Where Dragons Play

Of Thrones and Chocolate

"Really, I don't appreciate how I had to do the work all by myself this month," I said, sinking into the throne with a sigh. "But at least I'm the undisputed leader of the House of Mormont now."

"Yes, certainly," Elizabeth said, patting my hand. "You know I was dealing with health issues and couldn't do nearly as much as I wanted to."

"At least I helped you with something, didn't I?" Chrys O'Shea asked.

"And you helped me out with some questions I had," Krista of House Mormont added.

"It's okay," I smiled. "The reward is worth it. We're a team no matter what."

"Now it's time to celebrate!" Choconut exclaimed as she burst through the castle doors with an armload of boxes of chocolates. "I'm the first of the Targaryen team to show up to your party. Took Kiya and I nearly a month to get here from England. You did go through all the doors, right, Amethyst?"

"Yes, I did, Rachel," I said, rubbing a hand across my forehead. "I went into a tailspin at Door 20… I'm afraid I misunderstood. I was absolutely certain it required twenty reviews, two each from two cases of all five colors. But I searched the forum and checked what others submitted, and they only reviewed two of each case, not four."

"At least you can say you went above and beyond." Rachel handed each of us an enormous box of chocolates, set the rest on the table, and pulled a book out of her backpack. "I have to show you this latest novel in the series—"

"Hey, what's going on?" Jeremy | 21 Years On WDC strode in, waving a Burger King paper crown in the air. "I'm the King here, not you!"

He walked right up to me and pointed a finger in my face.

"You're the one who crowned me, don't you remember? You wrote my ode and everything. That means I get to sit on the throne and give orders."

"Um… we're all getting thrones, aren't we, sort of?" I fidgeted awkwardly in my seat. "I mean, anyone who's completed Door 21 gets that "prickly throne" Merit Badge, and we all know who really gets the Big Throne—House Targaryen, of course."

"That's me!" iKïyå§ama appeared with a grin that would have lit up the room if Jeremy hadn't been frowning. "If there are any complaints, bring 'em to me. I'm the Purple Case, after all. I led my team to victory!"

Rachel gestured to Jeff walking in wearing headphones.

"He's one of us, Kiya. Share the glory with your teammates."

"Hey, I wasn't the biggest one on our team," Jeff waved at GERVIC 🐉 WDC Dragon Vale , who was carrying a cute little blue dragon across his shoulders. "Gervic really poured his heart into it, and he's not even a Moderator, let alone a Purple Case."

"But I get the crown!" Jeremy insisted. "I have Amethyst's Newsfeed note and everything."

"That's not how GoT works," intuey observed. "You gained your rewards with your own team effort, not because someone crowned you in the Newsfeed. Why, many people were crowned that way through the course of this game. It wasn't the Crown."

We were still arguing about it when Kit and SandraLynn Team Florent! showed up, wearing full masquerade regalia.

"I don't understand what the fuss is about," Kit said. "I'm supposed to be the Queen. Cats always rule the roost, and I've done my share of Tedious Citadel Tasks."

"Foxes are the really smart ones," Sandra announced. "I should be the Queen. We'll have to wait for Lyn's a Witchy Woman
to arrive. She can figure it out."

It was Annette 's turn to show up. She took one look at us and folded her arms.

"What are you squabbling about now? Didn't Gaby ~ Quiet contemplation make the rules clear enough?"

After hearing Jeremy, Kit, and Sandra tell their sides, she said briskly,

"Let's straighten this out with a good old-fashioned showdown, duel, competition—you know, whatever those medieval things were called."

"Oh, you mean a tournament?" Jeremy perked up. "Let's do it!"

"Wait, what?" I sat upright. "What kind of a duel? I don't want to hurt anyone!"

"Nonsense." Annette brushed my objections aside. "It'll be a battle of wits. Jeremy, what's the capital of Ireland?"

"Dublin!"

Annette turned to me.

"Capital of Finland?"

"Uhh…"

She spun to Kit.

"Capital of Brazil?"

"Sao Paulo… or is it Brazilia now?"

This didn't last more than a few minutes. Gaby herself walked in. We all gasped.

"It's the Keeper of the Realm!" Rachel whispered, popping a chocolate almond in her mouth.

"No more fussing," Gaby said, a twinkle in her eyes. "Did you really think you'd have to fight for a throne after all your hard work? I'm here to praise each and every one of you for what you've contributed to our community. This wasn't a competition. This was a giant collaboration, and I'm proud of everyone."

We cheered and clapped. I slid off of the throne, declaring,

"That thing is less than comfortable anyway. Can we just resume our normal lives again without having to worry about crowns and thrones and teams anymore?"

"Oh, but surely you want your rewards?" Gaby winked at us. "Why, it wouldn't do to let so many delightful Merit Badges and other goodies go to waste."

"Yes! Let's have the goodies!"

"Ah, but we must be patient. The game is not over yet…"

A collective groan arose.

A knock sounded at the door, and Elycia Lee ☮ peeked in.

"Am I late for the party? I came all the way from Malaysia because I heard there was chocolate…"

Word Count: 940.

prompt: ▼

Door 21
(2000 words or less, all three challenges combined)

1. Royalty
You're not quite there but you are considered a Lord or a Lady
Your teammates are your subjects
Tell us how you're treating your subjects now?
We want to see entertainment!
Add a few people from opposing teams for good measure!


2. Pick a Royal Subject
Pick an opposing team's member as the King/Queen
Will you overthrow them?
How and why?


3. The Threat
What's the outcome of the story?
Who wins in the end?
Who survives?
Are there any consequences?

(I'm sorry, I don't know why I painted us as a bunch of goofballs I mean no offense to anyone—we're all friends here. It's just a silly story, hastily flung together. If I'd given it more consideration throughout the month, it would have been better. But I half assumed I wouldn't make it this far.)

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