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.

The Witch Queen part 3

The Forest of the Fairies

 

          After leaving the dwarf village, Kira was on her way to the forest of the fairies with the baby. Kira had never been to the forest of the fairies before, actually she had never been anywhere outside the dwarf village before. In the middle earth there were a lot of places where different creatures lived. Apart from dwarves living in a village and fairies living in a forest, there were elves living in their own kingdom, ogres living in the swamps, nymphs living in a special lake and mermaids living in the oceans. Kira had never been to any of the places, nor had she seen other creatures; she had only seen them in books back at the dwarf village.

          Kira took great care of her surroundings while walking to the forest of the fairies; she feared that she would run into any trouble or run into any of Queen Morticia’s guards. At the same time she cared for the baby boy like a mother; even though the baby wasn’t hers, she felt connected to him and felt that she didn’t want to be separated from him. “I don’t really understand why the evil Queen Morticia wants you,” Kira said to the baby “but I will protect you little one, I promise”. The baby smiled at her as if he understood what she was saying. Kira found the baby boy very adorable and couldn’t stop smiling back at him.

          Trying to get to the forest of the fairies proved to be more difficult to Kira than she thought; even with a map Kira had trouble with seeing if she was going the right way. All she kept on seeing was trees, trees and more trees, and paths that kept on looking the same. “Oh dear,” she sighed “I’ve been walking for a few days now while looking at the map and I still feel like I’m getting nowhere near the forest of the fairies. If only there were signs that would let me know where I am and help me get to my destination”. She had walked into a big forest, but she had no idea what forest she was in.

          Suddenly she heard some bushes rustling and she also heard some giggling; someone was there watching her. Kira braced herself just in case something bad was going to happen. “Okay who’s there?” she said “show yourself”. Just then she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. A small arrow, the size of a pin, struck her. Kira realized that something was hiding in the bushes and she got cross. “Grassy Longy Trapey” she said. What she had said was a spell, and what this spell did was make the grass grow long and trap those who were hiding in bushes or other plants. The grass had trapped some little people, wearing brown clothing; they were brownies. Brownies were little people who lived in forests and they were the type that knew no fear when it came to attacking those who were bigger than them. “You’re a witch!” a male brownie cried out. “Half-witch thank you,” said Kira, crossly, “now you brownies can tell me why you were watching me and why you tried to attack me”. “Simple,” said the same brownie “you have trespassed into our territory, and we don’t take kindly to trespassers”. “Well I am sorry if I have trespassed here,” said Kira “but I’m looking for the forest of the fairies, because I need to talk to the fairy queen about this baby boy I have on my back”. The brownies looked at the baby, who was asleep in the sling. “The baby of the prophecy has been born at last,” said another male brownie “this is the forest of the fairies. Release us at once and we will take you to the queen of the fairies”. Kira wasn’t sure if she should release them; brownies often played tricks on trespassers. “You better be telling me the truth,” she said “I punish those who lie to me”. “It is the honest truth” replied another male brownie. Kira was desperate to see the fairy queen so she released the brownies from the grass. “Follow us” said a brownie.

          The brownies led Kira deep into the forest. The forest was indeed big and the deeper Kira walked in the forest, the darker the forest became. The baby who had been awake all this time started to whimper because he was scared of the darkness of the forest. “It’s okay little one, I’m here” said Kira, comforting the baby. “I’m happy to know that the baby boy is here” said a female brownie. “Yeah I feared that the evil Queen Morticia would have caught him by now” said another female brownie. “Hold on, what in the world are you all talking about?” asked Kira “what does this baby boy have to do with Queen Morticia?” “Save the questions for when you meet the fairy queen,” said a male brownie “she will explain everything to you”. Kira felt that something was definitely wrong and she hoped that she would get answers from the fairy queen.

          At that moment there was a big flash of light and then a beautiful woman, with wings on her back and the size of a thumb, appeared. “Greetings half-witch Kira,” said the woman “I am Faylinn, the queen of the fairies and brownies”. Queen Faylinn was very beautiful. She had light blue hair, with a silvery crown on her head, and she wore a white dress with a design of cobwebs and raindrops. Kira curtsied to her. “I am honored to meet you your Majesty,” she said “but how do you know my name? And how do you know that I am a half-witch?” “I have magical ways to learn about anyone and anything,” replied Queen Faylinn “I also learn about what has been happening outside the forest of the fairies. Now please show the baby boy to me please?”

          Kira took the baby boy out from the sling and showed him to Queen Faylinn. “I am happy to know that this child is all happy and healthy” said Queen Faylinn. “Please excuse me your Majesty,” said Kira “who is this baby? And why is Queen Morticia after him so badly? Surely he is not a relative of hers”. “You are right, this child isn’t a relative of Queen Morticia’s,” said Queen Faylinn “Queen Morticia wishes to seek this child to kill him, as she killed his parents”. Kira was horrified. “But why?” she said “this baby hasn’t done anything wrong. Why would Queen Morticia want to kill a baby?” Queen Faylinn explained that the boy’s name was Anakin and that he was destined to overthrow Queen Morticia and become the new king of Ranbaraz. “So that’s why;” said Kira “she wants to kill Anakin before he can take his place as king. This also explains why she killed his parents, because they created him. Your Majesty, please tell me what can I do to protect Anakin?” “I can see that for a half-witch you have a very kind soul Kira” said Queen Faylinn.

          Queen Faylinn told Kira that she must go and take Anakin to a kingdom called Elfalore. “Isn’t that the kingdom where the elves live?” asked Kira. “Yes,” said Queen Faylinn “when you get there, talk to the king of the elves. He will be able to help”. Kira asked for the way to get there; she had never been to Elfalore before. “We will help you get there” said four little voices. The voices belonged to two male brownies and two female fairies. The first male brownie was tall and skinny and the other brownie was short and chubby. The skinny one was Benny and the chubby one was Klunk. The first female fairy wore a blue dress and her name was Skylar and the other fairy wore a pink dress and her name was Flora. “Okay Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora, I trust you four to help and guide Kira to Elfalore,” said Queen Faylinn “but first, Kira it is starting to get dark. You must stay here tonight and get some sleep for your journey tomorrow. And don’t you worry I will have the brownies and fairies keep watch over the forest tonight in case any trouble appears”. Kira thanked Queen Faylinn for her kindness. So Kira and Anakin slept through the night in the forest.         

          After having a good night’s sleep and some breakfast, it was time for Kira to set off for Elfalore. Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora were ready to set off too. Queen Faylinn and the brownies and fairies saw them off. “There is not a moment to lose,” said Queen Faylinn “Queen Morticia will stop at nothing to find Anakin, including having her men search for him all day and night, so it’s time that you left at once. Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora I trust you four to help Kira and Anakin all the way through this quest”. “Fear not your Majesty,” said Benny “we will be with Kira and Anakin every step of the way from here, and never leave their sides”. “Very well,” said Queen Faylinn “but you all must take care. Farewell Kira and good luck”. Kira thanked Queen Faylinn for her help and said goodbye to her and to all the brownies and fairies. Then she, Anakin, Benny, Klunk, Skylar and Flora started to leave the forest of the fairies. “I thank you four for being willing to help me get to Elfalore” Kira said to the two brownies and two fairies. “Think nothing of it,” said Klunk “we are glad to help good people like you Kira”. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever been to Elfalore before Kira?” asked Flora. “No I haven’t, the truth is I’ve never been anywhere” said Kira. “Well don’t you fret,” said Skylar “we said that we would help you and we will”. Kira was grateful to have new friends at her side for help.

          Now that Kira knew everything about Anakin and why Queen Morticia wanted him so badly, she vowed to protect Anakin even if it cost her own life.

The Witch Queen part 2

Kira

 

          The baby boy had arrived at a village where dwarfs lived. This village was surrounded by fields and farm lands and mines and all the male dwarves worked in those farms and mines. The female dwarves stayed at home to look after the house work and their children. Everyone was living happily in the village, except one person.

          In the village lived a young girl named Kira. Kira was not a dwarf and the reason why she lived in the dwarf village was because of her mother. Kira’s mother was a witch, but Kira was half-witch because her father was a non-magical being, and she had been a friend of one of the dwarfs. The dwarf’s name was Balim and he was the leader of the dwarf village. Normally dwarfs were afraid of witches and wizards because of their magic, but Kira’s mother was a good witch, and Balim had made everyone in the village accept her. Sadly Kira’s mother died when Kira was still just a child and Kira had no relatives to take care of her. Her father had died before she was born. But Balim took care of her and raised her like she was his own daughter. Kira was indeed a kind, helpful young woman, but she wasn’t happy living in the dwarf village.

          The truth was since Kira was a witch she had been bullied by the dwarfs ever since she started living in the village, so she had no friends. The main thing that made her a victim for bullies was her black hair; black hair was something that all witches have, and everyone feared of black haired women. Good witches were always taken for granted because of bad witches, and because of Queen Morticia everyone had feared all witches ever since. Kira was grateful to Balim for being allowed to live in the village, but there were times that she wanted to leave the village and start a new happier life somewhere else. But where would a witch live happily?

          One day Kira went to the river to be by herself. Kira always went to the river to be left alone; there she wouldn’t be bullied. As soon as she reached the bank of the river, she noticed a basket on top of a raft made of grass. Kira went to see what the basket was and then she saw the baby boy inside it. “Oh my goodness,” she said “what is a baby human doing here?” She looked around to see if the baby’s mother was nearby, but no one else was at the river. Kira feared maybe this baby had been abandoned and picked him up. The baby boy looked and smiled at Kira, and Kira couldn’t help but smile back. Then she noticed the paper that Agnes had placed in the basket and looked at it. The paper read; please protect my baby. “Is this baby in danger?” Kira wondered, looking at the baby, “I must tell Balim at once”. She placed the baby back into the basket, picked the basket up and made her way back to Balim’s house.

          When Kira got back to Balim’s house, she showed him the baby and told him how she found it. “So this baby was alone?” asked Balim. “Yes,” said Kira “I checked to see if his mother was around, but only this note was with the baby”. Balim looked at the note. “Something must be wrong,” he said “since this baby was alone and the note says please protect the baby then this child must be in danger of some sort”. Kira couldn’t understand why a little baby would be in danger. She moved the blanket off the baby to check to see if it was okay, but then she saw the birthmark. “What would this birthmark mean?” she asked Balim.

          Balim was just about to think, but then there was a commotion outside. Balim and Kira went to see what the problem was. The problem was that Queen Morticia’s guards had arrived in the dwarf village. “What are they doing here?” asked Kira. “I don’t know,” said Balim “Kira go out the back, take the baby with you and stay by the river until I come and get you”. Kira did as she was told.

          While Kira escaped with the baby, Balim talked to the guards. All the other dwarves looked nervous because they were scared of the guards. “What brings you guards here to the dwarf village?” he asked calmly. “We are searching for a baby,” said a guard “have you seen one?” “Of course I have,” answered Balim “there are lots of babies here in the village”. “We are not searching for a baby dwarf,” said the captain “we are searching for a baby who has a birthmark on its right shoulder”. Balim realized that they must be looking for the baby boy that Kira found. “I’m sorry to disappoint you sir, but there are no babies like that here” he lied. He hoped that the guards didn’t see through his lie. Thankfully they didn’t. “If you by any chance see the baby we are searching for, make sure you warn us,” said the captain “Queen Morticia wants to find that baby”. Then the guards left the village, which made the dwarves relieved to see them leave.

          Balim ran to the river, found Kira and told her what the guards had said. “If Queen Morticia is searching for this child, then it must be in danger,” said Kira “especially since the paper said to please protect him”. “I agree with that” said Balim. Both Kira and Balim knew that Queen Morticia was a very evil woman. “Kira this child must leave the village at once”. “I understand,” said Kira “but I wish to leave with the child too. Since this child is in danger, I can’t just leave it alone, and I’ve grown fond of him”. Balim stared at Kira. “I understand,” he said “but you must leave at once before trouble happens. Back to the house now, you have to get ready to leave”.

          Balim and Kira got everything ready for Kira’s departure, like food and blankets. Balim also gave Kira a map. “This map will guide you to the forest of the fairies, I’m pretty sure that the queen of the fairies will be able to help you. And I have three more things to give you”. He presented a necklace, with a black jewel in the middle, a bag of money and a book of magic. “This necklace and book of magic belonged to your mother. Before she died she asked me to give them to you when the time was right, and now the time is right. As for this bag of money, I kept saving a lot of money for you for the time when you would leave the village”. Kira was grateful to Balim and hugged him. “Balim you have raised me ever since my mother died and you have always been like a father to me, I love you” she said. “And I love you Kira,” said Balim, hugging her back, “but now it’s time for you and the baby to leave the village for safety, but beware of Queen Morticia’s guards; Queen Morticia will not give up on searching for the baby. So Kira you must guard and protect the boy with your life”. “I will” said Kira. “And one more thing,” said Balim “do not reveal your identity as a witch because that will also put you in danger”. Kira understood that warning, especially since she knew that everyone feared witches because of Queen Morticia.

          Kira packed up everything she needed in a big bag and was now ready to leave. Next she placed the baby in a baby carrier sling and carried him on her back. “Kira, may the gods and your mother and father in heaven be with you and watch over you always” said Balim. Kira thanked Balim, hugged him one more time, and then started to leave the dwarf village. She would miss Balim, but she would never forget him ever. The dwarves noticed that Kira was leaving the village and they thought good riddance. Kira heard most of them muttering things like ‘she’s finally leaving’, ‘it’s about time that witch was out of here’ or ‘I won’t be missing her one bit’ and any other nasty comments. Kira paid no attention to the dwarves and just left the dwarf village, happy to be free from them. This was the last time that Kira was to ever see the dwarf village again.

The Quest For Christmas

 

          At the North Pole in Father Christmas’s village lived two best friends; an elf named Holly and a reindeer named Bambi. Holly and Bambi had been friends ever since Bambi was a little calf. The two were inseparable; they would send the day playing in the snow and go sledging with Bambi pulling Holly’s sled. All the other elves and reindeers agreed there were no other best of friends like Holly and Bambi at the North Pole, even Father Christmas and his wife Mother Christmas couldn’t agree more.

          There was one thing that Holly and Bambi had in common; they wished to see the world outside the village. Holly wanted to travel around the world to see what other lands were like, but she couldn’t because it was against the law for elves to ever leave the village. Only Father Christmas and his wife were allowed to leave the village. Bambi wished to fly with the sleigh on Christmas Eve and travel all round the world. But Bambi wasn’t destined to pull the sleigh. The story about which reindeers pulled the sleigh was the first born male calf of the reindeers, which currently pulled the sleigh, were to be the next fliers. Bambi was the son of the reindeer Vixen, but he had a twin brother also named Vixen and he was to pull the sleigh after his father. So Bambi was never to become a flier for the sleigh.

          Never to be able to see the world outside the village made Holly and Bambi feel sad and disappointed. It was more disappointing for Bambi because Christmas Eve was the only time he could fly; reindeer could only fly thanks to the magic of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But it looked hopeless for Holly and Bambi to ever fulfil their dream of seeing the world.

          One day, four months before Christmas, Holly came up with an idea. Her idea was if she had her own sleigh she and Bambi could secretly fly it out on Christmas Eve, with Bambi pulling the sleigh. She told Bambi her idea. “I like that idea Holly,” he said “but will we be allowed to fly our own sleigh?” “I don’t believe we will,” said Holly “but that’s why we will do it in secret. We’ll build the sleigh ourselves, but in secret so no one would guess what we are up to. Then when it’s Christmas Eve and no one is watching we’ll test out the sleigh and fly around in secret only for a moment. That way by the time Father Christmas and the reindeers return no one will know what we are doing”. At first Bambi wasn’t so sure about this because he feared someone would find out what they were doing. But Bambi was determined to fly on Christmas Eve and he agreed to the plan.

          The only problem was where Bambi and Holly could build the sleigh. If they were to do it in secret, they had to find a secret place where no one could see or find out what they were doing. Bambi came up with the idea; he said to Holly that one time, when he explored with his father and brother, he found a cave in the mountains not far from the village. Holly got her sled and Bambi led the way to the cave he found.

          The cave was a big one with lots of space to move around in, and there was no one living in it. Not a polar bear or artic fox in sight. “What do you think Holly?” asked Bambi. “This is perfect,” answered Holly “we’ll bring a lot of wood, nails and other things we need here and build the sleigh here. We must start as soon as possible though; in three months the elves and I will start making toys for boys and girls and we won’t be able to make the sleigh during the Christmas season. So tomorrow we’ll start work on the sleigh, okay?” Bambi understood. “And remember Bambi we do this in secret, and no one, not even our friends our parents, must know about this,” said Holly “promise?” “Promise” replied Bambi. They didn’t want anyone to stop them

          The next day Holly and Bambi started gathering up the things they needed to make a sleigh. There was a big lumber mill outside the village, where lots of wood was kept all ready for the elves to use. Bambi collected some wood from the lumber mill and used Holly’s sled to carry it. Holly went to a work shop and gathered some tools; a hammer, a lot of nails, a saw and a measuring tape. Then they brought it all to the cave and Holly began to get to work. Holly knew how to make things with wood and was a good carpenter. In fact all elves were good at carpentry male or female.

          Over the days Holly and Bambi worked hard on the sleigh together in the cave. Bambi kept bringing the wood, while Holly worked on building it. Holly took great care of building the sleigh; the sleigh she and Bambi wanted was just a simple small sleigh, not too big or heavy for Bambi to pull and fly with. The duo took great care of not letting anyone know where they had been and what they had been doing, otherwise they would have been in trouble and their plan would be ruined.

          Weeks later, just two months before Christmas, the sleigh was built; it was a small sleigh just big enough for Holly and Bambi to use and it wasn’t heavy for Bambi to pull. All that was left was to paint it. Holly had decided the sleigh would be painted navy blue with gold lines because then it would blend in with the night sky and no one would be able to see it at night. Holly got a can of navy blue paint and a can of gold paint from the workshop and got to work on painting the sleigh. It wasn’t long until Holly and Bambi finally had a navy blue sleigh with gold lines. “We’ve done it Bambi,” said Holly “our sleigh is finished at last”. “It’s beautiful” said Bambi, who loved the sleigh already. Holly covered the sleight up with a big green sheet; this was to keep it dry and safe. “We’ll leave the sleigh here in this cave,” said Holly “and when Christmas Eve comes we’ll try it out after Father Christmas and his reindeers leave”. “What will we do if I can’t fly with the sleigh?” asked Bambi. Holly had a thought. “If our plan doesn’t work, we’ll have to try and think of something else,” she said at last “but if it does then we are fine”. “But what will we do if Father Christmas finds out?” asked Bambi, worriedly. “We will talk to him when he gets back from his deliveries,” answered Holly “he is an understanding man, so I’m sure he’ll listen to us”. Bambi believed in Holly and all they could now was to wait for Christmas Eve to get here.

          Two months later it was Christmas Eve and it was time for Father Christmas to leave to do his deliveries. The sleigh was filled with presents to be delivered to boys and girls all over the world. The reindeers Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen were all ready to pull the sleigh. Mother Christmas, all the elves, and the reindeers which don’t pull the sleigh were all watching. Even Holly and Bambi were watching. Father Christmas kissed Mother Christmas goodbye and waved everyone else goodbye. Father Christmas shook the reins and the reindeers started to gallop away and then they took off into the sky. Everyone watched Father Christmas and the reindeers fly away until they were out of sight. Once there were out of sight the elves and the reindeers made their way back to their homes, except Holly and Bambi. “Now’s our chance Bambi,” said Holly “now it’s time for us to test our sleigh out”.

          Suddenly Bambi noticed something lying in the snow. “What’s that?” he asked Holly. Holly ran over to see what it was and saw that it was a christmas present, wrapped in purple paper with a blue ribbon. “What’s a christmas present doing here?” asked Bambi. “It must have fallen out of Father Christmas’ sleigh” said Holly. Holly looked at the label on the present and read the present was for a boy named Alexander Stone. She and Bambi were worried. “What should we do?” asked Bambi “Father Christmas is long gone from here now”. “You’re right,” said Holly “and by the time they come back it will be too late to deliver this present”. They knew the boy would be upset to wake up and see there was no present for him. “There’s only one thing to do Bambi,” said Holly at last “we will have to deliver this present ourselves”. “What!” gasped Bambi “but we haven’t tested our sleigh yet and I might not be able to fly”. “We will just have to try now,” said Holly “we can’t just let this child be missed and not get his present. Christmas will be ruined for him and for Father Christmas”. Bambi understood that Holly was right and agreed with Holly’s decision. “Come on Bambi, we have work to do” said Holly.

          Bambi and Holly went to one of Father Christmas’s workshop. This was the mail office where all the letters to Father Christmas were kept and it was also where all the lists of addresses where every child in the world lived. The first thing Bambi and Holly had to do was to find out where Alexander Stone lived. Holly took a real good look through the address lists, until at last she found Alexander’s address. It read; Alexander Stone, 33B Plantenster Road, York, England. “So we have to go the England right?” asked Bambi. “Yes,” answered Holly, who wrote down the address on a bit of paper, “and now we need to gather some things for our quest”. The things Holly and Bambi needed were a map and compass to guide them to England, a lantern to help them see in the dark and some food in case they got hungry. Holly gathered a map and compass from Father Christmas’s cabin, where he kept lots of spare maps and compasses. The maps were really magic; wherever Father Christmas and his sleigh went, his sleigh would appear where it was on the map so he would never get lost. So Holly and Bambi wouldn’t get lost with their own magic map on this quest. Then Bambi and Holly gathered food as sandwiches and carrots so they wouldn’t get hungry, and Holly got a lantern from the workshop for light.

          After gathering the things they needed, Holly and Bambi made their way to the cave where they left the sleigh. “Ready for this Bambi?” asked Holly. “Hitch me up Holly” answered Bambi. Bambi had brought a rein with him and Holly helped hitch Bambi up to the sleigh after taking off the sheet. Then Holly placed the magic map, compass, the food and the present onto the sleigh seat and sat on the seat herself. “Let’s go for it Bambi” she said, holding onto the rein.

          Bambi led the sleigh outside of the cave and then it started to gallop to try and take off. “Believe in yourself Bambi!” called Holly “I believe you can fly!” Bambi closed his eyes while he was running, believing that he could fly. Suddenly Holly shouted; “Bambi we’re flying!” Bambi opened his eyes and saw that he was flying in the sky with the sleigh. “I don’t believe it, I’m flying!” cheered Bambi. He and Holly laughed together, happy that their flying test succeeded. “Come on Bambi we’re off to England” said Holly, tugging at the rein. The quest for delivering the lost present had now begun.

          Flying in the sky was the best thing that ever happened to Bambi and Holly. They flew through some clouds, which turned out to be fun, and the stars twinkled like diamonds with the full moon in the sky. When they flew over the ocean they could see a blessing of narwhals swimming about. “This is wonderful” said Holly, happily. “Much better than what we’ve ever dreamed of” agreed Bambi. This was indeed the best night of their lives. Bambi continued flying over the ocean, until he saw land just ahead. “Is that England over there?” he asked Holly. Holly checked the magic map. “No that’s Scotland,” she said “we need to continue on to get to England”. Bambi flew over all of Scotland until at last Holly told him they had made it to England.

          After flying some more, Holly and Bambi had arrived at York where Alexander Stone. Bambi carefully landed the sleigh onto the ground in a park. “So this is England?” asked Bambi. Holly checked the map. “Yes we’ve made it to England and we are in York,” she said “now we just to find to get to Plantenster Road wherever that is”.

          Suddenly they got startled by some cooing; there were some pigeons in the park and they flew towards Holly and Bambi. “This is the first time a reindeer has come to this park” said one pigeon. “It’s also the first time an elf has come here too” said another pigeon. “What brings you two here?” asked a third pigeon. Holly explained about the christmas present that Father Christmas left behind at the North Pole, and that she and Bambi were delivering it for him. “We need to get this present to a boy named Alexander Stone”. “Oh we know that boy,” said the first pigeon “he comes to this park with his mum and feeds us bread”. “Do you know where Plantenster Road is?” asked Holly. “Yes we do,” said the second pigeon “we’ll lead you there ourselves”. “Really, thank you” said Holly. She and Bambi were grateful to get some help.

          The pigeons flew in the sky and Bambi and Holly followed them in the sleigh on the ground. Soon they had reached Plantenster Road; this neighbourhood had lots of terraced houses. “Wow nice neighbourhood” said Holly. “A whole lot different than our home” agreed Bambi. They followed the numbers on the house doors until at last they found the house number 33B. “This is it,” said Holly, looking at her paper, “this is the house Alexander Stone lives in. We’ve made it”. “One question though,” said Bambi “how are we going to get inside the house? We can’t get through the chimney and the doors and windows will be locked”. “Not a problem” said Holly. She pulled out a golden key from her pocket. “This is a magic key,” she explained “Father Christmas uses this to get in any door of any house when he can’t get down a chimney or if a house doesn’t have a chimney. Good think he kept a spare magic key for emergencies”. Holly opened the door with the key and entered the house. Bambi stayed outside and watched with the pigeons. Holly quietly walked into a living room where a beautiful christmas tree stood, and then she placed the present under the tree. After that she went back outside and closed the door. “We’ve done it Bambi mission accomplished” she said. Bambi and the pigeons were happy that Alexander Stone would wake up in the morning and get his present. “Now that our quest is over she would head home now” said Holly. Holly and Bambi thanked the pigeons for their help, said goodbye and then took off into the sky again. The quest for delivering the christmas present was over.

          Bambi and Holly flew over England, Scotland and the ocean until at last they made it back to the North Pole. Once they made it back to the North Pole, Bambi landed the sleigh near the cave. Holly got off the sleigh and took the rein off Bambi. “What do we do now Holly?” asked Bambi. “We wait for Father Christmas to come back, and then we tell him everything of what we’ve done,” answered Holly “we can’t lie about this forever”. Even though Bambi and Holly knew they had to tell the truth to Father Christmas, they feared they would be in big trouble for breaking the rule of never leaving the village.

          Soon Father Christmas and the reindeers came back and everyone was there to welcome them home. After the reindeers were unhitched and gone back to their stables and the sleigh was put away, Holly and Bambi went up to Father Christmas and told him they had something to tell him. Father Christmas brought Holly and Bambi into his cabin so he could hear what they had to say there. Mother Christmas joined them too. Holly and Bambi gathered up all their courage and told Father Christmas and his wife about the sleigh they made together, about the christmas present that got left behind, and about their adventure of delivering the present. “We are sorry for breaking the rule of never to leave the village,” said Holly “but we couldn’t let the boy Alexander Stone not get his present”. Father Christmas stared at Bambi and Holly and then smiled. “I thank you two for delivering the present for me,” he said “I found out Alexander’s present was missing from my sleigh when I started doing my deliveries in England. And I was surprised to see his present was already delivered when I got to his house. Therefore I thank you two for helping me”. “We are honoured to have helped you sir” said Bambi. He and Holly were happy that Father Christmas wasn’t angry at them. “Do excuse me Father Christmas,” said Holly “but Bambi and I have something to ask you”. She told him about her and Bambi’s wish to see the world outside the village. Father Christmas had a think. “Well the rule is that no elf and reindeer can leave the village,” he said “but after what you two did for me I think we can the rules a bit”. Mother Christmas agreed.   

          So it was arranged; Bambi and Holly were allowed to leave the village and see the world on their sleigh. And Bambi was allowed to fly on Christmas Eve with Holly and the sleigh. The condition was that Bambi and Holly had promised to never let anyone know they were from Father Christmas’s village; that had to be kept a secret for always, and Bambi and Holly held on to that promise forever. Bambi and Holly were now as happy as could be because their wish of seeing the world had come true at last.           

          As for Alexander Stone; his present was a snow globe, with an elf and reindeer in the middle. What he didn’t know was it was a real elf and reindeer who delivered his snow globe to him that Christmas Eve instead of Father Christmas. 

The Witch Queen part 1

The Baby Boy of Ranbaraz

 

          Down in Middle Earth, there was a kingdom called Ranbaraz. This kingdom was ruled by an evil, wicked queen called Queen Morticia, a really evil woman; she killed innocent people without mercy, taxed people heavily, took away nearly all the crops like wheat and vegetables that the people had grown and she loved to make everyone’s lives a misery. She was also an evil witch; she studied dark magic when she was still a princess, and once she became queen she was free to reign over the people with her dark magic. She was also free to scare anyone and anything that lived in middle earth with her dark magic. The people of Ranbaraz lived in fear of Queen Morticia for thirty years and they all hated her. But no one, not even other magical beings, could do anything about it because her power was too powerful for anyone to stop her evil ways. Many had tried to stop her in the past, but they all failed and died.

          The previous king and queen of Ranbaraz, who were Queen Morticia’s parents, were said to have no magical abilities at all so how Morticia obtained dark magical abilities was a real mystery. Some say that she stole someone’s magical ability in the past and others say that she traded her soul to process dark magic abilities. But no one knew the real truth; even Queen Morticia’s own servants didn’t know how she became an evil witch.

          There was only one hope for Ranbaraz; there was a prophecy that a man born from a woman’s womb would have the power to destroy Queen Morticia and take her place as the new king of Ranbaraz. Unfortunately Queen Morticia had heard of this prophecy too and she had every pregnant woman in her kingdom arrested and placed in the dungeons. Every single pregnant woman hoped and prayed that they wouldn’t give birth to the child of the prophecy. So far no baby boy, who fitted the prophecy, had yet been born. It was said the baby boy of the prophecy would bear a birthmark, in the shape of a crown, on his right shoulder. All of the current new born baby boys had no birth mark on their right shoulder, so they and their mothers were sent home free including the mothers with new born baby girls. This was a relief to the mothers because Queen Morticia planned to kill the baby boy once it was born.

          One day though a woman named Mary gave birth to a baby boy and he had a dark brown royal birthmark on his right shoulder. The guard of the dungeons left to tell Queen Morticia that the child of the prophecy was born. Mary was horrified; she didn’t want her son and only child to be killed. She begged the midwife Agnes to help her and Agnes agreed. Agnes couldn’t really believe that a baby would have the power to take down Queen Morticia, but she couldn’t just allow her to kill him. She wrapped the baby boy in a blanket and placed him in a basket. Mary handed a piece of paper to Agnes and asked her to place it with her son. “Dear God please protect my baby” she said, tearfully. Agnes got out of the dungeon with the basket as quick as she could.

          At that moment Queen Morticia and the guard turned up, but Agnes and the baby were gone. “You will not kill my son!” shouted Mary “my son will kill you!” Mary hated Queen Morticia just like everyone one else in Ranbaraz. Queen Morticia realised that Agnes had escaped with the baby and was furious. She ordered the guards to go and arrest Mary’s husband, Adam; she planned to have both Mary and her husband killed. So the baby boy was left an orphan.

          Meanwhile Agnes had escaped from the kingdom with the baby boy and she cared for the boy like he was her own child. In the past she had been a mother herself but her daughter died at an early age and Agnes had no other family. For the next few weeks Agnes and the baby were safe from harm, but one day they were in trouble. Queen Morticia had sent out her guards to look for Agnes and the baby. Agnes knew that she couldn’t hide with the baby for long, especially with the guards on her trail, so she had to quickly do something to save the baby. Thankfully she had an idea of what to do; she had come to a river and found a makeshift raft of grass. She placed the basket, containing the baby and the piece of paper that Mary had given to her, onto the raft of grass and sent it down the river. Agnes prayed with all her heart that the river would flow gently and keep the baby safe.

          At that time the guards turned up. “Where is the baby?” demanded the captain of the guards. “Somewhere where you will never find him!” replied Agnes. She had no intention of telling the guards where the baby was. The captain was not happy with that answer and killed Agnes on the spot with his sword. “What do we do now sir?” asked another guard. The captain looked around the area. “That baby wouldn’t have escaped by itself,” he said “search for it now. Queen Morticia is expecting us to find it”. “What about the woman?” asked another guard, who was looking at Agnes’ dead body. “Leave it, it’s no importance to us,” said the captain “what’s important is finding that brat”.

         Meanwhile the raft with the baby was still floating down the river. The river was flowing gently, so the baby wasn’t being tossed and turned around. The raft soon stopped at a bank of the river. All the baby could do was just lie there and watch its surroundings

The Cat Creature

          In a big mansion lived a cruel and wicked land lord who found killing animals fun; he loved to go hunting for birds and animals. He even killed stray animals like rats, cats, dogs and mice for the humour of it. This land lord was a real animal killer. Now many people have heard about crazy hunters who breed hundreds of rabbits or pheasants just to kill them later on for the sport of it. But not the land lord; he bred lots of cats and then would kill the kittens along with the mother cats. The reason why he loved to kill cats was really because he hated cats. Filthy and disgusting creatures are what he called them.

          That was not the only cruel thing about the land lord; the other wicked thing about him was he liked having concubines. Despite the fact he already had a wife, he liked keeping concubines for sexual pleasure. Usually a concubine would be pampered like a princess with lovely clothes and food, but not the land lord’s concubines. His concubines were dressed in rags, were given little food, and worse of all he kept them locked up in his dirty cellar.

          What the land lord did to his concubines was awful; he raped and abused them until they died. After they died he would have them thrown into a pit and burn them. The servants and his wife knew about this, but they did nothing to stop him or help the concubines. The concubines were just left to suffer and die.

          One time the land lord was down to one concubine left; he had killed the others. This concubine had a cat and kittens for company. The land lord hadn’t killed these cats yet and they were the only happiness she had left. But one day the land lord saw the cats in the cellar. “Disgusting creatures making a mess in here” he said, and he grabbed a sword that hung in the cellar. The concubine begged the land lord to spare the cats lives, but he ignored her pleas and killed the cats while laughing in pleasure. 

          The concubine was in despair; it was terrible enough for her to be treated cruelly by the land lord, but having her cat friends killed by the land lord was the worse. “The only disgusting creature is that land lord!” she shouted, angrily. She started to pray; she prayed for the wicked land lord to be cursed. Just then some little wisp of spirits surrounded the concubine. The spirits were the souls of the dead cats. They had heard her anger and sorrow and they wished to get revenge on the land lord too. The concubine opened up her arms to the spirits and then the spirits went into her body.

          The concubine was turned into a monstrous cat creature and she broke herself out of the cellar. Once the cat creature was loose she started to kill the servants of the mansion. The concubine couldn’t forgive the servants either for letting their master abuse and kill other concubines; she also couldn’t forgive them for not even helping them. Once all the servants were killed the cat creature made her way to the land lord and his wife. “You will now pay for killing other women and for your cruelty against cats!” she shouted at them. The land lord and his wife were helpless now, and with a lot of scratching from her sharp claws the land lord and his wife were soon dead.

          After getting her revenge against the evil land lord the cat creature left the mansion. Unfortunately the concubine was to remain a cat creature for the rest of her life. But what mattered to her was she was now free, and cats and other animals were free from the land lords killing spree.