Chapter 131

The Horned King stood by his window, still feeling somewhat overwhelmed from Avalina's words, even hours after they had been spoken. Dare he say it, if an undead could feel such a thing, he might say he felt rather. . .euphoric.

*So oft I've watched out there

That child with gifts so rare

She brings all that she nears to Life

She has a kind of glow around her

It almost feels like Heaven's light*

The lich had watched from afar as that little spot she had picked out as her garden and cared for turn vaguely green last fall, but it had not been much at all, considering things were dying back for the cold months by the point she had gotten anything to grow. Still, green things around his castle was something the lich had never seen. Perhaps they had been coaxed to life by her urging. Or perhaps they had been drawn to that aura of hers. . .

The Horned King took a deep breath, still able to feel it against him. Invisible to the eyes, but certainly not to the rest of the senses, he could feel its soft glow, so gentle and yet so overwhelmingly powerful, wash over him everytime she was near. It certainly seemed fitting, he thought, somewhat amused, that an angel would be filled and shrouded in the Light from where it had supposedly came, just as he himself was shrouded in darkness and Death.

*I knew I'd never know

That warm and Living glow

All I've caused is death and fright

No face as hideous as my face

Was ever meant for Heaven's light*

The Horned King supposed many would call him a demon, and they would not be wrong. By mortal's standards, he was, and he knew this. And his appearance reflected every bit of his evil. He knew a creature like himself belonged in the darkness, always, but he had emerged from it as she had stepped through the blackness to meet him. And the monster that was never meant to be seen by day or any kind of good, had been touched by the light that followed the child everywhere she went.

*But suddenly an angel has smiled at me

And touched my cheek without a trace of fright*

His visage had always been the object of terror whenever he appeared. People turned away from him in disgusted horror and fear, or became so terrified they could not look away from him. But Avalina. . .she had. . .touched him. The first one to ever voluntarily do so. And he had not snarled at her or ordered her away as he had expected himself to. She had been so warm against his deathly being, so gentle, he doubted he could have pulled away from her even if he desired it.

He knew he should not believe her words. She was only a child, she could not possibly understand the true monstrosity he was. But his heart would not let him simply shove those words aside, nor did he want to. They repeated over and over inside his head, inside his heart, and warmed him to the core. He could still feel her warm little hands against his face, brushing over his horns, without hate, without fear, and did not believe he had ever felt so. . .happy.

Avalina may be naive, but she was truthful, and if she had called him. . .beautiful. . .(he still had trouble thinking that word at all, let alone having it relate to him) And the lich reminded himself that she, in fact, /did/ know what he was, child or not. She was not blind. A part of him wanted to dismiss her words as simply delusional, but he knew better. She had meant every bit of it.

If it were possible for a creature such as himself to feel true Joy, he believed he was feeling it now.

The Cauldron-Born had once been his joy. But it had been a black, corrupted joy, one that reveled in the death and bloodshed of others. Certain others he would still not mind ripping to pieces on sight, but he tried to not to dwell on those pleasing thoughts of what he would do if he ever got his hands on that wretched. . .

With a smaller effort than he expected, the lich was able to push the image away and return his thoughts to the matter currently at hand. Avalina's fear of the Cauldron-Born.

Silently, he recalled the conversation that had transpired earlier between himself and one of the Invisibles.

"Why did you not remove the Cauldron-Born from outside the castle as well?" The Horned King had growled at the Invisible near him.

"Sire, we are bound to the castle and the courtyard. We can go no further."

"So you will do nothing?"

"Sire, we cannot do anything outside our boundaries."

"You are dismissed."

The Horned King had believed all that remained of the Cauldron-Born had been whisked into nothingness by the Invisibles, but apparently he had been wrong. They had done just that to all the skeletons still inside the castle, but beyond that. . .he could remember his army marching across the drawbridge, ready to conquer all of Prydain for him, and he realized there might well be hundreds out there lying around. And Avalina had not left the courtyard all day today, except once to exercise the horse, and both of them had been tense and jittery. Now that he knew what the underlying reason was for Avalina's extreme fear of the skeletons, he was even more puzzled at how she could be so terrified of things he was obviously connected to, and yet still say what she had said to him earlier today.

How could she do that? How? The Horned King did not truly have an answer, although he had several theories, but at the current moment, none of it mattered. All that mattered was this blazing feeling in his chest that warmed him right through, and he closed his eyes, letting the feeling sweep over him once more as the breeze ruffled the moth-eaten curtains.

*I will never see

How she could care for one like me

And as I stand here alone tonight

My cold dark tower seems so bright

I swear it must be Heaven's light*

Taking a deep breath, Avalina swung into the saddle and walked Mitternacht out of the courtyard. She didn't want to go out. She didn't want to see all those bones lying around, waiting to be uncovered further, but Mitternacht needed his exercise and she had to make sure he got it.

The horse knew she was scared, and it unnerved him, as he swiveled his ears, every muscle tense, stepped onto the drawbridge. Upon reaching the end, he bolted and practically leaped for several dozen yards until finally, at Avalina's urging, slowed to a walk, once they were past the skeletons. After that, the horse was fine, but as the animal's emotions reflected that of his rider's, coming back across the bridge after the ride, it was the same thing, and Avalina did not scold him, knowing it was her fault he was acting like this and she could do nothing about it until she got her own fear under control.

It had been several days since Avalina had first seen the Cauldron-Born lying about half buried in the earth and matted, dead weeds, and since then, whenever she took Mitternacht out, she kept her eyes tightly closed as her horse leaped past them. She didn't want to look at them again if she could help it. How she hadn't had nightmares of them already was a miracle, (one she thought for certain the Invisibles had to be responsible for) and she had no intention to tempt them in. She shuddered terribly at the memory as she dismounted and led Mitternacht inside to brush him off.

Finished, she wandered over to the gwythaint's stable to check up on them and see if Creeper was there. He spent almost all of his time in the stable with them, and he beckoned her inside when she cracked the door.

Addie had calmed enough to let them touch her baby, provided they were careful. Creeper had refused to let Avalina in the stall until he had trained the young one out of snapping at everything that moved. But after he had allowed her cautiously inside, Addie had greeted her cheerfully and the baby, after sniffing her over, nuzzled her fingers and chirred happily, trying to mimic its mother. It enjoyed being petted and loved when Creeper or Avalina visited. It was still too early to tell if it were male or female, but at the moment none of them really cared.

As Creeper had said, its horns, teeth and spikes were beginning to show. Hardly more than hard little knobs under the skin, but they were there, and the young one's mouth was sore from teething. Creeper said that gwythaints only had one set of teeth, and they kept them for life. If one got knocked out in combat or some other activity, they would not grow back.

"It's strong enough to walk around outside now," Creeper said as he climbed onto Addie's back. "Too early for it fly just yet but it can get some exercise. Do you want to come?"

"Of course!" Avalina said happily, pushing the door open to let them out.

Addie all but shoved past the girl in her haste to get outside. Days of being locked indoors had made the gwythaint more appreciative of fresh air and she had lifted off the ground the instant she got clear of the doorway.

The baby squealed in panic at the larger animal's retreating form and tried to race along the ground after her, but Avalina held tight to the rope and soft leather collar Creeper had braided himself and kept herself stationary, preventing it from racing after its mother.

The baby cried again in a panic and fought harder, but Addie paid it no mind, steadily becoming smaller in the sky. Creeper had warned Avalina that Addie would not turn back until she had gotten her first bout of energy out and Avalina would have to handle the baby by herself until she returned. Creeper had explained that young gwythaints were not supposed to fuss much when the parents left the nests, but this wasn't a nest scenario.

The baby cried in distress and yanked harder, thrashing madly at the end of its rope as it spread its wings out and flapped them in a panic, still too small to fly but instinct taking over.

"It's alright, she's coming back, I promise!"

Avalina gritted her teeth and hung on, but the little one was very strong for its size and it took all her strength to hold it in place. Creeper had told her that Addie knew no harm would come to her baby with Avalina around, (or she never would have left) and therefore would be likely to ignore the distress calls.

After many, many minutes, the baby finally quit fighting and began pacing at the end of its rope, crying for its mother, and it broke Avalina's heart. No amount of soothing would comfort it and the girl felt horrible.

It felt like an age since they had gone, but finally she saw Addie circle back around, landing lightly in the courtyard, panting, but cheerful. Addie immediately sniffed her young one over, before nuzzling Avalina.

The girl laughed as the gwythaint bumped her affectionately and stretched her wings, before folding them neatly back.

A harsh whinny sounded from the stable and Avalina ran to get him, figuring Mitternacht deserved to be present as well.

Addie stiffened when the horse pranced into the courtyard like he owned the place, and the baby squeaked and hid behind her.

Carefully, Mitternacht approached the predators, neck arched and nostrils flared, and Avalina stood well out of the way, not certain what the new mother would do.

Addie sniffed the stallion's outstretched muzzle carefully, both of them stiff as drawstrings, before the horse shied and leaped away, striking the cobblestones once. Avalina understood that Mitternacht wanted to play. He hadn't seen the gwythaint in weeks.

Addie seemed to think this over for a moment, before leaping at him, wings outstretched in a false charge. The horse blew excitedly and shied away, and the gwythaint took to the air, screeching. The baby immediately took off across the ground after them crying wildly, Creeper promptly getting dragged.

"Creeper, let go!" Avalina cried, taking off after them.

"I can't!" Creeper shouted in panic. "It's wrapped around my hand too tight!"

And thus began the chase. Addie chased Mitternacht all over the courtyard, swooping and dipping through the air, Mitternacht galloping along the cobblestones, shying and leaping away from the airborne feints. Dodging, running, more dodging, now Mitternacht chased the predator. . .and right behind them ran the baby gwythaint, screaming its lungs out and dragging Creeper along as effortlessly as if he were nothing, with Avalina right behind them, trying in vain to keep from laughing at the goblin's predicament. She knew she shouldn't be laughing but watching it was just too funny.

"HEEEELP!" Creeper shouted, trying in vain to stop the gwythaint and failing miserably.

"Climb up the rope and mount it!" Avalina shouted desperately, trying to keep up and contain her laughter, (and failing at both) watching them.

"It's going too fast!" Creeper bellowed back.

"Addie!" Avalina called between her gasps of laughter, "Addie, stop!"

Addie wasn't paying attention. She had been cooped up in the barn for weeks, and everything except her game with the stallion was unimportant at the moment. She knew her baby would be safe and there was no reason to stop flying around yet. She was having too much fun!

Loosing a screech, she rose up and flew out of the courtyard, pursued by the racing horse, which was in turn followed by a baby gwythaint dragging a goblin and a human chasing after them flailing its arms.

"Addie!" Avalina gasped, hardly able to breathe as they all thundered over the drawbridge, "You gotta stop!"

Now that the two animals were outside the courtyard they had all the room they could want and they made the most of it, doubling their playful frenzy. Now off the cobblestones and on dirt and dead weeds instead, Creeper had it a little easier, and summoned the strength to pull himself a very short distance up the rope, and with everything he had, managed to gnaw frantically on it til it finally snapped and sent him rolling. The baby gwythaint ran on, neither noticing nor caring its anchor was gone.

Avalina laughed til she cried at the scene, bent double, hardly able to breathe, watching the baby run around screaming after its mother and the horse, Creeper's "landing" throwing up a puff-cloud of dust and spreading for several feet, before slowing dissipating.

Staggering over to see if he was alright, Avalina cracked up even harder as he got to his feet like an old man, spitting out bits of rope.

"What're you laughing at?" Creeper snapped, glaring, which only served to rend Avalina useless.

Nearly collapsing on the ground, she laughed so earnestly that eventually the corner of Creeper's mouth twitched, and Avalina finally got enough breath to wheeze a few words out.

"You looked. . . .Ahahahahahaha! Hilarious! Ahahahaha!"

"Phut! Ptha! Pthu!" Went Creeper, spitting out bits of rope.

After trying to glare at her, the goblin finally broke and began laughing too, simply because Avalina's joy was infectious. Every time they tried to sober up, they would look at each other and crack up again.

Nothing could be heard for miles except two friends sharing a good laugh and the noise of the animals in the background.

After several more minutes, their laughing had reduced to gasping chuckles, right as the baby gwythaint came slowly up to them, panting so hard its little tongue was sticking out, and crying pitifully.

"Oh, there there," Avalina soothed, pulling the little thing gently to her, "It's alright. They'll be done soon. But you need to learn to listen to us. Poor Creeper had a rough ride."

The baby cried and tried to hide in Avalina's split skirt, shoving against her so forcefully it knocked the exhausted girl down.

Struggling to get up with the gwythaint climbing all over her, Avalina felt the weeds beneath her palms and suddenly realized where she was.

With a shriek of terror she managed to get up, Creeper pulling the baby off by its collar, and staring at her curiously as Avalina glanced frantically around, praying she wasn't near any of them.

The patch she had found that one skeleton in was only a few yards away, but it seemed. . .smaller than she remembered. Slowly, inching closer, her breath hitching, (and watching where she stepped) Avalina realized with a jolt that the weeds had been ripped up and cleared, there were shovel and clawmarks around the patch. . .

And the Cauldron-Born warrior was missing.

Avalina felt chilled to the bone.

Quickly looking around, she noticed there were cleared areas all around, the earth torn up in each, as if something had been. . .moved. to anyone else it would have looked random but she knew that each cleared place had held a skeleton warrior hardly a week ago.

"What is it, human?" Creeper grunted as the baby gwythaint tried to hide in his cape. "Hey! I am not your mother!" Creeper barked, before bellowing for Addie.

"ADDIE!"

Addie and Mitternacht had finally calmed down and stopped, trotting and flying over to their masters, their spurt of energy over, but Avalina scarcely noticed Creeper's question, staring all around at the empty patches and her heart racing a mile a minute.

'Where are they? Did they walk away all by themselves? Is Arawn behind this?'

"If you're looking for the skeletons, you won't find them," Creeper rasped from behind her, right before the baby gwythaint stepped on his foot in its haste to get to its mother.

"Youch!" Creeper yelped.

Avalina spun around, eyes wide.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? That they just came to life and walked away?"

Avalina's hair stood up at the notion, and the frightened look on her face was enough to make Creeper crack.

"If you must know, the master and I have been out here every night for nearly a week removing them specifically for you. And you're just now noticing?"

Avalina stared at him, trying to process what he was saying.

"You mean, you and him. . .did that?"

Her voice was practically a squeak.

"For me?"

"No, we did it for the resident moose," Creeper said sarcastically. "Of /course/ we did it for you, human, who else would have done it fo-UGH!"

The goblin yelped in shock as Avalina swept him up in a sudden hug. He had expected himself to protest as loudly as possible, but found he had gone mute and his mind had gone blank. The condition was in fact worsened when Avalina placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before setting him down, and he thought he saw tears in her eyes.

"Thank you so much, Creeper," she murmured softly, before turning and walking swiftly to the castle with Mitternacht, leaving a befuddled goblin standing with two gwythaints on the drawbridge.

Avalina's fear of the Cauldron-Born almost prevented her from leaving the courtyard, and the Horned King did not doubt for a moment that if her horse did not need exercise she wouldn't have gone out at all. After the terrors Arawn had filled her mind with the lich did not blame her.

The Invisibles were unable to help, as they couldn't leave the courtyard, and although the Horned King did not require assistance with this task, it would undoubtedly help the job go faster. And so he had enlisted the goblin. It had been far too long since the pathetic creature earned his keep anyhow.

And so, every night, the lich and the Creeper would go out and dig up the Cauldron-Born, removing them one at a time, before passing them on to the Invisibles in the courtyard.

At first, the Horned King could find nowhere to store them that would not defile the place. Dumping them in the lake had been a fleeting option but he had dismissed it. The water was foul enough already and if Avalina wanted to use it for her garden, corroding skeletons at the bottom would not help, and leaving them in the forest would be even worse.

It was then that the Invisibles had reminded him of their ability to make things disappear as well as conjure things from midair. And so, the Horned King and Creeper had dug up the old remains of what had once been the greatest army to ever walk the earth and brought them to the threshold of the drawbridge, where the Invisibles did their job and began vanishing the skeletons.

Watching this had stirred a sensation inside the lich he had not felt in quite some time. Powerlust. Visions of world domination. An undefeatable army at his command, marching across the land to conquer all that stood in his way.

Ambitions, particularly those a thousand years in the making, are not given up so easily, (although he knew there was no reviving this one) and much to Creeper's trepidation, his master had ordered the Invisibles to have what remained of the Cauldron-Born taken back down to the dungeon level and locked in the cells, the only place in the castle he knew Avalina never went, and would therefore never see them.

The Invisibles, for once, had said absolutely nothing, and obeyed, but even Creeper, who could only tell they were in a room if they made noise, sensed their intense disapproval. If his master could feel it too (And Creeper suspected he did) he gave no sign. Naturally, the goblin was told not to breathe a word to the girl about this, and he had no intention of doing so, on fear of his life. His master might have gone a little easier on him since the human arrived, but he was still every bit the undead warlord the whole world feared now as he had been before, and Creeper had no intention of stepping so much as a toe out of line.

When Avalina had entered his chambers upon finding the skeletons gone she had been speechless with embarrassed gratitude. The Horned King shoved aside the faint stirrings of guilt as she stammered out her thanks, blocking out the thoughts of what he knew would happen if Avalina ever knew where the skeletons had gone. To his relief she did not ask where they were.

'You really didn't have to do that,' her soft voice echoed in his mind. He had heard the embarrassed tint in it. 'I'm sure I would have gotten over them eventually. You didn't have to go to all that trouble. . .'

'Yes, I did.'

The lich had said nothing more, but his thoughts had finished the sentence inside his head.

'You should not have to be any more of a prisoner here than you already are.'

Meanwhile, down on the dungeon level of the castle, skeletons lay in heaps and piles all over the floor, as if nothing had ever changed, and one floor down, directly below them, the great Black Cauldron rested on its elevated platform in the center of its old room.

Waiting.

The song at the beginning is my parody of Heaven's Light, from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I have a new reader! *dances* I'm so HAPPY! ^_^