The humans were not the only ones who were getting harassed by the goblins. The two dragons, Klangor and Starrof, made particularly easy targets since they had been turned into cute little bunny rabbits. The goblins tormented them by pulling at the fluffy white tail, or by throwing them up in the air. It was in vain that Klangor and Starrof protested that they were not really bunny rabbits, but were in reality powerful dragons. Either the goblins refused to believe them, and tormented the rabbits all the more for telling lies, or the few goblins who did actually believe their story sought revenge because of the time Klangor and Starrof had terrified the goblin army.
Eventually, the dragon-rabbits decided it was time for them to leave the castle as well, and take their chances on the forest floor. When they saw that Vivian was leaving the castle, they hopped after her, and asked her to take them with her.
“If you wish to follow me, I can’t stop you,” said Vivian, who didn’t even slow down her stride. “But I’ll not carry you anywhere.”
“We never asked to be carried,” said Klangor indignantly. “It is beneath a dragon’s dignity to be carried anywhere.”
“We’ve been carried enough by the goblins,” said Starrof.
“Very well,” said Vivian. “I suppose you may hop alongside me. As long as you do not disturb me.”
“It is no disruption to have a dragon as a companion,” said Klangor.
“Or talk too much,” added Vivian.
“Dragons say only what is necessary,” said Starrof. “At all times.”
“Where are we going?” asked Klangor.
“I am going to meet Midor,” said Vivian.
“Which one was Midor again?” Klangor asked, although the question was more directed at Starrof than it was to Vivian.
“There are so many humans in that castle that I can not keep track of all of their names,” Starrof complained. “I think Midor was the one King Carlyle hated.”
“Yes, that’s him,” said Vivian. “We’re going to see my father King Carlyle as well.”
“I’ve heard he was turned into a frog,” said Klangor.
“It will be very funny to see the once proud king reduced to the body of a frog,” chuckled Starrof.
“Why is that funny?” asked Vivian. “Isn’t that the same misfortune that befell you?”
“It is not the same!” Both rabbits shouted at once indignantly.
“When a dragon is deprived of his natural form, it is a tragedy. You humans couldn’t possibly understand,” said Starrof
“A dragon is a sacred creature,” insisted Klangor. “To desecrate his body is a form of sacrilege.”
“We will have our revenge on Talon one day,” Starrof said. “He will pay for what he did to us. And the General as well.”
“And Catherine as well,” said Klangor. “For refusing to change us back.”
“And King Carlyle,” said Starrof, “for tricking us like that. He promised us we’d be able to eat the Goblins. It was he that brought us into the power of the wizard in the first place.”
“You two are very noisy for dragons,” Vivian said. “I thought you said dragons only talk when absolutely necessary.”
And at this point, the two rabbits began reprimanding her for not understanding that they had been speaking only what was absolutely necessary to say. Vivian tried to walk faster, but the rabbits hopped behind her.
**********************************************************************
It was several hours later before Vivian finally met up with Midor. The birds Sandi and Stuart guided her way (the dragons hopping behind her) and she found Midor resting under a tree with John, King Carlyle, Benjamin the mouse, and Jacob the frog. “Is everything alright?” Midor asked.
“It’s not,” Vivian said. “The castle has been absolutely miserable since Catherine came, but it’s been intolerable since she brought in the goblins. They’re ruining everything in the castle.”
“My fine dining dishes?” asked King Carlyle.
“Alas father, the goblins have smashed every one of them.”
“My collection of silk robes?”
“The goblins have been wearing them all around the castle. They’ve stretched them all out.”
“My collection of paintings?”
“The goblins have either destroyed the canvas, or drawn mustaches and beards on the faces,” said Vivian.
King Carlyle lifted his green frog head to the sky, and yelled in frustration.
“They’ve also put thorns in our beds,” said Klangor.
“And butter on the stairs,” said Starrof. “It’s very difficult for us to hop up and down those stairs once the goblins have greased it with butter.”
“You remember the rabbits, don’t you?” asked Vivian. “Starrof and Klangor.”
“Why did you bring them with you?” said King Carlyle.
“What about the library?” asked John, changing the subject back. “All those old books? All that priceless knowledge?”
“That is the one place that Catherine has forbidden them to touch,” said Vivian.
“I don’t wonder,” said Midor. “That’s where she learned all her magic. Half of her powers is from the spells in those old books.”
“It also tells the deeds of our ancestors,” said King Carlyle. “They were her ancestors as well as mine.”
“The story of the magic queens of old are very dear to her,” said Midor. “She takes great pride in that legacy. She would never let that library be harmed.”
“If she can control the goblins,” said John.
“Oh, she controls them all right,” said Vivian. “They would never cross her once she lays down the law. They know what she’s capable of.”
“Smart, those goblins,” croaked King Carlyle.
“So what are you going to do?” asked Midor.
“I don’t know,” said Vivian. “I thought I’d come with you.”
“It will be nights of sleeping out in the forest,” said Midor. “It won’t be the palace bed you’re used to.”
“Just like the old days, then?” said Vivian smiling.
King Carlyle croaked, to indicate that he heard, and disapproved.
“That was quite a long time ago,” said Midor “I’m sure you’ve forgotten how to sleep out on the rough ground.”
“I have not.”
“We dragons prefer a soft bed,” Starrof said.
“If you want to come with us, you’ll share the same bed everyone else does,” said Vivian.
“Where is Robert?” said Midor. “Did you leave him in the castle?”
“He’s with his friends,” said Vivian. “The boy Henry, and the girl Grace. He seems quite close to the girl Grace. I didn’t want to pull him away.”
“Probably the right decision,” said Midor. “Besides, we won’t be gone forever. Within a few days, we should be back again.”
“Less now,” said King Carlyle. “Now that my daughter is here, she can carry us all. We’ll make the journey in half the time than if I was hopping on these small legs.”
“How many of you are there?” asked Vivian.
“Your father, John and myself,” said Midor. “Plus we’re travelling with our friends here Benjamin mouse and Jacob the frog. The five of us together should scarcely weigh anything in our present form, but you only have two hands. You’ll probably need to make a basket.”
“I can weave together a basket from the forest grasses,” said Vivian. “It might take me an hour or so.”
“We can spare an hour,” said Midor. “The time we’ll save by having you carry us will be well worth it.”
“We are also tired,” said Klangor. “Hopping around on these small rabbit legs has been more tiring than we anticipated.”
“No,” said Vivian firmly. “I was clear on this before we started.”
“We weren’t asking to be carried,” sniffed Starrof. “We only seek more rest. We are tired from all this hopping.”
“You’ll have at least an hour while I make the basket,” said Vivian.
“Get some rest if you need it,” Midor said to the rabbits. “We’ll start off when Vivian is ready.”
*****************************************************************************
In less than an hour, Vivian had woven together a basket made of long grasses, into which she put Midor, John, King Carlyle, Jacob the frog, and Benjamin the mouse. She carried them while she walked through the forest floor, the rabbits hopping at her feet.
That night, Vivian, Starrof, Klangor, Midor, King Carlyle, John, Jacob the frog and Benjamin the mouse all made camp by the stream underneath a big oak tree.
Vivian tried to sleep, but her mind kept returning to the castle she had left behind. She thought of her son, Robert, whom she had left with Catherine and the Goblins. She thought of Catherine and Talon, practicing their magic. She thought of the ghosts that swarmed around the castle. And most of all, she thought of how good it had felt to use the magic--the sense of release, followed by a sense of euphoria, that she had felt when she struck the goblins down. It was a truly wonderful feeling, and she longed to feel it again.
And then, by morning, she realized what she had to do.
“I’m terribly sorry,” she told Midor and King Carlyle and the rest. “I have to leave you here. You’ll have to continue your journey to the land of the fairies by yourself. I know what I have to do now. I must go back and face Catherine.”
“There’s no facing Catherine,” said Midor. The best we can hope for at this point is to stay out of her way and hope she doesn’t get angry.”
“I’m the only one who can defeat her. I know that now,” said Vivian. “It’s taken me a while to work it out, but now I know what I have to do.”
“How can you defeat her?” asked Midor, worry beginning to creep into his voice.
“Dear, don’t do anything rash,” croaked King Carlyle, worry also invading his voice.
“It’s not rash. Not this time. I’ve thought about it all night. I can defeat her.”
“You’re not ready,” said Midor. “I know what you’re thinking, but you’re not ready yet.”
“This is different,” said Vivian. “I can feel it this time. It’s not like it was before when we were young.”
“What are you talking about?” asked King Carlyle.
“I can’t talk about it now,” said Vivian. “I’ll see you both when this is over.” And she turned and ran and disappeared into the forest.
“Vivian, wait!” yelled Midor. But she was gone.
“Should we follow her?” asked Klangor.
“She’s going back to the Castle,” said Starrof. “We want to stay away from there.”
“So should we stay here with the mini-humans?”
“We may as well.”
“I don’t know how,” said King Carlyle to Midor, “but somehow this is your fault. What were you two talking about? What is different than when she was young?”
“She has magical powers,” said Midor. “Just like Catherine. But she never developed them. She could never control them.”
“Nonsense,” said King Carlyle. “I would have known about it if she did. I’m her father, after all.”
“She never trusted you,” said Midor. “She thought that you would exile her the way you exiled Catherine.”
Midor spoke in a quiet matter-of-fact tone, but King Carlyle let out a cry of rage. (It sounded more like a croak.) King Carlyle launched himself at Midor. His strong frog legs pushed him off the ground with some force, and carried him through the air so that he hit Midor hard. Midor fell down, and King Caryle was on top of him. King Carlyle then attempted to strike Midor, but he found that his tiny frog hands were not suited to delivering forceful punches. Instead, the frog hands bounced off of Midor relatively harmlessly. The others attempted to hold King Carlyle back (except for Starrof and Klangor, who only watched in amusement.) But when Midor stood up again, King Carlyle broke free of those around him, and launched himself at him again, knocking Midor to the ground once again. He flung his frog hands around Midor’s neck, and tried to grab Midor by the throat, but had difficulty getting a grip with his hands like a frog. During all this time, Midor did not fight the King, and did not struggle other than trying to extricate himself from the situation.
Carlyle was separated from Midor a second time by the others, and at last Carlyle appeared to calm down. “Midor,” he said, “I find your company distasteful, and I no longer wish to journey with you.”
“My King,” said Midor, “I will take that as a rebuke, and I am sorry to have upset you. But you know as well as I do that you cannot travel without me.”
“I can indeed. This is my forest just as much as it is yours. More so than it is yours. I am king of this forest.”
“I ask your majesty to reconsider,” said Midor.
“I will not.”
“Very well,” said Midor. “In that case, I must regretfully part company with you. I will leave, so that the rest of you can continue together.”
“Midor, you can’t leave,” John said, panicked. “We need you to guide us. I don’t know the first thing about these forests.”
“You’ll be alright,” said Midor. “Benjamin the mouse and Jacob the frog can help to guide you if your King has any trouble in his forest. And you know how this forest works. Besides, I’m friends with every creature that crawls or flies through these woods. If you need me, you just need to tell any animal, and I’ll hear about it soon enough.”
And with that, Midor turned and left.
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