Thunderbolt of Laurels

Chapter 20-The Heart of a Witch

Merlin takes one of his cards out of his pouch, emitting a small spark. He begins to attack the creatures of wood. I whistle and at the sound, Chonkers immediately jumps to my side. "You have to get Red Shoes out of here," I tell him. The giant wooden bunny and hops towards Red. She tries to move out of his way.
"No no, let me help you guys!" she exclaims desperately. The wooden creature swings its fist at me to attack. I use my bow in defence, holding it in front of me and with all my strength, keep it from pummelling me. Merlin zaps the creatures arm, pushing it away from me, and saving my breath. "Um, I don't think it's the best idea if you stay," I tell her, gasping for air.
She opens her mouth to speak but Merlin beats her to it. "Alaura's right, Red Shoes. You must get out of here before it's too late!"
"Um, okay. . ." she finally agrees and hops on the bunny.
"Stop her from getting away!" Regina orders the wooden creatures. They immediately obey and turn their attention away from us to Red and the bunny. One grabs Chonkers before he can make the jump, entrapping them both in its wooden hand. "I told you guys to just give up already. I am going to get what I want," the witch says coldly.

I don't even have my arrows with me, not that that would do any damage to the creatures. But, I could cut them off at the source. The heart. If I had my arrows, I could pierce the heart of the witch.

Merlin conjures up his spells and aims at the wooden creature holding Red. He unleashes but the other creature jumps in front, taking the hit. It falls on its side, towards me, and lands atop of my entire leg. I let out a small scream and immediately cover my mouth to swallow the rest of my scream. The pain envelops me, but I try to ignore it and focus at the task at hand. Smoke begins emitting from the creatures torso. It twitches slightly for a few moments, scratching and digging wood chips into my leg. Then it is still.

Merlin's gaze comes to me and his movements immediately follow. "Merlin, no get Red out of here first. I'll be fine. It's just her life at risk"
"That's what you think," Regina says slyly. Her mouth curls into a deep smile. The wooden creature on top of me wakes back up, and with its long arm, smacks Merlin, sweeping him off the terrace.
"Merlin!" Red and I shout in despair. I try to get my leg free, pulling with all my force. Even if it brings deep cuts. I can feel a piece of wood lodging in deep. I cry out in frustration, in pain and in desperation. Regina feasts on my and Red's cries with laughter.

And then I hear a noise. A whirring noise. It sounds like a propeller. I look out the door and there floating is Merlin. Fists on hips, looking ever so gallant. As he floats higher, we discover the cause of his flight: a contraption Pino, Noki and Kio fashioned that looks like a giant wooden robot. But that's not all. Standing beside Merlin, holding a grand sword made of Ice Crystal, only found in a Kingdom of Winter is the one and only Prince Charming. The two boys jump off the contraption and without hesitation, run towards the creature that captured Red Shoes. Char raises his sword in the air. Merlin unleashes a bolt of lightning. Just as the sword is about to hit the wood, the lightning intertwines with the Ice Crystal. The sword penetrates the wooden arm of the creature and chops it clean off. It falls limp on the floor. Red and Chonkers run out of its wooden hand, behind Merlin and Char.
Regina's scream pierces our ears. "NO!" I look towards the sounds but there's no one there. In fact, Regina isn't anywhere to be seen.
"Guys, I think she's hiding in the shadows," I call.
"Get on the bunny Red! Get back to the F7!" Merlin shouts at her. She nods and jumps on the bunny. Chonkers jumps towards the terrace, gaining momentum with every bounce. And then I see a dark vile creature emerging from the shadows. Teeth barred, nails like daggers, coming out of the darkness. The two boys continuously fight the wooden creature, clearly becoming victorious, but the creature will not go down without a fight. There's no time for them to prevent the shadow from attacking Red. As Chonker's gets closer to the shadow I desperately try to pry myself out, looking for something I can use to let Red get away. A stick. The stick that I used to shoot the apple out of Red's hand. I reach for it, but it's just beyond my grasp. So with all my might and concentration, I push out as much of my leg as possible, trying hard to ignore the pain. Biting my lip hard, tasting blood as my teeth rip the skin. It feels like a dagger is tracing down my leg but I keep going. With my fingers, I try to roll the stick towards me. It begins to roll away, but I catch it before it gets to far, tearing out more of my leg. But it doesn't matter. I reached it.

I pull it towards me, load my bow. I breathe. For once, I'm a little nervous my aim won't be true. No. It will be. For the sake of my friend. For the sake of all the souls that suffered at the hands of this witch. For my poor leg. The shadow finally emerges as a body, showing her true self. She is ready to attack Red, thinking no one has noticed. I let go. The stick, with the apple still at its middle, flies towards Regina. It pierces the witch's heart.