Art Prompt Writing Contest #9 - Timothy Pip - The Stealer of Time
“Tambour! Come kitty, we must go!” Timothy climbs hurriedly onto the smooth, fury back of Tambour and they gallop away.
“Get them! I am so tired of these thieving gnomes!” Charlie urgently says to the other timekeepers.
“What will happen if he uses the timepiece?” One of them asks.
“Our world could be destroyed.”
“Well, we can’t let that happen.”
Tambour is panting as they continue to try and escape the grasp of the timekeepers. “Duck Tambour! Watch out for the water trees!” Timothy forcibly says as he pulls on her reins to guide her. Without warning, Tambour comes to a brutal stop, sending Timothy flying through the air. Timothy lands head first in the hole of a water tree trunk.
“Excuse me? Do you mind? I’m trying to sway here!” Sir asks irritatingly of the small short-winded gnome.
“Shhh, please I need to hide in your trunk,” he faintly says to the large, shimmering water tree.
Sir forcefully spits Timothy out of his trunk with a large heap of water, “I think not!”
Before Timothy can get to his feet, the timekeepers surround him on their wispy critters. Timothy stands, holding his head and eyes down at the ground. “Give us the timepiece you sneaky gnome, and we will let you live,” Charlie, the master timekeeper, scolds Timothy.
Timothy slides his hands in his pockets revealing their emptiness. “I don’t have your timepiece. I never had such a thing.”
Charlie reproaches and hops off his wispy critter landing with a loud thud. “We saw you take it, now where is it?”
“You caught me just before I was able to grab it,” Timothy deceitfully remarks unable to keep a small smirk from appearing at the corners of his thin lips.
“Liar! Take him prisoner.”
“Please, I beg of you! I didn’t take it. Here you can have this for your troubles.” Timothy says as he reveals a small black, round ball.
“What is that supposed to be? A rock?” Charlie angrily points at the ball.
“No, a distraction.” Timothy pierces the ball. Black smoke rises overtaking them. It sends the timekeepers into a raging, gagging cough. “Tambour!” She arrives moments later, Timothy climbs on her back and then they are off again. “Let’s head for Mole Hill girl! We can hide in the tunnels.”
Mole Hill approaches in the distance, climbing to the sky. As Tambour gallops towards the hill, Timothy studies the timepiece he has stolen. The knobs and buttons are not labeled and he is fearful of what will happen if he turns or presses the wrong one. He closes his eyes and reaches for one of the three buttons. “Here goes nothing.” He presses it in and without warning, the ground starts shaking violently.
“Meow!” Tambour screams, barely able to keep her balance as she continues to run.
In front of them, the dry, barren ground opens up into a large, deep crevasse. “Tambour! You must jump!” Going too quickly to stop, Tambour does just that! She leaps in the air and barely catches the cliff on the other side. “No, Tambour! Help!” Timothy screeches as he is thrown from her back upon landing. Scared to look, Tambour peeks over the edge to find Timothy hanging onto the ledge with one hand while the other hand dangles below, still grasping the timepiece. “Help me!” Tambour crouches low and Timothy takes his dangling arm and flings it upward catching her by the collar.
He manages to keep a hold on the timepiece as Tambour slowly backs up, trying to keep her grip against the sand, so that they don't go over the edge. Once Timothy is pulled to safety, they lay on their backs. “I just need to catch my breath. Remind me not to press that button again,” he says to her. They climb back to their feet, Timothy stretches his back and rubs his shoulder as he begins to feel the pain and stiffness of their stunt. He painfully climbs back on Tambour, “Let’s go”.
“Finally the tavern. I’ll tie you up out here and bring you some mole milk.” After bringing her some milk, he sits down inside to eat. He removes the timepiece from his pocket. In the shadows, under the edge of his table, he examines it closely. He rubs his finger along the flat side of the buttons and that’s when he sees it. “Ah, there you are,” he whispers to himself. He looks around to make sure no one is watching or approaching him. He brings the timepiece up out of the shadows and rubs it again. Still whispering, “There is a D on the button I pressed earlier. What does it mean? D, as in destruction?” Rubbing the other two buttons he reveals more, “R and B. So then what do R and B mean?”
He sits puzzled trying to conjure their meanings, but nothing comes to mind. He pays his bill and steps back out on the dark street, still lost in thought. As he gathers the reins of his tired companion, a commotion takes place behind him.
“You there! Stop in the name of Queen Reesa!” It’s Charlie and the other timekeepers.
“Sorry girl, but we have to go,” he says to Tambour. He hops on her back and they are off again. They speed through the town. “Move out of the way!” he says to a group of kids. Timothy is landing hard on Tambour’s already sore back, as she pounds the sand with her feet. He pulls the watch from his pocket again and contemplates trying another button. “R or B? Quickly!... B.” As soon as he presses it, a green laser light shoots out from the top side of the timepiece’s faceplate. “What is this? I can’t tell what it’s doing. This is not helpful right now!” he screams. The light jumps across the landscape in front of him as they bounce on Tambour’s back.
A whistle is heard in front of them, when out of the sky a bomb falls crushing the terrain, causing him to pull the reins to the right. “B is for bomb, got it.” He hits the same button again, only this time he turns to face his chasers.
He is able to hold the laser steadier this time, right on the chest of Charlie. The whistle starts again, “Separate!” However, it is too late.
“Yes! We got them Tambour. They won’t be chasing us anymore.” The two of them come to a stop and turn to watch the sand settle. Excitement rushes through Timothy, “Woohoo! Now that they have been dealt with, we can make camp here tonight.”
Tambour drifts off to sleep swiftly while Timothy sits by the fire he made. The seas and skies are clear this evening and the fear of being caught has drifted far away. The shimmering blue water trees are very iridescent. In the light of the fire, he is compelled to stare at the timepiece while he sifts sand through his small lanky fingers. “You don’t want to go back to that glass cage do you? You are a handsome timepiece that deserves to be worn and used. There is only mystery that still remains. What does R do?” The thought haunts him and his curiosity is beginning to get the best of him. Before he can talk himself out of it, he presses it.
Poof. He is swifty moving through time and space, floating above the places he had passed. It happens so fast that it comes in a blur. The air moving around him is of a sickly heat. “I think I’m going to be sick,” he yells. Before the sickness is able to go any further he falls from the air landing flat on his stomach on a hard stone floor.
He raises his head, holding it with his hand as if trying to steady the dizziness occurring. He opens his eyes to find a blurry image of a person in front of him. As his vision begins to clear, he comes to realize it is Queen Reesa. Somehow, she looks both pleased and displeased at the same time.
“Well, it’s about time you hit the return button,” she says staring down at him with her arms crossed.
“R is for return. Good to know,” he says to her.
He is still recovering from the dizzying transport back to the castle when two timekeepers snatch him off the floor by his arms. One of them removes the timepiece from his wrist and places it back in its clear case. He looks around the room, if Tambour is there, he can't see her.
Firmly, the queen begins to speak. “Well, seems as though you have had quite a day Mr…?”
“Timothy Pip.”
“Mr. Pip.”
“What are you going to do with me?” he asks in a stupor trying to figure out his next move.
“Well, Mr. Pip, I want you to work for me.” He didn't see that coming, but he continues to listen. “See there is one thing I want more than anything and that is to live forever. That timepiece you stole from me helps to keep me safe, but it doesn't keep me young. I want you to go to Eversail and bring back the elixir of life.”
“What's in it for me?”
“You mean other than remaining alive?” she pauses. “You get that,” she says as she points to the timepiece. “You will get to become the master keeper of time and life.”
Timothy's mouth waters at the idea of such power and control. That timepiece is the envy of all others. “When do I leave?” He says with half a smile.
Queen Reesa smiles back feeling shivers from the deviousness of his smirk. “The day after tomorrow. Your journey will be a long one. The path to Eversail is treacherous, full of dangerous creatures even a sly gnome such as yourself will have problems getting past. I will send for Tambour. For now, you must rest.”
Oooh! I like! I love how you took the prompt almost literally. Most people have kinda stepped around writing a story with an actual time dude and a cat in it.
I like how you left it open ended. Also, "mole milk." Best line ever XD
Lol. Thanks @caleblailmusik. Yeah I felt like I could continue with a part two, maybe more. I had fun writing it!