Chapter 8

“I’m gonna miss them.” Kali said, frowning as the group made their way out the tree door and back into the forest.
Foster rolled his eyes. “Good lord, Kali, they were not cute. They had creepy yellow eyes and claws. They were about as cute as a demented possum.”
Liona inadvertently shivered. “I hate those things.”
“They also treated us as if we were some sort of prized possession.” Adara said, looking down at her dress. “Speaking of possessions, how horrid is this dress? I wish they’d given me mine back.”
Kali shrugged. “It’s kind of cute. I could totally use it for Halloween this year.”
“I don’t understand you humans.” Allister said, shaking his head. “Now come, it’s almost night and we must set up camp. I have much to tell you before we start in the morning. Foster, come with me to help gather wood for a fire. The rest of you stay back here and find a tree that is very large with lots of cover.”
Foster frowned. “Why do I have to find wood with you?”
“Because,” Allister said, smiling. “I enjoy making you uncomfortable”
Pursing his lips, Foster grumbled. “He’s going to kill me in the forest, that’s what he’s going to do.”
Yet as Allister turned to walk into the dense forest, Foster followed obediently. Kali raised an eyebrow and looked over at Liona.
“I’m not sure murder is what he has in mind.”
Liona rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Only you, Kali.”
“I’m not much looking forward to sleeping on the ground, but I suppose it will be better than the bed the Elves gave me.” Adara rationalized, looking around at the ancient trees. “It was about half my height.”
“How long were you with them, anyway?” Liona asked, following her gaze.
“Three days.” Adara replied. “I don’t mean to sound like I didn’t like them, they were very kind to me, but I was so upset about losing you, Lilly, and I’m afraid that I was so worried that I didn’t realize how amazing it was that Elves even exist in the first place.”
“Worried?” Liona said, frowning at her. “You knew the boulder didn’t kill me?”
Adara nodded. “I saw you disappear before it hit you. You saved me and then you were put back into your own world, weren’t you?”
Liona nodded. “That’s how Foster and Kali came. I think I accidentally brought them here.”
“Glad you did.” Kali said, looking around. “This is wicked, Lilly, now I know what it’s like being in your head.”
“I’m not sure Foster is as happy to be here.” Liona said, frowning to herself. “You should have seen him when we got here.”
Kali shook her head. “Tweak will get over himself, you know him as well as I do, he doesn’t handle change well.”
Liona nodded. “Well, let’s get started on our tree hunt.”

* * * * *
When Allister and Foster returned with supplies, the humans watched in fascination as Allister quickly assembled a tent-like structure out of a series of long branches and twine he had made from the bark of the trees. Liona felt guilty just watching him do it, but with the speed and precision the Bastet created the shelter, she felt that if any of them offered help it would be more trouble than anything else. It took him no more than twenty minutes to pull together a professional looking structure, and when he was finished, he used the left over wood to start a warm fire that they gathered around as the sun began to fade into the dim, overcast sky.
“You’re like that guy on T.V who knows everything about how to survive in the wilderness.” Kali said, eyeing the shelter made of tree branches as they finished up the dinner Allister also prepared for them. “Too bad you guys don’t have marshmallows.”
Allister raised an eyebrow. “I am not sure I understood anything you just said.”
“You wouldn’t understand, it’s an our-world thing.” Foster said, thinking to himself. “But marshmallows would be good. Better than that stuff you called food.”
Allister frowned. “It’s Bark Root, humans like that, don’t they?”
“I’ve had it before.” Adara said, nodding. “But we don’t eat it often.”
“Can’t imagine why.” Foster mumbled.
Liona laughed. “Didn’t Allister have something to tell us?”
He nodded. “I have much to tell you, so listen closely. Tomorrow we have to go into Mondel to see the extent of the damage.”
“I thought you cat things saw everything.” Foster said. “Why do we actually have to go there?”
“Is there a reason the human girls call you Tweak? I would have thought bothersome would be better suiting.”
Kali rolled her eyes “Quit it, children. We call him Tweak because he had a weird obsession with tweaking people’s noses in elementary school.”
Foster’s eyes widened. “Kali! Shut up!”
“Nonetheless.” Allister interrupted, smiling at Foster’s embarrassment. “We only saw that Mondel had been attacked by Bakanua, the leader of the dark ones. Something has released him, along with the other dark ones. They are starting with the humans, but they plan to attack the magic world also.”
“That’s what you told the Elves?” Liona asked.
Allister nodded. “There will be another war, we can see that. But there is something more that we are unable to identify. This war is deeper than any of us could ever imagine, and in order for us to win there are secrets to be uncovered. This war will not only be in the West like last time, this war will involve the whole world.”
“Well that’s a little melodramatic.” Foster said, rolling his eyes.
“Perhaps bothersome one would like to sleep outside tonight.” Allister countered, pursing his lips.
Ignoring the banter, Liona shook her head. “So they started with Mondel because of King James, right?”
Allister nodded. “I presume so. They’re using it as a base now, developing their plan and in the mean time covering their tracks by fabricating what happened as an accident. I’m not certain though, that’s why we need to find out for sure.”
Adara’s face immediately turned into a worried frown. “The King who started the war was a King of Mondel?”
“I’m afraid so, Adara.” Allister said, looking at her sympathetically. “But of course this was nearly four hundred years ago. You mustn’t blame yourself or your father.”
Adara shook her head. “But how did we not know?”
“James never intended anyone to know, he tried very hard to let history forget our kind.”
Kali frowned. “You talk like you were there. How old are you?”
“If you must know, I will soon be six hundred and twenty three.” Allister said, smiling at her.
All the humans were instantly shocked, and Kali struggled to respond. “H-How long do Bastets usually live?”
Allister only shrugged. “A few thousand years or so. Given that we’re not killed before then.”
“So you were there?” Liona asked, managing to find her voice.
Allister nodded. “I was. Though I admit I wish I hadn’t been. It was not a sight anyone would have wanted to see.”
“A sight caused by my ancestors.” Adara said, her eyes aimlessly staring into the fire.
“And one that can be undone with your help.” Allister said, looking over at her. “With all of your help. But we must work together.”
Kali nodded. “I’m in.”
“Me too.” Liona said.
“You people are crazy, but I guess that means I’m in too.” Foster said, sighing.
Adara looked back at all of them and smiled. “I suppose we’ll have to prepare to go to the village tomorrow then, won’t we?”

* * * * *

The next morning at dawn, Allister forcibly made the humans wake up by collapsing the shelter on top of them. After the initial shock of tree branches falling on top of them, they reluctantly began to follow Allister towards the village outside the kingdom of Mondel.
“Was that really necessary?” Foster said bitterly, trailing a little behind the group.
Allister shrugged. “Perhaps next time you’ll wake up faster.”
“Do you even sleep?” Kali asked, rubbing her eyes despite the few hours they’d been walking. “I thought cats slept for sixteen hours or something like that.”
Allister turned to look at her, smiling slightly. “Just because I can turn into a cat does not mean that I have the same habits. If you must know, I can sleep, but I do not need to. I spent last night planning the quickest way to get to the village as well as hunting.”
“Hunting?” Foster said, making a face. “What do you hunt?”
“Annoying little boys.”
Liona shook her head. “Seriously, Allister, be nice. We still need to decide who is staying with Adara.”
There was an awkward pause as the group considered Liona’s reminder. Because Adara was the princess, there was no logical way that she could come into the city with them without being recognized. Still the prospect for adventure had Liona, Kali and Foster interested in going with Allister to scope out what the city had become.
“I’ll do it.” Kali said, smiling at Adara. “After all, we survived Elves together, we can stick this out too.”
Adara smiled back at her. “Thank you, Kali.”
“We must have a cover, then.” Allister said, thinking to himself. “We will be travelers from the Kingdom of Loden looking to start a life. Liona will be my wife and Foster my brother.”
“Excuse me?” Foster said, raising an eyebrow. “Why can’t Lilly be my wife?”
“You’re too young looking.” Allister said, narrowing his eyes in concentration. “Perhaps you could even be our son.”
Liona frowned “How about if I’m no one’s wife. Both Tweak and I looked younger than we are, what if we’re your kids?”
He nodded. “That will work. My wife has died, and you are twins. That is why we have left Loden.”
“You don’t really think anyone will ask, do you?” Adara questioned, looking over at Allister.
He only shrugged. “I don’t know how long it will take us to learn what we need. We may learn it quickly, and we may have to stay a few days. That is why when we get to the outskirts of the forest I will set up a shelter for you and Kali. I will also gather wood for you, but I’m afraid you’ll have to find your own food.”
“No problem.” Kali said, waving a hand. “I’ve watched so many of those survivor shows with my brother.”
“And unlike your brother you’ve never hiked a day in your life” Foster said, rolling his eyes. “Tom is going to school to be a geologist, that makes him the pro, not you.”
Kali pursed her lips. “I think someone’s a little sad they didn’t get a wife today.”
“I am no one’s wife.” Liona said, irritably. “How much longer do we have, anyway?”
Allister thought for a moment before responding. “We’re very close I think. We were not as far away as I’d originally thought.”
“The Elves didn’t take me very far.” Adara said, nodding. “The tunnels from the castle ended at the very edge of the forest, and the Elves only built it a few miles in. I’d say we were no more than three miles away.”
“Is that it?” Foster asked suddenly, pointing ahead.
The group stopped to look at what he was pointing at, and immediately realized that Foster was right. Though it was very small from the distance, they could see the outline of a castle on a hill. It was hard to see at first due to the powdery clouds that created a hazy fog around the stone structure, however the silhouette of the castle was hard to miss. Adara’s face immediately fell.
“Why does it look the same?”
Allister shrugged. “Perhaps they limited the burning. I don’t think they intended to burn all of it down.”
“That means we’re really close though, right?” Liona said, eyeing the castle that did indeed look very much the same.
Allister nodded. “I shall start building a shelter.”
After everything that Kali and Adara needed was set up, the group said their goodbyes and it only took Allister, Liona and Foster another hour to reach the beginnings of the village outside of the castle.
“Now, I must find clothes for you two.” Allister said, looking over the two teenagers. Looking down, Liona realized they were both in jeans and wearing T-shirts with prints on them, clearly not in the style of the medieval-like time period. Liona frowned.
“How are you going to do that?”
A smile spread over Allister’s face. “Give me ten minutes.”
He began walking towards the bustling village, and to the astonishment of both Liona and Foster, in the blink of an eye shrank down into a golden colored house cat. Foster’s jaw dropped.
“Oh, that’s just not right.”
Liona shrugged. “We knew he could do it.”
“Not that,” Foster said, shaking his head. “He’s going to steal clothes using his little super power. He shouldn’t steal anything, why couldn’t he have conjured up some money and bought some clothes?”
Liona laughed. “You are really ridiculous, Tweak. He can morph into a cat, not magically make things appear. If he could conjure money, why not just conjure the clothes?”
Foster only waved a hand. “Details. Point is, he shouldn’t steal.”
“I rather like to think of it as borrowing.” They heard a voice say from behind them.
Liona rolled her eyes “You have got to stop doing that.”
Allister only smiled. “Go hide behind a tree and put these on. I took some blankets and a bag to carry our possessions in also.”
“Stealing.” Foster said, taking the peasant-style clothes Allister handed him.
“Borrowing.” Allister shot back. “I left a note thanking them for their kindness. Now please change.”

* * * * *

The cat creature and the two humans from another world walked as casually as they could into the busy village. The villagers took little notice of them, and continued to bustle, yell, and barter as they approached.
“It looks exactly the same.” Liona said, almost as disturbed as Adara. “Do they even know what happened?”
Allister shook his head. “I do not know. That’s what we’re here to find out.”
“Lilly!” She heard a small voice yell.
Before Liona could figure out where the sound was coming from, something was wrapped around Liona’s waist. She realized it was the same boy she had met the very first time she’d come to Mondel. Liona smiled as she felt a warm wave of enthusiasm consume her.
“It’s you.” She said, reaching down to stroke the boys hair. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Foster raised an eyebrow. “Um, did you have a son while you were here the first time or something?”
Liona rolled her eyes. “No, this was my first acquaintance. I never did get your name though.”
The little boy looked up and grinned. “The name is Charlie.”
“Charlie.” She said, smiling down at him. “This is…well, this is my father Allister and my brother Foster.”
“Ye’re are all from Karel?” The boy said, letting go and looking around at the two new foreigners he had not met before.
Liona nodded slowly. “Yes, as a matter of fact we are. The first time you met me I was lost, but the Prince helped me find them.”
She didn’t like lying to the boy, but they had to find a cover some how. She hadn’t expected to run into her acquaintance again, but now she was recognized when they had worried so much about the Princess being recognized.
“Good thing ye got out of there.” He said, looking solemn suddenly. “T’was a tragedy what happened over there.”
“Can you tell us what happened, Charlie?” Allister asked, suddenly paying very close attention to the boy.
Charlie nodded. “Aye, there was a fire that caught in the kitchen whist the castle was asleep. Before they awoke, the smoke and flames killed the whole royal family and most of their servants.”
“That is terrible.” Allister agreed. “Who has taken over the castle now? It looks quite normal.”
The little boy shrugged. “Mum doesn’t like to talk about it. Would you like to come for dinner? Now Mum can meet three foreigners!”
“We would love to.” Allister said quickly. “Thank you very much, Charlie.”
It didn’t take long for the boy to lead the group to a small cabin above a bakery. All the way, the boy could not stop talking about whatever his little mind could think of, and Liona could tell Foster was getting a little irritated.
“He’s worse than my little siblings.” He murmured as the group followed Charlie up the stairs into the apartment.
“How many do you have?” Allister asked.
“Only two, thanks goodness, though one is on the way.” Foster replied. “Kali has eight, but most of them are older.”
Allister nodded. “That’s a lot for humans.”
“How many do Bastets usually have?” Foster asked, raising an eyebrow.
Allister only shrugged. “In essence we are all siblings. We are not born in the same way that humans are.”
“Ah.” Foster said. “I think that’s enough information right there. Human birth is creepy enough, I don’t need to know how you cat people do it.”
“Ye Karelians sure are strange.” Charlie said, tipping his head to the side to look at them as he opened the apartment door.
As they walked in, the apartment was much bigger than they had expected. There was an open living room area with a table tucked into a corner. On one side of the room there were three doors, and in a matter of moments one of the doors opened to reveal a middle-aged woman wearing an apron.
“Charlie, ye are late to—oh! Ye brought people with ye?”
Charlie nodded proudly. “Mummy, this is Lilly, Allister and Foster. They’re from Karel!”
“Ah, I never have seen foreigners before.” The lady said, eyeing the group. “Well, come and make ye at home. I’ll start dinner soon. Jack!”
“What?” Another voice yelled from behind one of the doors.
“Ye and yer sister come and meet the foreigners Charlie brought home whist I start dinner.”
A door quickly opened and a boy of about ten and a girl of about fourteen shuffled out, quickly intrigued by the group that stood in front of them. The boy in particular seemed curious, his face turned into a serious frown when he saw them. The girl only stood with wide blue eyes, and quickly smiled to be polite.
“Won’t ye sit down?”
* * * * *

The three golden haired children sat across from the three pseudo-Karelians on wooden furniture as they waited for their mother to cook dinner in the downstairs kitchen in the bakery they seemed to own. Liona noted that though they all had the same color hair, the boy named Jack had very different eyes. Charlie and the girl they had learned was named Sally had deep blue eyes whereas Jack had a strange shade of auburn. His facial features were also different—he didn’t have freckles like Charlie and Sally, and his face was more round, whereas his siblings were more oval.
“Does Charlie bring people home often?” Allister asked. Liona looked over and quickly noticed that Allister was eyeing Jack very oddly.
“Aye, Charlie likes to meet new people.” Sally said. “Mum tries to tell him to only bring a few, but he’s so friendly we can’t stop him, really.”
Charlie nodded. “Mum says it’s good for the bakery. We have lots of customers.”
“I don’t suppose you would know what happened to the castle, Sally?” Allister asked, suddenly turning his attention to the girl. “You seem to be a smart young lady, I’m sure your mother has told you some about it.”
The girl’s face fell a little. “Oh, Aye. She is very sad that the royal family passed in the way that they did. They were very good to us, much better than ye have seen in Karel. The only people who escaped were a man named Darius and his wife Meave. They say they were friends of the late King.”
“And they have taken over?” Allister asked.
Sally nodded. “Aye. They fixed up the castle right quick too. Mum says it’s not right. Darius didn’t even have a public mourning.”
Allister continued to stare intently at the girl. “Is there anything else you can tell us, Sally? Anything strange that’s happened, or anything else you’ve heard your mother say?”
Sally thought for a moment. “Naught of too much importance. It’s strange that, she says the castle just feels different. Like all the happiness that was once there is now sucked away. She says it’s creeping into the village too. That’s just what she says though.”
Allister frowned a little, but smiled at the girl. “Thank you, Sally. Now, I don’t suppose that you could excuse me for a moment? I’d like to talk to your brother Jack outside.”
“Don’t see why not.” Sally said, tipping her head questioningly like her brother Charlie had just moments before.
Liona frowned at Allister’s request, but when she looked at him he simply nodded at her as if telling her everything was fine. Standing up, the boy followed Allister willingly out the door without any questions. Awkwardly, Liona turned back to the other two kids and smiled.
“Well, looks like it’s just us for awhile.”
Charlie shuffled in his seat, but quickly smiled. “Do ye want to see the toys I have?”