The Daughters Daring (The Daughters Daring & The Enchanted Forest Book 1) (8 page)

     At that moment, the spider-witch emerged and started climbing down the web. The goblins went into a panic at the sight of the creature descending through the ceiling. They had never seen such a gigantic spider. They ran in terror, falling over each other in their effort to flee.

     Emily and Elizabeth took advantage of the confusion and made their way to the upper tunnel leading out. Behind them, several of the braver goblins had taken up arms against their giant foe. One of them even managed to climb up on the spider witch's back, and was hanging on for his life as the furious spider witch bucked and jumped and tried to shake him off. It was such a sight that the other goblins stopped running around to watch and cheer for their heroic fellow goblin. It was a giant spider rodeo. The furious spider-witch kicked at them, at first, then began wrapping them in sticky web.

     “Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter 11

     Duchess Daring walked cautiously into the Enchanted Forest. She had taken a secret path into the forest that neither her daughters nor her husband knew about. She knew all the paths leading into the forest, and many of the paths within. Still, she walked with caution. Anyone who truly knew the forest knew the paths were the only way of safety, while even a step or two off the path placed the traveler at the whim of the forest itself.

     There was also the matter of the ogres. She had avoided the gate where they were launching their attack, but she could not be sure they wouldn't have scouts surrounding The Shining City. It was unlikely though, that they knew of this particular path, and so far she had seen no sign of them.

     As she ventured farther she passed beautiful forest flowers. Trillium and cardinals, Violets and hepatica, and even bloodroot. Under other circumstances she might run her fingers through them and collect some for her apothecary shelf, but the circumstances now were most dire. Her kingdom, her home, and most importantly her daughters, were in grave danger.

     It had pained her to leave Joseph with a governess, but it would have been too dangerous to bring him with her. If she was successful The Shining City would soon be much safer. For now, she had to put aside her thoughts of her home and her son, for her daughters and her kingdom needed her.

     The duchess soon came to an ancient tree, a towering Highcynder Oak. Its branches reached up into the sky giving shade and shelter to everything below. She stopped here to whisper secret words, calling to an old friend.

     “Lady Daring?” A small voice answered.

     “Iris, is it you?” The Duchess spoke normally, now. “It’s me, Aryanna!”

     A regal-looking faery appeared in response. Her apparel, beautiful in purple and gold, floated around her as if under water. A warm light emanated from within her, filling the duchess with feelings of love and calmness. Iris was a friend the duchess had known since childhood; they’d been introduced when her own mother brought her into the Enchanted Forest. Years later, it was Iris who had lured the handsome Duke Daring in their direction.

     While the memories of their shared past together brought joy to the duchess’s heart, it was also a sad reminder of the distance that had grown between them. It had been years since she had seen her childhood friend.

     “Aryanna Daring,” Iris said somewhat coldly, “it is good to see you again, even in dire times.”

     “Then you know?” The duchess responded. “Highcynder is under attack, and my daughters are in danger!”

     “As are my daughters.” Iris said. “The ogres have been here for quite some time, now. They kidnapped our kind and imprisoned them!”

“Iris, why did you not send word?” The duchess said. “We would have sent aid!”

“Word was sent, my friend,” Iris answered, “and summarily dismissed by the King. Lamont has grown careless in his old age. I tried reaching out to you as well, but your window of late has been closed to the songs of faeries.”

     The duchess’s eyes dropped at the truth in the faery’s words. She had spent so much of the last decade worrying about the affairs of men, and raising her children, that she had lost her connection with the world around them. Clearly, Iris was hurt by it; faeries were extremely sensitive beings.

     Another faery burst through the leaves above, flying to them with haste.

     “My Queen!” cried the messenger faery, stopping suddenly to bow.

     “Azalea was the last to see your daughters,” Iris said. “It was the young one saved her from the witch.”

     “The witch!” The duchess and Iris shared a look of recognition. “That explains the poison pies, but not how she could have come back.”

     “She always craved power,” Iris said. “And blamed you for so much.”

     “The witch sent the ogres to attack The Shining City!” Azalea interrupted, still catching her breath.

     “Azalea, where are my daughters now?” the Duchess asked.

     “The younger one was captured,” Azalea said, “So I showed the older one a path leading down into the witch's lair, into a great cavern! I would have gone with her, but she sent me here to get help. I flew as fast as I could!”

     “My girls are in terrible danger. Iris I need your help.”

     “We will accompany you to the witch's lair, my friend,” Iris said, “and do what we can to rescue your daughters.”

     “I’ll do that,” the Duchess said. “I need your help elsewhere.”

     Iris frowned. The witch was dangerous, and the duchess was an old friend, no matter how angry she was with her. What could be more important than rescuing her daughters?

“What can we do to help you?”

     “Save The Shining City.”



     Duke Daring commanded the defense at the city gate. He called out orders, adjusted the archers’ fire, and personally manned defenses. The ogres repeatedly pummeled the city, especially at the forest gate. The few archers and gnomes in his company managed to slow the ogres down a little, but the duke knew that the huge doors, a solid defense against men—wouldn't hold up against the ogre horde much longer.

     He had fallen back to the guardhouse to regroup, hoping desperately for more troops, while shouting orders to the guard next to him, over the sounds of battle. That was when he heard the whistling sound of the ogres’s catapult fire coming directly for him! He ducked for cover but was still caught in the blast.

     The duke was stunned, and his ears were ringing. He was lying in boards and debris from the guard house. A boulder from the catapults had landed next to him. The impact had smashed a section of the guardhouse, throwing men and debris in all directions. The guardsman, who he had been giving orders, lay unconscious nearby. In his haze, the duke thought the battle might be lost.

     Then he felt many hands lifting him up and brushing him off. He opened his eyes to see several townsfolk around him. They had armed themselves with gardening tools or whatever weapons they owned or could get hold of.

     “What are you doing?” the duke asked.

     “Defending the city!” said one who was clearly a farm worker. “It’s our home, too.”

     Behind the farmer, a blacksmith was handing out swords and poleaxes from a small cart. Several of the men had hunting bows. As they stepped forward, more citizens were showing up to fill the ranks.

     Tears of pride stung the duke’s eyes. “All right, men! In the name of the King, I commission all of you as Highcynder militia! Those of you with arrows get on that wall and return fire! Pole arms behind the gate! The rest of you, fall in behind them!”

     The duke's heart swelled as the citizens ran to their positions like trained soldiers. They were brave, but they had yet to face a real shockwave of attacking ogres. The first few rounds of catapult fire were mostly meant to find its range and scare the occupants within.

     As the duke expected, the ogres hit the wooden doors with a battering ram. They smashed into the solid wood again and again. The hinges started to falter. It would not be long before the ogres broke them down.

     With a great burst of dust and splinters, the doors came off their hinges and crashed to the ground. A wave of ogres poured through the open gateway, wielding axes and curved swords, screaming their vicious battle cries.

     The ogres were a formidable sight, standing half again as tall as men and twice as wide. They were armed with large, menacing weapons and clothed in full battle armor. Their faces were covered in war paint and their long hair braided behind their shoulders. The duke could see terror in the faces of his militia. If he didn't act quickly, they would retreat, and the city would be lost.

     “Defend The Shining City!” the duke yelled, as he threw a spear into the chest of the first ogre. “For Highcynder!”

     “For the King!” the others yelled, regaining their resolve to defend their home. They charged forward and met the ogres head on.

     Duke Daring led the charge, sword swinging. If the ogres were to take the city, he would not make it easy for them. If this was to be his last stand, he would fight with honor and courage.

     With several swings of his sword, he cleared a path to the gate. The other fighters fell in behind him, pushing the ogres back! For a moment, the duke thought they might succeed in finding a makeshift barrier for the gate entrance. That moment did not last.

     With an echoing roar and an enormous crash, a section of city wall exploded inward, throwing the duke, several villagers, and even a couple of ogres to the ground. Before them stood the ogre king, with a huge hammer in one enormous hand, and he appeared ready to destroy another section of wall.  He was twice the size of a man. The other ogres looked small beside him.

“This could take all day,” the Duke said.



     Emily and Elizabeth rushed through the upper levels of the cave. It was dark and they had lost precious time finding a torch to light their way towards the surface. The sound of battle between the spider-witch and the goblins had subsided. It was replaced with the sound of giant spider legs running and slipping over the cave floor behind them.

     “Come on, Elizabeth,” Emily said, looking back over her shoulder. “We've got to hurry!”

     “I know,” Elizabeth huffed. She was still weak from the witch's blast that had knocked her unconscious earlier, and running uphill through the cave wasn't easy. Elizabeth felt a chill at the thought of what the giant spider would do if she caught them.

     “Em, thanks for saving me. I was mean to you. I'm sorry for that.”

     “I had to save you, Liz. We’re sisters; we stick together.”

     “Hey, look.”

     Having passed a final bend in the tunnel, they could see light ahead, but it was still yards away, and they could hear the spider-witch scampering ever closer behind them.

     “Liz, come on!” Emily said, running for the opening.

     The sisters ran out into the light, straight into the arms of waiting goblins. They struggled but it was no use. They were trapped.

     Two familiar goblins stood over them: Hairy Foot and Stink Eye. They had just returned from their pie delivery mission and had the good luck of catching the girls as they came out of the cave.

     “Look, Stink Eye!” Hairy Foot exclaimed. “Human girls still here!”

     “Yes, yes!” Stink Eye answered. “No escape this time. Make witch happy!”

     “Her pack!” A raspy voice called from the darkness of the cave. “Bring me her pack!”

     The goblins looked at the cave a moment, unsure of the voice but afraid not to comply. Stink Eye pulled Emily to her feet and grasped the pack. It was futile, but Emily still struggled, and the pack fell to the ground. Periwinkle came rolling out, along with the ring.

     “My ring!” The witch called out. “Bring it to me!”

     The ring rolled in front of Hairy Foot but he accidentally kicked it and sent it rolling again. Several goblins began chasing it as it bounced between their clumsy fingers. When it rolled in front of Elizabeth she saw her chance to grasp it.

     “Liz, no!” Emily screamed

     Elizabeth reached out for the ring, only to have it batted away by a wooden staff. The ring bounced into the darkness of the cave. Elizabeth looked up to see a familiar face as Duchess Daring stood over her. She was flanked by Azalea and a small group of gnomes.

“Mother!” Elizabeth said, “I almost had the ring!”

     “The ring is cursed, Elizabeth,” the Duchess answered. “You and your sister get behind me. Now!”

     The duchess reached into her own satchel and retrieved a small vial. As she lifted her arm to toss it, goblins and gnomes all stepped back. She threw the vial. At the mouth of the cave, it shattered and burst into a bright, burning light, revealing the spider-witch.

     “Daring!” The witch shrieked, her hand over her eyes. Seeing her now, the goblins and gnomes moved back even farther. Reunited with her ring, she had partly returned to human form, but from the waist down she was still a giant spider. The flickering flames in front of her made her giant shadow dance on the cave walls behind her. Her ring flickered too, but weaker now.