The following morning they all gathered around the leprechauns’ mirror watching Louis having breakfast with his father before packing his bag. He turned to his father.
‘I will be spending a few days with Ava: we have a lot to catch up on,’ he said as he rose to his feet and picked up his bag. ‘I had better be off: I don’t want to keep her waiting; she will be terribly excited and waiting to hear about Shaun.’ They left the room and sauntered through the palace and out into the courtyard where the King’s horse and carriage were standing. They hugged each other in a warm embrace before Louis climbed on-board. He turned and smiled at his father, shook the reins, and they trotted up through the grounds and galloped out of the main gates.
Baba Yelka turned to Darby and his friends. ‘Are you ready?’ They nodded. ‘Remember, you must return to the same spot when you have completed your task so that I can open up the portal.’ Again they acknowledged her instructions before turning to the mirror and walking through.
They gasped out loud as they arrived at this wonderful place, a startling difference between that and the miserable underground cavern they had left standing on the fringe of a glorious forest overlooking a beautiful lake. On the other side a huge, mountainous rock face covered in thick, green vegetation rose majestically from the forest floor, soaring skyward. Streams of water trickled from the top, gathering momentum as they tumbled down, penetrating deep into the rock face and forming a magnificent waterfall which glittered like a diamond veil, cascading down and sending out a thunderous sound, yet strangely calming and alluring, which reverberated around the lake.
They stood for a moment captured by the mesmerising sight of this tranquil place.
‘Come,’ snapped Darby, ‘remember why we are here. We need to prepare ourselves.’ He led them to a spot out of the clearing as Baba Yelka had described with a full view of the lake, yet well hidden behind a thicket. They quickly settled down and lay peering out over the lake, just enjoying the freedom and the fresh, scented air – something they had not experienced for such a long time. The sun, slowly rising, filtered through the canopy above them, bathing them in a warm, rich glow, the nearby bushes humming in the soft breeze, and the melodic sounds of birds singing filled the air around them which sent a tear running down Darby’s cheek as golden memories of his life growing up came flooding back, now lost forever.
Earlier that morning, Ellena had entered Ava’s bedroom.
‘Rise and shine, pretty girl. You have lots to do before Louis arrives. I’ll help you: two hands are better than one.’ She pulled Ava’s covers back. ‘You go and bathe. I’ll sort out one of your beautiful garments to wear. You need to look your best for your visitor,’ but as Ava stretched out her arms and gave off a loud yawn, Ellena took her hand, a puzzled expression on her face. ‘This bracelet: where did you get such a beautiful thing? I haven’t seen that before.’
Ava looked dazed. She stared at the amulet, unable to answer, but suddenly a thought entered her head. ‘Oh yes, I found it last night as I was packing a case. It was given to me by Louis’ father. I had completely forgotten about it.’
‘A case? What do you need a case for?’
Again Ava looked perplexed for a moment, but another thought entered her head: this was of course the work of Baba Yelka. ‘When I found the bracelet I thought it would be nice to see the King again. I haven’t visited him once in all the time I’ve been here.’
‘But Louis normally stays here with us when he visits.’
‘Yes, I know, but he has asked me several times to go back with him, but I have always found an excuse.’
‘Very well,’ said Ellena as she laid one of Ava’s dresses on the bed. ‘You sort yourself out and I’ll go and prepare breakfast.’ She gave Ava a hug before slipping out of the room. Ava washed and dressed before picking up her case. She glanced down to see the casket at the side of the bed. She knelt down and opened it up: as she peered inside her eyes were locked onto the amulet which was pulsating. Again a thought entered her head: ‘this is a matching bracelet for Louis, a gift from the elves’ leader, Princess Elba.’ A warm smile crossed her face as she closed the casket, slipped it inside her case, and strode out of the room.
Darby was still deep in thought as he kept watch. Suddenly he sat bolt upright as he spotted a boat sailing out from behind the waterfall and he alerted his two friends. They could see two elves inside and as it pulled in at the lakeside they saw it was Ava and Ellena. They both stepped out onto the grassed area. Ava put her case on the ground before wrapping her arms around the tearful Ellena, and they hugged each other for several minutes without saying a word. This would be the first time they were to be apart since they first met: it was a sad day for both of them. Finally, Ellena wiped away her tears, stepped back in the boat and pushed off from the side. ‘I’ll miss you!’ she shouted as she moved away.
‘It will only be for a few days. I’ll be back before you know it,’ Ava replied, waving her hand. She stood there till Ellena had crossed the lake and disappeared through the waterfall. She squatted down and a huge, dreamy smile spread across her face as the warm sun caressed her, and her long, golden hair fluttered in the soft breeze, bringing back memories of the first time she and her little band, Louis and Shaun, arrived at that same magical spot so long ago. As she lay there her thoughts floated through the journey of her time with Louis and Shaun filled with excitement, danger, highs and lows, and eventually success. She was fighting to stay awake as the sky above with its fluffy, white clouds was swirling around and around with intermittent shafts of silvery sunlight sweeping across her body to and fro, sending her into a state of hypnosis.
But finally she was awakened by the sound of Louis’ horse and carriage trundling through the forest and coming to a halt only several metres away. Her eyes flickered open, and as Louis jumped down and strode over to her, she sat bolt upright and leapt to her feet, wrapping her arms around him.
‘How wonderful to see you,’ she cried, wiping away a tear. ‘It seems so long. I’ve missed you so much.’
‘Me, too, but it hasn’t been that long. I’ll stay away a bit longer if I get this reception,’ he said with one of his mischievous grins, ‘but tell me, why have you come to meet me? We usually spend our time together with Ellena and the other elves.’
‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I just felt the need to spend a little time in this wonderful place where we first arrived in the Elves’ Kingdom. It brings back so many magical memories, and another thing you’ve asked me several times: I feel I should return with you to see your father. He was so good to me: he will think I don’t care.’
Louis laughed out loud. ‘He knows how you feel but I can’t deny I would love you to visit. We will spend a little time here, then we will journey back together.’ He took her hand in his and they both sat back down. ‘What is this beautiful bracelet? I have not seen that before.’
By this time Darby and the other two leprechauns were crouched down behind the bushes on the fringe of the clearing, willing her to give him the other amulet, their hearts in their mouths and their eyes wide open, afraid to blink.
Ava smiled as she fondled her amulet. ‘It is beautiful, is it not? It was a present from Princess Elba.’ She reached over and took the casket out of her bag and laid it on the ground.
Back at Baba Yelka’s house, the teams were focused on the mirror, watching events unfold. They, too, were frozen with anxiety as they watched in silence for what seemed like an age before she opened the casket and took out the amulet. Ava took hold of Louis’ hand.
‘And this one is for you. Princess Elba thought it would be unkind just to give me one.’ She slowly moved it towards his hand, but as he pulled his hand away the three leprechauns had to gag their mouths to stifle their gasps of despair, and back at the mirror the whole room, including Baba Yelka, screamed out in frustration.
‘What’s wrong, Louis?’ Ava whispered in a pitiful tone. ‘Please take the gift, otherwise Princess Elba will be terr
ibly offended.’
‘Just leave it in the casket. I will take it back with me and wear it on special occasions,’ but as he turned to stand, prompted by Baba Yelka, Ava grabbed his hand and slid the amulet on. He cried out in anger as he jumped to his feet, his face etched with fury as he tried in vain to remove it. After a moment or two of pulling and twisting, he sat back down and his manner calmed as Baba Yelka took control, and all those watching cried out with glee.
Darby and his friends stepped out into the clearing and slowly sauntered forward, trying not to startle their two victims. As they approached, both Louis and Ava didn’t move a muscle but just sat there with a vacant expression on their faces and did not utter a sound as Darby helped them to their feet and led them back to the thicket. They stood there in silence for a few minutes before Baba Yelka opened the portal and they walked back through into the house with all the teams cheering. Baba Yelka had a wicked smile on her face as she put her arms around them.
‘Hello, my dears, it’s so nice to see you again. It’s been such a long time: do you remember me?’ They just stared at her with a total lack of expression or feeling. She cackled out loud as she led them out of the room: ‘Come, I will show you to your royal quarter. I’m sure you will be very comfortable behind the bars, just like the last time we met.’ She again burst out into a fit of hideous cackling which reverberated around the room, sending shivers down the spines of her little army.
The following morning Baba Yelka assembled her army and waited until the room faded into silence before stepping forward to address them.
‘So the first part of our master plan is in place: we have captured two of our main enemies and now it is your turn to carry out the plans we talked about. As you saw in the leprechaun and elf camps, they think Louis and Ava are visiting each other for a few days, so you must act quickly and successfully, as once they realise the two have disappeared the whole of Colgilor will be alerted.’
She beckoned the three goblins forward. ‘You will go first as yours seem the easiest of the tasks. You told me Geriba visits the monument that they erected in memory of their friends and relatives who were killed in the nearby mountain mine: his father and brother died there. I have watched him go there just as the sun rises above the mountain, sending shafts of golden rays cascading down onto the monument, wrapping it in a golden halo of light. Go and prepare yourselves to leave. Check with each other that you have everything that you need and don’t forget your casket with the amulet. Geriba would be upset if you didn’t take him a present.’ They left the group as Baba Yelka turned and beckoned the fairies forward. ‘You, too, can go and prepare once we have seen the goblins safely in place. You must be on your way: time is the thing we don’t have much of, and if you find things don’t go to plan you will need to find a way around any problems you encounter.’ They nodded obediently before leaving the room. She turned to the remaining group, the Dwarfs, a worried expression on her face. She rubbed her long, twisted chin without saying a word, just staring right through them as though searching their souls. This made the Dwarfs uneasy: they twitched and shuffled nervously, waiting for her to speak. Finally, after several nerve-tingling moments she spoke. ‘I have left you till last because yours is by far the most dangerous and difficult to achieve. As you told me, the Dwarf warriors are the most fearsome of enemies and I have kept a close eye on them and found you are right, but what makes your task even more ominous is the Prince and his private bodyguards are the elite fighters of the kingdom trained and armed to be virtually invincible. So I have a new plan. As you explained earlier, you or even our whole army would be no match for their strength and skill, certainly not face to face. Once the fairies have left we will go to my magic room and see what we can come up with.’ The Dwarfs sighed with relief, nodding and smiling in agreement.
The goblins entered the room, carrying their bags. They stood in front of their mirror as the groups in a single file approached and said a few words of encouragement, one by one embracing them fondly before moving away. The goblins bowed their heads to acknowledge the support before stepping through the mirror into a craggy, rock-strewn area of a forest which skirted the mountain that housed the mine, and nearby the monument stood in all its glory but at this early time of the day was shrouded in long shadows of the mountain. The sun began its journey from the horizon, gleaming brightly one minute then fading again, constantly changing as it bobbed along the rugged peaks, casting the monument in an eerie, dappled veil, and the goblins found a clear vantage point of the monument but well camouflaged and made themselves comfortable as they lay in wait.
The fairies returned, chatting excitedly although filled with trepidation; the adrenalin coursing through their bodies was so strong, calming their fears and doubts. But they didn’t want to dwell on farewells. They strode smartly over to their mirror carrying their bags and weapons, and waved their goodbyes before quickly stepping through, ending up in a deep gulley at the base of steep, granite-flecked hills with a dangerous-looking gravel pathway winding its way up and around the hillside with overhanging cliffs on one side and a sheer drop at the other. They wasted no time in organising themselves to put their plan into operation. They cautiously climbed up the pathway, two of them stopping a few hundred metres up from the gulley, the others carrying on, before clambering up one of the rock-faced cliffs and scrambling over the top and finding cover behind a large rock with the entrance to the fairy camp in view further up the hill.
Meanwhile, back at Baba Yelka’s house, she led the Dwarfs into her magic room and entered her magic pentagram as the Dwarfs stood a few metres away, trying not to show their fear. A strange, eerie sensation gripped their very souls the instant they had entered the room, and the sight of her swaying from side to side as she drifted into some sort of hypnotic state only added to their nervousness. They stood in silence for several minutes before her eyes flickered then snapped wide open, which made them jump. ‘As we have said, you will be no match in combat so we have to be very cunning and the only way I can see is for you to enter the royal quarters so we don’t have to worry about the other guards.’
‘But that is impossible,’ said one of the Dwarfs as he shook his head. ‘We would be slain on sight. His bodyguards’ living quarters are close by and of course there is his personal servant who tends to his every need and he sleeps in an adjacent bedroom down the corridor from the Prince.’
‘Yes, I know all of this,’ she said in an impatient tone. ‘There are three of them, one servant and two guards. There are three of you: all you have to do is take their place.’
The three Dwarfs laughed nervously in unison. ‘Us take their place? How are we going to do that?’
She shook her head and cackled out loud as she lifted a bag from the floor onto the rickety table and took out a small, misshapen pot with a stopper. ‘You still don’t realise how strong my magic is, do you? I have watched the servant prepare a meal for the Prince, the guards and himself each night: all you have to do is to make sure the contents of this pot goes into those meals.’ She raised her wand and beckoned the startled Dwarfs to enter the pentagram. They looked at one another as they reluctantly walked forward. With a flick of her wrist she pointed the wand at one of them: there was a flash of light and a puff of smoke. As it cleared, the other two Dwarfs gasped out loud as their companion had changed into the Prince’s servant.
‘How can…’ But before he could finish his question she flicked the wand at him and the other Dwarf shook his head in disbelief, as standing beside him was one of the Prince’s personal guards, his face, attire and weapons identical.
She flicked her wand at the remaining Dwarf and he turned into the other guard. ‘Now you see how you can take their place.’ They still could not believe this was happening.
She led them back into their sleeping quarters and over to their bed. She pointed her ring finger at their mirror and the swirling mist cleared to show the servant in the kitchen preparing the meal. ‘Have you got the amulet a
nd the pot?’
‘Yes.’
‘So be ready to go when I tell you.’ They waited until the meal was finished and the servant had left the room. ‘Now be on your way: the servant has gone to see to the Prince, so you have plenty of time to carry out your task.’
They quickly approached the mirror and slipped through. The two dressed as the guards stood by the door while the other one emptied the contents of the pot into the large cauldron of food hanging over the fire before all three disappeared into the food store attached to the kitchen. The goblins were lying in wait concealed by thick vegetation on the fringe of the forest overlooking the monument. As the hours rolled by they had made themselves too comfortable with the warm, light breeze washing over them; they struggled to stay awake. But the sound of a horse and cart trundling through the forest brought them quickly to their senses and they sat bolt upright, their eyes on full alert. They lay in silence as the horse and cart carrying Geriba and two Guards rode past, coming to a halt at the foot of the mountain. They climbed down and stood a moment chilling before Geriba made his way over to the monument while the two guards wandered off in the other direction. The three goblins crawled forward slowly and silently. Keeping out of sight, they moved into position. One of them crept over to the horse and cart, while the other two lay in hiding. All of a sudden the goblin jumped onto the cart, cracked the whip, and the horse bolted away from the guards who looked on in disbelief, rooted to the spot for a brief moment before taking off in hot pursuit. The goblin kept glancing back, keeping an eye on his pursuers, and at the first opportunity when he was out of their sight cracked the whip several times before jumping off and hiding in deep undergrowth. He lay holding his breath until the two guards raced past him; he watched them disappear before jumping up and running back towards the monument. Meanwhile, the other two goblins crept over towards Geriba, and before he had time to run they were on top of him and soon overpowered him, slipping on the amulet. When the third goblin joined them they moved quickly back over to the portal area with Geriba, now under Baba Yelka’s control, meekly following them through to her house.
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