“So what are we going to do?” asked Rufus. “We can’t just stay in the castle with Catherine.”
“But why not?” asked George.
Rufus looked at him with his jaw wide open.
“No, seriously. Why not?”
“Because she turned both our parents into frogs for starters.”
“I know. But how is living out on the forest floor going to help our father.”
“It’s a matter of principle. We can’t stay in this castle and eat her food and drink her wine after what she did.”
“It’s not about that. We need to keep an eye on everything Catherine is doing so we can stop her. What better place than in the castle.”
“And just how are we going to stop her? You saw what happened, all of us together couldn’t stand up to her and Talon.”
“I don’t know. We need time to think.”
“We’ve got to catch them off-guard somehow.”
“Like when they’re sleeping?”
“Maybe. Although if I were them, I’d be expecting that, wouldn’t you?”
“Probably.”
“They’ll have some sort of defence in play, but they can’t guard against everything, so we need to probe their defences, and see where the weaknesses are. And in the meantime, we stay in the castle. Besides we’re princes of the castle. We’re not cut out for life on the forest floor, and you know it.”
“It would be a transition. But we could do it. We’ve trained as warriors after all. We should be able to endure giving up our soft beds.”
“If we have to. But let’s not be too hasty yet.”
“So what’s your plan?”
“I don’t have one yet. I don’t want to try anything the first night Catherine is in the castle. She’ll be expecting it. So we just keep our eyes and ears open for the next couple days. Try and observe as much about Catherine and her habits as you can. And then, we’ll decide how to move against her.”
“What about Talon?”
“Talon we know. Or at least I thought we did. So let’s go have a talk with him right now.”
“I wish Dad were here. He would know what to do.”
“I know. But this is the moment he’s been training us for all these years.”
“Do you think he’s alright?”
“According to those two birds and the fly, he escaped down the mouse hole with Midor. Helen’s been waiting at the entrance ever since, but there’s been no sign of him.”
“If he’s with Midor then he should be okay.”
“Yes, although he’d never want to admit it. He’s going to hate owing anything to Midor.”
**************************************************************************
George and Rufus entered Talon’s room. They did not bother to knock.
Talon did not appear surprised to see them. “I was wondering how long it would be before I received a visit from you two,” he said. “I thought I would hear from you before the afternoon was up.”
“Why did you do it Talon?” asked George. “We practically treated you like family. Why did you betray us?”
Talon leaned back in his chair. “George, George, George, where do I even begin? First of all, I must confess I’m surprised you’re bringing up family. Catherine is your Aunt, after all. Do you mean to tell me that family cannot betray family? Because your family history has a lot of betrayal in it. But secondly, and more importantly, you may have practically treated me like family, but you never really regarded me as family, and you knew it. You two would hold private councils with your father all the time. Was I ever invited to them? You deliberately kept me at arms’ length. When you needed some sort of magic done, then you would call on me. But I was always the servant, and never part of the decision making process.”
“Enough with your whining,” said Rufus. “Everyone in this castle has a job to do, and knows their place. Charles is never part of the councils either, but does he ever whine that we do not treat him like family? You ate at our meals with us for decades, and you had exactly the same food that we did at the royal table.”
“What good is your food to a sorcerer? Do you not think I could have fashioned the finest meals for myself if I would have wished it?”
“The quality of the food is not the point,” said Rufus. “At least it was never the point to us. The point is you dined with us every night.”
“And then besides all that,” continued Talon, “you sent the children to spy on me. For shame.”
“That was only after it was clear we couldn’t trust you anymore,” said George. “And it looks like we were right not to trust you.”
“Yes, you were very smart all along. Congratulations,” said Talon.
“Come on George,” said Rufus. “This is obviously getting us nowhere.” And they left.
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