56. Back home

The next morning, the castle woke up to an alarmed cry and very soon after that there were sounds of loud trumpets.

William and Hilda flew out of bed. They were immediately awake and understood that this was not a regular morning call. As they came into their living room, they heard the sound of feet running through the corridor and someone asking questions to the guard in front of the door.

Then there was a knock on the door and a voice asking permission to enter. The way the question was put made it clear that the answer was 'yes' at any rate. Hilda undid her magic seal and opened the door. It was, as they had already expected, Gounar.

"Have you left this room in any way overnight?" He did not waste time on social graces, so there was something very bad at hand.

"No," said Hilda. "Your man at the door can vouch for that side, and the magical seals on the window, as you may check, are still there. We have the habit of sleeping at night. What happened?"

Gounar checked the seals at the windows, to be certain. Then he turned to Hilda. "The king's brother was murdered last night. His servants found him early in the morning. You are to remain in your rooms until further notice." The soldier-magician did not wait for a response. With long strides he left the suite, the door was closed and the couple were left to their own limited devices.

Hours passed in which they did not hear anything. Repeated questions asked to the guard, through the closed door, did not make them any wiser as the guard was not informed about anything either.

Someone came to bring them breakfast. The same person came to bring them lunch. And still there was no news about the background on Tudris' death, nor any information when they could leave for home.

"I have a faint feeling that they will never catch the person who did it," said Hilda.

William looked at her. "You mean..."

The wicked witch nodded. "I'd be surprised if it weren't so. Tudris was useful to get us here and annoy us, and that's it. It's scary."

William nodded. He understood why she did not wanted to speak Lamador's name out loud. The whole castle was loaded with magic, so it would be very reasonable to assume there was something to alert him if his name was mentioned. Especially now.

Boredom had come to take them over, and had left again as it had gotten bored itself from the atmosphere in the suite, when finally the door swung open. It was not Gounar, but one of the lesser, non-magical soldiers who came in.

"I bring a message from the great sorcerer," he said. "It is time for you to leave. Your carriage and your men are already waiting for you. You are to follow me, so there is no delay in your departure." It was obvious that the man was instructed by nothing less than a drill-sergeant.

Hilda nodded and in silence she shrunk their luggage, after which William slipped that in his pocket. "Did anyone find out who the killer is?", she asked the soldier as they walked out of the suite and down the corridor.

"No, he has not been found yet. But we will find him." The soldier also had been instructed to remain impersonal.

When they arrived at their carriage, they were greeted by Captain Lambert and the rest of the group. No trace of Lamador, or King Herald and his spouse, Queen Warda. The soldier who had taken them out of the castle handed a scroll to Hilda, the text of which cleared them of any accusation that was made against them previously.

The trip home went uneventfully, unless a thunderstorm was to be considered an event. Once they had left the land of King Herald, they dared to talk about their thoughts concerning the murder of Tudris.

"I am convinced that this is all a setup of Lamador's," said Hilda, "as a display of force what he can get away with. Sort of in front of our faces even."

William understood. It filled him with a very unpleasant feeling all of a sudden, about the upcoming challenge. If Lamador was the kind to be so bold and brutal with the brother of his king, then he would not hesitate to pull even worse tricks on them.

Hilda reached for his hand and squeezed it. "It seems that you are beginning to learn about Lamador at a very rapid pace now, my sweet man."

"Am I that obvious?", William asked.

"I have that feeling thing inside me, remember?" Hilda snuggled up to him, allowing him with all kinds of pleasure to wrap an arm around her. "And I am glad about that. It is good to be with you."

William nodded. "Yes, it is good to be with me, I agree."

"Oh, you!!"

Captain Lambert, who rode along next to the carriage, worried about the strange noises that came from its inside which were accompanied by some serious rocking of the vehicle. He wondered if he should halt the convoy to see what was happening...

The carriages and the horses clattered into the palace yard. Messengers had gone ahead already, informing King Walt that the two honourable magical people were on their way, cleared of all accusations.

William, and even Hilda, was impressed by the reception that was waiting for them. There was a large musical band, which surprised William as it seemed to have more members than he had seen in the whole land so far. A long line of tables was put out, all laid very nicely, laden with food and glasses. The king himself and also the queen were there. King Walt had arranged for the musical band to be quiet for a while, so William could meet his wife. No music meant she'd be able to stand still, as the magical shoes were as ever on her feet and not going anywhere else.

The guards who had been in the escort were all treated as heroes, their comrades making an honorary row to welcome them back. The carriage that transported Hilda and William was welcomed in the same manner, which was quite the experience for the wizard.

"Don't show them that you are tickled purple, William," Hilda warned him. "We're magical, we are supposed to be used to this."

"Are you?", William asked her.

"No, of course not. What are you thinking?" Hilda grinned. "I am just a great actress. Watch me."

The carriage stopped and someone came running to open the door for them. They left the carriage and were led up to where King Walt and his wife were waiting to officially welcome them back into the country. Hilda later commented on that, that she thought the whole thing a bit silly as they flew in and out of the country quite a lot and nobody ever seemed to notice that.

King Walt welcomed them back and introduced them officially to his wife, Queen Velma. Of course, Hilda already knew her better than she cared to, but not to disappoint the king she played along. Queen Velma was quite calm and reserved, trying to hold back her displeasure at once more seeing the wicked witch, who had so effectively hindered her so proficiently in dealing with King Walt's daughter.

William tried to be as calm and relaxed as he could, although the entire spectacle drew his attention to all places at once. After the official part was over, the queen walked off as quickly as she could, because she was certain that Walt would not hold the music off much longer. She was right: the last yards into the castle she crossed dancing, much to the delight of Hilda and the king.

Then the guests were asked to tell the king about what had happened and how they had managed to return, as the original letter from King Herald had sounded very threatening. On the way home they had already decided that it would be best if Hilda were to handle that one, as it was bound to come up. The audience gasped for air at all the right moments, as Hilda told about the confrontation with the king and his brother, and also as they learned about the untimely death of Tudris.

King Walt did not ask anything about the challenge they were facing still, as that was not something that had to be discussed or even mentioned in public. That was witchy business and it ought to stay that way.

The feast that ensued made all the hassle and unpleasantness of the past week fade to the background, and in the evening Hilda as well as William were very glad they were brought to their house by carriage again. Flying would have been highly risky as wine had been flowing liberally. Hilda had done her best to water it down; at a certain point she had even started doing that for William. There were however glasses that slipped through the watering down process as the party progressed...

"Okay, so now we are going to do this together, William," said Hilda. They were standing in front of the chained-up house. "Let's see what we can do here."

They both were swaying on their feet. The carriage had dropped them off and left. The magical couple had created several dozen floating, light-emitting balls that hung around them. Even witches and wizards need some light, after all.

William, grinning like an idiot, pointed his hand at the iron mass like Hilda did. Wands did not want to appear in the hands of drunk magical ones, to avoid incredible disaster. "Okay, sweetwitch, got that. Now what, before I fall over?"

Hilda giggled, holding on to William as she was far from sober as well, and therefore in for a bad morning. "Now you will the iron away. Just go make it poof and away and - well, you know!"

"Oh, you mean like..." - William waved his hand - "...poof."

The house was still covered in iron chains.

"No, silly man, like this..." Hilda waved her hand. "Poof."

The house was still covered in iron chains.

"That's what I did," William muttered, "you know nothing." He tried it again, with the same result.

"Well, at least I know more nothings than you do, silly man," Hilda flared up. She snipped her fingers and the iron chains were gone. "See? Now you apologise and you have to carry me inside."

"Okay, okay, I will apologise for carrying you inside," William agreed, picking her up as he spoke.

"That's better," Hilda mumbled, folding her arms around his neck and treating William to a wet and sloppy kiss.

With a proper amount of effort William made it to the door that opened by itself. The house refrained from comments. It was certain there would not be responses it could take seriously, so better to forego the whole thing until perhaps the morning after.

After a lot of stumbling and laughing from inside the house, the night finally attempted to settle over the magical location, ignoring the floating bright globes that the witchy couple had forgotten to extinguish.