“I know you have been trapped in a castle for a thousand years,” finishing Flavius. “But being a White Knight, we could use your help. We could try to kill those witches before they absorb the youths of children who never seen the sun or the moon before. It is all clouds here, and they are no sun or moon here. We need your help.”
“How can I help?” Charity protested. “I’m just a single White Knight with no other knights.”
“We have this,” said Flavius, holding up the Crystal Sword. “The Crystal Sword is believed to be a gift from the gods. You are the White Knight of Charity; a White Knight is only chosen by the Crystal Dragon or the Demigod Valverno. And a White Knight that holds brief powers of the Crystal Dragon.
“Alone or not, you carry powers the dragon god has given you. You may have been lonely, but now you have us. We may not White Knights, but we are a team. We may not be able to take on the Dragons, but we can kill those witches and at least the Piper.
“By not doing this, it would be an insult to my foster brother who I know gave his life to save us. Even though this sword chose Vaeludar as its master, it would ever refuse to be used by a White Knight.”
Flavius held out the hilt to Charity; he was giving a divine weapon to a celestial being thought to have been chosen by the gods to wield such power.
“Now is the time to prove yourself a White Knight,” said Flavius. “Are you a defender of this island or are you a princess with no kingdom? Which is your current title?”
Charity was being put to the test: was she a White Knight, someone exclusively chosen by the Crystal Dragon himself or was she a princess of nothing?
“I…I can’t believe this.” The White Knight of Charity was hesitant to take the sword in her own hands.
“Vaeludar saved you, and now you can repay him by saving the village. We’ll slay the witches who tried to take a sister of mine. Vaeludar was there to save her. Now who and what are you: a princess or a White Knight?”
“I… I am no longer a princess. The Ice Dragon drove my people away and kept me prisoner. I have nothing else to lose, but my pride as a White Knight.”
The girl walked over and grabbed the hilt and a hard gush of wind rolled on her hair. Her robe turned into armor; the same armor the White Knight of Trust’s ghost wore but thinner. She was indeed the White Knight of Charity she turned to be.
She held the Crystal Sword up high. Charity could feel the power of the Crystal Sword running through her veins.
“It seems the sword had chosen its new master to hold,” said Wonomi.
“Since of seems to be a new leader established, should we get going?” asked Galvin.
“Yes, we will get going,” said Charity. “Now since Vaeludar is gone, we should get going and see—”
“My time had arrived to form the Five-Headed Dragon,” said an evil ghostly voice.
A vast shadow, fire-waving cloud appeared above the collapsed cave.
“It’s you,” gasped Charity, “The Ghost of Shadow King Lusìvar!”
Marina, Charity, Flavius, and Galvin jumped back from Lusìvar’s ghost form.
“You may have the Crystal Sword now, White Knight, but you don’t have its full power. Only the one chosen to be its master had its full power. But by then it will be too late, the witches have already arrived the village and I am going there myself.
“The Earth Dragon and the Water Dragon are on their way now. The buried Ice Dragon is already there. The other two Dragons are also going to be there. This is one battle you can’t win. Without the hybrid and the armor he holds, there will be no escape for any. I will rise again as the Five-Headed Dragon.”
The shadowy cloud disappeared into the cloudy sky.
“Now there is no time to spare,” said Charity. “Let’s go.”
She ran with the others behind her while Marina wiped away her tears, gave a kiss goodbye at the collapsed entrance to the cave, and ran after the others.
THE FIVE-HEADED DRAGON
T
he group stopped at the same spot they first saw the village from. The village was crowded by its people in its single walkway. The dragon statue stood by itself, with the three hooded witches and the Fluting Piper standing in front of the statue. A fourth hooded figure stood right next to the three witches. And nine girls young as Naìra were floating in the air.
“Oh, no,” said Marina. “We’re too late.”
“No, we’re not,” said Flavius, drawing his sword. “Vaeludar gave his life to save us. Now we shall do the same for this village. We must try to kill the witches before the five Dragons come. But we need the Griffin and Monico first.”
“I’ll fetch Monico,” said Wonomi, dashing quickly.
“I’ll get the Griffin,” said Marina.
Marina and Wonomi went running to go find their comrades so they could have a chance to save the village there. They came back running if they had seen an angry Minotaur. Soon enough, Monico was running and Flarefur was flying toward the group. They looked stunned at the site of the White Knight of Charity.
Everyone was reunited, but Vaeludar was absent.
“What’s going on here?” asked Monico.
“No time to explain you guys,” said Flavius. “We need to kill those witches before they take the youths of those girls.”
“We have bad news, Flavius,” warned Monico. “I am going to hate myself for this: they have your sister… again.”
“What?” exclaimed Flavius, lowering his sword.
“Don’t let your emotions get the batter of you,” cheered Charity. “We have a village
