Silence filled the air around the Black Mountains as Caroline stared, frozen, into the old eyes of the hag, standing in complete seriousness with her words before her. Anne and Phillip continued hugging one another together, wondering what could possibly happen next between the two wise women. Caroline made the first move. She reached her hands out, her fingers outstretched for the woman. The hag flinched, falling over, but Caroline’s soft fingers were there to catch her. She scooped her easily into her palm and lifted her from the ground.
The woman began to shake as Caroline took her to her face. “I’m not going to hurt you. But I must know, now, who you are and how you know so much? What do you mean, my father’s love?”
“P-P-Princess…” stuttered the hag. “You are so young, there are many things you shall not understand until…”
“NO,” bellowed Caroline. “Madam, understand me very clearly. I have had to grow very, very old in the last day. You have no idea the things I have been forced to see… and foresee in my mind’s eye. And now, I must know… NOW… about my father, because you seem to know far more than I or anyone still alive would know or be willing to tell.”
More silence floated about, the woman’s shaking finally ceasing, and she began to breathe a little more heavily, not out of physical fear, but apprehension. “Yes, you have grown older, haven’t you, your Highness?” she breathed. “I am sorry.”
“As am I for this method I am using to acquire the information, madam; I normally make a point to not pick up individuals without permission, unless it is a dire situation. This happens to be one of those. Again, I say, I have no desire to harm you, and I shan’t harm you even if you don’t tell me. But I must know now, and I ask you out of the goodness of my heart, one last time: Who are you?”
The woman took a deep breath and sighed. “My name is Christine. Catherine is my older sister.”
Catherine, in the Great Hall of the palace before a crowd of Others and the royal hostages, held the poised crystal in the air above the rock. Licking her lips, the tantalizing truth of her coming future abilities already beginning to fill her, she stabbed downward with all her might, half a century’s worth of unbridled rage unleashed in one stroke.
Catherine’s fingers were wrenched apart by an invisible force, and the crystal went flying backward with such speed it released an ear-splitting scream in its wake. Others leapt to the ground to escape the projectile as it whizzed right through the air where their heads had been. One of the orange soldiers wasn’t too lucky, and the crystal sliced his head cleanly in half as it continued flying forward. Meeting a large wall-mounted stone pillar, the crystal lodged itself halfway into the wall. The witch’s eyes bugged out, looking into her hand to decipher what was going on. She was legitimately bewildered.
“Was that supposed to happen?” snorted one of the Others, half laughing. Catherine, without even looking at him, flung her hand into the air and pointed at him, whereupon a sword-shaped bolt of purple energy shot from her fingertip. It slashed directly through his armor and into his chest, dropping him to the ground dead instantly.
“Does anyone ELSE have a question?” whispered Catherine, although everyone had become silent so quickly they could hear her. “Any opinions, anything? Good. Because I don’t intend to hear them if you do.” She strode across the room, Others leaping out of her way then to clear a path. She stopped in front of the wall and waved her hand. A shimmering silver glow appeared around her hand and the crystal, and it plucked itself from the wall, returning to her grip. As she took a step back toward the rock, though, she found she was unable to take another step forward, as if there was an invisible wall in front of her. Leaning over, she calmly placed the crystal on the ground, and took a step forward. She stepped past the barrier without any problems. Gripping the precious key back in her fingers, though, she found herself unable to continue forward again. She paced back and forth, slamming her fist against the barrier as Others dispersed more to make a path, but there was a distinct circular perimeter around the rocky keyhole by that point. Rearing her hand back, Catherine sent a spray of sparks at the wall. They passed through with no problem, but still didn’t allow her to walk through. Breathing slowly and taking several minutes to charge up the energy in her fists, Catherine sent a volley of her strongest, most powerful combative curses in the direction of the perimeter. They all passed through as well, shattering large sections of the carved ceiling. A large chunk of rock fell down from the ceiling, crushing one of the Others underneath it. And still, Catherine couldn’t pass through with the crystal to begin getting close to the rock again.
“Richard, Richard, Richard…” chuckled Catherine under her breath, rubbing her chin in frustration. “Even in death, you continue to amuse and challenge me… DUCHESS!” she suddenly screamed out, a smile on her face, at Elizabeth. “Good news: the time for your use has come. I request a conference with you!” Catherine waggled her pointer finger and yellow electric bonds wrapped themselves around Elizabeth, and promptly flew her across the hall, to a point right in front of the witch, where she hovered above the ground. “I think you know what I want already, but in case you’re too busy wallowing in grief over the loss of your beloved kingdom, I’ll be very clear about what it is I want: How, might I ask, does one remove this barrier from around the keyhole?”
Elizabeth grimaced at her, then spoke up with the slightest of smiles. “I’m afraid I’ve forgotten in my old age, Catherine.”
“I see. Indeed, indeed…” answered Catherine tapping at her lip in thought. “Perhaps a little perk would jog your memory,” she quipped, clenching her fist together and tightening the electric bonds around Elizabeth, who grunted loudly in pain.
“You’re… you’re…” sputtered Caroline in surprise at the tiny old woman in the middle of her palm. “You’re… Catherine’s…”
“Yes. I didn’t want to have to say it, princess…”
“Why do you help me, then?”
“I am no longer loyal to my flesh and blood, I…”
“No LONGER?”
“Yes… that is the other fact I had hoped would be unnecessary in this process, but I see now your determination princess, so I see no further reason to keep it hidden from you. I used to be in league with my sister, and I used to be nearly as powerful as she. But then I had an epiphany: I saw the great harm she was causing to the world, and the harm she could further cause if we continued our work. So I voiced my opinions to a very angry witch who happened to be more powerful than myself. One thing led to another, and I found myself locked in this haggard body, almost all of my powers removed.”
“So… you’ve become good, then. Why haven’t you shown yourself before?”
She sighed again. “It was your father’s own goodness that ensured I had a place to be. You see… I participated in Catherine’s original plan that very nearly toppled your father’s kingdom. I was instrumental in the near destruction of hundreds of thousands of citizens and soldiers. It was only my last-moment realization that allowed such a thing to be prevented.”
“My father’s goodness?”
“Yes. He forgave my transgressions, and allowed me to leave in peace, as long as I stayed away from the kingdom for the rest of my life. My sister and her armies, on the other hand…”
“He forced them from the land completely.”
Christine nodded slowly. “Yes. Rather violently, I might add, and yes, he wanted to ensure they could never return without the threat of annihilation. So he weakened them to the point that, at the time, it seemed Catherine could never return and complete what she had started.”
“How?”
“I should think it quite obvious. While I was locked in combat with my sister, after I had shared with him my plan to stop my sister, he was busily crafting something with his alchemists, from my previous supervision, that could finally prevent Catherine from hurting anyone again.”
“What was it?”
“Or rather…” coughed Christine. “What IS it? It is a lock, of sorts… a door, holding the power of Catherine and all in her bloodline within it. As I was near death, Catherine having brutalized me with so many curses that I ended up in this frail form, Richard arrived. He saved me, actually. Catherine, though more powerful than I and on the verge of victory, was weakened, and your father took his chance.”
“How? What happened?”
“He used a very, very old curse that not even Catherine was aware of, and I only happened upon from something in my childhood, so many centuries ago, from my own mother. My mother could always see the ambition in Catherine, the drive to take what wasn’t hers and turn it into something that not only WAS hers, but was powerful enough to swallow up everything around it, like a sickness. And so, she taught me a curse… well, melded it into my memory, at least, as I was too young and far, far too weak at the time to successfully perform it, but it was there, and I gave it to Richard.”
“What did he do with it?”
“He disempowered Catherine, while she was in a weakened state. He locked nearly all of her power and the power of her descendants into a container… in this case, an unassuming boulder… that he buried beneath the palace. From there, he was able to retake the fight in his favor, save me, and save his people from destruction. Without Catherine, the Others and their ilk are nothing.”
“But… but…” stuttered Caroline, trying to process all of this at once. “What’s prevented her from retaking her power? Surely there are ways to retrieve it?”
“Yes, indeed there are, princess. Your father was aware of this too. The only way to release the power is to place the key to the keyhole inside, which happens to be a pure, simple crystal. Your father split the crystal into two and hid them in very far off lands where it seemed Catherine could never find them. Splitting them into further pieces simply isn’t possibly, the magic doesn’t allow it. Well… Catherine was consumed with regaining her power, as you might imagine, and she’s spent the last several decades searching for them, a witch possessed. And now, I believe she’s found them, which is why she’s returned to the kingdom, not only to retake it in her name, but…”
“To retake her power, as well…” breathed Caroline, growing more fearful with each new piece of the puzzle that was revealed.
“Precisely.”
“Then… then… she might have it already! She might…” gasped Caroline, total dread filling her heart.
“No, princess, not yet. Your father would not have been so clumsy. For added insurance against this possibility, he placed another series of interwoven curses around the keyhole. Catherine does not possess the necessary ability to get past them.”
“She… she is not powerful enough to overcome a spell?” asked the princess, her heart rate returning to normal for the time being.
“It is not a question of power, princess, but one of pure, simplistic possibility, and this doesn’t happen to be a possibility.”
“Then what… shall she do? I cannot imagine she will be satisfied with this.”
Christine sighed deeply, laying a hand on the soft heel of Caroline’s hand as she continued sitting in it comfortably, trying to sum up the words. “No, she shan’t, princess. And rightly so. Because there is a method around it, there always is. But it has nothing to do with how many charms or curses she can summon to stop it; it, just like the crystal to the stone, has a key. Your father, as I’m sure you know, was never one for dangerous simplicity when it came to the protection of those he loved.”
Caroline’s eyes welled with a few tears at this reminder of her father’s fierce protection and sacrifice. “Yes, I know. So… there is a way to undo it, but Catherine is unaware of it?”
“Yes… it would require one person other than Catherine herself to place the crystal into the rock. The spell was cast with the express intention of this one person being able to unlock the vast source of power contained inside that simple stone. I know it was not your father, as he was unable to choose himself as the one when he cast the spell. There was a great deal of complexity involved in the plan.”
“Who is it, then?”
“I… I am afraid I don’t know. It could be…”
“Mother?” she gasped, shaking a bit with fear. “What if they…”
“THAT is why you should listen to me, princess. You need to run. I’m certain they won’t kill the duchess, because you and I both know she won’t place the crystal inside the rock if she can help it. And the only thing that would make her do it would be the possible danger of her children.”
“You mean…”
“Leverage. If you are there, Catherine WILL use you and your young siblings to her advantage, make no mistake of that, and I also have a feeling Duchess Elizabeth won’t have the strength to watch the three of you tortured in Catherine’s cruel and unusual ways. She WOULD place the crystal into the rock, and then all of us are lost.”
Caroline closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek to the grass far below, and she swallowed hard. She knew these words were correct. And yet she knew there was no escape, as Christine seemed to believe. “Your words are true, Chrstine, but it doesn’t change the fact that Catherine WILL get her hands on her power eventually, no matter how long she has to scour the Earth for us. And… someone, particularly of my size, wouldn’t be hard to track down. It would simply be delaying the inevitable, magic ring or not. Do not lie to yourself, Christine, you must know this better than anyone who has ever lived or will ever live. Catherine cannot and will not stop until she has everything she’s ever wanted, and everything else lies burning beneath her feet.”
It was Christine’s turn to be silent. She began to quake a little with fear of the inevitable. “I know, princess. I… I have heard of your wisdom, from so many of the traders who pass through and have seen you working with the poor and vulnerable. I admire you, princess, I hope you know that.”
“There is no time for this, Christine; I appreciate your words, but we must act.”
“What do you intend, your Highness?”
“We have to take the fight to Catherine. It is the only hope.”
“Why?”
Caroline smiled confidently. “Because she won’t be expecting it. She thinks we’re running for the hills, and when she finds she herself is unable to unlock her powers, she’ll take her time sending someone to find us, knowing it would only be a matter of time before we were captured. But if we go now, when she is still vulnerable, while some of the loyals still defend the kingdom… she will never again be as weak as she is at this moment. Once she stamps out the remaining opposition, she will have no one left to stop her once she finds us and forces my mother to complete the unlocking of her power.”
Christine shook her head in proud disbelief. “You are just like your father, Caroline. You are kind, wise, and sweet, but in the hour of greatest need, when ones such as myself have few answers, you are willing to stay standing and face the threat like a lone warrior. You will be an amazing queen, truly unrivaled for the rest of existence, in this kingdom.”
Caroline blushed. “Thank you, Christine, for your words and help. Now…”
“If you are set on this plan, princess, there is little I can give you, but there is at least something I can do to help you.”
“What is it?”
“To begin, you shall wear the ring back into the kingdom. Don’t allow Catherine to know you are there until it is absolutely necessary.”
“Will she know that…”
“Yes, she will sense your presence very easily. She has been around long enough to be attuned to such things, whether or not someone is visible. But it will give you more time and, more importantly, give you an advantage in facing her armies, which no-doubt will have turned the kingdom into a fortress-like battleground. You’ll need every advantage to pass them.”
Caroline nodded, swallowing dryly. “Yes, I know of this. What else?”
“I can create a shield around you and your siblings. A very, very weak one. It won’t be much, and it certainly won’t hold up under Catherine’s curses, but it should help protect you from most physical attack and, for a short time, magical as well.”
“Very well. Thank you. Do you require the poles again?”
“Yes. If you could place me back on the ground, gentle princess, I might perform the necessary functions…”
“Yes, of course,” answered Caroline. “I hope you will forgive my bluntness in discovering the truth.”
“I will indeed, Caroline. You… you have earned to hear what I have told you after so much deception, uncertainty, and pain. I am sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. Now…” said Caroline, allowing Christine to slip from her fingers back into the metal pole ring. “Phillip? Anne?” she said, holding out her hand. The siblings, who had been waiting patiently on the ground, unable to hear the conversation, scurried forward into Caroline’s hand.
“What did she say?” asked Anne.
“She was telling me of how we are going to prevent Catherine’s victory,” answered Caroline straightly, deciding this was not the right time for the siblings to hear the whole story.
“What are we doing, then?” squeaked Phillip. “Do I get to carry a sword now?”
“No, Phillip,” laughed the gigantic young woman. “But you will get to march with me into the kingdom again. We’re going to save everyone, just like the warriors in the stories.”
“Just like them? All of them?”
“Yes.”
“Like… heroes?”
“We shall see, Phillip, we shall see,” answered Caroline.
“PRINCESS!” yelled Christine, the energy already charging up in her arms and through the ring of the poles. “Stand still!” Caroline, Phillip, and Anne all stood their ground as Christine’s energy orb shot forward, engulfing all of them in a brief flash of light. Looking tired but satisfied, Christine nodded her small head up to Caroline, indicating that it had worked.
“What happened?” piped Phillip.
“She was giving us protection for entering the kingdom, Phillip. We shan’t be harmed by the fires and arrows of our foes, so we needn’t fear them.”
“But… what about the scary witch woman?”
Caroline paused, having no clear answer. “Do not fear her. I shall deal with her, and ensure everyone’s safety. I will protect you. I am sure of it,” lied Caroline. Her brother nodded quietly, seemingly satisfied. Placing her siblings back on the ground, Caroline snatched the ring back up for later, then moved her hand back to Christine again. “Might I have another brief word before parting?” she asked.
“Of course, your Highness, anything,” said Christine, hobbling over the bump of Caroline’s finger and into her palm, which rose up into the air. Caroline took her close to her face again so she could whisper, out of earshot of her siblings.
“Christine… you said… you said I would be destroyed by… my father’s love. I do not understand.”
Christine sighed. “Princess, I did not mean to say such a thing. Please, just go now while you still have the chance. It is not necessary to your noble aims, and with each passing moment it will become more and more difficult for you to succeed.”
“Please. I must know,” begged Caroline, her dried tears on her cheeks glistening in the sunlight. “I am no longer a princess, remember.”
Christine closed her eyes, pulling her hood from her head, revealing her matted hair and looking up uncertainly at the gigantic monarch’s clear blue eyes, pleading silently with her for answers. “No, you are not a princess anymore, your Highness.”
“Please.”
“Caroline… dear, dear, Caroline… I simply meant it in the sense of Catherine’s near takeover of the kingdom.”
“Yes. How did it happen?”
“She didn’t just waltz in and attack your father’s powerful nation.”
“What do you mean? How did she do it then?”
Christine gulped. “She was not your father’s foe to begin with. She was, what he thought, his first love. Catherine used to be the queen of Richard’s kingdom, because they were once husband and wife.”