set in stone, page 10
part #15 of Twisted Tales (Disney) Series
It was then that she heard the giggle. Her head jerked in Mim's direction. Her mother was slapping her hand on her knee in excitement.
"Did you do that?" Guinevere demanded in a whisper. "Did you just use magic to trip him?"
Mim shrugged impishly. "The fight was getting boring," she declared. "I just wanted to mix things up a bit."
"But that's not fair!" Guin cried before she could stop herself.
"Fair, schmair." Mim grinned at her toothily. "If I'm going to have to sit here, I want to have some fun!"
Guinevere sighed, turning back to the fight. Arthur was trying to stand up, but it was like his legs weren't working right any more. Then Guinevere noticed something strange under his boots. Something that looked almost like mud.
Purple mud.
Kay barrelled towards Arthur. But this time Arthur couldn't leap out of the way. It was as if he was glued to die
set in stone
ground by the mud. His eyes widened in fear as the knight swung—
Kick off your boots, Guinevere begged silently. It's the only way!
Arthur threw himself forwards, slipping out of his boots at the last moment. He slammed chest-first into the ground but somehow managed to scramble back up again, dashing shoeless to the other side of the courtyard, leaving Kay staring down at a pair of empty boots.
Yes! Guinevere cheered, remembering to do it inwardly now. She stole another glance at Mim. Her mother was leaning forwards in her seat, her eyes glued to the fight. Guinevere realised she wasn't going to stop until Arthur went down.
Which wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. She was fine with helping Arthur lose the throne, seeing as he wasn't the rightful heir. But she wasn't all right with killing him in order to do so. There had to be another way. A more civilised way.
Why couldn't her mother see that? Why was she being so cruel?
"Mother! Stop!" she tried, raising her voice. "You need to stop now!" Several people turned to look at her. Mim's smile dipped to a frown.
"You need to mind your business. Whose side are
mari mancusi
you on, anyway?" Not waiting for an answer, Mirn turned back to the fight just in time to see Arthur trip again. She giggled and shot a look at Guin, almost as if daring her to
say something.
Guin couldn't take it any more.
"Excuse me," she said, rising to her feet abruptly. "I've got to go to the privy."
"Good. Because you're being a complete poop!" Mim muttered. "No slugs for you, later. You don't deserve them!"
Guinevere ignored her, making her way through the throng. After climbing down the risers, she circled around the back of them, where no one was standing. Her mind raced as she walked. She had to do something to make this right. Her mother wasn't going to stop. But what could she do to help Arthur, save going on the field and fighting Kay herself?
"You let go of the boy, you lousy old lout!"
Speaking of... Guinevere looked up to the sky just in time to see a small owl swooping down at Kay. Merlin's bewitched owl, she realised in shock. She'd just assumed he'd been stuck in the future along with the wizard himself. But evidendy he'd escaped that fate. Maybe he'd be able to help.
Kay let out a scream as the owl pecked him hard on his bulbous nose. He waved his arms, trying to swat him away. But the owl kept at it, digging his claws into the knight's
shoulder. Unfortunately, Kay's armour was too thick and the owl couldn't get a good grip.
"Archimedes!" Arthur cried, struggling to stand, "Look out!"
But it was too late. Kay swung out a fist. His metal glove smacked the owl straight on. Archimedes flailed for a moment, then dropped to the ground like a stone. jP "No!" Arthur cried, sounding horrified. He dived towards the bird, throwing himself on top of him to protect him from Kay. Even from here, Guin could see the tears streaming down his bruised cheeks and realised his face was cut and bleeding. But he didn't seem to even notice, he was so conccrned about the bird. "Oh, Archimedes®: he cried, his voice cracking on the name. I ^Guinevere's heart panged hard. He clearly cared for this animal. Like he cared for his people. Even his enemies. He wasn't Merlin. He wasn't anything like Merlin. And he didn't deserve to die.
n Drawing in-a breath, -she realised what she needed] to do. It was the last thing she wanted, and her hands started? to shake just thinking about it. But she had no choice. She; had to act - now. Or Arthur would die. And his ¡blood* would be on her hands.
"Zim, zabberim, zouse!" she whispered. "Make me. a mouse!"
MARI W A N C U 8 I
A moment later she felt her body collapsing in on itself, shrinking down, reshaping, just as her mother had taught her| to |do She hated shapeshifting- it felt so disconcerting to fold into another shape. It made her sick to her stomach, too. And gave her a terrible headache.
But that was nothing compared to what Arthur was going through. And she was almost positive, if the tables had been turned, he would have done the same for her. r She drew in a breath, steadying her nerves. Then, using her tiny feet, she dashed under the risers and weaved through the standing spectators! legs at the front. She prayed no one would suddenly move their feet and squash her before she had the chance to get out onto the field. By the • time she made it to the front, Arthur had fallen to his knees before Kay. He clearly had no fight left in him "You should have just walked away,'Wart," Kay sneered, He removed his helmet and looked down on the young king, his mouth curling into a lazy:smirk. "Did you really think -you had a chance to beat me?"
Arthur stared up at him defiantly. Blood dripped; down his face, but he ignored it, his mouth set in a thin line. The crowd was so silent you could ;have heard a pin drop
"I had to try," he said simply. "For my people;'¡For
^our kingdom."
Kay's face twisted into an ugly scowl. He raised his sword, ready to make the fatal blow.
Guinevere realised it was now or never. She raced across the field as fast as she could. Darting up Kay's boot, she found the small kink in his armour where it met with his knee. It wasn't a large spot, but it was the perfect size for tiny mouse teeth.
She bit down. Hard.
"Argh!" Kay screamed, falling backwards and dropping his sword. Guinevere scampered up his side until she found his armpit, biting down yet again into his soft flesh. The reek of sweat assaulted her nose, and it was everything she could do not to vomit. Instead, she forced herself to bite again. And again.
The crowd gasped as Kay began to roll on the ground, screaming in pain. Arthur took his moment, leaping up and kicking the knight's abandoned sword to the side, far enough away that he couldn't easily retrieve it. Then he stalked over to Kay - and placed his own sword at the knight's throat.
"You were saying?" he asked.
"Make it stop!" Kay begged. "Please!"
"Kill him! Kill him!" cried the crowd. "Show no mercy!"
But to Guinevere's surprise, Arthur lowered his sword. "No," he said simply. "I won't kill you. That's not
M A Rf MANCUSI
how we do things here any more. You will be charged I treason against your king and you will be tried in
r
court, by a jury of your peers. It will be up to them to
decide your fate." -
Kay began to blubber like a baby. He yanked off his gloves and threw them angrily at the crowd. Arthur motioned to his guards, who surrounded the disgraced knight and pulled him to his feet. Kay tried to fight them off, but he was too weakened from the battle. They dragged him out of the courtyard as the crowd jeered and threw pieces of food at his head.
Arthur watched him go, then turned to Archimedes, who was still lying motionless on the ground. He dropped to his knees, cradling the bird in his hands. Was he dead? But then Guinevere caught a slight movement at the wing. No, he was alive. She let out a sharp breath.
Arthur looked up at the crowd. "He needs a doctor," he said. "Is anyone here a doctor?"
A large muscular man pushed his way through the crowd. He took the bird from Arthur's arms and studied him with a careful eye. "He's stunned," he told the young king. "Maybe a broken wing. But he will be all right."
Guinevere watched as Arthur's shoulders drooped in relief. She felt relieved, too, a wave of emotion rushing through her telling her everything was going to be all right.
And while she'd never get credit for it, she had managed 1 save the day.
Using magic, of all things.
She felt a pang of guilt as she headed off the Held unseen bv anyone in the crowd. They were all rushing Arthur to congratulate him on his win. She watched his lips curl in a bashful grin, and she wondered if she'd been right to do what she'd done. After all, it was exactly what she always chided Mini for - using an unfair advantage to manipulate a situation to your liking. But then, if she hadn't, an innocent boy would have died. That wouldn't have been right, either.
She sighed. Ever since she'd met Arthur, things had become very confusing.
She weaved her way through the throng until she was back to where she'd started, behind the risers. Where she could end her shift and transform back to her old self. She wondered how bad of a headache she'd have when she became human again. Magic took a huge toll on her each time she cast a spell. Mim claimed it was because she didn't do it enough - like exercise, magic got easier the more you did it. It didn't cost Mim anything to shift and shift again. But Guinevere would likely be weakened for a week.
It was worth it, though. She wouldn't have changed a thing.
But before she could utter the magic worlds to end the transformation, she suddendly felt a hand close over her mouse body. She squeaked in suprise and tried to squirm away, but the hand was too strong. A moment later she felt herself being lifted up into the air.
The hand opened.
And she found herself face to face with Mim.
chapter seventeen
MADAM MIM
"Well, well, well, what have we here?"
Mim squinted at the little mouse, at first unsure of what she was seeing. She knew it couldn't be a regular mouse - after all, regular mice did not tend to interfere with jousting tournaments. But what else could it be? Another one of Merlin's stooges, like that ridiculous owl who had tried and failed to save his minion? She wondered how many of the forest creatures this madman had manipulated.
But then, there was something oddly familiar about this particular creature. Something about its dark brown eyes... and long thick lashes.
Mim wrinkled her nose. No. It couldn't be. Could it?
"Guinevere?" she whispered.
MARI M A N CU SI
Suddenly the spell broke and Mim found herself cradling a rather large and heavy thirteen-year-old girl in the palm of her hand. Shocked, she leapt backwards, her arms flinging out, and the girl dropped to the ground like a stone.
"Ow!" Guinevere grunted, landing hard on her bottom.
Mim stared down at her daughter, speechless for one of the first times in her entire life. "Why, it is you!" she cried out once she'd found her voice again, even though, in hindsight, the declaration was quite obvious. "What on earth were you doing as a mouse?"
Guinevere scrambled to her feet, a guilty look flashing across her face. "Hello, Mother," she muttered, wiping the mud off her backside. She looked a little dazed. Her hand lifted to her head and she rubbed it ruefully.
Mim shook her head in disbelief. "Why, I'll be a
monkey's uncle!" she cried. "You used magic! But you hate
magic!"
Guinevere scowled. "Maybe I hate cheating more."
Mim giggled. She couldn't help it. Guin was just so cute when she was mad. The way her little nose wrinkled and her eyebrows furrowed...
"Stop laughing! It's not funny," Guin protested, her scowl deepening.
"No, of course not!" Mim agreed readily, trying to
swallow down her mirth. "Not funny at all. Rather | amazing, really! Simply amazing. Such a good shift, too. You got all the mouse parts just right — and that's not easy to do! I have to admit, I'm impressed. So very impressed!"
Guinevere's frown faltered. "You're not mad?"
Mim laughed. "Mad? I'm delighted! Thrilled! Sure, I wanted the fight to go differently. And I'm not pleased about losing all the gold I wagered against the lad. But you, my dear, were magnificent! Marvellous! I'm just... tearing up with pride over the whole thing."
Guinevere pursed her lips together, looking very uncomfortable. "You were cheating, Mother! You were using magic to make him lose."
Mim nodded, not sure why her daughter insisted on stating the obvious. "And then you used magic to make him win," she added. She laughed again. "Did you see all the confused faces on the crowd when Kay dropped his sword? It was amazing. I couldn't have done ii better myself."
"It's not a joke. Arthur could have been killed!" Guinevere retorted, her voice rich with indignation. Mim felt her amusement falter a bit.
"I wasn't going to kill him!" she protested. "I was just having a little fun is all. You really need to lighten up."
"Mother, this has gone too far," Guinevere shot back, not missing a beat. "We' re supposed to be fighting for justice
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- to save the kingdom, not tear it apart. If we start hurting people, we'll be no better than the evil Merlin himself!''
Mim's delight at the whole event was fading fast, replaced by a feeling she didn't like at all. Not one bit Why was Guinevere being so mean?
"You know, you seem awfully concerned about the boy you've been working to take down getting taken down," she noted, a little crossly this time. She trailed off, noticing Guinevere's face reddening. Mim's eyes widened. Oh.
"Oh, my gracious! You're in love with him!" she cried, all the pieces coming together at once. ''That's what it is, isn't it! He's charmed you with his riches and feasts and pretty clothes. And now you think if you can help him, he'll make you his queen." She tsked with her tongue. "I thought better of you, my girl. I really did."
Guinevere's face had turned the colour of a ripe apple. "That's not true!" she cried. "That's not even close to tnie. And 1 don't care about any of those things, either," she added. "It's just... I don't think Arthur is like Merlin. I think he's a good person, and he's been tricked, too. Maybe if we just tell him the truth, he'll do the right thing."
Mini was laughing so hard now she was practically rolling on the ground. "The truth! You want to... tell... him..." - she could hardly get the words out through her laughter - "the truth?" She stopped laughing abruptly. "Oh,
my dear girl, you are more deluded than I thought. This little adventure in the outside world was clearly too much for you. You're not acting at all like your old, sweet self." She reached out, stroking Guin's hair. "We need to get you homeland fast."
For a moment, Guinevere looked as if she wanted to argue again. Then she sighed deeply, as if exhausted. "We should both go home," she said. "This has all got completely out of hand. We should go home and talk everything over—figure out what should be done like two rational people. There has to be a peaceful way to convince Arthur to abdicate the throne. I'm sure if we just thought it through..."
"That sounds lovely, my dear," Mim agreed. She patted Guin's head. "And I'm absolutely in favour of all of it and can't wait to do it. I just have one tiny little task to check off my list first. Then I'll head right home. You can even start dinner, if you like! And then we can have a dance party? Just like old times."
Guin frowned, looking suspicious. "What task?" she asked. "You're not going to hurt Arthur, are you?"
"Of course not! What do you take me for? Merlin?"
"Promise me." Guinevere's eyes were diamond hard.
"I promise! I promise!" Mim cried, rolling her eyes. "On the life of my new toad, Martha the Second. And you know how much I simply adore all her beautiful warts!"
M A R I M A N C US I
Guinevere let out a breath. "All right," she said. "Thank you."
"Anything for you, my dear." Mim gave Gum a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Anything for you." I Guinevere opened her mouth - probably to say something else annoying - but Mim had already wasted enough time talking. She had a plan, and she was eager to carry it out.
"Zim, zabberim, rim!" she incanted, waving her arms and poofing herself into a brand-new magical shape. Namely that of a certain young blonde girl with big brown eyes and thick lashes. A girl who had expertly captured the king's attention. Someone he trusted. Someone he'd never suspect.
Guinevere's jaw dropped. "No!"-she cried. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just going to pay a quick visit to our dear king!" Mim replied, enjoying the way Guinevere's voice sounded on her lips. "Don't worry. I'll be home in three shakes of a slug's tail, ready for our dance party!" "Mother! What are you—" Guinevere started, looking alarmed. But she didn't get to finish her sentence. For Mim took the opportunity to snap her fingers again, and Guinevere poofed out of her sight. Off on a one-way magical trip home to their cottage in the woods, where she would be
safe and sound, and, if Mim were lucky, she would start on dinner. All this magic was making Mim very hungry.
Once Guin was gone, Mim looked down at her new and improved younger self It had been a good shift - ln fact, this time only her left foot and ankle were spotted with purple. Which was easily coverable by a boot or a dress hem. No one would ever notice.
She smiled, raising her eyes to the courtyard, where the celebration was now in full swing. Let them feast and drink and believe they'd won, she thought. They would soon learn the truth.
That no one messed with the Marvellous Madam Mim.
chapter eighteen
ARTHUR
Arthur looked for Guinevere after the fight was over, but she seemed to have vanished from the crowd. So had Mim, for that matter, and Arthur started to worry that perhaps the mad wizard had done something awful to his new friend in order to get back at him. He was almost positive Mim had something to do with the strange happenings during their fight — she'd been using her sorcery to try to help Kay take him down. As if the fight hadn't been hard enough on its own.
