WITCH - The Queen

Chapter 56

Peter

The two newcomers introduced themselves to them. Pelle and Alwin. While Alwin immediately joined Blossom and Hanna, grandiosely ignoring the strangers, Pelle stared at Julia in confusion.

"What? Did his magic also react to Julia's?", Marko asked, laughing. "Juli? Do you collect dragons?"

Pelle blinked speechlessly. Peter felt sorry for the dragon. He came to see the daughter of a lost friend, but instead something unexpected happened. Julia sighed.

"I don't collect dragons, Marko!", she murmured, shaking her head. Then she walked to the dragon and held out her hand to him. Josefine followed her lurking. "Hello. I'm Julia. And this is Saira's daughter. Josefine!" She pointed to the threatening dragon girl behind her.

Peter didn't get the impression that Josefine was pleased that another dragon had been added to her community by idiosyncratic magic.

"It's nice to meet you", the dragon murmured, grabbing Julia's hand. He looked curiously at Josefine. "Alwin!", he called out to his friend. "She looks like her mother! But... Are you really a girl, little one?" There was nothing malicious in his voice. Pelle was curious. But Josefine grumbled indignantly.

"I'm a girl! But only as a human", she hissed, clinging to Julia's arm and frowning. Peter wasn't sure if Josefine was trying to hide, or if she was trying to stop herself from attacking the other dragon.

"Oh!" Pelle grinned. "Alwin? Do you hear that?"

"I did", the other dragon replied quietly, hugging Hanna. Peter looked confused at Fiete. The white dragon grinned. "Pelle is known for changing his gender every day. By feeling", he whispered to Peter.

"Oh, yes?" Peter grinned. "And the other dragon? Alwin?" He pointed to the dragon, which was cuddled up to Hanna, looking at Josefine.

"The two are married."

Now Peter started laughing. "Oh! I'm starting to think Julia's magic favors special personalities!"

Meanwhile, Pelle was talking to the two girls. He just told them that he was also a woman that day and wanted to be addressed as such. The other dragon, Alwin, got up and walked over to them, resting his head on Pelle's shoulder. Josefine didn't seem relaxed.

Blossom and Hanna tried to engage Cleo and Charlotte in a conversation while Marko and Leopold fooled around. But both looked watchfully at the girls, and the two dragons from time to time. Finn listened intently to what Blossom and Hanno had to say. His gaze also occasionally wandered to Julia.

"We were invited to stay for a few days. So I can show you the cave where I lived. And the eggshells!" Fiete embraced Peter happily. "The shells are in a special cave. I can't wait to show them to you. Especially the egg I hatched from."

"Can I enter the cave?", Peter asked.

"Why not? We are married!" Fiete kissed Peter's cheek.

"I want to see the cave too!", Josefine called to them. "You promised!" Pelle blinked in surprise, as she interrupted 'her' very rudely. Julia rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Yes, I did that", Fiete replied with a grin.

"Cave?" Finn looked at them curiously. "What kind of cave?"

"Are you two up to something nice? In the cave?" Marko winked at Peter with a grin. "Producing little mini dragons?"

Peter blushed. Fiete was about to protest when Alwin took over for him. "Two males are not able to get an egg together. If they wish to have one, Fiete has to sleep with a dragon lady."

"No, thanks", Fiete said quickly, shaking his head.

"Oh. Why not?" Pelle giggled. "Little dragons are cute! Fiete was particularly cute", he continued. "So tiny!"

Fiete sighed. "First of all, Peter is not a fan of children. Secondly, it is about our eggshells. I don't want to do that there!"

"You shouldn't either!", muttered Blossom, amused.

"I would also like to see the cave." Leopold looked at Julia. "You too, don't you?"

"Absolutely!", she agreed, hugging Josefine.

"Good", growled Fiete. "We will go there with children in the luggage..." Peter grinned.

A short time later, heavy hurricanes rumbled through the mountains and lightning lit up the sky. The group sat close together and Pelle, and Alwin told them stories from their childhood with Saira, whom Josefine listened to blissfully. She had calmed down.

Lea

The carriage drove bumpily across the road. There was something good about belonging to the nobility. Lea was able to move freely in the land with her servants. The travel ban did not apply to her. Chloe and Benjamin looked out of the windows of the carriage. The two still seemed scared, but they didn't want to tell Shay what had happened either.

She wanted them to have a few days of rest. But Lea also needed a break. She was telling Shay about her encounter with the rebellion. The rebels had threatened her life.

"So, the missing students weren't kidnapped? You joined the rebels?", the elf asked nervously. "The rebellion recruits children?"

"Teenagers, yes."

"And they just let you go? Aren't they afraid you might betray them?" Shay shook his head, stunned.

"They didn't", Lea murmured. What do I do?

"What?" Now Benjamin looked at her with more than interest. "Have you been threatened? But... The rebels are the good guys, aren't they? Did they?"

"Or worse?", asked Chloe, chewing on her lower lip.

Lea shook her head. "Not quite, no. I had to agree to join the rebellion. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let me go..."

"Then they did threaten you!", growled Shay. "Stealing children, and threatening people? Did you alert the guards at the academy? Will you tell the Queen?"

"It's complicated, Shay. But I learned more."

"More?" Chloe's eyes sparkled with excitement. "What else?"

"Some of my siblings are rebels. At least that's what they claimed. And... I had to agree to hire two rebels as teachers at the academy. They come on Tuesday. When we're back at the academy."

Chloe and Benjamin turned pale. "At the academy?", asked Benjamin in a whisper, reaching for his sister's hand.

"I don't like the whole thing. As much as I hate the..." Shay sighed. "The rebels also have their faults. They threatened you! With what? Your life? Would they have killed you? They are dangerous."

Benjamin sucked in a sharp breath. "Did they?"

Lea nodded. "They did. But I did not inform the guards. I agreed to help them."

"You had no choice... Why didn't you report it? Are you planning anything?" Shay ruffled her neatly styled hair. "The Queen needs to be stopped, but I don't want my best friend to be in danger!"

"I want to know if my siblings are actually rebels. And why." Lea sight. "I won't let them play with me. I will find out who these rebels are. And then I will decide."

"Decide?", asked Chloe quietly.

"Whether I betray them, or whether I continue to help them..." Lea snorted. "My mother lost her mind. Such a person is not allowed to govern."

"I want the Queen to atone for her crimes against us", Benjamin whispered softly. Concerned silence followed. Lea would have loved to hug him. But Benjamin wasn't a fan of hugs unless they came from Chloe.

(c: sasi)