Kedrigern in Wanderland (22 page)

She awoke to the sound of a familiar voice, and opened her eyes to see Kedrigern’s anxious face looking down on her. He raised her to a sitting position and held a flagon to her lips.

“Drink this, my dear. Slowly, now. You’ve had a bit of a shock, I imagine,” he said.

“Oh, Keddie, it was terrible!” She swallowed some of the wine, then quickly went on, “Rokkmund tried to cut my head off with Louise, and she couldn’t do a thing about it. I held up Wanda

“You found Wanda, then?”

“Yes. She was in a big iron chest, poor thing. And Rokkmund had found William and Alice. I don’t think he was very nice to them. I do hope you can help them, Keddie.”

“My help is no longer required, my dear. It looks as though you’ve taken care of everything,” Kedrigern said proudly, assisting her to her feet and gesturing dramatically to the floor nearby. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, before which dots and particles of blackness still swam, and looked at the spectacle in amazement.

Three women and a man, all complete strangers to her, were in a tangled heap on the floor where she and Rokkmund had clashed. They looked like victims of a violent but noninjurious accident. One dark-haired woman dressed all in black, broad-shouldered and formidable of chin and bosom, attractive in a vigorous, outdoorsy way, sat clutching her side and grimacing as if she had received a painful blow in the ribs. Behind her, leaning back-to-back in mutual support, a young man with the same sturdy shoulders and determined jawline was patting his arms, legs, trunk, and head in delighted disbelief. A woman with deep yellow hair, in appearance a younger sister of the other two, was staring at them in astonishment. And a slender, delicate girl in a milkwhite gown, with hair of the palest gold and skin like cream, lay supine at her side.

“William! Louise! I’m disenchanted!” the yellow-haired woman exclaimed, flinging her arms joyously wide, then hugging herself tightly.

“Well, I’m disenchanted, too. We’re all disenchanted,” said the woman in black, rubbing her side. She looked around, saw Princess, and cried, “Princess! You’re safe! And Kedrigern’s come at last!” She climbed gingerly to her feet and embraced Princess, wincing slightly. Stepping back, she asked, “What happened?”

“I held up Wanda. There was this terrible flash.
. .
said Princess vaguely. She appeared perplexed.

“A very clever move it was, too, my dear,” Kedrigern said. “With all the enchantees in close proximity like that, the contact forced the magic back in on itself, and well, here you all are.”

“Yes, here we are. I’d like you to meet my sister Alice and my brother William. These are my friends Princess and Kedrigern. Wizards, both of them. They’ve been absolutely wonderful,” said Louise, beaming, as they exchanged greetings and embraces with one another.

“Am I correct in assuming that the lady on the floor is cousin Wanda?” Kedrigern asked, pointing to the motionless figure.

“Poor Wanda. She never could take roughhousing. I imagine she’ll be out for days,” Alice said.

“And she’ll have a bad bruise on her ribs, too,” Louise observed, holding her own side. “Rokkmund had a powerful swing.”

“Where is he? He was right at the center of
. .
William began, and then they noticed the toad sitting stupefied near Wanda.

It was a large toad, almost the size of a cat, and of a green so dark that it was nearly black. It took one unsteady bound toward them, landing clumsily and nearly falling. It turned its gaze full on the group and loudly croaked,
“Grugump!”

“How wonderfully appropriate!” Alice said, clapping her hands. “Oh, thank you, Princess!”

“Nicely done, my lady. It shows excellent judgment,” said William, taking her hand and raising it to his lips.

Princess acknowledged the compliments with a secretive smile. Louise squeezed her hand in appreciation. Kedrigern caught her eye and winked, and she quickly averted her gaze.

“Where is Shanzie?” Louise suddenly demanded. “We’ll need someone to prepare meals and fix up our chambers and get this place into shape. There’s lots to be done. Whatever became of the lad?”

“I’m sure he ran off when he saw Rokkmund and his men coming,” Princess said. Turning to Kedrigern, she asked, “Did you happen to pass a little boy, very colorfully dressed?”

“No, but there’s no need to worry. You’ll have no trouble finding all the help you’ll require. Rokkmund’s men will be looking for employment, and I’m sure they’ll behave themselves after seeing what happened to their master.”

The toad seemed to understand. With one last defiant
grugump,
he turned and hopped it for the stairs.

“We’re well rid of him. He was beastly to us,” said Alice with a shudder.

William nodded grimly. “He certainly was. He threatened to pound me into foil if I didn’t go along with him.”

“William, you never mentioned that!”

He laid a comforting hand on Alice’s. “I didn’t want to upset you. I was afraid even to think of what he might threaten to do to you.”

“The swine! The absolute swine!” Alice hissed.

“Absolute toad, actually,” Kedrigern corrected her. “And I think Rokkmund is literally just that. Considering the amount of concentrated magic that went off here, he’s certain to be a toad forever, absolute and unchanging.”

Pleased smiles were exchanged all around at this professional opinion, with which Princess concurred. “Reassuring news indeed,” said William. “And now, if you will excuse me, I will see about offering a place in our service to such of Rokkmund’s men as I find suitable.”

“Look for one who can cook. We all need a good dinner,” said Louise.

They enjoyed good dinners that night and the next. Princess and Kedrigern took their leave on the third day. They were well attended during their stay. Rokkmund’s