The King's Collie

Part I, Chapter 3: A Wolf At the Dinner Table

The dog awoke from his lengthy unconsciousness, fluttering his eyes, in a room completely opposite of what he knew before. He was in a wonderful bed, not a sack stuffed with hay, as he had been used to, but a real, feather-filled bed, with pillows to boot. He one such pillow, and squished it a little, laughing, then saw the clothes he was in. They were his normal ones. He felt a bit out-of-place in them, then looked around the room, eyeing a new set of clothes that must have been set aside for him in the corner. Cameron got up, and, looking in the mirror all the while, stripped and redressed.

The new outfit made him look like a new man. It was fashionable, for a royal court member: good-fitting white pants, with soft undergarments, and an elegant shirt. It had a high collar, which went up nearly to his chin, but it folded down neatly, leaving his neck bare. A jerkin and a hat laid on a chair beside him, in this room that was apparently his own. It was a small one, the kind that the few workers and servants of the castle were quartered in. A mirror laid above a dresser, and Cameron went over to take a good look at himself. The mirror was much clearer than his usual windows and puddles.

He beamed and barked with glee, looking like something out of a painting. He did a small pose, and tried to make a neutral expression. Yes, that looked very much like a painting. In the mirror, then, he saw a lute, sitting in the corner, much like the one he'd played earlier. That reminded him: What time was it? How long was he out for? To answer this question, he decided to step outside this room, putting on the hat he was given. This hat, in particular, was the same ruddy color as his shirt, and had a large feather tucked into it. It was pointed in the front, and had two points in the back, which were folded upwards. Quite fancy, in shorter words. He put it on, and felt complete, feeling ready. He was nervous, sure, but it was a good kind of nervousness. An uneasy excitement, it was.

He went out into the hallway, and looked around, clearly a newcomer to the environment. A wolf, in a similar outfit, and a long trumpet strapped to his side, saw this, and became curious. Stepping over, he smiled.

"You're the new one!" he greeted, a glimmer in his eye as he said this.

"That I am," Cameron responded to this fellow canine.

"I can see. You're looking like a bard already, in that outfit! You forgot your lute," the wolf observed.

"Is that bad?" Cameron wondered.

"As the first musician in the Queen's service," the larger canine described, "very much so, yes. You need to be ready to play at her whim. If Felix is anything to go by, you'll be entirely rushing, running back and forth between your needs and theirs."

It was at this suggestion that Cameron went back into his room, fetched the lute, and came back, smiling as he figured out how to strap it to his back.

"You're a natural," the wolf chuckled. "What's your name?"

"Cameron," the younger dog answered.

"I'm Marco, the king's primary musician and attendant, having served since he was a prince," the wolf answered. "With my title comes considerable duty. I see to all fanfare, including the arrangement of the soldiers' horns and any hired band. And I write, though not like what you apparently do. I hear that what you do is near-devilish," he excitedly complimented.

"Thank you," Cameron smiled as he received this praise.

"Quite frankly, though," Marco went on, "I really have been in need of help. It's as if Felix wants fanfares for all the times of the day, sparing only the darkest hours for me to write new things for His Highness," he worriedly said.

"I'm sure the Queen would be less demanding," Cameron considered.

"That's my point," the wolf said, running a paw through the grey fur on his other. "If I could show you how to write those kinds of things down—"