It was clear that nothing they could say would shake her resolve, and after a token protest, they gave in. Ballimore showed them to a pair of comfortably furnished rooms and left them for the night. Mendanbar did not object, even though it was still fairly early. The long walk from the dragon's cave had been very tiring. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep at once.
Breakfast next morning was cinnamon-flavored porridge, milk, and toast with blueberry jam. Mendanbar found it waiting on the high table in the central hall when he left his room to look for his hosts. There was no one else around, but the giant-sized dishes and crumbs at either end of the table showed that Ballimore and Dobbilan had already eaten.
Mendanbar climbed the stairs to his seat and began dishing up the porridge. Before he had finished filling his bowl, Cimorene walked into the room, peering around for the giants.
"Good morning," Mendanbar called. "Madame Ballimore and her husband appear to have been and gone, but they've left an excellent breakfast.
Would you care to join me?"
"I'd be delighted," Cimorene called back, and climbed the stairs to join him. "I had no idea giants were such early risers," she said as she sat down in the second chair. "Where do you suppose they've gone?"
"Gone?" said Ballimore's voice from the hallway at the end of the room. "Dear, dear, I thought sure I'd left enough porridge for the pair of you, but it won't take a minute to make up some more."
"There's plenty of breakfast," Mendanbar said quickly. "We were talking about you and Dobbilan."
"But he was supposed to wait for you," Ballimore said, emerging from the hallway. She inspected the room over the top of the large bundle she carried, then shook her head. "Isn't that just like a man? Cimorene dear, I've found just the thing for you. I knew there would be something upstairs, no matter what Dobbilan said. Are you quite certain you have enough porridge?"
"Quite certain," Cimorene said. "What-" "Ballimore! Ballimore, where's the inkwell?" Dobbilan's voice echoed down the corridor, interrupting Cimorene in mid-sentence. "Where are you? Why can't I find anything around here when I want it?"
"Because you never look in the right place, dear," Ballimore called.
"The inkwell is in the kitchen next to the grocery list, where it's been for the past six months, and I'm in the dining room. Which is where you'd be if you'd done what I asked you to, instead of wandering off in all directions."
"I didn't wander off," Dobbilan objected, sticking his head into the room. "I went to get some paper and ink so I could write a letter.
Oh, good morning, Princess, King. I didn't see you."
"You were supposed to see them," Ballimore said, exasperated. "You were supposed to be here when-oh, never mind."
"Well, if you're done scolding, could you find me that inkwell?"
Ballimore shook her head, set her bundle down on a chair, and went off to deal with her erring husband. Mendanbar looked at Cimorene, and they both burst out laughing at the same time.
"Oh, dear," said Cimorene when she got her breath back. "I hope they didn't hear."
"Are they always like this?" Mendanbar asked.
"I don't know," Cimorene admitted. "This is the first time I've been here. Kazul has always been the one who comes to talk or borrow things."
The thought wiped the smile from her face. "I hope she's safe."
"You'd know if she wasn't," Mendanbar said, hoping he was right.
"Being King of the Dragons is a little like being King of the Enchanted Forest; if anything really drastic happens to you, everybody knows."
"I suppose so," Cimorene said. "And I know perfectly well that she can take care of herself, but I'll still feel a lot better when we find out where she is."
There wasn't much Mendanbar could say to that. They ate in silence for a few minutes and were just finishing up when Ballimore and Dobbilan returned. Dobbilan was carrying several sheets of white paper and a pen made of a feather as long as Mendanbar's arm. Ballimore held an inkwell the size of a sink. The giantess cleared the dishes away from the far end of the table and set the inkwell gently in place, then steered her husband to the chair. When she had him settled, she picked up the bundle she had brought in earlier.
"I'll just take this outside and shake the dust out," she told Cimorene.
"You and your young man can come along as soon as you've finished eating. Don't rush."
"How do you spell 'resignation'?" Dobbilan asked, nibbling on the end of his feather pen.
Mendanbar spelled it for him as Ballimore bustled out the door. He and Cimorene finished their breakfasts with only an occasional interruption from Dobbilan. Leaving the giant mumbling over his letter and chewing on the tattered end of his pen, they went out to see what Ballimore had found.
"There you are," Ballimore said as they came into the courtyard. "I've gotten most of the dust out, and it's ready to go. What do you think?"
She stepped back and Mendanbar got his first good look at the carpet.
It was enormous, with a three-foot fringe on all four sides. In places it looked rather worn, and there was a hole the size of a teacup in one corner.
The background was a rich cream color, dotted with teddy bears a foot long. Pink teddy bears. Bright pink.
"It's certainly large enough," Mendanbar said at last.
"Are you sure it will fly?" Cimorene asked, looking dubiously at the hole.
"Oh, yes," Ballimore reassured her. "It's the very best quality, but we haven't used it in years because of the pattern." She gestured at the teddy bears. "Dobbilan thought they just didn't look right in a giant's castle."
"I think I agree with him," Mendanbar said under his breath, eyeing the pink teddy bears with dislike. "No wonder that Jack fellow didn't take it.
"As long as it flies, I don't care what it looks like," Cimorene declared.
"Thank you so much, Ballimore. I'll make sure you get it back as soon as we're through with it."
"There's no rush," Ballimore said. "It'll just go back in the attic."
"How does it work?" Mendanbar asked.
"I couldn't find the instruction manual, but it's perfectly simple," Ballimore told him. "All magic carpets are the same. You sit in the middle and say, 'Up, up, up and away' to make it take off, and you steer by leaning in the direction you want to go."
"What about stopping?"
Ballimore frowned in concentration. "I believe you're supposed to say 'Whoa,' but 'Cut it out, carpet' works just as well. I'm sorry I can't be more definite. It's been a long time."
"Right." Mendanbar looked at Cimorene. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Cimorene hesitated, then nodded firmly. "We'll manage. If I could think of some other way of getting to the north end of the mountains quickly, I would. Come on." She stepped onto the carpet, and plopped down in the center.
With some misgiving, Mendanbar sat next to her.
"Oh, heavens, I nearly forgot!" Ballimore said suddenly. "Stay right there, Cimorene dear. I'll be back in a flash."
"Now what?" Mendanbar asked as the giantess hurried into the castle.