Page 68 of Bewitched

“You can do that?” Darium seemed to be considering the idea now.

“You already know that I can transport. I can also bring one person with me,” Rapunzel explained.

“If so, then you can grab Medea and drag her back through the portal once Rhys opens it,” said Zann, coming up with a plan of his own.

“Mayhap,” said Rapunzel. “But if I go back through the portal without Marco’s dragon, he’ll have my head.”

“Can’t you just bring Marco back here to control the dragon?” asked Zann.

“I don’t know. Perhaps. However, I don’t want to take the chance that we wouldn’t be able to get the portal open again once we’re through it. If so, the dragon would be trapped in Mura, and that isn’t going to make anyone happy.”

“I agree,” said Rhys, fingering the crystal pendant hanging on the chain around his neck. “I may have the key to the portal, but I’ve yet to try to make it work. We don’t know what is going to happen. We’d better not risk it. The two women should go back through the portal at the same time as the dragon.”

“Then mayhap we should be focusing on capturing the dragon instead of plotting to steal a damned baby.” Zann grew frustrated, as always.

“We’ll need Medea’s cooperation if we’re going to keep the dragon in the pit,” explained Rhys. “I know that Osric is going to want to use that dragon for his own purposes once it’s there. Medea is our only hope to pull this off, but I need to get her back on our side first.”

“Then let’s go, and stop wasting time talking,” said Darium. “The sooner this is over with, the faster I can get back to my honeymoon. Murk,” he called out to his raven. It flew over and landed on his outstretched arm. “We’ll need your help too,” he told the bird. “I want you as a scout to warn us if there is any danger.” He turned and looked at his wife. “Keep a close eye on Talia,” he told the bird. The raven squawked and flew off into the sky.

“Darium, stop worrying about me,” said Talia. “If I am in trouble, I’ll call the animals and all of nature to help me. You’re forgetting that I can do that.”

“I suppose I am,” muttered Darium.

“Darium, remember that you can also use your newfound elemental powers if we need them,” Talia told him.

“Thanks, Talia, but I don’t feel confident about that yet,” answered Darium.

“I’m not even sure what to do with them.”

“I’m sure your mother could teach you,” said his wife.

“Our mother has once again abandoned us, in case no one has noticed,” stated Zann, with malice in his voice as he mounted his horse.

“Well, I’m not going to abandon Medea or my daughter.” Rhys turned his horse and led the way to Kasculbough.

* * *

Medea woke up to find that during the night, her baby had aged one year. She held her daughter in her arms, feeding her the magical blue milk from the bottle. Somehow, Medea felt gypped that she’d missed the entire first year of the little girl’s life. This made her sad. It also made her unhappy that her baby was growing so quickly, just as she had. Did this mean her baby was magical too?

This thought didn’t bother her, but the thought of the child having darkness inside her, did. After having finally had a few hours of sleep, things were looking better this morning. The sun shone in through the open window, and the sound of chirping birds outside reminded her of the beautiful Whispering Dale. It made her think of the intimate time she had spent with Rhys. Her heart ached for him this morning, making her want to be with him. The more she looked into their beautiful baby’s eyes, the more she realized that her little girl really did look a lot like Rhys.

There came a small knock at her chamber door. Before she could answer, the door swung open.

“Prepare yourself for our wedding,” said Osric, strutting in as if he had the right to intrude. “We’ll be wed right after the Sin Eater is finished.”

“Get out!” she shouted, holding up her hand and blasting the King with a bolt of magic. He flew back into the two guards standing watch at the door. They caught him before he could fall.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he growled, not used to being treated this way.

“You have no right to barge into a lady’s chamber without being invited in.” She put the baby on the bed and stood up, still in her nightdress.

“Oh, is that all?” he asked. “I’m sorry, Mudera. I’ll be sure not to anger you like this once we’re wed.”

“My name is Medea not Mudera! I’d think you’d at least know my name since you want to make me your wife.” Medea’s darkness might have been dormant throughout the night, but now it had been awakened by the disrespectful king with no manners.

“What happened to your baby?” gasped the King, straightening his clothes. “It cannot be the same one I saw yesterday. This one is three times the size.”

“This is indeed the same baby,” she retorted. “It is a magical baby. I told you that it would age quickly. My daughter is now a one-year-old.”