The Witch Queen part 12

The Fall of Queen Morticia

                                   

          In the chamber Queen Morticia was preparing her ritual, placing various ingredients into her cauldron. Anakin was crying because he was scared of his surroundings. The queen ignored his crying.  “Cry your last tears,” Queen Morticia said to Anakin “because you will never cry again after I’ve completed this ritual. You have been a real nuisance to me ever since you were born, but you won’t be anymore”. She placed a strand of Anakin’s hair into her cauldron and the cauldron started to smoke. “The potion is ready, and after I’ve destroyed the armies outside it will be your turn to die little baby”. “The one who will be destroyed here is you Morticia!” shouted a voice.

          The voice came from Shaula; she and Kira had just entered the chamber. Queen Morticia was surprised that Shaula and Kira had entered her castle and her chamber, but she simply smiled. “Well, well, well I welcome you back to the castle Shaula,” she said, sarcastically, “and I also welcome you too little half-witch”. “At least I came back here for a right reason,” said Shaula, crossly, “Morticia ever since you became queen thirty years ago you have tried to claim all of Middle Earth as your own. In doing so you have ruined the lives of humans and creatures alike, how do you explain yourself?” Queen Morticia huffed “I already told you this when I became queen,” she said “it is my destiny to become queen of all Middle Earth, and no one not even you has the power to stop me”. Shaula and Kira looked on crossly. “If you think we are going to let you continue hurting others and ruling with darkness then you’re wrong you evil old witch!” shouted Kira. “Yeah witch!” shouted Klunk. Queen Morticia raised her hands to start to use magic. “You have all been real nuisances to me,” she said “trying to hide the baby from me so I will dispose of all of you too”. She fired a stream of magic towards Kira and the brownies and fairies, but Shaula protected them by counter attacking the queen’s magic with her own magic. Kira used her own magic to knock over Queen Morticia’s cauldron and ruin the ritual. “Ahh you little brat!” shouted Morticia. She was furious with what Kira did and was about to attack her, but Shaula interrupted her. “Your fight is with me Morticia!” she shouted. She and Queen Morticia got ready to fight each other. “Come on Kira, we have to get Anakin out of here now” said Benny, reminding her of Shaula’s plan. Kira understood, seeing this was no place for a baby. While Queen Morticia kept her attention on Shaula, Kira quickly ran to Anakin who was still crying and picked him up. “It’s alright Anakin I’m here now” she said, hugging him. Anakin started to calm down after seeing Kira. “Okay let’s go” said Benny. Kira was worried to leave Shaula fight Morticia alone, but the brownies and fairies reassured her that Shaula would be alright since she was strong and they had to hurry now. Kira did as she was told and started to run towards the door of the chamber with Anakin in her arms. Queen Morticia noticed Kira with the baby and wanted to stop her, but Shaula stopped and reminded her that she was her opponent. So Kira and the fairies and brownies got out of the chamber with Anakin safely.

          Queen Morticia and Shaula got ready to fight. “Pity I didn’t destroy you when I turned you into a crane” said Queen Morticia. “I was blind for not realizing till too late that you would rule Ranbaraz with evilness” said Shaula. Queen Morticia smirked. “I take it you remember what I said to you on that day?” she asked. “Yes I do,” answered Shaula “I especially remember you saying that you didn’t want to rule the same way your parents did, when I told you they would have been disappointed with what you had become”. “I did tell you;” said Queen Morticia “I told you directly I didn’t want to be the same as my parents”.

          The truth was Morticia never wanted to become like her parents and had never respected them. To her, being a good natured ruler was pathetic and weak; therefore she declared her parents were weak because of their good and wise nature. “My father could have gained more with all the power he had, but no, he had to be all peaceful and all that other nonsense” said Queen Morticia. “Being good and wise is what made your father a great ruler,” said Shaula “whereas your cruelty and greed has made you a terrible ruler”. “Why thank you and I have Clavius to thank for that” said Queen Morticia. “Because you took his book after he died?” said Shaula. “There is that,” answered Queen Morticia “but it’s also because Clavius showed me in person what it was like to have dark magic”. “What?!” shouted Shaula. “Oh didn’t I tell you this?” said Queen Morticia “It must have slipped my mind”.   

          The queen revealed that sometime before her father defeated Clavius she visited him in secret. While they met Clavius showed off his dark magic to her and she fell in love with his dark magic at once. “Meeting him was how I learnt about his book and how to use dark magic”. Shaula was surprised with what the queen had just told her. “You are a real traitor,” she said “not only to your kingdom but to your parents too”. “Enough of this” said Queen Morticia, who was now getting impatient, “I want to get that brat back and you are still in my way”. The queen fired some magic, but Shaula countered it with her magic. The fight between the two was on.

          While Shaula and Queen Morticia were fighting, Kira and the brownies and fairies had run far away from the secret chamber with Anakin. They stopped so Kira could catch her breath. “I don’t know about all of you but it was scary in there” panted Klunk. “I never want to see an evil witch’s chamber ever again” said Skyler. Kira cuddled Anakin, happy that he was okay. “I’m sorry that you went through something so scary Anakin, but you’re safe now” she said, giving him a kiss on the head. Anakin had calmed down from his crying because he was happy to be with Kira again. “Thank goodness we got him back at last” said Flora. “Yes and not a moment too soon,” said Skylar “I dread to think what that evil witch would have done to him if we had arrived too late”. The fairies and brownies were happy to see Anakin again. “Oh I do hope Shaula will be alright fighting that queen” said Kira, fearing for her life. “I wouldn’t worry Kira,” said Klunk “the queen wasn’t able to kill her before, so I’m sure she won’t be able to do it again”. That did make Kira feel a bit better but not a lot. “Come on everyone;” said Benny “Shaula told us to go and find a safe place to hide”. “But where can we go?” asked Skylar “we don’t know our way around this castle and we don’t have any maps of it”. “Where’s a guide when you need one?” said Klunk.

          Suddenly a figure ran towards Kira; it was Bridget. “You must come with me” said Bridget. “Who are you?” asked Kira, nervously. “My name is Bridget and I work at this castle,” said Bridget “I am here to take you to safety”. “Hold on, why should we trust someone who works in this castle?” asked Benny. He didn’t think it was a good idea to trust anyone who worked for the queen. “I am not your enemy you must believe me;” said Bridget “all of us servants of this castle are not loyal to the queen and we have heard about your desire to defeat her. We wish to help you in any way we can”. Kira stared at Bridget, feeling uncertain. “Okay show us to safety please” she said at last. “Kira” said Benny, in shock. “We have no time to be doubtful Benny,” said Kira “we have to get going before that evil queen comes after us. Lead the way Bridget”. “Come this way” said Bridget. She started to run down a corridor and Kira followed with Anakin and the brownies and the fairies.

          Back in the chamber Queen Morticia and Shaula were firing magic at each other. “I see that your magic hasn’t weakened after all these years” said Queen Morticia. “Just because I had been a crane all this time, that does not mean I have lost my magic now” said Shaula. They threw magic at each other like crazy; it wasn’t a pretty sight. “You should give up on trying to fight me,” said Queen Morticia “your magic is no match for my dark magic”. “Clavius said the same thing when I faced him along with your father,” said Shaula “but the forces of good were still able to defeat him and the forces of good will defeat you too”.

          It was at this time that the evil queen was starting to get impatient and wanted to finish the battle. She cast some magic on the floor and the floor trembled like a small earthquake. Shaula got distracted, trying not to lose her footing. This was the queen’s chance. “Stupefyus, Petrifyous, Paralysisus!” she said. The spell hit Shaula before she even got the chance to do anything and it paralyzed her.         

          With Shaula paralyzed, Queen Morticia was free to go after Kira and Anakin. “Now I wonder where that half-witch may have gone?” she asked herself “there is no way she would be outside where that battle is going on, so she must still be inside my castle. Question is where?” She had a quick think for a second. “Of course, the only place they could have gone would be the second secret underground chamber that my father built. Ha, if they think they will be safe in that chamber, they are wrong”. Queen Morticia walked over to a book stand, where a black and reddish-brown coloured book lay. This book was the spell book which Clavius sold his soul to obtain before the queen sold her soul to claim it herself. “That little half-witch will see what real magic is like” said Queen Morticia. She turned to Shaula. “I’ll finish you off after I deal with that little witch and the baby”. Shaula looked on helplessly as Queen Morticia walked out of the chamber to go after Kira and Anakin.

          By now Bridget had led Kira to a far side of the castle on the ground floor. “Where are we going?” asked Kira. “There’s another secret underground chamber near here that the last king built for any emergencies,” answered Bridget “the queen’s chief advisor Egbert showed me where it was once. And he asked me to take you there so you could keep the baby safe in there”. “But if the queen’s father built it then the queen knows about it too,” said Benny “and it will make it obvious to her that we will be there when she comes looking for us”. “Well it’s better than nothing,” said Kira “and if Queen Morticia does find us in there I will just have to fight her myself. Remember I’ve got the sword and dagger on me”. “And we will help you fight her too Kira” said Skylar. “You’re right we will” said Flora. “Don’t leave me out either” said Klunk. Benny saw he couldn’t argue anymore with this, so he just agreed to fight too.

          Soon they came to a corridor with another dead end. Bridget pulled back a chandelier on a left wall and then the wall on the right opened up, revealing a flight of stairs. “Go down those stairs and down there you will find a door to the chamber” said Bridget. She pulled out a key from her pocket. “This is the key to the door down there. Use it to lock the door behind you when you go through it”. “Thank you Bridget,” said Kira, taking the key, “you better get out of here now before the queen realizes you’re helping us”. Kira knew that Bridget would be killed if Queen Morticia found out about her betrayal. “Good luck” said Bridget, and off she ran to find somewhere safe for herself. “Okay let’s go” Kira said to the brownies and fairies. Kira started to walk down the stairs, with the wall closing behind her. “This castle is full of surprises” said Flora, who saw the wall close. “Yes well now is not the time to be surprised” said Skylar.

          Kira walked down the stairs till she got to the door. She placed the key into the door’s lock and unlocked it. “Here we go” she said, entering the chamber and locked the door again. The chamber was big and dark inside, with no windows. Full of old chairs, old beds and cushions, an old book shelf with some books and old broken barrels that would have been used to store food and water in. There was even dust and cobwebs in the chamber “I don’t think anyone has been in here for years” said Skylar, noticing how dirty it was in the chamber. “Well the queen wouldn’t need to use this chamber for safety because she’s the danger around here” said Klunk. “You’re right about that” agreed Benny. “Hey what’s that over there?” asked Flora.

          What Flora saw was an ancient stone slab against a wall, with a round stone slab in front of it. “What do you suppose this is?” asked Benny. “It was probably used for praying,” said Kira “sometimes shelters have little shrines or something that people keep there to pray for safety”. “Hey I see something on the slab” said Flora. Flora flew up to where she saw a mark on the slab that was covered by dust. Flora used her wings to blow away the dust and she revealed the mark to the others. “Hey that mark looks like Anakin’s birth mark” said Klunk. He was right because the mark on the slab was the shape of a crown exactly like Anakin’s birth mark. “What do you suppose this means Kira?” said Benny, in confusion. “I don’t know” said Kira.

          Suddenly the door was burst open and the fairies and brownies screamed while Kira gasped; Queen Morticia had arrived. “I thought I would find you here” she said. Seeing Queen Morticia made Kira and the brownies and fairies fear what had become of Shaula since she didn’t defeat her; was she alive or not? Kira placed Anakin on the round stone slab and bravely took out the silver sword from the baldric. The fairies and brownies stayed with Anakin. “Oh a silver sword;” said Queen Morticia “haven’t seen one of those ever since I destroyed my father’s silver sword thirty years ago”. “Really?” said Kira “well this sword is going to destroy you like your father’s sword destroyed Clavius. I’ve heard everything about that evil wizard Clavius and how your father killed him when he tried to take over the kingdom. I also heard you sold your soul to claim his magic for your own. So now you will suffer the same fate as Clavius”. Queen Morticia laughed. “You actually think that you, a half-witch, can defeat me?” she said “that Shaula wasn’t able to defeat me, so how can you defeat me?” Kira frowned angrily and held onto the sword tightly. “How about this?” said Queen Morticia “why don’t you just hand the baby over to me and that way you and your little friends will not be hurt?” “Sorry your majesty,” said Kira, sarcastically, “but I will not take orders from an evil queen like you”. “Hmm,” said Queen Morticia “that sounded familiar. Oh yes I remember; a lot of people from the past have told me the same thing, including those who I wanted as my guard or other servant, and I had them all die because of that. And now you will die for saying it young half-witch”. “The one who will die here is you!” shouted Kira.

          Queen Morticia started to fire her magic, but Kira used the sword to deflect the magic. Kira learnt how to use a sword thanks to Balim. In the past Balim taught her how to fight with a big stick, just in case she needed protection when it was time for her to leave the dwarf village. Using the sword was like using a big stick, only a bit bigger and heavier, but it didn’t put Kira off from using it. Kira wasn’t going to let herself get defeated by the evil queen. Queen Morticia continued to fire magic, while Kira used the sword to defend herself and used her own magic to fight back.

          Anakin started crying again because of all the scary noises going on. “Oh there, there sweetie,” said Skylar, placing a hand on his face, “it’s okay”. Flora helped to try calming the baby down too. “I don’t like this,” said Klunk, watching the fight, “we have to do something to help Kira otherwise she will be killed. She isn’t strong enough to defeat the queen herself”. “Yes, but what can we do?” agreed Benny. “Oh I wish Queen Faylinn was here to help us” said Flora. “Me too” said Skylar.

          It was very difficult for Kira to fight against Queen Morticia’s magic, even with the silver sword; the queen’s magic proved to be too great to fight against. And Kira’s magic could not do a thing to the queen, not even a small scratch. There was worse to come. Queen Morticia used her magic to make the floor tremble like she did when she fought Shaula and it made Kira drop the silver sword and fall onto the floor. “I will deal with that silver sword later,” said Queen Morticia “but I shall deal with you first. You have been in my way ever since I found out from my well that you had been hiding the baby from me. And now you will never get in my way again”. She got ready to kill Kira with her magic, while Kira hopelessly braced herself. “Nooo!!!” shouted the brownies and fairies together; they didn’t want Kira to die.

          Before Queen Morticia did anything, she was interrupted by a bright light. The bright light was coming from the mark on the ancient stone slab. The birth mark on Anakin’s arm started to glow and so did Anakin. Then he was lifted up in the air like magic. “What is going on here?!” demanded Queen Morticia. She got her answer soon enough; Anakin magically transformed from a baby into a handsome young man. “I don’t believe it!” gasped Benny. The brownies and fairies had never seen anything like this before.

          Anakin was now a young man of twenty five and looked very different than he was as a baby. He was a tall and strong looking man. His brown hair reached his neck and he had a little beard and moustache on his face. The clothes he was now wearing were a long dark brown noble tunic, with a brown shirt underneath and leather brown cuff bracelets on each arm, dark brown trousers, brown boots and a long dark brown cape. He looked exactly like a prince.

          Everyone was shocked with what just happened to Anakin especially Queen Morticia; the prophecy didn’t mention anything about this. Kira quickly came back to her senses, got up from the floor and picked up the sword, and then she ran over to Anakin. “Anakin are you alright?” she asked him. “I am now Kira” said Anakin; he remembered her name because of all the times he was with her as a baby. Kira couldn’t stop noticing how handsome Anakin had become.

          Queen Morticia interrupted the two. “So you grew up quick did you little prince?” she said “hmph no matter. That will not stop me from killing you here and now”. She fired some of her magic towards Kira and Anakin, but Anakin grabbed the sword from Kira and used it to deflect the attack. Despite never having held a sword before, Anakin already knew how to hold and use the sword. It seemed the magical transformation gave him wisdom, strength and skills. “Anakin” said Kira. Anakin raised an arm towards Kira, telling her it will be okay. He turned to the queen. “Queen Morticia,” said Anakin “your evilness has gone on long enough. I will fulfil my destiny by destroying you and bring peace back to Middle-Earth”. Queen Morticia chuckled. “We shall see about that” she said. She screamed and fired her magic again. Kira got out of the way while Anakin began fighting back with the sword. “You will not take my crown brat!” shouted Queen Morticia “I will continue my reign forever!” The fight between magic and sword went on.           

          Kira, the fairies and the brownies looked on in fear. “This is bad” feared Klunk. “Anakin won’t be able to win like this” said Benny. The fairies flew over to Kira and asked her what they should do to help Anakin. Kira hesitated for a second, but then she saw the book that Queen Morticia was holding in her left arm. “We need to get that book the queen is holding;” said Kira “Shaula told me we need to destroy it to destroy the queen. Skylar, Flora I need you to try to get that book out of her left arm”. “Leave it to us” said Skylar. While Queen Morticia was busy throwing magic at Anakin, Skylar and Flora bravely flew over to Queen Morticia to try and get the book out of her arm. “Charge!” shouted Skylar. She and Flora charged straight towards Queen Morticia’s left arm and with using all their strength they knocked the book out of her left arm. “Ah!” screamed Queen Morticia “you will pay for that you little pests!” Kira quickly fired magic at Queen Morticia to stop her from doing anything to the fairies. Anakin charged towards her, but she got out of the way to start fighting him again.

          Unfortunately for Queen Morticia she left her book on the floor unguarded. This was the perfect chance for Kira to get the book. She ran over to the book and picked it up, and took out the silver dagger from the baldric. As Queen Morticia was firing magic at Anakin again, Kira called out. “Hey your majesty!” she shouted “we didn’t just have a sword made from the special silver”. She revealed the silver dagger. It was a shock to the queen when she saw it, as well as seeing Kira with her book. “Give me my book!” she commanded, running over towards Kira. Kira quickly stabbed the book with the dagger. Queen Morticia started to scream with agony. Because she had sold her own soul to obtain Clavius’s magic, having the book stabbed by the silver dagger was like having her own heart stabbed. “This is for all the people who are dead because of you!” shouted Kira “including Anakin’s parents and my father!” Queen Morticia tried to walk to Kira to get her book, but Kira threw it towards Anakin. Anakin understood the situation at once and he sliced the book in half with the silver sword. Queen Morticia screamed and then she started to evaporate into black smoke. Because Kira and Anakin had destroyed the book, they had now destroyed her. Everyone watched as Queen Morticia completely evaporated into smoke until she was no longer there. The evil queen was dead at last.

          “Hoorayyy!!!” cheered Klunk “the wicked queen is dead!” The fairies and brownies started to dance with joy for the victory. Kira was happy the queen was dead too. She walked over to Anakin. “Anakin” she said; she was still surprised to see him as an adult and not a baby anymore. Anakin smiled and he pulled Kira into a hug while dropping the silver sword onto the floor. “Kira” he said. Kira returned the hug; it felt nice hugging the adult Anakin like it was nice hugging the baby Anakin.

          At that moment Shaula entered the chamber; the paralysis spell that Queen Morticia placed on her broke after she died. “Everyone here” she said, worried if anyone was hurt or dead. She saw the book all cut up and she saw Kira with a man standing next to her. “Where’s Anakin?” asked Shaula. “I am Anakin” said Anakin. “You won’t believe this,” said Skylar “but Anakin quickly turned from a baby into an adult when his birth mark glowed like the mark on the stone slab”. Anakin revealed his birth mark which proved to Shaula that he was the baby. Shaula understood what had happened and laughed for joy. “Well done all of you!” she said. She hugged Kira, Anakin, the brownies and the fairies in happiness. “It’s a pity you missed it all Shaula;” said Benny “that queen disappeared into smoke after Kira and Shaula destroyed the book”. “That’s exactly what happened to Clavius after the previous king destroyed him with the silver sword,” said Shaula “now Morticia will be joining him in hell where they both belong.

          “Please excuse me Shaula,” said Kira “but I suggest we stop that battle outside now, and let everyone know, including Morticia’s remaining guards, that the evil queen is dead”. “I couldn’t agree more Kira” said Shaula. She picked up the pieces of the book while Anakin picked up the silver sword. “Let’s go everyone” said Shaula. She walked out of the chamber and Kira, Anakin and the fairies and brownies followed her.     

The Old Nativity Set

          Outside of a town there was a retirement home for elderly people. It was nearly christmas, and the old people were looking forward to the christmas holidays. The one thing the old people liked about christmas was they always felt that the Lord Jesus and Mother Mary were watching over them.

          The decorations were soon going up and some of the elderly were making their own decorations out of paper and things. Just then a nurse came in saying there was a problem. She presented a nativity set, but this nativity set was old and it needed fixing up. “I don’t think we can ever use this nativity set again” said the nurse. “I agree;” said another nurse “the figurines have started to lose their colours and the stable has some cracks on it. I suggest we get rid of this one and buy a new one”. “Wait a moment please” said a voice.

          The voice belonged to an old man named Michael who lived in the retirement home. “I can easily fix this up with a bit of paste and paint,” said Michael “so don’t throw it away please”. The nurses looked at Michael. “Will you be able to do it Michael?” asked one of them. “Just because I’m a retired old man does not mean I’ve lost my old touch” said Micheal. Michael was an artist in his time; he did paintings and other things like that. He was also good with making old things like figurines and statues look new again after repainting them. “I’ve got all the stuff I need for this in my room, all I need is quiet and some tea” said Michael. He kept some of his old painting gear in his room to make it feel like his old home which was a small art studio and house.

          So Michael had the old nativity set in his room and he got out the brushes and paints and paste he needed. “Let’s get to work” he said. First Michael fixed the stable’s cracks with some paste and once the paste dried he gave it a new coat of paint. Then he got to work with repainting the figurines. Fixing the nativity set made Michael feel happy because it was like the good old days for him. The nurses came to check in on Michael from time to time to give him tea and make sure that he was okay and not overworking himself. By the time Michael was finished it was Christmas Eve. When the nurses saw the nativity set all fixed up and repainted they were impressed. “It is like I said to you; I haven’t lost my old touch” said Michael. The other residents were happy to see the nativity set all fixed up too.

          That night all the residents of the retirement home gathered around the nativity set for praying. Some prayed for their families and the rest prayed for being grateful for still being alive. Michael prayed not only for his son and his family, but also because he was grateful to have been given the chance to fix and repaint the nativity set like he used to in the past.

          When Michael finished his prayer he saw a miracle happen before him. He saw the spirits of the real Lord Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the three wise men. Funny thing was no one else saw them but him. This was because Jesus was happy that Michael fixed the nativity set, so Jesus was giving him his blessing. Michael felt really blessed to have been able to see them and it was a night he would never forget for the rest of his life.

The Witch Queen part 11

The Start of the Storm

                                                                                  

          At the village of Ranbaraz, the villagers had gathered around for a meeting. Erestor’s pigeons had delivered his messages about the oncoming war to the villagers, and this meeting was to discuss the situation. “Can you believe the messages we got?” a woman asked her neighbor. “I can’t believe that a war is going to happen” said another woman. “I thought no one was ever going to war against the queen ever again” said a man. “Neither did I;” said an elderly man “those who had fought against her in the past never went home alive”. “Those who are going to fight her must be crazy” said a young man. “I have a bad feeling about this” said another woman. “I fear the queen is going to win this war just like the other wars” said an old woman. The villagers were very worried about this, especially since they didn’t believe that the queen would lose the war this time. They believed that the queen would win and their miserable lives would continue.

          At that moment the village leader Julius stepped forward to talk. “Everyone, we are all aware that other kingdoms are uniting to fight against Queen Morticia, thanks to the information received,” he said “whether they will win or lose this war we do not know. But one thing we do know is we cannot stay in our village while this war is happening, or we will end up caught in it and die. So everyone must leave our village and take shelter somewhere away from Ranbaraz until this war is over. We must gather as much food and belongings as we can and get away from here as quick as we can”. The villagers agreed with Julius’s plan.

          Bridget stepped forward to speak; she had left the castle to join this meeting. “If you ask me,” she said “this war is going to happen because the queen has the baby in her hands now”. Ethan had returned to Ranbaraz with Anakin the other day and Bridget told everyone in the village at once. That of course made the villagers shocked to know that Queen Morticia had the baby and they feared for his safety. Catherine and William were the most worried for Anakin. “If that is true, then I have an important task for you Bridget,” said Julius “I know this may be dangerous for you, but can I ask you to stay in the castle and help those who will enter the castle to save the baby?” “Yes, you can leave that to me” said Bridget. Bridget knew of course that she would be risking her own life for this task, especially since the queen showed no mercy to those who betray her. But Bridget was a brave woman and she didn’t want the queen to kill Anakin. “Go back to the castle now Bridget but please be careful, and don’t let yourself get found out or killed” said Julius. Bridget left for the castle at once.

          “Okay everyone it’s time to gather up our children, a lot of food and leave the village at once” said Julius, turning to everyone. The children had been left at home all this time. “And one more thing; we must pray that the queen will not win this war this time and that the baby will be saved”. “What will we do if the queen does win again Julius?” asked a man named Brutus. Julius sighed. “If it comes to that Brutus,” he said “we will just have to live normal lives and wait for the day when the queen dies of old age. But we mustn’t think of that and lose hope yet, we must believe in the armies which are going to fight her. And if we do believe in them a miracle may befall us all. Now let’s go everyone”. So the villagers headed to their homes to collect their children and get ready to leave for shelter until the war was over.

          In the castle Anakin was crying because he was frightened of his new surroundings. Ethan and Queen Morticia were watching over him in the secret chamber. “Urgh ever since I brought this brat here it hasn’t stopped crying” said Ethan, crossly. The truth is Ethan didn’t like babies, especially when they cried, and right now he was fed up with Anakin’s crying. “Bear with it a little more,” said Queen Morticia “once I’ve destroyed the brat, you will never hear it cry again”. “Why have you not destroyed the brat yet my queen?” asked Ethan. “Simple you idiot,” said Queen Morticia “those elves will clearly be coming here to get the baby back, especially that half-witch who has been taking care of it. I want them all to witness my triumph in person like others, who opposed me, in the past. And once I have shown them my triumph I will kill this brat then”. “I understand my queen” said Ethan, silently. Ethan knew it was no use going against the queen’s decisions, so he just let her go her own way.

          Suddenly the water well lit up. This meant the well was warning Queen Morticia that something was happening in the world outside her castle and kingdom. Queen Morticia looked into her well to see what it showed. “Well, well, well,” she said “the elves and armies from different kingdoms are coming to declare war on me, and so are witches and wizards. Even Shaula and that half-witch Kira are coming. I call this a great opportunity to crush all my enemies at once with this war”. She turned to Ethan. “Go and gather up my army and tell them it’s time for battle. Do not let any of my enemies enter the castle especially that witch Shaula. I need time to prepare the ritual to kill the baby”. “If you please my queen, I want permission to join in this war too” said Ethan “I wish to crush my enemies, the elves, too”. “As you wish,” said Queen Morticia “just make sure that witch Shaula and half-witch Kira do not enter the castle”. “Yes my queen” said Ethan, and he left the chamber to fight, leaving Queen Morticia to set up her ritual to kill Anakin.    

          Meanwhile, King Finwë, his soldiers, Shaula and Kira landed on the ground, miles outside of Ranbaraz, and dismounted the flying horses. The armies from other kingdoms hadn’t turned up yet. Shaula was looking in the distance; she could see the castle of Ranbaraz. “Despite the fact I have returned to dethrone Queen Morticia,” Shaula said to Kira “it does feel nice to be home again”. Kira stared at the castle in awe. “It does look magnificent” said Flora. “Except an evil queen is ruling it” said Skylar. “And Anakin is in there” said Klunk. “Oh I hope the baby is okay” said Benny, worriedly. “Do not fret,” said Shaula “I know Queen Morticia well, and she will not kill Anakin until after she has defeated us. She likes to make her enemies feel defeated, before killing them”. “Where would she be keeping Anakin?” asked Kira. “Most likely in her secret chamber;” said Shaula “this chamber was used to protect the royal family if harm ever came to the castle. But after the king and queen died Morticia used it to practice her evil spells. The king and queen showed me that chamber when they were still alive and I know where it is. While the armies fight Queen Morticia’s army Kira you and I will go there to get Anakin”. Kira understood and the fairies and brownies decided to go with them to help too. “I have to admit I feel scared with this being in a war and all” said Kira. “Remember this Kira,” said Shaula “all these years I have waited for the day I could fight Morticia again after my failure last time. It is all because of you that this has happened. Fate has led you to Anakin and to me. You should be proud of all that you have done and I know your parents are too”. Kira did feel proud of herself for what she had done up to now even if she did feel scared.  

          Suddenly there was a sound of a horn being blown. The armies from the other kingdoms had arrived and so had the witches and wizards. “Come with me Kira”, said Shaula “I need to talk to the other witches and wizards”. Kira wondered what Shaula was going to talk about, but she felt it was something serious, so she followed Shaula.

          The witches and wizards were getting themselves ready to fight by making sure their wands and staffs were in top condition. One wizard was saying to another that he was looking forward to performing some magic. He hadn’t used any magic for a while because it wasn’t allowed in the village he lived in. “I agree with you,” said the other wizard “I’ve had to use magic secretly in my village and now I don’t have to here”. The witches and wizards knew if they defeated Queen Morticia they would be free to use magic again and that’s what they all wanted. Just then Shaula and Kira walked up to them. “I wish to speak with all of you,” said Shaula “I’ve come up with an idea”. They all gathered around Shaula to hear what she had to say, even Kira and the brownies and fairies listened.

          Meanwhile King Finwë greeted the kings and leaders of the armies. “I am happy that you and your armies have come to help us fight” he said. “I hope this will be the last time we have to fight that evil queen” said a king who came from a kingdom called Bangaze. Some of the other kings felt reluctant of fighting against Queen Morticia because of her power. “As long as we all stand strong together, I know we can bring down that evil queen and be free of her terror reign once and for all” said King Finwë. “I hope you are right elf king,” said a king from a kingdom called Ginash “my kingdom suffered from scars from the battle my father led against Queen Morticia years ago. We do not wish to earn more battle scars”.

          Before King Finwë could say another word Erestor came up to him. Erestor had secretly visited the village to find out if the villagers got his messages. “There is no one in the village your majesty,” he said “which means the villagers got my messages and fled for safety”. “Good, we cannot put the villagers in danger” said King Finwë. “What about us?” asked the king of Ginash “as soon as the queen notices us we’ll be in danger before we even battle her army; she’ll use her magic on us”. “That’s why I’ve come up with a plan with the other witches and wizards” said Shaula, who had just arrived with Kira. The idea she planned was that she and the other witches and wizards would cast a spell to make everyone invisible, except her and Kira. “With everyone invisible Queen Morticia will not be able to see you and place her magic on you”. “What about you and Kira?” asked King Finwë. “Kira and I will act as decoys to lure out Queen Morticia’s army from the castle,” answered Shaula “and once they come out then we’ll take off the spell with the other witches and wizards. My plan of attack is an ambush”. The king of Ginash didn’t believe he could trust this plan, especially since he had to have a spell cast on him. Truth is he didn’t trust witches and wizards; this made Kira cross with him. “This plan is the only way we can get into the castle without running into any trouble by the queen,” she said firmly, “unless you want to be seen and run into trouble”. The king flinched; the other kings agreed to Shaula’s plan so he had to agree. “I still won’t accept any help from a witch or wizard” he muttered. “You have no choice in this matter,” Shaula argued back “either you accept help or die easily at the hands of Queen Morticia or her men”. The king of Ginash still didn’t like it but Shaula was right because in this matter he didn’t have a choice, especially if he wanted to return to his kingdom alive. With no more interruptions and arguing, it was time to fight. “Shaula cast your spell now” said King Finwë.

          All of the witches and wizards gathered up together and they, along with Shaula and Kira, cast the invisibility spell. “Vaporous, Gaseous, Caecus!” In a matter of seconds everyone became invisible, except Shaula, Kira and the brownies and fairies. “Oohhh I wish we could make ourselves invisible like that” said Klunk. “Yes especially when we need to make ourselves disappear from strangers” said Flora. “Come now Kira, now we must do our part of the plan” said Shaula. “Okay” said Kira.          

          Shaula and Kira bravely walked all the way to the front of the castle. The fairies and brownies held onto Kira tightly as she walked. The guards saw them from the top of the tower. As the armies were invisible thanks to Shaula’s magic the guards couldn’t see them. “We call upon you to surrender!” Shaula shouted to the guards. “We are powerful sorceresses!” shouted Kira “Give us back the baby that was stolen from Elfalore or we will destroy you along with your queen!” The guards laughed; they didn’t believe anything Kira just said. The captain of the guard ordered for Shaula and Kira to be killed at once. They opened up the castle and some men came out of the courtyard, ready to kill Kira and Shaula.

          “Now!” shouted Shaula. As soon as Shaula shouted, she and the other witches and wizards took the invisibility spell off the armies and King Finwë ordered everyone to charge. The captain of the guard saw what had happened and ordered all of his men to charge. Hundreds of men came out of the courtyard, already to fight. The armies were soon clashing at each other, and there were noises of men screaming, horses neighing and the sound of swords hitting each other. The witches and wizards started to fire magic from their staff, wands and hands.   

          At that time Shaula and Kira used their magic to protect themselves from the soldiers. “Come on Kira, we must get into that castle fast” said Shaula. She and Kira were just about to run towards the castle, but then they were stopped by someone. It was Ethan. “I’m afraid her majesty the queen forbids you from entering the castle” he said. “So you’re Ethan,” said Kira, coldly, “I have heard about you and you really are working for Queen Morticia”. “Well the king of Elfalore kicked me out of the kingdom,” replied Ethan “so I had to find a home somewhere else. Besides thanks to her majesty I’ve grown more powerful”. Kira snorted. “It’s because you tried to take over Elfalore by force which is why you were banished from there,” she said “somebody like you doesn’t deserve to be a king”. Ethan drew his sword and was just about to attack, but then a voice shouted; “Ethan!” It was Kirk. “It is time to deal with you and your treachery Ethan”. Ethan smiled and got ready to fight Kirk. “I’ll deal with you first before I deal with the elf king” he said. Kirk turned to Shaula and Kira and told them to go while he dealt with Ethan. Shaula and Kira ran off to the castle at once leaving Kirk to fight Ethan.

          It was a ferocious fight between the armies. Queen Morticia’s army proved to be strong and showed no mercy to killing their enemies. But the armies from other kingdoms were strong too and they were not willing to let the bad guys win this war. The wizards and witches were fighting too and Queen Morticia’s army was no match against their magic. “Ah it feels good to fight against Queen Morticia” said one witch. “I couldn’t agree more,” said another witch “this army had been terrorizing our homes and now we can terrorize them”. The witches and wizards were clearly not letting Queen Morticia’s army get away with what they or their queen had done to ruin their lives in the past.

          There were kings, princes and soldiers who accepted to fight alongside the witches and wizards because they all wanted to defeat Queen Morticia. And whenever a king or prince or soldier was about to be killed by the enemy and a witch or wizard helped them, they would thank them respectably. But the king of Ginash didn’t accept this and he fought against Queen Morticia’s army very hard; truth is he fought to prove that he didn’t need any help from any witch or wizard to stay alive in this war. He was also determined to get out of this war alive without any help. He was one of those very proud and stubborn kings, who didn’t trust witches and wizards at all. Suddenly his horse was struck by an arrow and he fell off the horse. More trouble came for him; a soldier on his horse came towards him, ready to strike him with his sword. The king of Ginash could only just stand there and get ready to fight back. But then a flash of power struck the soldier down from his horse and the king was safe. The king saw he had been rescued by a witch. “I didn’t need your help witch” he said, rudely. The witch snorted. “Whether or not you did need help,” she said, crossly “you should still be grateful that I just saved you or your kingdom would go without a king wouldn’t it?” The king flinched; he didn’t have any heirs yet. Then the witch went off to fight more enemies, while the king just huffed and continued to fight.       

          At that time Ethan and Kirk were clashing each other with their swords. “You’re not bad, but you are a fool to think you can defeat me,” said Ethan “I have grown stronger thanks to the power Queen Morticia gave me”. “Your power is the power of evil,” said Kirk “and that power will lose to the power of good. You will be defeated Ethan!” Ethan and Kirk went at each other with the swords some more. Ethan was a strong fighter, but Kirk wasn’t going to let Ethan win. Just then Ethan started to fire his magic at Kirk. Kirk dodged the magic as quick as he could and fought back with his own magic. “Ha that magic of yours is useless against mine!” laughed Ethan. He fired a wave of magic and Kirk fought back. Unfortunately Ethan’s magic proved to be stronger than Kirk’s and over powered it. Poor Kirk got thrown back from that and lost his balance. “You were not bad boy,” said Ethan “but your life ends now”. He used his magic to break Kirk’s sword to bits and then moved forward towards Kirk to kill him with his sword.

          Suddenly an arrow shot passed Ethan and stopped him in his tracks before he could kill Kirk. The arrow had come from King Finwë. “I have found you at last Ethan” said King Finwë, crossly. He had been searching for Ethan to fight him. Ethan smirked when he saw King Finwë. “How funny, I was going to search for you your majesty,” he said, unctuously, “I have been waiting to take revenge on you ever since you banished me from Elfalore”. King Finwë drew his sword. “I made the mistake of letting you off free with banishment from my kingdom,” he said “now I will fix that mistake”.

          King Finwë and Ethan started to swordfight each other. Ethan was enjoying fighting against the king and smiled evilly; he had been looking forward to this day. Ethan jumped back and started to use his magic, but King Finwë started to fight back with his magic. “Ha your magic has no chance against mine!” laughed Ethan “just like that elf over there, you will fall”.    

          Suddenly there was a squelching noise and Ethan started to gasp and scream in pain. Kirk had quickly recovered from his unconsciousness, grabbed the handle of his broken sword and used what was left of it to stab Ethan hard in the back. Ethan lost concentration of killing the elf king. Kirk quickly grabbed King Finwë’s sword and slashed Ethan around the front. “This is your real punishment for treachery Ethan!” shouted Kirk. Ethan screamed some more and fell to the ground. He was no longer a threat to Elfalore anymore; he was dead.

          Kirk ran over to the elf king to see if he was alright, and he was. “You saved my life Kirk, thank you” said King Finwë, standing up. He was grateful to Kirk. “I promised Elasha that I would come home alive along with you your majesty,” said Kirk “and I wasn’t going to break that promise”. King Finwë smiled. “You are a good elf,” he said “and I know you will make a great ruler alongside with my daughter”. “Thank you your majesty” said Kirk. Suddenly Erestor ran up to them. “Are you alright Kirk and your majesty?” he asked. “We are Erestor,” said Kirk “and Ethan is no more”. He showed Erestor Ethan’s dead body and Erestor showed no sympathy. “That is one of our enemies down” he said. “Now let us hope that Shaula and Kira can handle Queen Morticia” said King Finwë. “They can and will defeat Queen Morticia your majesty, I have faith in them” said Kirk. “I do too” said Erestor. They stared at the castle before continuing to fight Queen Morticia’s army.                

          By now Shaula and Kira had entered the castle safely with the fairies and brownies. “Phew I thought we were never going to enter this castle with the fighting going on outside” said Klunk. “We are not safe yet Klunk,” said Shaula “Morticia already knows that we are here, so there will be danger for us to face here in this castle. Now come we must hurry”.

          Shaula led the way to Queen Morticia’s secret chamber. Shaula hadn’t been in the castle for the last thirty years, but she still remembered the way to Queen Morticia’s secret chamber. They ran through the halls and up the stairs. Even though she was an old woman, Shaula could still run very fast. Kira ran as fast as she could to keep up with Shaula. She was hoping they weren’t too late to save Anakin. There were guards inside the castle, who Ethan had told to get rid of any intruders if any of the enemies entered the castle. The guards all moved in to fight Shaula and Kira once they saw them, but the two witches used their magic to knock out the guards; they didn’t kill the guards just made them unconscious. “I don’t really like doing this” said Kira, who was feeling bad on knocking out the guards with her magic. “I don’t either myself,” Shaula admitted “but when it comes to enemies who try to bring you down, it’s better to use magic than being killed by the enemy”. Kira understood because she didn’t want to be killed.   

          Kira and Shaula continued running until at last they came to the hallway with the blank wall. “Pull down the chandelier on the left wall Kira; that reveals the stairway to the secret chamber” said Shaula. Kira ran to the chandelier, pulled it and the stairs appeared. “I have heard about castles having secret openings for secret passages, but I never thought they were real” said Kira. “Okay here’s my plan,” said Shaula “I will fight Queen Morticia and you get the baby Kira. Then you and the fairies and brownies get out of the chamber and take Anakin somewhere safe”. Kira, the brownies and the fairies understood the plan and they went down the stairs towards the secret chamber.

The Blizzard of a Grudge

          High up on a snowy mountain stood a cabin and in this cabin lived an old man and his pet dog. The old man’s heart was as cold as the snow; he was cruel to anybody and anything he saw including his pet dog. His pet dog did her best to make her master happy, but all she got was a lot of rude shouts and abuse from him. There were even times when he would chuck her out of the cabin and leave her to defend herself for a whole week. There was nothing the poor dog could do about her master’s cruelty.

          One wintery day the dog secretly gave birth to some puppies. This made her worry; her master had always said that one dog was enough trouble for him, so having more dogs in the cabin would make him mad. So the dog kept her puppies hidden in an animal den, and in there she would feed her puppies and sleep with them. She was happy to be a mother.

          But one night the old man found the dog sleeping in the den with her puppies. Seeing the puppies of course made him furious and in a fit of rage he beat the puppies to death with a big stick. The poor mother dog tried to stop her master and save her puppies, but she was beaten to die too. The old man didn’t care or feel regret of what he had done.

          While dying, the mother dog was angry and upset with what her owner did. It was bad enough that he had abused her but killing her and her puppies was the worst, and this time she could not forgive her owner for his cruelty. With her last breath she howled very loudly as if she was praying for her master to be punished for what he did. Then she died along with her puppies.

          Suddenly a very strong snow storm with very strong winds appeared out of nowhere. It was like the blizzard had answered the dog’s dying howl and the wind sounded like it was howling back to her. The strong winds of the blizzard caused the snowy mountain to start an avalanche. The avalanche fell straight to the old man’s cabin and killed him at once. This was his punishment for killing his dog and her puppies. So the dog and her puppies got justice and could rest in peace in heave, while the cruel old man was sent to hell.

          And even though the dog was gone, very strong winds in very strong blizzards still sound like a dog’s howling.

The Witch Queen part 10

The Meeting

 

          It took two days for the flying horses to travel from Argentum Island all the way back to Elfalore; they had to take a rest when it was night time to recover from the journey. “We’re getting near to Elfalore now” said Kirk. “Thank goodness” said Kira. She couldn’t wait to get back to Anakin; she had been feeling anxious about him ever since she left even though the fairies and brownies and Princess Elasha had been looking after him. Shaula was eager to get to Elfalore too because she wanted to see Anakin. Soon Elfalore was in sight and the flying horses landed on the ground. “We must hurry and report to the king at once” said Erestor, while dismounting from his Pegasus. He thanked the flying horses again and they flew off again to rest. “Are they okay?” asked Kira “I mean they had flown many hours to get us from Elfalore to Ogreme Swamp and to Argentum Island, and then all the way back here to Elfalore, even though we stopped for them to rest along the way. I hate to overwork an animal”. Kira had seen overworked ponies at the Dwarf village in the past, and she hated seeing them like that. “You don’t have to worry about the flying horses Kira,” said Kirk “they are strong spirited creatures, and once they get plenty of rest today they will be fully back on their feet”. Kira felt better.

          There was a surprise waiting for Erestor, Kirk, Kira and Shaula once they reached the entrance to Elfalore; the gate was already open. “That’s odd,” said Kirk “I haven’t blown my shofar horn yet”. They entered the gate, but what they saw next was not a nice surprise. The gate keeper and some other elves were lying unconscious on the ground. “What on earth?” gasped Kira. Kirk ran over to the gate keeper to see if he was okay and Erestor checked the other elves. Kirk held up the gate keeper and asked him to wake up. He managed to open his eyes and was happy to see Kirk. He explained to Kirk that the treacherous elf Ethan had returned to Elfalore and used magic to forcefully open the gate. “I tried to fight back but his magic is strong and dangerous”. Kirk and Erestor were not happy to hear that Ethan had returned. One of the other elves told Erestor that he saw Ethan heading towards the castle. “Oh no,” said Erestor “we must get to the castle fast”. They left the gate keeper with the other elves to look after him and ran to the castle.

          Princess Elasha was anxiously waiting outside the castle for Kira, Kirk and Erestor. Once she saw them heading her way, she ran up to Kira. “I’m glad you’re back now,” she said, panicky, “Ethan attacked the castle and he took Anakin with him!” “What?!” gasped Kira. Kira was not happy to hear that Anakin had been taken. “This means that elf Ethan is working with Queen Morticia, which would explain why he has powerful magic” said Shaula. Princess Elasha was surprised to see a talking crane. “Take us to the king at once your highness” said Erestor. Princess Elasha led them to the throne room where the king and queen were.

          King Finwë and his queen were in the throne room and they had not been hurt by Ethan. Once their daughter entered the room with Kira, Kirk, Erestor and Shaula, King Finwë greeted them at once. Shaula introduced herself to the king and explained about living in Ogreme Swamp ever since Queen Morticia turned her into a crane when she discovered the queen processing dark magic. The fairies and brownies, which were also in the throne room, went up to Kira and apologized to her for not being able to protect Anakin from Ethan. Kira didn’t blame them since no one had any idea that Ethan would come back to Elfalore to take Anakin. “The fault is mine,” said King Finwë “if I had known that Ethan had gone to Queen Morticia’s side, I wouldn’t have let him off with a light sentence of banishment”. “Now is not the time for you to blame yourself your majesty,” said Shaula “we must act fast for planning to save the baby before Queen Morticia destroys him”. “My friends from the other kingdoms got my message while all of you were away,” said King Finwë “and once they get here we will discuss together on what to do to save the child from Queen Morticia”. “Before they do get here, we have some work to do” said Shaula.

          Shaula told Kira to take the fifty small bags of silver out of her bag and to say the words ‘Colossalus, Magnumus, Giganticus’. When Kira said the spell the small bags of silver grew back into their original sizes. “Kirk take all of this silver to a blacksmith and tell him to turn the silver into a sword” said Shaula. “Have him make a dagger out of the silver too,” said Kira “we better have a dagger on hand just in case the sword might not be enough when we face Queen Morticia”. Kirk agreed to the idea and he and some elf guards took the fifty sacks of silver to a blacksmith in the village. Shaula then asked Erestor to write some messages for her. “We have to warn the villagers in Ranbaraz about our wish to fight the queen; we cannot let them get involved with it”. “I understand,” said Erestor “I’ll go and write them at once, and then I will have our homing pigeons send them to the village of Ranbaraz”. He left the room to get started. “As for you Kira you have the most important job to do” Shaula said to Kira.

          The job that Shaula wanted Kira to do was turn her back into a human. They went into an empty chamber of the castle, where Kira could use her magic. “Once I become human again I will be able to defeat Queen Morticia for good this time” said Shaula. “But I don’t think I can do it Shaula,” said Kira, nervously, “I’ve never done any spells that turns animals or objects back into humans. I’ve never even cast any spells that turn humans into something else”. “Don’t be afraid Kira,” said Shaula “believe in your magic and yourself. If you concentrate hard you can achieve anything. Now say Transfigurus, Converto, Metamorphus, Transformo!” Kira took a deep breath and said the spell. But instead of turning Shaula back into a human, Kira turned her into a ferret. Kira tried multiple times to turn Shaula back into a human. At first Shaula was changed from a ferret into a rat, then into a snake, then into a toad, then into a carp, then into a swan, then into a beaver, then into a sheep, then into a pony and then at last Kira turned Shaula back into a human. Shaula was an old woman, with long grey-white hair and she wore a white robe. She got up off the floor, stared at her hands and touched her face. “You did it Kira,” she said “I am finally a human again”. “I’m sorry it took me ten times to turn you back into a human Shaula” said Kira. “It’s all right,” said Shaula “what’s important is that you didn’t give up, and that determination of yours is what helped break the spell”. Kira smiled, and she felt proud of herself for performing a spell she had never casted before.

          Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Princess Elasha and the brownies and fairies entered the room. They were surprised when they saw another woman in the room. “Are you Shaula the sorceress?” asked Princess Elasha. “I am,” answered Shaula “and I am no longer a crane thanks to Kira breaking the spell”. “Crikey,” said Klunk “it’s a pity that we missed it. It would have been great to have seen that”. Kira thought Klunk probably wouldn’t have found it great if he saw her trying ten times to break the spell. “Kira broke the spell just in time,” said Princess Elasha “I came to tell you that my father’s friends from the other kingdoms have arrived, and they are gathering in the great hall now for a meeting”. “Lead the way Princess Elasha,” said Shaula “we are going to attend the meeting too. But I do fear that everyone in that meeting may not agree to fight Queen Morticia”. “Well she is undefeatable thanks to that dark magic of hers” Skylar pointed out. “Yes but if they don’t fight with us we won’t be able to save Anakin” said Flora. “We can only hope they will agree to fight with us” said Shaula.                                                     

          Princess Elasha led the way to the great hall. Kirk was at the door waiting for them; he had delivered the bags of silver to the blacksmith and the blacksmith had said he would deliver the sword and dagger to the castle when they were ready. “Here we go” said Princess Elasha, and she opened the door. In the great hall, where King Finwë and his queen were sitting, there was a huge gathering of people. There were kings and princes from their own kingdoms, soldiers and generals and to Kira’s surprise there were even some witches and wizards. This was the first time Kira was seeing another witch and wizard. The witches and wizards were surprised to see Shaula because they hadn’t seen her for years and they greeted Kira. Kira was nervous, but she greeted the witches and wizards back. Princess Elasha joined her parents on the thrones and Kirk stood next to them. King Finwë stood up from his throne to get ready to speak, and everyone went silent to hear what he had to say.

          “Friends and strangers from other lands,” said King Finwë “I had summoned you here because of Queen Morticia”. Everyone murmured quietly after hearing that fearful name. “We have not fought Queen Morticia ever since the last army of soldiers was defeated by her and her magic. But now we have an excuse to fight Queen Morticia again. The child of the prophecy, who was destined to defeat Queen Morticia, had been born, but Queen Morticia now has him in her hands thanks to that treacherous elf Ethan. I admit that this is my fault because it didn’t occur to me that Ethan would team up with Queen Morticia after I banished him when he tried to steal my throne. That is why I am going to make up for my mistake by fighting Ethan and Queen Morticia. We must save the baby boy Anakin before the queen can kill him and we will defeat Queen Morticia once and for all. If we don’t all hope for peace shall be lost until the day Queen Morticia dies of old age, which won’t be for a very long time. I ask that we all unite to bring down Queen Morticia together”.

          After King Finwë finished his speech, everyone started murmuring about what they should do. Truthfully they all thought it was impossible to defeat Queen Morticia because of her magic. A prince, whose name was Prince Théoden and was from a kingdom called Tagamiz, spoke up. “It cannot be done,” he said “people have tried to bring down Queen Morticia ever since she became queen but they all failed because she is too powerful. And since she is too powerful we will all die if we fight her. The child of the prophecy has already been captured and is most likely dead by now, so the queen has won again. We can’t do anything about it”. Some princes started to agree with Prince Théoden’s words. Kira didn’t like Prince Théoden’s attitude and what he had just said. She walked up to him and spoke to him. “Listen to me you!” she said, angrily and pointing her finger at him. She didn’t care if she was talking back to a prince. “Anakin’s parents didn’t sacrifice their own lives so that Queen Morticia could succeed by killing their son. And I didn’t leave my home and go on some dangerous adventures just to be beaten by Queen Morticia. I don’t know anything about all of you cowards, but I am not letting Queen Morticia get away with her evil deeds anymore. I am going to fight and save Anakin; I promised myself that I will protect Anakin and I will keep that promise, even if I am going against that evil queen!” Everyone was surprised by Kira’s little outburst, especially the wizards and witches. “I am going to fight too,” spoke up Kirk “I am not letting that elf Ethan get away with his treachery ever again”. “I too am going to fight,” said Shaula “I failed to stop Queen Morticia thirty years ago, I am not going to fail this time”.

          There was silence at the moment, because everyone was hesitating about fighting Queen Morticia. But then a general stood up and said he was going to fight. “My father and three uncles were killed, when I was a boy, fighting against Queen Morticia,” he said “this is my chance to avenge them”. The other generals and soldiers then said they had loved ones and friends killed by Queen Morticia in the past and they wished to avenge their deaths. Then the witches and wizards started to speak. “Us witches and wizards had our lives ruined thanks to that queen” said a witch. “I ended up banished from the village I used to live in and have lived in a forest alone ever since” said another witch. “People have refused to seek and accept my help when they are in trouble because they don’t trust me” said a wizard. “I was forcibly separated from my husband and step children, who I loved so much, because I was a witch and they were non-magical people” said another witch. “People have always looked suspiciously at me and my whole family for years” said a wizard. All the witches and wizards in the great hall agreed to fight and restore their lives again. The kings and princes agreed to fight too because they had enough of their kingdoms being terrorized by Queen Morticia. Even Prince Théoden agreed to fight since he was outnumbered by refusing to fight.

          Shaula was happy to know that everyone was going to help fight against Queen Morticia and so was King Finwë. But then a soldier spoke up. “What will we do when we arrive at the castle of Ranbaraz?” he asked “Queen Morticia may use her magic on us as soon as we get there”. The soldier had a point; the story was that Queen Morticia casted spells on her past enemies first before she killed them. “She won’t be able to do that this time,” said Shaula “my magic isn’t enough to defeat her, but it is strong enough to prevent her from casting magic on you”. “But if your magic isn’t strong enough to defeat Queen Morticia, how are we supposed to defeat her?” asked Prince Théoden. Kirk spoke up to answer the question. “We have two special weapons being created by our blacksmith right now,” he said “and these two special weapons will help defeat Queen Morticia”.  

          Before anyone could ask Kirk what the special weapons were, there was a knock at the door. “Come in” said King Finwë. An elf, dressed in a black-grey apron entered the great hall. This elf was named Silvyr and he was the blacksmith of Elfalore. “I have brought the sword and dagger Kirk asked me to make out of the bags of silver he gave me” he said. He presented a sword and dagger, all made entirely out of silver and they were beautiful. Shaula took the sword and Kira took the dagger. Then Shaula magically made a bag of gold appear and gave it to Silvyr. “I thank you for creating these weapons for us” she said. “Just doing my job ma’am” said Silvyr, accepting the bag of gold. Silvyr thanked Shaula for the bag of gold and then left to get back to his shop. Shaula explained to everyone that the sword and dagger were made from special silver from Argentum Island. “A sword made from the same Argentum Island silver helped the last king of Ranbaraz defeat an evil sorcerer, who processed the same dark magic as Morticia, years ago. This sword and dagger will help us defeat Queen Morticia”. King Finwë got up from his throne again. “Everyone it is time now to prepare for battle against Queen Morticia” he said.

          The meeting was now over and the agreement of fighting Queen Morticia and saving Anakin was now official. All the kings, princes, generals, soldiers, witches and wizards went back to their homes to prepare themselves for battle. King Finwë ordered his soldiers to get ready to fight too and he had his armour and sword set out for him. Queen Galadriel and Princess Elasha felt worried about this and feared for Finwë’s safety. “Please do not fret my queen and princess,” King Finwë said to his wife and daughter “I will return home alive after this war is over”. Even though King Finwë said that, Queen Galadriel still couldn’t stop worrying about him.

          Princess Elasha was not only worried for her father; she was also worried for her fiancé Kirk. At that time Kirk was getting his armour and sword ready in his room, when there was a knock at the door. “Come in” said Kirk. Princess Elasha entered the room. “What brings you here princess?” asked Kirk. “I’m worried Kirk,” said Princess Elasha “I’m worried about this war with Queen Morticia because of how powerful and dangerous she is, and I’m worried that my father and you might not come back home alive”. Kirk saw the worried look on her face and took her hands. “Elasha you always worry about me whenever I’ve gone off to see the world outside Elfalore” he said. “But this time you’re not going off on one of your journeys; you’re going off to war, which is more dangerous than a journey” said Princess Elasha. Kirk pulled her into a hug. “I have been on many dangerous adventures, but I always come back home alive,” he said, rubbing her back, “and I can assure you that I will come back home alive from this war”. Princess Elasha looked into Kirk’s eyes. “Will you also make my father come back home alive?” she asked. “I promise you princess; the only ones who will die in this war are Queen Morticia and Ethan” said Kirk. Princess Elasha hugged Kirk again, happy that she had a kind and honest man for a fiancé. “I trust you Kirk my love” she said. Kirk broke the hug and he and Princess Elasha kissed. They were truly in love with each other.

          Meanwhile in another room, Kira was talking to the brownies and fairies who wanted to join her. “You four should stay here,” Kira said to the brownies and fairies “as you four are so small you will get squashed and killed easily in this war”. “We might be small Kira, but we are not going to let our size stop us from helping you save Anakin” said Benny. “That’s right” agreed Klunk. “We promised Queen Faylinn we would help you on this quest to protect Anakin from Queen Morticia and we will keep this promise” said Skylar. “No matter what dangers we have to face” finished Flora. Kira looked at her little friends; she could see that nothing would make them stay in Elfalore or stop them from wanting to help. The fairies and brownies were small but they knew no fear. “Okay you four may come with me,” she said “but you are to do what I say to you and not do anything reckless”. The fairies and brownies agreed to be obedient. Just then there was a knock on the door and Shaula entered the room. “It’s time to go Kira, the king and his army are waiting for us” she said. “Okay” said Kira. Shaula presented a baldric to Kira and it was holding the silver sword and dagger. “I’m leaving you to hold and guard the silver sword and dagger Kira”. Kira took the baldric from Shaula and placed it on herself at once. Just then there was a knock at the door and Erestor entered the room. “I have sent the homing pigeons with messages to the people of Ranbaraz” he said. “Good, we cannot let the villagers get into any harm’s way,” said Shaula “now it is time for us to go”. The fairies and brownies climbed onto Kira’s shoulders and they left the room with Shaula. 

          King Finwë and Kirk were outside Elfalore with hundreds of soldiers and all of them were on flying horses. King Finwë spoke to the soldiers. “Soldiers the time has come for us to fight against the queen of the kingdom Ranbaraz. I understand this war will not be easy to win, especially since all those who fought against her in the past have died. But as the witch Kira said ‘we cannot let that evil queen get away with her evil deeds anymore’, I agree with Kira’s words; she has done evil things long enough. I also agree with Kirk’s words about not letting that traitor Ethan get away with his treachery anymore. I wish to amend my mistake of letting him off with the sentence of banishment and bring him down this time. Therefore we must not only save the child of the prophecy from the queen, we must also protect our kingdom”. The soldiers agreed. “Therefore men we must all stay strong together and fight for our freedom and peace” finished King Finwë. The soldiers cheered in agreement.

          At that moment Kira, Shaula, Erestor and the fairies and brownies arrived; Erestor was joining in this battle too. “We are ready now your majesty” said Shaula. Kirk and Kira and Shaula mounted their flying horses right away. The fairies and brownies held on tight to Kira’s baldric. “It is time now your majesty” said Shaula, and King Finwë agreed. He nodded at Kirk and Kirk ordered “Let’s Ride!” and they all took off into the sky for Ranbaraz. ‘Hang on Anakin, I’m coming to save you now’ thought Kira, who was thinking about Anakin and hoping he was still alright. Shaula was thinking of Queen Morticia. ‘I’m coming for you Morticia, and this time you will be defeated’ she thought.

          The battle against Queen Morticia was soon to come.