The Manipulation

King Henry's meeting had already started. Lord Adam, Master Kitty, Bobby, Annie, Master Jenny, and Princess Darleen were present. Two seats remaining for Masters Widow and Mousy. But they seem to not be arriving anytime soon.

'I shall assume their absence is because there are other more important matters to deal with than the safety of the city' Henry said with annoyance. He carried on with addressing the attendees first. Then he started off with stating the main issue. The safety of Combination and in fact the whole of The Inlands are at stake. The chaos that will occur when the avengers manage to unseal the powers within the amulet. Henry guessed the motives of the avengers and he had done some preparations to prevent the occurrence of such chaos.

'Only a person of royal bloodline and has Majuza's specialty can unseal the powers within the amulet. That's the curse Majuza placed on her amulet. And the person to match the description right now is my daughter, Princess Erieka. She was born last summer. Her energy is proof that she wields powers. That made her a Helaze, just like Majuza. The royal bloodline had never had a Helaze in a very long time. The last prince born in summer, son of King Billy The First, wielded no special powers. I'm afraid, the avengers' next motive is to kidnap my daughter. Which is why, Queen Dorothy and Lady Matilda are staying with the princess and also the prince at all times. We must be prepared to expect the avengers coming to attack the castle again. This time, it won't be merciful, they will kill if they have to, to get what they want. I need every master of SHAW Academy to protect the city. Master Jenny, please inform Master Widow. Bobby, gather the knights and elite soldiers, give the instructions to protect the city. The king's guards shall protect the castle. Annie, I need you to inform all handmaidens and castle staff to ensure all windows are shut and locked. Close all curtains. Only leave the castle entrances to be guarded by the guards. Later the masters shall seal all possible entrances with a layer of anti-magic. No SHAW can pass through once that is up'

With that the meeting was over. Everyone was dismissed to perform their assigned tasks. King Henry and Lord Adam stayed behind to continue planning on war strategies and tactics, believing that a war is coming. That was when Bobby entered the meeting room again with a young castle servant who held a small piece of paper, the Combination sigil (the crown) is visible in one corner, bearing a message from White Shore. King Henry stared at the paper for a while feeling a sense of dread. He then accepted it from the boy.

'Your majesty, it's an emergency, White Shore is surrounded by Lord Morgan's army. Our forces are not enough to defend the city. Seeking reinforcements' the message read.

'Oh dear, the avengers are up to a lot more than we think' Henry said. He passed the paper to Adam for him to read.

'Bobby, change of plans, you shall lead the elite soldiers together with me and Lord Adam, we shall proceed to White Shore immediately. The king's guards shall remain here to defend the castle as planned'

'Yes, your majesty' Bobby said, before backing out of the room.

'Thank you young boy for the message. What's your name?'

'David, your majesty. Thank you, your majesty' David smiled.

'You are dismissed'

David nodded and left the room.

'We have to leave now' Adam said, hurrying out of the room. Both of them headed to the stables to get their horses. Just as Henry was about to mount his horse, Queen Dorothy came running down the castle steps, calling after him.

'Where are you going? You're not planning to tell me are you?' Dorothy said.

'I'm sorry honey, I forgot to tell you. A lot is going on right now. Where's Erieka?'

'She's safe with Annie and Matilda'

Henry nodded.

'I'm going to White Shore, bad news, Morgan' Henry said briefly.

'Be safe' Dorothy said, kissing her husband.

Bobby came up to them with some other horses with no riders.

'Sire, all the elite men are lined up at the edge of the city, ready to ride upon your command' Bobby said. King Henry mounted his horse and they rode off into the night.

White Shore was very quiet. Everyone stayed indoors. No one dared to even peak behind their window curtains at the army that was gathering around the west perimeter of town. The small group of soldiers assigned to guard White Shore were trembling. They are sure that they're going to lose this one. Without any warning, Morgan led his army into the streets and started causing terror. There were screams, sounds of explosion and swords clashing. The soldiers mercilessly broke into innocent people's homes and killed everyone inside. Some brave citizens came out of their houses armed with cheap swords but they were easily defeated. Many of White Shore soldiers also went down fighting alongside them. Morgan proudly walked past the dead bodies after his elite soldiers cleared the path from all those who opposed him. Any spots that were still clean and did not satisfy him enough, he threw fire at them and they exploded from the impact and started spreading, joining with the other fire which had been burning longer before. Some buildings collapsed with who knows how many people inside due to the pressure of the forces applied. Minutes later, Morgan reached the centre where the palace stood. He went up to the last level and admired the horrifying view of the dying town. He sent more fire from the tower towards more corners that were still untouched to him. But by now, about ninety percent of the town was in flames.

Across the buildings, at the entrance to the woods heading south, King Henry's army had just arrived. The view was overwhelming. The king and the lord were devastated to see so much destruction. How many innocent lives were taken away. Henry firmly commanded "CHARGE!" and they all rode in fast. Many of Morgan's soldiers that were near the edge of the city were easily struck as they did not expect that to happen. Towards the middle, the soldiers were more focused and it was tough to bring them down. Henry reached the palace grounds and killed one soldier before glancing up at the tower. Morgan stood there watching, smiling. A very evil grin.

'Fools' Morgan said to himself before transforming into the big black bird and flew into the sky. His laughter trailed behind. Henry realised that he had been tricked. This whole attack no matter how real was just a distraction for the real prize.

Combination was also very quiet that night. The streets were filled with SHAW masters roaming around. The castle was well guarded with the king's guards and some masters. Master Kitty was in charge of whatever magical activity happening there. Master Jenny took charge of the streets. She could not find Master Widow anywhere earlier, nor can she find Master Mousy. Lillain too had no idea where her grandmother went.

The royals were staying together in the lounge. Both children were asleep in their mother's arms and lap. Princess Darleen paced back and forth in front of her sister. Lady Matilda sat on one couch, holding her bulging belly with affection. And Dewi was there too, sitting nervously on an armchair.

'Darleen can you please sit? Your pacing is making me more nervous as well' Queen Dorothy said.

'This is bad, this is bad! How can you ask me to sit? Anytime, the avengers might come and attack us! The attack on White Shore is just a distraction!' Darleen exclaimed, full of worry.

'If what you are saying is true, calm down. We have enough defense to prevent the avengers from taking over the city. The other soldiers haven't been deployed yet. Relax Darleen'

'I am going to the kitchen' Darleen sighed. She strode out of the lounge. The hallway was quiet. It definitely was way past working hours. The castle servants are probably at home right now, with their family, and most importantly safe. But there are still those who are full-timers. They sleep in the castle. And occasionally Darleen would notice a few handmaidens, maids, cooks and other servants walking about the castle. The kitchen was empty. The door to the storage bay was open but the next door in the storage bay leading to the east gardens is locked. Annie had done her job, all possible entrances must be locked and the main entrances to be guarded. Darleen opened one cabinet and there were packets of homemade snacks. She grabbed a few and headed back to the lounge.

'You need to eat when you're hungry' Darleen said as she entered.

'In your case, I think it's nervous' Dorothy replied, laughing a little.

The atmosphere outside was mysterious. It was very quiet. But everyone roaming around could feel that something was not right. Suddenly, the fountain at the castle's main entrance behaved strangely. The water twirl up majestically and froze. The roundabout around the fountain started to crack. The tiles cracked all the way to the stairs. Master Kitty and the four guards guarding that entrance looked with confusion. It did not take Kitty long enough to think because he immediately conjured a shield covering the whole entrance door and the guards standing in front of it. The guards drew their swords automatically. The second the shield went up, a fireball blasted it and dissolved. A few seconds later a black bird landed in between broken tiles of the roundabout and transformed into an old lady. Several other birds landed around and transformed into random avenger. Morgan and Alphaga were amongst them. Kitty stared at the old lady in anger. Clearly Edward's words were true. Smiling up at him in her usual black dress and headscarf was Master Widow.