Hilda - Cats

by Paul Kater

  William nodded. "Maybe it's time to call off Babs's education idea. This is getting scary."

  Hilda agreed. They got out of bed and joined the other two in the dining room not much later. Snow White, Jordan and the children were already there, as were King Louie and his wife, Queen Daphne. The magical couple was just in time to catch Esmee saying: "I am the witch, not the nanny, so please let me eat something and take care of the witching around here. I don't do children anymore if that's all the same to you."

  -=-=-

  "What happened here?" Lindolf felt he was entitled to an answer as he saw the bloody rags and the bandages on Santera's arms.

  "Nothing special," Magda said. Simi had left, hoping to get some of her regular work done today. "She went wild and we tried to restrain her."

  "Looks as if she had a run-in with knives of something," Lindolf remarked as he saw a cut on Santera's shoulder.

  Magda cursed herself for not dressing the young woman properly. Then Lindolf would not have seen those wounds. "You know how she can become. She got to you too, Lindolf."

  The man nodded, remembering the attack. "Maybe we should chain her up again."

  "You are terrible. She does the hardest work and as a reward you want to chain her to the wall. Be careful, Lindolf, you're walking a thin line lately." Magda stuffed herself with the food the man had brought. "I am going to wake her up, she has to eat also. You should better leave, unless you want to know how Santera reacts when she sees you. She still has not forgiven you, you know."

  Lindolf nodded. "Just make sure she's ready to go out again tonight."

  "I don't know if Simi will be here. I need her for that too," Magda said.

  "If not, I'll send for Mad Jock," Lindolf said lightly.

  "Jock is not the same," Magda pointed out. "He doesn't know how to freely give his power."

  "Just see to the girl," Lindolf snapped. "We're going to make the big move soon, so I need her ready." Then he turned on his heel and left the room.

  "Prick," Magda grumbled as she went to wake up Santera.

  -=-=-

  Baba Yaga grinned, proud of her protegé. "That's my girl," she mumbled as Esmee dug into her breakfast.

  Snow White and Jordan stared at the witch whose attitude had changed so drastically. "I guess we have enough people here to tend to the kids," Snow White then decided. She turned to William. "Dear wizard, can you tell us when Jordan is free of pain again? I feel so sorry for him..."

  William chewed a bit of bread, while looking as in thought. Then he looked at the princess and said: "No. I'm sorry. The procedure went well. He knows there would be some pain involved, but there is not much saying how long that will last. Depends on the character of the man, really."

  Snow White looked at her husband. "I understand," she then said. "I hope it will be better soon. He's really in pain sometimes."

  Jordan blushed as he said that he did keep to the instructions that William had given him.

  "I'm sure it will all be fine and dandy soon," William tried to assure Snow White.

  "I do hope so, honourable wizard," said Queen Daphne, "it is not done for a royal descendant to walk around like he's been on a horse for too long."

  Baba Yaga grinned openly.

  "Have you been able to do something about the cat woman?" King Louie asked. "Making my son walk like a duck is one thing, but that is not what you were asked to come over for."

  "We're getting there, your royal kingness," said Hilda. "Last evening we were able to establish a form of contact with the cat woman She was in fact cooperative. And we are quite certain that she is not acting on her own."

  "Oh. Good, good," the king said. "I am glad you are making progress. Can't have people go scared over something like that, can we?"

  Esmee had remained silent during the talk, devouring food as if she had not eaten for a very long time. William had noticed that awkward behaviour of the young witch. "And Esmee has been very instrumental in making the contact, sire," he said. Somehow he felt the need to make Esmee be seen as more than she had been regarded upto now.

  "Good, good," the king said again, "I am pleased to hear that."

  The rest of breakfast passed by without more interesting things, but Baba Yaga, William and Hilda kept wondering about the strange behaviour of Esmee.

  As the four magicals took over a lounge as their conference room, Babs turned to Hilda and William. "Next time you are doing the beast with two backs, make sure your bed is floating or so. It was really obnoxious to have to listen."

  "Goodness, was it that bad?" William asked, but Hilda patted him on the arm. "Let it be, William, she's just jealous."

  Baba Yaga made a sound that cannot be described. Hence it will remain undescribed.

  30. The tough get going

  Lindolf had really tried to be calm and friendly when he had come in to explain his plans. The women had not taken it so well though. Magda had chewed his arse because of what he wanted Santera to do so. Simi was very much opposed to the idea; while assisting with all the cat woman magic she had not been able to do her normal things and she started to feel very bad about that. And the young woman, Santera, had once again tried to attack him. All he had left from that was a nasty scratch on his forehead, but still, it was not the way things were meant to go.

  -=-=-

  "I have a new idea," said Hilda as she jumped to her feet and startled Grimalkin who dropped to the floor.

  "If it is another 'make Esmee a cat' idea, I do not want to hear it," the young witch grumbled. "Make yourself a cat and get beaten up, that way you know how much fun it is. And do wait until it rains." She was still offended by that.

  William kept silent, he did not want to get caught in this crossfire. Esmee was different since she'd been a cat and he still wasn't sure how different, and why different.

  "No, no, don't worry about it," said Hilda. "I do need a volunteer to accompany me to the forest."

  "Are you planning something dangerous?" Hilda's best girlfriend asked.

  "No, it is so boring that it is nice to have some company. I want to go that burnt-down shed and see if the lock is still there, the one that kept the door closed."

  Three pairs of eyes looked at her questioningly.

  "I suddenly thought this: if the lock is still there, there is a good chance that the person who owned the key to it still has the key. And we could hex the lock so it will guide us to the key." Hilda looked at her friends, waiting for their thoughts on her plan.

  "Now that's a plan I like," said Baba Yaga. "Why don't you two hump-birds fly along and leave me and my protegé here in peace for a while? No need to hurry, either. And please take your furballs with you when you go."

  "Babs, I love your diplomatic way of expressing yourself," William said as he picked Obsi from his knees and stood up. He draped the cat over his shoulder and offered Hilda his arm. "Care for a romantic flight over the forest, sweetwitch?"

  "Why certainly, sweet wizard," she said as she settled Grimalkin on her own shoulders. Then, arm in arm, the couple walked out the door.

  "Do you think we can make it rain?" Esmee asked Baba Yaga after the door had closed.

  -=-=-

  Magda went to the kitchen of Lindolf's house. "Lindolf, we need to speak. We all think this is going too far. Your plan started quite innocently, but everything you told us now is just insane. You want us to attack the king again!"

  "Yes," Lindolf said, feeling very much at ease. "And this time it can't fail. We only have a small team, but that is our strength."

  "You can count me out, Lindolf. And Simi is ready to step away also."

  The man nodded as he sat down. "Of course. But then you will face charges of theft. There's a certain old book that's been missing for a while, you know."

  Magda stared at him. "You can't. You wouldn't. But Simi-"

  "Simi," Lindolf interrupted her, "will be seen as an accomplice to the theft. Nobody has seen her for many days, nor have people seen you outside latel
y. It will be very easy to get a posse on your tails, Magda, and what do you think will happen to thieves that steal a valuable book?"

  The half-witch stared at him in horror. "You would do that." She knew he would.

  "Of course," Lindolf said as if he had just told her about the weather. "The book so far has only been valuable with you around, as you can do things with it. If you walk away, I will make sure the valuable book will be tied to you and Simi."

  "But then Santera will-"

  "-will be easily dealt with, an unfortunate last victim of the ferocious cat woman who then mysteriously disappears." Lindolf smiled at the woman. "So I think there is no problem at all."

  "I think you forget something," Magda said. "But I will stay."

  "Good witch," Lindolf praised her, "and I forgot nothing."

  Magda hoped he was wrong.

  -=-=-

  Hilda and her wizard landed their brooms as close to the burnt-down shed as they could. The last stretch was an easy walk and they found the place exactly as they had left it the last time. Hilda poked through the ashes and soon the lock and the chain were in her hands.

  "There is a good start of things," she said, feeling satisfied. "I do hope that this idea is going to work."

  "It is a good idea, Hilda. At least it is something we can do. Sitting around and waiting for the others to make their next move is hardly going to get us somewhere."

  The two black cats sauntered around the area as if it belonged to them, but came bouncing back to their magical humans as soon as these seemed ready to leave.

  "I never thought I'd have a cat," Hilda confided in William.

  "Nor have I," the wizard said. "And I had never guessed I'd have a witch."

  Hilda's response was: "You do not have a witch. No one has a witch. The witch chooses, my dear wizard. Remember that." She looked him in the eye. "But I am glad you would like to think of me that way, and proud that you dare do that." She knew he did, she sensed it through the bond they shared, but at times it just was a good thing to say.

  William looked at the face of the petite grey-haired woman. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her close. "Grimhilda, you witch," he then said, "I love you."

  "And you have to wait until we are in a forest with two cats watching before you tell me?"

  "Want me to do that in front of Babs and Esmee instead?"

  "Don't even think about that," Hilda told him as she leaned into him and basked in the hug.

  When finally William let her go, they turned their attention to the lock. Hilda worked a lot of magic on the metal, so it would listen to her. "Telling something stupid like a lock to do what you want is difficult," she explained to William. "It's basically just a lump of metal that does nothing without its key." Suddenly the lock seemed to shake on its own, and from inside it came a sorry sounding rattle. "Ah, got you," Hilda said, satisfied. She picked up the lock, handed the chain to William and suggested they'd get on their brooms and see where the lock would take them.

  -=-=-

  As the witch and the wizard were on their way, flying over the leaves of the trees, underneath these same leaves a small taskforce of two was making its way to the castle, with Lindolf not far behind them.

  Jock laboriously paced through the forest, at times staring at the cat woman who was always close to him. Lindolf had told him what to do and Jock was going to do that. Lindolf had always been good to Jock, and that way the vile merchant could count on the help and support of this strong man without a moment of hesitation.

  Santera had reluctantly agreed to be turned into the cat woman again. "This will be the last time," Lindolf had said, "and if you cooperate, both women here will still be able to talk to you when it is all over." The sight of the long sharp dagger he'd held had been very convincing. The young woman was glad that Magda was not pushing her to do things. Lindolf had urged Magda to take over Santera's mind completely, but the half-witch had not done that. Lindolf probably did not know that.

  The cat woman did not feel confident with Jock around. Lindolf had talked to the man, and Jock had nodded as if he understood everything, but Santera knew that Jock was hard to fathom. With all the understanding he displayed he could just as well forget everything after a minute. Only the fact that he was going in the right direction even when he walked in front of her gave her some feeling that things might actually go well. Even though Santera did not like Lindolf, she was almost glad that he was not far behind them.

  They were not far from the castle now. Jock had better stop making so much noise, Santera thought. If he kept that up, the guards would be alarmed while they were more than a mile away.

  -=-=-

  "Sit down, Esmee. You're making me nervous." Baba Yaga looked at the young witch who was pacing around the room. "What's wrong with you?"

  Esmee did not stop going round as she said: "There is something... I don't know. Something restless inside me, and I don't know where it comes from. Nor what I can do to stop it."

  "Then park your butt in a chair, have a glass of wine and stop getting on my case. And if you need some help with that, I'll gladly assist." Babs already had her wand at the ready when Esmee suddenly stood still and stared at the window. "Now what?" Esmee's sudden change worried Baba Yaga more than had she kept pacing.

  "She's out there," the flower witch gave a puzzling answer.

  31. Charge of the light brigade

  Hilda and William reached the village. Hilda had the lock in her hand and felt how it pulled more and more. It was almost childplay to follow where it wanted to go.

  In the forest, Santera and Jock had reached the castle. They saw the high thick walls with the openings for the archers, the portcullis that had not been used in ages and the drawbridge that probably never would be hoisted up again for the same reason. Jock looked at the cat woman Santera was not certain if he actually wanted to ask her something, or if he was just waiting for her to make the first move. Lindolf had made it clear, at least to her, that Jock should start the 'invasion'. Her sharp hearing told her that Lindolf was still moving forward, he'd be soon with them.

  Esmee had walked to the window and looked outside. "She's out there," the young witch said again.

  "Who is?" Baba Yaga said as she got up and walked to the window also. She peered out of it and saw nothing out of the ordinary. At that moment things started happening.

  Jock and Santera moved to the castle gate, where three guards were wasting their time telling jokes and gaudy stories. As the three were too much entertained by each other, they only noticed the big man and the large cat when they were on top of them. Santera jumped up at one of them, pushing the man to the ground. Jock reached out and simply knocked the heads of the two others together. That was enough for them to impersonate bags of potatoes falling to the floor. Jock then tapped the first fallen guard on the head so that man was out of commission for a while as well.

  "There it is," Hilda said. She pointed at a house in one of the quieter streets. The two magical ones dropped down to the ground, as their cats braced themselves for the inevitable sudden stop. "Yes," Hilda confirmed as the lock in her hand was rattling, "here is where we have to be. Lock, come on, let's meet your key." They parked their brooms against the side of the house and William tried the door they were facing. It was locked, but not for long.

  "Ladies first," he grinned.

  "Oh? Are there ladies here?" Hilda looked around and saw no people. There only was a rust-coloured dog walking through the street that was smart enough not to be interested in the two black cats. The witch shrugged and stepped into the house. "There's magic in use here," she told William.

  Esmee pushed the window open.

  Babs looked at her: "What's that for? I'm perfectly-" The impossible happened. Baba Yaga was lost for words for a moment as Esmee changed into the cat woman she'd been before. And this time it happened without the assistance of Hilda or Babs. "Now wait up a-" The impossible leaned towards mere improbable as Baba Yag
a was again interrupted: Esmee jumped out of the window, landing on all fours in the yard. Baba Yaga leaned out the window and saw how Esmee ran off. "Suck an elf," the old witch muttered, "looks like there's action going on. And how can that flower witch suddenly do such powerful magic on herself?"

  She looked down one more time. "Old bones don't jump," Baba Yaga decided as she made her broom pull up. Using that, she left the room as well.

  Santera's next assignment was to make her way into the castle and find the king. She was not meant to actually kill him. Lindolf had said: "A few extra scratches would be enough." She ran out to the yard in front of the castle when suddenly she saw the other cat woman coming towards her. Santera looked back to where Jock was standing near the knocked-out guards and hesitated. Then she set course for the entrance of the castle. This was the only way to get rid of Lindolf's crazy ideas, she knew. Santera was much more used to moving like a cat, so there was not much effort in avoiding the other cat woman The door into the castle came closer.