2. Mountain view

Hilda sat in front of her magical mirror and looked at the affairs that were happening in the kingdom of king Walt.

Walt himself had music playing and was watching his dancing wife. He never got enough of that, it seemed. The queen had gotten fed up with it long ago, actually on the same day that she had gotten her nice diamond shoes from Walt.

The seven dwarfs were working in their mines again as usual, with no more interruptions from aforementioned queen.

Johan, the mirror-maker was merrily making mirrors in his shop.

"Everything its usual boring self," she concluded. That was a good thing, as she had something pressing on her mind. The challenge.

A challenge was a very personal thing. It was not done to consult another witch on something like that, as that would be unfair towards the challenging party.

Hilda took her crystal ball and sat down to talk to her girlfriend, Baba Yaga.

"Hilly baby, what is the matter this morning?", the cackling voice rang through the room, as the ugly face of Baba Yaga appeared in the ball.

"I got challenged again."

"Oh dear. Same guy?" Baba Yaga looked worried, and with reason. Lamador, king Herald's sorcerer, was getting stronger and stronger. Each time he challenged Hilda it became more difficult for the wicked witch to get out of it alive and in one piece. The last challenge had almost cost Hilda her life.

"Yup. Lamador again. And again he specifically wrote in the note that it would be to the death. And from the excitement in the handwriting I sense that he means friggin' serious business this time. He wants my ass, Babs."

"Damn, girl, I wish that was all he wants. From what I heard he's not looking bad." Baba Yaga frowned. This was seriously bad news.

"Babs..."

"Yeah, I know, Hilly. Sorry, but a dirty mind is a joy forever."

Hilda could not help but chuckle over that remark. "And you know like no one else, I am sure of that. I hope I can call on you if there is something becoming more clear about the challenge, Babs."

"Of course, kiddo, just get in touch and we'll try to work something out. Maybe we can also shanghai Strega. I know she doesn't have a problem with bending the rules slightly concerning challenges."

Hilda felt good about that. Friends were just great. "Thanks, girlfriend. I'll let you know."

"Take care, Hilda." Baba Yaga's face was very serious when she ended the conversation.

The wicked witch got up and started pacing through her room again. The challenge worried her, much more than previous times.

Memories of the last one swam in front of her eyes, in technicolor and monophonic sound. The challenge had been set up in a labyrinth of dungeons, where black dragons, ghouls and all kinds of crawly creepies were going round. There would be nothing wrong with that of course, if the creatures would have hindered Lamador as much as Hilda. She, however, had been busy fighting off cartloads of them, while Lamador was sneaking up from behind, through a secret passageway that he had created (very illegal, that move had cost him four points).

It had been sheer luck that one of the black dragons had taken a running leap and misjudged its distance to get to Hilda. It had overshot its target, fell on the floor close to Lamador and its bulk had slammed the sorcerer into the wall before he could launch the fatal attack on Hilda. This had been the end of that challenge, as there were only a few bones in Lamador's body that had not been not broken by the surprise the black dragon had bestowed upon him.

Afterwards Lamador had sulked for weeks, as the dragon had not only broken most of the sorcerer, but also his favourite wand.

The judges had called the challenge a draw, Hilda remembered and became furious about that decision once again. She had clearly been on the winning hand, she was convinced of that. There had only been three more long corridors filled with unpleasant creatures she would have had to take out. And some twnety-four dragons. And a small army of ghouls. And Lamador, of course.

More and more angry about the whole thing, she grabbed a broom, charged outside and shot into the air as a raging bullet.

"Bye bye," said the house, "and be careful."

Less than a minute later Hilda was back.

"That was quick," said the house.

"Shut up, just forgot something," the wicked witch growled, ran in, grabbed her crystal ball, and ran out again stuffing the object in a pocket of her cloak. Then she flew off again, cloak flapping.

"She's really got it bad," the door mumbled, closing the door.

Inside the house, a cup with two goldfish on, disagreed with the house. "She needs it bad. We've been saying that for ages."

Hilda was not aware of the fact that she was the subject of discussion between her house and her teacup. She was heading for the mountains. And that in more than one way. Yes, she was on the run, but she was also going towards the mountains that were in the east of king Walt's realm. Nobody in their sane mind went there, as it was known that there be witches.

The joke was, of course, that there was only one witch in the mountains, being Hilda, and she had brought the rumour to life herself. She was not there full-time, but wanted that area as a retreat if she wanted to think. Or try out new stuff. Or, occasionally, sit there and be scared for a while. Now was one of these occasions.

She landed her broom on a high peak. The view from there, she knew, was breathtaking. The wind however was breathtaking too today. Not being a feeble little witch, Hilda magicked up a chair and was determined to sit and enjoy the mountain view, but before she could sit down, the wind had taken the chair away and was toying with it. Hilda stared at the object plummeting into the depths as it was on its very erratic course.

"Not a good start," the wicked witch tried to say, but even her words fell victim to the wind's playful mood. It obviously was smarter to find a location that would not eventually rip all clothes from her body.

It was a tricky lift-off, against the wind, but Hilda was practically born and raised on a broom. She made it to the lower plain, a shielded plateau almost a quarter mile long with steep rocky walls around it. Granted, the view was not as stunning here, but being able to breathe was worth the compromise.

She magicked up a new chair, one that remained in place. She sat down on it. Wiggled her behind a few times to make sure it was stable. Nodded.

Hilda popped out her wand and arranged for a table with some hot tea and cupcakes. There also was a small red cushion on which she placed her crystal ball. It was essential now. She was determined to contact a few people that might have tips for her.

The teapot had filled a cup for her and she picked it up. Sipping and thinking in silence, her eyes wandered over the rocks, the high peaks around. It was good to sit here.

Suddenly her crystal ball sang to her.

Curious who that could be, Hilda put down her tea and waved over the ball. "Talk to me," she invited the caller.

"Hello," a very sophisticated voice said as the emblem of a very prominent school for witchcraft and magic appeared in the ball. "I would like to know why Tommy has not reported in. His classes have started already."

The wicked witch grinned. "Well, maybe because I ate him," she said to the emblem.

"Oh. Really. How inconvenient. I will take this down and relay the information. Thank you."

The emblem faded and Hilda snickered. "Stupid person, not knowing how to contact someone." There could be no mercy for people like that.