Note: Made corrections to past chapters. I can't believe I missed those. (Looks embarrassed)

If any part of this chapter is confusing, please let me know, and I'll clear it up.

Apologizes to J. K. Rowling

Ch. 17: Shocking Surprises

Dwight looked up as he lounged in front of Duke's fireplace, when he heard Duke cursing in frustration, and saw Duke tossing a wadded up piece of paper aside. Duke then rested his elbows on his desk as he laid his head in his hands. Claire flew over and landed on one side of the desk, while Tommy slithered up a chair; Dwight watched them.

"What's the matter, Duke?" Claire asked. Duke lifted his head and looked at his animal friends.

"You know Jennifer's birthday is in two days . . ." Duke began.

"Don't tell me you can't sneak us in!" Dwight exclaimed. "Jennifer didn't change her mind, did she? I was looking forward trying a royal birthday feast!"

"I know how to get you all in," Duke said with a brief smile. "Trust me; you're crashing the party, no matter what."

"Then what?" Tommy asked.

"As I was saying . . . Jennifer needs me to propose to her on her birthday to make our marriage official," Duke said. "It's customary to give her a ring, but nothing's seems right for her. None of the Crocker heirlooms, nothing I find, none of my contacts . . . they seem . . . unworthy of her."

"Duke, Jennifer doesn't seem to be the type of human woman who needs to be dazed and wants lavish things," Claire said. "You don't need to impress her."

"She'll be happy if you made her a ring out of baby flowers," Dwight said.

"If I knew how to preserve the flowers, I know she would love it," Duke said. "I'm not trying to impress her. I want a ring to show her how much I'm thankful."

"Bah; you mammalssssss make court-sssssship too complex. You ssssshould do what my ssssspeciesssss do," Tommy said and gave Duke a serpentine smile. "Orgy."

Duke had to laughing hearing Tommy's advice.

"Ignoring Tommy's suggestion," Claire said, trying to hide her disgust. "I understand what you're saying Duke, but I think you're making this too difficult. You know Jennifer; she doesn't want a ring too fancy."

"Simple and pretty; that's her style," Dwight said, and Claire nodded in agreement.

"I know, but I want it to be special," Duke said.

They then heard a knock on the front door, which put everyone on edge, because only a handful of people knew about Duke's cabin. Dwight stood up, prepared for anything, as Duke slowly got up, getting the Crocker family heirloom knife ready.

"Duke, are you in there?" a female voice asked from the outside.

Duke was shocked. It has been decades, but he recognized the voice. He carefully checked outside and saw he was right. He told his animal friends to relax as he put away his knife. He opened the door to let in an attractive middle-aged woman with dark blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. The woman was Vanessa Stanley: Duke's old nanny. Vanessa had slight precognitive abilities, and like past employees of the Crocker family, left because of the parents' attitudes, but she always cared for Duke.

Duke closed the door as Vanessa calmly looked at the animals. He gave her a welcoming hug, and offered her a seat, as he introduced his animal friends.

"Can I get you anything?" Duke asked, as they both sat down.

Vanessa shook her head. "I can't stay for long."

"You're probably wondering why I'm here . . ." Duke said, then paused. ". . . or not, since you found me."

Vanessa laughed. "Yes, and I'm sorry."

"So . . . how have you been?" Duke said, trying to sound casual.

"I've been well. After I left, I took a job as a guidance consular at a magic school," Vanessa said.

"That's . . . great," Duke said. "You must love it."

"I do," Vanessa said, nodding. "Now, I must tell you why I'm here; I had a vision."

"What about?" Duke asked, serious. He knew Vanessa's visions were very accurate.

"I Saw you needed a gift for someone you love," Vanessa said, and took out a velvet pouch and gave it to Duke, "which is why you will need these."

Duke opened the pouch and took out two rings. The rings were made out of two distinct metals, intertwined together, and spaced in-between were iridescent jewels that looked like crystals with a rainbow inside. Duke looked surprised, recognizing the materials. The two metals were orichalcum and adamant: the two most resistant metals to magic. The jewels were star gems, jewels that fell from the sky. Duke stared at the rings in awe before he looked at Vanessa.

"What? . . . How? . . ." Duke managed to get out. Vanessa smiled.

"That's a story for another time," Vanessa said.

"I . . . can't accept these," Duke said, shocked, almost giving the rings back, but Vanessa stopped him.

"You will," she said.

"'Thank you' can't cover this," Duke said, and got up and hugged and kissed Vanessa, who smiled again.

"You can by start being more cautious," Vanessa said and Duke gave her a curious and serious look. "I'm not certain, Duke, but . . . be on your guard, even more than usual, especially when you're back home."

Duke nodded, taking Vanessa's words seriously. Vanessa looked at a clock.

"I must be going now," Vanessa said and got up. Duke stood up and escorted her to the door.

"From now on, keep in touch. If you're ever tired of being a guidance consular, I'm happy to hire you," Duke said, smiling. "Jennifer and I may need a nanny in the future."

"Yes, you may," Vanessa said and laughed.

She and Duke said their good-byes and she left. Duke sat down and looked at the rings again. He smiled, imagining one of them on Jennifer's finger and her face when he presented the ring to her.

The next night, Duke received a message from his servants, stating they found where Arla stored her extra skins. Also, that just before dawn, Arla and Wade were leaving for a campaign. Duke knew the timing was cutting it close, but he realized he should take this opportunity now. He wrote a letter to Jennifer, explaining that he might be late to her party and the reason why. Duke also remembered Vanessa's warning, and took his family knife with him: an easy concealed, but deadly weapon. He even hid the rings in a hole in a tree that grew next to Rouge Pond to keep them safe.

He waited a few minutes after he saw Arla and Wade leave to approach Silver Eyes Estate. Duke told his animal friends to wait outside and only make a move when it's absolutely necessary, or if he signaled them. Eleanor met him by the servants' door and let him inside. Duke knew something was amidst as Eleanor led him through the hallways.

"Eleanor?" Duke asked.

Eleanor stopped and turned to face him; she was crying.

"I'm sorry, Lord Duke!" Eleanor cried out. "They said they'll kill Julia!"

"Welcome home, dear brother," Wade's voice sardonically said. Duke turned around to see Wade, Arla, and some of their soldiers. "You brought back the Crocker knife; how thoughtful of you."

"Run!" Eleanor exclaimed.

Duke did run, fighting his way through the soldiers. When he reached a door, he knew the sun was going to rise any second, but he didn't have any choice. He continued to run, even though he saw the sun peering over the horizon when he got outside. Duke stumbled and fell, and saw his legs shortening and his feet shrinking. He tried to stand, but it made him scream in pain instead. Duke realized being close to Arla caused him pain when he changed. He still continued to run, now on his hands . . . on all four paws. He tripped over his knife when the change was complete. Duke got up and ran to the forest, leaving his knife behind. He was about to call his animal friends, when someone threw a sack over him and picked him up.

Arla and Wade ran up to the soldier holding tightly onto the wiggling and screaming sack. Arla groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I told you to capture him, not to suffocate him," Arla said and shook her head. "Good help is so hard to create these days."

Another soldier stepped forward with a small cage and opened it, as Wade collected the knife.

"Put him in there for now . . . gently, we need him alive for the spell," Arla said.

The soldier carefully transferred Duke into the cage. As it locked the door, Duke attempted to bite the soldier's fingers. When that failed, Duke began thrashing, acting like an enraged feral animal, screaming and biting the bars of the cage.

"Do not attempt to escape, Duke," Wade said, above Duke's screaming. "Or I'll order my soldiers to bring your servants, one by one, over here, and kill them in front of you."

Duke calmed down, but continued to scream, swearing at Wade and Arla.

Arla looked out into the forest. "I know your animal friends are out there, so listen well. If you attempt to rescue Duke, we will kill his servants and torture him."

Arla and Wade then went back to the Estate and their soldiers followed them, while Duke's animal friends watched, frustrated. Tommy moved forward, but Dwight placed his huge paw in front of him, blocking the snake.

"Stop being stupid, Tommy," Dwight said.

"I will not ssssstay here and watch Wade and Arla ruin Duke'sssss life," Tommy said.

"No, but you can keep watch and come up with a plan to rescue Duke, instead of rushing in," Dwight said.

"Fine," Tommy hissed out and backed off.

Claire agreed, but surveyed the Estate with a worried expression.

Duke had to stop screaming to prevent exhausting himself, when the cage was put down on a table. As he panted, he saw his servants. Julia was criticizing her mother for betraying Duke, as Eleanor cried, apologizing, saying she couldn't let her daughter be killed. Duke then noticed Arla pick up a brick.

"The plan worked, Roland," Arla said to the brick.

"I am happy to hear that, Mistress," the brick said, getting everyone's attention.

"You will be properly rewarded for your services," Arla said.

"I thank you, Mistress," Roland said and gasped. "Forgive me. The long distance communication spell between us has weakened me, as you said. I need to rest."

"Of course; I don't need you to spy on the Estate for now. So take your time to recover," Arla said.

"Thank you, Mistress," Roland said.

"Can we do the spell when he's like this?" Wade asked, looking over Duke, who snapped at him.

"No, we stalled too long to capture him," Arla said, and handed the brick to a solider to carry. "We need to wait until sundown when he changes back to a human to start the spell. In the meantime, I still need to buy some items to disable the Teague's magic security system. I would like you to come along to assist me in . . . bargaining."

Wade happily agreed as Duke's eyes widen in horror when he heard the name 'Teague.'

"DON'T YOU HURT JENNIFER!" Duke yelled. "I'LL KILL YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I WILL KILL YOU!"

"Take him away for now," Arla said, waving dismissively at Duke. "Make sure he stays alive after sundown."

"Wait," Jess spoke up, actually stopping the soldier carrying Duke's cage. "We could . . . take care of him."

Wade looked like he was about to hit Jess, but Arla raised a hand, stopping him.

"Wait, this could be hilarious," Arla said, lowering her hand. "Why should we leave Duke in your care?"

"Because you need him alive," Jess stated. "We know Duke; we can make sure he's properly fed and healthy. Your soldiers already treated him roughly. Do you trust them to be nice to Duke until sunset?"

Arla was actually thinking it over.

"Look at the person next to you," Arla addressed the servants. "If any of you tries to free Duke, attempts to contact his animal friends, or word to the outside, that person will die."

The servants understood, and Arla nodded to the soldier, who gave Jess the cage with Duke inside.

"Thank you," Jess said.

Arla brushed Jess aside and looked at her soldiers.

"When Duke changes back, restrain him, then bring him to us," she ordered.

"Gag him as well," Wade added.

Arla and Wade then left, and the soldiers returned to their posts. The servants gathered around Duke.

"Oh, Duke," Eleanor said, seeing him, and began crying again. Julia looked annoyed, then examined Duke.

"Your throat must be dry after all that screaming. I'll get you some water," Julia said and left. Jess gently put the cage down on a table.

"We will get you out, Duke . . ." Jess whispered, looking at the otter. ". . . somehow."

Eleanor had stopped crying, and walked over to Duke.

"We did find where Arla stored her extra skins," Eleanor said. "That g . . . ghost . . . Roland . . . must have informed Arla . . . we didn't know about him . . . then Arla . . ."

Duke shook his head and stuck out his front paws, placing them on top of Eleanor's and Jess's hands, making them briefly smile. Duke leaned his head against the cage wall and sighed.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Eleanor asked, as she followed Julia and Jess.

"It will, if you shut up, Mother," Julia said through clenched teeth.

The three women were about to walk outside, when they were stopped by two of the soldiers.

"We need to collect food from the garden," Julia explained, as the women showed the soldiers the baskets. "Food . . . so Wade and Arla could eat."

"Plus we need to get fresh fish for Duke as well," Jess added showing them the traps.

The soldiers looked at each other, then stepped aside. The women walked passed them and headed to the garden. They then heard marching behind them and saw two different soldiers following them.

"Knew it couldn't be that easy," Julia commented as they continued to walk.

When they reached the garden, the women began gathering fruits and vegetables as the soldiers stood guard, scanning the area. What they didn't know that each woman snuck a different plant or item in their baskets as well: a strip of bark, a mineral, a leaf from an herb.

Jess started to leave with Julia, but the soldiers stopped them.

"We need to set up the traps," Jess said.

The soldiers looked at each other, then allowed the women to pass. They followed the women once Eleanor caught up to them. As they walked to the river, they kept gathering materials stealthily.

"Do you see any of them?" Julia whispered, as she picked berries and other items. "The bear? The snake?"

"Not yet," Jess said, trying to search for Duke's animal friends, while she set up the traps.

"Aren't those Duke's servants?" Dwight asked, when the three animals saw the humans.

"Do they have a plan?" Tommy asked.

"I could check," Claire said.

"Be careful, Claire," Dwight said.

Claire nodded and got on the water, casually paddling around, acting like a 'normal' female wood duck.

Jess looked up from her traps to see the wood duck and gave her a quick smile, before the duck flew away, scared off by the approaching soldiers.

"It takes time to set up the traps properly," Jess said, as she stood up.

Jess picked up her basket and the soldiers escorted the women to the Estate. Claire flew back to her friends.

"Well?" Dwight asked.

"I think they have a plan," Claire said. "But I don't know what."

"You think?" Tommy asked.

"We'll wait and see," Dwight said, and Tommy let out an impatient hiss. Dwight glared at the snake. "Are you bored? Fine; I'll give you something to do."

"Good," Tommy retorted.

"You see those cracks in the wall?" Dwight said, indicating the small openings in the Estate. "See if you can fit through any of them, and report back to us where they lead."

"I will," Tommy stated, and slithered to the Estate. Claire scooted closer to Dwight.

"I hope this isn't a suicide mission," she said.

"Tommy's smart enough to avoid being captured," Dwight said and added under his breath. "I hope."

"Now we add the rose hips," Julia said in a low voice, adding the plant into the mixture.

"What do we do after this is completed?" Jess asked, grounding minerals into a fine powder.

"According to shamans in the West, this will repel unwanted spirits," Julia said, adding the powder along with orchid petals. "We just need to sprinkle it around the perimeter of the Estate, inside and out."

"We can certainly cover the inside," Eleanor said, as she put in peppermint leaves. "But those soldiers . . . they do not like us to stay outside for long."

"I still need to check the traps," Jess said, glancing at the worn out sad otter, lying in the cage. "I think I saw one of Duke's animal friends. Knowing him, he probably brought them along as back up, but they will not move because of Arla's warning. One of them could spread the powder outside."

"That would have to do," Julia said, as she poured the finished powder into small pouches.

The women placed the pouches in their pockets and walked up to the soldiers.

"I would like to check the traps," Jess stated to a soldier, who glanced at Julia and Eleanor, and Jess got the message. "I need to take apart and remove the traps, if they worked; they're going to help me."

The two soldiers looked at each other, and then stepped aside. The women were joined by two different soldiers as they walked to the river.

Jess's traps did work, and Eleanor collected the fish, while Jess and Julia disassembled and removed the traps. The three women kept looking to see if any of Duke's animal friends were around.

Dwight didn't show it, but he was relieved when Tommy came back and reported where he'd been. Unfortunately, none of the holes led to an area where Tommy could clearly see Duke. Claire then noticed that Duke's servants returned to the river.

"I think they're looking for us," Claire stated. "I'll go; I'm the least conspicuous."

The others agreed. Claire swam around, hoping the women saw her. Jess noticed Claire and splashed her hand in the water, getting Claire's attention. Claire swam to an area of a river, behind a bush, out of the line of sight of the soldiers. She then paddled back, swishing her tail, trying to signal the women to follow her.

"I don't think they'll allow us to go there," Julia said, seeing one of the soldiers marching their direction.

"Leave it to me," Eleanor said. Julia was about to protest, but Eleanor stopped her. "Let your Mother make it up to you."

"Oh, my clog has fallen off in the river," Eleanor said, when the soldier reached them. Eleanor showed the soldier her shoeless foot. "It floated downstream. I'll go retrieve it. Will you allow Julia to join me? My eyesight isn't what it used to be."

The soldier looked them over, then pointed it's spear downstream.

"Thank you," Eleanor said, and she and Julia walked downstream.

When the soldier wasn't looking, they went behind the bush, and Claire swam up to them.

"I don't know how much you can understand, but we need your help," Julia said, taking out a pouch. "There's a ghost haunting Duke's Estate. We need to spread this powder around the perimeter of the Estate, inside and out, to prevent him from spying on us. If you can do this, we have a better chance helping Orion escape. Can you help us?"

Claire got out of the water and lifted up a leg. Julia smiled and tied the pouch around Claire's leg.

"Hurry; he . . . it's coming here," Eleanor said, noticing the soldier.

"Almost there," Julia whispered. "Hand me one of your needles."

"Oh, there it is, Julia. Could you pick it up? Thank you, dear," Eleanor acted, discreetly handing Julia a needle.

Julia poked a small hole in the pouch and Claire waddled away, hiding behind a tree. Julia then collected the clog from the water.

"Got it," Julia said, showing the soldier the clog. Once Eleanor had the clog back on her foot, she and Julia walked over to the soldier.

Once the soldiers were gone, Claire flew off, spreading the powder around the Estate.

"Where have you been?" Dwight asked when Claire returned, looking tired.

As Tommy removed the pouch, Claire explained the servants' plan to them.

"Okay, good," Dwight said when Claire was done. "Claire, get some rest. Tommy, keep an eye on the Estate."

"Where are you going?" Tommy asked.

"Getting Duke's friends," Dwight said before he left.

Sunset came all too soon for Duke and his servants. The three women were nervous when Arla summoned them. They heard crashing in the adjacent room.

"You three have some medical background, correct?" Arla asked, and they nodded. Arla indicated some medical supplies lying on the table. "Good; take care of Duke when I say so."

The doors from the other room flew opened and in came the soldiers, dragging in Duke, who was struggling in the grasps, gagged.

"Roll up his sleeve and hold his arm still," Arla said, when the soldiers stopped and they obeyed.

Arla took out a scalpel and pierced Duke's arm with it. She collected his flowing blood into a vial.

"Take care of him," Arla said, when the vial was filled, and the servants rushed to Duke's aid.

Arla got out another vial of clear liquid and added Duke's blood to it, changing it to a grayish color.

"Will it work?" Wade asked, looking at the liquid, as the servants finished tending Duke's wound. Arla looked at Wade.

"A test run does sound prudent. Are you willing to volunteer?" Arla asked.

Wade looked a little unsure, but he soon agreed. Arla poured a small amount of the liquid into a wine glass and gave it to Wade, while Duke and his servants watched. Wade took in a deep breath and drank the liquid. A second later, his whole body shifted and rippled. Soon, standing in front of Arla was Duke! Arla smiled, while Duke and his servants were horrified.

"Excellent; it works," Arla said with satisfaction.

Wade walked in front of a mirror and was shocked to see his reflection.

"Amazing," Wade said, stunned to hear his own voice was now Duke's, and examined the changes.

A second later, Wade's body shifted and rippled, and he changed back to his original self.

"Good thing I decided to not throw away your personal effects," Wade said to Duke, smiling. Duke attempted to lunge at him while he struggled harder; his screams were muffled by the gag.

"Lock him up in the dungeon," Wade ordered. He then looked at Arla. "I always wanted to say that!"

"You three, get back to work!" Arla ordered the three women, then looked at Wade and smiled. "Let us get ready for Jennifer's birthday party."

Jess, Julia, and Eleanor reluctantly left as Duke was dragged away to the dungeon.