Tulie rubbed her eyes early that morning, wondering why Leora barged into her sleeping quarters at one o'clock begging for her help. But, she snapped herself out of her sleepy state and tried to be as polite and orderly as she possibly could as she made her way into the kitchen where Leora told her to go.
When she opened the swinging door, Tulie was a little surprised at the sight of her Queen. Leora wore dark blue jeans, a black turtle neck sweater and a long black coat with her old black addida sneakers. Tulie wasn't used to Leora's 'casual' dress yet; keep in mind this wasn't the 10th kingdom.
Leora finished tying her sneakers when she noticed Tulie was standing there, "Good, you're here. I know you usually don't get up this early, but I need your help. But before I make my request, I need your hand."
Leora extended her hand to her ladies' maid, who gave her own curiously. Leora clenched the girl's hand tight and pulled the maid close to her and whispered, "You are to tell no one that I summoned you tonight. You have no knowledge of me leaving here or where I went. As far as I'm concerned, you're more clueless than a troll after three gallons of ale! Understand?"
Nervously but obediently, the girl shook Leora's hand and nodded, "Yes mam."
"Alright," Tulie watched as Leora finished stuffing food into a strange looking violet bag, waiting for orders.
After Leora set her things down, she reached over the counter and put an object in Tulie's hand. Tulie looked down at it, and then up at Leora, frightened, "I can't!"
"Yes you can Tulie; I trust you. Please, I don't want to be recognized while out in the country. I need you to do this."
Even though she didn't want to, Tulie gripped the scissors tight and did as her Queen asked. Leora closed her eyes, feeling the weight lift off her shoulders as her long locks fell to the cold kitchen floor.
Finally, Tulie put down the scissors and brushed Leora's hair a little. Then, she picked up the mirror sitting on the counter and showed Leora.
"Oh my God," Leora looked at her short hairdo in awe. It barely touched the shoulders, and she had long bangs that parted on her left side.
"I feel so mysterious," she grinned and brushed her hair, "Thank you Tulie."
Quickly, she grabbed her things and headed towards the servant's side door in the back of the kitchen. Just before she ran out the door, Tulie grabbed her hand, "Wait!"
Leora stopped and watched Tulie reach into her apron and reveal a small blue crystal, "It was my mother's. When I was seven, she gave it to me for good luck and happiness. I want you to have it."
"No, Tulie, I can't take thi-"
But her maid wouldn't listen, "You need it far more than I," she folded it into her hands, "You come back safe Leora."
Smiling, Leora reached over and hugged the maid whispering, "You're getting good at this; soon enough you'll be wearing jeans and t-shirts just like women in the 10th Kingdom."
"Don't count on it, mam," Tulie smiled and let her go.
Quickly, Leora pushed the side door open and ran down into the woods, hoping her dark appearance will surpass the guards on the night watch. As soon as she was on the outskirts of her castle, Leora stopped running for a moment, and looked back.
The long garden paths, the blue lake in the front, the cobblestone walls that held it all together made the castle so inviting to her. But she couldn't stay; she knew if her people wanted to win this battle, she'd have to stop its source.
"I just hope Damien isn't too mad!" she said to herself, strapping her backpack tighter and running off into the night.
About five hours later, everyone in that peaceful castle was up and in a hurry. Damien, still in his robes, marched around the castle barking orders to each person he saw, "I want all the guards to group and go in each direction around the castle. Every nook and cranny of this kingdom will be searched! No one rests until we find her; including me!"
He strode towards the library, passing Tulie as he went. She felt awful; yes, she did promise her Queen she wouldn't say a word. But, Damien was so worried, so stressed. She didn't know how long she could take it.
Damien entered the library, marching straight up to Aden, "I want you to find her now!"
Aden rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes, "Okay okay! Just don't get your panties all in a twist!"
Damien paced the room as Aden concentrated. Ten minutes rolled by, and still Damien waited. Finally, Aden opened his eyes and stood straight again.
Impatiently, Damien barked, "Well?"
Aden shook his head and said in his thick, Scottish accent, "She used a protection spell Dame; she knew you'd try to track her threw me so she blocked me out with it!"
"Damn it! Are you sure that she cast the spell? Radford could've kidnapped her."
Aden shook his head more fiercely this time, "It was definitely her. She even said to me with her mind, 'stop trying Aden, you know you can't get to me!' Buggur, she can be domineering!"
Damien thought it over in his head, and then threw his fists angrily, "Ahh!"
About that time in New York City, Wolf was in bed, happily dreaming. All of a sudden, he felt it. Opening his dark blue eyes, he jumped from the bed, quickly got dressed and walked into the small kitchen.
"Good morning; I thought you'd be asleep for at least two more hours!" Virginia was cooking breakfast while Wolfram played in the living room just five feet in front of her.
He grabbed a couple pieces of bacon and gobbled them down, "I know, but there's a problem; I have to go home!"
Virginia looked at him worriedly, "Home? You're already home. What are you-" she stopped herself.
Wolfram watched his parents stare into each other's eyes silently. Finally, Virginia kissed her husband and hugged him, "Go, but be careful; you never know what could drop out of the sky there."
Wolf held her as long as he could, and then put on his slick black coat and kissed Wolfram on the head, "See ya later pup!"
As soon as he left, Virginia stopped the cooking and rubbed her forehead agitatedly. Then, she noticed Wolfram was still looking at her. She didn't know how to tell him, but she tried, "Daddy had to go take care of a few things honey. He'll be-"
"He's going to Auntie Lori; she needs his help," the boy innocently said as he played with his toys.
Virginia paused, shocked that he knew what was happening. But her shock faded when she took notice of his tail again. She shook her head, "The wolf sense, right!"
It was close to sunset when Leora was enjoying her bacon sandwich and looking over the map. She had pin-pointed the location of where the guards had claimed to find Radford's army; so she figured she'd start there. After she put the map away, she opened up one of Aden's magic books that she had 'barrowed' that morning. She took a swig of water as she looked over the pages.
"From what I know about this guy; I have to fight fire with fire," at that moment Leora wished she brought Aden along. He had become even more powerful in these past few years. But, she knew that if she had invited him along, he'd run off and tell Damien of their plans 'thinking' he'd be cool with it. Damien then would've come with them and left the battle to Wendell. Leora trusted Wendell when it came to leadership and strength, but she also knew Damien had to lead his people into this fight, and he'd need Aden's help anyway.
"So, I'm pretty much going to stop an extremely powerful and evil sorcerer without any experience in magic besides a little blocking spell Aden taught me. The Kingdom's doomed!"
Leora dropped the book and placed her head in her hands, "This is stupid! How am I going to do this? How can I? What powers do I have that could even come close to-"
But, when she looked up from the ground, she couldn't speak.
Still in his black pajamas, Damien sat at his desk in the library, circles under his eyes, hands folded together pressed against his mouth. Why would Leora up and leave without telling him? She knew it was dangerous for her to be traveling now more than ever, and alone? He knew something wasn't right.
Just then, he heard a knock at the open door. It was Leora's ladies' maid, Tulie, "Sir, may I speak to you a moment?"
"Yes Tulie," Damien snapped, he was far past grouchy at this point.
She nervously played with her hands as she walked up to his desk, "There's something I feel I should tell you; although I promised not to."
"Whatever it is, just spit it out and leave me be; I have to think of something!" Damien jumped from his chair and walked around the room in thought, as though she wasn't even there.
This made Tulie even more uneasy, "Well, um, it's about Leora. She's-"
Suddenly, Tulie found herself powerfully grasped by the king; his eyes were bloodshot, "What of Leora? Do you know where she is? Out with it girl!"
Overwhelmed and a little faint, Tulie began to cry in fright. Damien sighed and relaxed his grasp a great deal, feeling like an animal for forcing himself upon her.
But before he said anything, Damien noticed someone was at the door. None other than Wolf stood there, a little disturbed at the sight.
"Uh, Damien?" he asked, concerned.
Damien let go of the girl and walked over to him, "Its Leora, she's-"
"Gone, I know," he replied matter-of-factly, "Tell me what's going on."
Tulie stood there, still frightened as Damien explained Radford and the war. As soon as he finished, Wolf nodded, "Well, you do know where she's gone then."
Damien shook his head heatedly, "No, I don't know where she's gone! Here's a plan, you tell me since she's blocked any kind of magic to get to her!"
"Simple, to the swamps by the northeastern shore; she's gone to confront Radford."
Tulie's mouth dropped, Damien almost lost it, "WHAT? How the bloody hell do you know that?"
"I'm half wolf, remember? And, the last time I spoke with my sister, she was too. I can sense when she's in trouble; more so than usual. She may have blocked Aden's magic but I can track her through her scent. It's what we do. Don't tell me you forgot all that?"
Damien sighed and rubbed his head, a little relieved, "I guess it was lost from my mind; Leora always disappears to the dungeon whenever the full moon comes around. But now that that's settled, we can go get her!"
"No! You stay here; I'm going to get her," Wolf turned and started walking out of the room.
However, Damien pulled him back forcefully, "No! Not without me; she's my wife and I'm responsible for h-"
"You're responsible for this Kingdom Damien! Why do you think she left without telling you where she'd be going or for what reason? Because she knew you had to stay here and fight for your land, for your people! She did the right thing, well, that part at least."
Damien folded his arms, silent but stubborn. Wolf went to him and said in a low voice, "Look, you know you can trust me to keep Leora safe. You can't worry about her now; it's your kingdom that's at stake. I don't need any guards to come with me; I travel faster alone. And don't even begin to tell me to take Aden! He's more needed here than where I'm heading. Just trust me."
And with that, Wolf placed his hand on Damien's shoulder, and waited for Damien to do the same. With a big sigh, Damien placed his hand on Wolf and said, "I want my girl back in one piece, alright?"
"Okay," Wolf nodded and then left the room quickly.
Damien placed his head in his hand; both relived and worried at the same time. However, he noticed he wasn't alone. Tulie was still standing there, the shock had faded.
"Oh, sorry Tulie," he walked over to her, "What was it you wanted to tell me about Leora?"
Tulie thought to herself for a few moments, and then answered him, "I cut Leora's hair."