The Eyes of the Dragon

Peyna explains to Peter that, by law, he is already King of Delain. Coronations are only for show. This puts Delain in a tough position because kings are above the law. Peyna advises Peter to think about it carefully because if he takes the crown while the people think he killed his father there could be civil war. Peyna asks Peter to put aside the crown until after there is a trial. If he is found innocent, he can reclaim the throne, but if he is found guilty he will spend the rest of his life atop the Needle because, by law, nobody in the royal family can be executed.

Peter repeats that he loved his father and is innocent, but he thinks on the question. Peyna notes that if Peter refuses trial, he will retire because he cannot serve both the law and a murderous king. Peter ultimately agrees to put aside the crown on the condition that Peyna serve as Chancellor of Delain in the meantime, that the trial take place immediately, and that one of the Great Lawyers lead the proceedings in Peyna’s place.

Later that day, after a guard spits in his meal before giving it to him, Peter realizes he will be found guilty. When Peter questions the guard, he responds that Peter deserves it for his crimes. Peter slaps the guard and reminds him that he is a king who has yet to be tried, and he demands a new meal and a napkin.

The guard realizes he only believed Peter was guilty because everyone in his life believed it to be true. When Peter asks him if the other guards also believe him to be guilty, the guard nods. They all believe Peter is guilty for no other reason than people are saying it’s true. Peter understands that people want a good king, but they also want to know they have been saved from a bad one. They want “their fearful tale of rotten royalty” (146).

The narrator decides not to describe the trial to save time. The narrator explains that the trial and the anecdote about the guard spitting in Peter’s food are similar. They are equally as unfair and predetermined.

The Great Lawyer who oversaw the trial is named Ulrich Wicks. When Wicks announces the verdict, the same people who once swore Peter would make a great king now rise to their feet and cheer his fate. Afterward, Peter is led up the Needle to the two rooms at the top where Peter will live the rest of his life. There are 300 steps to the top. It is a climb of shame. The narrator, saying that Peter deserves better, does not follow Peter up the stairs.

Thomas is horrified to learn he is now king. He tries to refuse the role, but Flagg tells Thomas that he cannot refuse. Thomas pretends to be sick, but Flagg tells Thomas he will be crowned in three days whether he is in bed or not.

Thomas realizes Flagg is dressed for traveling. When Flagg says goodbye, Thomas panics. He cries for Flagg to wait and asks where he is going. Flagg manipulates Thomas to believe he is leaving on a ship to see the world because his life is in danger since Peyna hates him and now holds tremendous power. Thomas takes the bait and promises to place Flagg under the king’s protection if he will stay and be his advisor.

On the morning of his coronation, Thomas panics, vomits in his bed, and has another tantrum. Flagg gives him a potion to calm his nerves. Thomas thinks he will die of fear. As Thomas falls back asleep, Flagg thinks of the future. He loves Thomas, but only in the way a “master” loves his pet dog. He imagines people revolting and killing King Thomas, and then he imagines himself disappearing triumphantly, killing Peter on his way out of Delain and eating Peter’s heart.

At his coronation, Thomas begins liking the idea of being king. He looks at the jewels and is glad they are his. He likes that people cheer for him, and he even likes the idea that Peter, up in his cell, can hear them cheer. Flagg knows the cheers are not for Thomas but for a return to the status quo and a reason to get drunk.

Thomas has a nightmare during his first night as king. In the dream, he spies on his father again, and this time when Roland addresses the head of Niner he is really talking to Thomas. Roland asks Thomas how he could let Peter go to prison for his murder. Then he burns from the inside out. Thomas wakes up and realizes it is Flagg who murdered Roland, but he refuses to think about it. He considers telling Peyna, but he is afraid of what Flagg will do, and he likes being king. It is a nightmare Thomas will have often.

Flagg doesn’t think Thomas can keep secrets from him, but he doesn’t know Thomas is hiding the fact he saw Flagg on the night of Roland’s murder. The narrator points out that men like Flagg are prideful, too overconfident, and “sometimes strangely blind” (161).

From the top of the tower, Peter watches Thomas’s coronation. He sees how much Thomas depends on Flagg. He cannot tell what is happening because he is so far from the ground, but he senses an unease in the Kingdom.

Peter sits in one of his rooms and does not eat. He sits until nine o’clock, prays, and then sleeps. The next few days are the same. He spends nearly all his time looking out the window, which has no bars because the tower is too smooth and straight to climb down. For a full week, Peter eats nothing, says nothing, and does nothing except sit, sleep, and pray. The Chief Warder Aron Beson and the lesser warders think Peter may starve himself because he is struggling with guilt and will soon die. However, on the eighth day, Peter sends for Beson and gives him instructions like a king would.

Peter is not struggling with guilt. He spends his first week thinking, and he fasts to clear his head. By the end of the week, he realizes it was Flagg who murdered Roland. Then, Peter has an idea to escape, though he doesn’t know if escaping will help Delain or if anyone will believe that he is innocent. He does not know if he will even survive the attempt, but he decides that he must try, so he sends for Beson.

Beson locks himself in the room with Peter because he is not afraid of him. He is enraged when Peter dares to act like a king and threatens to strike him. He slips a metal cylinder into his fist that makes his punches hit harder. He tells Peter to stop making requests, but Peter continues to provoke Beson, calling him a “stinking little turnip” (169) and reminding him that he is a king. 

Peter had made two requests, though the narrator doesn’t reveal what these are. One of Peter’s requests makes him seem like he is ill-advised. The other request has to do with meals, which to Beson means that he plans to start eating again. Beson realizes he might have to deal with Peter as his prisoner for the rest of his life.

Beson attacks Peter, but Peter dodges and spins Beson into the wall, causing him to drop the metal cylinder. Peter picks up the cylinder and, when Beson charges him, dodges again and hits Beson in the face repeatedly. Beson collapses. Beson attacks one last time and manages to scratch Peter’s face from brow to chin before Peters beats him senseless. Beson cries for mercy and calls Peter “my King” (175) before falling unconscious. The lesser warders watch from behind the door, but they are too afraid to unlock it.

Beson is unconscious for two hours. When he wakes up, Peter asks if he is ready to speak reasonably, and Beson says they can do business. Peter asks Beson to deliver a note to Anders Peyna that night. He says Peyna owes him a favor and will provide payment to the warders. He also says Peyna will be honor bound to do something if he finds out that any warders harm him. Beson is afraid of Peyna and afraid of the idea that Peter might have Peyna as an ally. Peter is not sure whether Peyna will help him, but he decides he must try. Peter asks Beson for ink and paper. He also asks Beson to whisper the amount of the bribe he wants to take care of his requests into Peter’s ear. Beson does.

Peter writes the letter to Peyna. He worries that Peyna won’t read it, or that he might see through Peter’s requests and figure out his plan, but he thinks Peyna will most likely be accommodating. Peter’s requests (still not disclosed to the reader) are small and seem innocent.

Peyna’s butler, Arlen, answers the door. The sight of Beson scares him because his face is so bruised that Arlen thinks Beson looks like a “troll” or a “dwarf.” He worries that Beson is a “dwarf” from the north country even though all the “dwarves” had supposedly been killed off during this grandfather’s time. Beson says he has a message for Peyna from Prince Peter. Arlen takes the letter, but he does not let Beson in from the cold and double bolts the door.

In his study, Peyna worries about Flagg’s growing power. He already has more power than he ever had during Roland’s reign. He worries that Flagg is becoming so powerful that he might get rid of him. He curses Peter for the murder, causing all this to happen, but he also begins to doubt whether Peter really was guilty.

Arlen shows up and explains that Beson is here with a letter from Peter. The news gives Peyna hope. He surmises that Peter had beat up Beson and bent him to his will and that’s how the message made its way to him. He tells Arlen to let Beson inside to warm himself. Once alone, Peyna considers tossing the letter into the fire but decides to read it.

In the letter, Peter tells Peyna he has decided to live. He asks that Peyna provide the Chief Warder eight guilders (Delain currency) a year as repayment for the favor Peter did him by putting aside the crown. He also asks that Ben Staad function as Peyna’s go-between, so Peyna can avoid being seen helping Peter directly. Peter ends the letter by saying he did not murder his father.

Peyna is struck by Peter’s direct statements. In the letter, he sounds like a king, and he doesn’t sound guilty. Peyna writes a response and calls for Arlen to deliver the response to Beson. He also gives Beson two guilders and asks him to bring any reply to his letter at night.

Beson delivers the letter to Peter the next day. In the letter, Peyna conditionally agrees to Peter’s terms, but he first asks what Peter’s two requests are. Beson provides more ink and paper.

Peyna reads Peter’s second letter, which contains no names to implicate either of them. Finally, the narrator reveals Peter’s two requests: his mother’s dollhouse and to have a proper royal napkin with each of his meals. Peyna is confused by the requests. He sees no reason not to give Peter the dollhouse if all the sharp objects are removed. He remembers Peter loved the dollhouse as a child and that Flagg considered the dollhouse unfitting for a boy.

Peyna understands the request for napkins because he remembers Peter always had a thing for napkins. He insisted on napkins with every meal growing up and always spread them neatly on his lap. Peyna figures that Peter is obsessed with neatness. He tries to figure out how these two requests might fit together in some way, but he cannot think of how.

Peyna believes that if Peter did not kill Roland, it must have been Flagg. He also does not want to think about it because if it’s true, it means he failed to provide adequate justice to the Kingdom. For now, it is enough to pay Beson his money and grant Peter his two requests.