Chapter Eight: Lacrimae Mundi
These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away.
From "These Dreams" by Heart
The first thing that Tony was conscious of when he awoke was a splitting headache. The next thing was he was face to face with some grimy bars. "Tony" a fierce whisper called from another cage. Tony sat up wincing with pain and saw Merlin staring at him from the cage across from him. He looked to his far left to see Nimue in the other cage. "Merlin, what are we doing here" he asked.
"I think we've been captured by Mountain Trolls" Merlin said evenly.
Tony began to panic, but saw Merlin looked very nonchalant. "At least show a little bit of concern" Tony said dryly. Merlin fixed him a look. "How long do you think that we have been in here"
"Several hours at least" Merlin replied.
"How do you know" Tony asked.
"Well, I looked at the formation of the rocks and noticed the trolls behviour and how many times they have scavanged for food" Merlin said sarcastically. "I'm guessing, Tony"
"Well then why don't you guess our way out of here and to Wendell" Tony said.
Nimue who had been silent during the whole conversation suddenly called her husband and friend's attention. "Merlin, Tony! Look down there" She said.
They turned to the direction that she pointed. "Blow me to Bermuda" Merlin cursed under his breath.
A group of people were held by in a group of cages by the Mountain Trolls. Whole families clung to each other terrified. Mothers held their children behind them so they could get the worst of the threats. Young men held their wives and girlfriends to their chests fighting with the trolls only to recieve beatings of their own. Tony moved closer to the edge of his cage to get a better look.
"Oh my God" he said his breath catching in his throat. "I recognize some of those people" He pointed a woman with graying auburn hair and a torn peasent dress sitting silent with a stocky young man with blond hair. "She let us stay in her barn in Little Lamb Village" He then saw an overweight man his face red with exertion and fear dressed in a suit with a baldric that even though was soiled, he could tell was green, he looked like he was trying to bargain with the trolls. "He is the mayor of Beantown! and that guy over there" he pointed to an older man who under normal circumstances would be considered fussy with his petulent look and mincing demeanour but was now just frightened. "He's a jeweler in Kissingtown. I think Wolf bought Virginia's engagement ring from him! These people are from the Fourth Kingdom"
"They must have ran through after we left" Nimue observed.
"Yes, but who don't you see,'" Merlin asked in a tone that already knew the answer.
Tony and Nimue looked closer. "Wendell isn't there" Tony said also breathing a silent sigh of relief that he didn't see Wolf, Virginia, or Frick either.
"I also don't see Mordred" Nimue said.
"You think they may have eaten them already" Tony asked.
"I hope not" Merlin replied.
"We have to free them" Nimue gasped empathetically as she saw a small child being pushed forward and beaten by the trolls.
"I'm way ahead of you" Merlin said as he tried to stand and held his arms out. Suddenly, from around the cave a scream echoed throughout the cave. It sounded like a demon or a monster but with the echoes it sounded like hundreds of them. The trolls and their prisoners looked around with fear and astonishment. Satisfied, Merllin motioned to the far wall of the cave where a little light reflected from it. He waved his hand, and the shadow of a monster appeared that looked like a combination of a dragon and a phoenix could be outlined. Once again Merlin used his magick to form the scream.
The leader of the Mountain Trolls picked up his weapon and spoke to his people in his language. He pointed to the direction of the "monster." He then motioned to his people to follow him. The Trolls picked up their swords and sticks and in a fury ran out of the cave.
"That wasn't so difficult was it" Merlin asked dryly. He then used his magick to unlock his, Tony, and Nimue's door. They then ran to the people of the Fourth Kingdom to free them. As Tony opened the door to the woman from Little Lamb Village, Fidelity Ramley he remembered her name was, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Okay" he said embarrassed pulling the grateful woman away from him. Her son, John held onto his mother with one hand and held his sister Mary with the other. "Thank you" he said.
"What happened to you" Merlin asked.
" Mountain Trolls came through our village after Castle White was attacked followed by soldiers and Huntsmen! They attacked our villages" explained the Jack the Fourth, Mayor of Beantown"
"We tried to fight them off but there were so many" said a blond woman who was dressed like one of the Kissingtown Casino girls. " They kidnapped us but not everyone! They ran through the villages killing some of our boys and taking us."
"They killed three of my boys" sobbed a woman. It took a moment before Tony recognized who she was. Barbara Peep, the owner of the Baa-Baa Inn"First, my Sally killed by my own father-in-law then this" She sobbed as her younger daughter, Betty held her mother tightly. Despite what had happened between them and the Peeps, Tony couldn't help but feel for her. They didn't deserve that, Hell, no one did.
"Was King Wendell here with you" Tony asked.
The people looked from one to the other their faces puzzled. They asked from one to the other. "I haven't seen him" the Kissingtown Jeweler said.
"I heard a rumour" one of the Peep girls replied. "That he was killed during the Troll Battle on Castle White but that his body wasn't found."
"No" Nimue answered sadly. "We saw him get taken by the Mountain Trolls."
Merlin motioned to Tony and Nimue. They leaned over to him as he spoke in secret. "He must have escaped the Mountain Trolls, Mordred too."
"At least we know he's safe" Nimue said.
"According to you guys, he's no safer with Mordred than he is with the trolls" Tony said.
"I'm sure your king can hold his own with one man, despite having a strong fighting ability, better than he can with a group of Mountain Trolls" Merlin said.
"Should we go find him" Nimue asked.
"We don't know where he is" Tony pointed out. "It would be like looking for a king-sized needle in a haystack."
Merlin agreed. "Let's continue with our goal to find the Holy Grail and then we will see if we can find Wendell. Besides there is much I must tell you about our journey."
"Me too" Tony replied.
"So do I" Nimue agreed.
Merlin then spoke up and turned to the refugees from the Fourh Kingdom. "Come we must leave."
"Where do we go now" a man asked. "Back to the Fourth Kingdom."
Merlin shook his head. "No, for now you must make the journey to the First. You will be safe there."
"You're not coming" John Ramley asked.
Merlin and Nimue shook their heads. Terrified, Tony was about to nod but from his friend's glare, he too shook his head. "No, we have a different path to take. You will need a few leaders to take charge of your journey, now are there any volunteers"
There was a silence. Under normal circumstances, in a large group such as this there would be chest-beating and jockeying for position over who would be leader but the reluctant silence and fear from the villagers showed just how unusual and traumatic these circumstances actually were.
Finally Jack the Fourth stood. "It would be my pleasure to lead."
John Ramley gently pried himself from his tearful mother and terrified sister's grasps. "I will too" he replied. "I make the run to the First Kingdom all the time. I know some shortcuts to get there."
"John no" Fidelity sobbed.
John hugged his mother. "I have to Mum."
"I'm sure he'll do fine" Tony reassured the woman. Fidelity dried her eyes and smiled at the former New Yorker.
"I will too" said the Kissingtown Casino girl. "I can fight with a sword pretty well. My ex-boyfriend, a knight, taught me."
"Good luck, Liccy" a female voice yelled to her. Liccy nodded acknowledging the compliment and smiled at John Ramley who smiled back. She blushed but both turned to Merlin realizing the seriousness of their situation.
"I think that you will be in good hands" Merlin replied. "Now we must be off" Suddenly the sound of drums resounded through the cave. "The trolls are coming back" Nimue gasped. "We must go"
"And we also must keep them from following us" Merlin said. "Now everyone go" The villagers all ran out of the cave. Nimue and Tony trailed behind.
"What's your plan" Tony asked.
"I have an idea" Merlin said. "Run! I will follow close by" He held out his arms and chanted once more. Suddenly, the earth began to rumble slightly. He tried again as the rumbling became louder and rocks and stalagtites fell to the ground. Satisfied, Merlin ran after his wife and friend dodging rocks and stones that fell from the tension of the earthquake.
Merlin was the last to leave the cave as with one final crash the rocks and boulders fell to the ground locking the trolls in their cave. Merlin leaned against the door satisfied. "That takes care of that group at least" he said.
Merlin joined Nimue and Tony. They were standing with the residents of the Fourth Kingdom.
"You sure you can't come" Liccy asked.
"We have something important that we must find" Merlin replied. "It is your journey."
"Thank you for freeing us" Jack the Fourth replied slapping the two men on the back then kissing Nimue on the hand. "If you are ever in Beantown again, I will make sure that you are honored."
"It would be our pleasure" Nimue replied.
John Ramley embraced the three tightly, then pulled away. "Good luck" he said.
"Yeah that goes double from us" Tony said. "I hope your shortcut holds out."
"Me too" John agreed.
"Be careful" Liccy said hugging Nimue then kissing Tony and Merlin on the cheek.
"You as well" Merlin said. "You must be off."
Liccy, John, and Jack the Fourth stood in front of the Fourth Kingdom refugees. Jack the Fourth cleared his throat and began to speak. "We must leave now. Do not overburden yourselves and stay together. We have a long road ahead of us." He waved his arm and motioned them forward. "Let's be off" They turned and headed for the west a group that was confused and weathered from the encounter but relieved for the moment to be out of danger.
Merlin, Nimue, and Tony stood at the hill waving at the group as they left. John, Liccy, and Jack the Fourth turned their heads and waved back before they disappeared into the horizon.
Tony waited until they left before he spoke. "Do you think they will make it there" he asked.
Merlin nodded. "Yes, but I do not know for how much longer the First Kingdom will be safe."
"We have our own journey to attend to" Nimue said.
Tony looked around"So where do we start" he asked.
Merlin closed his eyes and concentrated, then he opened them again and pointed to two far off mountains that seemed to be covered in perpetual darkness. "We go in there."
"I just knew you were going to say that" Tony grumbled as they walked.
"Well, what is it" Mab demanded her throaty voice getting more gutterel. Shadow grimaced he knew that was a bad sign. He wanted to tell her, but each time he opened his mouth to speak all he could do was stammer. He knew what he had to say to her; Mordred is in the 9 Kingdoms, but no matter how he could try to get the words out of his lips they wouldn't come.
He tried another tactic. "I have followed King Wendell as you suggested your highness" Shadow replied. "And I have trailed him to a castle in the Second Kingdoms but he is not alone."
Mab's eyes narrowed. "Who is with him" she asked.
Shadow smiled triumphantely. He opened his mouth to say "Mordred Son of Morgan Le Fey and Arthur Pendragon, milady" but instead he began a long lecture on the history of the 9 Kingdoms. He cupped his mouth shocked. He tried again but this time he told her of the history of the Sidhe! He put his hand over his mouth horrified.
Mab shrieked"YOU ARE WASTING MY TIME" she said about to strike him.
Shadow bowed and shook his head. "No, my lady it is not I! For some reason I cannot tell you of King Wendell's companion! I can tell you where he is and where he is going but I cannot tell you who he travels with"
Mab lowered her fists in concentration. "You are under a spell someone is preventing me from finding out who King Wendell travels with" she then held her Observing Ball in her hand. "Now I am intrigued." She commanded her ball to show her King Wendell.
She could see the young king's presence inside the ball. He was walking through a dark wood holding his sword tightly in his grip in approach of any intruders. He seemed to speak to someone, but Mab could not tell who it was. At one point the king stood in front of a narrow passage between two bushes and seemed to reach for an invisible something as if to pull them along but Mab could not see whom he was pulling! Wendell could be seen clear as day, but whoever he was travelling with could not be seen. She shook her Observing Ball and moved it so she could get a better view, but still his companion remained hidden blocked in the shadows. "Someone is using magick against me" She cursed throwing her Observing Ball to the ground. It shattered into a million pieces.
She turned to Shadow. The large creature remained impassive as he awaited his fate. "I will deal with you later. For now, I want you to rise your army of Dark Warriors and go to the Second Kingdom! Find King Wendell and kill him! As for his companion, well they must be important if they are blocked from my powers. I will deal with that one on my own" Shadow bowed low and left.
From her mirror in her underwater grotto, Vivienne, The Lady of the Lake, witnessed the scene between her sister and Mab's servent. "I have protected Mordred from your vision, Sister but for how long" she said sadly. "He will have to choose between facing his inner darkness or falling into it. And when that time comes, he will be seen by you." She pushed the vision from her sight. "We all will."
Wendell and Mordred walked into the forest as it grew deeper and darker the further they walked.
Wendell cut at yet another vine that was in front of them and cursed under his breath. He looked ahead of him to see bushes hung so tightly together that it would take forever to cut through. "Wait a minute" he said anger starting to creep into him. He held one side of the bush aside and grabbed Mordred's shoulder letting him move through the tight fit first. As he pushed the former knight across him, he kept his eye on Mordred's sword always vigilant and ready in case Mordred used it.
Mordred stepped aside and waved Wendell to cross to him. As Wendell left the bush, he saw Mordred looking at him with the same intense stare he felt for him earlier. It was clear that neither of them still trusted each other just yet.
For the longest time the only sound between the two was silence. All around they could hear the sounds of crows and ravens with their far-off flat tones. Wind whistled through the trees sounding almost like howling. Wendell became conscious of Leda and Cora's warning about the Black Woods that they went into: No one has hardly ever gone out of the forest. Those that have die shortly afterward or become stark raving madmen upon their return. For a time the king considered leaving the forest and returning to the light. But where will that leave my people? he thought. He remembered not long ago people had considered him a spoiled brat and a terrible ruler-to-be (of course they did not say it to his face, he could just tell) and he couldn't blame them. I thought of myself for far too long, he thought, I can not abandon them to their fate.
"So how do we get to this woman's house" It had been silent for so long that Wendell actually jumped upon hearing Mordred's voice.
Wendell quoted Falada's words. "What you seek and what you have seen/Shall be found within the greens/ Center of the Forest black as night/Shall be a house within sight/Three riders surround the home/That balances on a chicken bone."
"Does it bother you slightly that we are trusting the word of a talking horse" Mordred asked sarcastically. Inwardly he was uncomfortable with Falada's words himself"Son of the Dragon murderer of the king/Must face his demons to avoid becoming."
"We have no other recourse now do we" Wendell smartly asked. "I don't see you offering any plans. At least those that work."
"I got us away from those gypsies and that hunter remember" Mordred pointed out.
"And got us cursed by them when you took their weapons and stole their cart" Wendell reminded him. "And then nearly got us killed coming facing the huntsman and got us drowned as well."
"Be lucky you are still alive" Mordred retorted.
Wendell glanced at the other man. Mordred's emphasis on the word "You" reminded him of Leda's question. She asked how he got out of the river, but he had no answer for her. Could Mordred have?
"How did we get out of the river" he asked.
"You don't remember" Mordred asked.
Wendell closed his eyes and tried to recall. He remembered nearly drowning and a hand reaching out to pull him out of the water. "Did you pull me out" Wendell asked.
Mordred stepped back as if afraid to answer. Somehow Wendell knew he had the answer. In a split second, Wendell saw something different in the young man than his usual snarky behaviour. His eyes seemed to soften and his body dropped its usual defensive posture. For a second Wendell thought he saw something almost human in Mordred.
But suddenly, the old mannerisms were back. "If I did, it would be because I have no ideas where the Hell I'm going around here and need someone to guide me, nothing more than that." Through his tone, Wendell could not tell whether he spoke the truth or not.
"Well if you did, thank you" Wendell replied.
The king's stomach began to grumble and he felt his mouth go dry. He realized that it had been awhile since he had eaten or drank anything, in fact back at Leda's palace. He searched his bag, they had some fruit and bread from Leda and Cora. He pulled a peach and a piece of bread out of the bag, then offered the bag to Mordred. Mordred obliged.
"You know" Mordred said between bites of food. "For being such a 'terrible forest' as the girls were telling us, this place has been pretty quiet so far."
"I know maybe the dangers are a bit further along" Wendell suggested. He knelt over to a pond nearby and filled the canteen with drink. Suddenly, he heard a sound creeping up. It sounded like horsehooves approaching.
"What is it" Mordred asked as Wendell handed him the canteen.
Wendell cupped his mouth shut. "I hear something." Suddenly, Mordred heard it too. The two held out their swords and dropped their provisions ready for battle.
The hoofsteps got closer. Wendell tensed, knowing this could be trouble. Mordred held his sword by the hilt ready to battle. The hoofsteps stopped and they could see a rider appear at the hill.
Wendell tried to get a better look and adavnced slowly, but Modred screamed and lunged forward at him. "Mordred no" Wendell yelled.
Mordred ran up to the rider, but the rider didn't dismount nor did he hold for battle. Instead the rider waved his hand, and the knight fell backward into a tree. Wendell ran to his companion. "Are you all right" he asked.
"Yes, remind me not to do that again" Mordred quipped.
Wendell then advanced to the rider. "Who are you? What do you want from us" He approached the rider closer and could see that he was a man in white armour. In fact everything around him was white: his horse shown in brilliance, and his hair was the color of snow. He looked at the king with eyes that stared unblinking at him.
The rider still did not speak, but motioned for them to come forward with one finger. "I think he wants us to follow him" Wendell said.
"Just because he wants to doesn't mean we should" Mordred said suspicously.
"Don't you see" Wendell reminded him. "The riddle mentioned three riders! Maybe he is one of those riders." He looked at the white rider, though his face remained impassive he gave a quick nod of confirmation. "It's him! We must follow him"
Mordred glowered but put his sword back in his hilt and followed the king. "I want it down that this was not my idea."
Before Virginia, Wolf, Frick, and Morgan Le Fey could leave the Fifth Kingdom there was something important that needed to be done.
Morgan paced in the wedding gown that she and Virginia borrowed from the innkeeper's wife. "Hold still" Virginia laughed as she finished buckling it. "Are you nervous"
"Not at all" Morgan answered. "We have a lot to make up for."
"I'm sure you will" Virginia replied. Even though they had just met, Virginia admitted to herself she liked the older woman. She seemed a bit vain and haughty at times, and extremely suspicious but she also had a resilience about her, an independance that must have seen her through quite a bit.
Morgan also liked Virginia Wolf quite a bit as well. She reminded her a great deal of herself when she was the girl's age, very forceful and opinionated in a time, in Morgan's case, when women weren't encouraged to be so. She also could see a hint of sadness in Virginia's eyes that didn't seem to go away. A sadness that Morgan was all too familiar with.
Virginia tightened the last buckle and stood back. "Finished" she said. "What do you think"
Morgan turned around and stood next to the mirror. She twirled around admiring the gown. "Oh it's lovely" she sighed. Her wedding gown had a floral pattern top and a long flowing bottom. Her red curly hair instead of being worn up hung down to her waist. Virginia herself was dressed in a long blue dress that looked a little like her gown at Wendell's coronation and her hair was tied back in a braid that hung to her waist. "Thank you" Morgan said.
"You're welcome" Virginia replied. "I'd loan you mine, but it's at our place in New York."
"That's all right" Morgan said. "This one is much too lovely."
"Yeah but there's something else it needs" Virginia said she then looked at the window and saw a group of small white flowers: Snow Whites, they were called in honor of the late queen. Virginia clapped her hands with delight what more appropriate tribute would there be? She cranked the window open and picked several of the flowers. She then cut the roots and began tying the flowers together to form a garland. Morgan knelt down to work with her but Virignia shook her head. "No, consider it a wedding gift. Hey it beats a waffle iron"
Morgan looked confused. "What"
Virginia waved her hand. "Forget it."
She worked while Morgan watched her. "How long have you two been married" Morgan asked.
"Three years" Virginia answered.
"And you have children" Morgan asked pleased.
Virginia nodded. "Two, Luna and Gray. They are at the First Kingdom with Cinderella." She replied, but then she became worried. "I hope they're okay. The last we saw them was after we escaped to the First during the Battle."
"I'm sure they are all right" Morgan reassured her.
Virginia nodded not wanting to continue worrying about her children. She remembered her English teacher in high school talking about how in many Arthurian legends, there were contradictions in the stories like how many sisters King Arthur had and how many children they had. Here goes, she thought. "How many kids do you have" she asked.
Morgan sighed and looked very sad. "Just my son Mordred" she said. "Mine and"
"Your brother's" Virginia asked.
Morgan glared at her. "How did you know"
"I read" Virginia said. "Can I ask, and I don't mean to pry but how? Why would you do, you know that"
Morgan shrugged and Virginia could tell that this was a topic that still hurt Morgan deeply. "I wanted power and at the time the strongest way for me to get it was to bear the son of a king. The most powerful king was my brother, a brother who was conceived upon the death of my father." Her tone had the slight sting of bitterness.
"Does it still hurt" Virginia asked.
Morgan looked down. "That, not as much as it used to. But when I think about what Mordred turned into, a monster in the form of a boy, I think that hurt worse. I still can't think about my son in any sort of affection. What kind of mother would feel that way for her son, the only child that she would ever have"
Virginia shook her head, she had no answer as she completed the garland. She looked to the dresser and saw a white comb. Perfect to put in Morgan's hair to compliment the garland! She bade the older woman to lean back, so she could put it in her hair. The comb was large and had an ornate design at the head. It looked familar, oddly familiar despite the different color. As Virginia put the comb in Morgan's hair, she found herself in front of her own mother. The woman coming towards her and telling her that she should have been killed at birth! They struggled and Christine choked her. Suddenly, Virginia grabbed the comb from the woman's hair and scratched her face! Virginia was stricken with horror at her own mother's murder.
Virginia dropped the comb from Morgan's hair. As it fell from her grasp, she cut her finger on the sharp blades. She screamed and fell to the floor.
"Virginia, are you all right" Morgan asked. She knelt down and held Virginia by the shoulder.
Virginia caught her breath, and relaxed realizing how silly it seemed. Her finger still slightly bled from the comb's cut. She blinked twice coming back to reality. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" she said then put the comb back on the dresser. She put the garland in Morgan's hair and straightened it. "There now what do you think"
"Exquisite" Morgan said.
A knock resounded through the room. The door opened to reveal a small fair haired man with a kind face dressed in priestly robes. "Are you two ladies ready" he asked.
Morgan and Virginia looked at each other and nodded. "I'm ready" Morgan Le Fey said as they stood in line waiting for the cue.
The priest left the waiting room and walked into the small chapel where the two men waited. Frick danced back and forth, his long yellow hair in a ponytail, the gnome was dressed smartly in a white tunic and black trousers with a long black cloak. Wolf too was dressed in a black suit. "They're ready" the priest said.
As a harpsichordist played a medieval love ballad, Virginia walked down the aisle followed by Morgan. Morgan tried to hide the tears that were coming, but she couldn't resist. The happy tears fell from her blue eyes down to her cheeks as she gazed at her fiancee. Frick took her hand and led her up the aisle.
"One last chance" Frick said. "Is this how you want to look"
Morgan nodded. "Frick thanks to you, I am now beautiful inside as well as out and it is no longer an illusion."
"One other thing" Frick said. "I'm sorry."
"For what" Morgan asked.
"I should have done this a long time ago" the gnome replied as he held out the wedding ring that he was to give Morgan. It was diamond and glinted like fire. "They said that it will change color if you are happy or in danger."
"If we are ready" the priest said. The small wedding party stood at attention. "Dearly beloved we are gathered to witness the union of this man and this woman..."
Hilda sat in the throneroom of the Fourth Kingdom. It was already eroding from the departure of the king. There was rioting in the villages. Some of the Huntsmen's Guilds had been more openly violent with the people and mountain trolls had carried off with some of them for food or for offering to their king. Soldiers on her side had been planted in some of the nearby villages to "calm any storms" but in reality cause their own trouble. It was the perfect situation if given enough time that the chaos would call for a regime change, one Hilda would be glad to perform. "How quickly that peace that has hovered on the edge of a knife can be cut and can bleed" she mused her lips curving into a laviscuous smile.
Hilda looked inside one of her old mirrors. She could see Virginia Wolf, the woman who killed her successor preparing for bed. Hilda held the bottle in her hand, soon the girl would be her's to pick up where her mother left off.
"My queen" Lynette called. Hilda turned to see the Huntress. "You have called off your hunt"
Lynette bowed low. "No Madam, Robyn is still hunting for them. I have brought someone with valuable information. Perhaps he could help."
Hilda nodded. "I will speak to him in a moment." She then turned back to the mirror and opened the bottle. A dark pink liquid poured out of it onto the mirror. "Her guilt is already known but remains hidden" she said. "Let it control her, let it enter her dreams, let it fill her very soul until she comes to me."
Virginia lay in bed. The wedding was over and she could hear from the far off room that Frick and Morgan were celebrating. In fact she could hear a little bit of the song that was playing in the background, Wolf's own "A Time for Commitment." She laughed at the recollection. Wolf was talking to a cart dealer about making a deal to get them to the Seventh Kingdom so she had a little bit of time to herself before they slept and left the next morning. She yawned, the days of traveling were starting to get to her. She closed her eyes.
She no sooner slept then she heard a scream from one of the other rooms. Virginia ran into the hallway recognizing the screams. "Luna! Gray" she yelled. She woke up and ran to their bedroom but they were gone"Where are my children" she yelled.
She could see the window open. She called the names of her two children as she looked up the fire escape. From the top of the fire escape, she could see Luna and Gray being taken by someone in a long purple gown. From the back Virginia could see that it looked like her mother! Virginia ran out of the window and climbed up the fire escape.
Wolf walked down the hallway. He was successful in getting transpotrtation but they would have to leave tonight rather than tomorrow (though the guy was nice enough to say they could sleep on the way). He looked through the room and saw that the door was wide open and Virginia was not in there"Cripes" he cursed. "Virginia" He yelled. He ran to Frick and Morgan's room.
Frick and Morgan were sleeping peacefully next to each other their arms interlocked when they heard a knock at the door. "What's that" Morgan asked.
Frick looked up and then fell back to sleep. "Don't worry about it. It's just urgent knocking it will go away."
The knock persisted and this time they could hear Wolf yelling. "Frick! Morgan" Frick jumped up and opened the door. "Have you guys seen Virginia" Frick and Morgan shook their heads but ran back into the room to get dressed.
They ran to the room to see if they could find her. Frick and Wolf called her name up and down the hall. Morgan looked inside the room frozen for a second. "Frick! Wolf! I found her" she said. They ran to the room.
Wolf looked around. "Well where is she" Morgan pointed at the open window. The three then ran out of the open window and looked out. They could see Virginia climbing up a small steps to the roof. They ran up the stairs following Wolf.
Virginia reached the top of the fire escape. She could see the woman right in front of her. She dangled the children over the New York skyline. "Mom, let them go" Virginia demanded.
Her mother turned around and felt a shock go throug her. She was a woman who was definately not her mother. Her hair was darker and she wore black lipstick, her gown was cut with a ruffles on the sleeves and she looked at Virginia with eyes that were cold and hateful, so unlike her's yet just like her's. For staring at Virginia was herself!
Virginia's breath caught in her throat but she forced herself to speak to her doppelanger. "Who are you"
"I am you" the other Virginia said in a bitter voice so much like her own.
"Mom" Gray yelled. Luna sobbed not even able to speak.
Virginia knelt down to speak to her children. "Don't worry kids Mommy will save you" she said.
She then turned to the woman. "Let them go! You are not me I would never harm my children"
"But you have remember" the other Virginia said with a metallic voice. Virginia was frightened by the memory. "And you killed your mother"
"I had to" Virginia said.
"Just as she had to kill us" the other Virginia spoke coldly. Virginia looked down her eyes filling with tears.
Suddenly Luna's scream could be heard. Virginia looked up and saw the other hold the two children over the building. "No" Virginia ran to save them jumping off the building.
Wolf grabbed his wife to keep her from falling. He reached the top of the roof just as she finished talking to some invisible apparition. He held her down to keep her from jumping again.
Virginia sobbed. "Wolf, Luna and Gray- I pushed them over the ledge! I have to save them"
She tried to force herself out of her husband's grasp but he held her back down. "Virginia, Luna and Gray are with Cinderella remember"
She remembered. "They're with Cinderella? We're not in New York"
Wolf shook his head. "Remember you and I are in the Fifth Kingdom with Frick and Morgan Le Fey and we are headed for the Seventh"
"But I saw myself" Virginia said. "It seemed so real. I was going to fall."
"I would have caught you" Wolf comforted her reminding her of his old promise.
Virginia laughed slightly feeling a little better. "I got a ride" Wolf said. "But we have to leave tonight. If you want I can get another." He turned to not only his wife, but his friends as well.
"I want to go tonight" Virginia said.
"Are you sure" Wolf asked. "Because we can wait."
"Of course I am" the woman agreed. They turned to Frick and Morgan.
"The further I am away from Bluebeard's palace the happier I will be" Morgan grimaced.
"Well it's going to be one Hell of a honeymoon" Frick joked. "But I'm ready when you are."
"We'ld better get our stuff and get going then" Wolf said. He then helped his wife to stand and walked her inside the inn with Morgan and Frick following close behind.