General Graten stumbled upon Midor in the castle hallway. “You look how I feel,” Graten said. “Did you not get any sleep last night either?”
“No,” said Midor. “Robert and I were busy searching for Vivian all night.”
“Did you find her?”
“Yes, eventually. We found her in the morning. She was sleeping by the river.”
“Was she okay?”
“It’s hard to tell. She was sleeping safely on a grassy spot under a tree.”
“That’s lucky.”
“Maybe. I suspect that she collapsed from exhaustion, and that the forest nymphs were the ones who found her and carried her under the tree.”
“Well, there you go. Not such a dangerous forest after all,” said Graten.
Midor grimaced. “It’s lucky the forest nymphs found her first,” he said. “But she’s alright now. We’ve brought her back to the castle, and she’s recovering now.”
“Hopefully she’ll get plenty of sleep,” said General Graten. “I have a feeling we’ll need her again before too long.”
“What do you mean?”
“My men are watching the portal right now. But if any more monsters come through, they won’t be able to fight them themselves. You saw what happened last night.”
“I don’t want Vivian using any more black magic,” said Midor.
“If you have other ideas, then let me know,” said General Graten. “Otherwise, we’ll need Vivian’s help.”
“What about Catherine?”
“I’ve got an audience scheduled with her this afternoon,” said General Graten. “You can come if you like.”
**********************************************************************
Midor, General Graten, George and Rufus all met Catherine later that afternoon. “I heard about your troubles last night,” said Catherine. “I’m very sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but the arrangement stands. No one is allowed to see me when I am sleeping. I’m sorry, but it’s necessary. You gentlemen, of all people, can appreciate that, I’m sure.” She then nodded to General Graten. “Not you sweetie, I’m talking to the other three. They share a history with me.”
“You know very well that I had nothing to do with that,” said Midor.
Catherine smiled. “I know none of you were responsible for it. But I know you all know what happened that night as well as I do. And I know you, as sure as I know anything, that you’ve been thinking about doing it again.”
“Fine,” said General Graten. “You are to be guarded by the Goblins and the Ogre at night. We understand. But can they be instructed to wake you up if we have an emergency.”
“If there is an emergency at night, you are to go to Talon first,” said Catherine.
“We don’t know where he was last night,” said George. “We looked everywhere for him.”
“If you can not find Talon, then you may consult Vivian,” said Catherine. “She’s not quite as powerful as I am yet, but I’m still training her. You saw what she could do yesterday.”
“Vivian will not be using magic anymore,” said Midor.
“I see,” said Catherine. “And where is Vivian? Did the four of you come to speak on her behalf?”
“She’s resting,” said Midor. “She’s been in a deep sleep all afternoon.”
“Well I can believe that easily enough,” said Catherine. “I’m sure she had a big night last night. What I have more trouble believing is that the four of you are authorized to speak for her. When Vivian awakes, I’ll have a talk with her one on one, and the two of us will work out an arrangement, without everyone butting in.”
“Catherine, you know that the magic isn’t good for her,” said Midor.
“I know no such thing,” said Catherine. “And neither do you. You have an irrational prejudice against magic because you don’t understand it.”
“This discussion is not getting us anywhere,” growled General Graten. “We came here to establish protocols. I don’t want to get into a debate.”
“What do you want?” said Catherine.
“I want this castle in a state of constant readiness,” said General Graten. “I want us to act like we’re under siege, because as far as I’m concerned, we are. We need a clear chain of command, we need a clear rotation of the watch, and we need to know where everyone is at all times. And if you’re not willing to do it, then we’ll do it without you. This is your castle. You are in command, not us. We shouldn't have to plead with you to make yourself available at night. You should instead be giving us directions on how we can contact you.”
“Watch your tone,” Catherine spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. “I’m fond of you, General, but don’t push things. I’ll not tolerate insubordination.”
“Insubordination? How can I be insubordinate if you don’t provide any leadership? There’s nothing for me to insubordinate!”
“What do you want? General?”
“I want you to acknowledge that we are at war with these monsters. And I want you to acknowledge that you are more than just the leader of this army, you are also its greatest asset. These men will die for you, if you show them leadership. But they’re not going to die for you just so you can lie in bed at night undisturbed. I want you supporting your army at all times. And I want Talon and Vivian and you always present in case the monsters come back.”
“Very well,” said Catherine. “We will work out an arrangement.”
While General Graten and Catherine were still talking, Robert came into the room and quietly whispered to Midor that Vivian was waking up. Midor at once excused himself and ran over to Vivian’s bedside.
Vivian had indeed have her eyes open now, but she was still lying in bed and had a confused look about her. Midor knelt down and took her hand. “Darling,” he said.
“Oh, I have such a headache,” she said. “What happened?”
“It’s okay now.”
“What happened?” Vivian insisted.
Midor swallowed. “What do you remember?” he asked.
“The monsters… they were coming for Robert!”
“Yes, they were. But you stopped them,” Midor reminded her.
“I did. I remember the power surging through me.”
“What else do you remember?”
Vivian thought, and then held her head. “Everything else is like a dream. Like I was watching someone else, but it was me that was doing it.”
“It’s the black magic,” said Midor. “It’s taking over.”
“Maybe,” said Vivian thoughtfully. “But I’m back in control now.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” said Midor. “I don’t want you to use the magic again.”
“I know it has its risks,” said Vivian. “But what would you have had me do? The monsters were coming for Robert.”
“That was different,” Midor said. “You had to save Robert. But after that.”
“Yes,” said Vivian, but she was staring up at the ceiling and not looking directly at Midor. “Yes, I shouldn’t have used the magic after that. Except more monsters are coming. And we’re going to have to fight them somehow.”
“Let me worry about that,” said Midor.
“You?” Vivian laughed. “What do you know about fighting monsters?’
“Fine. Then let Catherine and General Graten worry about that.”
“We can’t rely on Catherine. She couldn’t even get out of bed last night to help us,” Vivian said.
“I know,” said Midor. “General Graten is talking to her right now. They’re working something out.” Midor paused. “I don’t trust Catherine either. Sometimes I think she’s deliberately not helping in order to force you to use your magic.”
“Maybe, said Vivian. “But it sounds as if sometimes you want black magic to be used, you just don’t want me to do it.”
No comments:
Post a Comment