“That crystal ball shouldn’t be in your hands, Agatha,” said the wizard.
“Well, it shouldn’t be in Professor Dovey’s hands either, with what it’s done to her.”
“Then swear to me it will stay in your hands and no one else’s, until you return it to her,” Merlin said, glaring.
“Fine,” said Agatha.
“Swear it!” Merlin demanded.
“I swear! Happy now?” Agatha said, exasperated. “Where have you been? You look terrible.”
“I’ve always appreciated your candor, Agatha,” the wizard replied dryly. “I wish I could be as candid about my own travels, but the perils I’ve endured have served little purpose. It appears the king has found a happy ending all on his own.”
Agatha watched Tedros and his knight wearing matching smiles and waving to the people.
“Though maybe your ending is the one I should be concerned about,” the wizard said.
Agatha saw Merlin’s blue eyes peering at her suspiciously. She looked away.
Sophie touched her from the other side. “Look at them, Aggie,” she said, watching Tedros and Rhian hand in hand. “Who knew two boys could be best friends like us?”
Agatha mustered a smile.
“You sure you’re okay?” Sophie said, studying her.
Thankfully that’s when Tedros started his speech.
“Today I stand here as your king on a proud day for Camelot and a proud day for the Woods,” he said, amplified by one of Merlin’s white stars. “Under siege by a villain who threatened our way of life, we came together to stop him: Camelot and the Woods, Good and Evil, Ever and Never. Not just with our army built from my kingdom and yours, but also with a loyal group of friends at my side. Friends whose fairy tale the Storian is writing as we speak. And when that tale ends at the close of this celebration, the pen will have told the story of a team of peers who gave up their own quests for glory to set off on a bigger and more dangerous one. A team who not only succeeded in that quest, but achieved a glory bigger than any one of them might have attained on their own. People of Camelot, People of the Woods: I present to you, Dean Clarissa Dovey of the School for Good, and the crew of the Igraine!”
Professor Dovey came out onto the balcony to a hearty greeting from the masses, looking rested, refreshed, and more like her old self. At her side were Beatrix, Reena, and Kiko in three of Guinevere’s old gowns, along with Willam and Bogden, hair combed and smartly dressed in starched shirts that Dovey must have borrowed from Tedros’ closet. Together, they took their place behind Agatha, Sophie, Guinevere, and Merlin.
Tedros waited for the last three members of the crew to emerge.
The archway stayed empty, Excalibur glinting silently from its glass box overhead.
Professor Dovey pulled her wand from her pocket and shot a spell through the archway. A collective yelp echoed, followed by Hester, Anadil, and Dot shuffling onto the balcony in pastel-colored dresses, their hair curled and primped like poodles’.
Agatha gaped at them.
“Dovey said it was a condition for us to go back to our old quest and look for a School Master,” Hester mumbled.
Tedros cleared his throat, returning to the crowd. “Whenever my father had a great victory in battle, he invited the people onto the grounds of the castle to share in that victory. Just as he once brought back the body of the Green Knight for all of you to see, today we, too, have proof that a terrible villain will never harm our Woods again.”
The crowd stirred with anticipation.
“Behold,” Tedros declared, “the Snake is dead!”
Four guards in full knight’s armor and helmets marched through the archway at Rhian’s direction, carrying the Snake’s body on a plank.
The crowd erupted in its biggest cheer yet, as Tedros and Rhian took the plank and raised the Snake’s blood-spattered corpse over the balcony for all the Woods to see.
Agatha saw Rhian make eye contact with Sophie, giving her a loving wink. Tedros, meanwhile, kept his focus on the crowd, not even glancing Agatha’s way.
All the while, Agatha could hear the witches behind her.
“Difference between Evers and Nevers is we don’t showboat for applause,” Anadil grumbled.
“Because what we care about is getting the work done,” said Hester. “Can’t wait to get back to School Master interviews.”
“You sure we can’t convince Rhian to be School Master?” said Dot. “Look at how he is with Sophie. They definitely don’t want to be apart.”
“Dot’s right. Long-distance relationships never work. Plus he’d have a lot more power as a School Master than as a knight,” said Anadil. “Besides, I can’t think of a better candidate, Hester. Can you?”
“He’s already proven he can bring Good and Evil together,” Dot appealed to Hester. “Dovey loves him. And Sophie listens to him. Around him, she’s calmer, nicer, and less of a lunatic. What more could you ask for in a School Master?”
For once, Hester didn’t argue with them. “Maybe we’re at the end of our quest after all,” she said finally.
“Does this mean I have to go back to teaching history?” said Hort.
“Does this mean I have to go back to being a first year?” said Nicola.
The group snickered.
“Dovey’s assigning my team a new quest to be a peacekeeping force near the Four Point,” said Kiko.
“Dovey’s sending me and Reena to help rebuild Jaunt Jolie after what the pirates did to it,” said Beatrix.
“It’ll be strange not being all together anymore,” said Hort. “Coming on this quest felt like school again. Only this time I actually liked you guys.”
“We’ll all be at Agatha’s and Tedros’ wedding, won’t we?” said Nicola.
“That we will,” said Hester.
Silence ensued and Agatha could feel the group’s eyes on her, while she pretended not to be listening.
Sophie had certainly been listening, though, because she squeezed Agatha’s wrist and whispered to her: “As long as they’re not in any of the wedding portraits.”
Agatha gave her a look.
“I’m your wedding planner,” said Sophie. “Clarissa might have made them all look like wet farm animals, but you can be assured I’ll be dressing them myself.”
In front of the girls, the guards reclaimed the Snake’s body from the king and knight and held it off to the side as the ceremony continued.
“And now for our final tradition that comes at the end of every victory. The exchange of gifts between king and knight,” Tedros announced to the people. “In so many of his battles, my father fought alongside his greatest knight, Sir Lancelot du Lac. Lancelot was killed at the hands of the Snake, but his legend will live on.” He looked at his mother. “Not only in the hearts of those who loved him most, but also in the spirit of a new knight. I have a Lancelot of my own in Rhian of Foxwood, a knight who will fight with me for the rest of my life. I may be the Lion of Camelot and your king, but Rhian is my Lion and thus has earned the name as well. Rhian, please address the people you so bravely serve.”
“LION! LION! LION!” the people bellowed.