Margo’s plan

"Gosh!" Margo exclaimed. "What happened? What happened to Swein?"

"He's been injured," said Lica, jumping to the ground. "The wall in the crypt came upon him. His leg and rib have been broken."

"My poor boy!" the witch gasped. "Edward, Elsa, help me to get him to the cave. I will examine him immediately!"

The Prince Night and the maid rushed to help Swein; Angelica took horses and tied them to a tree. Five minutes later, the Goblins' King had been taken to his room. The witch and Elsa stayed with him, and Prince went to Lica.

"What happened?" he turned to the girl. "You only had to find Swein but you disappeared for a few hours! What happened to the King?"

"I had found him in the crypt," Angelica said wearily. "We had just started talking, as the wall went upon the King. I thought he was killed, but fortunately, Swein was alive. And then as soon as possible, I tried to take him here - to Margo's. That's my story."

"But you have been injured too. You are covered with blood!"

"Don't be so tragic about it! I need to wash my face…"

The girl went to the bathroom. She washed and tidied herself. When Angelica came back into the room, the witch had been waiting for her. Edward was not there.

"Sit down," Margo pointed. "We need to talk."

The girl obediently sat down on the sofa.

"Tell me what really happened to you? Have you got into hot water?"

"No," Angelica shook her head. "It was an accident."

"Edward has told me your story. But I was not born yesterday, and I can distinguish fact from fiction... For example, I can see the difference between the sword wound and the wounds left by the falling stone. The Goblins' King has two sword wounds, one is on the shoulder and the second is from the shoulder to the waist. Stones do not leave such marks, my dear! And what is on your left hand, as I see it is not just a bruise, it's a cut."

Lica flushed, and hid her hand behind her back.

"I'll tell you what," Margo smiled, "stop playing the idiot and tell me the truth! The Prince has left for several hours. I sent him and Elsa to the city of goblins to bring some medicine. And now we have time to talk. And I may as well to heal your hand."

The witch rose and left the room. Then she came back with a cloth soaked with some awfully smelly liquid and put it on the girl's hand. It was so painful that Angelica jumped. But gradually the pain passed off and the wound stopped bleeding.

Margo sat down in the chair opposite Lica and looked at her intently. The girl looked down and said:

"First, tell me, how is Swein?"

"He is much better. I have stopped his wounds bleeding, put the bandage and gave him a painkiller. So now he is going to sleep at least until tomorrow!"

"Oh, as weight off my mind," Angelica smiled. "And what about the cut on my hand, so you're right. Swein was jealous of me to Prince Edward and the Lord of Vampires and insulted me and then I demanded satisfaction."

"Did you? A duel?" the witch laughed. "Yeah... you are a devil in a skirt! But I did warn you that it is time to make a choice. Don't lead men a dance for a long time, they never forgive you."

"Yes, I'd love to, but I can't! All of them are equally dear to me, each of them has something that the others haven't, and they seem to complement each other. First I went mad with love for Prince Edward, then I lost my mind because of Swein, and yesterday I nearly became the mistress of the Prince of Vampires. Maybe something's wrong with me?"

Margo was thinking...

"No, you are all right," finally she said slowly. "Just a little thing; with whole your fragile appearance you have a male character. You love freedom and want to make a choice yourself. In other words, you want to be equal with men, and it is quite difficult, my dear! Today Swein has nearly died. If that happened, the whole nation of goblins would have lost the only chance to live with a normal life. I beg you, be more tolerant!"

"Margo, I am so terribly sorry!" the girl burst of crying. "I'll try to be wiser in the future."

"Oh!" the witch surprised. "I thought you couldn't cry, 'the Iron Lady'!"

"And when the Prince is going to recover?" Lica asked weepingly.

"I guess in a month or half, no less. But I think it is a good thing."

"Why?"

"You know, I was striking the problem that we need a sorcerer, who can seal the entrance to the abyss with his soul. And then I remembered my cousin. A long time ago my uncle kicked him out of the house because he practiced with the pagan deities, spells and rituals a lot. However, I heard that my cousin did not stop it. He has gone out of our country and now lives somewhere in the mountains; he became a great pagan sorcerer. He can control the elements, and perhaps he will be able to bring the old evil to his heel. Anyway, I don't know any other candidates. So... I want to ask you, Swein and Edward to find my cousin and convince him to help us. But in view of recent events, I realized that you cannot go together. Edward and Swein may fall out because of you. So it is a good thing that the Goblins' King will stay here and has a rest. He is going to be safer here! But you, Angelica, and Edward will go to look for my cousin. Of course, you can ask me, why Edward won't go alone? But I can say that if you were able to convince the Prince of Vampires to join the campaign against the evil, I hope you would persuade my cousin either. But I don't think that Swein or Edward is good at being diplomats."

"You are massaging my ego, thank you," she blushed. "I will definitely go with Edward and try to persuade your cousin to help the Kingdom of Night."

"You are a real soldier in your heart, Angelica! I always believe in you!" Margo came to her and hugged Lica.

Then she pulled back and said:

"Now get some sleep. Tomorrow you are going to have a difficult day."

The witch came out of the hall, and the girl put her feet up on the sofa as usual and fell asleep.

She woke up because someone was shaking her shoulder. Lica opened her eyes and saw Elsa.

"How long have I been sleeping?" asked the girl.

"Almost ten hours!" the Goblin woman nodded. "And now Madam wishes to talk to you and Edward."

"Is the Prince here?" Angelica asked.

"We have come together," said Elsa.

Lica got up, shook her head a little to cause hair up, and said:

"Well, I'm ready! Can you tell Madam?"

The maid went out, and five minutes later the Prince and Margo entered the room.

"Did you sleep well?" the witch smiled, turning to Angelica. "This is good! Because I told you that your day was not going to be easy."

She turned to Edward and invited him to sit down. Then she went up to Lica and sat down on the sofa.

"Prince," Margo said. "I have already talked to Angelica about my cousin - a sorcerer. And now I want to ask you to go with Lica and found him! Only he is capable to cope with the old evil! Well, are you ready to set off such a dangerous journey?"

"Of course, if the Kingdom is in danger!" said Edward, not hesitating for a second.

"I never doubted you, Prince," the witch smiled. "If so, you'd better go now, because in a few days I expect the hurricane season and the desert that is just around the mountains would be almost impassable."

"And where does the sorcerer live?" the Night Prince asked.

"I'm not sure. But when my uncle drove him out of the house, my cousin crossed the mountains and settled somewhere in the Heathen land."

"It's something like 'to go somewhere - I do not know where and get something - I do not know what!'" Lica grinned.

"Not really... The desert is not really uninhabited. The nomadic tribes live there. Some of them are peaceful. But you of course you can meet violent ones. I hope you will be lucky! These people may know where the sorcerer lives now. As far as I know, they sometimes ask him for help."

"Margo, may I ask you," the girl appealed to the witch. "The fact is that before, when I was delayed in the Kingdom of Night, Henry using some magic could slow down time in my world. Now I totally depend on you. If I disappear for a long time, my parents will start looking for me and what about my study. Can you help me?"

"Naturally!" exclaimed the witch. "No matter how much time you have spent here, nobody at home will notice your absence!"

"Now I am relieved," said Lica, "and we can start our journey."

"Well, I am going to prepare the horses!" the Prince Edward said.

When he left the room, Margo came to Angelica and handed her a necklace of coins.

"Here you are!" she said. "My cousin once gave it to me. When he sees it, he will immediately understand who you are."

"Thank you!" the girl said.

She put on the necklace around her neck and said:

"Can I see Swein before I leave?"

The witch nodded. Angelica immediately went into the corridor and came into the Goblins' King's room.