Chapter 2

"Wake up, Francis!" someone yelled, throwing a pillow at me.

My eyes shot open and I sat up. My mother was at the edge of my bed, holding up her hands. I glanced at the pillow. It was floating in the air.

"Mother!" I yelled. "You don't have to hit me with a pillow!"

She jerked her hands away, and the pillow returned to its normal place. "You need to get up now," she said. "Remember where we're going?"

A wave of tiredness washed over me. I groaned and stumbled out of bed.

After I had gotten ready with my parents rushing me every ten seconds, we were finally ready to go. "Are we riding the magic carpet?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not," my father sighed. "My family doesn't like magic."

"But if they live in Greater Greensward, they -"

"I just don't want them to know I have magic, a magic wife, and a magic son just yet," my father told me.

A carriage guided by two horses pulled up in front of the cottage. "A carriage?" I moaned. "Are you at least going to make it go fast like it did when we went to Upper Montevista?"

"No, Francis," my mother told me. "Just get in."

I climbed in, even though I hated carriages. We started to move along, going in the direction away from the castle and the Enchanted Forest. I had forgotten to say goodbye to my friends; the trip had come up so quickly. "Does everyone know we left?" I asked my parents.

My mother nodded. "We should be back soon, so don't worry."

"I'm not worried," I mumbled, looking out the window.

I grew bored as the carriage continued on. It jolted when it went over big rocks and I could hear the horses neigh now and then, but that didn't make the trip more interesting. We were on a normal road and there weren't many travellers around us.

Now and then, however, I saw magical creatures. We had to let a pack of minotaurs cross the road when it was mid afternoon, and I watched a Pegasus fly through the sky not too long later. Greater Greensward had many magical creatures, and while other kingdoms mostly feared them, this kingdom was a friend to all of them.

I had drifted off into a nap, but woke to my mother shaking me. "We're here," she whispered.

I rubbed my eyes and glanced outside. We were parked in front of a cottage that was a little bit bigger than our own, just a lot older. Some of the windowpanes were broken, the flowers on the edges of the house were shriveled, and the roof had missing pieces of straw. Overall, the cottage didn't look very welcoming.

We climbed out of the carriage and knocked on the door. My eyes widened at who answered it. An old woman with warts covering her face and dark, beady eyes stared at us.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Hello, Aunt Gertrude," my father said. "We're here for Father's birthday. We told you we were coming, do you remember?"

"Yes, I do," she said, a smile crossing her lips. "Come in, come in."

Although she smiled at my father, she gave my mother and I disgusted looks. My mother held my hand as we sat down on one of the ripped couches and Great-aunt Gertrude disappeared into the kitchen.

"Don't mind her," my father whispered. "She can be a bit snobbish. When I was young, she -"

"Haywood, my boy!" someone shouted, and a huge, burly man entered the room.

"Uncle Maurice," Haywood said. "How have you been? This is my wife, Grassina, and my son -"

"Another boy!" Great-uncle Maurice boomed. He wrapped his huge, hairy arms around me and squeezed me in a hug.

I don't even know you, I thought, glancing up at the big man who had a smile so wide I thought his face would split in two.

"What's his name?" asked Great-uncle Maurice.

"Francis," said my mother.

"Well, Francis, I think we'll be spending a lot of quality time together!" the man laughed, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Great," I muttered.

Great-aunt Gertrude returned with three cups and handed one to each of my parents and me. I frowned at the liquid inside. It was a dark brown and smelled musty, as if she had taken dirt and mixed it in with water. That's probably what it is, I thought to myself.

My mother and father were frowning at the liquid as well, but they still took sips. When Great-aunt Gertrude glared at me as if demanding me to drink, I took a deep breath and took a sip as well.

It tasted like water. I just set my cup down.

"Haywood," someone suddenly growled from the other side of the room. My father perked up, as if he was nervous, and I saw why when the speaker came into the room.

It was my grandfather. He glared at us, his eyes narrowed. "Who did you bring to my house?"

"This is my family, Father," my father said, clearing his throat. "This is my wife, Grassina, and my son, Francis. I thought it was time I introduced you to my family."

"You think that you can just bring any strangers into my house?" Grandfather demanded. He strolled over to my mother and I, his cane thumping on the ground.

He leaned toward my mother, looking straight into her eyes. "So you're my son's wife?"

She nodded, and raised her head high. "Yes, I am. I love Haywood very much. Is there something wrong?"

My grandfather just laughed, then turned to me. "And you're his son?"

I nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Grandfather."

My grandfather's smile faded and he poked me with his cane in the ribs. I jumped back, alarmed. My mother grabbed my hand.

Grandfather turned away from me, back to my father. "I'm surprised you have a family, Haywood." With that, he stalked out of the room.

My father sighed. "I think we should get some sleep now."