingers.
The court “oohed” though Thaddeus's quick eyes had seen it come
out of those cavernous sleeves.
“I
have a spell, a marvelous spell, to make him as poofed as this posie,
a perfect, purring powder puff.”
Clarice’s
fingers kneaded into Thaddeus’s non-poofy fur.
Thaddeus’s
glare stayed on Hermes’s spindly fingers. The wizard drew the
flower to his lips and let out a stream of breath. The fluffy white
dandelion seeds separated from the stem and danced through the air.
They twirled towards the throne. They brushed the king’s nose, and
he sneezed.
One
parasol-shaped seed touched down on Thaddeus’s snout. It balanced
for one moment, and the kitten’s eyes crossed trying to focus on
it. Then it exploded in a miniature starburst. Thaddeus inhaled the
sparks. They trickled through his body, cold and tingly. His fur
expanded, lengthening and puffing.
Clarice
cried out. She held Thaddeus up, his hind legs dangling. Though her
hazel eyes were poor mirrors, Thaddeus could tell, from the extra
warmth, that he was now undeniably fluffy.
“That
is remarkable.” The king clapped his hands. “Hermes you have done
it a . . . ah . . . choo!” The king let forth a thunderous sneeze.
“Bless
you!” exclaimed the entire court.
The
king’s eyes watered. His nose wrinkled. Another sneeze exploded
through the throne room. As if in answer or echo, a lady in the crowd
kerchewed. Soon lords and ladies, knights and knaves, were caught in
the throes of sneezing fits.
Thaddeus
winced and turned away from the scene. Humans could be nasty. Cat
sneezes were much quieter.
“What
has happened?” King Victor wheezed. “This isn’t . . . the . .
.right season. . .for . . . hayfever. Ahchoo!”
All
eyes, the dry and the watering alike, turned to Hermes.
The
wizard stroked his beard and shuffled his feet. “Er, it seems I
have miscalculated the consequences of this particular enchantment. I
shall try to reverse it.”
He
took Thaddeus from Clarice. His big hands felt awkward around
Thaddeus. The kitten turned up his nose in protest. He waved his hand
over the kitten. Thaddeus’s fur turned blue, then red, then twisted
into braided strands. His skin prickled and his whiskers vibrated.
Hermes
tried magical words and mystical gestures. However, Thaddeus’s fur
remained long and fuzzy, and half the court still sniffled. Hermes
snapped his finger causing Thaddeus’s coat to go orange again.
Thaddeus mewed in displeasure. He hissed at Hermes. “Turn me back
now, you idiot!” Unfortunately, humans didn't understand cat
language, and no one rushed to Thaddeus's rescue.
Hermes
cleared his throat. “Perhaps I should take him to my tower and work
with him there.”
“That
. . . ah . . . is the best idea . . .ahchoo . . you’ve had all
night.” The king waved them away.
Thaddeus
shook his head. He did not want to go with Hermes. He tried to
wriggle away to get to Clarice. Clarice would save him.
Clarice
stood. “I want to go with Thaddeus, Daddy. I don’t get hay
fever.”
“Hermes
will fix him and bring him back,” the king said. “Let’s not
allow this to ruin your party.”
Thaddeus
kept his eyes on Clarice’s beloved face until the door to the
throne room shut between them.
“Clarice!”
he mewed sadly.
Hermes’s
tower stuck out from the rest of the castle like a candle in a
birthday cake. The wooden steps creaked beneath the wizard's feet.
Thaddeus glanced through the gaps between the boards. The stairs
seemed to spiral down forever.
Hermes
took him through a trapdoor into a cluttered round room. A chandelier
of dripping candles sprang alight at their entrance. The wizard put
the kitten on a work table between a bouquet of dried herbs and a
stack of dusty books. Thaddeus sneezed.
Hermes
grimaced. “We’ve had enough of that for one day.” He pulled a
massive handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped down the area.
Thaddeus
glanced around the room. Mounted skeletons of various creatures, one
of which looked suspiciously like a cat, gazed back at him from a
shelf. Books were scattered everywhere, like the aftermath of a
windstorm in a library. They even filled a giant black cauldron in
the fireplace.
Red
orbs of light floated in circles about the room. One passed near
Thaddeus, and he swiped at it. His paw sank through, coming into
contact with nothing, but the orb changed course and hurried away
from him.
The
wizard opened a heavy tome. “You’d think they’d mention such a
virulent side effect to a simple spell,” he grumbled. He removed
his hat and laid it on top of Thaddeus. The kitten mewed and
scrambled out, knocking the hat to the floor. “Oh sorry.” The
wizard picked it up and placed it on a stuffed dodo bird. “I forgot
I’d put you there. . . Ah ha! An asterisk! A sure sign of ill
intent and deception.”
He
set the book on the table beside the kitten and stabbed his finger at
the sunburst shaped mark on the page.
Thaddeus
scowled. He couldn’t read.
“An
asterisk, my little friend, indicates important information has been
left out and hidden elsewhere. In this case . . .” Hermes licked
his fingertips and turned the page. “See, here is what I missed.
‘The Fluffication spell should never be used in the vicinity of
those sensitive to hay fever or similar complaints, for the spell is
irreversible, and irritation . . .’ Irreversible? Come now, nothing
is irreversible.” He flipped back and forth.
Thaddeus
slapped the edge of the pages with his paw, but his heart wasn’t in
it. Surely the wizard couldn't mean he'd be this way forever? Well,
at least Clarice didn't have hay fever. He could still be with her
even if he had to avoid the king.
Someone
knocked.
“Come
in,” Hermes said.
A
young man in a page’s uniform poked his head and shoulders into the
tower room. “Mr. Wizard, the king still can’t stop sneezing;
neither can most of the staff. His majesty swears the irritation to
the royal nostrils is as bad as when the cat was in the room.”
“Not
surprising. According to the small print, the effects may spread as
far as a quarter mile. I need time to research if I am to fix this.”
The
page cleared his throat. “His majesty says he can’t breathe and
if you do not amend the situation immediately, he will be forced to
reconsider your contract with the crown.”
Hermes
licked his lips. “Did he, now?”
Thaddeus’s
eyes widened. His whole body trembled. He wanted Clarice. He wanted
chicken and cream and his silk cushion and perhaps a lengthy nap, but
most of all he wanted Clarice.
He
mewed.
Hermes
shook his head. “I will fix this, Mr. Whiskers, I promise. For now,
however, the king needs to breathe.” He turned to the page. “Tell
the king I shall deal with the difficulty post haste.”
The
page disappeared through the hatch. Hermes pulled a wire bird cage
from under the table. Alarmed, Thaddeus scratched at the old wizard,
but his tiny kitten claws didn’t pierce the man’s callused skin.
Hermes shoved Thaddeus into the cage and covered it with a heavy
cloth, leaving the kitten in darkness.
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