Albuquerque

We Meet Again

The trio flew all the way to Albuquerque Palace.

Once the trio got to the palace, Athena stared at it.

"My palace—I barely recognize it," Athena gaped.

"Don't worry—you'll get it back," Walter told her.

Athena flew to a window into the throne room.

In the throne room, Morgana was on her throne. Amanda, Amber, and Gabe were getting anxious. They wondered if Kathy had freed Athena from the Amulet.

"I can see you like my palace very much," Morgana smirked. "It's certainly a beauty, isn't it?"

Suddenly, Athena's angry voice rang from across the room, "Morgana!"

Everyone gasped in shock, especially Morgana. Athena was walking toward Morgana, who was surprised that the princess was back.

"Princess Athena!" Morgana gasped.

"The time has come to pay for your crimes!" Athena glared.

Many of the servants tried to play innocent, pretending they had no idea when Athena meant by that.

"Crimes? What crimes?" one guard asked innocently.

"Morgana invaded Albuquerque and overthrew the royal family—my family!" Athena snarled.

Amanda and the twins realized that this was the princess Kathy was talking about. They went over to the princess.

"You must be Princess Athena, the princess Kathy had to find," Amanda surmised.

"Yes, she freed me from her amulet," Athena told Amanda. Then she turned to Morgana and snarled, "That way, I could free Albuquerque from you!"

"But Albuquerque has been so much better without you," Morgana smirked. "Why ruin a good thing?" She reached into her pocket to try to pull out her wand only to realize that it's gone.

Athena held up Morgana's wand and asked, "Looking for this?"

"How did you get that?" Morgana snarled. "It was that little princess, the one in the green dress."

"Yes, and now the time has come to turn the tables on you," Athena glared, pointing the wand to Morgana.

"I don't know about that—it takes more than a wand to make you a sorceress," Morgana scoffed.

"Your spell has echoed in my head for 50 years, Morgana," Athena glared. "I know it by heart. Plus, when I was little, I took sorcery lessons from Cedric." She turned to Amanda and the twins and said, "You'd better get behind me—this is dangerous."

Amanda and the twins got behind Athena.

"How dangerous is this exactly?" Gabe asked.

"Very—this is a murder spell," Athena told him. "Morgana tried to kill me with this spell, and that's what got the Amulet to pull me inside." She faced Morgana and shouted, "Vadisima!"

But as Athena casted the spell, Amber sneezed and bumped into her. That's when Athena pointed the wand to a tapestry, and the spell destroyed it. There behind the tapestry was a painting of Eric, Kerry, Brandon, Lucia, and Miles. Athena remembered that Cedric was going to cast a spell to protect her family inside a painting.

"Is this what I think it is?" Athena gasped, dropping the wand. "The enchanted painting?"

"You can tell that's an enchanted painting just by looking at it?" Amber asked.

"This is no ordinary painting—Cedric needed time to cast a spell that could protect my family inside an enchanted painting even Morgana's magic can't touch," Athena declared. "That's why I chose to face Morgana by myself."

"That's right," Morgana smirked, picking up the wand. "Since you don't have the Amulet, it's time to get rid of you—this time, for good!"

"Run for it!" Athena shouted. She led Amanda and the twins to a nearby window, where the flying horses were waiting. "Gina, to the farm!"

Gina and the royals flew away to Gina's farm.

Inside the throne room, Morgana was furious. "I want her and those royals captured by sunset!" she ordered to her guards.