The Goblin Princess

Chapter 33

The little princess laid still in her bed the complete opposite of her little mind.

"What should it be tonight, Precious?"

"A princess story."

Her father laughed as he pulled a book off the bookcase.

The room felt so empty with just her in the room. Why had she been the one to get sick?

Her father sat in the chair beside the bed. "I think I have one you haven't heard before."

The little princess gave a quick nod. "Okay, Daddy."

Smiling, he opened the book. "Once upon a time..."

Chapter 33

Why was her father here? What was he planning to do? Slowly Battle-cat began to move back towards Castle Greyskull no matter what signals she was giving him.

"Smart creature." Emeric was retreating slowly with him.

"Stop! I'm not leaving!" Veena fought with the massive cat under her.

Seeming to ignore her screaming, Battle-cat continued to go backward.

"Get her out of here, Battle-cat!"

Turning towards the sound of He-man's voice, Veena watched him running towards them.

The massive cat shook his head as He-man got to them.

Not even breathing heavily, He-man mounted behind Veena. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Veena tried to stop the retreat but failed.

"Captain, I'll take it from here."

Emeric nodded. "I'll leave her in your hands." He removed his hand from Battle-cat.

Battle-cat gave once last glance around before racing back towards Greyskull. The drawbridge came crashing down in front of him. As he reached the halfway point, the bridge began to rise. Battle-cat jumped through the opened gate as it continued to rise, sealing the gateway as it rose fully. He carried them into the massive empty throne room before stopping.

He-man dismounted and turned to face Veena.

She sat glaring at him. "Why did you do that? I wanted to stay and help."

He-man shook his head. "Ve, think about it. If she is the one who cursed your family, then what chance do you have against her?"

Frowning, Veena hung her head. He was right, and she knew it of course. "She's only here cause of me. I can't let anyone get hurt cause of me."

He-man sighed. "I understand, Ve, but it unfortunately comes with being royalty. You realize until any of your brothers return you're the heir."

Veena raised her head slightly. She hadn't thought of that. If she was the only one left then yes she was the heir.

"You're the heir and look at what you do! You don't sit back and let others fight your battles."

He-man sighed. "Duncan was training me to fight even before Skeletor returned. I'll explain later. Anyway, the difference is you've only been training for a few weeks. You need more practice, Ve. Duncan wouldn't have brought me to the Sorceress if he hadn't thought I was ready."

"Quite true, He-man." The Sorceress flew into the room. She turned to He-man. "The shield around Greyskull is weakening. No matter what I have tried I can not get it to strengthen."