Chapter 8: Arthur's Story

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They burned Finn’s body at dusk.

Carlyle and Alfred collected all the logs into a large funeral pyre.  Finn’s body was put on top of it, and Margaret kindled the fire.  She sobbed softly while the fire burned.  

Carlyle stood and watched the fire, and listened to his mother cry.  He wanted to cry for his father, but no tears came.  He wondered what was wrong with him.  The truth was that he couldn’t cry because his mind was still processing what had happened.  He still couldn’t believe that his father was really dead.  But he was still too young to realize that grief was a process, and so he felt guilty for not being able to cry.

Catherine, as she watched the fire burn, momentarily felt grief.  But as the strong emotion welled up in her, the energy welled up within her as well.  It felt like electricity was surging out of her stomach, through her arms, and was flowing out of her fingertips.  She thought about the herb in her pocket, but she decided not to grab it.  She didn’t want to throw up.  Not now.

After the fire had burned itself up, they said their final goodbyes to Finn’s ashes, and went back into the house.  

Margaret bolted the door behind them.

Arthur was lying in one of the beds, waiting for them.  Margaret had insisted he stay in bed and not come out for the funeral.  She was worried that even slight moving around would tear his stitches.

“We need tea,” Margaret said once they were all inside.  “I’ve got a herbal mix that’s good for calming us down.”  

Margaret boiled the water, and then mixed it with some of her herbs.  After she had served the tea to everyone, she looked at Arthur.  “It’s time,” she said.  “It’s time for you to tell us what happened to Finn.”

“Yes,” Carlyle agreed.  “Tell us what happened.”

Arthur sat up in his bed.  “There’s not much to tell,” he said.  “It was an ambush.  Clear and simple.  The type of ambush that happens all the time in these mountains.  Finn and I were pulling the cart up the mountain road.  We were loaded up with supplies, so the cart was heavy and we were moving pretty slow.  Suddenly, ten robbers sprung out from the trees and stood in the path in front of us.  And ten robbers appeared behind us.

“I immediately took out my sword.  But Finn never reached for his weapon.  Finn growled at me, ‘Put away your sword, you fool.  We can’t possibly win when we’re two against 20.  Our only hope is to talk to them.’”

Arthur stopped talking and looked down into his tea.  He took a slow sip, and then continued.  “Now, if they had been goblins or ogres, or any other kind of monster, I would never have agreed to put my sword down.  You can’t reason with monsters.  But these were human beings just like ourselves, and I thought maybe Finn was right.  Maybe we could talk to them.  So I threw my sword down on the ground.

“‘We won’t fight you,’ Finn said to the robbers.  ‘Take what you want, and leave us be.’  But the robbers didn’t put away their swords.  In fact, as they came closer, they just laughed.  It wasn’t a friendly laugh.

“Finn just smiled at them though.  ‘It’s no good killing us, boys,’ he said to them.  ‘If we’re dead, we can’t make any more trips up and down the mountain, and we can’t get any more supplies for you to rob.  You’ll want to keep us alive so that you can rob us again someday.’ 

“It was a good point, I thought.  It would have convinced me if I had been a robber.  But they didn’t listen to reason.  I think they had already decided they were going to kill us, and so they weren’t really listening to anything that Finn was saying.  One of them said, ‘There’s enough riff-raff on this mountain already.’  And he stuck his sword right into Finn’s chest.  Finn wasn’t even holding a weapon at the time.  He had no chance to defend himself.”

“So how did you get away?” asked Catherine.

Arthur paused slightly.  He thought maybe he was detecting a bit of an edge in Catherine’s voice, but he wasn’t sure.  “I ran,” he said.  “I’m not proud, but there it is.  I ran and I left Finn to die on the road.”  Arthur spit out the last words.

“There was nothing you could have done,” Margaret said.  Her voice was flat and emotionless.

“The thing is,” Arthur continued, “One man can never defeat 20 men in a fight, because they would fight as a group.  But in a footrace, everyone has to run as an individual. So one man might just be able to outrun 20 men.  So I just decided to run for it.  When Finn was talking to them, right before they stabbed him, they were all kind of closing around him, and this created a gap that I could sneak through.  As soon as their sword plunged into Finn’s chest, I dashed through the gap, and just ran as fast as I could.  One of them thrust his sword at my side as I ran by.  I guess that’s where I must have gotten this,” Arthur gestured to his wound that Margaret had sewn up.  “But I barely felt it at the time.  I was just trying to run as fast as I could.  Some of them followed me for a bit, but I was faster than they were, and so they weren’t gaining any ground.  And eventually they decided to let me go, and concentrate on cleaning out the cart instead.”

Alfred piped up.  “They took everything,” he said.  “When we got to the cart, it was completely empty.”

“It was a good haul too,” Arthur said wistfully.  “There was plenty of food to get both of our families through the winter--Sacks of grain and flour, dried berries and nuts and roots.  Plus lots of iron bars.  Finn had said he wanted to strengthen your door.”

Margaret stared into the fire.  “I’ve been so upset about Finn that I’d almost forgotten about the supplies,” she said.  “We were counting on that food to get us through the winter.”

“It’ll be alright,” said Arthur.  “We’ll figure something out.  Maybe we can cho down p some more trees.”

“I don’t want you tearing out your stitches,” Margaret said.

“The children can then,” said Arthur.

“Who will pull the cart down and up the mountain again?” asked Margaret.

“I could pull the cart,” said Carlyle.

“I could help,” said Alfred.

“You can’t go by yourselves,” said Arthur “You don’t know the way, and you wouldn’t know who to contact in the forest.”

“You could sit in the cart,” Carlyle said.  “We’ll pull you down.”

“You’re not old enough to go back to the forest yet,” Margaret said.

“Why not?” asked Carlyle.

“What do you mean back to the forest?” asked Catherine.

“It should be fine, Margaret,” said Arthur. “I’ve brought Alfred down to the forest with me lots of times.  He’s never had any trouble.”

“But what if the robbers stop you on the road again?” asked Margaret.

Arthur was silent for a bit.  Then he answered.  “When you travel on that mountain road, you accept the dangers,” he said.  “We’ve always understood that as long as we’ve lived here.  Robbers, wolves, bears, goblins, ogres, bugbears, you may encounter any of these creatures on the mountains at any time.”  Then after a pause, he added, “The robbers didn’t use to attack the mountain people, though.  They used to just go down and rob the forest people, and then hid out in the mountains.  They must be getting more brazen.”

“Or more desperate,” Margaret said.

“Hmmm,” Arthur nodded thoughtfully.  “Maybe.”

“At any rate, if they’re going to ambush us every time we try to bring a cart of supplies up the mountain, then we can’t get more supplies,” said Margaret.  “And if we can’t get more supplies before winter sets in…” her voice trailed off.

There was another moment of silence, and then Carlyle spoke up.  “I’ll go,” he said.  “I’m not afraid.”

“You can’t fight 20 of them,” said Arthur.  “And right now, you don’t even have a sword to fight with anymore.” 

There was another silence.  Finally Arthur said, “It won’t do any good to talk about it all night.  We should get some sleep.”

“Can we read from the book first?” asked Alfred.

Carlyle felt the need to gently correct his friend.  “It’s not the night for it, Alfred,” Carlyle said softly.

“No, it’s okay,” said Margaret.  “It will be good for us to get our minds off of everything for a bit.  It’ll help us sleep.  Catherine, you get the book down and read from it.  I’ll make some more herbal tea.”

Chapter 7: Arthur Returns Alone

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It was dawn.  Carlyle, Aflred and Margaret were still in bed, but Catherine couldn’t sleep.  She sat by the fire and tended to it quietly, stoking it, but trying to avoid making any noise that would awaken the others.

  While she stoked the fires, Catherine’s thoughts drifted.  It was now two days since Catherine had visited the Witches’ Coven.  The past two days had passed without incident.  Margaret had done the cooking and cleaning in the house, while the teenagers had gone out to meet their friends on the mountainside.  Catherine had not attempted to go off by herself again, and there had been no more quarrels between her and Carlyle. 

And yet, Catherine was still troubled.  She still had this feeling that an energy was growing inside of her.  It felt like an alien power, something that was not natural to her body.

Yesterday, she had been out with Alfred and Carlye and their friends, and she had felt it rise up inside her.  It had started gradually, but it had gotten bigger and bigger, until she had felt like she had this great energy inside of her that had to be released.  So she had decided to try the herb that her mother had given.  Discreetly, when the attention of the group had been distracted by one of the fights, she had brought the herb up to her mouth and had taken just the tiniest little nibble of it, and swallowed  It had made her feel immediately sick.  She ran over to the bushes to vomit and this, of course, had attracted everyone’s attention.  So much for being discreet.

“Catherine, are you okay?” Molly had asked.  

“I’m fine,” Catherine had managed to say rather weekly.  “I think it was something I ate.”

It had been embarrassing, no doubt about it, even though Catherine always tried to pretend that she didn’t care what the rest of the group thought of her.  

But the herb had also seemed to work.  The feeling inside of her had gone away.  It felt like she had killed the growing energy inside her.  It felt like she had had killed it with the poison, but it also felt like she had poisoned herself.  

Catherine continued stirring the fire.  The fire didn’t even need stirring at this point, but Catherine’s mind was elsewhere.  Her mind kept returning to the conversation she had had with the witch.  “If magic isn’t used,” the witch had said, “it will leak out in unexpected ways.”  That’s what it felt like was happening to her.  Something was trying to leak out of her.

Catherine had been watching her mother very closely the past couple of days, to try to see if there was anything in her mother’s behavior she had missed over the years--to see if there was any magic that might be leaking out of Margaret.  But she had not seen Margaret do anything that indicated any magic abilities.  Except… except that it was so strange that Margaret had known exactly what herb to use to kill the energy.  How did Margaret know these things if she wasn’t magical herself?

While Catherine was still deep in thought, contemplating all of these things, there was a loud thump at the door which startled her.  Her hands involuntarily jerked backwards.  

“It’s alright.  That’ll be father,” said Alfred. Catherine hadn’t realized that Alfred was also awake, but Alfred was wide awake and already scrambling out of bed.  “It’s been five days already,” he said.

The thump at the door was repeated.  “It’s me,” said the voice.  “Open up.”

Carlyle and Margaret were beginning to wake up now as well.  Carlyle was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he stood up.  Margaret was sitting on the edge of her bed and putting on her boots.  Catherine undid the latch, and pulled open the door.  Arthur was standing in the doorway.  Finn was nowhere in sight.

There seemed to be something wrong with Arthur.  He looked paler than usual. 

“Where’s Margaret?” he asked.

“Father, are you alright?” Alfred asked.

“Margaret.” Arthur repeated

“I’m here,” Margaret said.  She was now out of bed and walking towards the door.  “What’s wrong?  Where’s Finn?”

Arthur did not reply immediately.  Catherine noticed for the first time that his shirt was covered in blood.

Margaret noticed the blood at the same time.  “Where’s Finn?” Margaret asked again, the tone of her voice was higher this time.

“I’m sorry, Margaret,” Arthur said

Margaret breathed in sharply, resulting in a gasping sound.  

Catherine stepped towards Arthur.  “What’s wrong?” she asked.  Somewhere inside of her, Catherine already knew what was wrong.  But she needed to hear Arthur say it in order for her brain to fully process it.

Arthur looked absolutely miserable. He looked at Margaret first, to see if Margaret was going to give him any signals.  But Margaret was still in shock, so Arthur looked back at Catherine.  “Catherine, your father is dead.  I’m so sorry.”

Carlyle was at the door now as well.  “Where is he?” Carlyle demanded.

“He’s dead,” Arthur repeated.

“Let me see him,” Carlyle said.

“He’s still on the mountain road,” said Arthur.  “I had to leave him by the cart.   I was wounded myself, and I was too weak to carry his body.”

Carlyle bolted out the door and started running down the mountain slope.

“Stop,” Arthur called.  “It’s not safe yet.  They’re still out there.”

Catherine ran after Carlyle, and lastly Alfred ran after them both.  All three ran down the mountainside.

“Wait!” Arthur called out again. But they did not listen.

Carlyle did not want to believe what Arthur had told them.  He hoped that Arthur was mistaken, and that his father was not really dead.  And that is why he ran as fast as he could.  He desperately wanted to find Finn still alive.

When you are running down a mountain slope, it isn’t hard to go fast.  The problem is that you can easily go too fast, lose your footing, and fall down on your face.  But for teenagers who have grown up on the mountain slopes, this seldom happens.  They learn at a young age how to handle the mountain slope--how to leap and spring, and land, and balance on your feet to keep from falling.  Carlyle ran with all the agility of one who had been raised on the mountains.  His feet glided down the mountain as he pushed himself to run faster and faster.  He leaped over rocks and fallen trees and any other obstacle on the slope without losing his stride.  And Catherine and Alfred were right behind him the whole way.

In no time at all, they had reached the mouth of the mountain trail.  They ran down the trail.  A huge tree had fallen over and was blocking their path.  Carlyle leaped over it without even pausing.  Catherine and Alfred did the same.

Various rock formations emerged from the mountain, and the trail twisted and turned as it winded its way around them.  But as Carlyle came around one of the corners, he saw it.

Carlyle’s heart sank.  They were too late.  The wolves were already circling the body of his father.  In the mountains, it never took long for a dead body to attract the scavenging animals.  And now, Carlyle wished he had stopped to take some weapons.  “Begone,” Carlyle shouted as he approached the wolves.  “You have no claim to that body.”

The wolves turned toward Carlyle, but it was obvious they had no intention of obeying him.  They snarled, and crouched as if preparing to pounce on Carlyle.  

Catherine now came around the corner.  She saw Carlyle, Finn’s body, and the wolves, and in an instant she knew what was happening.  In that moment, she had no time to process any emotions.  She simply had to act.  “Begone,” she yelled at the wolves.  “That body belongs to us.”  

At the sound of Catherine’s voice, the wolves immediately stopped growling. They stopped focusing on Carlyle, and looked over at Catherine.  They seemed surprised to see her.  “Begone, I say,” Catherine repeated.  And the wolves ran away.  Carlyle thought this was strange, but for the moment he did not ask any questions to Catherine.  His mind was too preoccupied with his father’s body.  

Carlyle knelt down beside the body.  Once he saw the body up close, there was no doubt that Finn was indeed dead.  The warmth had already left the body.  There was no pulse.  And there was a huge wound in the chest, where Finn had been stabbed.

Both Carlyle and Catherine were too shocked to speak.  Neither of them had ever contemplated the possibility that Finn could die. 

Of course, Finn was very old, and of course, they knew that the mountains were dangerous.  But they were young, and like all young people, they viewed the world through the illusion of permanency.  Finn had always been there, so it seemed that Finn would always be there.

Alfred, who was somewhat less emotionally affected by Finn’s death, found the presence of mind to speak first.  “The thieves took everything,” he said.  “All the supplies are gone from the cart.  But at least they left behind the cart.  We can use it to pull his body up the slope.”

The cart had been turned over and was lying on its side.  Carlyle and Alfred turned it over.  Carlyle was still numb with disbelief and didn’t speak.  

“Help me lift his body,” said Alfred.  “We need to put it in the cart.”

“Where’s his sword,” Catherine said.  “He needs his sword with him.”

“His sword is gone,” said Alfred.  “The thieves took it.  Of course.  They wouldn’t leave anything as valuable as a sword just laying around.”

Catherine and Carlyle both stopped moving.  They seemed to have difficulty absorbing this information.  “He used that sword to kill the ogre,” said Carlye.

“He used that sword to fight the werewolves,” said Catherine.  “That sword was his most prized possession.  It was his identity.”

“He doesn’t need it anymore,” Alfred said gently.  “We need to get him into the cart and get him back up the mountain before the wolves come back.”

“They won’t come back,” Catherine said quietly.  And once again, Alfred and Carlyle were too preoccupied with the dead body to wonder about what she meant.

Carlyle, Catherine and Alfred lifted Finn’s body up, and put it in the cart. Then they pulled the cart up the path.

Margaret met them before they got to the top of the mountain.  She had come down to find them.  She carried an axe with her as her weapon.  Her eyes were red.  “That was foolish of you to run off like that,” she said without emotion.  “But you’ve done good to recover his body.  It wouldn’t have done to let the wolves eat him.”

Together, they all got the cart back to the house.  They took out Finn’s body, brought it inside, and laid it on the table.

Margaret shook her head, and let out a small sob.  She covered her mouth with her hands, and then when she regained her composure, she said sadly, “For fifteen years we’ve lived in these cursed mountains, and we’ve fought off all manner of beasts and monsters.  If he had just lived for a few more years…”  Her voice trailed off.

“What killed him?” asked Carlyle.

“It was one of the robber gangs,” Arthur answered.  “They were waiting in ambush.  We tried to fight, but there were just too many of them.”

Arthur was grimacing in pain while he spoke, and Margaret suddenly remembered.  “We need to see to your wound,” she said.

“I’d appreciate it if you did,” said Arthur.

“Sit down on the bed,” Margaret commanded.  “Catherine, go get my thread and needle.  And boil some water.”  Margaret turned back to Arthur.  “Where are you hurt?” she asked.

“They stabbed me in my side,” Arthur answered.  “It doesn’t feel too deep, but…”

“I’ll look at it,” Margaret said.  Having a task to do seemed to rejuvenate Margaret.  She moved now with a sense of purpose.  Arthur obediently went towards the bed.  Margaret noticed Carlyle and Alfred standing idly by.  “You two, go and chop some wood,” she said.  “We’ll need a funeral pyre.”

Nobody got a burial in the mountains.  Much of the mountain slope was covered in rocks, and stones, and even for the parts that were covered in dirt, the dirt was often frozen by the cold weather.  And even if you could dig a proper grave, the freshly dead body wouldn’t stay in the ground for long before creatures dug it up and devoured it.  So the mountain folk burned their dead on wooden pyres.

Carlyle took the ax from the house, and went outside with Alfred.  They walked down the slope to one of the clumps of trees.  

Carlyle knelt down in front of the tree, and raised his hands up.  He remembered the words that Finn used to recite.  “Forgive me, for what I am about to do,” Carlyle called out to the tree.  “I must do this to survive.  If there are any spirits or other beings who have made this tree their home, tell me now in order that I may not harm you unknowingly.”  

“What are you doing?” asked Alfred.

“This was father’s way,” explained Carlyle.  “He always said this before he cut down any trees.  He wouldn’t have wanted me to cut down his funeral pyre without saying these words first.”

Alfred swallowed the rest of his questions, and let Carlyle continue.  “If there are any spirits or nymphs in this tree,” Carlyle continued, “I beg your forgiveness.  I declare that I am ignorant of any beings who live in this tree.”  Then, he stood up, and began to chop at the base of the tree.

Chapter 120: Catherine Joins the Quest

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After several days of walking, they got to the swamp lands.  

“I’ll put you down here,” Midor said to Jacob the frog, taking him out of his pocket and putting him in the water.  “You can swim around just as easily as I can carry you.  Careful though.  There are plenty of monsters in the water.”

“Well don’t put him down then,” said Aiden.  “Pick him up and help carry him.  Don’t leave him as bait for the monsters.”

“When the monsters attack,” said Midor, “They could swallow me whole just as easily as they could swallow Jacob here.  So I don’t think he would be any safer in my pocket.  In fact, it’s probably better for him to not be in my pocket, so that the monsters can’t devour both of us at once. This way, if the monsters get me, at least Jacob still has a chance to escape.  That, plus another pair of eyes in the water will help us.  Jacob can help alert us to what’s in the water.”

“I will strive to do my best,” said Jacob.

“I’ve explored the outer-reaches of this bog a little bit,” said Midor.  “But I’ve never gone deep into it before.  So as we get deep into the bog, we’ll be going into areas I have no direct knowledge of.”

They trudged through the swamp.  The muddy ground made a sucking sound as they pulled their feet up.

“I’ve just lost one of my boots,” Aefar exclaimed.

“We can wait for you to find it,” said Midor.

“I can’t find it,” said Aefar.  “It’s disappeared deep into the mud.”

“Let me help you find it,” said Henry.

“Yes, we should all help find it,” said Carlyle.  “We don’t want to be losing our footwear now.  We’ve got a lot of walking to do.”

“Yes,” said Midor.  “Although I’m not sure what use the boots are going to be through the mud.”

“You know,” said Carlyle thoughtfully, “I’ve never thought to ask before, but when you transform into a bat, what happens to your clothes.”

“This isn’t the time for stupid questions,” snapped Aefar.  “Can you help me find my boot?”

“What I mean is,” continued Carlyle, “is that when you transform into a bat, the clothes seem to transform with you.  Are the clothes like a part of you?  If you lose your boot--.”

“The Clothes are not a part of me, you idiot!” snapped Aefar.  “Clearly you don’t understand how magic works.”

“No, of course I don’t,” said Carlyle.  “But it occurs to me that if the clothes aren’t a part of you, then they must disappear every time you turn into a bat.  And if that’s the case, then they must be recreated every time you resume your human shape.  And if that’s the case, then maybe--.”

“Shut up you idiot!” screamed Aefar.  

“Hey now!” said Conn.  “Don’t talk to Carlyle that way.  He’s our friend.”

“Besides which,” said Brenna.  “We’ve already got your boot.  We pixies are quite good at finding things in the mud.”

The pixies were holding up the boot, and showed it to Aefar.  He snatched it from them angrily.

“Leaving aside the question of where your clothes go,” Midor said cautiously, “I do wonder if you’d be happier flying through this mud instead of walking through it.  If the mud sucked up your boots one time, they could likely do so again.”

Aefar didn’t respond, but flung his cape around him, and transformed into a bat.  

There was a bellowing sound off in the distance.  “That sounds like one of the ancient monsters,” Midor said.

“Well of course!” snapped Aefar.  “What else could it be?”

“Shhh!” Midor chastened them.  “If it doesn’t know we’re here, we won’t have to fight it.  Everyone get low.”  Midor immediately lay down in the mud.  Henry followed his example.

“I’m not getting into the mud!” snapped Aefar.

“Get high then!” Midor said in a loud whisper.

Aefar the bat and Carlyle the winged lion flew into the air.  The rest of them lay low.

There was another bellowing sound, this time much closer.

“It’s Rogbel!” said Midor.  “One of the flying monsters.  Carlyle!  Aefar! Get down!”

It was only a few seconds later that in the dim light they could see the outline of a monster flying through the sky on gigantic leathery wings.

Carlyle immediately dropped down to the mud.

Aefar was slightly slower, and the monster opened his jaws, and gulped down the bat as it flew by.

And then, the monster was gone before the rest had time to react.

“Did we just lose one of our companions?” asked Conn.

“He was a bit of a jerk anyway,” said Brenna.  “I can’t say I’m too sorry to see him go.”

“Well, he’s definitely been swallowed whole,” said Midor.  “But the question is, what does that mean to a vampire?  Vampire’s can usually only be killed by a stake through the heart, or so Aefar has always claimed.  So what happens when he’s swallowed whole by a monster?”

“Probably one of two things,” said Carlyle.  “Either he’ll be digested in the stomach, or else he’ll come out the other end.”

“Either way, I guess we can count him out of the rest of our adventure,”  said Midor.  “I’m really not sure what to think.  I suppose it’s for the best.  He could be difficult.”

“It is most assuredly for the best,” said Carlyle.  “He was Catherine’s creature, after all.”

“At any rate, he is no longer necessary,” said a voice.  “Catherine herself is here now.”

They all turned around when they saw the voice, and saw Catherine and Alfred approaching.  “We got a bit of a late start,” said Catherine.  “But we were able to catch up quickly.  After all, I do possess some remarkable abilities.”

“Catherine, what are you doing here?” asked Carlyle.

“Carlyle, my brother, you know it pains me to say this.  But I have thought everything over, and I’ve decided that you are correct.  Ambrosia is my old enemy, more so than she is yours.  She is mine to meet in combat, and she is mine to defeat.”

“So you have come to help us?” asked Midor.

“I have,” answered Catherine.  

“Great,” said Midor.

“I had a feeling you might change your mind on this,” said Carlyle.  “Your hatred of Ambrosia must be greater than your hatred of me.”

“Let’s not get carried away just yet,” said Catherine.  “There’s plenty of room in my heart to hate the both of you.  I shall never forgive you, Carlyle, for what you did to me.  No matter what happens.  But I have come to fight against Ambrosia.  It’s rather dark in here, don’t you think?  Shall we have a little illumination?” Catherine waved her wand, and a flame of light appeared at the top of it.

“Catherine, put that out!” said Midor.  His voice wasn’t quite a yell, but it was frantic.  “You’ll attract every monster in this place.”

“Good,” said Catherine.  “I’d prefer to just face them head on.  I don’t like to crawl around in the swamp like you are doing.”

“But some of these monsters are resistant to magic.  Some of them can 

Chapter 119: Catherine Gets Her Affairs in Order

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King Grinthal was very glad to be released from his bottle.  He did look slightly emaciated from his captivity.  (It was unclear how much Catherine had been feeding him when he was trapped in the glass bottle.)  

“So, King Grinthal,” said Catherine.  “I will no longer be needing your services, as it turns out.  I request that you take your army out of Castle Tauna.”

“At once, my Queen,” Grinthal answered.

“You and your army are, of course, still welcome in my forest, if you wish to stay.”

“We will be leaving the forest at once,” said Grinthal.

“A pity,” said Catherine.  “I had been looking forward to being neighbors.   Where is your army going, Grinthal?”

“Back into the mountains,” Grinthal replied.

“Well, at least I know where to find you,” said Catherine.  “Take care, Grinthal.”

And with that, Grinthal scattered out of the throne room.

Catherine turned to Vivian.  “Well, Vivian, with both me and your father in the other realm, you are next in line to inherit the throne.  You  will rule in my absence as regent.”

“I do not wish to undermine your rule,” Vivian responded.

“You will not.  I am appointing you regent in my stead.  Protect the castle while I am gone.  There is still a possibility that the monsters could arise out of the ground while we are gone.”

“I will be on my guard,” said Vivian.

“Very well then.  Alfred, are you ready?”

“I am, Catherine.”

“Let us go,” said Catherine.

Chapter 118: Return to the Mountains

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“Over there,” said Alfred.  “That’s the place.”

Vivian gently landed the table down on the mountainside.  “So this is where you and my father grew up,” she said.

“It is,” said Alfred.

“Have you been back since then?” asked Vivian.

“I’ve never been back since we left,” said Alfred.  “Of course, the same has not been true for Catherine.”

“Yes, this is where my father sent you to exile, isn’t it?” said Vivian.

“This is the place,” said Catherine.

“There’s a lot fewer trees than I remember,” said Alfred.

“The woodsmen have been cutting them down,” said Catherine.

“I wonder if my old house is still around here,” Alfred mused.

“Where are the witches?” asked Vivian.

“If I remember, they’re in the cave over that hill,” said Alfred.  “Now, Vivian, I should warn you that you have to be on your guard up here in the mountains.  There’s always danger everywhere.”

“It’s not as bad as it used to be,” said Catherine.  “We did a good job of making it safe.”

“Yes, that’s true,” said Alfred.

They walked over the hill to the witch’s cave.  Catherine, although her arms were still bound, walked with them.

There was a witch standing by the cave when they arrived.  “Hello Catherine.  Welcome back,” said the witch, smiling.

Catherine simply scowled.

The witch looked at Alfred.  “Do I know you?” she asked.

“I grew up in these mountains,” Alfred said.

“Ah, yes.  I thought you looked familiar.”  The witch turned to Vivian.  “And who is this?” she asked.

“This is Catherine’s niece,” said Alfred.

“Ah, another member of the cursed family.  Does she have the magical powers?” 

“I do,” said Vivian.

“Yes, I thought I saw you levitating in here on the table.  Well, what do you want?”

“The magic,” said Alfred.  “It’s destroyed Catherine’s soul.  She has no compassion left.  No humanity.”

“Yes,” said the witch.  “That is the price that you pay for using magic.”

“Is there no cure?” asked Alfred.  “Is there no way to bring her back to the woman she once was?”

“There is,” said the witch.  “She has to give up magic completely.”

Catherine laughed when she heard this.  “Give up magic?  I couldn’t give it up if I wanted to.  I never wanted it in the first place, but I was born with it.  You remember, Alfred.”

“All to well,” said Alfred.  “I still have the scars on my arms to prove it.”

“There is a way to purge yourself of magic,” said the witch.  “You have to go to the middle of the sacred lake, in the northern part of the forest.  The nymphs who live in that lake can wash the magic away from you in the sacred waters, if you allow them to.”

“And will it restore Catherine to what she used to be?” asked Alfred.

“The madness will wash away,” said the witch.  “And she will be restored as she was before the magic destroyed her.  But she has to do it willingly.  And she is so far gone with her lust for power that I doubt she would ever do it willingly.”

“Catherine, listen to me,” said Alfred.  “I love you.  You know that.  I love you in spite of everything.  I need you to come back to me.  Just heal yourself--get rid of all your evil magic, and become my darling once more.”

Tears rolled down Catherine’s face.  

“Please, Aunt Catherine,” pleaded Vivian.  “You used to be my favorite Aunt when I was young.  You can go back to being that Aunt again.”

Catherine took a deep breath.  “I can’t,” she said.  “I can’t do it until I’ve defeated Ambrosia.”

It took Vivian and Alfred a moment to process what she was saying.  “Do you mean,” asked Alfred at last, “that you are going to help your brother Carlyle?”

“I mean,” said Catherine, “that I am going to defeat Ambrosia.  If Carlyle happens to be there as well, then perhaps he can help me.”

“I’m going with you,” said Alfred.

“Oh, Alfred,” Catherine laughed.  “What good are you in a magic battle?”

“I fought Ambrosia with you the first time,” said Alfred.  “I can fight her again the second time.  I’ve always been by your side in all your battles.  You know that.”

“Very well,” said Catherine.

“Let me come as well,” said Vivian.  “I’m strong with magic.  Stronger even than you. You said it yourself.  With two magic users attacking her at once, Ambrosia doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Ambrosia’s not your fight, Vivian,” said Catherine, with a smile.  “She belongs to the older generation.  But even more importantly than that, I need you to stay behind and guard Castle Tauna.  What if one of the monsters were to get out through the portal while we were battling Ambrosia?”

“She’s right, Vivian,” said Alfred.  “You have family to protect in that castle.”

“You’re right,” said Vivian.  “So I do.  Very well.  I’ll stay behind.  But Catherine, I have one favor to ask.  Can you remove all the goblins from the castle before you go to the land of the monsters?”

“Yes, of course,” said Catherine.  “King Grinthal.  I almost forgot about him.  He is still imprisoned in the bottle.”

“What’s this?” said Alfred.

“I’ll explain everything when we get back,” said Catherine.

Chapter 117: Vivian and Alfred Attempt to Negotiate With Catherine

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When Catherine woke up, she was tied up and seated on a chair.  Alfred and Vivian were both there.  The other family members have been removed.

Catherine’s mouth was gagged, so she could only move her eyes to see both of them.

“Catherine, we’re sorry.  There was no other way,” said Vivian.

“Catherine, we don’t want to keep you tied up like this,” said Alfred.  “We wish we could release you.  But we can’t release you if you are going to harm the people in this castle.”

“If only you would promise not to hurt my family,” said Vivian.  “Then maybe we could release you. But…”  Vivian suddenly stopped speaking.  She turned to Alfred.  “If there was a magically binding oath, we could get Catherine to take it.”

“Possibly,” said Alfred.  “If there was such an oath.”

“Aunt Catherine,” said Vivian, “Would you be willing to swear an oath in exchange for being set free?  Blink once for yes, and twice for no.”

Catherine blinked no.

“Catherine, be reasonable,” said Alfred.  “We want to set you free.  We don’t enjoy keeping you like this.”

“We’re not going to ask you to give up your throne,” said Vivian.  “This isn’t like last time when my father deposed you.  You can keep your throne.  You just have to swear not to harm our family.”

Catherine thought, then blinked yes.

“Now, we need to check and see if there is an oath.”

“We need to check the library,” said Alfred.  “That’s where Catherine herself learned most of her magic.”

“I wish we could just ask her,” said Vivian.

“It’s too dangerous,” said Alfred.  “If we were to loosen her gag, she could curse us with the magic just as well as help us.”

“Yes, you’re right, of course,” said Vivian.  “Of course, all spells require hand gestures as well, and we have her hands tied up. Although she can still wiggle her fingers. There are some spells that she could perform just with her fingertips, but not very many. I don’t think she could do any major spells with just her fingers free.”  Vivian thought some more.  “I suppose,” she said, “that I could use one of the immobilizing spells to freeze up her hands and fingers.  Then it would probably be safe to ungag her.”

“You know more about this stuff than I do,” said Alfred.  “But be careful.  If we mess this up and she gets loose, we’ll not going to have a second chance.”

“I think I know what I’m doing,” said Vivian.  “Forgive me Aunt Catherine.”  Vivian then chanted the spell, and froze up Catherine’s hands.  Then, she took off the gag.

Catherine glared at them even after the gag was removed.

Alfred spoke first.  “Catherine, please find it in your heart to forgive us.  We don’t want to harm you.  We simply wish to protect everyone from you.”  

“If everyone would simply obey me, we would have no problem,” said Catherine.  “I am the rightful queen of this castle.”

“What’s happened to you?” said Alfred.  “You never used to be this unreasonable.  Has the magic really eroded your mind that much?  Is there no way to cure you, and bring you back to the way you were before?”

“I do not wish to be brought back to the way I was before,” Catherine responded.

Alfred looked at Vivian.  “I don’t know the answer to that,” answered Vivian.  “I am still  new to all this magic myself.”

“Who would know, then?” Alfred asked.  And then he seemed to have found the answer.  “The witches!” he exclaimed.  “The witches up on the mountain.”

“Do you mean the mountain top that you and my father grew up on?” asked Vivian.

“Yes,” said Alfred.  “It is many days’ journey from here.”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Vivian.  “I can fly us there with the magic spells.”

“I’m not sure if they will be willing to help us,” Alfred said.  “But it’s worth a try.”

“What shall we do with Catherine, then?  Shall we leave her here to be guarded in this castle?”

“We should get rid of all the goblins first,” said Alfred.  “Catherine still has too many 

helpers in this castle.  Could we take her with us?”

Vivian thought for a minute.  “I think I can,” she said.  “I can only work one spell at a time.  But I should be able to levitate something.  If there is some sort of rock or other surface that we could all stand on, then I could levitate that.”

“Well done,” said Catherine bitterly.  “I see you figured it out without my assistance.”

“Okay,” said Alfred.  “Then what kind of surface should we stand on?”

“Perhaps we can borrow one of the kitchen tables,” said Vivian.

Chapter 116: The Big Fight Against Catherine and Her Creatures

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Despite General Graten’s and Charle’s attempts to coordinate things, the fight, when it happened, happened without anyone planning it.

On the whole, Catherine had been doing a much better job of keeping the goblins contained.  They were certainly much less troublesome than they had been in the past.  But ever since John had returned with Kolet and Aurora, the goblins had started harassing the mushrooms.  They thought it was the oddest thing that there were now two human sized mushrooms in the castle, and they continually laughed at them or yelled at them as they passed.  But even worse than that, goblins love the taste of mushrooms, and they began planning to attack and eat Kolet and Aurora.  They were relatively sure they could get away with this.  Catherine had given them commands not to harm the humans in the castle, but they didn’t think that this protection extended to mushrooms, and they wanted to try to eat the mushroom princess and her handmaiden.

They waited one afternoon until John left Kolet and Aurora alone briefly, and then they attacked.  

John, who had only gone down the hall to get a drink of water, heard their screams and came running back.  When he saw the gang of goblins attacking the two mushrooms, he immediately ran to help.  John didn’t have any weapons on him, so he just started grabbing goblins and trying to throw them aside.  But he made so much commotion that pretty soon Grace and Robert came running out of their rooms to see what was going on.

Grace realized the danger that John and the mushrooms were in, and she ran back into her room to get her bow and arrows.  When she came back, she started taking aim.  At first she shot only to wound the goblins, hoping to scare them away.  But the goblins did not get scared away.  In fact, the more the fight grew, the more noise it made, the more goblins started pouring into the hallway.

Robert had a sword with him, and he tried to use the flat end of the sword to knock the goblins away as he and Grace tried to make their way over to John to help him defend himself.  

The commotion was attracting more and more people.  General Graten was one of the first ones on the scene, and Charles was close behind him.  “Well Charles, it looks like the fight has begun without our permission,” said General Graten.

“I guess it has,” said Charles.  

“I’ll help out these children, you go alert the others,” said General Graten.

“Agreed,” said Charles, and he ran off.

Up until this time, Grace and Robert had still been trying their best not to seriously hurt any of the goblins.  But General Graten had no such qualms about these kinds of things.  He unsheathed his sword and strode right into the fight, swinging in every direction.  He didn’t really kill any of the goblins, but he certainly slashed and cut them and sent them screaming.

It was then that the Minotaur arrived on the scene.  General Graten eyed him.  “I’ve been waiting for this,” he said.

The minotaur threw his head back and yelled.  It was a deep bellowing sound.  General Graten raised his sword in the air, and also yelled.  Then the minotaur lowered his horns and charged at General Graten.

General Graten ran forward as if he would take the minotaur head on, but then when he neared the Minotaur he slipped into a slide, and slid under the minotaur.  General Graten was smart enough not to try to attack the minotaur head on.  As General Graten slid under the minotaur, he swung his sword and cut the minotaur’s legs.

The minotaur yelled with outrage, but although General Graten had cut his skin, General Graten had not managed to do any serious damage.  The minotaur then lowered its horns again, and charged General Graten once more.  General Graten raised his sword up, but the minotaur caught General Graten’s sword with its horns, and flicked its horns so that General Gratens sword went flying away.

“No you will fight me without any weapons,” bellowed the minotaur.  “Just you against me.”

“Don’t those horns count as weapons?” asked General Graten.

“We minotaurs only fight with what we are born with,” said the minotaur, and he bared his mouth to show his sharp teeth.  

“Come on then,” said General Graten, who swung his fist at the minotaur.

The minotaur lowered his horns and charged into Graten.  Graten was hoisted up on one of the horns, and thrown against the wall.

“General, here!” called Jason, who had entered into the hallway, and threw a mace to General Graten.  Jason then began to try to help John, Robert and Grace fight the Goblins with his sword.

The minotaur charged General Graten again, but General Graten swung his mace and hit the minotaur in the head, knocking the minotaur back.  But the minotaur soon recovered and attacked again.

George and Rufus had entered by this time with shields and swords drawn.  They initially advanced toward the minotaur to help General Graten, but the General growled, “Don’t be stupid.  Help the others.  I’ll keep the minotaur occupied.”

The minotaur bellowed and charged forward once again.  And General Graten swung his mace and hit it once again, once again knocking it backwards.

Penelope and Helen showed up to the fight next.  They were wearing full armor--helmet, breastplates, greaves, and they carried shields and spears.  They charged forward with their spears.  

Charles came back and re-entered the fight.  General Graten turned his attention away from the Minotaur long enough to acknowledge Charles.  “You’ve got everyone here,” he said.

“Just about,” said Charles.  

Alfred now appeared with Charles.  “Oh no!” said Alfred.  “The fighting’s finally started, has it?”

“Too late to stop it now,” said General Graten, hitting the minotaur with his mace again.

“I must get Catherine,” said Alfred.  “Maybe I can still talk some sense into her.”

“Good luck,” said Charles, and Alfred ran off.

There was a cry, and the Bugbear entered the battle.  Charles took out his sword and charged at the Bugbear.  The bugbear swung his hand and knocked Charles to the ground.  His sword went flying.

“Hold on, Charles,” yelled Jason, who also rushed at the Bugbear.  The Bugbear turned on Jason and growled.  It attacked.  Jason tried to fight it off, bugbear knocked his sword to the ground.

Helen saw the trouble that Jason was in, and threw her spear.  It hit the bugbear in the back, and pierced its thick hide, but did not penetrate deep enough to kill the creature.  Instead the creature roared, and charged towards her.  Penelope came to Helen’s side, and threw her spear, which hit the bugbear in the chest.  It faltered.  It was George who dealt the killing blow with his sword.  The Bugbear was dead.

Meanwhile, General Graten continued to battle the minotaur.  The minotaur managed to knock General Graten’s mace out of his hand.  Then the minotaur opened up his mouth and tried to bite General Graten, but General Graten hit the minotaur in the jaw as hard as he could with his fist.  The minotaur had a huge frame, so the blow did not stun him as much as it would an ordinary man, but it did temporarily set him back.  Then the minotaur hit General Graten with his hand and knocked him to the ground.

Charles picked up the mace that General Graten had dropped, and hit the minotaur with it.  The minotaur next turned its wrath on Charles, and charged into him.  The Minotaur slammed Charles against the wall.  The whole castle seemed to shake, and some of the stones in the wall wobbled as if they would fall loose.  Charles groaned, but mustered his energy to hit the minotaur back with the mace.

It was then that Catherine’s giant serpent creature entered into the fight.  It barred its gigantic fangs, and attacked.  George and Rufus attacked it with their swords, but it flicked its tail and knocked both of them to the ground.  Then, it swung back and opened its mouth wide as if it was going to devour them.  Helen and Penelope managed to pull George and Rufus free, and then they attacked the beast with their spears.

While this was going on, the minotaur was still battling Charles.  Charles would hit the minotaur with his mace, the minotaur would bellow and hit back, and the fight kept continuing.

And while that was going on, the goblins continued to swarm, amassing in greater and greater numbers.

Grace had by this point given up on not using lethal force, and she aimed her arrows with deadly shot at the goblins.  She killed several of them, but she was running out of arrows quickly.  

John was still trying to protect Princess Kolet and Aurora from the goblins.

It was at this point that Amanda, Alicia, Thomas and Marcia showed up to join the feet.  They all came in with various weapons--swords, spears, longstaffs.  They fought back against the goblins ferociously.

Charles called out to Alicia.  “Someone needs to protect the younger children!” he said.  “Go and help them.”

“It’s okay,” said Alicia.  “Sarah and Charlotte have locked Susan, Connor and Eric in a room.”

“Go with them where it’s safe,” Charles ordered.

“We can help,” said Alicia.  “We’re princes and princesses of Castle Tauna.  We’ve been trained to fight.”

Charles didn’t have time to argue as the minotaur charged into him again.  Alicia used her longstaff to knock goblins down, and also occasionally she would thrust the longstaff at a goblin, hook his armor onto the staff, and then lift him up with the staff and throw him at the other goblins.

Amanda waded into the goblin horde with an iron mace, swinging and knocking goblins down left and right.

Thomas attacked the goblins with his sword and shield, while Marcia attacked the goblin horde with a spear.

Meanwhile, George, Rufus, Helen and Penelope were still fighting the serpent.  It flailed widely about as they struck it with their swords and spears.  It darted forwards and backwards, trying to bite them with its fangs.  They weren’t quite sure whether it was poisonous or not.  (Catherine had never actually told them.)  But they took care not to get bitten nonetheless.

Eventually, Jason ran over with an axe, and managed to chop the head off of the serpent.

Now, the bugbear and the serpent were dead.  But they had hardly made a dent in the goblin army.  And the minotaur was still raging.

It was at this point that Alfred came running back.  “Did you find Catherine?” asked General Graten.

“She won’t help us,” said Alfred.  “I tried to talk to her, but she refuses to help.”

“That sounds like her,” said General Graten.  

At that moment, Vivian came rushing in.  “I’ve just heard what has happened,” she said.

“Can you help us?” asked General Graten.

“I can,” Vivian confirmed.  

“Careful Vivian,” came a voice.  Everyone looked.  It was Catherine.  Catherine had decided to join them after all.  “What spell are you going to use?”

“I don’t know,” Vivian said.  “I want to stop the goblins, so--.”

“Well, the easiest way to do that would be to use a kill spell,” said Catherine.  “Of course, kill spells are black magic.  But Midor’s not here, so you don’t have to worry about his usual tut-tutting about the whole affair.”

“You don’t have to use a kill spell,” said Penelope, who was joining her sister.  “Just turn the goblins into little white mice.”

Catherine rolled her eyes as if this discussion was becoming boring.  “If you like.  But you’re wasting a perfect opportunity to learn some really interesting magic.”

“I’ll use the transformation spell,” said Vivian.

“Well, you don’t need my help for that one,” said Catherine.  “But just be careful.  The humans and the goblins are fighting amongst each other, so if you use a blanket spell, you’ll turn everyone into mice.  You’ll need to target each goblin individually.  Just point with your wand when you make the transformation.  And make sure you don’t miss and point at the wrong one, or you’ll turn one of your own family into a mouse.”

“Catherine,” said Alfred, “You have to help her.  Don’t let these monsters overwhelm your family.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” said Catherine.

“Catherine, I know there’s still good in you,” said Alfred.

While Alfred was arguing with Catherine, Vivian turned and started chanting spells, pointing her wand, and turning goblins into mice one by one.  The goblins, although they were busy fighting the other humans, quickly realized what Vivian was doing, and started to charge her.  Their numbers were too great for Vivian to get them all with her spells.

“Put up your forcefield, Vivian dear,” said Catherine.

Vivian did as Catherine advised.  Of course, now that she was busy chanting the spell to keep her forcefield up, she couldn’t use any of her other spells, and she couldn’t help her family in the fight.

“Catherine, this is ridiculous,” said Alfred.  “You could call off these goblins at any minute.  Why are you allowing this fight to continue?”

“Because it's not me who started this fight,” said Catherine.  “They’re the ones who keep trying to provoke a fight in my castle.  Well, now they’ve got one.  Let’s see if they can win it.  If they can’t win it, then maybe they’ll learn their lesson.  If they can win it, then I need to know because I’ll need to recruit some new bodyguards.”

But it was during the chaos of all this fighting that Benevois thought she saw her chance.  She charged into Catherine, who never even saw her coming in all the chaos.  Benevois slapped Catherine across the face.  Before Catherine could react, Benevois’s hand was covering up her mouth.  Without being able to utter anything, Catherine was unable to say spells.  Catherine’s eyes flashed outrage, and she tried to push Benevois away.  But Benevois pushed back, and kept her hand over Catherine’s mouth to prevent the utterance of a spell.

“Benevois, what are you doing?” shouted Alfred.  “Let her go.”

Benevois, however, was too busy struggling with Catherine to respond.

While Alfred stood frozen, not really sure who to help,  George and Rufus ran over to help their mother.  “Quick,” said Benevois.  “Now’s our chance.  Gag her!”

They searched for something to use.  Rufus tore a bit off of his shirt, and they stuffed it into Catherine’s mouth.

The goblins saw that Catherine was in trouble, and they started swarming over.  But George, Rufus and Benevois all knew that whatever happens next, they could absolutely not let Catherine get free.  There was no telling what she would do to them now that they had started the attack on her.

Helen and Penelope ran over to help their brothers and mother.  

Vivian let drop her forcefield so that she could run over and join them.  She started trying to turn as many goblins into mice as she could, while George , Rufus, Helen and Penelope fought off the others.  Meanwhile, Catherine was still trying to free herself, so Benevois struggled with Catherine to keep the gag in her mouth.

Vivian wanted to tell her mother not to hurt Catherine, but she couldn’t afford to take the time to say the words. The goblins were threatening to overwhelm them, and so she needed to continually be turning as many into mice as she could.

“Don’t hurt her,” pleaded Alfred.

“Alfred, you need to help us,” said Benevois.  “I know you love Catherine, but she can’t continue like this.  She needs to be stopped.”

“I swore to protect her,” said Alfred.

“I don’t want to kill her, I just want to stop her,” said Benevois.  “Help me hold her down.  If she breaks free, then it’s either her or us.”

Alfred nodded, and knelt down.  He gently tried to restrain Catherine.  “Catherine, this is for your own good,” he said, as he tried to hold her down.

Meanwhile, the battle continued.  Charles continued to fight the minotaur.  General Graten, Jason, Robert, Grace, John, Amanda, Alicia, Marcia and Thomas all continued to fight the goblins at the other end of the hall.  Everyone was getting tired.

Grace had run out of arrows a long time ago, so she was using a sword now.  

Grace, Robert and John were still forming a protective circle around Kolet and Aurora.

It was at this point that George said to Vivian, “Do you still have the magic sword?” 

“I do,” said Vivian.

“Run and get it,” said George.  “Use your super speed.”  Vivian ran off and got the sword, and came back with her super speed. 

[This is a plot flaw.  I forgot about the super speed and the magic sword at the beginning of this chapter.  Probably need to re-write parts--although it is also conceivable that the battle started so suddenly that Vivian just reacted, and didn’t have her sword with her… Or, possibly have Vivian arrive to the battle late?]

Vivian came back with her sword.  And then, using her super speed, she quickly cut through the goblin army.  Vivian was reluctant to kill them, so at first she simply used her super speed to demonstrate what she could do.  She ran through their ranks, taking weapons out of their hands, and throwing them to the ground.  

But before Vivian could put the entire goblin army to flight, it was at this point that Catherine broke free.

Despite all the people who were trying to pin Catherine down, she managed to mouth a few words, and was able to move her fingers just enough to conjure a spell.  And soon she summoned a burst of energy that flung Alfred, Benevois, George and the rest away from her.

Catherine quickly stood to her feet.  “So,” she said angrily, “this is how you repay my moderation?  Well, I will moderate no more.  Alfred, you have betrayed me for the last time.  Benevois, I was a fool to leave you alive after I got rid of your husband.  George and Rufus, you children of vipers, I’ll burn you alive for this!”

Catherine began chanting spells and waving her hands.

“Aunt Catherine, no!” yelled Vivian.  “No, you mustn’t hurt them!”  Knowing that she needed to stop Catherine’s spells immediately, Vivian quickly chanted a spell of her own, and pointed it at Catherine.  It knocked Catherine off of her feet.

“So, Vivian, it’s come to this,” said Catherine, as she stood up. “I knew one of these days you would have to choose your loyalty.  But I thought I trained you better than this.”

“Catherine, I don’t want to fight you,” said Vivian.  “Just leave my family alone.”

Catherine scoffed.  “Your family attacked me,” she said.  “You saw what happened.”

“I know.  But whatever they did, I can’t let you hurt them.”

“Alright,” said Catherine.  “So here we are.  You against me.  You have more raw power than I do, but I know more spells than you do.  What do you think will happen, Vivian?  Do you think you can beat me?”

“I don’t know,” said Vivian.  “But I have to try.”

Catherine began chanting spells quickly and flinging them at Vivian.  Vivian tried to shield herself by yelling counter-curses and putting up mini-force fields.  it was clear Vivian was on the defensive.

While Vivian was fighting Catherine, George tried to rally the rest of the family.  “Come on,” he said.  “We have to help Vivian.  While Catherine’s distracted by aiming spells at Vivian, we can attack.”

George ran in first with his sword drawn.  The sword, of course, represented a mortal threat that Catherine could not ignore.  It was not clear if George was going to use lethal force or not, but Catherine immediately turned to blast George with a spell.  Catherine uttered a spell and started to wave her wand, but George cut the wand in half.  And then, just at that moment, Catherine was hit by Vivian’s spell, and she fell to the ground.  

Everyone ran around her.  “Is she alright?” Alfred asked.

But before Vivian could answer, the minotaur, who saw what had happened to Catherine and was sworn to protect her, charged.  George, who had his sword drawn, and had been trained as a prince of Castle Tauna to battle monsters, leaped up into the air, and then swung his sword down hard, cutting the minotaur across its chest.  The beast was stung, but then George swung his sword again, and cut off the minotaur’s head.

“I could have done that,” General Graten grumbled.  “If I had had a chance to fight that beast with a proper sword.”

There was, as always, little time to talk.  The goblins were still amassing and still attacking.

“She’ll be okay,” Vivian managed to say to Alfred through all the chaos.  “Catherine never taught me a kill spell.  And even if she had, I would never have used it on my own aunt.  It’s only a stun spell.  But we have to get her restrained before she wakes up.  Alfred, I know you love her, but it’s for her own good.  Otherwise we would have to fight her.”

“I understand,” said Alfred.  “It’s difficult to worry about restraining Catherine with those goblins running everywhere, though.”

“My magic sword and my super speed,” said Vivian to herself.  “Now is the time.”

Vivian grabbed the magic sword that could cut through anything, and using her superspeed, she fought the goblins.  Once the goblin army realized how ferocious she was in battle, they began to flee.  The goblins didn’t leave castle Tauna, unfortunately  (They were still waiting for orders from their leader, King Grinthal, who Catherine still had imprisoned in the glass bottle.)  But they did turn and flee to various parts of the castle.  Some of them fled to hide in the cellars, some of them hid under stairways, some of them hid in cupboards.

Once the area had been cleared of goblins, they set about trying up Catherine so that she was bound and gagged and couldn’t move.  “I’m so sorry, Aunt Catherine,” Vivian said to her unconscious aunt.  “There was no other way.”