Also Titled: Best. Festival. EVER.
The next day Arthur, Peter, and Michelle waved goodbye to Francine and the baby as they made their way to the village festival. Lively music was playing and Nelwyns crowded around booths and inspected livestock. Arthur set up a platform and began showing off magic tricks while Peter and Michelle ran around, looking at different performers and participating in the games.
Everything was going well for Arthur until he came to his final trick. He held up a piglet: "I will now make this entire pig disappear!"
He ignored the skeptical groans and covered the pig with a cloth. He muttered some words and threw the blanket aside, revealing that the pig was gone. The crowd gasped and muttered, but Sadiq, who'd been watching, wasn't convinced. He kicked the platform and the piglet ran out, squealing, from under it and into the crowd. Everyone laughed jeeringly as they realized Arthur's trick had been just that: a trick.
"I've seen enough," Sadiq said to his friends as the crowd dispersed. Arthur sat down with a sigh, but was soon up on his feet when a fanfare sounded.
Four Nelwyns entered the clearing holding up a chair. In the chair sat the High Aldwyn. He was an old Nelwyn, the oldest in the village, with a long white beard and wise, piercing eyes. The Nelwyns set down the chair on another, higher platform, and a Nelwyn banged his staff down and yelled, "Attention! The High Aldwyn will now make his choice for his new apprentice. Will the hopefuls please come forward."
Arthur gulped nervously and his friend, a blond named Tino, patted his shoulder.
"You'll be alright," he encouraged.
Peter ran up and hugged him around the waist. "Good luck Dada."
Arthur detached himself and began climbing the stairs to the High Aldwyn.
Sadiq saw him and yelled loudly, "Arthur Kirkland, a hopeful? How'd he get picked? Is this a joke?" He and his friends guffawed and Arthur felt his face get hot with anger and embarrassment. He quickly took his place beside the two other hopefuls and the High Aldwyn stood up slowly and leaned against his staff for support. Everyone listened closely as he began speaking.
"Magic is the bloodstream of the universe! Forget all you know…or think you know." He looked sharply at the three hopefuls. "All that you require is your intuition." He held up his hand and instructed, "Now, the power to control the world is in which finger?" He wiggled his fingers and approached the first hopeful.
The man pondered for a second before pointing to his middle finger. The High Aldwyn lowered it and shook his head. He moved on to the next man, who pointed to his index finger. The High Aldwyn once again shook his head and moved on to Arthur. For a fleeting moment, Arthur felt he should hold up his own finger, but he shoved the ridiculous thought out of his mind. Tentatively, he pointed to his ring finger. The High Aldwyn paused for a brief instant before shaking his head and turning his back on them. "No apprentice this year!" The crowd groaned and Arthur hung his head. The music resumed and he slowly walked down the steps to Tino and Peter.
For a few minutes the festival continued until a loud bellowing rang through the surrounding forest. The Nelwyns immediately panicked and ran for cover while their few warriors, led by a brave Nelwyn named Heracles, grabbed their weapons. Amid the chaos a huge black dog emerged from the forest and ran towards the village.
Arthur looked around frantically. "Where's Michelle?!"
Tino looked around also. "I don't know! She was right here!"
Arthur pointed to a nearby house. "Take Peter there! Quick!"
He ran off to look for Michelle, but he couldn't make out any faces in the panicking crowd. The dog was getting closer; it had reached the edge of the village and the Nelwyns screamed and ran from it.
"Michelle, where are you?!" Arthur yelled. Finally he spotted her standing next to an abandoned booth, sobbing uncontrollably in terror. "Michelle!"
Michelle saw him and held out her hands desperately. "Dada!"
He picked her up and hid beneath the platform where the High Aldwyn still stood, protected by some warriors. The dog jumped over a fence, and Arthur watched it tear up some wooden cradles. Heracles and some others leapt over the fence and began jabbing at it with their spears. The dog snarled, but couldn't do anything as it was hemmed in by the Nelwyns and the fence.
Heracles managed to stick his spear into its back and it howled in pain. The warriors backed up a bit as it thrashed about. The dog pounced on Heracles and pulled him to the ground. Heracles tried to hold off the beast with one hand while he grabbed a pitchfork with the other. He got a good grip and shoved it into the dog's chest. It yelped and fell off to the side. The others quickly joined in and stabbed it to make sure there was no chance of it living.
The Nelwyns slowly came out of hiding to look at the dead monster. Peter ran to Arthur and Michelle, yelling, "Dada! Dada!" Arthur hugged them both close and let out a sigh of relief.
Heracles held up the chewed up bits of furniture. "It was looking for somebody's baby!" Several villagers looked at their babies and the crowd murmured in alarm. One young mother screamed softly and had to be comforted by her husband. Arthur remembered the Daikini baby back at home. Had that dog been looking for her?
Michelle seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Mommy," she whispered.
Arthur left the crowd and sprinted to his house as fast as his legs would carry him with Peter and Michelle right behind him. He finally reached it, all the while cursing how it was on the far side of the village, and slammed open the door.
"Francine! Francine!"
Francine peeked her head around the corner, still holding the baby. "I'm here," she said calmly. She hadn't even heard the dog's howling.
Arthur hugged her tightly. "Oh, Francine, I was so worried," he managed to get out between gasps.
"What's wrong?"
Arthur looked at the baby sadly. "We can't keep her, Francine. We have to take her to the village council." He explained what had happened and Francine reluctantly agreed. Tomorrow they would take her to the village council.
Well, looks like things are getting interesting. Who knows what will happen at the village council...