The 10th Kingdom

by Kathryn Wesley

  She sat down. She had lost the case, and she didn’t know what else to do. But she squeezed Wolf’s arm and leaned over to reassure him as best she could.

  “It’s in the bag,” she whispered.

  Then someone hit her on the head with a juicy tomato. “Bum her too!” a Peep shouted.

  The rest of the Peeps took up the cry. “Bum them both! Bum them both!”

  “Members of the jury, you have heard the evidence, most of it quite ridiculous,” the Judge said to the sheep. He was speaking loudly so that his voice carried over the shouting.

  As he spoke, a bailiff unlocked the doors on either side of the jury box.

  “Those who believe he is innocent, go into the right-hand pen. Those who know he is guilty, go into the left-hand pen.” Virginia leaned forward and stared at the two pens. She stood to object. “The left pen’s full of food!”

  But no one seemed to care, except Wolf, who put his head in his hands. All of the sheep went to the left-hand pen.

  “Oh, no,” Wolf said, “the Gypsy was right. A girl dead. A wolf bums.”

  Virginia shuddered, and then took his hand.

  “By a unanimous verdict,” the Judge said, “I pronounce you guilty of murder most heinous. I sentence you to be burnt at the stake. Let’s do it immediately before the Marvelous Marrow contest.”

  ‘ ‘Bum the wolf!” the crowd chanted. They sounded gleeful. “Bum the wolf!”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Prince Wendell led Tony to the Peeps’ bam. Tony followed, feeling nervous. He flashed on Wilfred’s threat to harm his own granddaughter if she told anyone about the well. Tony was really pushing his luck coming here three separate times.

  Prince Wendell had already been inside, but he couldn’t be dissuaded. He wanted Tony to come in too.

  “Look, I know about the well,” Tony said. “So what?”

  “This is where she came from,” Prince Wendell said. “She was here just before she was murdered. I can smell her here.”

  Tony followed Wendell inside the bam. Then Tony froze in place. Everything was different. The support beams were gone from the dirt mound. The hatch door was open, and the dirt had spilled inside.

  Someone had wrecked the well.

  Wolf struggled as hard as he could, but two burly Peeps held him tightly. Several more surrounded him as they dragged him toward the stake in the center of town. Villagers with torches stood all around.

  Virginia was following, shouting, “You can’t do this. You haven’t given him a fair trial.” As if they were going to listen to her. No one who continually chanted Burn the wolf! Burn the wolf! as these idiots were doing would care about fairness.

  He’d tried to explain that to her. Somehow her disillusionment mattered almost as much to him as the fact that he was going to bum to death.

  Very soon.

  They dragged him over a huge pile of kindling and tied him roughly to the wooden stake. A splinter dug into his hand. His feet crunched through the pile of sticks below him, and suddenly he didn’t care so much about Virginia’s feelings.

  This mob was really going to kill him.

  “No!” he shouted. “No, not me, big mistake, not me, didn’t do it, no! No! No!”

  “Shut up, you murdering wolf.” Wilfred Peep grabbed Wolf by the throat and slammed his head against the post. Then more ropes bound him, and other farmers—not even Peeps— began tossing more kindling around him.

  This wasn’t just going to be a bonfire. It was going to be an inferno.

  Virginia was at the edge of the crowd, begging with whoever would listen. But no one was. They were all joining the chant.

  Burn the wolf! Burn the wolf!

  Then the Judge walked toward the pile. He was carrying a bigger torch than anyone else, and he was smiling, the old hypocrite.

  “Justice will be served,” the Judge said as he handed the torch to Wilfred. “Only seems right that family should do it, Wilf.”

  It was really going to happen this time. No nice prison, no pact with a Queen to save himself. Not even a wonderful, passionate kiss with Virginia.

  “Virginia,” Wolf said, “I want you to remember me all nice please? Forever?”

  Virginia’s eyes were filled with tears. “No!” Virginia shouted. “No! Stop it!” That last wasn’t directed at him. It was meant for Wilfred Peep, who was bending over the kindling, about to light it with the torch.

  “Wait!”

  Wolf looked toward the back of the crowd. Tony was running toward them, Prince Wendell at his side.

  “Wait! Stop! Wait!”

  Tony pushed through the villagers to the edge of the bonfire. He stepped right beside Wilfred Peep.

  “Wolf didn’t kill Sally Peep, and I can prove it!” Tony said.

  “He’ll say anything.” Wilfred Peep thrust the torch into the kindling. Wolf moaned. But Tony grabbed the torch and kicked the singed kindling out of the way.

  “The Peep family have been cheating all of you for years,” Tony shouted. “They’ve had their own magic wishing well and stopped the rest of you having any water.”

  He was struggling with Wilfred Peep for the torch. Wolf wasn’t listening so much as he was watching. Tony was clumsy, and if he dropped that thing it would be all over no matter what.

  “It’s a lie!” Wilfred Peep shouted. He tried to force the torch back down to light the bonfire. Tony fought to keep it away.

  “When Sally Peep lost the competition, she wrecked your well,” Tony shouted. “And when you saw what she’d done, you chased her into the fields and killed her—didn’t you, Wilfred?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ ’ Wilfred shouted. “We don’t have no magic well.”

  Tony finally managed to wrest the torch out of Wilfred’s hands. He held it above his head. Sparks flew off it and landed near the kindling. Wolf struggled against his bonds.

  “Why do you think they win everything?” Tony shouted to the crowd. “Or their food is so wonderful?”

  The crowd started muttering, looking at the Peeps. Now, if only Tony would move away from the kindling, Wolf would feel a lot better.

  “I believe him,” one woman shouted. “You Peeps have cheated us for too long.”

  “Where’s the proof to any of this?” Wilfred Peep demanded. “Prove I killed Sally.”

  Tony whistled, and Prince Wendell came forward like the dog he was. Wolf was startled to see Wendell so docile. In Wendell’s mouth was a long bit of cloth.

  “Where’s your coat, Wilf?” Tony asked. “The one you were wearing last night?”

  Wilfred looked around nervously. Prince Wendell stopped in front of him and dropped the cloth. It was Wilfred’s coat, and it was covered with blood.

  The villagers gasped. Wolf checked the position of that torch again, relieved to see that Tony still had a firm grip on it.

  “Poor Sally wasn’t screaming ‘Wolf’ at all, was she, Wilfred?” Tony asked. “She was crying out your name. Wilf! Wilf!”

  Wilfred backed away from the others, looking frightened. “She ruined the well, the dirty little vixen. She destroyed the magic.”

  The other Peeps looked at him in horror.

  “You killed our Sally?” Barbara Peep asked. But she didn’t wait for an answer. She lunged at Wilfred. So did the other Peeps. Tony got out of the way. Wolf held his breath. That torch looked mighty precarious.

  Then Wolf felt fingers brush his. Virginia was untying him.

  “Time to go,” she said.

  They climbed off the kindling as the battle raged on. Tony dropped the torch in a nearby horse trough, and Prince Wendell rinsed his mouth out. Then they hurried toward the bam.

  “My three friends,” Wolf said, “how can I ever thank you enough. You saved my bacon.”

  He patted Wendell. The dog looked disgusted.

  “Thanks, old chap,” Wolf said. “I owe you a very big hone. Oh, yes, from now on, we are friends for life. As for you, Virginia, what a courtroom drama.�
�

  She looked at him hesitantly. “Are you cured now?”

  Tony pulled the barn door open. Wolf went inside first, grinning. He hadn’t felt this good in years.

  “Oh, completely,” Wolf said. “Back to my old self. Can’t remember much at all about it, to tell the truth. But I remember that you and Tony both laid down your—”

  “Look!” Tony said.

  The big back doors of the bam were wide open.

  “What’s happened?” Tony asked. “Where’s it gone?”

  Wolf glanced at Virginia, confused. She looked extremely upset. Then he remembered. When she had first come to him in the cell, she had said they had gotten the mirror. And now, apparently, it was missing.

  Fidelity, the farmer’s wife who’d let them stay in the barn, peeked in through the double doors. She smiled in her rosy-cheeked way, oblivious to the courtroom drama that had gone on before. Wolf was the only one who smiled back at her. Virginia went to her in a clear panic.

  “Where’s the cart gone?” Virginia asked.

  “Oh, my son, John,” Fidelity said, “he’s just taken his pigs to market. Set off a couple of hours ago.”

  Virginia looked at her father, who sighed. Wolf sighed louder. If he had known what they’d done, he would have warned them against it. Magic liked to move around.

  “Which way and how far?” Virginia asked.

  “Well, it’s not a journey you’d want to make on foot,” Fidelity said.

  As if they had any choice. Virginia talked to the farmer’s wife and got directions. Wolf took a deep breath and got himself back together. It had been a stressful morning. Actually, it had been a stressful few days.

  He was relieved he hadn’t killed Sally Peep. He really didn’t remember much after the chickens.

  Finally Virginia got the directions and the small group headed out, making sure to avoid the other villagers. They went past the wishing well. The village idiot waved at Tony.

  “Did you have a nice stay in our village?” the idiot asked.

  “Not exactly,” Virginia said.

  “I wish I could remember who that dog reminds me of,” the idiot said.

  “Let me make a suggestion,” Tony said. “Prince Wendell, your ruler?”

  Wolf shot a surprised glance at Tony. Wendell positively glowered at him. The village idiot crouched and looked Wendell in the face. Then he giggled.

  “Prince Wendell?” the idiot asked. “Don’t be daft. No, it was a puppy I once knew called Mr. Fleas.”

  Prince Wendell made a horrible sound of disgust and started off on his own. Virginia followed him, which meant that Wolf had to follow her. Tony walked beside him.

  The village idiot called after them. “Aren’t you going to make a wish?”

  Virginia took out a coin and flicked it over her shoulder as they kept walking. “You make it for us,” she said.

  Wolf turned. The village idiot tossed the coin into the well. And, surprisingly, a moment later there was a splash.

  Now Virginia and Tony turned as well.

  “Sounds like our well’s getting some water back in it!” the idiot said. “Oh, joy! Water’s back on!”

  There was a sound like a rushing wall of water down below, and tiny stars started to spiral slowly out of the well. The villagers rushed out, and Wolf moved behind Virginia. He wasn’t going to get near those people again.

  Suddenly, a jet of water burst out of the well, destroying its little roof, and flew thirty feet into the air. The village idiot ran under it as if it were a shower.

  “Finally!” the idiot said. “I am a complete idiot!”

  Funny, Wolf thought, the man had seemed like a complete idiot before.

  Then he turned and caught up to Virginia, Tony, and Prince Wendell, who were already making their way out of Little Lamb Village. Wolf resisted the urge to shake the dust of the village off his feet. But he knew he’d do everything he could to make sure he never came back to this place again.

  The Queen stood before her mirror, watching Wendell’s incompetent advisors dithering over the Troll problem. The Troll King’s armies had advanced through half the Fourth Kingdom, and Wendell’s royal advisors were in a tizzy.

  They were waiting for Wendell to appear to save them. That much amused her. What didn’t amuse her was the fact that they were bargaining with the First and Ninth Kingdoms. Fortunately their price to help was high indeed. They wanted to divide the Fourth Kingdom into quarters, to be run by the council of the Nine Kingdoms in perpetuity. Wendell’s throne would be gone forever.

  And if it was gone, so was her opportunity.

  “No!” she shouted at the mirror. “I’m not ready. This is falling apart. Get me the Troll King. Immediately.”

  The mirror remained static. “He still rejects your calls. He grows stronger every day.”

  “Get him,” the Queen said. “Get him or I will bury you all back in the darkness.”

  The mirror did not respond. Only blinks of light in its surface showed that it was even trying. She threaded her fingers together, feeling the beginnings of an unfamiliar panic. Nothing had gone the way she had planned it. Nothing. She had to regain control, and she had to do it soon.

  Then the Troll King appeared in her mirror. He had caked blood on his nose and down his shirt. When he saw her, he raised a fist and shook it.

  “You’re dead!” he shouted. “The next time I see you, you’re dead!”

  He was holding a shard of rusty mirror in his hand. His palm was bleeding too.

  “Wendell’s council are calling in the other armies.” The Queen had to struggle to keep her voice level. “Cease fighting immediately or you will be overrun and we will lose this kingdom forever. Do you understand, cretin?”

  The Troll King raised the shard of mirror and looked at her for a moment. Then he spat on the mirror. His spittle was a disgusting green. It ran down her mirror like a live thing.

  “I’m taking the kingdom,” the Troll King said. “Then I’m coming for you, you evil pig.”

  He vanished. The Queen stepped away from the mirror, stunned and shocked. How had she lost control so very quickly? And to imbeciles. Was it all that time in prison? Had she lost her edge?

  “It’s gone wrong,” the Queen said to herself. “It’s all gone wrong. My plan is in ruins.”

  Her mirror remained before her, silent. But another mirror, one she had never used, started to hum. It was older than the others, and she hadn’t been certain of its powers, so she hadn’t touched it. Little crackles, like distant thunder, made her sit up and stare at it.

  The mirror came slowly to life. It turned red, not green like the others, and the dark room filled with a blood-red glow.

  The Queen went to the mirror. A horrible face appeared in the red surface of the glass.

  “Come to me.”

  The Queen approached the red mirror.

  “Come to me and your mind will clear.”

  The Queen stretched out her hand to touch the full-length mirror. The surface rippled, and then she put her hand through the mirror itself.

  Then she followed her hand inside. She was stepping into a memory. An old memory. She recognized this place. It was a long time since she had seen it. A wooden shack in the middle of a swamp. In front of her was a crone so familiar that the Queen had to suppress a gasp. Snow White’s evil stepmother.

  “I am dead,” the stepmother said, “but my work is unfinished. The House of Snow White survives.”

  Around her, five mirrors rose out of the swamp.

  “These are my gifts. They give you my power.”

  She indicated one of the mirrors.

  “Mirrors to travel ...”

  And another.

  “Mirrors to spy ...”

  And another.

  “Mirrors to remember ...”

  And another.

  “Mirrors to forget...”

  And the last.

  “Mirrors to rule the world.”

  The Queen turned tow
ard all of them. She remembered everything now, including what she had to do. The scene before her faded, and she stepped back to her palace.

  As she got out of the mirror, she was covered in blood. It felt good. She wiped the blood off her face and smiled.

  “Let the battle commence,” she said.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The trip on the back of the hay wagon was a long one, but they were lucky that the farmer had picked them up. Virginia sat against one hay bale, Wolf against another, Tony against a third, and Wendell was curled up beside him. They had long since run out of things to talk about, and Wolf had shared his books.

  Virginia read What Do Women Want? Tony was reading an affirmation from one of the other books, and Wendell was looking over his shoulder. Tony hadn’t known that until Wendell yelled at him for turning a page too soon.

  As they came into a town, Wolf claimed he had finished the final page of the final chapter of his final book, saying that he now completely understood women, top to bottom.

  Tony didn’t have the heart to tell him there was no way a man would ever, ever completely understand women. And Tony certainly didn’t tell him the derogatory things that Wendell said about wolves and their relationship to their women.

  Beyond the town was a high mountain range. Tony had never seen mountains so spectacular and foreboding. Then he glanced at the area the wagon was bringing them into.

  It was a town, and it had a wall around it. Tony thought that miraculous at first, but not nearly as spectacular as the town itself. It was beautiful, with tall buildings and lots of shops and restaurants and fountains. There were heart balloons everywhere, and places advertising things like Kissing Lessons.

  And for a town, it smelled very fresh, like roses and cinnamon and freshly baked bread.

  The people were also amazing. They seemed happy and prosperous and extremely well dressed. For the first time, Tony felt uncomfortable in his jeans and flannel shirt.

  The wagon stopped at an intersection, and the group climbed down. They stood on the cobblestone street, staring at all the choices before them.

  “Where exactly are we?” Tony asked.

  ‘ ‘We have entered the most romantic town in the whole of the Nine Kingdoms,” Wolf said. “The Kissing Town, where everyone falls in love. Truly fate has led us here.”