I ripped off a piece of my shirt at the bottom to tie around the palm of my right hand. I didn't know what the symbol meant but didn't want to take any chances if anyone saw me, should it be seen as bad in any way. Then I wandered out of the marches with still no clue on where to go next. Doli hadn't returned and I didn't know the way back to the fair folks' underground kingdom. I ended up wandering quite aimlessly hoping to find some sort of sign pointing me in the direction of the Horned King's castle. Instead of finding that however, when my hunger was just starting to get the better of me, I ran into something else unexpected.
"Mal!" I climbed over a hill in a valley I had reached, only to see the coastline come into view. I didn't recognize anything around me on land, but I did spot a familiar boat docked on the beach. My eyes widened as I realized what I was looking at. The one who called my name was Evie; she was far on the other end of the field I had just surmounted. I didn't react immediately, still baffled out of my mind as to how she could even be here with me. But the initial stun didn't last too long when Harry and the others ran over where I could see them. Harry, my heart skipped a beat. I could make out him saying my name on his lips too. He, Evie, Jay, Ben, Uma, among others dashed my way.
Of course Harry was the first to reach me, catching me in his arms. He caught me, kissing my face and neck everywhere and holding me so close to him. I swear he must have cracked a rib by the time our friends arrived. "Mal!" Evie was the next to pull me out of Harry's grasp and throw her arms around my neck. I held onto her while still maintaining eye contact with Harry. He looked like he was about to cry, and I'm pretty sure I looked the same.
"Mal, how are you?! What are you doing out here all by yourself?! Are you ok?!" Evie pulled back so to clasp both my cheeks in her hands. "I'm fine, I'm fine," I had to repeat over and over just to get her to let go. "Y-You were big! And then you were back to normal! Then you fell into the sea!" Evie had tears rolling down her cheeks by now. So did I. "I know, I had some cake and drink from Wonderland," I explained myself. "What happened to you?! Were you out here looking for us?!" She kept demanding. My lips instantly opened to reply but no words came out. No, actually; that was the last thing I was trying to do in reality. I didn't want any of them going near the Horned King or the black cauldron. Only one person would be entering his castle; only one person needed to enter his castle…..
"We've been looking for you, Mal," Ben announced; he also sounded super relieved to have found me. "You have?" I blinked to him surprised. I don't know why this surprised me so much. It made sense when I thought about it. I mean, they were trapped behind the wall in Prydain now; what else were they going to do? Aside from trying to find the black cauldron themselves. I silently gulped at the very idea, banishing it from my mind.
Doug nodded. "We knew you were alive somewhere here in Prydain." "You knew I didn't drown?" I asked astonished. "Your uncle, Poseidon, sent a seagull with news of your safe arrival to Prydain," Jay told me. Seagull? "Was it by chance Scuttle?" I asked. They all blinked in amazement. "How did you know?!" A small, secret smile crept across my lips. "Just a guess."
Everyone was fawning for me so much that I was practically carried back to the Argo. Dodger came running out to me and I kneeled down to hug him. Once onboard I was served a much-needed meal. It was the strangest thing. While everyone around me was still in panic-mode, I felt bizarrely calm- almost numb you could say. I don't know why; since I got here to Prydain my experiences of been of a schizophrenic nature. I nearly drowned, got suck down a whirlpool to the land of the fair folk, went to Morva, and got transported back to London in the Dark Ages. I still didn't see the point of the last one. But the point is that I think my mind wasn't in the best mental condition at the moment.
As I ate my food, my friends kept prodding me with questions. I sat on Harry's lap the whole time, which I could see annoyed Ben for some reason. But I was past the point of caring; I just wanted to be close to Harry while I can. I told everyone how Sebastian and Flounder saved me from the sea, and how Scuttle brought me to meet King Eldilleg and the fair folk underground.
"Then one of the fair folk, Doli, took me to meet these three witches. I wanted to ask them where the Horned King's castle was." "Did they tell you?" Jay asked hopefully. I shook my head. "No. I still have no clue where it is." They all nodded in contemplation. Then Ben flashed me a kind smile. "Well, I'm just thankful you're alright, Mal." "Yeah, and that we found you so quickly," Uma tacked on. "We didn't see or meet anyone. This part of Prydain is pretty barren," Evie said. Her hand then reached over to give mine a little tender squeeze. She smiled so warmly at me. "Don't worry, Mal. We'll find the castle."
"Yes, but we still have to figure out where the black cauldron is inside the castle and how we're going to get our parents out of it," Doug noted thoughtfully. I gazed over to him but didn't say anything. Lonnie nodded in agreement. "Maybe someone on the island can help us?" She remarked. "Hey, yeah! Maybe the locals know something," Gil said with enthusiasm. Jane's head turned to me. "Those witches, Mal; did they tell you anything about the black cauldron? Where the Horned King might be hiding it or how we could possibly free the adults?"
I looked at her for a long time, not making a sound. Then my lips parted a sliver as I drew in a silent, slow breath. "No, they didn't tell me anything about the cauldron."