The Witch Queen part 9

Argentum Island

            

          “Thank goodness that flying horses fly very fast” said Shaula. As Kira, Shaula, Erestor and Kirk had to go to Argentum Island, it made Shaula relieved the flying horses would be able to get them there quickly. “How far have we got to go Erestor?” asked Kirk, who was looking at the map Shaula gave him. “I’m afraid Argentum Island is still far from here,” said Erestor “it may take a while to get there I’m afraid”. “Wow;” said Kirk “I wonder how long it took for the last king of Ranbaraz to get to Argentum Island himself?” Erestor had no idea.

         Shaula had Kira fly her horse over to Erestor because she wanted to talk to him. “We must land on the island nearest to Argentum Island,” she said “we can’t fly straight to the island. Very strong winds surround Argentum Islands and not even dragons can fly through those strong winds. The only way to get to that island is by a boat; the strong winds only blow strong in the sky and they don’t reach the ocean”. Kira, Kirk and Erestor understood. “Since we are going very far, this means it will take us about two days to get from Argentum Island back to Elfalore” said Kirk. “Your right,” said Erestor “the flying horses wouldn’t be able to get us back in one day”. “And it wouldn’t be fair for the flying horses if we didn’t let them have a rest now and again either” said Kira. Even though she wanted to get back to Anakin as soon as possible, she wasn’t willing to go as far as over working the flying horses. “Then we will have them fly as far as they can, until we get to Elfalore” decided Shaula. Shaula didn’t want to abuse the flying horses either.

          Just then Erestor’s flying horse snorted. “What’s wrong boy?” asked Erestor. The horse pointed its head down; they had come to an island. “This is the island that’s near Argentum Island,” said Shaula “take us down now”. The flying horses landed onto the ground, near the shore of the island. “You three go off and have something to eat and take a lot of rest,” Kira said to the flying horses “you deserve it”. While they went off to relax, Shaula told Erestor, Kirk and Kira what they had to do next. “We need to find a boat to get us across the ocean for Argentum Island,” she said “but there is a problem. Mermaids live in that ocean and their sirens’ song will give us trouble because you Kirk and Erestor are men”. “No problem,” said Kirk “I have the solution for that”. He opened up his bag and took out some beeswax. “I always carry beeswax with me. It will prevent Erestor and I from listening to the sirens’ song”. “Excellent,” said Shaula “so we should be able to cross the ocean with no trouble”. “Are there any other sea creatures we’ll need to worry about?” asked Erestor. “There are other creatures like sharks, whales and others, but it’s really the mermaids that are a threat” answered Shaula. “I have a question about the mermaids,” said Kira “I’ve heard stories that eating mermaid flesh makes you immortal. Is that true?” “No Kira, that is just a silly superstition,” said Shaula “eating it does not make you immortal. Some old man thought eating mermaid flesh would make him immortal, so he caught and killed a mermaid then ate the flesh. But he died from old age not long afterwards, so those stories are false. Now let’s get going now”.

          Fortunately there was a wooden rowing boat with oars lying on the shore. Erestor went to inspect it to see if it was safe to use, and it was. Not a hole or anything else that made a boat unseaworthy. Erestor and Kirk offered to do the rowing. “Hold on a minute,” said Kira “since you two are going to make yourselves deaf with the beeswax, how will Shaula and I be able to tell you to stop rowing?” “I have an idea for that,” said Kirk “if you hit us hard on the shoulders twice that will be the signal to tell us to stop. Even though Erestor and I will be deaf, we will still feel the hard taps on the shoulders”. “That’s a good idea,” said Shaula “and Kira will tap you on the shoulder once to make you go”. After sorting out the plans, Kira, Erestor and Kirk got the rowing boat ready to cross the sea. Once Kirk and Erestor were in the boat and in the position to start rowing the boat, they placed the beeswax into their ears so they couldn’t hear the mermaids’ song. Then they started rowing the boat across the sea.

          Kira and Shaula were keeping watch, while Erestor and Kirk rowed the boat. “I’m getting the creeps Shaula,” said Kira “I fear that mermaids or any other sea creatures may attack us any second now”. “I fear that too Kira,” said Shaula “which is why we must keep our eyes open in case anything comes our way”. So far all was calm and quiet and they were making good progress of getting to Argentum Island. Suddenly Shaula and Kira heard some singing. “Oh no, it’s the mermaids singing,” said Shaula “get Kira and Erestor to stop the boat at once Kira”. Kira hit Kirk and Erestor on the shoulder twice and they stopped the boat. “I see something moving in the water” said Shaula. Kira, Shaula, Erestor and Kirk all stared at the ocean, bracing them-selves for whatever was coming.

          At that moment some women with dirty blonde hair and green-blue tails came out of the water; they were mermaids. The mermaids had seen Erestor and Kirk and they didn’t care that they were elves. Kira bravely spoke up to the mermaids. “You are wasting your breath with your singing,” she said “these men are deaf so your song won’t work on them. Now go away, or I will be making a fishy soup out of all of you”. Hearing the word fishy soup made the mermaids scatter at once. “Good job there Kira,” said Shaula “you made them go away in a second”. “Well I’m pretty sure that mermaids don’t like to get eaten” smiled Kira. She tapped Kirk and Erestor on the shoulder once to make them row on. Kira and Shaula kept a sharp eye open in case they would run into any more trouble on the sea. But thankfully they reached the shoreline of Argentum Island safely. “We made it at last” sighed Shaula.

          Once they got out of the boat, they moved the boat onto the sands so it wouldn’t float away before they needed to use it again later. Kirk and Erestor took out the beeswax from their ears at once; having beeswax in the ears was very uncomfortable. “Which way do we go to get to the silver mine?” asked Kira. Erestor took out the map of Argentum Island from his bag. “The map says that it’s quite a walk from here and we have to go through a very, very thick forest to get to the mine” he said. “It will take too long for us to get to the mine by foot,” said Shaula “but there is someone here on Argentum Island that can get us there quick. Wait here, I’ll be back in a moment”. And she flew off. “What did she mean?” Kira said to Erestor and Kirk “I mean who lives on Argentum Island?” “I don’t know,” said Erestor “we’ll find out when Shaula gets back”.

          When Shaula returned she brought back a surprise with her. Three centaurs, galloped out of the forest. Centaurs were creatures that were half human and half horse. Two of them were male and they both had long black hair and their horse bodies were dark brown. The third centaur was female, known as a centauride, and she had long brown hair and her horse body was a lighter brown. “These three centaurs are old friends of mine; I met them when I last came here,” said Shaula “and they have agreed to give us a lift to the silver mine”. Kira, Kirk and Erestor were surprised to know that they were going to ride on the centaurs, and Kira thanked them at once for helping them. “Please excuse me,” said Erestor “but I thought that centaurs didn’t like having someone ride on their backs”. “Usually we don’t,” said the first male centaur “but we are making an exception with you three because Shaula said it was urgent”. “Shaula told us that you need the silver from the mine to defeat the evil queen Morticia,” said the centauride “and we are more than happy to help with that”.  “But there is something about the silver mine you must know,” said the second male centaur “a giant man eating mole made its home in the mine ten years ago. And ever since then, those who tried to get the silver in the mine were never seen again”. Kira, Shaula, Erestor and Kirk were shocked to hear that. “If a man eating mole is living in that mine,” said Kirk “how shall we get to the silver alive then?” “Well if it’s a mole,” said Kira “then it must hate bright light surely; because all moles hate the light”. “Do you know a spell on how to make light appear Kira?” asked Shaula. “Yes I do; I’ve used that spell lots of times” said Kira. “That would work,” said the centauride “because it never comes out in daylight”. “Since that’s settled we should head over to the mine now” said Shaula. Kira climbed onto the centauride’s back and Kirk and Erestor climbed onto the male centaur’s backs. “Let’s go” said the first male centaur.

          The centaurs were soon galloping away through the forest, with Kirk, Kira and Erestor on their backs. Shaula was flying alongside. The forest was very thick indeed; full of overgrown bushes and trees. The centaurs had to push some branches aside to get through. Kira found riding a centaur fun and exciting as riding a real horse. “I must ask,” Kira said to the centauride “apart from the man eating mole, are there any other dangers we need to worry about?” “No just the man eating mole,” said the centauride “we centaurs keep dangers away from Argentum Island, except the mermaids because they live in the sea. But the mole is far too big and ferocious for us to handle”. Kira felt quite glad that there wasn’t any more trouble that she had to worry about.

          Finally they arrived at a cliff, where the entrance to the silver mine was. “We made it at last,” said Shaula “centaurs will you three stay here and wait for us until we get back? We’ll need you again when we come back to get to our boat”. “Of course,” said the first male centaur “but be careful and watch out for that man eating mole”. “With my light spell we will make it out alive I can assure you of that” said Kira. There were two flame torches attached to the entrance of the mine that Erestor and Kirk could use to light the way while they were in the mine. Kirk took out his two flint stones to light them, and now Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula were ready to enter the mine. The three centaurs wished them luck and waited outside for them.

          It was very dark and quiet in the mine, so it was a good thing that Kirk and Erestor had flame torches with them. Kira was holding the map of the mine for Erestor. The map showed that the mine was more confusing than a maze with many twists and turns and dead ends, and you could get lost in the mine easily without a map or guide. “This mine is way different than the coal mines back in the dwarf village,” said Kira “sure they were dark, long, confusing and easy to get lost in. But this mine is bigger than all the coal mines in the dwarf village put together”. “Have you been in the coal mines at the dwarf village Kira?” asked Erestor. “I did, but I never went in them without Balim with me in case I got lost” said Kira. “Does going into a mine like this make you wish you had gone out onto more adventures like this Kira?” asked Kirk. “Not me Kirk,” said Kira “I just want to find the silver, get out of this mine and get back to Anakin at Elfalore before we run into any more trouble”. “Speaking of trouble we must watch out for the man eating mole,” said Shaula “we have no idea of when it is going to appear. At least there are no other dangers for us to worry about”.

          Suddenly there was a rattling sound from beneath Kira’s feet. “What did I just step on?” asked Kira, worriedly. Kirk took a look and saw that it was bone remains from a human arm. “Yuck!” gasped Kira, taking her foot off at once. “Look at these” said Erestor, pointing to the ground in front of him. There were more skeleton remains, torn up clothes, broken equipment and dried up blood on the ground. “Oh my goodness!” gasped Kira, nearly dropping the map, “that’s why a lot of people disappeared in this mine. They became mole food!” “And we will be next if we don’t hurry” said Shaula. “Oh I hope there is a mine cart in these mines,” said Kira “that way we can get around in this mine fast, without having to run into the mole”. Suddenly they heard a rumble coming from the ground underneath them. “Oh no, we’re too late,” said Shaula “I think the mole is coming”.

          Shaula was right; a giant black mole with big claws came out of the ground. Because the mole was huge, humans and other small creatures were considered insects to it. “Run!” shouted Shaula. Kira, Kirk and Erestor started to run away from the mole and Shaula flew. But the mole was faster than them because moles could move fast when tunneling; just like turtles swam very fast in water even though they were very slow on land. Even when Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula took quick turns they still weren’t able to escape the mole. “It’s no good,” said Kira “we won’t be able to outrun that mole. It’s time to use my light spell”. She stopped and quickly raised her hands. “Glowness Luminous Enlightmus!” she shouted. A very bright white light appeared and it surrounded the area. The giant mole didn’t like the bright light and it disappeared into the ground at once to get away from the light. “That was very good work there Kira” said Shaula, who was happy to see the mole leave. “It’s like I said;” said Kira “moles can’t stand the light, and it seems even giant moles don’t like it”. Kira was proud of herself for getting rid of the mole, but she hoped that she wouldn’t come across another giant mole ever again. “We better get moving before the giant mole comes back again”. Shaula, Erestor and Kirk agreed with Kira.

          Kira, Kirk and Erestor continued walking through the mine and Shaula kept on flying. There were no carts in the mine, not even one, so they had to go through the mine by foot. “Phew what a walk,” sighed Kirk “I think by the time we get out of this mine it will be dark”. “I think so too,” said Erestor “so that means we might have to stay the night here on Argentum Island”. Kira and Shaula agreed with that too, especially at the rate they were going now. But the good news was they hadn’t run into any more trouble; there were no other dangers in the mine.

          After a lot more walking, Kira told everyone to stop. “The map says we are finally near the silver at last” she said. The others were happy to hear that. “Finally” sighed Shaula. In no time at all, they found thousands of big and small silver nuggets in a tunnel. “Wow!” gasped Kirk “I’ve never seen so much silver in all my life”. “Me neither” said Kira. “Time to gather the silver at once” said Shaula. “Hang on, how shall we carry the silver?” asked Erestor. “Look there” said Kira, pointing to the ground. There were fifty sacks on the ground. “I reckon people in the past must have left the sacks here when they got eaten by the mole. So we can use these to put the silver in”. “Yes but how shall we carry them?” asked Erestor “we won’t be able to carry fifty sacks full of silver and even the pegasuses wouldn’t be able to carry them while flying”. “I have the solution for that,” said Shaula “but first fill up all the sacks with silver”. Kira, Kirk and Erestor did as they were told and filled up all the sacks with silver nuggets. “Now Kira, I want you to cast a spell for me on the sacks of silver as I cannot use magic in this form”. “But you told us that this silver protects you from magic, so the spell won’t work” said Kira. “The silver is inside the sack, not outside,” said Shaula “and we are casting the spell on the sacks not the silver, so the spell will work. Trust me I did this before. Now say Minius Minuous Parvus”. Kira said what Shaula said and then the sacks of silver magically shrunk to the size of pebbles”. “Wow at least this makes carrying the silver easier till we get back to Elfalore” said Kirk. Kira picked up the tiny sacks of silver and placed them into her bag. “When we get to Elfalore I will tell you the spell which will make the sacks of silver turn back to normal size” Shaula said to Kira. Now they had to walk all the way back again. But this time they didn’t run into the giant mole again, luckily.

          The three centaurs were still waiting for Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula at the entrance of the mine. “I hope they are alright,” said the centauride “especially with the giant mole in that mine”. “I don’t think there’s any need to worry,” said the second male centaur “that young witch said they would come out alive, and she didn’t seem the type who would lie”. “I think so too” said the first centaur. At that moment, Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula came out of the mine tired, but alive. “You made it!” cheered the centauride. Shaula explained that it was Kira’s light spell that saved them from the giant mole, and she said that they found the silver. “I’m glad to know that you succeeded on finding the silver and getting out of the mine alive,” said the centauride “but I suggest you four have a long rest. You all look exhausted”. “I second your suggestion,” said Kira “I am tired after that long walk through the mine. And I would also like something to eat because I’m hungry”. Kirk and Erestor were tired and hungry too. “Well you all settle down and I will fetch you a wild boar to eat” said the first male centaur. There were wild boars on Argentum Island and centaurs were said to be excellent hunters. While the male centaur went off to hunt for a wild boar Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula settled down onto the grass to rest; by now the sun was setting so it was late for them to cross the ocean to get back to the pegasuses.

          It wasn’t long before the male centaur came back with a dead wild boar and he made a fire to cook it on. After the boar was cooked the centaurs, Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula ate the boar meat. Boar meat was like pork but a bit tougher. “I have to say,” said Kirk “of all the adventures I’ve been on. This adventure must be the most thrilling I’ve ever been on. What about you Erestor?” “This is the only adventure I’ve ever been on,” said Erestor “and I don’t think I want to go on another adventure again”. “You and me both,” said Kira “I have had enough adventure to last me a lifetime”. After they all finished eating Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula went to sleep, and the three centaurs took turns to watch over in case any danger came while they were sleeping.

          As soon as the dawn came, Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula got the boat ready to leave the island. “You take care of yourselves when you face Queen Morticia,” said the first male centaur “she won’t be that easy to defeat, even with the silver you know”. “We do know,” replied Shaula “but we won’t let that queen win again. Thank you for all of your help”. Shaula, Kira, Kirk and Erestor said goodbye to the centaurs and rowed the boat back to the other island, without running into any mermaids again. Once they reached the shore Erestor called out for the flying horses, and then he, Kirk and Kira mounted them. “Let’s go” said Kirk, and the flying horses took off into the sky for Elfalore.

The Witch Queen part 8

Shaula

 

          So Kira, Kirk and Erestor were now searching for the crane the ogres told them about. Again they were making sure they wouldn’t run into any dangerous creatures. “Do you think the ogres are telling the truth about this crane that can talk?” asked Kirk. He didn’t think he could believe them. “Ogres normally do tell lies,” said Erestor “but I felt that these ogres were being honest for once”. “We might as well go and see this crane,” said Kira “after all it might know where Shaula is”. Truthfully Kira didn’t think she could believe what the ogres said either, because there was no such thing as a crane that could talk. But she was willing to go through anything to find Shaula; she wanted to find Shaula more than anyone else. “How long will it take us to find this white cedar tree where the crane is Erestor?” asked Kirk. Erestor was looking at his map of Ogreme Swamp. “Hmm well according to my map,” he said “we need to walk up a hill just down this path where we are now and up that hill is where we will find the white cedar tree. So we don’t have far to go this time”.

          By following Erestor’s map, they followed the path and walked up the hill. Once they reached the top of the hill, they saw a very big white cedar tree down below them. This white cedar tree was very big and thick indeed; in fact it was bigger than all the other white cedar trees in the swamp. “Wow,” said Kira “I have seen many big trees in my time, but this is the biggest tree I’ve ever seen”. “Yes,” said Erestor “and it seems almost magical”. “You don’t suppose a witch, wizard or any other magical being grew this do you?” asked Kirk. “That would be impossible Kirk,” said Kira “because only Mother Nature could grow something like this. I mean even if a witch or wizard had the power over plants, our magic could still never beat Mother Nature’s magic”. “She’s right, even an elf’s magic could never beat Mother Nature either” said Erestor. Kirk understood. Kira started to call out to the tree to see if the talking crane was there. “Hello!” she said “any cranes up there?” Squirrels started to scatter and birds flew away because of Kira’s yelling. “Uh excuse me Kira,” said Kirk “but I don’t think yelling is going to help us find the crane we’re looking for. It will just scare all the creatures away”.

          Suddenly a white crane, with black markings, flew down to the ground in front of Kirk, Kira and Erestor. “Will you stop the noise please?” said the crane “it’s hard to sleep with you yelling like that”. Kira, Kirk and Erestor were shocked to know that the crane could talk, but at least they now knew that the ogres told them the truth. They introduced themselves to the crane. “We do apologize for disturbing you,” said Erestor “but we are looking for a sorceress named Shaula. Do you know where she is?” “She is me,” said the crane “I am Shaula the sorceress”. “What?” gasped Kira “this can’t be right?” “It is true I’m afraid,” said Shaula “Queen Morticia transformed me into a crane when I tried to stop her from using evil magic, after she became queen of Ranbaraz”. “I must ask you Shaula, how did Queen Morticia gain her magic?” asked Kira “I mean I heard her parents, the last king and queen, didn’t have any magical abilities and Morticia wasn’t born with magic abilities either”. “I’m afraid the story of how Queen Morticia gained her magic is not a good one” said Shaula.

          Shaula explained thirty five years ago, just five years before Morticia became queen, Ranbaraz was under threat by an evil wizard named Clavius who tried to make himself king of Ranbaraz and all of middle earth. “You wouldn’t believe this, but Clavius processed the same evil magic that Queen Morticia processes now”. “How did he get defeated if he processed the same magic as Queen Morticia?” asked Kira. “It wasn’t easy, but together Morticia’s father and I were able to defeat him and the king killed him” said Shaula. Shaula explained next that after Clavius was killed, she gathered and destroyed everything that he left behind; potions, spell books and other magical items. “But there was one thing that belonged to Clavius which I didn’t destroy, and that was another spell book of his. This spell book though was no ordinary spell book; this spell book was given to Clavius by the devil himself, after Clavius sold his soul to him. Why I didn’t destroy it, was because the book went missing before I could dispose of it”. “How did it go missing?” asked Kira. “I’m afraid Morticia secretly took it and sold her soul to the devil to make the spell book her own, but I didn’t know that until after she became queen” said Shaula. “So the rumors about Morticia stealing someone else’s magic and selling her own soul to gain magic abilities are true” said Erestor. “Yes, and as I just said earlier I tried to stop her after I found out that she had Clavius’s magic,” said Shaula “but she transformed me into a crane and I had to fly away before she could kill me. I ended up flying here to Ogreme Swamp and I have lived here for thirty years now”. It was clear now that becoming the queen of Ranbaraz was not just enough for Morticia, and she became thirsty for more power when she obtained Clavius’s magic for her own, which explained why she wished to rule all of Middle Earth “Can you not turn yourself back into a human?” asked Kira. “No I can’t,” answered Shaula “Queen Morticia’s spell prevented me from using any magic. So I’ve been stuck as a crane for thirty years”.

          After finishing her story, Shaula then explained that birds from all over Middle Earth brought news to her about Queen Morticia.  “Being turned into a crane had its good things; I was able to talk to and understand the birds. So for thirty years I’ve heard about everything that Morticia had done thanks to the birds spying on Queen Morticia and her actions for me”. “So that means you know that everyone in Ranbaraz and everywhere else in Middle Earth has suffered because of Queen Morticia all these years?” asked Kira “and I take it you also know because of her all witches and wizards are feared now, and I also suppose you also know that hundreds of people are dead because of her?” “Yes I have,” said Shaula “and it makes me regret that I was unable to stop her before she started to do evil things. Her parents in heaven are no doubt disappointed and ashamed of what she has become. They wanted her to become wise and good queen like her father who was a wise and good king”. “Except she had become an evil and greedy queen instead” finished Kirk. “Oh I just remembered,” said Shaula “the birds also told me that the child of the prophecy has been born, is it true?” “It is true and Anakin is safe in Elfalore” said Kira. Kira explained to Shaula that she had been looking after Anakin ever since she found him near a river at her home in the dwarf village. “But the bad news is Queen Morticia is trying to find him so she could kill him like she killed his parents”. “That’s why we came here to find you,” said Erestor “we need your help to protect Anakin and we thought you would know how to defeat Queen Morticia”. “You were right to come and find me,” said Shaula “I am willing to fight and defeat Queen Morticia and protect Anakin from her”. Kira, Kirk and Erestor were happy with that answer. “Since you said that Morticia’s power was from that magic book of Clavius,” Kirk said to Shaula “I take it all we have to do is destroy that book and she will easily be defeated?” “I’m afraid not Kirk,” said Shaula “you see that book is protected by magic. So it can’t be destroyed by fire or anything like that and it can’t be ripped to bits either. But there is one thing that can destroy the book”.

          Shaula explained that the only way to destroy Queen Morticia’s magic book was to use special silver. “This special silver is able to destroy any magical objects and can protect you from magic. Queen Morticia’s father had a sword made from this silver and that was how he was able to defeat and destroy Clavius”. “I take it that sword isn’t around anymore right?” asked Kirk. “No Queen Morticia disposed of it after her father died” answered Shaula. “Where can we find this special silver?” asked Erestor. “This special silver can only be found in a mine that’s on an island called Argentum Island” said Shaula. “I’ve heard of that island from stories,” said Kira “but they say that a lot of dangers are there”. “Dangers or not we must go there to gather the special silver to defeat Queen Morticia” said Shaula. By then it was getting late and Shaula told Kira, Kirk and Erestor that they needed to get some sleep now. “We will need all the rest we can get for this mission tomorrow” she said.

          So that night Kira, Kirk and Erestor slept on the ground; they had blankets on them and Kirk made a fire with two flint stones to keep them warm. Shaula was sleeping in the tree. Around the middle of the night, Kira woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. She was thinking about Anakin and hoping he was all right. Then she got out from her blanket and walked a bit away from where Erestor and Kirk were to not disturb them. “Is something on your mind Kira?” It was Shaula; she noticed that Kira was awake and she flew down from the tree towards Kira to see what the matter was. “Nothing really,” said Kira “I’m just worried about Anakin. I know the elves in Elfalore are capable of protecting him, but not being with him for so long makes me worried. Especially since Queen Morticia is after him”. “You have become attached to Anakin haven’t you?” asked Shaula. “Yes I have,” Kira admitted “the truth is Shaula ever since I first held him, after finding him by the river; I’ve liked Anakin as if he is my son even though he’s not”. “Ah that means the maternal instincts came over you;” said Shaula “even when a woman hasn’t even become a mother yet, she feels attached to a child whether it’s hers or not. You will become a good mother in the future young half-witch Kira”. Witches and wizards had the magical ability to know if someone was a half-witch or half-wizard. “Now do tell me about yourself Kira”.

          Kira told Shaula that her mother was a good witch and she had lived in the dwarf village with her dwarf friend Balim ever since she was born. “My mother said the reason we lived there was to avoid attention from Queen Morticia”. “I understand that,” said Shaula “the birds had told me for the last thirty years wizards and witches had been living in hiding to avoid Queen Morticia and her power. I also learnt that some witches and wizards had died trying to stop her too”. Kira then explained about her father. The story was her grandfather, Kira’s father’s father, served the previous king and queen of Ranbaraz as a guard. By the time her grandfather died, her father had become a guard too. But at that time also, Morticia had become queen and Kira’s father was supposed to serve her. “My father refused to serve Queen Morticia; he said that serving an evil queen was something he would never do”. “Your father was wise and brave to refuse that” said Shaula. Kira then explained that her father fled Ranbaraz to avoid having to serve Queen Morticia. “He ended up living and working in a farm village and it was there he met my mother. Even though she was a witch my father fell in love with her at once and he didn’t care that she was a witch”. “Ah young love comes in many different ways no matter who the people are” said Shaula. “My father was happy with my mother and they married at once,” said Kira “when my mother was carrying me inside her, she and my father hoped to live a peaceful happy family life. But it wasn’t to be. Sometime before I was born Queen Morticia’s guards tracked down my father and tried to make him become a guard of Queen Morticia. Again my father refused, but the guards didn’t take it lightly and they killed him for disobedience and treason. So my father was also one of the victims who ended up dead because of Queen Morticia. My mother fled the village before the guards could do anything to her and she fled to the dwarf village, and there she gave birth to me and we lived there with Balim in his house”.

          Shaula was amazed that the dwarf Balim was a friend of Kira’s mother, because dwarves didn’t like wizards and witches. But Kira explained that her mother once saved Balim’s life when he once got bitten by a poisonous green snake. “My mother knew a lot of antidotes for poisonous snakes, which she taught me later on so I know how to make antidotes too, and she gave him an antidote which cured him. Balim was grateful to her and allowed her to stay in the village, even though the other dwarves didn’t like us”. “Where is your mother now Kira?” asked Shaula. “She died when I was only eleven, and Balim raised me as his daughter ever since,” said Kira “even though Balim loved me like I was his daughter and of course I love him like he was my father, my life in the dwarf village wasn’t that happy either”. She told Shaula all about the times she was bullied by the dwarves because of their dislike towards her. “I’ve wanted to leave the dwarf village so many times ever since I grew up, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Balim yet. It was only after meeting Anakin and realizing Queen Morticia was after him that I got the urge to leave the dwarf village”. “I see,” said Shaula “you have gone through quite a lot of unfortunate things in your time. But you still grew up to be a good and brave woman Kira, and I’m sure that you will end up with a happy future”. “I hope my future will be with Anakin because I don’t want to leave him ever” said Kira. “And I’m sure Anakin wants you to stay with him too even when he does grow up to become the new king of Ranbaraz,” replied Shaula “that’s enough talking now Kira, it’s time we went back to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow”. So Shaula went back into her tree to sleep and Kira went back to Erestor and Kirk to sleep.

          The next morning Kira, Kirk and Erestor were up and about, having a quick bite to eat, putting out the fire and getting ready to leave Ogreme Swamp for Argentum Island. Kira was relieved that they were going to leave Ogreme Swamp at last; she couldn’t bear staying there any longer. Just then Erestor had a thought. “We don’t have a map of Argentum Island,” he said “so how will we get there if we don’t know the way?” “That’s not a problem” said Shaula. She poked her head into a hole in the white cedar tree and took out two maps from the hole, and she gave it to Erestor. “The maps are of Argentum Island and of the mine where the silver is. I’ve kept these maps with me ever since I fled Ranbaraz thirty years ago; Morticia’s father used them too when he had to search for the special silver to defeat Clavius”. Erestor felt better now that they had a map for Argentum Island and for the silver mine and he placed them in his bag at once. “We better head off now if we want to find this silver” he said. The others agreed.

          Suddenly Kira shouted a spell towards a bush. “Paralyzus, disableus!” she shouted. When the spell hit the bush a big purple night shadow came out and it was unconscious. Kirk, Erestor and Shaula were surprised when they saw the snake. “Oh my goodness!” gasped Kirk “phew I’m glad you noticed that snake Kira”. “So am I,” said Kira “purple night shadow snakes have no fear of biting whatever they see, no matter how big the prey is, so any of us could have been bitten by that snake any moment now”. “Did you kill it Kira?” asked Erestor. “No I paralyzed it, so it’s not dead,” answered Kira “but we better leave before it starts to slither around again”. “I can see that you have been practicing your magic powers well Kira” said Shaula. “I practiced magic with my mother a lot when she was still alive,” replied Kira “even after she died I still practiced my magic. But I always did it somewhere far away from the dwarf village so that the dwarves didn’t see me practice my magic. Now if you three don’t mind, I would prefer it that we leave Ogreme Swamp now please. I’ve had enough of this dangerous, disgusting place”.  Erestor and Kirk said they had enough of Ogreme Swamp and wanted to leave too. Shaula was more than happy to leave Ogreme Swamp too; after all she had been living there for thirty years.

          Erestor called for the flying horses again with his conch shell and the horses came right away. This time Kira wasn’t hesitant to climb on Pegasus, even if she still didn’t like flying much. To her this meant they could get away from Ogreme Swamp as quick as possible. Since Shaula couldn’t keep up with the flying horses’ flying speed, she rode on Pegasus with Kira. “Let’s ride” said Kirk, and they took off into the sky. Shaula held on tight to Kira so she wouldn’t fall off Pegasus. It wasn’t long till they were flying away from Ogreme Swamp. “Finally no more Ogreme Swamp” Shaula said to Kira. That was double for Kira, who hoped to never see Ogreme Swamp again for as long as she lived.

The Witch Queen part 7

Ogreme Swamp

                    

          Back at Elfalore Kira, Kirk and Erestor were getting ready to leave Elfalore for Ogreme Swamp to find Shaula. Erestor had gathered two maps to take along; one that led from Erestor to Ogreme Swamp and the other was a map of Ogreme Swamp. Kirk had gathered up a knife, a sword and a bow with some arrows just in case they would run into danger at Ogreme Swamp, and he gathered up some extra food. Kira was getting her bag of things ready and she was asking Princess Elasha to look after Anakin with Klunk, Benny, Flora and Skylar. Princess Elasha told Kira not to worry and Anakin would be safe from harm. “He will still be all right by the time you get back Kira” said Princess Elasha. Klunk, Benny, Flora and Skylar also promised Kira that they wouldn’t let anything happen to Anakin. “We may be small, but you can rely on us for looking after Anakin with Princess Elasha” said Klunk.  Kira trusted Princess Elasha and the brownies and fairies, and understood that she couldn’t leave Anakin in better hands. She gave Anakin a hug, who was fussing a bit because he knew that Kira was going to leave him. “You be a good boy Anakin, and I will come back as soon as I can” she said, giving him a kiss on the forehead, and gave Anakin to Princess Elasha.  

          Once Kira, Erestor and Kirk were finished with packing and making sure they were all prepared they left the castle and headed for the gates to leave Elfalore. King Finwë was with them. “There is no time to waste,” he said “I fear that Queen Morticia will be making a new move on finding Anakin. I understand that finding Shaula won’t be an easy task, but you three must find her and then come back here as soon as you can. And while you’re gone I will call up my friends from other kingdoms for help, and when you come back with Shaula we will all discuss about Queen Morticia. Now go you three and good luck. But watch out for the ogres at Ogreme Swamp, you can never be too careful with them”. Kira, Kirk and Erestor bowed to the king, went through the gates and over the bridge, and the gatekeeper closed the gates.

         “Will the unicorns be able to get us to Ogreme Swamp quickly?” Kira asked Erestor and Kirk, once they were out of Elfalore. “We won’t be taking unicorns to Ogreme Swamp,” said Erestor “we’ll be riding on creatures that are faster than unicorns”. Erestor had a gold colored conch shell in his hand and he blew into it. Kira was about to ask Erestor who he was calling, when she heard a sound of flapping coming from the sky. She looked up and to her surprise there were three white horses, but they had wings. They were flying horses known as Pegasus. The flying horses landed on the ground near Kira, Kirk and Erestor. Kira couldn’t believe that she was seeing some flying horses because she had never seen them for real before; only in books. “Are you elves friends with flying horses?” she asked Erestor and Kirk, in surprise. “Yes, just like we are friends with unicorns,” said Kirk “and they can fly fast, so they will get us to Ogreme Swamp in no time at all”. “I don’t suppose you are going to tell me that you are friends with dragons too?” asked Kira. “Oh no, no, no,” answered Kirk “dragons are far too fierce for us elves to befriend with”. Kira chuckled. “Come now you two,” said Erestor “it’s time for us to leave”.

          Kira, Kirk and Erestor mounted onto the flying horses; to Kira being on Pegasus felt different than being on a pony, since Pegasus was bigger than a pony. Then they took off into the sky. Flying on a flying horse for the first time was a frightening experience for Kira and she held on tight to Pegasus so she wouldn’t fall off. Kirk was right about the flying horses being able to fly fast; they were flying so fast, that they were soon far away from Elfalore. The flying horses flew over valleys and forests, until at last Erestor told the pegasuses to land. “We have arrived at Ogreme Swamp” he said.

          The flying horses landed on the ground just outside the swamp. “That was a fun ride” said Kirk; he enjoyed riding on the flying horses. Kira, who had not enjoyed riding Pegasus very much, was happy to be on the ground again; she felt her stomach had turned a bit while they were flying. “Here we are,” said Erestor “this is Ogreme Swamp”. Kira and Kirk looked at the entrance of Ogreme Swamp. “It looks so dark and big,” said Kira “how will we be able to find Shaula in there?” “I don’t know;” said Erestor “all we can do is search for her, until we do find her. So we better get going at once”. “Hold on a minute,” said Kira, cautiously, “apart from ogres, are there any other dangers in that swamp that we need to worry about?” “There is I’m afraid,” said Erestor “this swamp is home to some crocodiles, but it’s also home to some deadly snakes”. “What snakes are they?” asked Kirk. “The purple night shadow snake” answered Erestor. Kira and Kirk were not happy to hear that; a purple night shadow snake was a big black and purple marked snake, and it was very deadly. “Then it’s a good thing I came prepared” said Kira. She opened up her big bag and took out a vial that held a yellow-green liquid. “What’s that vial?” asked Kirk “a potion?” “This vial holds the antidote for curing a purple night shadow’s poison,” said Kira “my great-grand mother found this remedy when she was my age because she got bitten by a purple night shadow one time. And thanks to her a lot of witches and wizards learnt to make this remedy for years, and I know how to make it too”. Kirk and Erestor felt relieved to hear that; they didn’t know how to cure a purple night shadow snake’s poison. In fact most elves didn’t. Erestor told the flying horses to wait for them because they would need them again to get back to Elfalore. Then Erestor, Kirk and Kira started to walk into Ogreme Swamp.

          Ogreme Swamp was a dark and damp place; full of trees, broken logs and sticks, bushes, moss, fungus, ditches, ponds, and mud and there was a foul stench in the air. “I don’t like this swamp,” said Kira, in disgust, “it’s dark, creepy and disgusting”. “Swamps are always like that;” said Kirk “because I visited some other swamps before. But I agree with you Kira, this place is terrible. The swamps I visited before were not as terrible as this swamp”. “You can’t always expect places to be the same as the other Kirk” said Erestor. Kira was happy that she didn’t bring Anakin to Ogreme Swamp with her; Ogreme Swamp was defiantly no place for children. Kirk, Kira and Erestor took great care to not run into any crocodiles or purple night shadow snakes or anything else that could be dangerous. So far they had seen toads, frogs, fish, birds, squirrels, mice, boars, beavers, lizards, turtles and insects. Kira felt very scared while walking through Ogreme Swamp; she feared that they would run into trouble any minute now. She also hoped that they would find Shaula soon so that they could leave Ogreme Swamp as soon as possible.

          So far so good, Erestor, Kirk and Kira were making good progress; they hadn’t found Shaula yet, but they had not run into any danger yet. Suddenly a wooden cage drooped on them and they were trapped. “What on earth happened?” gasped Kira. “I think we walked into a booby trap,” said Kirk “and I bet that this trap belongs to the ogres. They actually like to play tricks like this”. Kira was not happy with this, and decided to use a spell to get rid of the cage. But then ten ogres, carrying spears, turned up and they surrounded the cage. These ogres were all male and they looked very ugly. Their skin was bogey color green, they had black-grey hair and they were wearing navy-blue loin cloths. Kira thought these ogres were the ugliest things she had ever seen in life. “Our trap worked, we caught something!” cheered an ogre. The ogres could talk. The ogres stared at Kirk, Kira and Erestor. “Well, well, well, what have we here?” asked another ogre. “It looks like we’ve caught some elves and a pretty woman” answered another ogre. “How interesting” said another ogre. “What shall we do with these three?” asked another ogre. “I suggest we feed the elves to the crocodiles,” said another ogre “and we keep the pretty lady and she can be our slave”. “I wouldn’t do anything if I were you,” said Kira, who was not happy with meeting up with the ogres, “I am a witch and I know how to use magic spells”. The ogres laughed; they didn’t believe that Kira was a witch. “You ogres are asking for it,” said Kira “sawdusterous, chippenus”. The wooden cage turned into sawdust and Kira, Kirk and Erestor were free. “Wow, Kira,” said Kirk “your magic is amazing”. “Never underestimate a half-witch” said Kira. Erestor was impressed by Kira’s magic too. The ogres couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw what Kira did. “That girl is a witch!” gasped an ogre. “Seize them” said another ogre. “Throw them all to the crocodiles!” shouted another ogre. Kirk quickly took out his sword to fight and Kira got ready to cast any spells on the ogres. Erestor didn’t have any weapons with him, but he braced himself to get ready to fight.

          Suddenly there was a scream that stopped the fight from happening. A female ogre ran up to the male ogres. The female ogre was the same colour as the male ogres and had the same coloured hair, but she wore a long tattered skirt and she wore a cloth to cover her breasts. “Something terrible has happened” she said. “What’s happened?” asked a male ogre. “An ogre child has been bitten by a purple night shadow and now it’s sick!” said the female ogre. The male ogres gasped in horror and began to panic, forgetting all about feeding Kira, Kirk and Erestor to the crocodiles. Kira bravely stepped forward. “Take me to that ogre child,” she said “I can cure it”. Three ogres surrounded her with their spears. “Why should we trust our own ogre child to a witch?” asked one of them. “Simple,” said Kira “because you ogres don’t know how to heal a purple night shadow’s poison. But I do”. The female ogre told the male ogres to step aside. “If this human says she can cure the child, I believe her” she said. The male ogres released Kira and the female ogre led Kira the way to the ogre child, with Kirk, Erestor and the male ogres following them.

          The female ogre took Kira, Kirk and Erestor to some wooden huts, where the ogres lived. Then they entered a wooden hut where a boy ogre child was lying sick in bed with a very high fever and with the mother and father ogres looking so worried. “This witch told me that she knows how to heal a poison night shadow’s poison,” said the female ogre “so I brought her here to help your child”. At first the mother and father ogres weren’t sure if they could trust Kira since she was a witch, but since they wanted to save their son they agreed to let her take care of him. Kira took a look at the ogre child’s right leg which was where he had been bitten by the snake. “Okay,” she said “Kirk I need your knife please and I need a clean cloth and some water”. “What do you need a knife for?” asked the father ogre. “I must cut out the poison from your son’s leg before I give him the antidote;” said Kira “you must never leave the poison inside your skin or you would never heal properly from the poison”. Kirk, Erestor and the ogres watched quietly and worriedly as Kira began her work. With Kirk’s knife she carefully cut out the poison from the ogre child’s leg. After cutting out the poison she cleaned the wound with water and wrapped a clean white cloth, that Erestor gave her, around the wound to stop the bleeding. Next Kira took out her vial from her bag and had the ogre child drink all the liquid that was in the vial. “Okay now that I’ve cut out the poison and given him an antidote for a purple night shadow’s poison, all we can do now is wait” said Kira.

          So all the ogres waited and hoped that the sick ogre child would be alright. Kira stayed with the ogre child and the mother ogre, while Kirk, Erestor and the father ogre waited outside the hut. Right now Kira was wiping the ogre child’s forehead with water to help the fever go down. “Isn’t there anything else you can do for my child?” asked the mother ogre, worriedly. “You have to give it time,” said Kira “it always takes time for medicines and antidotes to do their work of healing the sick”. Kira understood that the mother ogre was worried about her child, but she didn’t like it when anyone got impatient. “There is something that you can do for me though”. She asked the mother ogre to gather some catnip flowers and make tea with it. Tea made with catnip flowers was good at helping those with a fever. The mother ogre did as she was told, so Kira was able to care for the ogre child with no disturbance.

          The father ogre was feeling no better either; he kept on pacing around in a circle, waiting for his son to get better. Erestor and Kirk, who were with him, had to try and calm him down and keep on reassuring him that everything was going to be all right. “You can rely on Kira to save your son;” said Kirk “she may be a witch, but she isn’t the type of witch who would let anyone die”. The father ogre still wouldn’t stop worrying like his wife.    

          It took the rest of the day and all night long for the ogre child to recover from the fever. Kira stayed with the ogre child to make sure he was all right. She kept dampening his forehead with a wet cloth to cool it down and she gave him some tea made from catnip flowers to help bring down the fever. By the next day he was better and safe again. The mother and father ogres were grateful to Kira and they thanked her at once. “We have never asked for help from a witch or elf before,” said the father ogre “so we thank you for helping us save our son”. “I must ask,” said the mother ogre “how did you cure that purple night shadow’s poison?” Kira explained that to make an antidote for the purple night shadow’s bite you needed leaves from the lungwort plant, roots of the burdock plant, ripe seeds of a milk thistle and the actual poison from the teeth of a poison night shadow snake. After hearing that the ogres agreed they needed to start making this medicine themselves in case another ogre got bitten by a purple night shadow. Erestor and Kirk also agreed that this would be useful for the elves back in Elfalore, just in case any elf would get bitten by a purple night shadow snake in the future.

          “If there is anything that we can offer you as thanks for saving my child, please say it” said the mother ogre. “There is something we need actually,” said Kira “we are searching for a sorceress named Shaula. Do you ogres know where we can find her?” The ogres stared at each other, and then a male ogre spoke up. “We haven’t seen any humans named Shaula,” he said “but there is a white talking crane not far from here, so you should ask it that question”. “A talking crane?” said Erestor. This was weird because cranes weren’t supposed to talk. “That’s right,” said the ogre “and I bet that crane will know where this sorceress is”. This was puzzling but Kira decided that they should find this crane just in case it knew where Shaula was. “Where do we find this crane?” she asked. The ogre explained that if they walked straight on from where they were standing now, they would find a huge white cedar tree and the crane lived there. Kira, Kirk and Erestor thanked the ogres for their help and left the ogres to continue their search for Shaula.          

The Witch Queen part 6

Queen Morticia makes her move

    

          At the kingdom Ranbaraz Queen Morticia was growing impatient; it had been days since she sent her guards to find Anakin, but they had still not found him or brought him to her. The people of the kingdom knew that Queen Morticia hadn’t killed the child of the prophecy yet. They had heard from the women from Queen Morticia’s dungeons, who had all been set free by now, about the baby being taken away by the midwife Agnes and about Mary and Adam’s deaths. One woman, whose name was Catherine, and her husband named William were old friends of Mary and Adam and they mourned for them. “The queen grows more evil and dangerous every day,” said a man named Ryan. “You’re right,” said William “and if she does find and kill that child, then there will be no hope for us to be free of Queen Morticia”. “I pray that she will never find the child” said a woman named Joanna. “I do too,” said Catherine “and I also pray that the child will grow up to be strong enough to destroy Queen Morticia and take her place as king”. All the people hoped and prayed that too.

          Suddenly a maiden named Bridget ran up to Catherine, William, Ryan and Joanna. “Oh Bridget, what news have you brought us from the castle this time?” asked Joanna. Bridget worked as a maid in the castle and she was a sort of spy for the people in the village; whenever Queen Morticia had done something or planned something bad, Bridget always told the villagers of what Queen Morticia was up to. Whenever Queen Morticia was plotting or planning something that was bad, Bridget would always sneak out of the castle and tell the villagers what was going on. “Queen Morticia’s guards said they found the midwife Agnes and they killed her” said Bridget, sadly. Catherine, William, Ryan and Joanna were not happy to hear that. They knew Agnes for years. “What about Mary and Adam’s baby boy?” asked Catherine, worriedly. “Don’t worry,” said Bridget “before Agnes was murdered she said she hid the baby somewhere so the guards wouldn’t find him, and they still haven’t found him yet”. “So Queen Morticia hasn’t killed the boy yet” said Joanna, so relieved. “Let’s hope that the baby is still safe somewhere and in good hands” said Ryan. “And let us hope that he will stay safe until it’s time for him to free us from Queen Morticia” said William. “I must get back to the castle now for work” said Bridget, and she left. All the people could do now was wait for more news of what was going to happen next.      

          In the castle Queen Morticia was growing more angry with her men for not finding the baby. She had been told that they found Agnes but she had hidden the baby from them, and she was also told that they killed Agnes for not telling them where she hid the baby. “This is ridiculous!” she shouted “I’ve sent all my guards to find one small baby and they have not found that brat! All they ever found was that midwife, but the baby wasn’t with her and she’s now dead! What are they doing?!” An old man named Egbert who was Queen Morticia’s chief advisor, answered her. “Pardon me my queen, but the guards are doing everything they can to find the child,” he said “and they are searching everywhere to find the child; they have been searching villages, forests, and other areas”. Queen Morticia was not exactly happy with the answer. “But they still haven’t found that baby,” she said, crossly, “a baby can’t walk, so it should not be hard for them to find it”. “I do beg your pardon my queen, but there are so many places outside Ranbaraz,” said Egbert “and there’s no telling where that baby will be now”. Egbert was always afraid of the queen whenever she was angry; it made him fear that she would throw her dark magic at him. He didn’t want to be killed or turned into something by her magic “Do you mind if I say something your majesty” said a voice.

          The voice came from a male elf that had been hiding in the shadows, listening to what Queen Morticia had been saying. This elf had long black hair and he was dressed in all black clothes, with a long black cloak and a hood. “I don’t appreciate you sneaking up like that Ethan,” said Queen Morticia “but do speak what you want to say”. This elf, Ethan, was the elf who was banished from the kingdom of Elfalore for trying to take it over as the new king. “Well my queen,” said Ethan “if you ask me someone must have found that baby by now. And that someone probably knows that you are searching for the baby to kill it. So it’s obvious to me, my queen, this somebody is taking great care that your guards don’t find the baby”. Queen Morticia got out of her throne. “I am well aware that something like that would be happening,” she said, crossly “people have always tried to get in my way ever since I became queen thirty years ago. And even though I’ve disposed of lots of my enemies over the years, I still get those who wish to stop me. Come with me Ethan. I need to think things out in another room and I need your assistance”. “As you wish my queen” said Ethan. Queen Morticia walked out of the throne room, and Ethan followed her leaving Egbert alone in the throne room.

          “Oh dear,” he said to himself “I can see that her majesty is going to do something very bad again. Oh if only the sorceress Shaula was here; she would be able to stop her majesty from doing evil things”. Just like the villagers, Egbert didn’t like Queen Morticia and her evil ways. Egbert had been her advisor ever since she became queen thirty years ago, and he had seen Queen Morticia do evil things ever since and he hated that very much. But he couldn’t do anything about it because he was only an advisor and had no power to stop Queen Morticia. He began to pray. “Shaula if you are still alive, I pray that you will come back here to Ranbaraz and stop the queen”.

          At that moment Bridget entered the room. “Has something happened Egbert?” she asked. “Yes Bridget, something has happened,” answered Egbert “I fear the queen is going to take matters into her own hands on finding the baby of the prophecy. And I think that elf, Ethan, is going to help her”. The truth is Bridget got her information on what was going on or what has happened from Egbert. “Oh dear,” said Bridget. Both Egbert and Bridget feared the worse.   

          Meanwhile Queen Morticia and Ethan were walking through a hallway on the second floor of the castle. “I take it you are going to use your magic to find the baby my queen?” asked Ethan. “Yes, I’ve had enough of waiting for my guards to find that brat,” answered Queen Morticia “and my magic will do better at finding it than those idiots”. They came to an end of the hallway, where a huge blank wall was standing right at the end. Queen Morticia walked to a black wall chandelier that hung on the left side of a side wall, and then she pulled it towards her. As soon as she pulled the chandelier, the floor gave way to some secret hidden stairs. “I find it amazing that this castle has a secret passage like that” said Ethan. “This secret passage was built to protect the royal family, if they were ever attacked,” Queen Morticia explained “there are lots of secret passages in this castle. But I use this secret passage for my own reasons, and I forbid letting anyone, except you, to enter it”. She and Ethan walked down a spiral staircase which led down to an underground passage, and at the end of the passage was a door. “Time to enter my favourite room” said Queen Morticia, and she pushed opened the door.

          Behind the door was a chamber and this chamber was full of things that witches used. There were some big black cauldrons, lots of spell books, vials full of things used to make potions with and vials filled with already made potions. This was clearly where Queen Morticia did her witchcraft. “It’s been a while since we last visited this chamber” said Ethan. “You’re right,” said Queen Morticia “the last time we were here was before I started gathering the pregnant women to deal with the brat of the prophecy. But now this chamber will help me find the brat, and my well is perfect for the job”. She walked over to a big water well that lay in the middle of the chamber; she had the power of fortune telling and she used the well for fortune telling instead of a crystal ball. “Don’t make any sound Ethan, I must concentrate in silence when I’m fortune telling”.

          Ethan stood in silence as Queen Morticia started to do her fortune telling. “Mystic well show me what you know,” she said, outstretching her arms towards the water in the well, “I command you to search for where the child of the prophecy that is said to destroy me is hidden. I command you to answer me now”. The water in the well started to shimmer like the moon and then it started to show an image of Elfalore castle. “I see so the elves are keeping the child safe in their kingdom,” said Queen Morticia “it doesn’t surprise me really. The royal family of Elfalore has always been my enemy and it’s obvious that they know about the prophecy, which explains why they have the child in their position so that I don’t kill it”.  The well then showed an image of Kira, holding Anakin in her arms, to Queen Morticia and it showed Klunk, Benny, Skylar and Flora too. “Ah so this little witch is the one who’s taking care of the brat and who is responsible for hiding it from me. And those pesky fairies and brownies are helping her huh? I fear that this witch may cause trouble for me, so I will deal with her as well as the brat. And I will deal with those fairies and brownies too”. “If you like my queen, I can go to Elfalore, take the baby and bring him to you” said Ethan. Queen Morticia looked at Ethen. “Will you be able to succeed on taking the brat from Elfalore Ethan?” she asked “after all you were banished from there a few years ago. And there’s no doubt they won’t allow you to enter the kingdom, especially King Finwë”. “Oh don’t you worry my queen,” said Ethan “after all thanks to you I have grown more powerful than I was when the elves banished me”.

          The story is that after Ethan was banished from Elfalore for trying to take over the kingdom; he went to Ranbaraz and visited Queen Morticia. When he met up with her, he told her about his banishment and about having his magic powers taken away from him. Because of his banishment he became angry with King Finwë and he wanted revenge against all the elves of Elfalore. He then asked Queen Morticia to give him power, power to defeat his enemies. At first Queen Morticia wasn’t sure about helping an elf since the elves were her enemies. But she saw the hate that Ethan had for the other elves and she saw his eagerness on getting revenge on King Finwë and taking over his kingdom as the new king once and for all. So she agreed to give him power as long as he remained loyal to her, and thanks to her Ethan had become more powerful than he had been before and he became a loyal assistant to her. And now Ethan felt more than ready to go back to Elfalore and get revenge.

          “Very well Ethan,” said Queen Morticia “I shall trust you with getting the baby from Elfalore. You may attack anyone who tries to get in your way, but no killing anyone. I intend to deal with King Finwë and his family myself”. “I’d appreciate that you don’t harm Princess Elasha my queen,” said Ethan “because I wish to make her my queen once I become the new king of Elfalore”. “Very well,” said Queen Morticia “but when you do become king, you better make sure that the elves won’t try to go against me again”. “Oh don’t you worry my queen,” said Ethan “once I become the new king of Elfalore, all the elves will be at my command. So the elves won’t be able to do anything; even Princess Elasha won’t be able to revolt against me”.

          It was clear that Ethan was just as bad as Queen Morticia; he was greedy for power, loved getting his own way, tormenting others with his magic and he gave other elves a bad name. “You may proceed to go now Ethan,” said Queen Morticia “and while you do that I will have my guards come back to the castle. That little witch might come here and try to save the child once you steal it, so I will have my guards to guard the castle from her; ‘nothing must be over looked’ is what I was always told when I was still a princess”. “Do you think she will be like that sorceress Shaula who tried to stop you years ago?” asked Ethan. He heard about Shaula from Queen Morticia some time ago. “Not exactly,” answered Queen Morticia “I sensed that the witch is nowhere near as powerful as Shaula. But I do understand that she will do anything to protect the brat from me, and I am not going to allow her to defeat me. I’ve come too far now to be beaten by a little witch. Go Ethan, and do not return to this castle without the baby; I don’t want any failure from you”. Ethan bowed to her and then left the chamber to set off for Elfalore.

          “I will make them all pay;” Queen Morticia said to herself, once Ethan had left, “every magical being in this world will pay for going against me. For thirty years now I have been dealing with my enemies. But this time I will bring all my enemies down; all the wizards, witches, elves, fairies and other magical beings in this world will all bow down to me, and they will never dare get in my way ever again”. Queen Morticia was really mad now.

          Ethan was now galloping away on a black horse to Elfalore. “I have been waiting for this day,” he said to himself “I will show King Finwë and the other elves how powerful I have become and make them pay for what they did to me”. He couldn’t wait to show off his new powers to the elves and get revenge on them for banishing him.  

The Witch Queen part 5

Elfalore

 

          Kira, Kirk, Anakin, the brownies and the fairies travelled to Elfalore for several days. They traveled over hills, through farm villages and towns, taking great care not to be caught by Queen Morticia’s guards. Kira paid close attention to her surroundings while travelling; she had never seen the world outside the dwarf village and now she had seen so much. “My mother used to tell me stories about what our world was like when she was alive,” Kira said to Kirk “and it’s more wonderful than she said it was”. “That’s what I said when I first left Elfalore to see the world,” chuckled Kirk “and I do agree that our world is magnificent, although of course it would be better if Queen Morticia wasn’t spreading her evil reign around and terrorizing everyone”. “I agree with that” said Kira.

          Just then they came to a big long wooden bridge, and on the other side there was a big stone wall and a big metal gate door. “That is the entrance gate to Elfalore” said Benny. “That’s right,” said Kirk “we have made it to Elfalore safe and sound and we didn’t run into any of Queen Morticia’s guards”. “I’m glad that we’ve made it,” said Kira “but what will the elves say and do once they see me, since I am a half-witch?” Kira feared that the elves would probably say and do something unkind to her once they saw her. “Oh don’t you worry,” said Kirk “us elves have this ability that can tell us if someone is good or bad. You are a good person Kira so they won’t give you any trouble, but if they do I will deal with them”. “Thank you Kirk” smiled Kira, who felt a little better now.

          Kirk drove the unicorn and cart over the bridge and up to the gate. Next he took out a shofar horn, made from a ram’s horn, from his bag and blew into it. “What was that for?” asked Kira. Kirk explained that the gate was protected by a gate keeper and that a shofar horn was the only way to let him know that someone was outside the gate. The gate opened up a bit and then an old man elf came out. “Who is it?” he asked. “I have returned gatekeeper” said Kirk. “Why, Kirk this is a surprise” said the gatekeeper. He noticed Kira and the baby in her arms, and the brownies and fairies revealed themselves. “Ah I see that you have brought quite a few interesting friends with you,” he said “what brings you all here?” Kira told the gatekeeper that she had come to see the king of Elfalore. “It’s very important that I see him” she said. “Since you say it’s important you better come in at once” said the gate keeper, and he let the group enter Elfalore.

          Beyond the gate was the village of Elfalore. It looked magnificent in Kira’s eyes. There were hundreds of houses, shops and stalls. “Wow Kirk, your home looks magnificent” said Kira. “Wait till you see the castle of Elfalore” said Kirk. The elves noticed Kira and stared at her for a moment and then went back to what they were doing. “Do you elves always do that when strangers visit Elfalore?” Kira asked Kirk. “Sorry Kira, but we elves always take great care with strangers in case they do something bad,” said Kirk “and we always take care with each other in case an elf does something bad”. “Goodness, did someone do something bad here before?” said Kira. Kirk explained to Kira, the brownies and the fairies that an elf named Ethan nearly betrayed Elfalore a few years ago. “What did he do?” asked Skylar. “He tried to dethrone the royal family and make himself king of Elfalore by using magic,” answered Kirk “but he failed; the king saw right through him, had his magic powers plundered into darkness and banished him from Elfalore”. “Wow, he sounds as bad as Queen Morticia, even though she’s worse” said Flora. “Yeah he was, and that’s why we elves always take precautions with strangers, or each other, just in case the same thing happens again” said Kirk. Kira understood everything now.

          By then they had arrived at the castle of Elfalore. The castle was beautiful; it was made out of pure white stone and it sparkled in the sun as if it had been painted with glitter. There were two elf guards guarding the entrance of the castle and they asked Kirk and Kira what business they had. Kira said to the guards that the fairy queen Faylinn sent her here to ask the elf king for help. The brownies and fairies revealed themselves to the guards to tell them that Kira was speaking the truth. “Very well, I shall take you to the king” said one of the guards. Kirk, Kira, with Anakin in her arms, the fairies and the brownies got off the cart, as they had to leave the cart and unicorn outside. The brownies rode on Kirk’s shoulders and the fairies flew. Then the guard led the group inside the castle. The inside of the castle was beautiful as it was outside, all made of white stone.

          The guard led the group to the throne room, where the elf king would be. “What’s the elf king like?” Kira asked Kirk, in a whisper. She had never met the royal family of Elfalore before, so she wanted to know what the king was like before she met him. Kirk explained that the elf king was a serious man, but he was wise and understanding. “His majesty knows how evil Queen Morticia is and he might know what to do”. “I do hope so, we’ll need all the help we can get since we are protecting Anakin from Queen Morticia” whispered Kira.

          Now they were in the throne room and the guard presented the group to the elf king and his wife the elf queen. The elf king, King Finwë, was an elderly elf and he looked very wise. The elf queen, Queen Galadriel, was elderly and wise just like her husband. Kirk bowed to the elf king and queen and Kira curtsied. “It is good to know that you have returned to Elfalore safely Kirk,” said King Finwë “and I welcome you young witch, brownies and fairies to Elfalore”. Kira introduced herself to the elf king and queen and then she showed Anakin to them. “So the child, who is said to defeat Queen Morticia, has been born” said King Finwë. Kirk had been right about the elves knowing about the prophecy. “Yes, but Queen Morticia is after him” said Kira. She told the elf king and queen what Queen Faylinn told her about Queen Morticia’s desire to kill Anakin. “That Queen Morticia has done many evil deeds, but this is worse” said Queen Galadriel. “Indeed,” said King Finwë “which is why we have to protect this child by all means. But we cannot do it alone as even the strength of all the elves in Elfalore is no match for Queen Morticia and her dark power”. “Do excuse me your majesty,” said Kira “I know that Queen Morticia is very powerful, but isn’t there anyway that Queen Morticia can be defeated?” “There might be a way” said a voice.

          The voice belonged to an elderly elf named Erestor, also known as the wisest elf in Elfalore. “Please excuse me for intruding, but there is someone who may know how to defeat Queen Morticia”. “What is it that you suggest Erestor?” asked King Finwë. “Well you see the previous king and queen of Ranbaraz had a friend named Shaula, who was a sorceress” said Erestor. “I’ve heard of her,” said Kira “she’s said to be the most powerful and wisest sorceress in all of Ranbaraz. But they say that she disappeared after Morticia became queen, and she’s thought to be dead”. “It is true that Shaula disappeared, but she is not dead,” said Erestor “I have information that says that it was Queen Morticia herself that made Shaula vanish but she is still alive”. “Do you know where Shaula can be found Erestor?” asked King Finwë. “Yes your majesty, Shaula has been in hiding at the Ogreme Swamp, where the ogres live,” answered Erestor “and she has been hiding there ever since Queen Morticia took the throne”. “Very well” said King Finwë. He got out of his throne. “We must start searching for Shaula at once, Erestor and Kirk I am leaving you two the task to go to Ogreme Swamp, find Shaula and ask her for help”. “You can count on me your majesty” said Kirk. “I will do whatever I can to help your majesty” said Erestor. “Please excuse me your majesty but I wish to join the search for Shaula too” Kira spoke up. Everyone stared at Kira and admired her courage. “Yes Kira should come with us” said Kirk. “I agree,” said Erestor “as she is also a witch; I can tell that Kira will be great help to us your majesty”. So King Finwë agreed to let Kira join Kirk and Erestor. Then he told them that they had to get an early night for he wanted them to set out at dawn.  

          Kira, Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora were shown to a room where they would sleep tonight. It was a big room and it looked very fancy like a princess room. Kira placed Anakin into a crib that had also been placed in the room for him to sleep in and rocked him to sleep. “Since you are going to Ogreme Swam with Kirk and Erestor tomorrow, are you going to leave Anakin here?” said Benny. “Of course; I would never take a baby to a swamp, far too dangerous,” said Kira “and I want you four to stay here too to help look after him”. “We will gladly do so” said Benny. The truth is the fairies and Brownies didn’t fancy the idea of going to the swamp too, so they were happy that Kira was ordering them to stay behind. “What do you suppose that Queen Morticia did to make Shaula disappear?” asked Klunk, who remembered what Erestor said. “I don’t know, but it must have been something terrible” said Benny. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she did,” said Flora “after all Queen Morticia has done many terrible things to people in the past”. “You’re right” said Skylar.

          Just then there was a knock on the door. “Come in” said Kira. A beautiful female elf, wearing a long white gown and a silver tiara on her head entered the room. “Greetings,” said the elf “I am Princess Elasha of Elfalore”. “I am honoured to meet you your highness” said Kira, curtsying to her. Benny and Klunk bowed to her and Skylar and Flora curtsied to her. “You can just call me Elasha,” said Princess Elasha “I never thought I would get an opportunity to ever meet a witch, two brownies and two fairies. That fiancée of mine really knows how to run into different people”. “You mean Kirk is your fiancée?” asked Flora “And you don’t mind him being a half-elf?” “I love Kirk the way he is,” answered Princess Elasha “and my parents accept him for who he is”. “Then you two will be happy together in the future if you are truly in love” said Kira. “Do you have anyone that you love Kira?” asked Princess Elasha. “No I haven’t yet,” answered Kira “but I do hope that I will find my true love one day and start a family”.

          Princess Elasha and Kira spent the evening together, talking and learning about each other, mainly their pasts. As Kira told Princess Elasha about her troubled life in the dwarf village ever since her mother died, Princess Elasha told her that her life had been a bit difficult too. Since she was a princess and to be the next ruler of Elfalore, she had been stuck with lessons about manners and studies she hadn’t had that much time to be like other girls; having fun and all. “Being a princess can be no fun sometimes” said Princess Elasha. Talking with Princess Elasha was something new to Kira; she never had any friends to talk to in the past, but now she had Benny, Klunk, Skylar, Flora and Princess Elasha to talk to. “I have to say Kira, I admire your courage to wanting to go to the Ogreme Swamp to find the sorceress Shaula,” said Princess Elasha “I was told one time that the Ogreme Swamp is a very scary place, and I am not brave enough to go there myself”. “I just hope that Erestor is right about Shaula still being alive,” said Kira “I mean if she isn’t then we won’t know what to do about Queen Morticia”. “Don’t you worry Kira,” said Princess Elasha “Erestor has never been wrong before, and he would never let us down”.

          Just then there was a knock on the door. An elf maid came in and she told Princess Elasha that it was time for her to go to bed. Princess Elasha wanted to speak with Kira more, but she couldn’t disobey so she said goodnight to Kira and left the room. Then Kira and the two brownies and fairies went to sleep too.

The Witch Queen Part 4

Kirk the Half-elf

                       

          After leaving the forest of the fairies, Kira, Anakin, Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora were now on their way to Elfalore to ask the elves for help. “How long will it take us to get to Elfalore?” asked Kira. “Quite a while I’m afraid,” admitted Benny “Elfalore is a long way from here, so it may take us a week or more to get there”. “It’s a pity there’s no horse and cart round here,” said Klunk “then it would be easier for us to get there”. “Well I’m not really worried about the distance between here and Elfalore; its Queen Morticia’s guards I’m worried about really,” said Kira “there’s no way of knowing when or where they’ll turn up”. “That is true,” said Skylar “but I doubt that they’ll be around here in the forest area. I mean they’ll only look in villages and other places like that for Anakin”. “You mustn’t be so sure Skylar,” said Kira “Queen Morticia’s guards wouldn’t be that silly to leave out searching in forests and mountain areas for Anakin. And there’s no doubt that Queen Morticia has ordered them to search everywhere, and I mean everywhere”. “I agree with that one,” said Flora “but the trees are telling me right now that there are no sign of any of the guards anywhere around here”. Fairies had the ability to talk to plants and animals. “Okay enough talk now; we need to keep moving here,” said Benny “we can’t waste any time”. Benny acted like he was in charge of this expedition.

          By now Kira had walked out of the forest and was now on a road. “We must be careful while we are walking on the road,” said Kira “there’s no telling what sort of people we will run into”. “Don’t worry,” said Skylar “Flora and I will have the flowers warn us to let us know if someone is heading towards us”. So Kira started to walk down the road. As Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora were little people, they rode on Kira’s shoulders so that they wouldn’t have to walk on the big road. Sure Skylar and Flora had wings, but flying so much would tire them out. Kira walked down the long road for nearly the whole day; she stopped every now and again to tend to Anakin and to rest so not to wear herself out. So far she had not run into anyone and there was no sign of Queen Morticia’s guards.

          When it was getting near to the end of the afternoon, grey black clouds started to appear in the sky. “It looks like rain,” said Kira “we need to shelter at once. Cold wet weather is not good for babies, and we’ll need to find some more food too”. Flora spoke to some flowers to find out if there was a place anywhere for them to spend the night. “We’re in luck,” said Flora “the flowers told me that there is an inn not far from here”. “Great we’ll spend the night there and stock up on some food too” said Kira. She touched her hair and said a spell; “Capillum Coloress Blondness”. Her black hair turned into a blond colour. “Wow that was amazing,” said Klunk “but why did you change your hair to a different colour?” “Because people get suspicious of people with black hair because of witches like me, and the innkeepers probably wouldn’t let me stay if they saw my black hair” said Kira. The brownies and fairies saw the point.

          Thanks to the directions that Flora received from the flowers, they made it to the inn. The inn was quite a big place with three floors and there seemed to be quite a lot of rooms on the second and third floors. Kira went inside the inn and asked the innkeeper if she could spend the night at the inn. The innkeepers of the inn were a middle aged man and his wife. The innkeeper showed Kira to a spare room on the third floor, and his wife got some food ready for her and got some milk ready for Anakin. At that time the rain had started to down pour, so the innkeeper started a fire in the room fire place. “My wife will bring your food up once it’s ready,” he said “is there anything else you require ma’am?” “No thank you sir” replied Kira, and the innkeeper left.

          Once the innkeeper left the room, the brownies and fairies came out of Kira’s bag. “Why did we have to hide in your bag while you spoke to the innkeeper?” asked Benny. “Sorry Benny, but if they saw you they might have gotten a bit suspicious” said Kira, turning her blonde hair back to black. “She’s right,” said Flora “after all no fairy or brownie had been seen alongside a human before”. “Very well,” replied Benny “just try not to shake the bag so much next time”. Just then the innkeeper’s wife gave Kira her food and milk for Anakin and then left. Kira shared her meal with the brownies and fairies and then fed Anakin. “Okay everyone,” said Kira “tonight we all get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow we leave as soon as the sun has risen”. The fairies and brownies agreed with the plan.

          Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The brownies and fairies scattered under the bed in case it was the innkeeper. “Who is it?” asked Kira. “Please excuse me,” said a voice from the door “but I wish to talk to you”. The voice was a man’s voice, but it wasn’t the innkeeper’s. Kira bravely opened the door and there was a white haired man, with pointy ears. “You’re an elf!” gasped Kira. “Half-elf actually and my name is Kirk,” said the man “I felt a presence of a witch here and I wanted to talk to you if you please”. Kira invited Kirk in the room. Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora came out from their hiding place and introduced themselves to Kirk. “I’m surprised that a half-elf is somewhere out here and far away from Elfalore” said Skylar. “Ah well I have been traveling lately and I’m on my way back to Elfalore now actually,” said Kirk “so what’s a witch, two fairies, two brownies and a baby doing here all together?”. “I’m actually a half-witch,” said Kira “and we are on an important journey right now”.

          Kira told Kirk all about Anakin and what Queen Faylinn said to her back in the forest of the fairies. “Ah we elves have heard of the prophecy that a man would be born to defeat the evil Queen Morticia,” said Kirk “but Anakin is only a baby, and he can’t defeat her at this age”. “I know, but that’s why Queen Morticia wishes to kill him now while he’s still small and helpless,” said Kira “Kirk can you help us get to Elfalore; it’s very important that we get there to see the elf king”. “Of course I can,” said Kirk “I understand fully well that Anakin must be protected from that evil queen”. Kira and the brownies and fairies were delighted that they had a friend who could help them. Kirk asked Kira if he could share the room with them tonight; he felt uncomfortable being in a room by himself because he was a half-elf. “Of course” replied Kira, understanding Kirk’s feelings. “You’re very kind for a half-witch” said Kirk.

          While the fairies, the brownies were asleep, Kira was still up tending to Anakin. “The way you care for him is like you’re his mother” said Kirk. “I must admit, Anakin here is the only comfort I have left in my life,” said Kira “my life hadn’t been that fair to me ever since my mother died”. Kira told Kirk about her life in the dwarf village, especially all the bullying she got from the dwarves. “I understand that,” said Kirk “all us magical beings, especially witches, are all feared because of Queen Morticia. Even wizards have been treated terribly these days”. “I know,” said Kira “the only one who cared for me was Balim, the leader of dwarf village. He was my mother’s friend and he cared for me like I was his daughter. I wanted to leave the village lots of times before, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave him until now”. “I understand” said Kirk. “Were you ever picked on from being a half-elf Kirk?” asked Kira. “Not really; there is some more like me in the elf kingdom because it’s normal for elves and humans to fall in love with each other” said Kirk. “Lucky you” said Kira.

          Suddenly they heard a sound of horses and a lot of men shouting from outside. Kira and Kirk ran to the window to see what was going on. “Oh no, it’s Queen Morticia’s guards,” said Kira “they’re here to look for Anakin”. “We better leave this inn now, it won’t be safe for us to stay here” said Kirk. Kira agreed and woke up the brownies and fairies and told them what was going on. “What can we do? I doubt we’ll be able to get out of the inn without the guards seeing us” said Klunk. “I have an idea” said Kirk. He pulled out a light greyish cloak that had a hood from his bag. “Everyone in Elfalore wears this, both female and male,” said Kirk “if you wear this, they’ll think that you are also from Elfalore like me”. “Okay but I do hope they won’t ask to look at Anakin” said Kira, and she put on the cloak. She and Kirk picked up their bags and Kira placed Anakin back into the sling. Kira also left some money on the side of the bed to pay for the food and room and left a note with it. “Okay let’s go” she said.

          Kira and Kirk walked down the corridor of the third floor and headed towards the stairs. The fairies and Brownies were hiding in Kira’s bag again. Just as Kira and Kirk were getting near the stairs, a plump looking guard came up and he noticed them. “Have you elves seen a baby boy with a crown shape on its arm?” he asked. He thought that Kira was an elf too and he didn’t see through that disguise. “No we haven’t sir,” answered Kirk “now if you don’t mind, my family and I are in a hurry”. “Of course please excuse me then” said the guard, and he walked down the corridor. “Phew, that was close” Kira sighed.

          Kira and Kirk swiftly and calmly went down the stairs and got out of the inn before any more guards noticed them. The rain had stopped by then. “I can’t believe that actually worked,” said Kira “I mean I can’t believe that guard actually believed that I was an elf”. Kirk chuckled. “Let me tell you this,” he said “there are actually some times when some guards can be rather stupid”. “Gosh, I hate to think what Queen Morticia does to stupid guards” said Kira. “Me too, but now we should leave before the guards come out of the inn again” said Kirk. Kirk placed two fingers into his mouth and whistled. “Who are you calling?” asked Kira. Before her question could be answered, a white unicorn with a golden horn and a cart appeared. Kira gasped; she had never seen a unicorn before. “Wow,” she said “but I thought no one could own a unicorn because unicorns hate being captured and used for work”. “It’s true that they don’t, especially by humans, but we elves and unicorns have been friends for centuries” explained Kirk. Kira was amazed and stroked the unicorn. “I’m glad you came with transport Kirk, now we can easily leave this place” she said.

          Kira got onto the cart with Anakin, the brownies and fairies, and Kirk got the unicorn to start moving. Luckily the guards didn’t see them leave, and soon they were away from the inn. “This beats flying and walking” said Flora. “Yeah and it will save us a lot of time too” said Klunk. Kira was happy to finally have some transport too. “I never thought I would ever have the chance to get a ride from a unicorn” she said. “Don’t the dwarves use unicorns then?” asked Kirk. “No they use ponies,” said Kira “besides unicorns and horses are far too tall for dwarves to use and ride”. “I see what you mean” said Kirk. Kirk told Kira and the brownies and the fairies to get some rest. “I’ll be on the lookout for any trouble” he said. Kira, the brownies and the fairies took Kirk’s words and fell asleep on the cart.