CHAPTER 31
CHRISTMAS AT CASTLE TWILIGHT
Fires were burning on every hearth down both sides of the great hall. All of the candles were lit and the smell of pine and cedar permeated the air. According to Ben’s watch, the party began promptly at 6:00PM. Not all of the elves had returned from Faerie, but there were enough there to fill the tables. Unfortunately, all of the dwarves were still at Dwarvenhall; their subterranean home in the Iron Bone Mountains. They had gone there to escape the wrath of Zoltan. Now that the dragon was dead, they would be returning to the Twilight to complete the construction of the castle, but they would not be able to make it here for the celebration. However, Hob, Gob, and Nob had lived apart from their brethren for many years and were very close to Amos and the elves, not to mention Louise, Casey, and Ben. With the prospects of a delicious meal and some merry songs, the three dwarves were in fine spirits and loudly banged their mugs on the table when Marcus stood to address the crowd.
“Friends, tonight we are celebrating a holiday from Ben’s world. It is a holiday called Christmas. Ben tells me that Christmas is a time to be with your family and friends. It is a time to be with the ones that you love and ones that love you. It is that spirit of love that allows us to be here tonight.” Marcus paused for a moment, picked up his mug, and then continued. “As I’m sure you have all heard by now, Zoltan was defeated today. The great and mighty dragon was slain by a lowly gnome; a gnome who was an outcast among his own people. Ben befriended this gnome and showed him love, kindness, and respect. In return, this gnome sacrificed his life in order to kill the dragon and save his friend. This gnome’s name was Mueller and tonight we also celebrate his life, his sacrifice, and his selfless love. To Mueller Alderman, dragon slayer and elf friend.”
Marcus raised his mug in a toast and everyone in the great hall rose to their feet and cheered. Ben wished his friend could have been here to see this. He missed him terribly. When the applause began to die, Marcus motioned for everyone to be seated and servers began pouring out of the kitchens, pushing carts laden with scrumptious, mouth-watering foods.
“Tonight’s meal is a Christmas dinner that was put together by our dear friend, Louise. I have sampled some of this fare already and I promise that you are all in for a treat.”
There was one cart for each table and each cart was topped with a golden brown river goose, slow roasted to perfection and garnished with tender red potatoes, carrots, and onions. To accompany each goose was cornbread dressings with giblet gravy, fresh baked breads, and sweet potato soufflés. The three dwarves were in awe of the meal and begged Louise for the recipe for the sweet potato soufflé.
After the meal was over, the elfin choir and musicians assembled together in front of the giant fir tree to sing the Christmas carols Casey had taught them. Hob, Gob, and Nob were helping themselves to another round of roast goose and declined to join in the singing. The elves started out with Away in a Manger, followed by Silver Bells. Their melodious voices, accompanied with the enchanting sounds of their musical instruments, filled the great hall with sweet music and caused everyone’s spirits to swell with joy. They finished up with Jingle Bells and it was such a popular song, they had to sing it twice.
Once the singing was over Marcus called his guest to the front of the hall to give them their presents. Amos opened his gift first. It was an enormous fur cloak with deep pockets and a hood. The fur on the outside of the cloak was dense, sleek, and black as coal, while the split leather lining inside of the cloak was soft, supple, and pleasing to the touch. Amos slipped into the cloak and ran his fingers through the fur on his sleeve.
“It’s beautiful. It’s soft and warm too. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“It is we who are thankful for your friendship and this gift is just a small token of our thanks,” the Keeper replied. “It is a cloak of the finest elfin craftsmanship. It will keep you warm and dry in the worst weather Camelot has to offer.”
While Amos was admiring his new cloak, the keeper pulled three small packages from beneath the tree and handed them out to Hob, Gob, and Nob. The three dwarves, with much excitement, unwrapped their packages. Inside of each package was a small wooden box, darkly stained and heavily carved with fanciful designs and forest creatures. Inside of each box was a handsome smoking pipe that was carved from the same dark wood of the boxes that held them; ironwood from Faerie. Hob, Gob, and Nob were speechless. The ironwood tree grew only in Faerie and its wood was as valuable as gold in Camelot. Wood harvested from an ironwood tree would literally become as hard as iron when it dried. Once the wood dried, it also became resistant to fire, thus making it the most valuable and most sought after material for fine smoking pipes. The three dwarves thanked Marcus with many bows and hurried off to fill their pipes.
Louise opened her gift next. It was a tiny box and she suspected to find a ring or some pretty piece of jewelry inside. She was quite surprised when she opened the box to find a single red berry inside. She looked at Marcus with a puzzled expression.
“That is the fruit of a healing plant from Faerie; the rarest of all plants in our world. It takes one hundred years to produce a single berry. Once the berry falls from the tree, the tree dies and a new tree begins to grow from the berry that fell.”
“What shall I do with it?”
“If you ever find yourself ailing, you may swallow this berry to make yourself well. Use it wisely though. Do not use it for an upset stomach or a common cold. This berry can heal you from any sickness or disease. Do you understand?”
Louise nodded. It was an incredible gift. She threw her arms around the Keeper and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Marcus. It is a wonderful present and I promise that I will use it wisely.”
Casey opened her gift next. Inside of her package was a silver charm bracelet. The bracelet was made from delicate threads of silver, woven together to form a flexible mesh. Attached to the bracelet were various charms, beautifully fashioned with intricate designs and exquisite detail. Casey squealed with delight as she fastened the bracelet onto her wrist.
“Oh, Marcus, it is so beautiful! I love it!”
“Your bracelet is made from moon silver; a metal from Faerie, much like the silver found here in Camelot. However, Moon silver will not tarnish and it is even harder than steel.”
“Thank you, Marcus, it is perfect.”
“That is not all,” Marcus replied with a smile. “Each of the charms on your bracelet has a special use whenever you are in Camelot. I will tell you of one of the charms, but you will have to figure out what the rest of them will do.”
“Why are you suddenly being mysterious?” asked Louise. “Have you seen something in Casey’s future?”
“Possibly,” Marcus answered with a sly smile, “but I cannot go into that because…”
“Okay, okay,” Louise interrupted him. “I’ve heard it all before and I get it. Tell us about the charm.”
“Casey, find the charm that looks like an arrow.”
Casey held up her arm and rotated the bracelet around her wrist until she found a tiny arrow dangling from a thin thread of moon silver. The arrow slowly spun clockwise, then stopped and spun counter clockwise. It did this over and over; turning left, then right, left, and then right again.
“What’s it doing?” Casey asked.
“That charm will always point toward the Twilight. Since you are in the Twilight now, it is pointing all around you, but once you leave the Faerie oaks it will orient on the forest and point in that direction.”
“And all of these other charms do something too?”
“Yes, but those you will have to discover for yourself at the right time.”
“Wow. Well, even if it didn’t do anything special, it is a beautiful bracelet and I love it.” Casey gave the Keeper a big hug and sat down with her Grandma to look at all of the charms.
Marcus walked back over to the tree and pulled out the gift for Ben. It was a
long and narrow package. In fact, the package was longer than Ben was tall. Ben removed the wrapping to reveal a slim wooden box. The box was plain and unadorned. The top was hinged and a small brass latch kept it tightly closed. Ben thumbed the latch and opened the lid. Inside lay the staff of Merlin.
“The staff is no longer needed in Camelot and Venus said it now belonged to you. I have heard that spell catchers are very valuable in your world and one that large would be a considerable fortune. I have bound a spell within the jewel that cannot escape it as long as the jewel remains affixed to the staff. The spell is the same spell that was bound into the golden leafs that brought you here. The only difference is, with the staff of Merlin and the spell catcher, the magic may be used over and over.”
“Do you mean it will bring me here anytime I want to come here?”
Marcus smiled and nodded.
“Awesome! How does it work?”
“The same as the golden leafs; simply grasp the staff and say Twilight.”
“What about Casey? If I want to use the staff, how will she get here?”
“Anyone who is touching the staff when you invoke the magic will be brought here with you.”
“Will the staff take them home?” Louise asked.
“Unfortunately, it will not.”
“Then you two had better not use it unless there is an emergency and I know in advance that you are coming! I still have to figure out how to get you two back home without anyone knowing about it.”
“Speaking of home,” said Casey, “when are we leaving?”
“I’d like to head out in the morning, although I’m not sure how we’ll get back to the Merlin tree through all of the snow and ice.”
“That will not be any problem,” Marcus assured them. I will provide a sleigh and I believe that Amos has a horse that can pull all of you.”
“A horse?” asked Amos, scratching his head.
“Big Dan,” said Ben.
“Oh yeah, I’d forgotten all about him!”
“You will have to skirt the forest,” Marcus continued, “and it will be a longer journey, but it will be safer than trying to trek through the mountains on foot.”
“Well, if we are to leave in the morning then we should turn in early and get a good night’s rest. All of that work in the kitchen today has me totally pooped! And to think, I have to go home and cook another Christmas meal!”
“Wait a minute,” cried Ben. “We haven’t any gifts to give you guys!”
“Then be sure to come next year and bring some gifts,” said Marcus. “Because I am certain that you have started a new tradition here at Castle Twilight.”
“No, I want to be able to give you a gift this year.” Ben pushed his glasses up on his nose and began tapping his finger against his chin. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet. “I’ve got it!” He walked over to Marcus and began to whisper in his ear.
Marcus nodded as Ben explained what he needed. “Yes, I can certainly manage that. I must say, Ben, you have greatly aroused my curiosity. I will bring these things by in the morning after you have eaten. Good night.”
“Good night,” Ben replied, “and merry Christmas!”
The Keeper paused and thought for a moment. “Yes, it is indeed a merry occasion!”
The next morning, after breakfast, the Keeper called everyone to his study. There, on the table, was a square wooden board. The board was inlaid with alternating squares of black and white tiles. Beside the board sat, of all things, chess pieces. The pawns were carved in the shape of Faerie oaks. The knights were fashioned in the image of the Twilight horses and the rooks were carved to resemble the main tower at here at the castle. The bishops were made to look like Venus, the last immortal to leave Faerie, in his true form. The king was obviously the Keeper and the queen was none other than Louise.
Ben showed Marcus how to setup the pieces and explained how each piece moved about on the board. He explained the rules of the game and then he and the Keeper played a round. Ben beat him soundly the first game. The second game was much closer, but Ben still won. By the third match, however, Marcus had mastered the game and gave Ben his first loss in long, long time.
“Ben, I cannot tell you how much I enjoy this game. I will have more sets made and teach others to play as well. Thank you! It is a very thoughtful gift and one that I will treasure always.”
Ben smiled. “I thought you would like it. I want a rematch when I come back though!”
At that moment, Gabriel opened the door. “Everything is ready. We’ve got Dan hitched up and we’ve placed a basket of food and some warm blankets in the sleigh for your journey.”
Marcus led them outside to the castle courtyard, where Gabriel and Jonah were waiting for them. Even Dan seemed happy to see them and ready to be his way. He pawed at the snowy ground and snorted loudly.
The sleigh was a large red vehicle with two bench seats and long, gracefully curving runners. It seemed that the Christmas spirit was really catching on at the castle, because someone had decorated the sleigh with pine garland and ribbons. They had even tied small silver bells to the tips of the runners. Louise and Casey climbed up front with Amos, while Ben crawled into the back with Hob. Gob and Nob were reluctant to get in the sleigh, their last harrowing ride with Dan still fresh in their memories. After much coaxing, they finally climbed aboard and, after another round of goodbyes and good wishes, Amos cracked the reins and they were off.
*****