Good versus Evil!

by Katrina Kahler

  Merlin looked at me. “I’d call it more of a general course of action than a plan.”

  “Well, it’s still a good start!” I insisted.

  “True,” Merlin admitted. “And good news! I have perfected my silent but near deadly knock out fart!” Merlin said proudly, maybe a bit too proudly. “Now I can also help in battles if needed.”

  Brett giggled. “Dude that is so….”

  Merlin wiggled his butt in Brett’s direction.

  Brett’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. He fell over face first into the table.

  “Silent, but near deadly!” Merlin said very proudly.

  “Wow! Awesome!” Bart laughed.

  My Notes:

  I feel so great having a team around me again. Our plan may not be a solid airtight plan, but it is flexible and adaptable to any situation. My mom and Arthur brought up a great point, might we be playing right into Morgana’s hands by going after the grail? Yeah well, I guess we could possibly be doing that. Should we even bother trying to go after a grail that may or not exist any longer? Yeah, I know it may not have made total sense, but in this world, if you wait to react to something until it makes 100 percent sense, then you may wait too long and miss your chance to act. Sometimes, you just have to trust your gut and instincts. But, you need to use your mind to tell you when it’s the right time. I knew the grail had existed in the past. I knew it was a powerful object. So, I figure it still exists today. It had to.

  Merlin also can now drop people with his farts. I guess that could come in handy. Of course, it took Brett about an hour to recover, and he sucked his thumb for another hour after that.

  Chapter 3

  That night, I drifted off to sleep feeling pretty sure I had made the right choice. I was at ease with myself. After all, a good leader makes a decision based on available information and rolls with it, until it proves right or the situation calls for a change.

  In my dream, I found myself standing by a lone plum tree next to a sparkling pond. I sat down and kicked off my slippers. I knew I was dreaming, yet I still wanted to be comfortable.

  I heard a humming above me. The sound rang in my ears like a familiar song. Looking up, I saw three tiny green hummingbirds hovering above the plum tree. One bird bit into a plum. It screamed and fell to the ground. Another bird bit into another plum. It too screamed and dropped to the ground. The third bird did the same even though I screamed, “No!”

  I stood up and looked at the three stunned birds lying on the ground. Their little feet began to vibrate. My heart beat with the hope that they may be alive. The three tiny birds started to grow and darken in color. They stood up, each now a giant dark black hummingbird.

  They fluttered up into the air. “Why did you let us do that?” they chirped angrily at me.

  “I tried to stop the last bird,” I said meekly.

  “Shouting No is not action! Any fool can shout No!” the three chirped even more angrily. The power of their voices forced me to the ground.

  The three black hummingbirds started dive-bombing at me, beaks pointed out like spears.

  “Wake up!” I shouted to myself. I didn’t wake up.

  I rolled to the side just as the birds thrust their beaks at me. They missed, but only barely. I bounced to my feet. The birds took to the air and regrouped.

  “Look, I don’t want to hurt you guys!” I said.

  “You already hurt us by making us hit the ground!” they chirped, rubbing their beaks with their wings.

  “Ah, truthfully you guys did that to yourselves. I just rolled out of the way to prevent being skewered!” I told them.

  “A good leader would not have let us hurt ourselves!” they replied.

  I shook my head. “One, I’m not your leader. Two, sometimes you can’t stop some people and or birds from doing stupid things!” I told them.

  They shot back down towards me. I figured if this was a magic-induced dream then I would need magic to get out of it.

  “Weka Yp!” I shouted.

  I awoke in my bed in a cold sweat. “I’m awake! I’m awake!” I cried out.

  Merlin and Fern looked over at me from my desk. “And now, so are we!” Merlin growled. He really could be a grumpy cat at times.

  Fern flew over to me and landed on my shoulder. “You okay, sweetie?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I am now. Morgana sent some killer hummingbirds after me in my dream.”

  Merlin looked up sharply. “Nope, not Morgana.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked.

  “Yeah!” Fern said backing me up.

  Merlin sunk back into his bed. “Hummingbirds are not Morgana’s style. She’s more of a crow and raven kind of lady. Besides, if you die in a magic dream you die…” Merlin said.

  “Yes, hence the reason I’m glad I used magic to wake myself up!” I told Merlin.

  Merlin popped open one eye. “Girl, killing you in your sleep is so not Morgana’s thing. A dead Gwen will serve no purpose to her. She’d much rather attack you in person and turn you into a dress shield or a shoe insole or some toilet paper. Something she can use while also humiliating you.”

  “Gross, but good point…” I said.

  “Sooooo what do you suggest?” I asked.

  “Will you let me sleep before I use one of my farts to knock you out!” Merlin balked.

  “But what if they attack her mind again?” Fern asked.

  Merlin dropped back down on his bed. “They won’t. You proved yourself worthy for now.”

  He immediately began to snore. I have no idea how he could fall asleep so quickly.

  My Notes:

  Okay, I gotta admit, I don’t like being attacked in my dreams. After all, my dreams and my mind are my safe spots. At least, they should be. When I find out who had the nerve to attack me like that, I’m going to make them pay. Yes, sir, you can count on that. Merlin insists that dream attacks aren’t Morgana’s style. I also gotta admit, he’s probably onto something there. She’s a much more in your face kind of lady. Subtle is not her thing.

  Chapter 4

  The next day, Dad could tell I was worried when he drove me to school. “What’s going on, honey?” he asked me.

  “Ah, nothing,” I said, less than convincingly.

  Dad looked at me. Instantly, Morgana replaced him in the car. “My dear Gwen, we have to stop meeting like this!” she insisted.

  “Morgana!” I cried. I pulled out my pencil and got ready to transform it into my staff.

  Morgana held up an open palm. “No need for violence. I’m here to talk. To help.”

  I waved the pencil at her. (I had to admit that it probably wasn’t all that threatening). “What do you want?”

  Morgana smiled at me. “I just want to assure you that I wasn’t the one who attacked you in your dreams.”

  I made a fist. “How did you know it happened then?”

  Morgana kept the smile on her face. “I know things. Very little happens in the physical or magical world that I am not made aware of.”

  “So why you telling me this?” I asked.

  “Because, as I keep telling you, I’m on your side more or less. When it comes to the big battle, I want you assisting me,” she said.

  “I’ll never help you!” I frowned.

  “Never say never!” she replied.

  The next thing I knew, my dad, Claude was back in the driver’s seat. He looked at me glaring at him. “It happened again, didn’t it? Morgana switched with me?”

  I dropped back into my seat. “Yep…. she claims she wants me on her side…”

  “Oh?” Dad said.

  “She says that a big fight is coming and she wants me to be her aide.” I forced a laugh. “How funny is that!”

  “Not really, honey. The world is a big complicated place. I imagine it becomes even more complicated when you add magic and other realms. I’m not at all surprised that there might be something out there scarier than Morgana,” Dad said.

  I considered h
is words. I shuddered thinking about what could possibly be worse than Morgana. But I had to consider that there might really be something worse.

  “Good point,” I told Dad. “There may very well be something out there worse than Morgana. But for now, I have to keep my eyes and brain on her. I will stick with the evil I know.”

  “I get it,” Dad said. “But is something else bothering you?”

  “Nope. I’m good,” I replied. There was no use worrying Dad by telling him that somebody else besides Morgana was attacking me.

  Pulling up in front of the school, Dad said, “Well, you know honey, you can always tell your mom and me anything.”

  I smiled at him. “I know.”

  I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek then hopped out of the car and headed into school.

  Next to my locker, I saw two older cheerleaders, Celia and Kat. Both these girls were tall with flowing locks of hair. Celia had red hair. Kat had brown hair. They looked like they could be Barbie twins. They acted that way too, full of energy and always bubbly. I’m sure they thought their sweat didn’t smell. Actually, to think about it, their sweat actually smelled like sweet rose petals.

  “Sleep well, last night, Gwen?” Celia asked.

  Kat simply smiled at me.

  “Avarubidu Faaza!” I shouted.

  Everybody in the hallway froze in their place. Except, of course, for Celia and Kat. “You guys are fairies!” My jaw dropped in surprise.

  “Told you she’d figure it out eventually,” Kat told Celia.

  “Took you long enough!” Celia said to me.

  “Sorry, I’ve been kind of busy finding my knights and Arthur, plus battling evil,” I answered.

  Nina Waters approached us. “Okay, who froze the school?”

  The two fairy cheerleaders pointed to me. “She just figured out that we are fairies…” Celia said.

  Nina put her hand on my shoulder. “Oh Gwen, honey, that did take you a while…”

  “I had a lot on my mind,” I said defensively.

  “And obviously not a lot of room for it,” Celia giggled.

  I shot past Nina and curled a fist under Celia’s nose. “So you’re the ones who sent the hummingbirds after me!”

  Celia pushed down my fist with her finger. “Guilty as charged, honey.”

  “Why?” I ordered.

  Nina looked at the two fairies. “She asks a legitimate question.”

  “It was a test,” Celia answered with a shrug.

  “To see if she’s worthy to lead,” Kat added.

  “Of course I am!” I said, with far more confidence than I felt. “Besides, Arthur has already refused to lead.”

  The two fairy cheerleaders exchanged smiles.

  “Yeah, the boy’s cute, but he realizes times have changed. And quite frankly, he never really embraced his role back in Camelot either.” They looked at Nina. “We were never sure why you gave him Excalibur…”

  Now Nina became defensive. “Who are you to judge me? I am just keeper of the sword. Not it's owner or boss. At the time, the sword thought he was the best choice. Young. He had a good heart. He meant well.”

  Celia snickered. “How’d that work out….”

  “He did bring peace to the land,” I said.

  “For a time,” Nina said, her voice fading some. She turned away. “I never meant for Morgana to get the sword. The good news is, she may have it, but she can’t use it. The sword is still deciding if she is worthy.”

  “As are we,” Celia said. “Look, Gwen, we know Arthur isn’t going to lead this world. We like you. We’ve always liked you in a way. It’s just we want to make sure you’re fit to lead. To really take on Morgana.”

  “Yeah,” Kat said. “Morgana is like, way powerful! I remember when the island country of Atlantis refused to run her show… Wow!”

  “There is no Atlantis!” I said.

  “No, not anymore. Morgana turned them all into fish. They live in a big tank in her home…” Celia told me.

  “Oh,” I gulped.

  “So, the woman does have power, and as fairies, we respect her power. And as cheerleaders, we respect winning, so we’ll throw our power behind whoever is the most powerful,” Celia said. She put a hand on my shoulder. “We’re rooting for you, Gwen, we really are. We trust you more than Morgana. But when zap comes to poof we will support the one we feel is the most powerful.”

  “Hence the tests,” Kat said. “We test your power and you become more powerful.”

  “Tests?” I asked.

  “Last night was just the first. There will be more,” Celia nodded. She pointed to the frozen hall of people. “Now let’s get school started. Kay, we have a nice pep rally today.”

  Everybody began to move.

  “You know I’m not thrilled about you guys testing me!” I told Celia.

  She gave me a smile. “Honey, you should be glad we’re even talking to you, underclassman.” She gave me a wink and then she and Kat strutted away.

  Gail and Mika came to my side. “What was that all about?” Mika asked.

  “Let me guess, those fairies want to test you?” Gail sighed.

  I looked at her my mouth agape. “You knew?”

  Gail nodded. “Kind of obvious, right? Beautiful cheerleaders. Always get their way. Filled with pep.”

  “Man, I really should have noticed that sooner,” I sighed.

  Mika and Gail both gave me little pats on the back. “You’ve had a lot on your mind.”

  Sebastian walked up to his locker and joined in the conversation. “Noticed what?” he asked.

  “That Celia and Kat are fairies,” I whispered.

  He grinned. “Ah, now that makes perfect sense.

  Great, everybody seemed to get that but me. Okay, I did get it now, but man, I really should have thought of it sooner.

  My Notes:

  Sure, it took me longer than it should have to figure out that Celia and Kat were fairies. But I couldn’t knock myself out over that. Especially since there was no harm done. I needed to keep my eyes on the big goals…find more knights, especially Lancelot, and then find the fisherman prince and the grail.

  Sure, it wasn’t great that the fairies wanted to test my worth. Sure, if I didn’t prove my worth they would toss their magic behind Morgana; which would be BAD. I just needed to make sure I proved myself worthy. I knew I would. I mean I just had to!

  Chapter 5

  As my friends and I headed to our first lesson, Principal King’s voice came booming over the loudspeaker. “Good morning students. I have some unexpected but great news for you all. Due to an anonymous donor, we can now once again offer art and music class. We have hired Ms. Marie Nickles who will now teach both of those classes. Art and Music will now replace your daily free lesson time.”

  A few kids, okay more than a few, groaned.

  “Oh, that’s so bad,” I heard Brett say.

  “Actually I kind of enjoy art,” Bart grinned. “I mean it does rhyme with Bart!”

  I had to admit that I felt the same way as Bart. Not because of the rhyming thing, but because I enjoyed art and music. Free time is okay, but I loved expressing myself creatively.

  I was happy when we walked into Ms. Nickles’ wide open classroom. The room was filled with instruments and art supplies and blank canvases. A large piano stood in the corner of the room. My body actually tingled with excitement.

  Ms. Nickles sat on a beanbag chair at the front of the class. She was a tall woman with short hair that seemed to work just right for her face. I also noticed there was a smaller kid sitting in the middle of the seat in the first row. He looked a bit like a mini-male version of Ms. Nickles. I guessed he had to be about ten years old.

  “Greetings, fifth-period class!” Ms. Nickles said with a smile. “As you are probably very much aware, I’m Ms. Nickles, your new arts, music, and humanities teacher.” She pointed to the small boy in the front seat. “This is my son, Paulie. Starting tomorrow, he will be a student at Camelot Midd
le and High Schools.”

  “Say what?” Brett said, “The kid can’t even be ten!”

  Paulie looked up. “You are correct good sir, I am nine!”

  “Actually, nine seems too young to be in middle school,” Art pointed out.

  Paulie laughed. “Good sir, I am only in middle school for the art.”

  “Phew…” Most of the class said.

  “Actually, I am in high school for most of my classes,” Paulie said.

  Before anybody could say anything else, Ms. Nickles spoke up. “Paulie is a little advanced for his age.”

  We all looked at each other with amazed expressions. That kid must be really smart. We soon found out that he could also play the piano extremely well. While he played, the entire class joined in and sang an original piece written by Ms. Nickles, entitled: We R 1!

  The tune was upbeat and the lyrics went:

  We are all one

  Under the sun

  United helping and having fun

  The world we all share

  Must be treated with great care

  Lend an ear

  Do not fear

  Even when the world is not crystal clear

  Remember all you hold dear

  We are all one

  Under the sun

  United, helping, and having fun

  Love is the key

  It is strong for you and strong for me

  Love others and let them be

  Kindness and forgiveness will set you free

  Ms. Nickles told us that the words and melody were still a work in progress. But we loved it regardless. The class flew by. Even guys who like to act macho like Bart and Brett really enjoyed the class. Art had a smile on his face like I had never seen. Ms. Nickles and Paulie had touched us all.

  I noticed Larry Page really seemed to be rocking the dance moves. Larry was a tall blond guy who could really jump and spin. He seemed just as comfortable with dancing as he was playing basketball.

  I hadn’t really given him much attention until this class. I pointed him out to Gail. “What do you think of Larry Page?” I asked.