They spent the next week at the Merry Men's cottage in Sherwood Forest, recovering their energy and deciding who would go to the ball and who would rescue those trapped in the castle. As Richard slowly began to move faster and think quicker, he tried to resume Charles' fencing lessons. Charles, however, remained hopeless at it. He could never move fast enough or slash hard enough, and his aim always seemed to be a bit to the right or left.
“You'll get better,” Richard assured him one morning, as the former minstrel gazed at his hand and flexed it sadly. “The burns are already gone.”
“I couldn't even save Brett,” the minstrel groaned. “I let everyone down. I can't even be a minstrel anymore. I haven't got my lute.”
“You have your voice, don't you?” His fencing partner reminded him sharply. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. We'll get Brett and the others back.”
“How?” He took off his glasses to wipe his eyes. “It's just you, me, and Gene.”
“And Fannie, Arlene, Orson, and Soupy.” That familiar warm smile turned his heart to mush. “Orson alone could probably take on an army all by himself. Come on. Let's go get a drink and talk to Gene. The ball is tomorrow, and we have no outfits and no real plan of attack.”
“Master!” They turned around just in time to see Gary dash out of the woods and into Charles' arms, Sarah Red Riding Hood on his heels. “You're here! I'm so glad. We came back, and you were gone, so we went back to Sarah's Granny's house and stayed there...”
“Gary,” Charles gasped, “I'm glad to see you too, but you're choking me! Please let me go!”
“Gary!” Sarah shook her head and tugged at his collar. “Don't smother the poor guy.” She gave Richard a tighter hug than he thought possible with her slender arms. “Hello, Woodsman! Where did you go to? We've been hoping to catch you here for almost two weeks now!”
“It's a long story,” Richard explained in a strained voice as he pushed her away. “Come on. We'll talk about it with Gene.”
Orson and Gene greeted them at the door. “Sarah, get behind me!” Gary wailed, lifting up his sharp knife. “I'll take care of this! Come n' get me, Demon!”
“Gary? Kid?” Orson sighed. “Look...kiddo...it's me! Orson Bean! Your...buddy!”
“Wow!” Sarah squeaked from the door. “You have a name! And you're not trying to eat us!”
“I don't...eat people.” Orson smirked. “Too many...calories. Would rather have a nice...plump chicken...”
“He was turned into a troll by Malade,” Gene told him as he lead them inside. “It's a long story. Do you kids need a drink or anything?” The two continued to stare at him, Sarah blinking in surprise. “I guess I should tell you who I am. I think I came in later. I'm Gene, the head wizard of the Nerdocrumbesia court...or I was, anyway, until she caught on to me trying to find the Legendary Princesses and turned me into a tree.”
“You're Gene!” Gary grinned. “You're the guy Lady Brett was looking for!” His plump-cheeked smile fell when he realized the room lacked a chatty female presence. “Where is she, anyway? Is she here? Did she go back to her husband?”
“No,” his former teacher sobbed sadly. “Malade kidnapped her, and Bill the wolf and another lady, too. She probably has all three of them locked up in the castle.”
“Gary, we need your help,” Richard began, sitting next to him on the couch. “We're going to invade the Nerdocrumbesia court.”
“Great!” The younger man in the red cloak swung his fists excitedly. “I'm all for a good fight. How about you, Sarah sweetie?”
She bounced up and down on the couch, her red cape fluttering. “I've always wanted to see Password Palace and meet the court!”
“Well, that's two more,” Richard added with a weary sigh. “Now we just need an entire army.”
Even as he spoke, a knock could be heard at the door. Glittering multi-colored sparkles lit up the window outside. “What in the heck?” Gene frowned. “No one knows we're here, besides Soupy, Arlene, and Fannie.”
Wild winds blew the door open as a trio of tiny lights soared in on the breezes. “Hello, everyone!” Joyce formed from the green light, her big grin and golden hair as glowing as ever. “Your army's arrived!”
Debralee twinkled in from the blue, her dark eyes glowing with determination as she shook the water drops out of her dress. “Ok, where's that nasty Malade? I'd like to give her a blast of water she'll never forget!”
“That's not very nice, Deb,” Jo Ann admonished as she materialized from the red light. “Our magic is healing! It's supposed to bring beauty and joy and happiness!”
The youngest fairy flopped on the couch in a huff and turned up her snub nose. “Well, that would make me happy!”
“Girls, please.” A figure shrouded in a heavy woolen cape followed them into the house. “We're here to make a council of war, not start a war!”
“Queen Betty!” Gene was at the older blonde woman's side the second she removed her hood. “You shouldn't be out here! What if Malade finds you?”
Betty smirked as she tossed her gold ball in the air. “She'll have to catch me first.”
“Did we miss anything?” Bobby Van stuck his tousled head in the door. “Is this the place where the army's gathering?”
Princess Elaine giggled behind him as she pulled down the hood of her purple velvet cape. “Oh, you're terrible!” She kissed his cheek as they came in.
“No, you're right on time.” Richard chuckled. “I didn't know we were suddenly having a party.”
“Betty, seriously,” Gene insisted. “You should go back to the Fairies' Realm. You'll be safe there. We can't let Malade get you.”
She settled on the couch in a flutter of tattered silk. “Yes, but at what cost? I can't hide forever. My people need me, but I can't help them until we all put our heads together and dump that bitch Malade out on her rear. And,” she continued, “figure out what happened to my husband.”
“Betty,” Gene went on gently, “we found Allen. At least, we did a week ago. Malade has him.”
The queen almost dropped her golden ball on her foot. “What? Where is he? Her castle?”
“We've been trying to find him,” Joyce admitted, “but our magic can't penetrate her powers.”
Gene waved to them to settle down. “I'm about to tell you. Charles, please bring me a barrel of water from outside.”
After he brought it from the side of the house, Gene settled down at the couch with the barrel in front of his legs. “Gene,” Gary joked, “if you wanted to wash your face, you could have waited until after we made our plans.”
“Funny,” he grumbled. “This is not for washing my face.”
Everyone crowded around him as his gold light swirled around them, rippling the water, then sending it as smooth as glass. Images of a dark, forbidding castle rising over a jagged cliff bobbed into view, clear as the rays of the sun setting in the background...
The golden light bobbed through a window, focusing on the white-haired man in the glasses sleeping fitfully in the murky dungeon in the bowels of the castle. He tossed and turned, mumbling something that sounded like a woman's name.
“Allen!” Betty gasped. “Oh, thank heavens he's all right!”
“King Allen.” Malade slammed through the heavy oaken doors, her heavy gown of forest green brocade and black silk thread. Bandages covered half her face. “You've had plenty of time to decide. Marry me, and I'll free you, lower the taxes, and restore your guards to their human forms. Refuse, and...well,” her grin chilled Charles to the bone, “you could suffer the same fate as your guardsmen and many court members.”
“Never!” His leg swung out, sweeping her off the bench. “The password is 'love.' I'm already married, and I love my wife. And even if I knew where Betty or the Legendary Princesses were, I wouldn't tell you! Not in a million years!”
“You,” she hissed, touching the wrinkled burned places on her face revealed when she hit the floor, “will regret your rashness!” Betty gasped as she yanked Allen to his feet by the collar of his ragged silk tunic. “I'll make it so no woman will ever want you, including your wife!”
The moment she crushed her blood-red lips against his pale ones, her misty black light forced itself into his body. Betty screamed in horror as he vanished in a burst of mist. The smooth reflection became wavy and distorted as it focused on Malade's back and something fat and slimy in her hands.
“Not so handsome now, are you?” The wicked queen reared back in merry, tinkling laughter that didn't sound like that of a typical witch.
A nasal croak that sounded nothing like King Allen's warm tones came from her hand. “What have you done? How can I reverse this?”
“You can't.” Her tinkling laughter nearly shook the walls. “Your wife can.” The white fingers closed around the green creature in her palms...
“No!” Betty's face turned a raging scarlet as she lunged for the barrel. “Allen! You bitch!” Her fast movement tipped it over, sending water sweeping across the living room floor. “Oh no, I'm so sorry!” She reached for a mop in a corner. “I'll clean that up!”
Richard grabbed several rags from the kitchen. “Your Majesty, we can help you. We'll do whatever we can to restore the King to his rightful place.”
“You heard Malade.” The Queen shook her head sadly as she swiped the mop across the hard stone floor. “I'm the only one who can break whatever spell she cast on him. The rest of you would be better off focusing on distracting Malade at the ball and finding Brett and the others.”
“Hello?” A knock on the door and a sweet Southern accent interrupted Betty's scolding. “Is anyone at home? I have news!”
“Fannie!” Richard dashed to the door first. “Welcome to my very, very humble abode.”
Whirlwinds of leaves sent her soaring in, ruffling her fluffy flame-colored tresses. “My contact brought me this.” Fannie tugged papers out of the frayed basket on her arm as soon as she landed. “She's a member of the court, but she works for the same society Daddy and I did.” She thrust the papers into Richard's hands.
He frowned as he looked down at his full arms. “This is a message to the Sheriff to clear out Holly Woods and have all bandits, criminals, and anyone who looks at them the wrong way arrested. They're going to post guards everywhere in Holly Woods, on the roads to the Palace, and at the Palace itself.”
“Clear Robin Hood and his Merry Men out, you mean,” Orson snorted behind them as his wide leathery wings flapped in anger.
Richard smirked. “Not if they don't know it's us. They expect bandits to attend the ball. Not Prince Peter of Newkirk and his court.”
“I'll have to see what I can do with my magic.” Gene tapped his palm with his wand. “Everyone needs new clothes. I can work with the men, but someone else will have to do Fannie, Elaine, and Her Majesty.”
Jo Ann laughed and waved her wand around her body. “Fairies happen to be experts at clothing repair.” Her rose-petal minidress blossomed and grew to the ground, until it became a full-length, off-the-shoulder ball gown that smelled of rosewater. “That's why royalty seek us to be the godparents to their children. Us fairies give them gifts of intelligence and leadership abilities and can help them when the chips are down.”
“And in return,” Betty added, “we made the woods around their land sacred, and don't allow fairies of any type to be harmed. Or at least my husband and I used to.”
“Yeah,” grumbled Debralee from the couch, “as much as I'd like to dress up and go to the ball, there's Holly Woods to consider. The road to Password Palace goes through Holly Woods. We're going to have to do something about those guards.”
Orson showed his wide fanged grin. “I can help...there. I'm big...strong. You were...all scared...when you saw me. Think how...guards...would react?”
“He's going to need more people.” Gary raised his hand. “I do want to go to the ball eventually, but it would be just as fun to scare the living hell out of Ira and his band of twits!”
“I'm in,” Sarah added. “Besides,” she giggled and gave Orson a kiss on his cheek that made him turn as red as her cloak, “I think all that fur is cute!”
“I'll go with them.” Debralee made a face. “Guards might not be afraid of an ordinary troll...but they may be scared of a giant one that could stomp on them!”
Gene waved his hands. “All right.
Those of you who will be dealing with the guards at Holly Woods
should start there first thing in the morning. The rest of you, we're
going to have to figure what you'll wear for the ball.”
“I have some clothes,” Charles murmured, blushing. “But I left my costumes at the Fairy Realm, along with my horse Cornelius.”
Small bursts of green light revealed two slightly dilapidated saddle bags. “Oh, we knew these were yours,” Joyce explained. “We repaired them with our own hands! And the ones we couldn't repair, we made new versions of. We brought Cornelius, too. He's outside in the stable. He misses you!”
“And I miss him. He's a good horse, and a good friend.” As he thrust his hand into the bag, he felt something much softer than the badly dyed cotton and cheap brocades he normally used for his performing outfits. “Wha...what's this?” Tunics in the thinnest, softest silk cascaded down his fingers. Golden laces and crystal trim sparkled in the dim light. “I've never had fancy costumes before!”
“That's fairy silk.” Joyce tapped it gently with her wand. “Made from the finest spider thread and flower petals. Guaranteed to not shrink, tear, or snag.”
Gene lifted his own wand with a smirk. “Not to brag, but I'm not shabby in the clothes-making department myself.” He waved the silver stick with the small ball at the end around Bobby and Richard.
When the glowing silver-gold threads vanished, they wore gold-trimmed uniforms in dark orange, with bright blue sashes. A crown of gold and gems lay on Richard's sleek salt and pepper locks. Gene bowed before them, but his eyes sparkled merrily. “I introduce you all to his majesty Prince Peter and the Princess Elaine's escort.”
“Oooh, you look so handsome!” Elaine squealed, giving Bobby a big kiss.
Richard straightened his crown. “What about me? Who gets to be my escort?”
“You,” Gene explained as he dusted off his suit, “are a man of mystery. You need no escort. It'll be better that way. Besides, you and Fannie need to identify that contact.”
“She'll take us to the basement jail,” Fannie assured them. “As a member of the court and one of Malade's ladies-in-waiting, she knows them well. We have to meet her in the ballroom. What better place to find her than in a crowd? Or at least,” she quickly rescinded. “you have to find her. I can't go. If my stepmother finds out I'm here...”
“You can and will go.” Joyce insisted firmly as she circled her, lifting her arms and tugging a piece of vine around her waist. “We just have to make it hard for Ethel and Malade recognize you.” She made ruler tape appear and pulled it around Fannie's chest, then to her head and around her shoulders. “Ok. I know the perfect gown for you. You'll love it. Close your eyes and concentrate.”
As Fannie closed her eyes, Joyce waved her wand over her. Green lights flashed, sparkling around her worn peasant gown. The fabric flowed together, creating waves of blue silk, creamy lace, and leafy ruffles. Crystal droplets slid down her bodice like a rainstorm; silk leaves grew upwards, ruffling around her wide tulle skirt and tying in bows on the satin underskirt. Flowers and leaves of gold, green, and white gems burst into bloom in her short copper locks; the strands of her necklace of the most exquisite gold filigree.
“I don't believe this!” She circled the room as Richard and Gary whistled, her cheeks as red as her hair. “It's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen!”
“And look!” Joyce squealed, her green light lifting the dress slightly. Her feet were clad in transparent dancing pumps trimmed in fine gold and crystal beads.
“Oh my!” The shocked maid lifted her skirt slightly, revealing the equally elaborate shoe on the other foot. “They're delicate as glass!”
“Oh, we don't use glass.” Joyce wrinkled her nose. “They break and slip off easily. They're made from fairy crystal.”
Richard swept over her, bowing and kissing her hand. “I would like nothing more than to be your escort to this elegant occasion. You are without a doubt the fairest flower in this entire kingdom.”
“Down, boy.” She pushed him away. “You can't be mysterious if you're slobbering all over me.”
“Oooh, what about me?” Elaine tugged on Joyce's sleeve. “I want a dress like that, too!”
“I can do you, Your Highness,” Jo Ann assured her. She produced a gown all in lavender, with puffs and bows at the sleeves and ruffles. Her choppy yellow locks were brushed, trimmed, and held back with amethyst combs. “There. Not bad at all, if I do say.”
“You are gorgeous.” This time, Bobby swept over his lady with a dip and a kiss. “Even if you weren't a princess, you'd be the princess of my heart.”
“Awww!” Elaine giggled. “You're such a sweetheart! I could just eat you all up!”
“Well,” Betty added quickly as she resumed tossing her golden ball, “before this gets a little too sweet for comfort, why don't we decide who does what and who will be going where?”
“Clifton, the town crier, mentioned he was going to get a job as a musician at the ball,” Gene interjected. “I could set up Charles up with him. The rest of you need carriages and horses.”
Debralee waved her wand. “We can provide them too, if you have lizards, mice, and squash in the house. And don't worry, Your Majesty!” she added quickly at Betty's horrified expression. “We won't hurt the animals! We're just going to change them for a little while. We'll change them right back at midnight.”
“That's right,” Jo Ann said gravely. “We have to rescue the others and be out of the castle by midnight. Our magic revolves around the sunlight. It fades in the dark. And yes,” she told Fannie, “that includes the outfits and carriages.”
“Well, then,” Betty said firmly as she finished mopping the water, “shall we get started with that plan?”
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