Chapter 6

Chapter 6 "It's getting a little crowded in here," Princess Pulverizer complained as she stared at her new companions. "And there's no way out, is there?" the knight said. SOB. SOB.

Princess Pulverizer gave him a threatening stare. "Don't start that again," she warned him. The knight took a deep breath and choked back his cries. Then he bowed. "I am Lucas." "Don't you mean Sir Lucas?" Princess Pulverizer asked him. "Not exactly," Lucas told her. "I'm just a knight-in-training. Or I was, until I left Knight School." Princess Pulverizer couldn't believe her ears. This Lucas kid had left Knight School! "Why would anybody leave Knight School?" she asked him. "Knight School is the greatest place on earth." "I didn't leave it on purpose," Lucas told her. "I was kind of laughed out." Princess Pulverizer stared at him. "Why?" she asked him. Lucas turned bright red. "I just couldn't do anything right," he told her. "I left my armor out in the rain overnight. Now look at it."

The princess looked closely at Lucas's armor. It was covered with spots of rust. "That's not the worst of it," Lucas continued. "One time I was practicing fencing with my partner, and the visor on my helmet slammed shut. I couldn't see a thing. But I kept fencing." "That was very noble of you," Princess Pulverizer said. "It was very stupid of me," Lucas corrected her. "I kept waving my sword around and around—and I had no idea that I was actually fencing with a tree branch, until it fell on my head." Princess Pulverizer started to laugh. She stopped when she saw the expression on Lucas's face. "It's okay," Lucas told her. "Go ahead and laugh. Everybody else did." Princess Pulverizer smiled at him. "That really doesn't sound so bad," she said.

"Certainly not bad enough to make you leave Knight School." "Well, there's also one more thing," Lucas said. "But it's really embarrassing." Princess Pulverizer stared at him. It would have to be pretty bad to be more embarrassing than fencing with a tree branch. "You see, I'm a—" Lucas began. He stopped mid-sentence and leaped up onto a wooden stool. "MOUSE!" he shouted.

Princess Pulverizer looked down. Sure enough, a little gray mouse was scooting around on the floor. "You're afraid of a mouse?" she asked Lucas. He nodded. "I'm pretty much afraid of everything," Lucas admitted. "The other guys

nicknamed me Lucas the Lily-Livered. That really hurt my feelings. So I left." "You left?" Princess Pulverizer asked him. "But where did you go? Where do you live now?" "I don't have a home," Lucas said. "I've just been wandering the woods. For a while I was alone. Then I met Dribble. It's been good to have a friend." "Dribble?" Princess Pulverizer asked. "What kind of a name is that for a dragon?" "Well, what's your name?" Dribble asked her. "Princess Pulverizer," she replied proudly. "What kind of a name is that for a princess?" Dribble asked her. "It's a great name for a princess," Princess Pulverizer insisted. "Especially for a princess who is going to go to Knight School." "Knight School?" Lucas asked her. "But you can't go to Knight School!"