Chapter 10. Strange visitors
It was an early morning. Even the creepy forest and the dirty shack looked picturesque in the sunshine. Demetrius, though, woke up with a very bad feeling. He woke his daughter up, and fed her with her usual breakfast: wild berries and water. Poor Calendula! She didn't know that the water was magical. Demetrius used the Water of Weakness to weaken her powers for a while.
"When she's needed again," he thought, watching the girl, "I'll give her the Water of Strength. Right now, her strength can be dangerous."
When Calendula finished breakfast, there suddenly was a knock at the door.
"Who's there?" Demetrius asked Calendula in a low voice.
"Cards, I suppose," the girl said. "I don't know if they're friends or enemies. I always feel weakened after breakfast."
"Duh! Of course those are friends," Demetrius laughed. "Every card soldier is on our side."
He opened the door and saw a group of seven Everafters standing outside. Demetrius had never seen them before, but all of them came from a pack of cards. There was a lovely-looking Queen of Diamonds with golden curly hair and big brown eyes; two jokers; the King and Queen of Spades; then the One and Two of Spades. All of them had red handprints on their clothing.
"I have never suspected the Queen of Hearts would allow two of another card queens to live in here," Demetrius thought.
"Welcome, friends," he said aloud. "What brought you to me?"
"Your daughter's talents are needed again!" the King of Spades said. "The Master wants to explain her new task to her."
"Does he want to see her?" Demetrius asked.
"He ordered us to bring her to Mayor Heart's palace," one of the jokers nodded. The Two of Spades unexpectedly chuckled:
"Oh, by the way, the Master is pretty sure that you're secretly weakening Calendula's magical power!"
Demetrius trembled. The Master knows everything, he thought. He was going to call for Calendula and give her the Water of Strength, when suspicion filled his head.
"Wait a minute!" he said. "I have a pocket mirror to talk with the Master. Why didn't he call me by this mirror?"
"He's too busy discussing the new plan with Sheriff Nottingham," the One of Spades explained.
"I see!" Demetrius cried. "I see! I'm sorry for weakening Calendula, I'm just afraid of her magic myself! I'll give her the Water of Strength right now! She'll be as powerful as before..."
"Fool!" a joker said. "Do you want to waste time? The Master has spells that can make the girl ten times as powerful as before! Your task: bring her here - now!"
Demetrius hurried inside the shack and called for Calendula. The girl came out.
"Hello, little one," the Queen of Spades smiled. "The Master wishes to give you another task."
"OK," Calendula replied. Demetrius locked the shack's door, and the group walked through the forest. The Queen of Spades was carrying Calendula, the men were guarding the path, and the Queen of Diamonds and Demetrius were going behind everyone else.
The thing is that Demetrius was still the same handsome young man, who liked flirting with pretty ladies. And the Queen of Diamonds, with her golden curls, hazel eyes and dazzling smile was really beautiful. The rest of the cards snickered when they heard phrases like:
"Ma'am, be careful, there's a brook running through your path."
"I've never seen eyes this beautiful."
"Can I invite you to a supper after the today's campaign?"
The Queen of Diamonds seemed to be slightly annoyed by that, but she didn't even pay much attention to Demetrius. When he was tired of trying to win her heart, he took a look around.
"Wait!" he exclaimed. "This path leads to Fort Charming! We must turn back at once!"
The card didn't even hear him. They walked faster and faster until Demetrius couldn't see them.
"Calendula!" he cried, chasing after the group. The Queen of Diamonds stopped him and said in a calm voice:
"You'll turn back now, alone. You won't remember anyone of us. You'll wake up in your bed. You don't have a daughter. OK?"
"Are you trying to hypnotize me?" Demetrius yelled. The Queen of Diamonds (or whoever she was) said the same words again and again, but Demetrius wasn't hypnotized.
"HELP!" he cried, knowing that a hobgoblin patrol would arrive in a minute. "THEY'RE ENEMIES!"
Suddenly, the Queen of Diamonds went through a stunning transformation. Her golden curly hair turned brown and straight, the tanned face became pale; the tall woman became short, and the brown-and-white uniform with a bloodred handprint turned into a bright yellow dress with ribbons and gemstones. It was none other than Beauty, who squeaked from fear and ran to Fort Charming.
It was too late! Demetrius kept yelling for help, so a large patrol of hobgoblins came running and surrounded poor Beauty.
A new cliffhanger! I'm starting to regain inspiration for this particular fanfic.