Chapter 26
Doris didn't even need to turn in the direction of the voice to know who it was.
"Aunt Gemima," Doris couldn't help scowling. "You're back."
Gemima was standing a few feet away from them, looking highly excited about something. Beside her stood the tall and proud Brandon who looked much healthier than the last time they have seen him.
"Before any of you launch into a huge speech on why you hate me, I would like to tell you something," Gemima said.
Alexander shook his head, "You've done much harm already. We have to figure out some way of breaking the deal and time is running."
"I-"
"Don't try to explain yourself," Adam said, coldly. "I have to go save my family which you very well left to die when you abandoned us."
"Will you let me speak?" Gemima shrieked.
Brandon gripped her hand and spoke up for the first time. Even though nobody really wanted to listen his voice had that quality of gravity and sincerity that is so hard to find in people. The moment he began speaking, everyone decided to give him a moment of their precious time.
"We are not here to provide excuses. What Gemima did was inexcusable..." but he smiled a small smile at Gemima. "Gemima told me about the last part of the deal and how it was impossible to crack it. It's not. Arabella is alive."
"You're lying," Giroud immediately countered.
Doris' ever-fast brain processed the information surprisingly slowly. Her mother was alive. She didn't try to suspect Brandon. She couldn't. If someone was telling her, her mother was alive, how could she not dare to believe it? Questions like how and where popped up in her brain but they immediately got pushed back.
"Is she fine?" Doris asked and was surprised to hear her father simultaneously ask the same question.
"I don't know," Brandon said. "All I know is that the faerie we freed from the curse returned after Gemima and Arabella tried to break through, he returned. He picked up Arabella's body and told me that if anybody came looking she would be at the Castle Sababurg Hotel."
"Why did he take her there?" Alexander asked.
Brandon looked sorry, "She was hurt and from what I could see through the bars, the faerie put her in a magic-induced sleep so that she could recover."
Doris asked angrily, "And he just left her there? How was she supposed to wake up?"
"I don't know," Brandon sighed. "That was all I could see."
"When Brandon told me this, I had to come and tell you guys," Gemima said. "I'm sorry for...everything."
Adam nodded, "We should go as fast as we can."
Doris looked at Giroud with hope, "Would you be able to teleport us?"
He shrugged helplessly, "My power has been running low after we teleported to Bremen to get to you two. I could try though."
"That's alright," Gemima smiled, eager to get back into the good books. "Brandon is nearly healed. He can teleport us."
"I suppose all this is out of my understanding," Patrick suddenly said. It was surprising that he had managed to stay out of attention for so long without even a single cutting, derogatory remark. He had really improved after Doris' burst of anger.
Nobody answered him. Brandon held out a hand and a red light emanated from his chest slowly covering everyone. With a flash they were gone.
"Well, goodbye!" Patrick said a little late.
Doris opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by huge green trees. In front of her, the great castle stood looming over the trees. Every window was lighted up.
Doris smiled. Somewhere, behind one of those windows lay her mother. So close. She would finally get to see her. She felt happy but she felt wary too. What if something happened and they lost her forever. No, she wouldn't let anything happen now. Not now when she was so close.
"Halt, you're under arrest," came a sharp voice.
Doris turned with her heart feeling as if it had been pushed to her toes. Two faerie hovered lightly above the neatly cut grass.
"Court officers," whispered Adam, remembering them from Zeigenhain. They were the officers who had been sent by the Court to arrest Doris and Adam. Their time couldn't be up, Adam thought tensely. They still had-
"We still have forty minutes," Gemima said confidently.
"Nothing worthwhile can be achieved in forty minutes, Merryweather. So, we would appreciate it if you step back and let us arrest the two kids and the two fugitives. We will ask the Court to reconsider your trial, Merryweather, even you are a relative of McQueen here which automatically sentences you to, if not a death sentence, a life sentence. I am Court Officer Thomas and I arrest-" the tall faerie with shining silver eyes was cut off by Brandon.
"If you are a worthy Court officer you should know that you cannot arrest someone if they have been given a time lease by the Court until and unless they're time lease is over."
"And you are?"
"Brandon Flamestone, Gold Band Court Officer," Brandon said coolly.
The two officers looked at each other with wide eyes. After conversing something in low tones, Officer Thomas said, "Officer Flamestone has been missing since a very long time. We will consult your matter with the Court but as of now we have decided that we will arrest you too for harbouring fugitives and criminals as well as impersonation. If any of you try to put up a fight, I am sorry to say, that casualties will occur."
Adam grabbed Doris' hand, "We are not going with them."
Giroud hands lit up, "You filthy Court faeries! Today I'm going to teach you a lesson." His eyes lit up with a strange light and he pointed his palms towards the sky.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
"Its raining?" Doris asked looking at the dark night sky.
Giroud turned to look at Doris and Adam through his eerie eyes, "Run!"
Adam started dragging Doris along with him. Doris scowled, "Adam, I can run without you pulling me as if-Ow!"
Doris rubbed her head and looked up, "Oh my! He's called up a hailstorm." She ran behind Adam who had by now reached the high wall surrounding the castle.
Huge hailstones began pelting the faeries from the sky. Immediately there were sirens of alarm from the castle. There were noises and shouts coming from the castle
One of the officers called down acidic rain which sizzled and brunt everything it fell on. Alexander screamed as drops of acid seeped through his clothes and burned his skin.
Doris abandoned running towards the wall when she heard her father scream "Dad?" she called putting her hands over her head to shield herself from the hard, sharp hailstones that were falling from the sky. There was the smell of burning flesh all around. Doris bit down as she felt a drop or two of acid fall on her.
She saw Alexander hunched behind Giroud trying to light a match. "Dad?" she shouted incredulously. In midst of all the confusion her Dad was trying to light a match? "We need to go run for cover, Dad. Why are you lighting a match?"
"Shush," Alexander said. "I'm trying to make a repellent bomb for the faeries. It worked in the past. There's no reason why it shouldn't work now."
There was huge blast of wind as Brandon called up his powers. The wind was so sharp that it seemed to cut across Doris' face. There were whispers all around them. Horrible airy whispers that seemed to say something terrible. Doris felt that if she tried to listen anymore, she would cry.
Alexander tensed, "He's called up the sylphs."
"What?" Doris asked.
"It's Brandon. He's called the sylphs. Monsters of the air," Alexander said, abandoning any attempt to make his repellent bomb.
The officer who had called up the acid rain now flashed a spire of light from his right hand into the cloudy sky.
"Doris!" Adam shouted trying to catch her attention.
Doris hardly heard him over the gale but when she saw what he was pointing at, her mouth turned dry. The Castle guards were flying towards the fight. Some of the were already overhead
Doris and Alexander ran towards the Adam while Gemima flicked fireballs at the guards who tried to stop them. Doris stopped beside Giroud who was laughing wildly as he rained everybody with sharp, heavy hailstones. His skin was burning and healing simultaneously and he smelled of burning.
"Giroud, your skin is burning. You need to come with us. Giroud!" Doris cried tugging at his hand but Giroud seemed to have turned deaf. He didn't even look at Doris. He just looked at the officers and the guards showering them with hailstones. Laughing all the time in a weird, high-pitched voice. He jerked free of Doris' grip and flew into the air.
Officer Thomas touched the ground and from everywhere roots sprouted up, trying to entrap anything and everything with two legs. One of them grabbed hold of Gemima and began tying itself slowly around her neck.
Brandon didn't even need to look. One of his invisible sylphs screamed through the air cutting Gemima free.
"Doris!" Alexander said looking at the coils of roots that were moving towards them while Gemima tried to burn the roots.
Doris nodded and taking one last look at the fast faerie she ran towards the wall. Adam stood beside the wall glaring at them for being slow and reckless.
"Took your time," he commented wiping the his wet face. He cupped his hands and gestured to Doris to jump over.
"I won't be able to do that," Doris said, eyes wide.
"You will," Adam said.
"He's right. You will," Alexander said, taking a liking to the boy.
"C'mon, Doris," Adam said watching the ground wearily as one of the guards began turning the ground to a swamp
Doris, knowing that there was no choice, walked back, ran and stepping over Adam's hands jumped up and caught hold of the castle wall. After tangling for a few seconds, the weight of her long hair and the backpack threatening to show her exactly how good gravity was, she hauled herself over. With a jump she landed on the other side, twisting her ankle because of the dumb, healed slippers that finally shattered into a million pieces.
"Are you okay?" Alexander and Adam asked from the other side.
Doris swallowed the pain that was travelling up her feet and ankle and said, "Y-yeah. I'm fine." She concentrated on healing the cuts on her feet after trying her best to remove some of the glass. Immediately the pain dulled and she felt stronger. Feeling happy that at least she could manage her powers she looked up as Adam helped Alexander over the wall.
Her Dad followed a similar jump resulting in his yelping as he felt his ankle twist after coming in contact with the ground.
"Come over, Adam," Doris shouted.
"Coming," came his voice.
Doris smiled as Adam's head appeared over the wall. He smiled back at her as he climbed over.
Doris' smile dropped when she saw a guard flying right at Adam. She called up an ice spear but by the time she threw it, Adam had already been jerked into the air by the faerie.
"Adam," Doris screamed. She couldn't throw the spear now. What if she missed and hit Adam instead.
Adam shouted, "Go ahead. I'll come. Go ahead. Please!" He struggled against the grip of the guard and finding an opening, took out his sword keychain. As soon as he touched the keychain on the guard's sword, the increased weight pulled both of them down to the ground, vanishing from Doris' sight.
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VOTE if you're enjoying the fights, the drama and the thrills! I, for one, love writing it. I love the fantasy genre and this is my tribute to it. What's your favourite genre?