10

The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the ravens followed at a distance, a reminder that she was watching over him and would keep him from harm. He would be approaching the village soon and then he in return would be able to keep her from harm.

Sasha was sat by the gateway to the village and watched the young man approach on his horse. He was tall, had short dark hair and scruffy kind of beard. But he was dressed smartly and carried a bag with him. He must by the man from the University she decided.

"Hello," she said as he approached.

"Hello," he replied as he dismounted and came towards her. He had deep brown eyes and Sasha decided that she liked him. "I'm looking for someone in charge. Can you help me?"

"We had better go and find my father. My name is Sasha."

"Hello Sasha, I'm Carl." She took his hand and they went to find her father.

Will glanced over his shoulder and watched as Sasha approached her house, accompanied by a stranger leading a black horse. He wondered who the stranger could be; it was far too soon for him to come in response to Lotte's letter so what did he want? Will decided to go and find out. He arrived just as Sasha was making the introductions.

"Papa…this is Carl. He's come from the University to help and Will and Lotte."

The man glanced at Sasha and looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry there seems to have been some misunderstanding here. I'm not from the University I'm afraid."

"Then who are you and what do you want here?" All three of them turned as Will came up to them. Both men regarded each other. There something familiar about the man was facing him, had they met before? He felt wrong somehow, his face didn't seem to fit with the clothes. Will knew that he was going to trouble.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean there to be a misunderstanding. My name is Carl Schmidt and I don't represent any university. I heard the rumours that are circulating about the village and I came to see if they were true."

"What rumours?" asked Will. He was determined to get as much information out of this man as he could.

"Strange disappearances, moving trees, a wolf the is not what it seems, screams coming from a tower in the middle of the forest … " A smile spread across Carl's face as he spoke.

"And what do you think caused these things?" asked Will. "Magic?"

"Why not! There are more things in heaven and earth …"

"…than are dreamt of in your philosophy. I hope I got the quote right." The group turned to see Lotte and Angelika coming to join them.

"As far as I remember you did, but I'm not a Shakespeare scholar, I'm afraid. I'm more interested in tales that are closer to home. My name is Carl Schmidt and I'm very pleased to meet you, Fraulein." He extended his hand to Lotte.

"Charlotte Grimm, but you can call me Lotte," and she shook hands with the newcomer. He felt a shock pass through him that took his breath away and all he could do was stare at her as she continued the introductions. "Sasha, you've already met; Gregor, her father; Angelika and the rude one is Will, my brother."

He continued to stare at Lotte. There was something about her that almost frightened him. He could see now why these people were a threat to his Queen, but he was here to protect her.

"What can we do help you, Herr Schmidt?" Will's questioned brought him back to reality.

"I collect folk tales and stories of magic, one day I hope to write a book and I'd like to include the story from Marbarden."

"Then you believe in magic?"

"I have seen and heard enough to make me believe," he replied with a strange smile.

"Then maybe we could swap some stories!" Lotte replied. "Come, my books are at my house and we have a stable for your horse." She led the way through the village.

As he watched Carl follow his sister Will came across the Angelika.

"There something about him that I don't trust. I think I might have met him before, but I'm not sure where. I think we need to keep an eye on him."

"There is definitely something strange about him," agreed Angelika and they followed them to the house.

Lotte and Carl spent the afternoon swapping stories that they had collected over the years. His enthusiasm for the subject was contagious and they were soon lost in the subtleties of folklore. It gave Lotte a chance to study him as they talked. She had never met anyone that shared her passion the way that he did and the more they talked the more she grew to like him.

Will kept an eye on them throughout the afternoon and the more he saw of Carl the more his feelings of unease grew. He knew there was something that was just simply wrong about him and he was determined to find out what. As he entered the house Carl was glancing through one of Lotte's books.

"You two seem to be enjoying yourself," he said as he came towards them.

Yes, I've discovered that your sister and I have more in common than I thought," replied Carl "I'm learning a lot from her."

"How did you become interested in the subject? I mean, people usually know their local stories but they don't have much interest beyond that."

"Well… my father gave me a book when I was a child and it grew from there. I found myself interested in finding out if there was anything behind the tales… and here I am."

Will suddenly found himself taking an interest in the book in Carl's hand. It was an old and battered book with a stylised G on the front. He walked over and quietly removed the book from Carl's hands and placed it on the table at the other side of the room.

"Will! There was no reason to do that." Lotte rose and went towards her brother.

"You can show him all your books, Lotte I've no problem with that. But not Jake's."

"Will, Carl asked how I became interested in folklore and Jake was a major part of it."

"I know. I was there. Remember? But that still doesn't mean that he needs to see the book." And with that he took the book and left the room. He stared at the book. He remembered the trouble and he and Jake had been in when their father discovered that they had used almost a whole stick of sealing wax to put the G on the front of the book. He had gone on about how much the wax cost. It wasn't until later that he realised that their father was probably more upset about the fact that they could have set the house on fire with the wood that they had used to bring a light to melt the wax! He smiled as he remembered how Jake had come to his defence when his father had shouted saying that it was his idea to put it on his book, when in fact it had been Will's, and that he liked it, it made the book look special and it was for his special stories. He had kept it up until his father had started to smile and agreed that it did make the book look special. Their father had never been able to stay mad at Jake for long and the brothers had used this to their advantage many times.

Will reached into his pocket and pulled out the bundle. He slowly unwrapped it reveal a pair of glasses. He used the cloth to gently clean the lenses and then slowly rewrapped them. Although Jake had been dead for over ten years Will seemed to miss him more each day and the recent events in Marbarden had only reinforced this. Jake would have been astounded and thrilled by what had happened, they had proved that magic existed and Will would have given almost anything to have had Jake there to see it. Now this man had turned up and Lotte was showing him all their secrets, including Jake's book. Will didn't care how much he shared Lotte's passion for folklore he had no right to see Jake's book, it belong to them and no one else.

"I'm very sorry about the way my brother reacted," Lotte returned her gaze to Carl after Will had left. "He has a tendency to over react where Jake is concerned. He was our younger brother and the one who began our interest in folklore and magic. He died in an accident a few years ago." She had no idea why she was telling him all this, usually she never discussed Jake with anyone but Will.

"So the stories are to honour his memory?"

Lotte had never thought of what she did this way and it seemed so obvious now that Carl had mentioned it. If she ever did publish her stories she would dedicate them Jake, she decided.

"Look, it's late I should be going." Carl rose from the table and walked towards the door.

"Do you have anywhere to stay for the night? You won't get back to Malsburg until well after dark and the forest is not the safest place to be at night," asked Lotte.

"I have lodgings just beyond the forest."

"I didn't know there was anyone else before you got the Malsburg."

"There are a few people who live near the forest, and it's not actually that close to Malsburg. I've been around here for a few days now and have discovered some short cuts so I should be there before nightfall. But I will be careful in the forest, I promise." Carl leant towards Lotte and for a second or two she thought that he was going to kiss her, but he just turned and walked out of the door. They collected his horse from the stable and Lotte accompanied him to the edge of the village and watched him until he was out of sight.

He rode until he was out of sight of the village and the forest had closed in both sides of the road. He looked to his right and saw a raven perched in the branches of a tree with a path beneath it, he was sure it hadn't been there a few moments ago. He smiled and took the path. He wandered deeper and deeper into the forest, with the raven always before him as if leading him. Eventually he came to pool surrounded by trees, he left the horse and walked towards it. The raven settled on a branch that overhung the pool and dropped something into the pool. The ripples fanned out across the water, he felt his eyes drawn towards them and he gazed into the pool.

He saw himself reflected in the water. He slowly undid the buttons of his waistcoat and then the buttons of his shirt. He pulled back the shirt and underwear to reveal the black circle of metal that covered his heart, as he watched it seemed to tremble with each beat of his heart. He felt himself shudder and closed his eyes as if to shut out the vision before him and let his chin fall to his chest.

"Jacob."

He gazed again into the water and saw a hand now covered the dagger hilt and felt the warmth of the fingers on his chest. He looked to his right but there was no one beside him.

"Jacob."

He looked again into the water and she was there, his Queen, his love. She brought her lips to his and peace filled his mind again. When he opened his eyes he was back in the tower.

"Welcome back, my sweet prince. Did you do what I asked?"

"Yes, my Queen."

"Very good. Come here." Jake approached the Queen. "Sit." Jake lowered himself onto the bed beside her. He leaned into the hand that she slid down his cheek and she slowly lowered her lips to his ear.

"Sleep." She whispered and as his eyes closed Jake fell back onto the bed and into a deep and dreamless sleep.