I had to make a few changes for the story outline on this one...I originally wanted to have Goofy and the witch for this chapter have a magic duel, but it wasn't working. But it WILL happen...just not with this witch,heh.

In this chapter, the levels of magic are explained, Mickey and Pete show their true colors, and someone takes a ride on the matrimony pony! (Yes,please hate me for that one)

All characters belong to Disney...and speaking of which, any characters you'd love to see cameo'd here? Give 'em a shout, and I'll see where I can put 'em!)

Thirteen years ago...

The little held onto her mother's bed sheet, listening carefully to the departing words.

"My little one...our destiny is on your shoulders now."

"Yes, Mama."

"You know what to do."

"Yes, Mama. I'll make you proud."

Satisfied, the elder closed her heavy eyes. "Ninety nine kings...and the next shall be the last."

Two weeks since Robin Hood...

Donald Duck fit in rather easily at the castle. Almost spontaneously, the animals grew attached to him, obeying his every word. The same couldn't be said for those walking on their hind legs. He had a nasty temper, and lost it very easily...

"Who are ya' callin' a shwimp?" The fowl screeched, comically hopping up and down on one foot while bobbing his fists.

It was difficult for the insulter, Pete, to hold back a roar of laughter. "I'm callin' you a shrimp, shrimp!" He then leaned over, nose-to-bill with Donald, easily showing off the difference in sizes. "Got a problem with it?"

If Donald's temper was fast, than his cowardice was Mach speed. He quickly dropped his hands, and smiled sheepishly. "Not me. Nope, nope, I'm fine with swhimp."

There was a loud cough, and their attention was diverted to Goofy. All of them, including Mickey, were standing in a small room, with nothing inside save for a large blackboard on one wall. Mickey was sitting on the cold floor, shaking his head at his immature classmates. "Come on, guys, the king wants us to learn! All of this could be really helpful."

"I'm a PRINCE." Pete sneered, but sat down next to Mickey with a loud WHUMP. "I don't need to learn nothin'!"

Donald sat next to his former foe, surprisingly nodding in agreement. "And I'm just a stable boy, this is ridiculoushh." He shut his beak when he saw Pete snickering at his slippery accent.

Goofy didn't seem to mind the backlash, and simply gave another one of his bucked smiles. "I know all of yer positions, but that doesn't mean you can't become something more!" Mickey's head seemed to perk up at this, and the magician went on. "Social classes, shmocial classes! There's nothing you guys can't do!" He then paused. "Well, 'cept fly...and breathe water...and visit Mars...and - "

"GOOFY!" All three students shouted at once.

Goofy blinked, and then blushed. With another cough, he turned to the writing board. "Now...uh...what was I talkin' about before?"

Mickey sat up straighter before replying. "I asked what you meant when you were talking to that witch a few weeks ago...about how that shell was some easy way out." Hearing 'easy way out', Pete seemed to pay considerable attention.

Goofy rapidly nodded, and then, picking up a piece of chalk, began writing what looked like a foreign language. "That's right! Ya see...magic is a complicated process. There are three levels of magic, each one more powerful than the last. The first level of magic is something everyone possess."

Startled, Donald spat for a few minutes, trying to speak. "You mean to say we ALL have magic?"

Pete snorted, doubtful. "If that was true, I would have poofed all of you away by now."

Goofy cleared his throat, catching their silence again. "Magic is a part of everyone..love, hope, belief, those are very magical feelings! If you can feel that strongly, along with the right spell and the perfect ingredients, you can perform little tricks."

"Little?" Mickey raised an eyebrow.

"Well, despite how strong the emotions can be, a single regular mortal can't perform something as big as...say..." He snapped his fingers, and a small raincloud appeared beside him. After an itty bitty thunder boom, he snapped it away. He seemed to ignore the gaping jaws of his students as he continued. "The most a regular mortal can do is blow a small amount of wind, or make a broken stick whole."

"Gee, that's useful." Pete groaned, dripping with sarcasm.

"The second level..."Goofy went on,undeterred. "...is putting magic into an item. With such an item, the magic spells only need to be said in your head, not out loud. In order to do that, you have to cleanse your body by staying in a pool of water up to your neck for one whole month, and that means you can't leave that water for a second, not even to eat! Then you choose a powerful spell, depending on what object you want to enchant. You have to pronounce each word exactly right, but if you mess it up, you have to start with the water all over again."

Pete had to blink for a few moments before all this information finally registered. "And that's the easy way out?"

"And then, finally, the third and most powerful level, is the body being a magic vessel. No spells required, it's all about your will." Goofy stretched his arms a little, and then pulled back one of his sleeves,showing numerous scars. "In order to fill your entire body with magic, from your head to your toes, you must first defeat a person who is already infused with magic. After that person officially surrenders, you have to perform a very dangerous ritual, and cast out a lot of your blood...if the ritual is done wrong, you could end up losing your life. That's why it's usually called the Dark Arts."

There was a simultaneous gulp from the three observers.

"Any questions?" The magician asked pleasantly.

Mickey raised a hand. "Are you sure we should be performing such a deadly ritual?"

Goofy blinked, and then laughed a little, patting his thin belly. "A-huh-huh-hyuck...none of you are going to be getting any magic!"

The two younger ones gasped with confusion, while Pete stood up, clenching his fists. "You mean to tell us you wasted our time with this ridiculous lesson just to tell us you're not going to let us do nothin'!"

The wizard wagged his finger. "I didn't teach you this for you to learn it. We're going to face a heck of a lot more villains, and you need to understand your foe to truly defeat them."

Unsatisfied, Pete turned and headed for the door. "Bull honky. I'm Prince Pete, I have no enemies!"Before he could hear any rebuttals, he left the room.

Mickey and Donald stood up, but the former looked at his teacher. "You said we're going to face more villains...was that another flash of the future?"

He simply gave another grin. "Lesson's over! You two have a fun day!"

Donald rolled his eyes, and left with an amused Mickey. As they left, Goofy looked out to an open window. He closed his eyes, and focused...he began to see the glimpses...

...then he frowned.

"Well, shucks." He spoke to himself. "That's new."

"And after you're done getting the bath water, you can clean my room!"

Mickey sighed, walking across the long moat door. "Yes, Pete!" He called out, walking faster to avoid hearing any more of his demands. His loyal hound, Pluto, walked obediently by his side. The mouse , carrying a bucket, walked right into the town square, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the people all around him. He finally found the gigantic well,and began tying a piece of rope to his bucket.

"Pluto, I'm sick of obeying Pete's orders." He sighed again, dropping the bucket into the depths below. Pluto sat down, and seemed to nod with his master. "In fact, I'm tired of being a squire all together..." He leaned over, trying to see the water from above.

"I know I should be grateful...King Khan did adopt me from the orphanage. But he wouldn't even replace my sword after it turned into candy!" Which Pete had eaten anyway. "I want to be more than just a servant! I want to..."He paused, squeezing his hands as he thought. "I want to see what's out there...I want to help people...I want to be something more!" He smiled wide, recalling Goofy's words earlier. "Maybe I can be..."

Suddenly a loud THUNK from the bottom of the well. Startled, Mickey looked down again. "What the..." Pluto stood on his hind legs, trying to see the problem as well.

Before either one could get a clear look, something black grabbed Mickey by his collar,and yanked him down into the well!

Mickey screamed into the darkness, and Pluto howled in fright. Panicking, the dog began running around hysterically, trying to get the attention of the townspeople by barking frantically.

An old man and a little boy noticed the commotion, and the little one tugged on his father's belt. "Papa, someone grabbed that man into the well!"

The old man tsked, and dragged his son along. "Pinocchio, what have I told you about lying?"

Pluto, desperate, now began to run towards the castle. Maybe the townspeople wouldn't listen to him, but he had a good idea of who would.

There was good news when Mickey began to regain consciousness. Something smelled incredibly delicious. He opened his eyes, and felt his arms restrained with rope from the well. The feeling that came with that was of being very wet...he was shoulder deep in a pot of bubbling hot water in a wide, black cauldron.

The bad news was he figured out the delicious smell. Apparently he was quite yummy when boiled with chopped carrots.

"Ohhhhh boy." Mickey swallowed, looking around. The room was made out of solid stone, and many of these stones were dripping with water. He heard the sound of chopping, and turned to his left.

Outside of the pot, a young female duck was humming as she diced potatoes into the pot. Her feathers were in a modest ponytail, and the black robes she wore seemed to be three times her size, judging by how they were drooping off of her. She noticed his stare, and smiled. "Well, you're awake! Nice to meet you! My name's Daisy, what's yours?"

That threw Mickey for a loop. He'd never known a pleasant cannibal. Not that he'd ever known a cannibal, but... "Uh...I'm Mickey. Mickey Mouse."

"All right, Mickey! The pleasure's all mine." She then took out a wooden spoon, and began to stir the mixture.

The squire took a deep breath, unable to believe her cheery attitude, considering the circumstances. "So...Daisy...any reason I'm in a cauldron?"

Daisy raised her eyebrows. "Oh, that. I need to eat you. No offense."

There was a very, very long pause. "And...you have to eat me because...?"

She gasped. "Oh, did I not tell you?" She sighed, shaking her head, although giggling. "I can be such a dunce, big sorry about that." She withdrew a gigantic green book from her wide sleeves. "According to this book The Covenant gave me, if I can make a really good potion using a pure soul, I can get myself a really cute husband." She smiled at this, oblivious to Mickey's gaping mouth.

"S-so..." Mickey stammered. "You ate anyone else that fell in the well?"

Daisy blinked. "What? Oh, no. Those people were just clumsy. I just sent them off with a good forget-me-please spell." After putting the book down, she then held up a cabbage in one hand, and a radish in the other, looking perplexed as she did so. "Shoot. Now which one am I suppose to cut up?"

As Daisy tried to sort herself out, Mickey leaned back and thought. This was the second time The Covenant had been mentioned...he himself had never really heard too much. A group of rebellious women trying to overthrow the throne...it hadn't sounded too dangerous, but the mouse was beginning to suspect these weren't fairly tales anymore. Perhaps the new rumors were right...perhaps these women were the most powerful and deadliest force to ever strike England.

"Oooh, wait! Maybe it's asparagus!"

Mickey rolled his eyes. Then again, maybe they weren't.

Pete's snores could easily be heard throughout the entire castle. All that learning had done a number on his small brain, so he needed to rest. However, this small pleasure was interrupted when he heard a rambling of high-pitched barking. Startled, he fell out of his big bed, and landed face-down on the stone floor below. After the pain registered, he got up, snarling. "All right, who's the wise guy!"

He spotted a dash of yellow zooming by his door, and realized it was Mickey's hound, Pluto. He got up on his small legs, and began to chase after the canine. "You lousy little mutt!" he screamed. "You get back here so I can kick your little butt!"

Undeterred, Pluto kept barking and running, looking for a certain someone. Unfortunately, he ran right smack into Goofy, who had been carrying more books than he could count. As papers went everywhere, the frantic dog slipped and slided every which way, trying to get up. Goofy, now on his behind, blinked at all the commotion, and then grabbed Pluto by his shoulders. "Lemme guess. You wanna talk to Donald."

Pluto rapidly nodded, his panting making a "yeah-yeah-yeah" sound. Goofy then jabbed a thumb backwards. "Kitchen." He then released the dog, who rapidly ran off in that direction. The magician then stood up, seemingly forgetting all about his papers. "Come on, Pete, let's go."

Pete, who had finally caught up, crossed his arms in exhausted anger. "Go where?"

"The kitchen. Pluto looked mighty panicked." That was soon followed by a crash of pot and pans from said kitchen, and then that by loud screaming and anger by a familiar fowl. Goofy and Pete approached the wide kitchen doors, and poked their heads in.

Donald was covered in all sorts of foodstuffs, ranging from loaves of bread to sliced meats...most likely he'd been in the middle of making a sandwich, and Pluto had surprised him into tripping over various cooking supplies. "What's the big idea!" He snapped, glaring down at his supposed foe.

Pluto sat on his hind legs, barking furiously, and trying to motion with his hands what had happened.

Donald's anger vanished, replaced with shock. "Something grabbed Mickey and pulled him into the town well!"

Pete was tempted to make a Lassie joke, if he wasn't so stunned by Donald's easy translation. "You understand what that puppy says?"

"I AM the sable boy." Donald huffed. "But that's not important now!"

"Donald's right,we'd better hurry!" Goofy began to wave Pluto over. "We have to go save Mickey!"

"Have fun." Pete snorted, leaning against a wall. After receiving three sets of stares, he growled and went on. "What do I care if my Squire goes? I got plenty of servants to replace him." He then turned his head to a side, grumbling. "I never did like that mouse anyway."

"But Pete, Mickey saved our lives!" Donald objected, walking up to the royal. "If it wasn't for him, we would have been in that witch's belly!"

Pete snorted, and waved a dismissive hand. "I could have gotten out of that with my hands tied behind my back."

"Or your hands turned into chocolate?" Donald snapped, but a glare from Pete shut him up.

"You all listen up." Pete leered, narrowing his eyes. "My dad's gunna send me on a mission to retrieve that dumb sword really soon...once I get it, he's going to give me the kingdom! And once I'm sittin' on that throne, you're all OUT OF HERE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, causing the others to back up rather quickly. "I don't need a disobedient dog, a stupid stable boy, a wacked-out wizard, and I certainly don't need that mangy, moronic, messed up MOUSE!"

The last word seemed to echo off of all the stone walls. Goofy nervously tugged at his collar, and then looked to Donald. "Well...one man less in a rescue team is still a rescue team!" With that, he began running as fast as he could, with Donald and Pluto at his heels.

Donald managed to catch up to Goofy's side. "What sword was he rambling about?"

"Don't worry, Donald, there's going to be a lot more explanin' done after this!"

They finally arrived at the large well. A few townsfolk were coming by, smelling a tasty aroma from deep inside. Donald peered inside, on his tippy toes. "I can't see anything!"

"I got an idea." Goofy said suddenly, smiling wide. "But you and Pluto will need these." He clapped his hands, and an umbrella appeared in both of his hands. He handed one to Donald and one to Pluto, both looking terribly confused. Goofy then rolled up his sleeves, spat on both of his hands, rubbed them together, wiggled his fingers, stuck out his tongue, shook his rump -

"Sometime today?" Donald asked, tapping his foot.

Goofy grinned, dropping the silly act. He then stuck two fingertips in the well, and waited.

After a minute, the ground slowly began to shake. At first it was unnoticeable, but it grew violent in a matter of seconds. There was a horrendous WHOOSH sound, and then a gigantic spout of water began to burst from the well! It reached up into the clouds, and then the water seemed to give up, falling down naturally and splashing most of the town, including the heroic trio. Th umbrellas hadn't done much good.

Then came two screams came from the sky. Goofy held out his arms, and right into them fell the tied up squire. Mickey blinked, still trying to register what had just happened. "Uh...hiya, Goofy." He nervously smiled.

The second screamed came from above Donald. Curious, Donald tossed the umbrella aside, and looked up. Rather by accident, the second body fell into his own arms. The wet witch flailed a little, scared out of her wits. "Who, what, when where, why!" She yelped, and then looked at her supposed savior. She blinked several times. "Oh."

"Oh?" Donald raised an eyebrow.

"Ooooh." She repeated, her voice and eyes becoming noticeably softer.

Donald gulped. "Uh-oh."

During that awkward conversation, Goofy managed to untie Mickey. The squire brushed himself off, and then looked at the ducks. "Okay, you! You said you were a member of The Covenant! Now that we've got you surrounded, you have to surrender!"

"A-huh." Daisy absently nodded, still staring at Donald. Suddenly realizing what the gaze was all about, the stable boy quickly dropped his capture. She didn't seem to mind landing on her behind, and quickly stood up to stare at him all over again.

Mickey looked to Goofy, who shrugged. The mouse tried to grab her attention with a slight cough. "So...uh...Daisy...how about instead of us throwing you into a dungeon or anything, you just tell us everything you know about The Covenant?"

Daisy finally looked over, looking a little devious. "Sure, I'll tell you guys anything..." She suddenly linked arms with Donald. "As long as he marries me!"

"WHAAAAAT!" Donald screeched, now desperately trying to snag his arm free. No success. "Now you wait just a darn - "

"Sure." said Mickey, looking terribly amused.

"No problem." Goofy nodded, and then pat Donald's head. "Congrats!"

"I AM NOT GOING TO MARRY - "

"All right, what do you want to know?" Daisy asked, clearly ignoring Donald's fury, along with the stares of all the wet townspeople.

"Actually, it's getting pretty late." Goofy looked up at the sky, which was beginning to show hues of purple and pink as the sun set. "We can ask you tomorrow...you can stay in Donald's room!"

Daisy squealed, and Donald screamed. The group headed back to the castle, but Pluto lagged a little. The hound had noticed something else had fallen out of the tower of water...the thick book of spells that belonged to Daisy. He sniffed it curiously, and managed to open it with one of his paws. On one paged, there were many strange drawings in black ink...around one drawing were words Pluto struggled to read...

The most powerful spell The Covenant has ever come across, and only to be used in the most dire of situations. This summoning is dangerous, but will eliminate the strongest of enemies. Only one enemy of The Covenant has mastered such a spell, but he has long since vanished. When mastered correctly, this spell will bring forth -

"Come on, Pluto!"

The dog jumped, and quickly turned around to follow his master. No one seemed to notice that he was a tad shaky...the illustration that came with that spell was something the hound never wanted to see again.

The following morning...

"Why do I have to wake him up?"

"Considering our size, it's all we're good for. Just go get it over with."

"But he nearly ate me last time!"

"FLIK!"

"Going, going!"

The blue ant quickly scurried out from a small space between two stones in the floor. He just hated being the King's personal alarm clock. Maybe h could invent a safer way to do this...he pushed such thoughts away for now, and managed to climb onto the bed. "Come on, your majesty." He grunted, and began to tug at the tiger's whiskers. No response. Flik frowned...usually a hard tug got the king up. He began pulling, but nothing.

A purple ant poked her head up from the small space below. "What's taking so long?"

"He's deep asleep!" Flik called back, but then paused, noticing something under the bedsheets. "Hey, Atta? Since when does the King sleep with a snake plush?"

Dumbfounded, Atta kicked in her small wings, and hovered up above the bed. She suddenly went pale as a ghost. "Flik...that's not a plush. And the king isn't sleeping."

End of Chapter Three.