One day during lunch, I noticed that Mom, Grandma, and my uncles all seemed nervous about something. It wasn't just them; I could see that the other teachers and some of the older students were also uneasy, especially Uncle Godric's students, who had a more serious and solemn expression than usual.
I suspected something serious was going on, so I took advantage of a moment when Mom was in her office to go and ask her what was happening.
Knock knock
"Come in"
" I entered her office and closed the door. I approached her desk and sat in one of the chairs in front of her as Mom put down the parchment and turned to look at me."
"Selene, what's wrong? Do you need something, dear?"
"Mom, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, dear. You know you can ask me anything."
"Can you tell me what's going on?"
I saw Mom tense up momentarily, but she quickly recovered.
"What do you mean, dear?"
"Something's bothering you... can you tell me what it is?... Is there anything I can do to help?
"Why do you think something's bothering me, dear?"
"I can feel it. Everyone's restless, some people seem more on edge than usual, like they're afraid something might happen suddenly... can you... can you tell me what's going on?"
"It seems like my baby has grown up without me even noticing."
"I'm serious, Mom. Besides, I'm 14 now, I'm not a baby anymore. "
Mom chuckled and leaned back in her chair with a sigh.
"You could be 100 years old and you'll always be my baby."
Before I could protest, her expression turned serious as she sat up straight.
"Okay, I think it's a good time to tell you what's going on, but I want you to promise me you won't do anything reckless."
Seeing how serious her expression was, I sat up straight before answering.
"I promise."
"Well... do you remember the goblins?... Your grandmother took you to them when you were 10 years old.
"Yes, I remember them."
"Some of them seem to be causing trouble in various places. Your grandmother and Salazar were investigating and discovered that a group of them started riots and even fought against the Goblin King's men. Since they couldn't overthrow him, they escaped and apparently joined others, as they were seen attacking some villages along with some giants. And not only that, it seems they have some dragons with them... This group was last seen attacking a village that's 5 days' journey from here, and there's a high probability that they'll attack this place at some point. That's why we're all a bit tense, since we could be attacked at any moment."
Mom watched me closely before asking,
"What do you think about this situation? What do you think we could do?"
I thought for a minute before answering.
"The village... it's dangerous to leave the villagers. I think we should let them return to the castle, at least until we know if those goblins are heading for us. I also think we should make sure the castle barriers can be activated at any time and organize patrols for both day and night, and have some kind of warning signal in case of an attack, something like shooting a colored light into the sky or something similar that can alert us. Maybe we could also set some traps around the perimeter of the castle grounds, something that will stop them long enough for us to prepare..."
I stopped talking when I felt Mom hug me
"You've grown so much without me even noticing... Your ideas are very good. We had already thought about bringing the villagers back to the castle... I'll discuss your other ideas with the others so we can plan how to implement them as soon as possible."
"Mom, I want to help too."
Mom kissed my forehead before speaking.
"I know you're strong, darling... but I'd like you to stay in the castle... think of it as a mother's selfishness, wanting to protect her child... So please promise me you'll stay in the castle and keep yourself safe, and that if anything happens to me or your grandmother, you'll take Helena and leave. Take her to the goblin stronghold your grandmother took you to and ask Sharpclaw to take you to the family vault. There you'll find a black wooden box containing a golden cup. Take it, and when you and your sister leave, both of you hold it while you channel your mana into it. That will activate it and take you to our family's refuge. It's a small island where we have a house. You can stay there for a while. There are some house-elves there who maintain it, so you can live there without any problems..."
"Mom, don't say that... nothing's going to happen to you."
"I know, darling, I don't want anything to happen either, but I'm telling you this so you're prepared for any reason. We might not need it this time, but it doesn't hurt to know in case it's ever necessary."
***
In the days following that conversation with Mom, I saw everyone begin preparing for a possible attack. Aunt Helga and Uncle Godric started setting up traps around the perimeter of the castle grounds. Mom and Grandma were checking the rooms where the defenses and barriers were located. Uncle Salazar spent most of his time brewing potions.
They were doing everything they could to make sure nothing happened to us while trying to keep the youngest children in the castle from finding out so they wouldn't panic and get scared. I understood that in a way, since just seeing Helena laugh and play without a care calmed me and distracted me from the possibility of an attack.
For the moment, everything seemed fine; there was no sign of goblins or giants. Maybe it was just a false alarm.
A false alarm, that's what I hoped it was. But one day, while practicing combat with a wooden spear in the training field, I heard an explosion that made me turn quickly in the direction of the sound, and I saw a series of red lights shooting into the sky.
My heart raced, and cold sweat ran down my back. I dropped the spear I was holding and ran toward the signal, and on my way, I caught sight of Mom coming out of the castle.
"Mom!"
Mom stopped when she heard me and rushed over to say,
"Selene, go back to the castle. Take care of Helena. I'll be back soon."
I knew I wouldn't be able to convince Mom to let me go with her, and that I'd probably just be in her way. I felt a little frustrated, so without thinking, I clenched my fists tightly, nodded, and ran back to the castle.
For now, I would do what was within my power:
take care of Helena.
It was the only thing I could do, so I ran all over the castle looking for her, until fear began to creep in...
She wasn't there!
Helena was nowhere to be found in the castle. I couldn't find her, so I called one of the house-elves to ask him. The poor elf was as nervous as I was, and his answer chilled me to the bone.
Helena had left the castle moments before the alarm sounded.
The elf told me the approximate direction she'd gone, so I quickly climbed the tower and went to where Artemis was. I made her grow, jumped on her as fast as I could, and asked her to fly in the direction the elf had told me...
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