Chapter 95: Straight Out of a Dwarf Opera

Patch POV

Pinning the mage to the wall, Patch's golden wolf eyes burned him. He could smell a traitor a mile away. Betrayal had a sickening odor that made you retch. 

"We're not liars," Patch snarled.

"There is no Dark Goddess," the mage spat. His scraggly green hair and pale green eyes were his only memorable features. For a wizard, he looked entirely forgettable.

Head Mage Pascalline's face twisted in pain and outrage. "How could you, Edelbert?"

"What? Prevent a scandal?" Edelbert had the face of the fanatic. "Stop Their Majesties from making this kingdom a laughingstock?"

"And play right into the Dark Goddess' hands," Lilia told him. "The threat is real, whether you want to believe it or not. Ask your king when he wakes. He felt the foul touch of the fiend."

All the mages clustered around the unconscious king and queen, trying to revive them. 

Head Mage Pascalline had a voice like thunder. "Release this idiot. I'll deal with him myself."

So tempting to claw and bite this complete moron to bits, but Patch figured it'd be more effective to let Edelbert's superior do it. He flung the man, all knobby knees and elbows, toward Head Mage Pascalline, who snatched him up and marched him out of the room.

Laying the king and queen on the plush blue sofas, Dane eyeballed them. "Thank the Moon Goddess they're alright, just unconscious."

Chamberlain Allard clasped his hands in gratitude, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Thank the gods."

William comforted the little girls, telling them, "It's okay. Your mommy and daddy are going to be fine. They're just sleeping." His big blue eyes sought his dad's and mom's, pleading with them to make everything right.

Comfortingly, Kelara told the children, "That's right. One of the mages played a very mean trick on them, but they'll wake up. I promise."

Ravyn knelt to soothe the young princesses. "They'll wake up in half an hour."

The little girls flew to their parents and climbed up to snuggle with them. Patch melted.

With a warm smile, Ravyn clasped William's hands. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "I don't want them to be sad."

Dane grinned. "Spoken like a little Alpha."

William's blue eyes lit up. "Really? I'm an Alpha?"

Jiro, Jude, and Bram all chorused, "Absolutely."

Patch caught sight of Talon smiling gratefully at all of them.

"Well, an Alpha-in-training," Anneliese added. 

"We don't need Alphas–we need our king and queen," fretted Chamberlain Allard, wringing his hands. "The people are gathering. We can't ask them to wait an hour!"

Patch narrowed his eyes. "Can't you just say Their Majesties are in a meeting and you give the speech?"

Most of his family explained, "PATCH!"

"Royal stand-ins?" Patch suggested.

"What do you think this is, the theater?" Chamberlain Allard blustered. "The palace will be in chaos if I go out there! As it is, if word of this gets out–"

Jude's eyes gleamed with inspiration. "Chamberlain, do you know the dwarf opera, 'Love's Fiery Forge'?"

"Yes, but I fail to see–"

The smell of mischief rose from Ravyn. A very sweet smell. "Remember the scene at the end of the first act where the hero and heroine disguise themselves as the king and queen to save their kingdom?"

The chamberlain threw up his hands. "But that's an opera! And besides, who would you suggest could pose as Their Majesties?"

Jude observed, "Well … Jiro and Garnet are our best speakers, and they're both tall and slender, like the king and queen."

Patch offered, "And all we need now is a little witch glamor."

Anneliese, Lilia, Ravyn, Talon, Kelara, and Morgana clustered around Jiro and Garnet, and in no time, a curtain of shimmering multicolored light surrounded the two, clinging to them and absorbing into their skin. When the witches stepped back, everyone's jaws dropped.

Jiro looked exactly like Odo, with his black hair and eyes. Although Odo was a bit more robust than Jiro, the two men were lean and muscular. Silver-haired and gray-eyes because of the glamor, Garnet was slim yet softly curved like Giselberthe.

Patch glanced from the fake Odo and Giselberthe to the real ones lying asleep on the couches. For the life of him, he couldn't tell the difference. But the princesses looked at the fake Odo and Giselberthe and chorused, "You're not Mommy and Daddy."

"We know," Jiro said in his own voice.

Garnet added, "But we need to pretend to be them."

"The voices are all wrong," one of the girls, Solene, said. "Daddy and Mommy sound different! You'll never fool anyone that way."

Her sister, Graneila, agreed. "And isn't it wrong to pretend to be the king and queen?"

"Not in this case," Chamberlain Allard assured them. "Why don't you two teach them to sound like your mommy and daddy?"

* * * * *

Jude POV

He'd never been on such a magnificent, wide balcony, or stood looking down at a sea of people. Mostly humans, but the scents of witches, wizards, elves, orcs, dwarves, gnomes, the occasional gnoll, lizard people, and felines reached him. Standing back in the shadows with the other shifters, he watched the disguised Jiro and Garnet address the people of Lugdunum while Ravyn, Lilia, Anneliese, Morgana, Head Mage Pascalline, and the Blackthorns surrounded them. Daxius and Marieke had emerged from their wedding bliss to join this historic occasion.

If only the people far, far below in front of the palace knew the truth! In their wildest imaginations, they probably didn't even come close to the reality.

Jude had chosen to hide close to the blue-and-white striped window curtains through which the royals usually walked on their way to the balcony. Unseen, he watched the spectacle playing out before him.

Jiro, speaking in Odo's voice, addressed the citizens. "People of Lugdunum! Your queen and I come before you to reveal a grave threat of epic proportions."

Loud murmurs in the crowd below as night fell. 

"A demon darker than in any of our stories stalks the land," Jiro-as-Odo continued. "Her name is the Dark Goddess, and some of you may have heard of her."

Frightened murmurs in the crowd. The people below moved restlessly, packing closer together, as if the fiend might snatch them up any second.

"She has tried to meddle in the Brighmere Wood Elf Grove, targeting the royal family," Jiro-as-Odo went on.

Garnet-as-Giselberthe added, "And she used the late Lord Drannor Glynthyra to do it, causing tremendous pain to his widow, Lady Thalira, who is beloved among our people, and universally admired,"

The people didn't like that, fro their angry mutters.

Jiro-as-Odo projected his voice. "And over the last two days, the Dark Goddess created a deadly trap for our people on Abandonnado Island. Were it not for the courage of the Wildefell Witch Circle who stand with us today, the royal mages led by Head Mage Pascalline and assisted by Lord and Lady Hightower–"

Spontaneous applause amid the shock at hearing about the events on the cursed island. Somehow, Jiro and Garnet had mastered public speaking, tapping into the citizens' emotions.

Jude stood straight and proud, beaming at Ravyn, whose attention was on the citizens, her back to him. So satisfying to come up with this idea together. What a woman. Even without making up properly, they still managed to work together when pinned against the wall.

Jiro applauded, staying in character. "Yes, their contribution was invaluable. And let's not forget our brave soldiers, Commander Vallauris, Lance-Captain D'Azur, and Lieutenant Cristo. I even got in on the action, because a king and queen must always be ready to face danger to protect their people! And I can say this: we may have fought a demon, but I am convinced the gods sent help and protected us. There were times when if we hadn't moved fast, we would be dead."

Wild applause, and the people shouted, "Brave King Odo! Noble Queen Giselberthe!"

Their cries filled the air.

"Brave King Odo! Hail, our noble Queen Giselberthe!"

"Hail to our heroes!"

"Huzzah for the witches and wizards!"

Garnet held up her hands, fully in character as Giselberthe. "Although I stayed home to protect the city and lead from the palace, my heart was with my king and our brave soldiers, mages, and allies. This is the kind of courage that defeated the Dark Goddess. Her hate, fear, and shadowy secrecy will never win. But we must be ever vigilant, because she's a deceitful monster who only wants to turn the world dark, cold, twisted, and cruel. Will we allow that?"

The answering shout was deafening. "NO!"

Followed by, "Never!"

"Lugdunum Strong!"

"The blue and white are eternal!"

"We'll never surrender!"

Jiro's emotion spilled over. "How could any king and queen be luckier? Who could be prouder than we are right now? Thank you, Lugdunum family. We are a kingdom of love, not fear. We are a family. We are one people!"

"And when we stand together, we are unstoppable," Garnet cried out.

Who could be prouder, indeed? 

As the applause became deafening, Jiro and Garnet slipped away, and although Jude gave them both a glowing look, he only had eyes for Ravyn as she followed them. Reaching out, he clasped her hand.

"Just like our operatic hero and heroine," he murmured.

Ravyn did the unexpected. She pulled him behind one of the curtains and kissed him fiercely.