‘I can assure you YourMajesty that the Cat Lord didn’t seem to me to have any intentionsof spreading chaos. It seemed intent only on observing the ritualpassing of the cat people’s spirits and in ending their anguish. Itsaid nothing that would indicate that it planned or was involved ina scheme, or wanted Miranda and I to be involved in any chaoticactivities.’
‘We are not yetconvinced,’ said the Queen. ‘You said that you were a shapechanger; can you change to a jungle cat?’
‘I suppose I could,’said Aquitain, becoming a little wary. ‘Why do you wish to see meas a jungle cat?’
‘They are normally ourenemies and I have never seen one up close, as I am always here.You will give me a chance to study my enemy,’ she said.
‘If I changed, wouldthat not provoke your people to attack me as they would fear foryour safety?’
There was quiet for acouple of minutes while the Queen spoke with her people. There wasobviously considerable dissension amongst her Enforcers.
‘We have a solution,’she announced.
‘We have a rod thatwill create a wall of force. If we create a circular wall of forcearound you then it will allay the fears of my people and give youprotection as well.’
Aquitain agreed, and aJobmaster disappeared to procure the rod, returning with it fiveminutes later. Surprisingly, it was the Queen who used the rod. Ithadn’t occurred to him until now that there were no magic usersamongst them. No wonder they were afraid of him. Wizards seemed tohave a bad reputation in Mudrun. Someone must have tutored theQueen in how to use rods, probably Snowbelle he guessed.
The Queen activated therod and a cylindrical wall of force appeared around him, leavinghim feeling as if he was in a clear glass bottle. However, it was asafe bottle, as it was completely impervious to all physicalattacks and only the rarest, most powerful magic could pass throughit. He shape changed to his cat form, and the Crin Enforcers allquickly formed a barrier between him and the Queen.
He had changed to agiant cat form identical to the Cat Lord, but with ebony eyes. Heheard a voice in the back of his mind,
‘Look how order fearschaos.’ He quickly took control. He had no intention of attackingthe Crin, but by the look of their response he guessed they hadheard the whisper as well. So he changed to his bear form.
‘I’m sorry YourMajesty, when Jacintra said she would lend me her body I didn’ttake it in the literal sense. It seems that she did and still hassome small connection to it.’
‘I’m sorry too bear.This event has shaken me. I’m sorry, but we cannot give you anyfurther refuge. My Enforcers will escort you to your room to getyour belongings, and then out of the city. Please leave our land -you are no longer welcome.’
‘May I make onerequest, Your Majesty? I do not know the land and have no abilityto fly or teleport. In which direction should I head to find QueenSnowbelle?’
‘If you wish to findher, then you should travel northwest from here. However, know thatshe has little tolerance for wizards, and has killed many. To gothere is certain death,’ warned the Queen, and after the wall wasremoved he was escorted away.
Chapter 25 Aquitain versusSnowbelle
Miranda woke aboutmidday after a very disturbed night. She didn’t feel refreshed andher worries from the night before re-emerged. What was she going tosay to Aquitain? Should she be honest: ‘Look my mother is a nymphQueen. She’s probably the most dangerous woman in this world. Sheknows how to lift that cursed tattoo. I really want you to find outhow to lift it, but you’ll have to face her in a battle of minds,and if she wins she’ll kill you.’
Or should she useguile: ‘I really love you Tain, but I’m afraid we’ll have to partunless you can find out how to lift my cursed tattoo. It’ll bedangerous facing my mother, but I know you can do it.’
Perhaps she should justforget about removing the curse until he wanted to do it, for thatway she could be sure that he really liked her and that she likedhim. It was all so confusing. The Lady did this. It’s some type oftest. What does she want me to do? She agonised over the problemuntil the late afternoon, by which time she had a splittingheadache and was ravenously hungry. Finally she decided to go andfind something fresh to eat. To hunt successfully she would have topurge her mind of all other distractions, and that would allow herto forget her problems for a while.
She left her refuge andshape changed to a sea eagle, and flew off to her favourite huntingspot on the river a few leagues away. It took her three hours tocatch a decent meal, which only added to her frustration. Howeverafter tearing into the juicy flesh she felt much better, anddecided to make a call on Aquitain to see how he was faring. Shesuspected that he was probably still asleep as the medicinal herbthat she gave to the Crin guards was more than adequate to keep anybear sleeping for days.
She flew to the Crincity and landed twenty paces from the entrance tunnel as she haddozens of times before, but this time noticed a group of warriorsnear the entrance. As she walked closer they stretched out in aline, blocking her way.
‘I’ve come to see QueenBeatrix and my friend Aquitain the bear,’ she said. ‘Why are youblocking my way?’
Moments later Xentosthe Jobmaster came running up behind the group. ‘Princess Miranda,how nice to see you; we have a problem. Your friend the bear is nolonger here. He left this morning.’
‘Why did you let himgo?’ she asked, totally surprised. ‘He should still be asleep. Hewon’t have recovered yet?’
‘He has fully recoveredPrincess. I personally took him for a tour around the city and heasked many questions, showing that
