Angry at Goblins, Porridge, or Both?

The camp followers were already eating lunch. They had left the ridge country and were now stopped beneath Toornath Crater, a low volcanic vent on the flanks of Mount Telvi. Some of the children were running up the hillside to play on the rocks ringing the crater but the Royal Family was staying put while Mrs. Yulyanov all but force-fed her children plus Alexia and Caroline a lunch of cold porridge. The mule had been unhitched from the cart and was grazing close by.

Alexia looked down angrily at her half-emptied porridge bowl. She did not think she could stomach another bite of the tasteless gray sludge. She sat her bowl aside and crouched on the ground behind the wagon while she watched the children eating.

“Why aren't you eating?” asked Nikita Yulyanov.

“I'm not hungry,” Alexia said coldly.

“Alexia, you must eat,” Gladya ordered as she wrestled with the two-year-old to spoon-feed him his porridge.

“I said I'm not hungry,” she repeated.

“Mother, I'm not hungry either,” Margaret Yulyanov said to her mother.

“Margaret, you must eat,” said Mrs. Yulyanov, feeding her baby while leaning against a rock.

“Alexia, for shame,” Gladya hissed at her. “Setting a bad example for the children. A princess should eat what is put in front of her.”

“I'm not a princess, Gladya, I'm an outlaw like everyone else in this camp!”

“Alexia!” Caroline shouted.

“Well, if you don't want to eat, give your bowl to someone who would be more grateful,” said Gladya.

“I'll feed it to the trolls if they show up,” Alexia spat.

“I'll take it,” said Maria Yulyanov.

“Here,” said Alexia, passing her the bowl. She got up and went to relieve herself behind some bushes. While she was gone, Maria tried to tuck into Alexia's porridge.

“Yech, I'm not sure I can eat this either.”

“Let me see it,” said Caroline, who was seated next to her. She looked over the porridge and tasted it. “It seems fine. Maybe you should heat it.”

“Should we use magic? Can I try a heating spell, Mama?” Maria called over to her mother.

“Let Caroline show you,” said Mrs. Yuluyanov as she burped her baby.

“Here, put one hand on it,” said Caroline. She and Maria each held up the bowl with a hand. “Virwen,” Caroline said.

“Virwen,” Maria repeated. Their hands glowed, and the glow spread over the bowl. Alexia returned and saw them using magic to heat the porridge. The glow dissapated. The bowl was warm to the touch but not hot, and the porridge was just the perfect temperature.

“Thanks,” said Maria.

“You're welcome,” said Caroline. Maria had a few bites of the porridge. “How is it?”

“Much better,” said Maria.

Caroline heard a rustling sound behind them and turned around. Alexia was storming away from the family's picnic site.

Alexia was upset by the fact that she had not thought to ask someone to heat the porridge for her with magic. Of course she never would have thought of it herself because, well, she was a half-witch and no sparks came out of her hands when she performed a spell.

It would be much easier to smear the porridge on all of their faces, thought Alexia. And if any trolls or goblins showed up I could smear it onto them, too.

“Can you heat my porridge, too?” she heard Nikita ask.

“I can,” said Caroline.

“ATTACK!” someone at the edge of camp shouted. Everyone looked up and stopped what they were doing as a messenger ran in from the side of the crater. “Goblins from the Toornath outpost. At least two hundred of them!”

The camp followers began panicking, gathering up their possessions and trying to flee with their children.

“Everyone leave your possessions!” one of the camp leaders shouted. “Run back to the ridge!”

Women and children began screaming. Although some people still tried to grab bundles from their carts and shoulder their packs, most of the wagons and heavy loads of food and clothing were left behind as the camp followers began to flee back the way they had come. Nikita slapped the mule on its hindquarters and told it to run. Mrs. Yulyanov's baby began to cry, and Gladya picked up and carried the two-year-old. Caroline took Margaret and Maria by the hands. Nikita tried to run the other way.

“Nikita, where are you going?” his mother shouted.

“I'm going to go fight them!” he called back.

“Come back here! You're too young!” Nikita groaned but obliged his mother, following his family in the rear. Alexia ran next to him, looking back as an army of goblins came around the base of the crater. Short and armed with mostly long, thin spears, the goblins came in yelling savage and bloodcurdling war cries that made Alexia's neck hair stand on end. Some of the scouts along with the old men and young boys guarded the rear of the Opposition camp. However, as Alexia watched, the goblins attacked this rear line of defense with swords, felling most of the defenders and breaking through. Ignoring the Opposition's possessions laying on the ground, the goblins began to hurl their spears at the women and children. Alexia had stopped to watch, but now she screamed as she turned around and ran to catch up with her family. Then she paused again. She turned back and ran to where the Yulyanov's had eaten their lunch.

Caroline turned around to see where Alexia was and saw her running back towards the charging goblins.

“ALEXIA, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” Caroline shouted at her.

“I have to try and stop them!” Alexia shouted back. She then resumed running.

Gladya and Caroline watched Alexia run back. “Go after her,” Gladya said. Caroline nodded and ran, the back of her dress billowing after her.

Alexia found the pot of leftover porridge still sitting in the Yulyanov's cart. Mrs. Yulyanov had made the batch yesterday, filling the pot so that there would be enough for the family for the entire week. It would do. Alexia carried the pot and, scooping with her bare hand, flung a large blob of porridge at the nearest goblin from behind the cart.

“Take that!” Alexia shouted.

The goblin got the porridge on the side of his face, slopped from his eye down to his mouth. The goblin spat out the bits that had got in his mouth.

“Blah! Pleh! Why YOU!” The goblin prepared to rush Alexia with his spear. Alexia flung another handful of porridge at his face and ducked to the other side of the cart. The goblin got the porridge in his eyes. Alexia saw another goblin charging at her and threw porridge at him. She missed. He lunged angrily at her,. She ducked under the cart. He threw his spear and it landed under the cart, knocking over the porridge bowl. The goblin bent down to pick it up again, but before he could Alexia grabbed the tip. The goblin gawked at her in confusion as they began to play tug-of war with the spear. The first goblin tried to attack her from behind. She threw the second goblin at the cart, and with their combined impact they pushed the cart over with all its contents still intact. The first goblin screamed in agony as he was crushed and the second while he was knocked over. She finally wrested the spear from his grasp and walked away.

Several charging goblins flung their spears at Alexia. She ducked them, and all of a sudden she had a flashback to the invasion when she had done the exact same thing. Anger surged through her frame. It was time for payback.

“You'll never hurt my family again!” Alexia shouted, thrusting her spear at one of the goblins before he could pick his spear off the ground. He fell over, wounded. She attempted to attack another goblin with a similar thrust, but he drew a short sword at his side and blocked the spear. He attempted to stab her, but she hit him on the side with the staff of her spear. He fell with a yell and rolled over.

“Wusses!” she shouted.

“Alexia, what are you doing here?” came Caroline's shout from behind her. “We have to go!”

“I'm trying to stop them. Leave me alone!” Alexia said to her sister as she blocked a goblin from attacking them.

“You can't stop two hundred goblins all by yourself!”

“I sure feel like it!”

“Let's just go!” Caroline shouted, grabbing her by the shoulder just before another goblin tried to spear them. As they were running back, however, they saw the Opposition camp running back their direction, screaming.

“What the?” Caroline shouted. They ran up to one of the scouts who was riding on horseback. “What's happened?” she demanded.

“Another goblin army has come from the east, led by Lord Televokov. We're making for the crater!”

“What? But we'll be sitting ducks in the crater!”

“The edge of the forest is on the other side. If we can make it to the trees we might stand a chance!”

“Drop the spear, Alexia, there isn't time,” Caroline told her sister. “We've got to run.”

Knowing it was probably a better idea to run, Alexia did what she was told and ran with her sister up the side of the mountain.