Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming

Chapter 5

Azzie was under way again, having given up the Seven League Boots in favor of his own demonic flying abil­ities. He flew and scanned the woods, noting a fire in the distance. He went to it, circled overhead, adjusted his vision, and saw Charming, trussed like a capon, await­ing fricasseeing aux fines herbes while the pony cooked and screamed.

"You can't do this to me!" it cried. "I haven't finished briefing him."

The demon knights kept on singing.

Quickly Azzie set down in the bushes nearby. He was considering things he might do to harass the knights and free Charming when, of a sudden, Babriel appeared beside him, resplendent in white armor, his dazzling white wings fluttering.

"Come to brag about your cathedral?" Azzie asked him.

Babriel looked at him sternly. "I hope you're not thinking of wading in there yourself, old man."

"Of course I am," Azzie said. "What do you think, I'm going to let my hero be eaten by renegade demons?"

"I didn't mean to intrude, but it is my duty to keep an eye on you. I can see that your Prince is in trouble. But you know the rules as well as I do. You mustn't help him. Not directly. You must not try to influence matters by your own actions."

"I've just got a few things for him," Azzie said. "A dagger. An invisible cloak."

"Let me see them," Babriel said. "Hmm. Dagger seems all right. Can't tell much about this cloak, though."

"That's because it's invisible," Azzie said. "But you can feel it, can't you?"

Babriel felt it all over.

"I guess it feels okay," he finally acknowledged.

"Even if it didn't," Azzie asked, "who'd know the differ­ence?"

"I'd know," Babriel said. "And I'd tell."

Prince Charming lay trussed up and feeling foolish. Why hadn't he paid attention to what the shaggy pony had tried to tell him? Now it couldn't continue the questing lecture. Why hadn't he believed? If you won't believe an oracular shaggy pony, what will you believe? It did smell good, though... .

Then he heard a sound. It sounded like someone saying, in a loud whisper, "Hey there!"

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Your uncle Azzie."

"I'm glad you're here, Uncle! Can you get me out of this?"

"Not directly, no. But I do have a couple of things for you."

"What?"

"The first is an enchanted dagger. It will cut your bonds."

"And the second?"

"A cloak of invisibility. You can use that to get out of the mess you're in."

"Thanks, Uncle! I'd do the same for you!"

"I doubt that," Azzie said. Aiming with care, he dropped the dagger. It went point first into a log beside which Charming was propped.

"Got it," Charming said.

"Good boy. Now here's the cloak of invisibility. Be sure to read the instructions. And above all, do not remove them under penalty of law! Good luck! I'll see you a little later."

Charming heard something soft falling, landing near him with a hushed whisper. That would be the cloak. After the enchanted dagger had cut his bonds, he looked for the cloak but couldn't find it. That figured, he realized. It wouldn't be easy to find an invisible cloak, especially on a dark night.