by Paul Kater
"Right."
A wet rag appeared in her hand and she put that on his forehead. "Oh, wait." She took the rag and felt William's forehead. It was not overly hot, but she put the cloth back, just in case. Better safe than sorry.
"William. Can you hear me? William. Can you hear me? William. Can you hear me? ..."
Slowly William regained control of his awareness again.
"William. Can you hear me? William. Can you hear me? William. Can you hear me?", he heard someone say.
"I do. I hear you..." Carefully he raised his hand to the back of his head.
Hilda sighed with relief. "Man, you scared me!"
"Welcome to the club," William said, "I think I beat you to it though. Good god, you have hard walls in your house..." He lifted the cloth from his forehead and blinked his eyes against the light. Then he noticed where he was and smiled as he turned to Hilda, whose face still showed worry. "And this time you put me in bed. That makes us even, I think."
Hilda pouted for a moment, then stood up. "Looks like I can't leave you alone here." She flicked her wand and a set of new, dry and clean clothes appeared near his feet. "If you think you can, change clothes and come down. I have to go out and will take you with me." Then she marched out of the room and down the stairs.
William sat up. His head did contain a slight throbbing, but it was not too bad. He put on the clothes, that were quite different from the set he had just taken off. A long robe-like garment, deep blue with silver embroidery, black shoes and an equally black cloak with a hood.
Dressed like that the salesman went down the stairs, going slowly as he was not used to wearing something that resembled a dress so closely. The faces in the pictures all frowned as he went by, but he did not notice that as he kept watching his feet. He made it to the ground floor safely.
Hilda sat on the table, dangling her feet as she was waiting. Two brooms floated nearby in the room.
"Okay," she said resolutely, "let me have a look at you. We want you to look like the real thing, right?"
"I am sure, even if I don't know what real thing I should be," William said, wondering what would be coming.
"These are wizard's clothes. You shouldn't be wearing them, but since when do I care about rules." Hilda walked around him, nodding, tugging, prodding. "You're not fat enough to be a wizard, William," she concluded. "Proper wizards have sturdy bellies."
"Can't we say I am still in training?", William attempted, holding his belly. He was very happy with it the way it was.
Hilda snorted and said a few words in Latin. And then, no matter how hard William pushed, his belly grew. Not too much, but it was still considerable.
"Ehm, you will be able to take this away again, won't you?", he asked, pointing at his extra presence.
"Sure," Hilda said, satisfied with the way William now looked. "Come on, or we'll be running late."
"Of course. Where are we going?", William asked as he caught the broom that she made fly towards him.
"Making the rounds. Don't worry, usually it's fun."
"Usually?", William asked, Hilda was already out the door, so he just followed her.
"Have fun, William," said the house as the salesman got onto the broom. It was a bit of a struggle with skirts, but in the end it worked.
"Thanks, house." William waved at it, and got hold of the broom again just in time, as Hilda made them take off quick and steep.
"Oh, forgot: hold on!", she yelled at William as the brooms quickly gained altitude.
The wind rushed in their faces and made their hair fly. William noticed that his clothes were amazingly calm in comparison, only with some kind of wind they would flap a bit, but that was all. Probably there was some magic involved to make the ride more comfortable that way, he assumed.
As they had reached cruising altitude, Hilda slowed the brooms down and pulled up next to William. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. More than fine actually, this is a real thrill."
"Oh, right." She frowned for a moment. "Now, we shouldn't need to touch down anywhere, but if we do, I want you to pull the hood over your face, okay? No need to talk, I'll handle that."
William nodded, he was certain that Hilda knew what to say. "No problem so far."
"Cool puppies," Hilda said. "If someone asks who you are, I'll tell them you are a wizard from far away who is here on a visit. And that is not even a complete lie, as your machine is quite a wizard's mechanic." She laughed her cackling laughter at her own joke, while William stared at her. He was not sure how someone like Hilda was able to make such a horrible sound.
"First stop is always the castle," Hilda said. "Hang on, we're gonna go fast. Walt loves that."
"Walt? Whoa!!" They shot forward like on brooms out of hell. William hung on to the broomstick and saw that even Hilda had to hold on tight at this speed. Somehow this worried him.
They reached the castle in an amazingly short time. Hilda took them on a slalom through some of the high watchtowers. William worried again, this time about keeping his breakfast in place.
Hilda screamed and laughed as they shot past the windows of the castle, raced over the tops of the trees and flew around the main building a few times. The wicked witch brought them to a full stop with an elegant swoop, about four yards over the royal fountain. "Watch this," she said with a smile on her face. William would soon learn that this smile meant little good.
Hilda watched the fountain and the main door of the castle. "William, watch the door for me. When someone comes running from it, yell. And hold on to the broom."
William was already squeezing the last drops of fluid from the wood, but he tried. The door from the castle moved and he saw a foot coming out.
"Door!", he yelled.
They shot straight up, being followed by a big jet of water that did its best to soak them. From far and further below a voice yelled something and then laughter followed them. It mixed with Hilda's laughter.
At an altitude where the water could no longer follow, the brooms stopped their crazy ascent.
"Aaaaaahhh!!", Hilda screamed, throwing her head back.
William clasped his ears at the sound but laughed loudly, as the thrill of the race had cranked up his adrenalin level to new heights.
Hilda looked at him, her face shining from the excitement. "How was that?", she asked, looking deliriously happy.
"That, Hilda, was the best rollercoaster ride I ever had in my life," William praised her, "this was beyond awesome."
The wicked witch knew she was smiling way too much at him, but she could not help herself. "Come. We're going down." She was sparkling with the rush of the flight.
William nodded and pulled the hood over his head. Then they spiraled down to the lawn where the brooms touched down next to the fountain.
Walt stood with his hands on his back, already waiting for them at the side of the lawn. "Hilda, dearest wicked witch, I almost had you this time!", he gloated, twitching his toes and wiggling his eyebrows.
"Hi there, king," Hilda greeted him. "How's life? Still not sick and tired of the music?"
Walt laughed. "No, that is still all fine, thank you. I see you brought someone. Who is this friend who does not want to show his face?"
Hilda told him that the man in blue was a powerful wizard from faraway places who was travelling and passing by this kingdom. "So I thought I'd show him around a bit while he's here."
"Very nice. Very nice indeed. And does this wizard have a name?"
Hilda looked at William and whispered: "What do I say?"
William bent over to Hilda. "Tell him that we do not share our name, as a matter of precaution."
She nodded and repeated William's words. "See, people this powerful are always careful, king."
"Oh, certainly, I understand. And careful he should be, yes. I can see the power sparkling from his clothes," Walt said. "Well, it was wonderful to see you again. Next time you're getting wet, Grimhilda, believe me. I am getting better!"
"H
ah, we'll see when it happens, king!" Hilda swung herself on the broom again and magically helped William to get on his mount in a graceful way. "See you next time."
William just raised a hand, and they were off again, in the air, heading for the few clouds that had gotten lost in the blue sky.
They flew along at a moderate pace. William had put down the hood. "That was fun. Really."
Hilda looked at him. And smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"May I ask you why he called you Grim Hilda?"
"Grim..." Hilda wondered for a moment what he meant. "Oh! He is using my official name. Grimhilda. Hilda is only for friends."
William looked at her. "For friends. Do you consider me a friend?"
Hilda's face lost all cheerful expression, and adopted something that looked to William as guilt or sadness, but he could not determine it exactly as she turned her face away.
"I'm not sure yet," she said. "I did not want to tell you my real name when we first met. My official name, I mean. I needed you. I really needed you, as I was desperate. And I really hate feeling like that. You were the only one who could help me. A witch usually does not need help. Doesn't ask for help." She fell silent for a while, and William let her be silent. His experience with women was not that broad, but he could quite adequately pick up someone's emotions and feelings.
"Where are we going now?", he asked, helping Hilda again without her noticing it. He tried to get her into a more cheerful mood again.
"We're going to make sure the shepherds see us," she decided. "Scare them a bit, so they know it's me." She got an evil grin on her face that she shared with William. "If you liked what we did with Walt, you're gonna love this."
Hilda threw the brooms in a sharp turn and sped them up, setting course to some spectacular green hills. They passed over lakes and a forest with stunning black trees.
"Fun place," she said as she pointed down at the forest. "All kinds of really wild animals."
William took her word for it.
They flew in silence. Hilda's head was churning with more and more questions and puzzles, while William was enjoying the feeling of flight, the scenery and the incredibly clean air that they were going through.
When they came close to the area where the sheep and their managers were, Hilda dropped the brooms to just out of view of their targets.
"Best if you put the hood back on, William," she advised him. "We'll be going low. Also prepare for quick movements, and whatever you do, don't let go of the broom. Just follow that, and we'll have fun."
William loved the sparkle in her eyes. There was a real sparkle: it shone light blue and was shaped as a five-pointed star. He grinned and pulled the hood over his head. "I am ready. Let's roll, Hilda."
She cast a boyish, mischievous grin at him and they flew again, following the slope of the mountain. They came over the top, slowly moving forward, without a sound. The first herd of sheep was less than a hundred yards away.
Hilda did not want to scare the animals, just the people, so she made the brooms go higher. She located four shepherds together and pointed. William nodded and braced himself for anything. Suddenly his broom swept away from Hilda's.
She sent William to approach the people from the left, as she aligned her broom quickly so she'd be charging at them from the right. One or two of the shepherds would probably see them coming, but there were too many sheep around for them to run away.
Both brooms suddenly dropped to a mere few feet and picked up speed. William heard a soft buzzing sound coming from his broom and wondered if this was normal as he had never heard it before. He did not know that Hilda made it happen, and her broom made the same sound.
Not two but three shepherds saw a shape coming towards them, tearing through the air just over the sheep. It approached with an eerie buzzing sound. One pointed at it and said something to the others. As one they turned and wanted to run, seeing a similar shape shooting towards them from the other direction. They were locked in with sheep and tried to rush through them, but the animals could hardly move through the massive body of fellow-woolbearers.
"Down!", one of the men yelled, and the four ducked as well as they could, getting mouths full of wool and other parts of sheep.
Hilda and William reached the four that felt under siege. They both screamed, Hilda for fun and William for fear that something might go wrong after all, as their speed did not drop.
The two shapes missed each other in what seemed the width of a very thick hair. In fact, Hilda had made each broom shift just enough that nobody would have been touched, had the four remained standing. She was wicked, not evil. She just wanted certain people to think the latter.
9. Gerdundula
The two brooms met up over the top of a nearby mountain. Hilda kept them there for a while, clearly in view of the shepherds.
"And this is reassuring to them, you said?", William asked, his hood down again and still swallowing his heart back to where nature intended it to be.
"Yes, it is. They are truly witch-fearing people, and this little show once in a while makes them understand that they don't fear for nothing. They also know that they won't get hurt when the wicked witch is around."
They saw the group of shepherds frantically waving their arms, pointing at the two flying people. Obviously there was quite a discussion going.
Hilda nodded. "Okay, they're in the shouting stage. Work done, onwards then." Slowly the brooms lifted to the skies again. "We're going to the village now. See if things are in order there."
The flight to the village went smoothly, passing over a few hills, back in the direction of Hilda's house, more or less, as the location of the settlement was only a few miles from there.
William asked Hilda about the village.
William heard what she said and knew that she was not making things up. "You can be a very dangerous woman, Hilda," he remarked.
"Yes. I know." Hilda nodded. She looked at him, her face serious for a moment before a grin took over. "Maybe best to put the hood on again, William. We could go low again. I never know in advance, in the village."
He nodded. From under the hood he watched her for a while, until the village came into view.
Hilda's eyesight proved superior, the salesman noticed. She said something that sounded a lot like "Oh fuck", and then their brooms plummeted to almost street level. There was a man whipping a mule.
Hilda raced over him and grabbed the whip. "So, why is this?", she asked, tossing the whip to William who caught it with one hand.
"It is eating my vegetables, and what's that to you?", the man said. He looked as if a bath was something to beware of, his clothes probably would dissolve if ever they got seriously wet.
"Is this your mule?", Hilda asked.
"Yes, so?"
"And when did you feed it last?", the wicked witch asked without being impressed by the man's fists that he waved at her.
"I feed it when it works. And it does not work for me," the man unleashed his simple logic.
"Oh, right, very smart," Hilda nodded. "This mule is old. It can't work. And you should know that. You also should know that you should not try to sell stolen vegetables."
A small crowd had by now gathered, seeing the witch and the silent figure in blue hover over the dirty man. "Stolen vegetables?"
"They are not stolen!", the angry mule-abuser yelled.
"These vegetables are from a witch's garden," Hilda said, pointing at the basket. "I know her. And she is not into selling her things. So you have stolen them." Her wand appeared.
The crowd gasped, as they knew that wand and what it could do.
"And what do you think you can do with that stick?"
The dirty man was quite fearless, Hilda thought. Or entirely stupid. With a wry grin she thought of the people from William's funny world. He'd fit in there. "I'm going to fill in for my witch sister," she said.
The wicked witch held out her hand to William, who put the whip in it. "Offensio," she simply said,
and the whip jumped down to its previous owner. With precision and system it started to beat the man that had previously used it on the mule.
"Someone take care of the mule," said Hilda and then she made the brooms take off again. As they hovered over the local pub, they watched how someone did indeed untie the mule and take it away. Hilda nodded.
The majority of people in crowd was watching the two shapes over the pub that hung there in apparent silence.
"They are wondering who you are," she said.
"How do you know? Can you hear what they say?"
Hilda grinned. "No. I know them and I know how they think." Then she looked serious again. "We should go check on Gerdundula."
The brooms swooped up and set course to the south.
"Gerdundula?" William did not believe his ears.
"Yeah. The witch whose veggies that guy had stolen. I must find out how he got them. It's not like her to let someone take her stuff. She's... rather possessive."
After a stiff flight, William's seating area was getting a bit numb despite the air-cushion, they reached a rather bizarre area. The trees around it looked as if they were made of metal. They were red and wide.
"Looks quite impossible to walk through there," he remarked to Hilda.
"Yup, that is what they're made for," Hilda confirmed. "As I said, she's kind of possessive."
After passing over the metal forest Hilda landed the brooms. "Walkies from here on, no flying allowed," she elaborated.
William was grateful for that. At least he could stretch his legs a big.
Hilda saw his face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Not used to sitting on a broom for that long," William explained.
"Oh, heh, that's just some getting used to. Come." Hilda marched ahead, to a large and aggressive metal wall thirty yards high. She stared at it. "That's odd."
Before William could ask her what would be odd, Hilda stepped forward and disappeared through the wall. He was still convincing his mind that he had seen this happen, when she came back.