___

~~~~~ (*****^-^*****) ~~~~~

___

The duo finished in the library just before wearing out their welcome. They collected their luggage and walked briskly through St. James's Square and followed the map to Westminster Bridge. They passed countless statues and sculptures of lions as they went, each looking more regal and ferocious than the last one. Bree could feel Conner started to tense up and tried to think of something to say to him, but since she had never seen magic couldn't tell him anything to soothe his thoughts that would soothe hers.

The duo walked onto the bridge and when the reached the end of it they looked across the street. In the midst of the pedestrian chaos just below the towering London Eye, they found the South Bank Lion. He was massive and pale gray and stood on top of a tall pedestal. Something about him was different than all the other lions and Bree and Conner picked up on it as soon as they saw him. Rather than a vicious and threatening scowl on his face, he looked concerned. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open.

"That's got to be him," Conner said confidently.

"What makes you so sure?" Bree asked.

"Because I make that face every time Mother Goose tells me a secret, too," Conner said.
Bree looked around the crowd. "Are we supposed to walk over there and talk to it right now in front of all these people?"
"No, we'll have to come back later when they're all gone," he said. "We might have to wait until after midnight."
They left the bridge and got a bite to eat at a local pub. Bree insisted that Conner have a real English experience and forced him to order fish and chips with her. After they were done eating they returned to St. James's Park and waited until nightfall before returning to the bridge.
During that time Bree begged Conner to tell her more stories and adventures that he had had in the Land Of Stories, and what it was like there. He told her all the stories that he had from there, and even some stories that his dad had told him, and again, he was a great storyteller.
The duo lingered across the street from the South Bank Lion until the traffic of cars and people were almost nonexistent. Then they crossed the street and stood directly below the lion.
"Say something to him," Bree said to Conner, nudging him.
"What am I supposed to say?" He asked.
"I don't know, aren't you used to these kinds of things?"
"Enchanted statues in the middle of crowded cities? No, I can't say that I'm an expert," he said.
"I have faith in you." Bree smiled at him.
As Bree smiled at Conner, she saw his cheeks go a little bit rosier than before. Then he took a deep breath and spoke to the lion.
"Hello up there!" He called. "I don't mean to disturb you, but my friend and I were wondering if we could speak to you."
The Lion didn't do a thing.
"You must be exhausted," Conner called. "You've been on your feet for, like, what, a century and a half?"
"So you like London?" Conner asked. "We just got here today and whoa- what a neat place!"  Bree grew impatient with both of them and stepped closer to address the lion herself. "Listen, pussy cat," she hissed. "We've got questions for you! We knew you can talk, we know you're friends with Mother Goose, and we're not leaving until you give us the answers we need!"

" What are you doing?" Conner whispered.  "You think he's going to talk to us if we treat him like that?"

"We're playing good cop, bad cop," she whispered back.  "Trust me; it works every time in my crime novels."

Conner rubbed his fingers through his hair in a frustrated way and sighed. He looked back at the lion and his facial expression changed. 

"Bree, do you notice anything different about the lion?" he whispered.

She looked at the lion closely and saw the difference, he looked even more concerned than before.  Her eyes lit up and she responded, "Yes."

"Say something about Mother Goose," Conner instructed.  "I think he's afraid of her."

Bree nodded and turned back to the lion.  "Hey!  Mother Goose told us that you would talk to us, but if you rather talk to her yourself, she can be here in five minutes."

There was no doubt in Bree's mind, the lion was moving.  Conner and Bree watched as the more that they mentioned Mother Goose, the South Bank Lion grew more and more concerned.  He kept moving ever so slightly until he couldn't handle it anymore and shifted from its solid position.

"No, please don't call Mother Goose!" the lion begged, coming to life before their eyes.  It startled Bree and she jumped behind Conner.  It was her first magical sighting!

___

~~~~~ (*****^-^*****) ~~~~~

___

THANKS FOR READING!!!
BYE BOOK-HUGGERS!!!
TLOSGEEK2-OUT!!!