Guard of Thorns

It was a special day today, because Thyme had been waiting for it a while. After many months talking to the court and eventually meeting the Queen, Thyme and her friends had managed to be promoted: each having their own roles for the cause.

It was decided that Thyme was to become the ambassador to the dinos on the surface: because of her kind nature and understanding gaze, Queen Rhys believes she is best suited for the job. Thyme had been a follower of Rhys for a few months since they made their way into the dome of Atlantis. She didn't see anything wrong with letting some plants spread- there's enough islands for all dinokind. Of course the dome wasn't going to collapse either- we already have most it under control! I've seen it, she said.

She was very gleeful that one day when the Queen had pulled her aside, talking in private. It was after that she told us she was being promoted. The next few days Dart and Omelette were each pulled aside and told of the shared ceremony. They had to keep most of the plan from Thyme- she would get too excited otherwise, Omelette feared she might explode.

Dart however had been told everything. He had been promoted to warrior, guardian and fellow courtier because of his quick thinking and mediator personality. He began to gain the trust of the court, especially the giant bull, Mantell.
Mantell was the original iguanodon guard that had imprisoned Thyme. They had understood he only did it out of fear- the court had not seen much kindness from others coming from above the surface.
When Dart broke out of his own tether, all he needed to do to find her was follow the faint sound of sad honks in the distance. When he got there, Omelette was already in the process of trying to convince Mantell to let her go. Seeing a rather stone-faced styracosaurus made him slightly more alarmed for a minute, but after quick words exchanged the tense air began to dissipate. Mantell grew quite fond of them, as did they with him, they came to find he was a hardened yet very kind iguanodon.
Although on occasion Mantell had a slight problem with his tone of voice; I imagine after many years his hearing hasn’t been as perfect as it always was, and he tends to talk about things quite loudly even while in private. This has led Dart to sometimes eavesdrop on his conversations, wanting to understand more about Atlantis and most importantly, where the Queen’s Bounty is.
Dart had heard him mention it a few times, a Bounty, needing all day and night supervision from anyone who may be thinking to break in. A vault full of the queen’s jewels and armor. To no fault of his own Mantell had even discussed who was going to guard it next and when.
Dart felt nothing bad towards him- especially after he was basically their voice for the most part of their time in Atlantis, and had become a trusted friend. The court at first was more likely to want to only hear words from their fellow iguanodon.Thanks to Mantell’s help, they began to be trusted by the court.
Eventually Mantell himself came to Dart to tell him to stand guard for the Bounty. The others had to occasionally do guard duty as well, but it was mainly Dart’s job. Whenever he was on guard, he would remember certain entry points and fields of view, and even marked a blindspot for himself later. I need to be as stealthy as possible when the time is right.

Omelette had also been promoted and then given the role of warpainter, because of her small dextrous hands and creativity. She had told Thyme that she practiced on herself on occasion, but desperately wanted to paint a warrior. Strangely in Atlantis the painting was done by the monkeys- small furry creatures that followed the Queen wherever she went. They had much more flexible fingers and even a thumb, something Omelette does not have. This did not discourage her in the slightest of course, and she would swear that she would paint a dino one day. Dart and Mantell were happy to fill her in on the ceremony: she would finally get to paint a dinosaur and it would be her best friend, Thyme. An ovi of few words, once told she shook her feathers in excitement and exclaimed, “Wow! Painting a friend!”

It was early morning when the ceremony was to begin. The trio were to be in their best spirits, as they were spending the day a new dino. The queen had told them to stand vigil in the early morning outside her quarters and then after she awoke to stand guard in the middle of a large hall they use for banquets and parties. It was midday and they had to fast for the day until evening fell. For a moment, Dart felt as if he could not go on much longer, but this will be worth it, he told himself.

It was then that Mantell had arrived and told them they were in fact having a feast afterwards, and they were to sit next to the queen, a great honor. The prospect of eating soon made everyone's stomach rumble, but they all stood still anyway knowing it was beginning soon. The room started to fill and five more iguanodons arrived, lining the hall in perfect formation.

Finally, Queen Rhys stood at the door, surrounded by three large monkeys Dart understood as orangutans. As she entered the orangutans all slowly meandered around the hall, taking in everything before going back to preen Rhys. They were quite large- Dart had not seen such large animals before. Each of them had robes of fur on their shoulders and bulbous cheeks. After each attendee bowed to the Queen, she began to speak.

“We’re here today for a special ceremony. Three ambitious dinosaurs stand before us- they began as prisoners, which we are still very, very deeply sorry for-” All of the iguanodons made a noise of agreement. “-But now they have become warriors. Warriors for the cause of Atlantis. They have shown much respect for our world, and come to love it as we love them. They have embraced our ways and wish to follow me into the next lifetime.” Rhys made a loud honking noise, which all of the iggys copied in unison.
Dart thought about how he was going to recreate the noise, as he would surely have to after this. Thyme would have no problem making it- Dart maybe less so, and if Omelette even tried it would likely come out as a squeak.

Rhys stood up and began to walk towards Thyme, until they were touching noses.
“Thyme. You are named after a pleasant scent, and your temperament is just as pleasant. We have noticed your willingness to help and protect. I am giving you the title of Ambassador for the surface. Your job will be to guard Atlantis, and to help spread words of peace.”

With this, all of the iguanodons in attendance all stood up, this time even louder in celebration.

“Thyme, Thyme, Thyme! Ambassador!”

Thyme couldn’t stop herself from vibrating with joy as she put her head up high. Dart turned towards her and said “Good job, Thyme.”
If this bothered the queen, it wasn’t visible, as she kept on with the ceremony. She walked up to Omelette and looked amused at having to bend down to touch the nose of a small oviraptor. The room fell into silence once again as she spoke.

“Omelette. You have lived in Atlantis all of your life, but have still always been a stranger to us. We hope your new title will change that, for you are now a Warpainter. Your first paint will be for your fellow courtier, Thyme. We noticed your exceptional teamwork and coordination. We believe you can find the best color paint to suit her, and many other warriors. Your job is to guard Atlantis and brand our warriors with the finest colors.”

Once again the room filled up with noise as everyone started to chant again. “Omelette! Omelette! Painter! Painter!”
Omelette herself looked sheepish, but still gave a squeak of excitement. She looked up at Thyme beside her. “I get to paint you, my friend! I paint you with my claws, so I always protect you.”
Thyme looked like she was about to cry from happiness, but still stubbornly said nothing as she looked into her friends eyes.
The Queen then walked to stand in front of Dart, and it was then he began to feel very nervous. They couldn’t touch noses due to his front horn.

“Dart. Your name reminds one of a poisonous dart, intended to incapacitate enemies swiftly.” He knew that that wasn’t his real name or meaning, but he said nothing.
“You have shown much courage and skill in battle with our warriors. You have shared your quick thinking and your important skills of what’s on the surface. We hope that you can show more to us, and help us spread our word. I give you the title of Warrior, your job is to continue to guard Atlantis and share your knowledge with us, so that we may be victorious.”

“I’ll be personally awarding you a set of armor of whatever material you choose.”

For one last time everyone in the room began to chant, eventually turning to low continuous notes, much like a song.
All of the iguanodons including the queen all reared up and stood on two legs. It was quite magnificent to witness- several large iggys holding this pose while belting out a song. Dart could tell it was a show of strength.
It felt like it lasted forever before they stopped, and they could hear it loudly outside afterwards, distant iguanodons spread all around the dome must have heard it too, for it echoed and bounced off the walls of Atlantis before coming to silence once again.
Dart thought about what armor he would want- and about whether he would actually wear it or not.

“The banquet will now begin.” The queen continued, ”Omelette, you may begin your first task of painting Thyme before the food has finished being prepared if you wish.” She turned to look at each one of the trio.
“We shall then have a feast and talk about what’s next. You officially begin more important duties tomorrow. Well done.”