Hilda - The Challenge (22 page)

William laughed. Then he focussed again,
emptied his mind. Reached out to feel the broom, the wind, the
motion. He sensed something else. As if there was electricity,
except that it wasn't. He thought of the king's castle. Of the
broom. Of the movement. Of moving slightly to the left, slightly to
the right, and of Hilda's long hair.

"Uhm, William, what are you doing?" Hilda hit
him on the arm to pull his mind out of the half-trance.

"What?" William looked at her.

"You were trying to move the broom, weren't
you?"

"I am not sure. It just felt like it."

"Well... don't. Let me make this clear: I'm
the one who'se flying here, okay?"

William nodded. "I'm sorry. It felt as if I
was being sucked into something."

"You were sucked into my hair?" Hilda's
experience held her on the broom.

William felt stupid and grinned sheepishly.
"No, I was thinking of it. And you picked that up, it seems."

"Indeed. So, can you tell me now how you did
that?"

William gave it his best shot. If he had to
resort to childish or clumsy words, he did. Anything to make it
clear to Hilda, because that might make it clear to himself as
well.

The wicked witch listened with intent, not
interrupting him, not laughing at words and sentences that seemed
to go nowhere. She knew how impossible it was to explain something
for which there were no words.

"So if I get this correctly," she repeated as
William had ended his account, "there is something like a stream of
something that you feel, and when you tap into that, like putting
your finger into it, it is as if your thoughts come to me?"

"Believe me, I know it sounds insane, but
that is the best I can do, Hilda."

"Don't worry about it. And grab your broom.
There's the castle, and you know how we approach that."

Almost instinctively William grabbed hold as
the brooms fell into something that would make rollercoaster riders
envious.

Hilda tore both brooms low over the moat,
scaring the life out of the local ducks and swans, shrieking her
laughter over the castle walls. She then swooped them through the
main gate. That way to enter the castle was infamous among the
guards as they had to run for their lives (or so it felt for them)
to make enough room for the witch. The fact that there were now two
people on broom coming through made things even more lively for
them.

Hilda was in a very cheerful mood, so she
chased the two guards a little longer, making them fall on their
faces as she pulled up just inches short of their helmets. Her
cackle filled the courtyard of the palace, making several people
come out of the building, including the king himself.

"Grimhilda!", he yelled, excited and looking
happy. "Good to see you!"

"Hey, king, we chased them up a bit. They're
getting fat and slow, you should see to that."

The guards sat on their behinds, panting and
their faces still red.

"See, only a four hundred foot dash and they
are finished. It is a shame, really."

William, who hovered slightly behind Hilda,
realised that he had forgotten to pull the hood over his head. He
could kick himself for it, doing it now would attract too much
attention. 'I have to have that hood on,' he thought. The hood slid
up his back, over his shoulders and then covered his head. William
almost fell off his broom.

Hilda sensed a slight sensation through the
bond she had with William's magic. It took her some effort not to
glance back at him, instead keeping her attention with the king.
She wished that whatever it was William had done, he would not do
it again!

King Walt, during that incident, was looking
at his men and talked to the head of his staff. The man was nodding
as if he was trying to shake his head of, so Hilda considered him a
person that lived up the king's ass.

"Hey king, have fun, we are going on again,"
she said, boldly interrupting the ruler of the kingdom.

"Sure, Grimhilda, thank you for the visit.
And thank you, mysterious wizard."

For a moment it looked as if Walt would wave
at them, but that was not done for a king with all the household
and staff around.

Hilda slowly made the brooms lift straight
up, because she loved the effect it had on the spectators. They
never failed to keep watching until they almost strained their
necks. Then slowly, almost majestically, she made them sail away
from the castle.

Once they were at a safe distance and a
proper altitude, Hilda turned to William. "So what were you doing
back there? I sensed you did something."

"Yes, I did something. And I was somehow
aware that you sensed it. No promise that it works again, but this
is what I had down at the castle." He shoved the hood back.
"Stupid, I know."

William closed his eyes, to free himself of
distractions, and willed his hood back on his head. It took him a
few tries, but then it worked.

"Suck an elf..."

William pushed back the hood again.
"Indeed."

"I am not sure what to say, William, but
shiny is very much in order here. It scares the hell out of me, but
I am also... proud."

"I am with you on the scary end, sweetheart.
Let's lay low on the proud part for now. I won't play again unless
it is necessary. Too high up for that anyway."

Hilda smiled and maneuvered her broom as
close to William's as she could. There she kissed him. "Come. We're
doing the rounds."

They flew out to the village. William enjoyed
that tremendously as now he recognised some places where they had
walked, and where they had done their stunt on the market
square.

As they passed over the square, William
grinned. "Honey and fish bits. How did you think of that?"

"It just seemed the appropriate thing to do,"
Hilda grinned. "I have to make my reputation trustworthy, don't I?
Besides, he did not have to eat it."

Some people on the ground were yelling
something up to them, but the distance was too large, they couldn't
understand a word.

"Come, we're going down. Hold on to your
breakfast, I am going to make this a killer entree."

William wondered, was grateful that she
warned him and held on for dear life. And not in vain. Entering a
kamikaze-like roll, she made the two brooms plummet to the earth in
a most sickening way. The tip to hold on to his breakfast had been
a nice one, but as they saw the ground come closer in a
gut-wrenching way, William silently wished she had also given him a
tip on how to do that.

Whether it was his good health or mere
G-forces that prevented him from throwing up, he never knew. The
fact that they suddenly came to a halt only five feet off the
ground gave him the feeling that his stomach just kept going down.
Somehow the hood had remained on his head, and William was
grateful. It would be too much of a show for the people to see a
green-faced wizard.

Hilda had no difficulty at all. "What did you
yell?", she asked the good people of the village.

"We wanted to thank you and the wizard,
honourable witch, for what you did here the other day. These young
men have been been making a nuisance of themselves for weeks, and
nobody could handle them."

Hilda lowered her broom so she was at eye
level with the speaker. "For weeks? And you never sent me a message
about that?" She turned to William. "Did you hear that? It's full
of stupid!"

The wicked witch treated the two men to a
shriek of laughter that had the potential to turn hair grey.

"Next time something like this happens, you
should let me know. Or do you expect me to show up here every day
to see if you didn't shit yourself?"

"No, of course not, honourable witch! We'll
send a message next time!" The two men seemed to shrink under
Hilda's sharp words and gaze, but it was clear that they got the
message.

"Very good. Anything else you have to say or
give us?"

William was rather surprised to hear that.
Give us?

The man who had been silent until then pushed
the other to the side. "Yes, honourable witch. A wagon with
vegetables and other food is on its way to your house already."

This really was a surprise for William.

"I appreciate that," Hilda said, nodding at
the man.

The brooms went up again, not fast, showing
ultimate control.

"Hilda, about that wagon..."

The witched looked at him. "Yes?"

"Do these villagers actually give you
food?"

"Of course."

"Oh. I am probably missing something
then."

Hilda took her time to look at him.
"Perhaps," she then started to explain, "you have missed the part
where I am not growing food in the lawn, and instead fly around
fixing their things and solving their problems. That is my part of
the deal."

Everything became clear to him instantly.
William felt ashamed for not having been able to puzzle that out by
himself. "I am really sorry. I should have understood."

"It's nothing, sweet man," Hilda smiled. "I
understand. You came here less than a week ago, from your own world
where everything is insane, and that world makes sense to you. Do
you think I expect you to understand how my world works in such a
short time? It is probably as strange to you as your world was to
me. I didn't ride the things you do, like those men on their
two-wheelers, and the horseless carriages like your truck, and here
you are, flying a broom. Really, I understand."

William still felt like a first-class idiot
for doubting something about the wicked witch. Granted. she wasn't
the most diplomatic kind. but she had never been unfair towards
anyone, as far as he had been able to determine. "Thank you. Still,
I apologise."

"If you insist, I accept."

"Thank you." William was serious.

"Let's go on, okay?" Without waiting for an
answer, Hilda made the brooms turn and they sped off through the
air.

William did not try any tricks while in the
air that day. There was a lot for him to think about, to get used
to, now he was in such a state of transition.

Hilda told him that she was not sure what he
should or could do, except practice his new-found magic to her
directions, the way she had learnt to use it also. For her there
was the challenge to cope with the erratic way William's magic was
developing. She had been taught by several old and respected
witches, and the way her magic had developed was similar to that of
the other witches she had been with then.

"Your magic is acting weirdly, William," she
told him as they were sitting down for dinner that day. "Something
pops up and you are not ready for it, while something simple just
doesn't work yet."

It was true. He was not able to light a
candle yet, or move a sheet of paper over the table. And he did
manage to make the hood of his cloak move over his head, which
according to Hilda was far more complicated.

He agreed with what she said. "I am sure it
is as confusing to you as it is for me. Only I have an
advantage."

"Really? And what might that be?" Hilda
stared at William.

"I get to play, and you have to suffer the
consequences."

Hilda was flabbergasted. She dropped her
fork, walked round the table and started slapping William over the
head. "Magic is not something to play with unless you know what you
are doing, okay? And any consequences that I may suffer, mister,
will be reflected on to you. So you'd better be very careful with
what you are going to do, did I make that understandable for your
ordinary's brain?"

William was laughing very hard, and he turned
to Hilda as she had stopped her happy slapping, pulled her in his
lap and wrapped his arms around her.

"You're not supposed to laugh when I am
slapping you, William," she pouted, "I am trying to get a point
across."

"Point taken, pretty witch. I just love it
when you are getting so worked up over something." He then became
serious. "Dear Hilda, I was teasing you. I am very much aware that
wielding magic is not something to take lightly. I have seen some
of the things you can do and I am seriously impressed. And
frightened also. The ease with which you manage to get both of us
in the air with the brooms and keep us there, it is amazing, to
mention something."

"See, you really are mixed up. Flying isn't
that difficult, you just have to do it. Maybe tomorrow I'll try and
show you. But with the likes of you I really worry about what will
happen." The witch kissed the beginner that was in her care. "So...
Do you want something more to eat? Or are we done here?"

"I think we're done here. I also think that I
am not yet done with you..." He lifted her as he stood up.

"William? What are you planning?" Hilda
already had a notion, as the link between them was becoming the
perfect tattle tale.

William just grinned. "You'll find out soon
enough." Then he set course for the stairs.

A few minutes later the goldfish agreed that
Hilda had become much more relaxed since William was there to take
care of the needs she had repressed for so long.

The next day, as they were on their way home
from doing the rounds, William asked Hilda about the magician
Gurtrheyn. "What kind of person was he? Do you know much about
him?"

"Why do you want to know about him?" Hilda
wondered about the question. "It's his labyrinth I am worried
about, not the dead wizard himself."

"In my world, pretty witch, it is known that
if you get to know the person who built something, you understand
the reasoning behind what he made. And that can be an
advantage."

"Oh. Right. Well, I don't know much about
him. Sorry. I can tell you what I know when we're done with your
training," she offered.

"That's great."

Hilda had drawn up a plan to train William in
using magic. The plan was quite simple, basically it consisted of
trying something and see what would happen. His ability was too
fickle to follow any serious plan, so she had decided that this
approach would be the best option. Or rather: gamble.