The Wytches Roone

By Paul Kater

An invitation for King Walt to attend a festival in the queendom of Flamburgia is the start of a chain of events. Queen Velma shows a new side of herself, and Hilda and friends end up in a very strange world where nothing is normal. They didn't mean to go there, but when a Wytches Roone is involved there is no telling what will happen, nor where you'll go. The problem of course is: how do you get home?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Kater
• Release date: Jan 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310322563

Paul Kater

Paul Kater was born in the Netherlands in 1960. He quickly developed a feel for books and languages but ended up in the IT business despite that. Books and languages never ceased to fascinate him, so since 2003 he's been actively writing, encouraged by friends on the internet. The internet is the reason why most of his work is in English. A friend asking for writing help is why some of his writing is now also in Dutch. Paul currently lives in Cuijk, the Netherlands, with his books, possibly with cats, and the many characters he's developed in the past years, who claim he is a figment of their imagination.

Book preview

The Wytches Roone

Book 17 in the Hilda the Wicked Witch series

by

Paul Kater

Published by the author as a member of the

Alexandria Publishing Group

The Wytches Roone - © Copyright 2015, Paul Kater

Cover art by Paul Kater.

Roone image by Helena 'Witte Krie' De Boer, Atelier De Lachende Maan. http://www.delachendemaan.webnode.nl/

Image of the Harp Twins used with permission of the Harp Twins.

With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from author.

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This is a work of fiction, and as a work of fiction, any resemblance to people, places or things is entirely accidental. The creation of certain buildings and locations is entirely the work of the author to avoid conflict and comparison with existing structures

License Notes

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Words of gratitude

Thank you, Carol, for picking out all the carefully hidden mistakes again. I know it was rough this round.

Thank you also to the Harp Twins who allowed me to 'use' them in this story. And thank you, Lexie, for wanting to be in the book!

Jump to the Table of Contents.

1. An invitation

The little village of Sunrise, the almost home of Hilda and William and also close to the home of King Walt and Queen Velma, was surprised by the very early arrival of a group of people. Not just any group of people but the delegation that arrived from the not too far away but still considerably distant queendom of Flamburgia. Flamburgia was ruled by Queen Flamburg, as usual. Flamburgia was known for its long line of queens with that remarkable name. The reason for this was that somewhere in the past the original Queen Flamburg had decreed that only a queen of her name could rule Flamburgia (the queendom had been renamed to Flamburgia under her benevolent reign). Not every queen since the original one had brought forth a daughter, so close to the passing of the last queen Flamburgia a well-respected official had decreed that when the current Queen Flamburg had reached the tender age of thirty-five years without having a daughter called Flamburg, there would be a national contest among the teen aged girls and one of them would be chosen and trained to become the next queen. And called Flamburg.

The delegation from Flamburgia had been sent by Queen Flamburg (the thirteenth in line) and their journey had been a smooth one. Only when they reached the little village of Sunrise did the group come to a halt because they had to admit they were lost. An additional problem for them was that they arrived in the very, very early morning. So early even that one might consider it night as there was no daylight of significance yet. The group grumbled and wandered about until they located a large area where they parked their carts and horses, and there they made themselves comfortable for a few hours of sleep. Sleep that they needed and deserved.

About eight minutes after the last person in the delegation had nodded off, the market salespeople arrived at the square. They discovered that their favourite spots had been taken by wagons of many sizes, horses, a few mules and lots of sleeping people. The salespeople weren't the worst folks to deal with but when it turned out that even their least favourite spots were occupied, they started waking up a few sleepers. What the hell do you think you're doing here? was basically the question.

I'm sleeping, and if you try to stop me I'll tear your head off was basically the answer. They had woken up the wrong people. Upon that several market people had gone to the house of the sheriff to ask him if he could lend a hand with the issue.

How many are there? the sheriff asked.

About two dozen. We think. The market people hadn't taken the time to do an actual head count; they were only a dozen off.

I may need a few more people to be convincing, the sheriff said, unhappily. He liked his sleep, that was why he had become sheriff in this little, sleepy village.

We'll be right behind you, the salespeople said, so they waited for the sheriff to change into his official garb (which took a while) and then they followed him to the market square. As they had said, they were behind him. And at a safe distance.

The sheriff walked onto the square and looked over the sleeping crowd. He decided to rouse one of the smaller ones. The man on the ground looked up at the official maintainer of the law. What?

I am the sheriff of Sunrise and I demand to know what you are doing here.

The man sat up and yawned. We sleep here. We were tired. And we are still tired. Then he got up. "What you should have asked first is who we are, not what we're doing, because what we're doing is rather obvious, isn't it? Without giving the sheriff a moment to react, the man said, We are here on behalf of her majesty Queen Flamburg of Flamburgia, thirteenth of her line, with an official invitation for King Walt and Queen Velma because of a special occasion."

The sheriff nodded understandingly. You picked a strange spot to look for our king. He lives in his castle, not in the market square.

You would be smart not to mock me, said the man who was combing his white beard with his bony fingers. I am Theosyphillus, official magician to the court of Queen Flamburg of Flamburgia. He looked the sheriff in the eyes as his fingers got caught in the leather strap around his neck. Since ninety-seven years. Theosyphillus pulled the strap into view and undid his fingers. The sheriff noticed an odd, white symbol hanging from it.

And you haven't been here in all that time? The sheriff tried not to be impressed by rank or seniority.

There was no reason to come here, said Theosyphillus who by now was quite awake. Now, if you can tell me where the king's castle is then I will tell my people as soon as they wake up.

Can't you tell them after waking them up? They're sort of in the way at the moment.

The magician shrugged. If you have a death wish I can certainly accommodate that.

What do you mean by that? The sheriff had a bed wish, not a death wish. The magician answered that there were a few very strong men in the group who wouldn't hesitate to take a sheriff apart. I understand. I will tell the market salespeople that the market will start later today. After that he explained how to get to the castle.

I appreciate that. Theosyphillus the magician nodded, lay down on his heap of blankets and fell asleep instantly. The sheriff went back to the waiting crowd and inflated the threats of the magician a bit to make a profound impression. It helped in convincing them to postpone today's market though.

-=-=-

While the Queen's ambassadors woke up in the market square, the magician informed them all where the castle was. An hour later the market square was deserted and remained empty for the rest of the day. King Walt was delighted to receive the unusual invitation. 'Queen Flamburg requested the presence of King Walt and Queen Velma at the thirteenth grape festival of the queendom of Flamburgia.' It sounded very official and all that. The king was a bit disappointed as he heard that the entire affair would be non-alcoholic as Queen Flamburg was allergic to it, but the idea of a trip still made him happy. Queen Velma wasn't so keen on the trip. She'd just had a cold and feared that going on such a journey would make her relapse so she decided to stay home. Theosyphillus the magician tried to make her change her mind but Velma was a strong woman with a strong mind. The magician didn't push as that would be seen as impolite. He also assumed that the woman might present more problems than joys with such an attitude.

While King Walt arranged to have a large number of overnight bags packed, the magician felt compelled to return to the village and walk around a little bit. Sunrise was a quaint little town and he was fond of those. A benefit of quaint, little towns was that they sometimes harboured quaint, interesting objects in their quaint, little stores. After visiting most stores in Sunrise, even the less quaint ones, Theosyphillus had become more and more disappointed in this waste of time. Granted, some of the shops had looked interesting on the outside but no inside had held anything of interest for him. He sat down at a table outside a tavern closest to the empty market square and ordered some tea. As he waited for that, something intriguing caught his eye. It was a something which was stuck in the tavern wall. The magician got up and started picking at the strange, little object.

What are you doing? The voice of a young boy made Theosyphillus look back. There were two boys. He wasn't certain which of them had asked the question.

I am taking something from this wall, he said and returned to his picking which soon paid off. A small, pale object fell into his hand.

What is it? The boys were still there.

Something important. Theosyphillus liked children so he answered their questions while he studied the thing he'd retrieved from the tavern wall. He reached for the leather strap he wore and compared the artefact on that to what he'd just found.

By that time King Walt had said goodbye to his darling wife and the carts had rattled out of the courtyard. None of the people in the original delegation worried about the magician. He was known to wander off on his own and he always found his way back home. Queen Velma grinned. Walt was gone. She suddenly felt as if something strange and naughty had come over her. She walked up to a servant. Bring me a bottle of wine.

Why would I? the servant asked. You know where the wine cellar is, get it yourself.

Queen Velma frowned. Why don't we go there together? Together we can carry more. The servant couldn't deny that so they walked off together. At the same time many people who were doing their work in and around the castle looked at each other, perceived a general notion of 'sod it all' and dropped whatever it was they were doing. A rather impressive stream of people walked out of the gate and back to Sunrise. Work was work, but today wasn't the day for it, they all agreed.

Long before the crowd reached the street where the tavern was, Theosyphillus closed one eye as he moved the two pieces of ceramic together. They seemed to belong to each other, he noticed. Magic had been streaming from and around him and the wide area since the bits had gotten close to each other. The two boys stared at the man as he started to sweat. Theosyphillus pressed hard but the two stupid pieces refused to touch each other. In all his magical life he'd never encountered something bizarre like that so he decided to use some nifty magic. He mumbled the spell (there were children present and one had to be careful with spells around youths) and then the two pieces clicked together for a moment. Then the piece that had come from the wall fell to the ground.

The owner of the tavern came outside with the tea and looked around. Where'd he go? he asked the two boys.

He disappeared, said one of the two while the other one crawled over the floor and collected the piece that had fallen down upon the magician's strange departure.

2. The dragon

Honourable witch and wizard! The courier had run quite far and certainly fast. It showed from his red face. It was also audible because he spoke in gasps interrupted by syllables. The man wore a uniform in the official colours of the household of King Walt and Queen Velma.

What's the matter? Hilda asked. You look as if a dragon is after you.

The courier shook his head while he regained a little more control over his gasps. Far worse, honourable witch, far worse. The queen demands your presence because of one.

What? Hilda was certain she'd understood him perfectly fine but the meaning of what he said was impossible to believe. A dragon in the area and the queen knew about that before the witch and the wizard did? That was unheard of.

The queen is tormented by a dragon and she royally demands that you come to remove the beast, the courier confirmed Hilda's suspicion. And make it snappy.

Hilda stared at the man. "You are telling me to make it snappy?"

Oh no, that's what the queen said to me. It wasn't part of the message. The running man shrunk away from the door, looking left and right for a possible quick get-away. Annoying the witch was not a good idea, even if it happened by accident.

That's better. Hilda still wasn't happy with the news. A dragon? You can go back, she told the courier. We'll be over soon. No need to tell the queen; we'll probably be there before you. The courier nodded and backed away a few paces before he turned and slowly started walking back to where he'd come from. And at that speed we'll be back here before you get there too, Hilda said to herself, after which she walked around the house.

William was there, pondering the location of the massive pump they'd brought from the strange land up north. Hello, sweetwitch. I think this keeps away the sun too much the way it is now, he said as he kicked the pump. Immediately he regretted his action even though the pump couldn't care less.

Could be, Hilda said, but there was a running courier from the castle. Apparently there's a dragon there and the queen wants us to remove it.

A dragon? Without us being aware of it? William sounded as incredulous as Hilda'd been.

That's what he said. It's all so odd that we should go and have a look. William agreed with her so they left the pump where it was, fetched their brooms and flew to the castle. Its white walls were still standing, they saw that from afar.

Doesn't look much like dragon activity, William declared.

Doesn't look like dragon anything, Hilda said. For one I miss a dragon. That would be the least you'd expect.

Perhaps it's a tiny dragon, William joked. One that fits behind the wall. He tried to remember anything about tiny dragons but only came up with the very young; the kind that wouldn't go about pestering queens yet. Hilda found it beneath her dignity to even respond to something like that. She also liked her wizard too much to give him a sneer. They flew a bit higher and looked out over the area for dragon signs but they found none.

Maybe she's wrong about the dragon, Hilda said as they prepared to land in the inner courtyard. We'll find out soon enough. It surprised her that many of the servants who usually would be moving about in the yard weren't there. The magicals walked into the castle and there, in the main hall, they located a woman sweeping the impeccable floor. Hey you, where's the dragon?

The woman almost dropped her broom as she saw the magicals. Oh, it's you! She picked up her tool and said, The poor queen. She is so disturbed and beside herself since the King left.

Walt left her? Hilda and William both were very surprised.

Yes, he did, said the woman. Not forever but for quite a while. She then explained that King Walt had been invited to the grape tasting festival in one of the more remote kingdoms. The queen there was known to be a friendly soul who was famous for her taste in grapes.

"Grape tasting? Are you sure it's not grape juice tasting, as in wine?" William asked, half joking.

I'm certain. The queen that the King went to visit doesn't like alcohol so her grapes aren't stomped on, said the sweeping woman. The resident queen however has developed too much of a taste for it. With those words most pieces of the dragon puzzle came together. The sweeping servant then pointed out where they would probably find the queen. William thanked the woman and they walked along to one of the many conservatories that belonged to the castle. That way each side of the building was prepared for royals wanting to catch the sun without catching a cold at the same time. Without knocking or announcement (they were magicals after all) they entered the glass-walled room.

Lalalala... Unclear singing met them. Hilda looked at William. They walked into the room and found Queen Velma draped on one of the large couches. The queen looked around herself as she heard the sound of bottles being kicked over. William had accidentally hit one with a foot and that bottle had tumbled into at least