Concerned Parents Take Over the Narration
The day after the royal champions left on their quest, their family members were mulling over whether to return home or continue to mooch off the King and Queen of Misfortune.
Rick and Brendon danced around the issue all morning and into the afternoon. Occasionally Rick mentioned Brendon’s workload, other times Brendon pointed out that they would hear news sooner if they stayed in Misfortune.
They were unlikely to decide themselves, especially when the other parents seemed equally indecisive. Everyone joined together for dinner, paying close attention to their hosts, listening for any hints that they had overstayed their welcome.
Davina Unfortunate set her fork down with a gentle tink that drew everyone’s attention. “Perhaps it’s time we discuss—”
A knock on the door interrupted her. Blinking in astonishment, she called, “What is it?”
“A man claiming to be the Good Wizard requests an audience, Your Majesty.” After a pause, the attendant added, “He is quite agitated.”
“Because this is an emergency!” shouted the angry visitor.
All the parents straightened to attention and Oliver Unfortunate called out, “Escort him in.”
The attendant barely opened the door before a man in long underwear burst into the room. His face was badly shaven, with white tissue stuck to a few patches. It was easy to understand why the attendant questioned the man’s identity.
Davina stood and pulled a chair out for him. “Have a seat and explain yourself.”
“There isn’t time!” the man exclaimed, waving his arms wildly in the air. “I was attacked.”
“On your way home?” Oliver asked.
“On my way here.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you return? Is your attacker here?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! I’m not returning, I am here now. Not for the first time, of course, because I’ve been here before—oh, dammit, you know what I mean!”
“I’m afraid we don’t.”
Rick’s brow furrowed and he exchanged a concerned look with Brendon. He stood and walked to the man’s side, ducking to avoid being smacked by those swinging arms. “Take a deep breath, Good Wizard, and explain slowly.”
“I told you! We don’t have time!”
“If there’s time for you to be vague, there’s time for you to take a seat, drink some water, and start from the beginning.”
The man glowered at him, bushy white eyebrows meeting in the middle.
“Very well.” He sat in the chair Davina had offered him and snatched up a glass of water, tossing back half the contents before slamming it back on the table.
“I received Prince Fitzroy’s letter and immediately knew something had gone wrong with the timeline. ”
“What do you mean? What went wrong?” Rick asked.
“The quest!”
“What about the quest?”
“The fact they were planning one at all!”
Brendon cleared his throat, drawing the man’s attention to him. “Were they supposed to choose marriage over a quest?”
“Of course they were! I performed the marriages myself: Prince Treasure to Princess Angelica; Prince Maximus to Princess Genevieve; and Princess Delilah to Princess Gwendolyn.”
The twin princesses widened their eyes and exclaimed in unison, “I’m already engaged!”
“You are not supposed to be, don’t you understand? Someone interfered with the timeline. That same person attacked me, stole my robes and my beard”—he seemed most offended by this point—“all to impersonate me!”
“Are you saying that you are not the Good Wizard who met with our children yesterday?” Julia Gloom demanded.
“Why would anyone go to such trouble to send our children on a quest?” Virgil Calamitous asked. “So long as they complete it, the Kingdom Defense Spell remains intact.” Then he paled with worry. “They will complete it, won’t they?”
“I don’t know!” the Good Wizard howled. “I don’t know this timeline! My past is unraveling. The future is a mystery. The world is unknown.” He rocked back and forth in his chair, muttering to himself, “Chaos, chaos, they have created chaos. Who knows what foul magic they will fuel with it?”
Rick wanted to race out the door immediately, but he needed more information. “Do you have any idea who attacked you?”
The Good Wizard continued mumbling and rocking as if he didn’t hear the question.
With no better ideas, Rick slapped the Good Wizard hard across the face. The man’s jowls wobbled from the impact.
The Good Wizard grabbed his cheek and scowled at Rick. “Why did you do that?”
“To snap you out of your cryptic muttering long enough to get a straight answer. Who attacked you? Was it an evil mage?” Rick could only think of one reason why someone would send their children on a quest: it was a trap.
“What? No, of course not. Evil mages cannot enter the Desolated Lands.”
“One bypassed the spell before.”
The wizard glowered at Rick. “Those were completely different circumstances.”
“Pretend they weren’t.”
The Good Wizard’s gaze grew distant. “To commit these acts, they would need to be evil, but to bypass the spell, their intentions need not be pure, only neutral …”
“What if it’s just a job for them?” Brendon suggested. “Could someone be following an evil mage’s orders?”
“Like a minion,” Rick said.
“Or an apprentice,” the Good Wizard whispered. Then he slammed his hands on the table and shoved himself to his feet. “An apprentice! Someone learning their way through the world of magic, who could be swayed one way or another.”
A capable apprentice was as dangerous as an evil mage. Moreso, if they could bypass the Kingdom Defense Spell when a mage couldn’t. What harm could they do to the children once they passed the boundary?
“We have to go after them,” Brendon and Rick said at the same time.
The Good Wizard leapt forward and grabbed both of their arms. “No! You can’t interfere with the quest!”
“But they weren’t supposed to go on a quest,” Rick argued.
“Now that it is set in motion, you cannot interfere.”
“What counts as interference?” Brendon asked.
“The royal champions alone must defeat the evil mage at the center of this plot,” the wizard insisted. “If someone else defeats them first, the quest will fail.”
Rick wiped a hand down his face. “What can we do?”
“You may fight against low-level monsters and minions. The apprentice, however …” The Good Wizard pursed his stubbly lips.
“They are too far along in their studies. If we fail, and they succeed, this plot could even earn them a title. If they stand at their master’s side during the final fight, you may not engage with them directly. ”
Darkness shadowed Rick’s eyes, a flash of the evil potential the Good Wizard once saw in him. “Then we’ll stop them before that happens.”