Chapter 37
"Well. . .what did you think of all that?"
With everything going on, the Invisibles had not had a chance to talk all morning, but now that things had settled down, they were discussing everything that had just happened.
First it had been Avalina getting out of bed.
The second and third had been on duty at the time, and neither had denied allowing Avalina to leave the room.
"We're just the servants," they had told the other two, laughter in their voices. "Who were we to stop her?"
Then it had been making sure Avalina didn't overdo herself. So the two that were watching her had helped her fill the buckets and clean the horse's stall.
One had been cleaning, and the fourth had been on Boss duty. As in following him around and so forth.
Therefore it had gotten the thrilling job of delivering the note to Avalina.
Things had purely escalated from there. They had watched with bated breath all through the rest of the events, heaving sighs of tremendous relief when Avalina and the Horned King finally went their separate ways.
They had been expecting the master to lose his temper with the girl at any minute and it was a miracle both of them had actually managed so well.
"I can't believe Avalina would take such risks. She didn't remind me of that type of person."
The fourth murmured.
"I can't believe the master actually listened to Avalina and let Creeper go," the first marveled.
And then let her not only live to tell about it, but go and visit her family. . ."
The second started.
"For not one, not two, but *three* whole days," the third added, before the second chimed in with its companion as they asked the first at the same time,
"What in the name of Orion have you been feeding him?"
"What in the name of Orion have you been feeding him?"
"It must have been rainbows."
"Or mushrooms."
A short silence, before they both shouted together.
"RAINBOW MUSHROOMS!"
". . .Do we even make those?"
". . .I don't know. If we don't, we should."
"And if we do, I want one."
"Or two."
"Or three."
"I thought for sure Creeper was done for," the first interrupted. "I was ready to have to go bury a body. But right when the master was set to kill him, Avalina came in."
"Poor little thing was scared to death," the fourth said softly.
"I nearly forgot the door!" The second chirped.
"But she stood up to him!" The third cheered. "She stood up to him like a boss!"
"Why would she risk her life to save someone that's been awful to her?" The first asked before the others could do their best Roar of Victory.
"I don't get it. Nobody was there when the incident happened in the dungeon."
"Too bad, I'd have wrung his scrawny little neck and then had him drawn and quartered," the third said angrily.
"Avalina's too sweet to be bullied by that little troll." The second added.
"She has a very soft heart," the fourth answered calmly. "And she is so kind. . .its a shame she is here. She does not deserve this."
"Nobody deserves this," the first said grimly.
"But do you think she might could be the one?" The third asked.
"Its not impossible," the first replied.
"But very nearly so."
The fourth answered.
"Hey, it could happen!" The second said cheerfully.
"Yeah, where's your optimism?" The third mock chastised.
"Back there in the dust with the dead chair," the second grinned.
"Ha! And rolling in cobwebs!"
BURNing cobwebs!"
"On the stole!"
The two cracked up as the first one groaned.
"You two. . ."
The fourth chuckled softly. "I was scared for her all the way through. I had no idea what the Horned King was getting at when he was talking with her."
"If that could hardly be called talking," the first snorted. "It was more like threatening, begging and silence."
"But it was something. And he didn't hurt her, he didn't even touch her. He just made her think he might."
"Which was very cruel."
"He is cruel. But I saw progress this morning, I don't know about you all."
"I saw progress!" The second shouted.
"Me too!" The third cheered, as they chimed in together,
"Aaaannnd THAT's the way, aha, aha, we LIKE it! Aha, Aha!"
With that, the two raced around the room at the top of their voices, screaming, "WHEEEEEEEEEE!"
"Oh for Heaven's sake!" The first exclaimed. "Put a damper on it!"
"The scariest part for me though," the fourth continued softly, making the other two stop to hear, "Was when he started walking away, and Avalina. . ."
It shuddered, not able to finish.
"Yeah, we all saw," the first answered. "I think we were all worried there."
"Is that normal for everything that gets around him?" The third asked.
"I'm not sure," the first replied. "We weren't here before his death. But judging by the way he stopped when he heard her fighting to breathe, I'm sure he knows about it. If he'd walked away too fast he might've killed her."
"DAWWW!" The second and third fawned. "Ouch dem feels!"
"This is serious!" The first scolded them.
"We know!" The two of them bellowed back, not caring how loud they were.
"Do you think this is a permanent thing, or will it fade?" the fourth asked. "Creeper doesn't act like that when he's around him."
"He's probably immune to it by now," the second one answered. "We don't know how long he's been with the Horned King."
"If he wasn't so nasty I'd pity the little jerk," the third said. "But every time I try to be nice he bites my head off."
Directing the rest of the sentence at its companion, it asked, "Why are you staring at me?"
"I can't tell, is your head really missing?"
"Probably."
"Are you sure its not just your face?" The second asked.
"Actually, no, I'm not. Come to think of it, I don't even know where my feet are!"
"It probably doesn't help that you two tease him about the horse, the window, the trolley and every other thing he's done that's struck you as amusing," the first commented dryly. "Maybe if you quit teasing for a change and tried something else it would work better."
"But he never talks to us when we try something else!" The second griped.
"Its like talking to an angry toad."
"Or a miffed grasshopper."
"We now have a new nickname, right?"
"Right!"
Here they both chimed in together.
"HOPTOAD!"
As they cheered, the first one groaned.
"And you wonder why he hates you."
"What? Its pure truth!"
"He walks like a hoptoad doesn't he?"
"He does!"
"Everyone, come here!" The fourth said quickly, staring out the window.
Everyone bailed over to see Avalina and the massive black horse thunder across the drawbridge and hit the dusty ground on the other side, never slowing once.
They disappeared behind a dust screen of their own design, that had been kicked up by the horse's hooves.
When the dust settled enough to see by, they were no longer in sight.
The thick green foliage that sprung up where the Horned King's realm ended had swallowed them up.
"Do you think she'll come back?" The fourth asked softly.
"We all heard what the master threatened her with," the first said angrily. "She'll be back."
"And she promised."
"I just hope she doesn't forget and stay too long. I'd hate to think of what would happen if she's even a moment late."
They shuddered.
There was a small pause.
"On the bright side, though," the second spoke up, "We have rainbow mushrooms, I just checked. Who else wants one?"
"ME!" the third one bellowed, whipping across the room.
"RACE YOU TO THE KITCHEN!"
"NOT IF I RACE YOU FIRST!"
Gusts of wind followed as the two sped from the room.
The others could hear them yelling for a long time afterward before the castle smothered their cries.
"I LIKE MY MUSHROOMS RAINBOWED! AND THAAAAAAAAAT'S THE WAY AHA AHA WE LIKE THEM! AHA AHA!"
The last thing the other two heard before they got out of hearing was the two of them yelling.
"We must save one for Hoptoad!"
Alas! For I own naught but this humble writing and characters of my own design! All else belongeth to Lloyd Alexander and Walt Disney Studios. The song "That's The Way I Like It" belongeth to KC and the Sunshine Band. I did not know 'twas a song until a dear friend informed me of this. I got it from the movie "Night At The Museum 2." XD
Thee revieweth please! I will love thee as a bonny rose loveth the bright sun! LOL!
Also, can anyone guess what breed of horse Mitternacht is? Anybody? XD There's a detailed explanation of him in Chapter 9. *hint* XD Leave a review with your guess!