Hilda: Butterfly Gardens

By Paul Kater

In general life is good and quiet for Hilda and William, but not for long. The news that dragons are attacking a village nearby brings our magical heroes into action - and a lot more action than they'd bargained for.

Life-changing events happen quickly when suddenly Hilda is summoned to be represented at a Magic Council. Such councils don't happen often, so something very dramatic has to be afoot.

At the same time someone (he's been in King Walt's realm before) comes back with a complaint and a request. It's a request that's at the same time strange, dangerous and challenging. It's also complicated enough to bring Johanna and Baba Yaga into the game, to bring everything to a good end.

Come with them, on a trip to Butterfly Gardens!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Kater
• Release date: Oct 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463465899

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

1. Dragon attack

Oh my, said the house as it, and everything inside it, shook.

Crappedy crap. Why are the dragons so wild all of a sudden? Hilda looked out of the window to where their huge pets... had been just a few moments before. Where are they?! William!

The wizard dashed out of the kitchen where he'd been working on a better kind of coffee - and failing to produce that. What's happening? They're never so crazy loud.

The dragons are gone. Together they rushed outside but that made no difference: the dragons had vanished after roaring so loudly that the plates and kettle in the kitchen had danced on their shelves. The magicals stared at the empty spot where their magnificent animals had been.

I don't get it. William shook his head. They've never done that before.

Your observational skills baffle me time and again, wizard. Hilda felt as lost and worried as he did; she just had a different way of expressing that. We should get up on brooms and look for them. I know, don't tell me. It would be futile. There was no way they could catch up with their dragons once the creatures picked up speed. There also was the detail that they had no idea in which direction the dragons had left.

They'll come back. William put an arm around Hilda's shoulders.

I'm going to hold you responsible if they don't, she muttered. The dragons had flown off for no apparent reason. Before she could think up anything else, a scream erupted from the house. Suck an elf, now what... Hilda slipped away from under William's arm and hurried to the crystal ball. What is it? she asked the face inside her trusted means of communication.

On the other end of the conversation was Lady Katarina Sambridge-Ponsonby, a witch Hilda knew from long ago. Lady Sambridge-Ponsonby, who had once been Kat Ponsy, had married a prince and at that moment she'd retired from being a witch. The prince was long gone, as were several other princes she'd been married to, but Hilda and she'd had the occasional conversation every few decades. Grimhilda... Lady Kat still insisted on politeness and full names. We have an emergency. Emergency. If she declared something an emergency, that would mean something close to a disaster had happened.

What? Where? Can we help?

"We? Are you not alone? Did I miss anything of importance?"

Hilda instantly fumed. Emergency, remember? What the crappedy crap is going on?

Lady Kat blinked twice and became all business. There has been a dragon attack on the village where Witch Ita lives. Several casualties, at least five dead. Multiple injured. People are on the way there to help but we need reinforcements. You're closest.

Hilda felt her blood go cold. Witch Ita was a cute witch, great with herbs, healing and hungry mouths. Limited magical abilities but a definitely nice person. No match for dragons. What kind of dragons?

Nobblebacks. Two or three.

We're on our way. As Hilda ran outside, she heard Lady Kat ask again about the we but that would have to wait. William! Broom!

Forgotten were the dragons for the moment. Like the experienced duo they were, the two got onto their brooms and raced off. The house closed its door and hoped things wouldn't be so bad as they'd sounded.

-=-=-

They left. In a hurry.

But Hilda said she would help me with something for the proclamations. Johanna, the teacher witch, sat down on one of the sun beds in front of the house. When will they be back?

I don't know. I doubt they know themselves. They've been gone for quite a while so it must be serious.

Johanna sighed. I see. Well, I'll go to the castle and start writing.

If by chance you see the dragons, do tell them to come back.

Ehm. The teacher glanced at the empty spot. They didn't go by dragon?

No. The dragons left before they did.

Isn't that a fine mess... Johanna sat down on her carpet and flew off.

The house rattled with a few boards. I hope it isn't.

-=-=-

Hilda and William stared at the devastation that had once been the village of Bigtown. Three Nobblebacks had flattened nearly every house. Only one barn and three houses had escaped the architectural massacre. Somehow the dragons had gotten into a fight over the village, so witnesses had reported, and being the stupid dragons they were, they had fallen down fighting.

Only five people had not survived the crash, which was a miracle in itself because Bigtown had been a very small village; even smaller than Sunrise.

This didn't happen. Hilda couldn't believe her eyes. Crappedy crappedy...

Honourable witch... A couple, a man and a woman, carefully approached the magicals. There is something you should know...

Tell us, said the witch who didn't feel very honourable. It's about Witch Ita, isn't it? She's hurt, isn't she? They'd already seen a large field filled with injured people. Hilda had expected to see Ita here, busy healing people.

No, honourable witch. She's... The woman looked troubled. She's no longer with us.

William put an arm around Hilda. He knew she needed that. He'd never met Witch Ita but Hilda's shocked reaction told him this was bad news. The witch looked at the man. Take us to her.

But...

"Take us to her." The man and the woman nodded. They couldn't resist the voice and Hilda was a master with that.

They walked past the flattened ruins of Bigtown to the street where Witch Ita had lived. They stopped only briefly at the collection of splinters. Then the two walked on towards the field with the injured people. To the side, under several torn sheets, lay the unfortunate victims. The man knelt down and removed one of the sheets.

Hilda bit her lip. She hadn't ever expected to see Ita this way and almost wished she hadn't insisted. Crappedy crap, she whispered. As if that was his cue, the man moved the sheet back. William swallowed hard after what they'd seen. There wasn't much left of the witch. He wrapped his arms around Hilda and offered her shelter for her grief. He knew she needed that. The couple who'd taken them here walked off in silence, leaving the two.

You can cry now, William said. We're alone.

I'm not crying, said Hilda through her sobs as she held him tightly. I'm just... It took a while before she was done not crying. After furiously wiping her face and finishing that up with a dab of magic, she looked at William. Thank you. That was all that needed to be said.

The two walked to the group of people who were looking after the many wounded and offered their help. Medically the magicals could do a lot, even without being proper doctors. As long as someone was there to tell them what had to be done, they could fix people quite fast.

-=-=-

Thank you. Thank you so much. The leader of Bigtown, an older woman by the name of Brynne, kept repeating the words after all the injured had been looked after. What can we do to repay you?

"No. You don't have to repay anything. Hilda shook her head. We're glad we could help. Maybe we can find another village witch for you." She was already thinking about Pheia, once that woman had her magic under control.

We'd appreciate that, said Brynne. Maybe one who can help us with Witch Ita's children.

That shocked Hilda. Ita had children? The village leader guided the two to a small group of improvised tents. In one of the tents six children of various ages sat or lay, looking confused. Only the two smallest were sleeping bundles.

She had six of them? An even bigger shock for the wicked witch.

No. Those three are Ita's, Brynne said, pointing at one of the sleeping bundles and two children, a boy and a girl both between four and six years of age.

Hilda suppressed a 'crappedy crap'. Magical children needed magical parents. No ordinary could ever deal with the magic that such kids possessed, and much less when that magic started to erupt for real. She looked at William. Babs?

We can try, he answered. They can't stay here, can they? He'd already sensed that from her, so he wasn't surprised when she shook her manes in agreement.

-=-=-

Ready? Hilda looked at her wizard. She carried the baby in a sling on her chest. William had the two children in front of him. The two were still in shock. The boy stared into a void only he could see. The girl, she was his sister and the oldest of the three, silently cried. Hilda's stomach tied itself in another knot, seeing the devastated children. Did they know they'd never see their mother again? The baby was better off in that respect.

William sighed and asked how anyone could ever be ready for something like this. Hilda didn't know. We'll figure something out. Let's go.

The two magicals left a sad collection of people behind. There would be help from other communities to rebuild the village; they wouldn't have to worry about that. Still, what had happened here was worrying as much as it was sad. This could happen more often. There had to be a way to see this coming and prevent it, Hilda was convinced of that. The trick was finding that way.

As they flew home, they were surprised by two mighty shadows falling down on them. The magical couple looked up and recognised their dragons. Hilda wondered where they'd been. As if the creatures knew that, they sailed in wide circles that led the witch and her wizard to a field. On that field they discovered an enormous mass of what had been dragons.

Holy Bejeebus. They attacked those three Nobblebacks and turned them into meatloaf... William didn't understand how these two dragons, even together they were much smaller than a Nobbleback, had managed that.

So that's why they took off so quickly. They knew! Hilda felt proud of their dragons. Too bad they hadn't reached Bigtown in time. Maybe having a squadron of dragons patrolling the area would be an idea. As usual Hilda was proud of her idea. Details like finding enough dragons to do as she wanted were moved to the back-burner.

The purple and the red dragon flew below the magicals a few times, offering them a faster ride home, but with the children on board they didn't dare to fly them. Hilda held an arm protectively around the baby, even though it was snug and safe. She kept an eye on William as well, who constantly seemed to talk to the boy and the girl. They, so Hilda noticed, leaned into each other and William. That had to be a good sign.

The flight home took much longer but they arrived safely. As soon as the magicals got off their brooms, the door of the house swung open. You have children with you, the building said as the dragons landed in their usual spot.

Yes. Three children, said Hilda as she walked in. One of them smells. Of course it's mine.

"Your child? The house sounded shocked. Even witches need more time for that."

William ushered the other two inside. House, meet Rune and Oona. They will live here for now.

Where is Isla? asked the little girl, Oona.

Eye-la? That is a peculiar name, the house said.

Over here, said Hilda. Come and look. Your sister needs some attention. She'd put Isla, the baby, on the table and had started to unwrap everything that kept the child warm. Crappedy crap... Ita certainly fed her well... Once magic had been applied to her nose, it wasn't much work for Hilda to change the diaper. William... can you clean this?

Outside? the house added.

Ehm. The wizard clogged his nose as well.

And hand me a fresh one. Hilda held out one hand while making sure the baby didn't wiggle itself off the table.

Oona and Rune stood near the table, silently watching the witch handle their little sister. Hilda had an eerie feeling the two strongly disapproved of what she was trying to accomplish.

William rushed into the kitchen with the dirty diaper. He dropped it into a bucket, grabbed another bucket with some water and two pieces of cloth, and returned to the room. He cast a spell to heat up the water, then handed the bucket and one piece of cloth to Hilda. Clean up stuff. While Hilda did what she could with Isla, William changed the piece of cloth into a diaper. Hooray for magical child maintenance.

Hilda barely noticed her wizard leaving for the kitchen again as she tended to the baby. Once that was done (the diaper was kept in place with magic and pins instead of just pins) she held the infant in her arms. Oona, Rune... are you hungry? Do you want anything to drink? I need to talk to Babs, she thought.

2. Full house

A roar rose up from two dragons as they spotted the carpet coming towards them over the forest. The creatures were tall enough to look out over the trees, so nothing escaped them.

Hello, you two! Johanna sailed her carpet past the dragons. She'd grown accustomed to them. Neither dragon replied. She'd grown accustomed to that too, but she liked saying hello to the creatures.

As she approached the front door, the house welcomed her with a strange message. There are new occupants. Prepare for the worst.

New occupants? Rubbing her wrists Johanna scanned the wall for brooms and saw only the two she knew. Hmmm.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

"That sounds dramatic, house. What kind of new occupants are you talking about?"

The house opened the door for her. Visitor, it said to the people inside.

The teacher entered. She was immediately aware of a young boy who stood on a chair. He held a plate in his hand. This of course was Rune. No, I don't want to eat this. It doesn't look like food, he said.

Oona also stood on her chair, her hands on her hips. Rune, you can eat it. I ate it. It looks strange but it's nice.

Rune, sit down. Oona, you too, please. William looked over to Hilda who sat on the couch with Isla. The witch had cast a silencing spell around her and the baby, so the child could sleep through the racket of her siblings. Once the child had decided it should sleep, of course. For now Isla was looking around with big, curious eyes.

Oh, hello, Johanna. Rune, put that plate down. William didn't want to resort to magic on this first day. Well, these first few hours.

What is going on here? Johanna looked at the scene at the table and at Hilda who was holding a baby. I need to go outside and come in again. Something's wrong. Johanna got up and walked out, while William caught the plate when Rune dropped it.

Johanna came back in. She walked over to the table, picked Rune up and sat him down. And you are going to stay there. This is the house of kind people, she told the boy.

As Rune looked at the teacher in surprise, Oona also sat down. I told him so too.

William also stared at the teacher. How did you do that?

Who are these children? Johanna asked in return. She heard the entire story and looked shocked.

Hilda removed the silence bubble now Rune and Oona were no longer yelling at each other. She joined the others at the table, holding Isla who was soundly asleep now. I had no idea that having children was so much work.

And you only have them here since this morning? You're in for a surprise.

Where is my Mummy? Rune said. With his big eyes he looked at Hilda who saw tears forming there.

Your Mummy has... is... The wicked witch suddenly felt lost. How could you tell a child its mother was dead?

William lifted the boy from the chair and sat him down on his knee. Do you remember what happened? he asked Rune. William also looked at Oona. Do you remember the dragons fighting as they flew over your village? Rune nodded as tears trickled over his cheeks. Oona'd gotten teary-eyed as well. Hilda stared at her wizard. Your mother was very brave, Rune, William said. She wanted you and your sisters to be safe, and also all the other people in the village. In an impulse the wizard wrapped his arms around the little boy. Your mother took the three of you to a friend and then she went to fight the dragons. Because she didn't want anyone to get hurt. And she succeeded in that. It was close enough to the truth, from what they'd heard from Brynne. But in order to keep everyone safe, your mother had to... leave. It was difficult for him to talk now. She had to choose between staying with you and many people getting hurt, or leave so you would be safe. And she wanted you to be safe.

Hilda handed Isla over to Johanna and took Oona in her lap. Both older children were crying. She didn't know exactly why. Did they know their mother had passed on? Were they old enough to understand death? Part of her rebelled against this. She didn't want this. Another part of her wanted nothing more than to care for these three, no matter the problems that would bring - and there would be problems. She was convinced of that.

Are you both proud of your Mummy? That surprising question came from Johanna. You know what being proud means, don't you? Rune as well as Oona looked at the woman and nodded. Your Mummy wants to be proud of you, Johanna continued. She will be gone for a while but her heart will always be with you and love you. You have to remember that.

There was a silence. Johanna broke it. What did you like best about your Mummy?

Hilda paid close attention. She'd never been skilled in the children's department. Baba Yaga had always done lots better, but her bestest girlfriend was far away. Johanna was here and doing a remarkable job with Rune and Oona, who seemed glued to her lips.

She always sang songs, said Oona. Mummy knew all the songs in the whole world.

And Mummy played games with us, Rune added. He looked up at William. "Can you play spin the top? And leapfrog?"

I can, said William. He remembered those games from long ago. Maybe they looked different here, and with magical children they might work out differently, but if he could make this little boy happy by playing games, he would.

Oona told them she liked how her mother used to sing Cock a doodle do. Hilda immediately looked alarmed; she had no idea which song the girl was talking about. When Hilda had been a child, children sang very different songs. To her relief Johanna started singing. Oona almost immediately joined in and even Rune attempted to sing along. It was clear he didn't know the words yet but still he did a better job than Hilda could have done.

Hilda looked at her wizard. William was lost in this area as well, that much was obvious from his expression. The wicked witch knew they'd gotten themselves in a heap of trouble for the time to come. I need to talk to someone, she said as she put Oona on her own chair and got up. I won't be long.

The crystal ball in the corner responded to the approaching witch by lighting up. Baba Yaga, are you there? Hilda sat down and waited. As was to be expected it was Shevaughn who answered the ball.

Aunt Hilda! Where are the cats? Do you still have the dragons? Where is Uncle William? When do you come to visit again? The avalanche of questions could go on for a while, and normally Hilda didn't mind. This time however she really needed to talk to her bestest girlfriend so she interrupted Shevaughn and asked if Mama Babs was there. As if she hadn't been spouting so many questions, Shevaughn stopped talking and nodded. I'll go find her for you, Aunt Hilda.

Hilda watched the blonde girl in her black dress run off. Such a cute kid, she thought. Babs came to the ball before an owl could have circled the house twice; still it felt long to Hilda who heard another song start up at the table.

Hilda. Babs looked at her friend. What's the matter?

Why would something be the matter?

Your forehead has more wrinkles than a wet Troll's ass in Autumn and I hear singing from your house. Especially the latter tells me something's the matter, so speak to me, witch.

If you want it straight: William and I are having kids. Three of them. Those words made Baba Yaga move back from the crystal ball as if Hilda'd said something contagious.

You... are... what?

We have three children. Hilda then told Babs about the ball call from Kat Ponsy and how they'd ended up with Witch Ita's offspring.

You are crazy. Hilda, everyone knows you're crazy but you've just topped anything crazy you've ever done. Three? And at those ages? What were you thinking? Bollocks, what was your wizard thinking? You have no experience with children. I remember you making that joke about children once where...

I know, I know, no need to bring that up. I know it was wrong to...

Wrong? No, it was too funny, Babs interjected. But let's skip that. Give me a moment to come to grips with what you've just said. You and William took in the three children of Witch Ita. That's what I heard you say and I know there's nothing wrong with my ears. Hilda silently watched her friend's face get more and more surprised. You really did that, didn't you? Babs had never looked more surprised in her entire life.

Yes. We... Just wait. Hilda got up and walked to Johanna. The teacher knew what Hilda wanted and handed over the sleeping baby. Hilda smiled and walked back to the crystal ball. Quiet. She's asleep, she told Baba Yaga, whose surprise had never been greater than at that very instant. This is Isla.

She's no older than six months, Babs whispered. Have you talked to the father of the children yet? Or fathers?

No. We first wanted to bring the children here, to safety. And we forgot about any fathers, Hilda confessed, but Brynne, the leader of Bigtown, showed us the children. If there'd been a caring Dad around I doubt she'd have done that.

Unless the father isn't truly magical. You will have to find out if the children are magicals, Hilda. Child cores are hard to discover. You'll need to test them with simple things. Babs looked serious as she spoke. Maybe Shevaughn and I should come over to meet them. And help. Do you think you have space for all of us? I'm not the kind to move into a room at a tavern if I can help it.

Hilda assured her friend there was plenty of sleeping space. Do you have any immediate tips for us?

Give them as much attention as you can. They just lost their mother. That reality will hit them later so be prepared for that. And... good luck. Babs smiled. I still can't believe what you just told me, but I'm proud of you, witch woman.

Hilda saw how her bestest girlfriend looked at the sleeping baby in her arms one more time. After that the connection went crystal. She got up and walked back to the table from where another song raced up to her. She tried to recall if she'd ever heard that in Sunrise but she couldn't remember it. Before reaching the table, she looked at Isla. We're going to look after you, little one.

3. Parenting is a strange thing

Hilda sat down with Isla in her arm. Why are you here? she asked Johanna. The teacher had to be here for a reason.

My wrists, Johanna said, holding them up as proof. They hurt.

You should be able to fix that now. You're a witch and we already went over simple healing. Hilda suspected there was more to it. There was. Johanna explained that she'd been to the castle for another proclamation.

Since we haven't gotten to the trick you have in mind for that, I used magic to speed up my writing. That's why my arms now hurt.

Now that was not... smart. Hilda had another word in mind but since this woman was so kind and helpful all the time she decided not to use the appropriate word. We should get to work on that skill then. Soon. As in now.

I don't have much time left, said Johanna. Classes would start