“Come Along Busby.”
The royal formal had been a bust as far as Sweetie was concerned. Every important and prestigious person from Barkingburg came to greet the princess. There wasn’t a reason or special occasion for the formal. It was just something the princess liked to do from time to time. Whether it was a vapid attempt to show how caring she was or a sly way to save face for anything treacherous that had occurred recently, some of which Sweetie had no doubly caused. Regardless, the formals worked in the princess’s favor. For Sweetie, it was another opportunity for her to try and get noticed. She was a royal as well and the princess’s best friend! Yet anytime she vied for the princesses attention, she was always preoccupied with someone else. Frustrated, her attempt to beckon a waiter for a royal snack had not exactly gone to plan. Per usual, she felt like there was only one way to have all eyes on her. She could easily stir up some trouble. Make a distraction to draw everyone’s attention. It’d be an easy feat: just blow the fuse box in the ballroom and plunge the event in darkness, allowing her just enough time to snatch the royal crown for herself. The Paw Patrol would be called…
“Because of course they would be” she growled out loud.
Hi-jinks would ensue and sure enough, Sweetie would be right where she started, except in her pup house with no snacks included. The effort would be for nothing and she found herself more disinterested in pursuing the plan the longer she thought about it. No instead, Sweetie found herself walking glumly along the drawbridge of the castle. Passing her gated pup house and walking towards the grassy cliff. The steep bank gave way to a lovely view of the beach. As she sat down, Busby followed close behind her and presented the pup with a gift: a large hamburger balanced neatly on his head. The view and snack would help her dissatisfaction at tonight events, especially since she had instructed Busby to swipe the burger from the kitchen. Serves them right for ignoring her. She sighed out loud, pulling her robotic assistant close to her.
“Thank you Busby. Seems like it’s just you and me again.”
Busby chirped and whirled in response. Leaning to plop the burger into her free paw.
She bit into the sandwich. It tasted fine, at first, but even the stolen beef had tasted of nothing after awhile. She groaned and threw the remains of the meal off the ledge.
“I don’t understand. I’d be one to cause some mayhem right now just for fun but...something feels off Busby. Am I just...bored of it all?”
Busby whirled at her. She appreciated his presence but wished he could speak. Perhaps that was something she could install later? If the princess was here maybe they could… She scoffed at the thought of her and somberly looked out towards the sea, trying to decipher the gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach, when a low tone caught her ear.
“There once was a ship that put to sea!
The name of the ship was the Billy O' Tea
The winds blew up, her bow dipped down
O blow, my bully boys, blow!”
Her ears pivoted and she jumped in fright. Was it from the castle? No, too far. She listened closely, catching a few more lyrics.
“She'd not been two weeks from shore
When down on her, a right whale bore
The captain called all hands and swore
He'd take that whale in tow”
She scanned the sand, determined to discover where the bizarre melody was coming from. Soon she spotted a light just underneath the cliff face. It bobbed and weaved slowly. She had not seen any attendees of the formal walking on the beach and there wasn’t any landscaping to be worked down there, so it certainly wasn’t the help.
“An intruder!”
She smiled something sinister. Perhaps this what she needs to feel better. What better fun than to chase down a miscreant. She quickly raced along the cliff side, following the zigzagged path towards the bottom, being careful not to slip on the steep bank as Busby wheeled his way after her. She had almost made to the beach and could see the light bounce up and down the shore, up till she stumbled over the last part of the path. She practically tumbled over herself and plopped hard onto the sand. She jumped up and spat out a mouthful of the grainy stuff. Lucky she wasn’t too far up the cliff when she fell.
“Stupid beach!”
She stomped towards the foreboding light and noticed a small dinghy boat parked along the shore and what looked to be a lantern settled next to a large pit dug into the beach. She had began to approach it when a mountain of sand flew from the hole. The pup jumped quickly out of the way and hid behind one of the smaller sand dunes, quietly observing the large pit, when the voice began to sing again.
“Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tеa and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is donе
We'll take our leave and go!”
“That voice, I know that voice. Busby, go and get a closer look! I’ll...monitor from here.”
Her loyal robot chirped in response and began to drive itself towards the pit. As he got closer, something large came flying out. It’s shadow cast over the small figure. Whatever it was, it threatened to squish him flat.
“Busby!”
Sweetie leapt out and jumped towards him, pulling him out of harms way as the treasure chest landed with a dull thud on the ground. Just then, a familiar brown and black Dachshund head popped out of the pit. His eyes closed as he carried on with his tune.
“Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tеa and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is donе
We'll take our leave and go!”
He jumped out of the pit and began to dance his little legs off. Clearly caught in a pirate jig. Sweetie held back a snort of laughter, almost finding the act adorable. If it weren’t for Busby almost being crushed. She cleared her throat.
“Ahem!”
“Da-da, da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da
Da-da, da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da!”
Arrby just kept on going and Sweetie’s sneer persisted.
“AHEM!!!”
The pirate pup yelped in fright, falling back into the hole.
“Quite the performance there Arrby” she gawked.
The pirate pup popped his head back up.
“Sweetie! Hey there!”
He scurried up the pit and ran up towards her.
“What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing mister. What are you doing on my beach?”
“Oh, I was just grabbing a few things we had buried here a while ago. I think even before I knew you.”
“Well, you should be more careful where you bury your rubbish! You almost hurt Busby when you threw that crate out!”
Arrby’s smile quickly faltered.
“Oh no! I’m so sorry Busby! I didn’t mean too.”
The toy gave the pup a gentle chirp in acceptance of his apology. Sweetie didn’t seem too pleased still.
“Do you and your captain…” She gave air quotes at the word captain, “always bury your trash wherever you please?”
“Not always. Look here.”
Arrby pulled something from under his vest. The pampered pooch noticed it was a treasure map. He unfurled it and pointed to several circled portions on it.
“See here? These are specific sections I have buried a lot of Captain Sid’s stuff.”
Sweetie tilted her head in confusion.
“See, Captain boss mister Sid sir likes to take whatever he needs. Least, when he feels like he needs it. So to keep our ship and island lair from getting full, I spread them out on different parts. Some on a few scattered islands. Some a few beaches here and there. Then I write where each location is so I can keep track of the last place I buried them.
“I see, though you do realize that anything that is on royal property of the castle belongs to the queen. Right?”
Sweetie laughed, Letting out a small snort. Arrby didn’t seem to mind. Simply leaning against the treasure chest and smiling back at her.
“Uh huh, and when exactly will you be queen?”
“Hmmph!”
Sweetie turned her head at the dachshund. He followed up with something else though.
“You already look the part though! Tiara and all. Really complements your fur.”
The normally snooty pup was taken aback by the statement. She turned back to the pirate and could have sworn he was blushing. She might have been as well.
“Well… Perhaps I can let it slide for now. Not like I want any of the stuff you and that obnoxious boy of yours have anyway!”
“Awww but we have plenty of unique and useful things!”
Arrby was clearly playing up what sort of treasure he was keeping. Sweetie, amused, watched as he opened the chest and began to dig through the contents.
“Let’s see...oh hello!”
Arrby threw golf balls of different colors towards the sand.
“Sid took these from Adventure Bay’s mini golf course! And...Whoa!”
He pulled out something heavy, his little arms struggling to lift it.
“A Jackhammer! I wondered where this went! Definitely could not keep this on the boat.”
“Uh huh… Fascinating.”
Sweetie idly groomed her nails as Arrby threw random items out the chest and onto the beach. Every so often she would duck her head as something went flying by her head. She pouted.
“I don’t suppose you stored a shinny headdress or crown in there would you?”
Arrby double checked the bottom of the chest, catching site of the very last thing in it. It wasn’t exactly what she was asking for though.
“Nope. Sorry Sweetie. I do have one more thing in here if you want…”
“Tisk. Forget it. I don’t accept tarnished knicks knacks anyway.”
Arrby poked his head out of the chest and noticed the normally posh pup turning her gaze back up towards the castle she called home.
“Typical. I’ll never be able to get her attention now.”
Arrby tucked the last item in the chest under his vest before walking back towards her.
“Get whose attention?”
Sweetie sighed. Rolling her eyes at his obliviousness
“My princess. Who else?”
Arrby looked confused.
“Really? I thought you two would be stuck together like glue. You are her royal pup after all.”
“Hmmph, You would think that would you? But she always soooo preoccupied with her duties. If I were queen, things would be run much differently.”
“How so?”
“Well for one, no one would take more than a minute of her time. They have to fend for themselves and solve their silly little problems all on their own. Then the princess would have to devote most of her attention towards me!”
Sweetie giggled and snorted a few times at her fantasy. Arrby seemed genuinely concerned whether or not this was suppose to ideal dream or a frighting one for the residents of Barkingburg. He didn’t question the pup though.
“So I take you’d want me to nab the crown for you then? Make yourself the official queen of Barkingburg?”
She gave the biggest puppy eyes she could towards him.
“Would you?! Could you?! Arrby dear?”
Arrby felt his face go red. Not entirely sure how sweet Sweetie was actually being. He didn’t take the bait.
“No can do. I’ve already had enough trouble with the Paw Patrol recently. Still trying to make up for a recent incident Sid got us into.”
Sweetie pouted and Arrby did his best to comfort her.
“I’m sure the princess doesn’t mean to neglect you like that. She’s got a pretty big important job.”
“It wasn’t her job till her parents left.”
“Parents?”
“The king and queen of Barkingburg. They have been out of town for some time now. Taking care of internal affairs of some type. Prior to their departure, the princess and I were inseparable.”
She shifted on the sand. Clearly uncomfortable saying all this aloud. Busby nuzzled himself into her paw, encouraging her to go on. She turned towards the pirate pup, looking for any semblance of judgment or disapproval from him. Arrby only listened, reassuring her with a soft smile.
“Now she’s always so busy! Always having guests over! Especially those irritating pups! Just always gloating, smiling, giving all her attention towards her precious citizens and none to….”
“And none of that towards you.” Arrby finished.
“Hmmph!” Sweetie scowled further.
“Sounds like this whole obsession with being queen is just to have her attention all to yourself.”
“If that’s what it takes.” She said coldly.
Sweetie felt like it was time to take her leave. She had gotten some of her spite out and was feeling just naughty enough to pull off a quick heist. Even if Arrby didn’t help, she could still take the crown and the throne. There was still time. As she planned, Arrby pulled out something from his vest and played with it in a free paw.
“Sure, you could take the crown, even rule for a little while but I don’t think that rule would last long considering how often the Paw Patrol keeps stopping you.”
“Don’t even get me started!” She grumbled.
“If you don’t mind me saying, I don’t think it’s fair to blame the princess for all of this. She’s taking on a lot of responsibility. Especially at her age. I couldn’t handle all that.”
“That is…. true” she retorted.
“Look, all I’m saying is that you don’t have to constantly try and overthrow her to get her attention. Maybe just talk to her?”
“Maybe. I haven’t exactly been the kindest towards her. I think she always expects the worse from me at this point.”
“Well it might help to bring her a gift.”
She rolled her eyes at the thought.
“She’s a princess Arrby. There isn’t anything she doesn’t already have.”
“Well, what about this?”
He tapped at her shoulder. Sweetie gawked at what the pup held between his teeth. A bright red rose. It looked perfect, not a petal out of place or a stem bent. He leaned down and placed it in front of her.
“From the deep jungle, this type of rose doesn’t need a lot of sunlight to survive once it’s pulled. I think this was one of the only things Sid was the least impressed with. He told me to dump it somewhere but that seemed...wrong. So better that you have it”
He leaned his snout down and pushed it towards her with a grin.
“A beautiful rose for a beautiful queen.”
Sweetie gasped at the comment and Arrby bit his tongue. His gaze awkwardly turning towards the ocean.
“Uhhh Princess! I mean the princess. You should...give it to her. Then...talk things out.”
Sweetie composed herself.
“Right! Yes! Great idea Arrby! Quite...splendid.”
She took the rose in her paws. The two pups felt themselves clam up at the unintentional romantic gesture. Not saying anything for a while. Sweetie broke the silence.
“So are you...going to keep looking for things on your map?”
“Oh...ummm yeah! Maybe? I also need to look for new things as well.”
“New things?”
“Yeah. See if Captain boss mister Sid sir begins to pry at where his last few items gone, usually some thing small will keep him occupied for a bit.”
He opened up his map again and scratched his head.
“Though that might be a little tricky. I don’t suppose you have a coin or two I can borrow? Something shiny? Heheh…”
He chuckled nervously. The pathetic display would have annoyed Sweetie but things were different with Arrby. She felt like she could stand to help some one else this time around. Long as it was him. She sniffed at the rose and gave a small smile towards him.
“Normally I wouldn’t stoop so low but since you’ve listened to my… complaints. Perhaps I could steer you to a location that might suite your needs!”
“Oh? Where?!”
She motioned for Busby to take the rose back to her pup house. The bot being incredibly gentle with it. She would keep it safe. Could she give it to the princess? She probably wouldn’t. It was far to pretty and special for her. Would she talk to her? Sweetie would attempt to. Even if it didn’t go any where. She would promise Arrby that much. In the meantime, she owed him something and if directing her friend to a location that could benefit the pirate pup and in turn annoy a certain someone she detested, that would be a win/win for her. The wannabe queen’s flustered face turned into a wicked grin. She began to tell the pirate pup all about the Dragon Highlands.
