Chapter 3: Dragon's Playmate


Lieutenant Phineas Maximus, a dark-haired, handsome man of 
twenty-four who stood second in command of the Duloc guards 
despite his youth, awoke in the street.  He sat up slowly, 
shaking the cobwebs from his head as he tried to take stock of 
where he was and what had happened. Twilight had nearly 
completed its fade into nighttime darkness.  Maximus figured 
about a half-hour to forty minutes had passed since just before 
sunset, when all hell had broken loose.  He gazed down the 
street at the Town Square in front of the church.  Several 
torches lit the area, and he quickly scanned it and saw with 
relief that, despite an unusual amount of human activity, there 
was no sign of the dragon.

Maximus reluctantly forced the memory back into his mind.  He 
had been standing there, in charge of the contingent of troops 
guarding the outside of the church as Farquaad's marriage 
proceeded within.  They had been ready for many things, but a 
huge fierce dragon suddenly dropping down within their midst 
was not one of them.  His men immediately panicked and 
scattered.  To his credit, Maximus had been the last to take 
flight.  Although his initial reaction to the monster's sudden 
appearance was bone-numbing fear, he HAD briefly attempted to 
rally his men as the beast paused -- it looked as if to have a 
short conversation with a ... a donkey?  Perhaps, Maximus 
wondered in looking back, if the events of those few seconds 
had driven him temporarily mad and made him start seeing 
things.  At any rate, his futile attempts to rally his troops 
abruptly ended when the dragon had turned and, picking his form 
out as the closest of the solders that had been guarding the 
square, it started chasing him.  He had screamed then, turned 
and ran as hard as he could. 

He had gone almost two blocks straight down the street before 
its incredibly long stride overtook him.  It knocked him down 
to the ground with a simple flick of its paw.  Maximus found 
himself on his back, staring up at the saurian's incredibly 
huge head.  Its teeth loomed large as the creature sneered at 
him.  Its lips were very red -- almost as if the thing were 
wearing lipstick.  Of course, that was a silly thought -- 
sillier even than a talking donkey.  Much more likely, Maximus 
surmised, the lips were stained with the blood of scores of 
other victims.  He also noticed for the first time the odd 
chandelier that spanned its neck.  Maximus actually began to 
laugh at the ludicrousness of the sight.  He realized, in 
retrospect, he truly had been on the verge of insanity.

Maximus had then rolled to the side and scrambled to his feet.  
His flight option gone, he clumsily drew his sword for what he 
had no doubt would be his last fight.  "Hold, b-b-beast!" he 
called, not really knowing why, and brandished the sword 
shakily before him.

The dragon drew back.  Had he not known this was just a stupid 
monster, Maximus could have sworn it smirked at him.  Then it 
lowered its head, wagged its tail, and with little effort blew 
a small (by its standards) black puff of smoke that engulfed 
him.  Maximus was blinded and his lungs stung.  He coughed and 
wheezed and started swinging wildly with his sword, sure that 
the smoke was a ploy to screen the monster's imminent attack.  
After he had performed this routine for a minute or so, Maximus 
collapsed down to his knees, exhausted.  After he had rested a 
short while and realized he hadn't been eaten yet, he opened 
his watering eyes to see the dragon lying on the ground a few 
yards away from him. It was resting its massive head on one of 
its paws and -- Maximus was convinced of this now -- SMILING at 
him.  "Do you think this is FUNNY?" he said, surprising 
himself.  He was even more surprised to see the beast nod and -
- did the thing actually CHUCKLE?  Then the dragon's smile 
faded, its slit-pupiled eyes grew narrower, and its lips 
started to curl back.  Maximus gulped, crossed himself and 
prepared for the worst.

Fortunately, something intervened.  The dragon's head suddenly 
perked up and swung around back in the direction of church, its 
ears erect and attentive.  A split-second later it was off, 
spreading its wings and taking flight toward the building.  
Shielding his eyes from the swirling dust and debris generated 
by the creature's backwash, Maximus could still see the church 
in the distance down the street he had just ran, and saw the 
dragon flying towards it.  Suddenly, near the front of the 
church, an animal came limping forward -- Maximus thought it 
was the donkey he had seen earlier.  With incredible dexterity 
and without breaking stride, the dragon swooped down, gathered 
the equine in its paw, and tossed it onto its back where it 
clung for dear life onto the chandelier.  Maximus felt a brief 
pang of pity for the small animal; no doubt the dragon had 
decided to save it for a future snack.  At any rate, after 
collecting its passenger the dragon quickly soared around the 
back of the church and a moment later Maximus heard the distant 
sounds of glass smashing and people screaming.   It was then 
that he fainted.

Now Maximus picked himself up, glumly sheathed the sword he 
found lying uselessly beside him, and started making his way 
toward the heart of the commotion in the Town Square.  He 
wondered how much carnage the monster had inflicted inside the 
church.  The personal fear he had felt was slowing being 
supplanted by a growing sense of shame in his failure to do his 
job of guarding the church, although he couldn't think offhand 
what else he could have done.  The realization that he would 
have the rest of his life to scour over alternatives already 
started to gnaw at him.

Oddly, as Maximus neared the noisy clumps of people, he 
realized this was not a group of mourners at the site of a 
tragedy.  These people actually seemed HAPPY.  Maximus shook 
his head in disbelief -- maybe he had gone mad after all.  He 
looked around to see if any of his troops had returned.  None 
had.  For all he knew, they were still running.

A middle-aged commoner passed by.  The man had a grin on his 
face and a fresh tray of twenty or so 16-ounce paper cups full 
of beer strapped to his midsection.  He was heading toward the 
celebrating crowd, and no doubt hoping to make a bit of profit 
from their celebratory mood.  Maximus reached out and touched 
his arm, startling him and causing him to spill a little beer 
from each cup.

"I'm sorry," the lieutenant said apologetically, "but could you 
please tell me what happened here?"

"Whad'ya mean?" the man asked, overcoming his surprise and, 
oddly, still happy despite the slight spill.  A brief whiff of 
the man's breath told Maximus that the man had conscientiously 
tested his product.  However, he did not seem so inebriated so 
as to be incomprehensible -- or delusional.  Enough to loosen 
the tongue, but not so much as to muddle the brain.  Finally, 
Maximus thought, he had caught a break.

"The church -- the wedding -- the dragon -- what happened?" 
Maximus asked.

"Weren't you here?"

"No."

"You missed quite a show!" the man said.  "Just after Farquaad 
and the princess got married and became king and queen, a big 
green ogre came chargin' in the building --"

"Ogre?!" Maximus exclaimed.  For a moment he didn't know how 
such an event were possible.  Then something in the back of his 
mind clicked in.  Didn't he see a patch of green moving toward 
the church somewhere behind the dragon?  Yes, the more he 
thought about it, the more it seemed right.  The closer and 
more imposing image of the dragon -- and its apparent 
"conversation" with the donkey -- had driven the "incidental" 
ogre sighting from what was left of his mind.

Meanwhile, the beer vendor continued.  "Yep, he ran right up to 
Farquaad and the new queen.  Then the queen changed into an 
ogre and --"

"WHAT?"

"The queen.  She turned into an ogre, too.  Green skin, big 
body, weird ears -- the whole shtick."

"How did that happen?  Did the ogre cast some spell on her?"

"Don't think so.  Actually, I think she already had one on her.  
After the dragon showed up and ate Farquaad she --"

"The dragon ATE Lord Farquaad?"

"Yep.  Gobbled him right down.  Funniest thing I saw in my 
life!" the man laughed.  The laughter disconcerted Maximus.  He 
knew that Farquaad was hardly the most beloved ruler in the 
world.  But to see such jubilance at his demise...

"So Lord Farquaad is dead," Maximus said, mostly to himself.

"Yep," the man confirmed happily, "unless, of course, he's 
flopping around down in the dragon's belly like Jonah in the 
whale!"  The vendor laughed at that.

"How--how many other dead?" Maximus asked, afraid of the 
answer.

"What?  Oh, none!  Just Farquaad -- and HE deserved it, y'ask 
me.  After the queen turned into an ogre he sicked the whole 
army on her 'n the other ogre.  Farquaad kept fussing 'n 
screamin 'n carrying on -- and all the ogres wanted t'do was be 
together.  Farquaad said he was gonna torture the guy ogre and 
lock the queen up the rest o' her life.  So the guy ogre let go 
this big whistle, and just like THAT -- "  the vendor snapped 
his fingers  "-- the dragon showed up and gobbled Farquaad 
down.  Then the donkey crawled up on top the dragon's head and 
told us not'ta move, then --"

"So there WAS a talking donkey!" Maximus said, relieved at the 
vendor's corroboration.

"Huh?" the man said, thrown off temporarily by the 
interruption, "Oh, yeah.  Him and the dragon seemed to be 
friends.  In fact, they ALL seemed to be friends.  'Course, the 
ogres themselves were more'n friends with each other, 
ifyaknowhaddimean --" the man winked conspiratorially and 
nudged Maximus with that.  Disappointed at the lieutenant's 
lack of reaction, the vendor continued.

"Anyway, then the ogres kissed and there was this big explosion 
--"

Maximus glanced up at the church when he heard that.  Indeed, 
he could see that there was not a window left intact.  He 
shifted his glance back down and saw shards of stained glass 
lying on the ground at the base of the church.  Some 
maintenance people with wide brooms, large dustbins and thick 
gloves moved about the debris.  They were tossing the fragments 
into large garbage vats that had the words "Welcome to Duloc!" 
and a cartoon image of Farquaad's face printed on their dirty, 
battered sides. 

"-- she looked so happy," the man was concluding.  "And then 
they kissed again.  Sweetest darned thing you ever saw."  The 
man's eyes actually started to tear at that.  "Anyway, then 
there was the ceremony where they crowned her queen.  Then the 
guy ogre tore up those consarned cards and told us all we're 
free to think 'n speak for ourselves now, and then a little 
while later after some more jabberin' on the stage we couldn't 
make out they let us all go."

"And nobody was hurt in the explosion?!"  Maximus asked, 
aghast.

"Nope.  Well, it wasn't a real explosion.  It was a -- I don't 
know, a magic thing.  The girl ogre, see, we figured she'd had 
a spell on her that made her human sometimes, and when the guy 
ogre kissed her the spell got broke.  She started glowing and 
then -- poof! -- There was this big wind blew over us and 
busted out the windows and left her lying there on the floor."

"And she was still alive?" Maximus asked.

"Yep."

"And unhurt?"

"Yep."

"And still an ogress?"

"Yep."

"So our queen's an ogress?"

"Yep."

"And people are content with this?"

"You bet!" the man said, "So far, she seems better that the 
dwarf!  Oops, sorry.  Didn't mean that.  It's an insult to 
dwarves!"

Maximus fell silent, mulling over what he had learned.

"Uh, excuse me," the man said, "but if that's all--"

"Oh," Maximus said, "thank you.  And here -- something for your 
trouble," he fumbled with a pocket and pulled out a couple of 
gold coins.  He handed them to the men, whose eyes glowed and 
smile broadened at the sight.  

"Why, thank you, young man!" he said, "If you'd like a beer --"

"No, thank you," Maximus said, and again started to lose 
himself in thought.

The man shrugged.  "Suit yourself," he said, then headed off 
toward a nearby group of gabbing potential customers.  "BEER, 
here!" he started hawking, "COLD beer!"

Maximus stood where he was, absorbing the vendor's story and 
gazing around the square.  There were maybe a couple of hundred 
people, divided into several small groups, milling about it.  
Some groups were simply gabbing with each other, apparently 
reliving their impressions of the happenings inside the church 
judging by the hand gestures.  Some groups were carrying small 
musical instruments and playing impromptu jam sessions -- 
something Farquaad would have loathed, as he insisted all music 
performed within the town limits be officially sanctioned by 
him, with due copyrights claimed by him for any original music 
composed by any Dulocian.  Another group, however, showing less 
benign contempt for the former Lord, had slung a rope around a 
twenty-foot bronze statue of Farquaad that stood near the 
center of the square and were trying to pull it down from its 
pedestal.  Maximus thought he'd best do something about that -- 
he looked about him and did note a few armor-clad soldiers 
milling about.  Some of them looked as bewildered as he felt, 
while others seemed as caught up in the revelry as the other 
townspeople.  None of them were of his command, but Maximus 
decided he'd commandeer them until he saw Gledius -- 

Just then, there was the sound of a great whooshing of wings as 
the dragon flew out of the church through the window by which 
it had entered, then began circling around the top of the 
structure.  People looked up and gasped.  The musicians 
immediately ceased playing to gaze at the sight, and the would-
be vandals dropped their rope.  Maximus's hand immediately went 
to his sword hilt as he just managed to stifle a scream.

But then the dragon alighted atop the church, folded its wings 
and simply sat there, looking down on the town square like some 
huge, animated gargoyle, its yellow eyes shining, the rest of 
its body more dully illuminated by the light of a big, bright, 
nearly full moon.  Its eyes scanned the various people, then 
picked out Maximus.  The corner of the beast's mouth then broke 
a little grin and the thing -- WINKED at him!  Maximus just 
stared back, a shiver going up his spine, and swallowed a lump 
that had suddenly crept up his throat.

At that point, both church doors were opened and out stomped 
Captain Gledius.  Behind him came the ogre and ogress, tightly 
locked arm-in-arm.  Maximus recognized the queen's dress, 
although the body it adorned was now considerably different.  
Her hair color and style were all else that Maximus could 
recognize from the lithe princess that had entered the church.  
But no -- wait -- there was something about the face and eyes -
- it WAS the princess!  Maximus had not seen her human face for 
long -- a short glimpse as she walked past his post -- but it 
had been a face whose beauty had immediately engraved itself in 
his mind.  It and her captivating body had looked almost like 
living artwork; a walking, breathing tribute to the female 
form.  Now to see that ravishing beauty mutated into this -- 
this hideous THING -- the tragedy nearly broke Maximus's heart.  
She marched lockstep with the huge male ogre, leaning against 
him as if for support -- but apparently not physical support, 
as her eyes seemed to be casting about self-consciously at the 
gawking crowd.  The ogre's eyes were also active, but Maximus 
recognized by the sharpness of those eyes and the set of his 
jaw that he was keeping watch, not for looks of approval or 
disapproval, but for threats.  Mayor Milquest, who bore his 
usual plastered-on smile and every so often waved to the crowd, 
followed the ogres.  Milquest was in turn followed by Beaglely, 
the city manager, lugging his ever-present briefcase, who may 
as well been going for a stroll by himself in the park to judge 
by his impassive demeanor.  Bringing up the rear of the group 
was -- the donkey.  It was also keeping a wary eye on the 
people around it as it walked, but unlike the ogre, its look 
betrayed a little more personal discomfort.  It glanced up and 
saw the dragon at its perch -- and seemed to take some comfort 
from the sight.  It smiled up at the great beast, and the 
dragon smiled back -- a much more pleasant smile than the one 
it had lavished on Maximus.  The little group was flanked on 
either side by a line of five soldiers, and the whole 
contingent began moving along a path that made a beeline to 
Farquaad's castle.

The ogres looked up at the colossal edifice looming before 
them.  With nightfall, banks of special rotating spotlights 
were automatically activated that alternately bathed the entire 
castle surface  in blue, red, yellow, and green pastel lights.  
Maximus knew the illuminated structure could be seen for miles.  
This close, it was particularly impressive -- and imposing.  
The queen openly gasped as she looked up at it, and even the 
male ogre seemed impressed.

The many people that had filled the square quickly formed two 
rough lines on either side of the path the group was taking, 
and enthusiastically clapped and cheered.  Many chanted the 
name of the queen, and a few chanted "Shrek."  Maximus wondered 
at first if they were throwing insults, but soon deducted that 
this must be the name of the ogre.

Suddenly the Dulocian press and paparazzi descended on the 
little group, quills scribbling madly on parchment notepads as 
barrages of camera bulb flashes yielded a strange stroboscopic 
effect to the already surreal scene.  Gledius and his men had 
to shove the more overly eager of them aside as they continued 
onward toward the castle.

"Your Highness!" one reporter called, "Do you have anything to 
say to your new subjects?!"

"Your Majesty!" another cried, "What reforms do you plan for 
your new regime?  Do you anticipate a possible tax cut?!"

"Your Grace!" a female reporter yelled, "New Bride magazine 
here.  Could you please tell our readership where they can get 
the expandable wedding gowns?!"

"Queen Fiona!" came another voice, "You've just won your True 
Love's heart and become the ruler of Duloc.  What are you going 
to do now?!"

Just then a little girl of seven or eight with bright 
yellowish-blond hair stepped into the path the group was moving 
down, a few yards ahead of them.  She just stood there, holding 
her hands behind her back and looking innocently at Gledius as 
he led the group straight towards her.   

*     *     *

Captain Gledius marched forward, sweeping away the occasional 
pesky photographer.  As he came upon the little girl standing 
directly in his path, he looked down, curtly ordered, "Make way 
for the queen!" and signaled with his sword for her to step 
aside.  The small girl froze like a deer caught in headlights, 
and stared up at his ominous figure.  "I said MOVE, you little 
brat!" Gledius added impatiently.  The little girl's eyes grew 
wide with fright and she started to cry.

"HEY!!!" a sharp, loud female voice sounded from behind 
Gledius.  He turned as Fiona released Shrek's arm and strode 
forward, her face flushed in anger, her searing blue eyes 
locking on him.  Not a hint of fear or uncertainly could now be 
detected in her suddenly impassioned demeanor.  Amazingly, near 
total silence fell across the Town Square.  No quill scratched 
paper, and no camera flashes disturbed the night.

Fiona halted in front of the stunned Gledius.  "Look, PAL," she 
snarled, punching her right index finger against his 
breastplate and knocking him back a step, "I don't know WHO you 
think you are, but NOBODY talks that way to little girls around 
here!  Not on MY watch, anyway!"

Gledius's mouth just hung open for a moment.  The ogress was 
not as physically imposing as her male counterpart, but she did 
stand Gledius's height and was almost twice as broad.  The way 
she had started unconsciously flexing her large hands into 
fists as she stared him down did not ease his anxiety.  "I -- 
uh -- my apologies, Y-Your Highness," he finally stammered, "As 
p-per standard procedure, I was -- um -- just trying to make 
way for--"

Fiona shook her head in disgust.  "Just get away from me," she 
growled, and roughly shouldered past him to get to the little 
girl.  Fiona softened her features and looked down on the 
girl's face; the youngster had ceased crying and was looking 
back up at Fiona with something like awe.  Fiona knelt down so 
that she was closer to the girl's height, and offered the 
youngster what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Hello," Fiona said, her tone gentle and soothing.  "I'm sorry 
if that man frightened you."

"It's okay," the girl said, taking one hand from behind her 
back and wiping an eye, "that short guy was meaner."

"You mean Lord Farquaad?" Fiona asked.

"Yeah," the little girl said, then asked hopefully, "is he 
really gone, now?"

"Really, really," Fiona assured her.

"And you're our queen?"

Fiona hesitated, then replied, "Yes.  Well, for a while, 
anyway."

"This is for you," the girl said, then took her other hand from 
behind her back and offered what it held out to Fiona.  It was 
a sunflower.

"Why -- thank you," the ogress said, taking the flower and 
sniffing it.  "It smells very nice."

"It's pretty," the little girl said, "like you."

Fiona stared at the little girl, struck silent for a moment as 
the smile dropped from her face.  Then a new smile started 
playing at the corners of her mouth as she asked, almost in a 
whisper, "Do you really think I'm pretty?"

"Really, really!" the girl replied enthusiastically, "Even more 
than that other red-haired woman that was supposed to be our 
new queen.  The one you changed places with.  You have nicer 
ears."

Fiona chuckled.  "You like my ears, huh?"

"Oh, yes!" the girl said.  "May I touch them?"

Fiona hesitated again, then said "Sure.  Here."  She removed 
her crown, then leaded forward and lowered her head.  The 
little girl reached up and ran her fingers around the edges of 
one of Fiona's long trumpet-shaped ears.  At one point Fiona 
giggled and said, "careful -- that tickles!"

"They're soft!" the little girl exclaimed as she pulled her 
hand back.

"Um-hum," Fiona nodded, then asked,  "What's your name?"

"Goldilocks," the little girl answered.

"Goldilocks.  That's a nice name.  And very apt.  I'm Fiona.  I 
want to thank you very much for the flower, Goldilocks."

"You're welcome ... Fiona," Goldilocks replied.

"Now, let me give something to you in return."  With that, 
Fiona reached into the fold of her dress where she had tucked 
her wedding ring.  "Show me your hand."

Goldilocks held her hand out, palm upward.  "Here," Fiona said, 
and placed the ring on her palm.  "This is a little too small 
for me.  It's yours now."

The little girl looked at the ring, then picked it up off her 
palm and stared at it for a moment, her eyes wide.  "Wow!" she 
exclaimed, "It's so shiny!  And heavy!"

"Um-hum," Fiona nodded.

Goldilocks slid the ring over one of her fingers and back off, 
her face taking on a frown.  "But it's too big for me," she 
said, sounding disappointed.

"You'll grow into it," Fiona assured her, "one day it will fit 
just right.  You just hold onto it for a few years, and maybe 
one day when you meet a big brave man that you want to marry, 
that can be your wedding ring."

Goldilocks thought about it for a moment, then pointed past 
Fiona at Shrek and asked, "Somebody like him?"

Fiona looked back at Shrek as the ogre smiled shyly.  "Maybe," 
Fiona said, a twinkle in her eye as she winked at him, "IF 
you're lucky."  Shrek then blushed and looked down.

"Now," Fiona said, looking around her at some of the faces in 
the crowd, "where are your parents?"

"I -- I don't know," Goldilocks replied, becoming a bit 
frustrated, "I just got back from -- from playing out in the 
woods, and I -- I can't find my home."  Tears started to well 
in her eyes.

"Can't find your home?" Fiona repeated, surprised.  When 
Goldilocks nodded and started weeping, the ogress added, 
"There, there, now."  She wiped the girl's tears with the hem 
of her dress.  "We can't have that.  Let's see if we can't find 
your home for you."

Fiona scanned the crowd a bit more, and her inquiring eyes lit 
upon a young soldier that was staring at her with something 
less than the warmth and acceptance that most of the other 
Dulocians seemed to be demonstrating.  "You, soldier!" she 
called to him.

"Me?" the solder asked, taken aback.

"Yes, you," Fiona said, "what is your name?"

"Lieutenant Maximus ... Your Highness," he replied, and offered 
a late but well executed bow.

"An officer.  Good.  Lieutenant, I want you to take this girl 
and find her home.  Do you think you can handle that?"

"Yes, my ... Queen," the officer said.  He came forward, knelt 
down and offered the little girl his hand.  "Come with me, 
young lady.  We'll find your home for you," he said softly to 
her.

Goldilocks looked at his outstretched hand skeptically at 
first, then looked back to Fiona.  "Go ahead, you'll be 
alright," Fiona said, nodding her support.   

"Okay," Goldilocks said warily, and took Maximus's hand.  Both 
he and Fiona stood.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Fiona said, smiling at the solder and 
replacing her crown.

"Your Majesty," Maximus said, bowing again to her.  After he 
arose, and just before he turned to lead his charge away, the 
look in his eyes as he beheld Fiona disconcerted her.  For in 
that look she saw ... pity.

As Maximus led Goldilocks away, the little girl turned around 
and waved at the queen.  "Good-bye, Fiona," she said, "thank 
you."

Fiona's face broke into a smile.  "Thank YOU for the flower, 
and the kind words," Fiona called, "and say hi to your folks 
for me!"

Goldilocks nodded, turned, and she and Maximus passed into the 
crowd.  As the little girl disappeared deeper into the milling 
throng, Fiona's smile became more uncertain.  Then she felt an 
increasingly familiar hand gently alight on her shoulder.  

"Are ye all right?" Shrek whispered.

She nodded and gently laid her hand on his, but still seemed 
somewhat morose.  Shrek sighed, then grinned mischievously as a 
thought came to him.  He reached up with his other hand and 
playfully flicked her ear.  "Ticklish, huh?" he asked coyly.

Fiona turned to face him, and couldn't help but giggle as she 
saw the glint in his eyes.  "Don't even THINK about it," she 
said with mock seriousness.  Then, heaving a heavy sigh, she 
turned to face Gledius.  Her expression quickly changed to 
sternness bordering on contempt.

"I think we can manage the rest of the way by ourselves.  You 
may be relieved, Captain," Fiona said coldly, then turned and 
started up the path toward the castle.

The crowd, mostly silent since Fiona's initial chiding of 
Gledius, suddenly broke into loud applause.

Gledius stared after her, dumbfounded.  Shrek also stared after 
her, a feeling of proud admiration warming him.  He turned to 
Gledius, jerked a thumb towards the departing ogress, smirked, 
and said, "Yeah.  What she said."  Shrek then turned back and 
trotted after her.

Milquest, not certain of how to react in yet another unscripted 
environment, offered Gledius a quick little apologetic grin as 
he hurried past him.  Beaglely followed after Milquest, not 
looking at Gledius at all.  

Donkey, as he passed Gledius, did stop.  He looked at the 
embarrassed captain, then closed his eyes and snootily turned 
his nose up and away as he gave a dismissive "Humph!"  He then 
pranced along after Beaglely,

Gledius and the soldier escorts just stood there, watching the 
entourage make its way to the castle.  The ogre had quickly 
caught up to the queen, and his fierce warning glares where 
doing as well as the soldiers' efforts had in keeping overly-
anxious reporters and spectators at bay.  Most of the crowd 
stared after the little group, their applause continuing.  
Every so often someone would glance back a Gledius, and almost 
always their face would betray either contempt or ridicule.  As 
the guards at the castle doors made way for the queen and her 
escorts to enter, Gledius's own face took on an expression of 
deep loathing.  The gears of his mind, temporarily clogged by 
shock and embarrassment, now started turning in sinister 
directions.