Within the Pages

Chapter 36

A/N: Hey guys. Brand new part for all of you. I hope you like it. Since I am doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I'll be doing a chapter or 2 a day and the story will be done by the end of November. 

Chapter 36

I wake up to the sun shining through my small window. I hear a bird singing a song in a tune I faintly recognize but can't recognize from where.

I bolt up, suddenly realizing that the sun is up and that can only mean one thing. My dad must have went to the castle alone. Oh no. Magically putting clothes on, I super speed to the room he was staying in. The bed is unmade and his sword given to him by Lancelot is gone. I wonder why he would even need a sword. He has magic powerful enough that not one person would dispute he is the wizard of Oz.

I close my eyes quickly and imagine a big wake up sign with bright flashing lights floating in the air. I imagine separating it and sending it off to everyone in house. I head to the big table in the dining room.

It takes a few minutes but everyone comes down. The walk in and get startled to see me.

"Why didn't you wake us up sooner? And where is your father?" Lancelot asks. I would think he would have woken up sooner anyways. Didn't they have to wake up super early for knight training or something?

"He's gone. He left to fight the witches himself. Not that I don't have any faith in him, but I'm sure he failed." Shocked looks appear on everybody's faces. "We need to go rescue him." I look around the room at all the faces. The Scarecrow, Lion, Dorothy. Goldilocks, Lancelot, and even Toto, all look so scared. And yet, I can also see bravery.

"We need to go now." I say firmly turning to go. A hand on my shoulder stops me. I turn back around to see Lancelot.

"We can't go yet Charlie. We don't have a plan. We could end up getting ourselves captured as well." He says to me softly.

"We have a plan. Go in there and save my dad. I'm going whether you are going to help me or not."

"Charlie. Think about this." Lancelot says. "Your dad is bait. You don't know how to fully control your powers." He stops to think then his eyes light up with an idea he must think is great. "Let me train you how to fight. You can't always rely on your powers. There must be a limit. I'll train you to fight with a sword and you won't have to always use your powers for something. Your father is tough because he couldn't use his powers in my land. What if somewhere you can't use your powers."

I don't really know how to control my powers and he is right. What if there is a place or thing that could take away my powers. That would make sense as to how my mom was powerless back in King Arthur's land. But then again my dad could be in danger. "I need to go save my dad. What if." I break off, shuddering at the thought, "what if he is already hurt?"

Lancelot looks at me with sad eyes. "They wouldn't hurt him. Fortunately for us, they want you and your father. Since they don't know where we are, they'll want to keep him alive as bait."

I shrug, "True enough." How long would they keep him though until they think that the bait isn't working? "I'll wait for two days. That's it. After that whether I am properly trained with a sword or not, I'm leaving."

Lancelot smiles slightly. "Two days it is then. Practice starts now." He throws a sword that seems to come out of nowhere at me. I barely catch the handle, almost slicing my hand on the blade.

"Hey watch it!"

"You'll have to learn how to catch a sword at some point. That's your first lesson." Lancelot replies. "It's not always going to be practice. Notice how your dad caught the sword. He's had practice and might not have had the ability to stop them."

"But he has magic. He could have stopped them if he wanted to." He just didn't want to tell me he was from here, or that I was too.

"He was trying to keep his powers a secret for you." Lancelot echos my thoughts. He takes out his own sword and at a reasonably slow speed, comes at me. I bring the sword up and deflect his sword, almost falling over from the weight of it.

"How am I supposed to fight with something that I have a bit of a struggle holding? Could I get a lighter sword? A dagger maybe?' I feel kind of embarrassed saying that. I can't even lift up a sword.

"Charlie." He looks down at me with a disapproving look on his face. Not having a father figure in my life causes this disapproving look to mean a bit more. "You have powers beyond anything anybody could dream of. You don't need to feel the weight of that sword. Just make it lighter."

"I can do that?"

"I'm sure the limit is small as to what your powers could do. Just imagine it weighing less. You turned a lion into a bird and back again, travelled at super speed, scared a witch, held up a forcefield, teleported, and who knows what else."

He looks like he really believes in me. I look down at the heavy sword that I'm still holding. Can I really defy the laws of psychics.....again? Again I picture the sword becoming lighter. Instantaneously my hand feels lighter. Then I think of another idea. The second I think it, my sword morphs into a large battle axe.

Lancelot backs up. "I said I would teach you how to fight. I can't teach you how to fight with a weapon I barely know myself."

I can feel a look of disappointment fall upon my face. "Fine". I morph the axe back into a sword. While swords are great, axes seem a lot better.

Breaking me from my train of thought, Lancelot comes at me, a bit faster than the first time. When I deflect, he attacks again, this time I barely deflect the blade.

We fight for hours. Everybody else long gone. He cuts me a few times but shows me that I can also heal myself. Is there a limit to my abilities, I don't know but each time I heal myself I feel more and more tired. 3 hours into it after our eighth break I manage to block his sword and do a swipe back, almost being able to hit him.

"Great job Charlie. I definitely see improvement." He comments with approval glowing in his eyes.

"Thanks. I.." I'm interrupted by a doorbell ringing our house. Casting a glance at Lancelot, we head to the door. Lancelot looks through the hole in the door and turns back to me with fear on his face.

'RUN CHARLIE RU." He gets cut off by the front door crashing to the ground and soldiers clad in emerald green armor march into the house.