WITCH - The Queen

Chapter 45

Fritz

Peyo and Emmie were already sitting in the carriage while Fritz said goodbye to his mother. Paula stood next to him with a polite smile, but he felt how tense she was. The queen wished them a safe journey home and then hurriedly disappeared back into the castle.

A queen always had a lot to do. Still, she had taken time to say goodbye to them.

Fritz and Paula sat down in the carriage with the two teenagers. They couldn't wait to finally leave the castle. Fritz quickly instructed the coachman to drive them to the capital first. He and Paula had decided at short notice that they wanted to show Peyo and Emmie the city.

The two teenagers were very quiet during the ride. Peyo read a book. The boy was a true bookworm. He read books faster than Fritz could blink. And obviously, he could memorize the entire book afterward. Emmie, on the other hand, seemed satisfied. She looked out of the window and squinted at the reading elf from time to time.

Paula and Fritz threw knowing glances at each other.

When they later showed the two teenagers the capital with its magnificent buildings, Paula quickly noticed that Emmie did not feel comfortable among all the people and slaves. She tugged at Fritz's sleeve and pointed to the wolf girl.

Emmie looked around restlessly. Occasionally she growled softly. Peyo also seemed nervous.

"This is the capital?", he asked, overwhelmed. "I've never seen such a big city! And I thought my home village was big! There used to be two villages... Now it's a big one. More of a small town than a village..." He glanced briefly at the guards accompanying them and his face darkened. What was he thinking about? Probably nothing good. Fritz sighed. The fact that Peyo did not particularly appreciate soldiers and guards was hard to miss.

"That's interesting", Paula said with a smile at the sinister-looking boy. "In the capital, there is a big market, many shops, and also a big theater."

"A theatre?" Peyo's eyes lit up. "I've never been to a theatre!"

Emmie growled in shock when a gentleman bumped into her. The man seemed to be in a hurry and didn't notice Emmie growling.

Fritz looked angrily after the man. "There is also a small park. Do you want to go there?"

Peyo looked briefly at Emmie, then nodded. Emmie nodded too.

Fritz led them to the tiny park next to the market. Unlike on the market square, it was not quite as crowded here. They sat down at a fountain and enjoyed the good weather. Emmie quickly got better here and she talked to Peyo about the theater. They thought about what plays were played there and what the costumes looked like. Fritz grinned. He would have liked to take them to a performance, but bound servants were not allowed in the theater.

But then they heard a painful cry.

"Sir! Please, don't", someone shouted.

A werewolf crouched on the ground and held his hands over his head. A well-dressed gentleman beat him with his fancy walking stick. "Good-for-nothing servant!", he cried. "You should buy red apples and not green ones!"

"Lord! There were only green apples", the wolf whined.

The master, clearly a wealthy sorcerer, let roots come out of the ground and pressed the servant firmly to the ground. Then he pulled his hair. "You're just too stupid to tell red apples from green ones!"

Emmie growled angrily. She wanted to jump up, but Peyo held her hand. She did not shake him off, but she stared at the Lord with bared teeth. Fortunately, the Lord did not notice. Werewolves were forbidden to bare their teeth in front of humans. And to growl.

Fritz got up, hurried angrily to the weeping servant, and stood in the way of the man. Fritz's guards followed him. "Stop it!", Fritz demanded. "You torture your servant unnecessarily! Here are families. Do you want children to see how cruel you are to your servant?"

The man grimaced. He looked at Fritz dismissively. Then he looked at the fountain where Fritz's family was sitting. Emmie was still showing her teeth. The man frowned.

"Take care of your own slaves! Those over there are yours, right? You should spank the girl's ass! You don't have your servants under control, but you tell me how to treat mine ?", the man muttered. "Get out of the way!"

"No!" Fritz crossed his arms. The guards moved a little closer, so they were now standing next to him. Now the magician noticed them... He turned pale.

"You are... Are you the prince? Prince Fritz? Yes, you are... I saw a portrait of you. Forgive me. My servant and I are leaving now!"

"Never hit him again!", hissed Fritz.

"Of course!" The man freed the wolf from his bonds, harshly grabbed him to pull him to his feet, and the two hurried away. The servant gave Fritz a brief, grateful look.

Fritz returned to his family. Smiling, he stroked Emmie's hair. "I'm sorry that you and Peyo had to see this."

Emmie leaned away from his hand and nodded.

"Waffles!" Paula jumped up and put her hands on her hips. "I go and buy us waffles. There are always some sold on the market!" She hurried away, two guards followed her and returned shortly afterward with warm waffles. On those for Emmie and Peyo was a lot of icing sugar.

While they were eating their waffles at the fountain, a soldier approached them. Startled, Peyo hugged Emmie's arm. The wolf growled softly, but the soldier smiled kindly at the two servants.

"Prince Fritz? I saw that there were problems with a citizen?", he asked, secretly slipping him a piece of paper. "Can I help you? Do you want to report the citizen?"

"Thank you!" Fritz smiled and put the note away. "But no. Everything is fine."

The soldier bowed, then walked away. Paula looked at Fritz questioningly.

"Later", he said.

When they were all back in the carriage, Fritz read the letter. The writing was difficult to decipher. Apparently, someone had been in a hurry to write. Perhaps the soldier had written the letter when he discovered Fritz. After all, he could not have known that he would meet Fritz in the park. Fritz had known him for some time now. The soldier was one of the messengers of the rebellion.

Some rebels planned a raid on one of the prisons. They needed money to buy weapons and other things. Ingried found out in which prison rebels are held...

"And?", asked Paula.

"Just something I have to worry about", he replied, putting the letter away again.

(c: sasi)