WITCH - The Queen

Chapter 89

Cleo

There was an uproar in the tent camp in the evening. An icy wind was blowing, but she took little notice of it. Two centaurs from another tribe came to the camp, injured and frightened. Since they did not pose any danger, the protective spell did not fool them into believing that they were looking at a meadow. Cedric and Tiyam saw them and quickly took them to Cleo and Charlotte. The two were planning the shifts of the Night's Watch with Caius, Rasmus, and Jane. Cleo stared at the wounded in surprise. "What does that mean?", she asked skeptically. Ice-cold wind blew into the tent they were in. Charlotte shivered next to her.

One of the two injured centaurs sank to the ground, exhausted. "Oh!" Charlotte murmured in horror. "That doesn't look good!"

"They were attacked!", Tiyam declared, while Charlotte rushed to the injured. She looked anxiously at their wounds. Cleo frowned. "Attacked? In what way?"

One of the two injured replied. He had a laceration on his head, which Charlotte took care of. "We patrolled near the border to the marshland. A few of our scouts had seen soldiers of the vampires there. We wanted to see if they posed a danger. After all, a couple of centaurs were on their way to one of the vampire villages. To steal vegetables. We've lost an entire harvest! The sun was too hot." He sighed. "They should've been back a long time ago. So we checked. Our group was attacked by the soldiers. Two of our friends were killed. Three were kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? How so?" Caius shook his head. "Couldn't you take away their will? Send them back?"

Rasmus nodded meaningfully.

"No", muttered the other injured person. "That was ineffective. We tried. They seemed to be immune. And they were in the majority. There was even a magician among them... It was terrible. Janne and I just managed to escape." After Charlotte had taken care of the laceration, she now healed the wounds of this centaur. A large burn wound extended over his left arm. He flinched briefly as she gently touched his arm.

Cleo pulled at her hair. Immune? No. That had to be the work of her mother. The camp needed to be better protected. "Immune... That's not good..." She looked at Rasmus. He seemed equally worried and shook his head in perplexity. Jane and Caius talked quietly and looked at Cleo pleadingly. As if they were hoping to hear a solution from her. She didn't have any.

When the two centaurs were healed, they thanked Charlotte. "Do you need anything else? A warm tea, perhaps?", she asked anxiously. Both centaurs denied.

"Thanks for the warning", Cleo grumbled. "What are you going to do now?"

"We warn our tribe. And the other tribes need to be informed too!", said Janne. "That was certainly just the beginning. We have to prepare for an attack!"

"The air smells of war", Cedric muttered.

"Maybe." Tiyam nodded. Then he turned to their guests. "Come! We have water and something to eat. Strengthen yourselves before you leave!" The two followed Flordeli's brother and thanked them again.

Caius looked at Cleo questioningly. "I warn the others, okay? Everyone in the camp needs to be informed. We're not safe here."

"Do that!" Cleo nodded. "Everyone should be ready for a possible attack. We better be vigilant. I strengthen the ward. It's a good thing Julia isn't here..."

"Good? Or bad?" Rasmus sighed. "That's not good. I only left a handful of warriors with my tribe. Hopefully, there will be enough, should they be attacked. My wife will lead the tribe wisely. She's a skilled Warrior."

Cleo patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. "We are also fighting for them. For their safety."

He nodded.

"I'm strengthening the ward. You keep planning." Cleo held out her hand to Charlotte. "Are you coming?"

"Of course..." Charlotte murmured. "What do we do if Julia returns in the middle of an attack?"

That made Cleo laugh. "Screaming for help?"

Together with Charlotte, she walked around the camp and wrote an even stronger spell in her mind. The strongest, which she mastered. This would not only hide the camp from attackers but also make them go in a different direction if they got too close.

However, experienced witches and wizards could easily recognize the signs of a spell. A strange shimmer in the air, sudden changes in behavior...

Hopefully, no one would find them who shouldn't.

Agathe

The seamstress worked quickly. Something that Agathe was very pleased about.

Marlon's suit was already ready. Visually, they would both match. This, too, appealed to her. It was the perfect illusion. She would be celebrated. Admired. And for Agathe, there was even more reason to rejoice. Today, soldiers tested the new bracelets.

They were tasked with catching centaurs and bringing them to her. Alive, of course. Agathe couldn't wait to subdue these powerful creatures. And then? Maybe they could be her pets? Mounts? Soldiers? Servants?

There were many options.

"Do you think you could subdue a dragon?" Marlon asked her. He sat on the soft carpet of the library. At her feet. She herself sat enthroned in a dark red armchair. "With a binding spell?"

The soft light of the moon shone through one of the large windows.

"A dragon?"

The young prince nodded. "I always wanted to have one. As a pet."

Agathe puffed amusedly. "How foolish! My dear boy! A dragon would have eaten me before I could even think of the spell! And yet... Maybe you'll get your chance."

"My chance?" He tilted his head. Like a little dachshund.

"I've seen dragons in my vision. Dragons that are on their way to my castle. Dragons as part of an army. Maybe we can catch one?" Agathe wanted to kill the dragons, not catch them... But she liked to butter him up. "Then, you could try your luck. Either you get your pet... Or it'll eat you!" She winked at him as if this was a joke. Marlon grinned.

If dragons accompanied an army, then it had to be possible to tame them...

But who would succeed in such a thing?

Who was so stupid? Or so powerful?

Who?

It had to be a very powerful person.

Finn

Finn had woken up in the middle of the night. Yawning, he sat up. Next to him, Marko slept in his wolf form. He snored softly. Julia buried her face in Marko's fur in her sleep, while Josef lay purring next to her head. Leopold slept snuggled up to her back. He had put one of his arms around her in his sleep. A cute and very peaceful sight.

When Julia came back from her underwater excursion, she told them about the beautiful city. And about the sirens' decision to help them. They would help them. That was good. And it didn't surprise him. After all, it was Julia. For her, anything was possible.

Finn envied her for all the beautiful things she had been allowed to see. He couldn't swim. All he could do was wait. As always.

The little will-o'-the-wisp buzzed into their magical house. She waved at him and then looked at Julia with interest. She asked Finn something, but he didn't understand her.

"They're sleeping. Please don't wake them up!", he whispered.

Fnips chuckled and flew away again.

Finn's gaze wandered to Fiete and Peter. Fiete imitated Marko. A large brown wolf served as a pillow for the sleeping Peter. The two looked satisfied. Peter hugged Fiete's long, fluffy-looking wolf's tail and Fiete lay on Peter's buttocks with his big wolf's head. That made Finn smile.

Tired, he stroked Marko's fur and snuggled up to him again. Marko opened his eyes briefly and snorted contentedly. Yawning, Finn petted Julia's hair, then he closed his eyes and fell asleep again in the midst of those he loved.

(c: sasi)