Enchantress 8 - It's About Time

Loo-Loo's eyes shot open, "I can feel the baby!" she gasped.

"She can feel you too," said Hollie with a smile.

"That's the baby?" gasped Marti and her eyes softened. "Aww!" Lou knew that look, she gets it every time she sees a puppy, or a kitten, or a minimoth calf {a miniature mammoth about the size of a beagle, they're great house pets but they're tough on the garden} "I want one too," she sighed.

"Ok final test. If anyone has second thoughts let them be heard now. And you may want to know, by marrying a child of the Enchantress, you will be enchanted, so there's a plus to having to dress up this morning. Anyone? Then turn to your fiancé and give them a kiss and tell them how much you love them."

As the two couples kissed and murmured to each other Hollie bowed her head to her father and tried to curtsey, "On this day I have married Marti Crookshank to Llywellyn Worblehat Stein and Llywella Worblehat-Stein to Reziko Pants."

"Thank you baby," said Nick. He rose from his throne and hugged Hollie gently and gave her a kiss. "Go sit down before you fall down."

"Yes daddy," said Hollie, shocked to see tears flowing from her father's eyes. Mark came up behind her with a wheelchair, their son Pommy helping his dad push the wheelchair, then father and son wheeled their witch away to a bedroom that should soon see a newborn join the tiny Ivers family.

The royal witch, Matilda Potts, was staying in the castle with her husband and four children because there were two princesses expecting and Nick was not going to take any chances. The king was a witch of course, but he retired from that {mostly} like Queen Magrat retired from being a witch {mostly} when she married King Verence II.

Everyone retired to the main dining hall where a breakfast buffet was laid out for everyone. Scrambled eggs, sausages, biscuits, "farm gravy," eggy bread, and "pam cakes" were laid out and everyone got a chance to eat. Trei Metsker joined in with grandmothers Catrin and Jutta to tell tales of the twins in their youth which kept Marti's parents and sister laughing so hard they couldn't eat.

"The first time we ever saw the twins was on Hogswatch morning when they were barely six months' old," said Jutta as Catrin nodded. "We had just found our Pommy and Carina and were just learning about them when Carina said, 'I have a Hogswatch surprise for you mom.' Then she and Pommy came downstairs with all these children!"

"Mum and dad would play rock paper scissors and the loser had to change Loo-Loo," said Catrin.

"She pooped every morning!" said Nick in their defense as Llywella blushed furiously.

"We had no idea that they were royalty, we thought they were just successful farmers," continued Catrin. "We were looking for the Duke of Wægn and had no idea that he was my own son!"

Ivo and Maggy had joined them, he had a similar situation but instead of taking him into his home, Nick threw Ivo into prison, so Ivo remained silent. "Tell us how you met the twin's dad," said Octavia.

Ivo could never deny Octavia anything when she called him dad so he sucked up his pride and said, "Oi will not hide the fact that I made a mess of my life and the life of everyone I cared about with drugs, but the good Duke of Wægn saw fit to dry me out and straighten me up. When he became king oi was working in the prison laundry, it woz only the second steady job oi ever had and the twins thought oi was too skinny, so they kept sneaking food down to me. They had no idea oi was related to them, they woz doing it out of the sweetness of their hearts. They woz the first to call me grandpa when I graduated from recovery." He looked at his new wife and she was looking at him with such love in her heart. "Wot?" he asked.

"It was so brave of you to say that" she sighed. Then she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "do we have time to..." and laid out a plan that made last night's frenzied love making sound like innocent kissing.

"Darlin!" he said with a surprised grin.

"Dad taught me one of the most important lessons about being a queen," said Octavia. "How to forgive."

"It is a lesson I hope that I learned nearly as well," said the king. "To prince Ivo," and he raised his coffee cup to Ivo causing the old man to blush more than his bride just did.

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At eleven the throne room was filled with family and royal watchers. A rumor went out that this was a big day for the King, maybe one of his children was getting married! The throne room was soon packed with gawkers along with friends that truly knew what was going on. When the appointed hour came, Harold Lorchestershire Jr. banged the butt of his stanchion three times into the rock floor calling for silence, then he called out, "ALL RISE! King Verence the Third of Lancre, Queen Octavia of Lancre, and Ambassador Chung Hau Ning of the Agatean Empire!"

Arm in arm the three lovers walked up the aisle with Nick in the middle. There never seemed to be any shock that Ning was the royal consort, there was never any shock over the fact that she was publicly acknowledged to be the king and queens lover and advisor. The people of Lancre saw it as a fringe benefit that goes with being a king.

Once they were seated, Harold called out, "Your majesty! Presenting Captain Reziko Pants and his wife Princess Llywella!"

Reziko and Loo-Loo walked up the aisle slowly, walking arm-in-arm and members of the audience gasped, so beautiful! So handsome! The hero of Black Wednesday takes a princess to be his bride! They stopped at the triple throne of Nick, Octavia, and Ning. {Ning has no say in the government of Lancre, but the people love her and are happy to see the tiny beauty on the throne with Nick and Octavia and they tend to worry if she's alright when she's not there.}

"Your hair looks beautiful like that," said Nick to his daughter, she usually wears it in braids. He rose and stepped up to her and gave her a kiss. He shook Reziko's hand and said, "You've been part of this family for five years, I'm just happy to see it legal now."

"We actually waited si... dad."

"It's ok, Rezzi, and now you are Prince Reziko," said Nick with a smile. This was his favorite part of his children's weddings, proclaiming the new member of the family with a royal title.

Whatever Reziko said in reply was lost in Ning's squeal of delight as she threw her arms around her fellow Agatean. Even though Reziko and his father Sam were raised in Lancre they maintained the Agatean customs and Ning was overjoyed that Reziko was married to her stepdaughter. "I'm not all alone anymore! We can have proper food for dinner now!" she cried.

Like she did with the twin's older sister Hollie and her husband Mark, and with the crown prince Marlon and his wife Annette (and Annette's parents Annabelle and Preston) Octavia placed her hands on their shoulders and gave them a little kiss along with a magical nudge, an enchantment binding their love together.

When Nick, Octavia, and Ning returned to their thrones, Harold the herald banged his stanchion three times and called again, "Your majesty! Presenting Prince Llywellyn Worblehat-Stein and his wife Sergeant Marti Crookshank."

As the happy couple walked up the aisle the crowd gasped, both twins married! And they both married cops! The royal watchers were ecstatic that they were part of this royal surprise, yet speculation ran rampant, and conspiracies abounded, why cops? Were they forced to marry their guard? Would no other royal family take their prince and princess? The royal watchers overlooked the simple fact that the royal children were constantly guarded, so who else would they meet and fall in love with? Also overlooked was the fact that neither Nick nor Octavia believed in arranged royal marriages. Ning believed in them but in Agatea the emperor would have one arranged wife and he would marry several others for love or lust.

Again, Nick congratulated the couple, he kissed Marti and proclaimed her the "Flame Haired Princess" before Octavia gave them the tiny bit of enchantment that she gave all her family.

The audience of royal watchers were delirious with joy, two royal weddings and they were here to see it! Then Harold banged his stanchion three more times. "Your majesties, the father of the king, Mister Ivo Stein and his wife, Queen Magrat!" Gasps filled the throne room as Ivo and Maggy walked the aisle. The entire audience rose to see the poor widow queen walking up the aisle with a huge blissful smile of love on her face, and her diminutive silver-haired husband barely able to conceal his happiness. Only then did the word pass through the audience, their queen married the kings father! Is that legal?

"Mom," said Nick as he kissed Maggie's cheek, then he kissed Ivo's cheek and said "Dad... we can't have mere mortals marrying our royal women, you shall now be known throughout the land as Prince Ivo Stein."

"Oi! Me a bloody prince?"

"It takes some getting used to," said Maggie with a laugh and she kissed her husband. They accepted their enchantment from their daughter Octavia with a smile and turned to face the audience who was on their feet applauding joyfully. It was so good to see Queen Magrat smile again! Gods save the man who put that smile on her face!

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Standing on the balcony with Octavia and Ning, Nick watched the sunset as they enjoyed a glass of wine and some relaxation after a long day. The kids were off on their royal honeymoons, loaded down with copper pennies they were on a tour of the Agatean Empire, a week in the Forbidden City with side trips (via L-Space) to the beaches in XXXX and to Tsort to see the pyramids. Ivo and Maggie planned to retreat to the top of the Tower of Inclination again to spend a few days enjoying room service, a sauna, and indoor plumbing.

"Are you ok daddy?" asked Ning who saw Nick wiping away tears. "Giving away children only invites grandchildren."

"Maggie and Ivo looked so happy," said Nick, ignoring Ning's question. "Did you give them a little tickle?"

Octavia sighed and said, "yes, but I didn't need to, they are so much in love, the kind of love that lasts. They reminded me of us."

"You and me or you and me and Ning, or you and Ning?" asked Nick.

"All of our iterations. Each one of us needed the other's love and none of us were shy about sharing it."

"What the..." muttered Nick and he turned and looked toward Lancre Town. A thick black column of smoke started climbing into the early evening sky, at the base of the column of smoke roiling orange flames grew up into the column and threatened to spread.

"What is that?" gasped Ning.

"I think a building is burning," said Octavia.

"I'll go take a look," said Nick and he became a Lancre Eagle and took off with a flap of his wings.

Octavia and Ning sprang to their feet and watched Nick climb, but his figure began to sputter, he wasn't an eagle, he was something between human and eagle, then he began to fall. Ning screamed and Octavia was so shocked she couldn't bring her powers to bear. Nick was the one who could apply his powers in an emergency without thinking, Octavia normally could too, but this time the horror was too much, she froze in terror as she watched her husband plunge to his death. He tried over and over to change to something different, a bird or a bat, but every time he reverted back to human and he plunged to his doom...

"NO!" cried Gwendolyn who had just stepped out onto the patio. "NOOOOOOOO!"

There was a quick flash that only Gwendolyn and Octavia noticed and...

"What the..." muttered Nick and he got up and looked toward Lancre Town. A thick black column of smoke started climbing into the sky, at the base of the column of smoke roiling orange flames grew up into the column and threatened to spread.

"What is that?" gasped Ning.

"I think a building is burning," said Octavia.

"I'll go take a look," said Nick and he became a Lancre Eagle and took off with a flap of his wings.

Octavia and Ning sprang to their feet and watched Nick climb, but his figure began to sputter, he wasn't an eagle, he was something between human and eagle, then he began to fall. Ning screamed and Gwendolyn stepped out onto the patio and screamed, "MOM! CATCH HIM!"

Startled into action, Octavia reached out with her mind and caught the plummeting king. She eased him down the hundred feet and laid him gently on the lawn. The three women dashed down the maze of staircases and sprinted out the portcullis with several security guards following. Nick lay on the lawn, his entire body aching, something happened... something grabbed him and ripped him back into his human body against his will and the conversion left him in a ball of pain. It was like every muscle was cramping, he felt like he was kicked in the gut and punched in the head. Matilda Potts, the Royal Witch was on the scene quickly and found Nick's heartbeat erratic and his respiration shallow and congested, he was wheezing horribly with each breath.

A couple of guards helped lift the king onto a toboggan that Octavia levitated, and they guided Nick back into the castle. As they returned to the castle, Gwendolyn kept saying over and over, "I'm sorry daddy, I know I promised, but I had to... I had to..."

He was taken to a ground level bedroom where he was placed in bed. He was in agony, every muscle and bone in his body ached from the cruel and forced transition from eagle back to human. To ease his suffering Matilda gave him Azoth which put him into a deep sleep. {Azoth is the miracle medicine that alchemists have claimed could cure almost anything from broken bones to the common cold. All Azoth could do was put the sufferer into a deep sleep and let the true cure for most ills take over.}

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Nick woke up to find that he was hovering over his body, his spirit looked around and saw Octavia, Ning, Hollie and Gwendolyn in the room with him along with Matilda Potts. Outside in the hallway he noticed that Pavel Novik and Mark Ivers were standing in the hallway along with Nick's guard Various Ogg, waiting for some word from inside the room. Nick looked and an Agatean woman, or at least a woman that looked Agatean appeared at his side and said, "It's ok, your majesty. I am here to heal you."

"Who are you?" whispered Nick's spirit.

"I heal all wounds, your majesty," said the woman as she floated next to him, her black and red dress billowing softly in the unfelt breeze.

"It is said that you leave a scar," he said weakly. He recognized her appearance from Octavia's description.

"Everything leaves a scar on you humans, be they on your skin or on your psyche," whispered the anthropomorphic personification of Time. "It's all part of the learning process."

"Princess did it again, didn't she," groaned Nick. He had discovered that Gwendolyn could create a time bubble and pause time, or even move backwards in time. Unsure of what that would do he made her promise to stop.

"When she does it, she saves lives so I really can't complain. Death may have an argument with her... first she saved Pavel which really freaked Death out, then Mark which worried him, then Juju which I think he doesn't know about, now you."

"You don't mind when she does it?" asked the spirit of the groggy king.

"I don't mind," Time shrugged.

"Oh," said Nick suddenly embarrassed. "I asked her to stop, we didn't want to anger you."

"It doesn't bother me, I don't understand it, but she's able to do it without a huge amount of magic which is surprising. Usually trying to confuse me is dangerous and takes a lot of magic, like deep L-Space..." Time paused and thought for a moment then realized what had happened sixteen years ago. "I taught her..." she gasped. "Did I teach him too?"

"Huh?"

"Go to sleep, I work best when you're asleep."

"No... something is wrong..." Nick fought back hard against sleep, but the Azoth kept pulling him back under.

"Yes, you were poisoned, and your body was pulled through a clothes wringer, go to sleep so I can work...

"Something is wrong," gasped Nick's spirit but he lost the fight against exhaustion and azoth and Nick's spirit returned to his sleeping body and healing resumed.

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Sixteen Years Ago...

Octavia sat down on a bench in the castle's meditation garden with the newborn Gwendolyn in her arms and Queen Magrat at her side. The baby was tiny, not even a month old yet, and she was hungry so as Octavia sat on the bench, she uncovered a breast, and began to feed the last baby she would carry. Magrat sat with her on the bench, little Exavier on her knee taking everything in while the baby sleepily nursed as the stream gurgled past. Nearby the twins were trying to get fairies and butterflies to land on their fingers. It was so peaceful...

At some point the baby stopped nursing and started looking around, the gurgling of the brook stopped, the giggling of the twins stopped. Octavia looked around nervously but as she was about to stand up, a woman walked around the corner with an "I know who you are!" kind of smile. She was tall and slim with straight jet-black hair, and she was very pretty, her almond shaped brown eyes made her look like she was from Agatea.

"You're here, do you like it?" asked the woman. She was wearing a form clinging black and red dress and when she walked her hips swung from side to side like a metronome.

"The garden? I made it about ten years ago to relax the queen and king," said Octavia.

"And you're seeing what it looks like now that I've touched it."

"I'm sorry," said Octavia, do I know you?"

"Yes, but we've never spoken before, you might say that I wait for no man."

"You're an anthropomorphic personification." Octavia wasn't asking or guessing, there's something about an anthropomorphic personification that screams "I'm real!" but whispers "I only look like this because you want to see me."

"Yes, you live in my domain, you have travelled through it quite regularly, and you've even taught your husband to do it, but he's not as skilled."

Then Octavia realized who it was and suddenly she was afraid. "Time?"

"Yes! You guessed! How delightful! You're the first to do it."

"You're here to collect a debt that I ran up... right?" asked Octavia, her mouth running dry.

"NO! Don't be silly. Now Alberto Malich, that guy owes me!"

"Who?"

Time created a bench in front of Octavia and sat down. "A wizard, what else?" sighed Time. "He was supposed to die in the year..." Time rolled her eyes up in thought, "On your calendar that would be the year of the Checkered Zebra (forty-two)."

The current year was The Year of the Concurrent Nematode (2017). "Why does he owe you? Me, I bounce around in time, but I don't owe you?" Octavia constantly slipped back and forth in time to get everything done on time. She did her time traveling using L-Space to move forward and backward in time as she used it to move through space.

The theory behind L-Space is simple, yet it is often overlooked by mundane users of libraries. The theory states that in large quantities books warp space and time around them. The principle of L-Space revolves around the universal law that 'Knowledge is Power'. Books contain knowledge, therefore:

BOOKS = KNOWLEDGE and KNOWLEDGE = POWER therefore BOOKS = POWER

Power is best described in the following equation:

POWER = (FORCE X DISTANCE ÷ TIME)