Page 19 of Of Serpents and Ruins
"Did anything strange happen about two hours ago?" Hord asked.
"There was a surge of energy. Buttercup got real agitated. The king left. Told us to keep her safe, and if he didn't return by midnight to take her back to the stables before the predators came out."
Koigrim tilted his head as I approached. His expression did not change when he saw me. There was no spark of familiarity for me either, but the huffing snort that came on the other side of the tree, that sound I knew!
"Careful," Hord hurried in front, putting his arm out to stop me from running. Kine and Elias were close behind. "She's a big girl, and when she gets excited, it's hard to make her settle." He gave the guard a nod of assent to let me pass.
I nodded, my breath catching in my throat. "Buttercup," I called out.
Another huff followed, and a large, crested head with three horns poked out from behind the tree.
My eyes widened. Buttercup was a triceratops.
Of course she was!
A gorgeous yellow-orange triceratops with dark-brown splotches and speckles on her back.
Oh. Be still my heart.
Koigrim held the ropes taut and moved out to the side a little more, whistling low and then calling out, "Easy, Eid. Give her a little leeway."
The energy enchanting the ropes hummed softly, releasing a warm scent similar to burning hay and smoldering incense.
Buttercup stared at me as I walked closer. She stopped lowing and struggling, her manner growing more alert. Slowly, she blinked.
Never in all my life had I seen a triceratops as perfect as her. Her large frill sported two great horns that glimmered in the moonlight like cloudy smoky quartz. The third one on her snout was a little darker, closer in shade to the beak of her mouth but still a creamy grey color. Her gorgeous eyes were as big as tea saucers and the most beautiful shade of mahogany I’d ever seen.
All had gone silent.
Breath caught in my throat, I held my hand out so she could sniff it. "Hi, Buttercup," I whispered, smiling so much my face hurt.
Unlike the triceratops I met at the river, she didn’t respond with calm curiosity or casual disinterest. Her nostrils flared, andthen she fell back into an almost crouching position, dropped her head, and let loose a loud series of honking bellows. She pranced in place and shook her head, the enchanted ropes likely the only thing keeping her from charging me right then and trampling me in excitement. Moonlight danced over her horns.
"Yes, baby girl! It’s me!" All the pain and even some of the heartache from my encounter with Brandt vanished. I held my hand out again and slipped closer.
"Easy there. Easy," the deeper-voiced attendant on the other side called out.
Koigrim immediately stepped out farther to the left and pulled the magic rope as the triceratops tilted her head. "She gets a touch excited, and you don't want this one trying to jump on you."
I’d said there was no way Brandt could hurt me, and he’d nearly killed me. I would be a little more careful with Buttercup. Still, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as I edged even closer and pressed my hand to her snout. "I missed you, Buttercup."
Buttercup let out another honking bellow and then thrust her snout harder against my hand. Her heavy steps shook the ground as she wriggled with happiness.
"Calm down, baby girl," I said, stepping out to the side and coming in a little closer. "Just calm down."
Another happy honk followed, longer this time.
I gently scratched from her jaw down her neck. Her scales were so smooth and warm. Happy tears filled my eyes. "That’s a good girl."
This was my triceratops. I actually had a triceratops! I was her guardian and caretaker. The knowledge itself more than actual memories flowed into me, and the sensations made my heart fill with such joy and excitement I could scarcely bear it. Unlike Brandt, whose presence had brought me a myriad of emotions, Buttercup just filled me with joy.
Kine chuckled then sighed, his shoulders squared. "You know, maybe we should have sent Buttercup to bring you back here." Grinning, he scratched her scaly side.
Elias laughed at this and set his hands on his hips. "Might have been hard to pass her off as a Halloween costume, though."
I laughed as I hugged her head. She’d grown up while I was gone. Memory reminded me that she had been a fair bit smaller when I last saw her. "All you had to do was tell me that you could take me somewhere with dinosaurs, and I would have bolted through that portal." I rubbed my nose against the top of her beak and giggled. "Did you grow up, baby girl? You got so big!"
Buttercup stomped. She nudged me again, surprisingly gentle for a creature her size, though she still nearly toppled me with that head nudge. When I squeezed my eyes shut, I remembered hugging her and my arms fitting all the way around her neck. Not now though. Baby girl was bigger than a car!
