“Punish you?” Merlin said, aghast. “Tedros, dear, I’ve been gone keeping two people you love safe.”
Tedros gaped, suddenly understanding. “You were with Mom and Lance! I’ve been going crazy trying to track them. . . . I got these mysterious cards from different parts of the Woods—”
“And she would have sent far more had I let her,” said Merlin.
“I knew it! There wasn’t anything written on them, but they smelled like honeysuckle, which she knows is my favorite. Where are they? When can I see them? I need to see them—”
“Patience, boy. Your mother and Lancelot still have Arthur’s rich bounty on their heads: a bounty you can’t rescind until you pull the sword and finish your test. Getting them to safety was difficult enough. As soon as they were dragged into the castle at the coronation, I turned them to fruit flies and hustled them into the Endless Woods. We couldn’t return to the old safe house in Avalon; The Tale of Sophie and Agatha had revealed its existence to our whole world, which meant Avalon Island would be crawling with your mother’s enemies. So to both hide your mother and Lancelot and distract them from worrying about you, I took them on a tour of kingdoms they’d never seen, given their years of exile. We traveled by enchanted ship: the Igraine, which obeys any ‘lady’ of Camelot, princess or queen, and can fly through the air or turn invisible on that lady’s command. Soon news started spreading of what happened at the coronation, with WANTED posters for Guinevere and Lancelot tacked up everywhere we went. I had to be creative about disguising them. But that, as you know, is a specialty.”
“So they’re . . . safe?” Tedros asked anxiously.
“The Igraine is returned to Camelot harbor and your mother and Lance are hidden close by, rested and at ease. Except for the fact they’re missing you. Well, your mother more than Lancelot,” the wizard winked.
“Hope you disguised Lance as a girl,” Tedros said, remembering his own time as a girl named Essa. All of a sudden he was craving his favorite hot cocoa and he wished he hadn’t dumped out his mug. Why did he always act first and think later? He tried to catch Agatha’s eye, wanting to somehow start a conversation, but he’d ignored her too long and now she was ignoring him.
“Merlin, if you were touring other kingdoms, surely you saw some of our classmates on their quests?” the princess asked.
“Indeed,” the wizard said, finally acknowledging her.
Tedros’ face fell. “And have they, um, you know . . . heard about me?”
The wizard paused. “Let’s just say you’re not the only one encountering obstacles on their quest.”
“Huh? But I’m not even on a quest—” said Tedros.
“Every fourth-year Ever or Never from the School for Good and Evil is on a quest, Tedros,” the wizard corrected. “A quest to discover if they have the strength, wit, and will to become a legend and have their name remembered for all time. It’s just your classmates’ quests for glory took them to faraway lands, while yours brought you back home.”
“Doesn’t feel like much of a quest to me,” Tedros murmured. “I’m supposed to be king. It’s what I was born to do.”
Merlin peered at him as if he’d missed the point entirely. “You may have been born to do it, but that doesn’t mean you’ll do it well.”
Tedros said nothing, two hot spots appearing on his cheeks.
“Tedros, have you thought about why your father’s sword is stuck in the stone?” Merlin asked.
“Well, at first I thought it was caught at the wrong angle, then I thought maybe there was a riddle or a game that if I solved, the sword would pull loose.”
“That was my theory too,” said Agatha.
Tedros looked at her, wondering why she hadn’t said something to him before, only to realize he’d never given her the chance.
“And now?” asked Merlin.
“I’m back to thinking it’s caught at the wrong angle,” Tedros sighed.
“What if we consider it from Excalibur’s point of view?” Merlin asked.
“You think Excalibur doesn’t want me to pull it out?” Tedros asked, surprised.
“More like it doesn’t want you to be king,” said Merlin.
“But I am king—”
“Only because someone else who has a rightful claim to the throne has yet to pull the sword. And no one does, since you are King Arthur’s only child. So again: Why won’t Excalibur let you complete your father’s test?”
Tedros crossed his arms. “How should I know what a sword thinks?”
“Excalibur is a weapon of immense power, forged by the Lady of the Lake to fight Evil. It does not want to spend its days trapped in a balcony,” said Merlin. “Perhaps the sword is trying to be sure you are ready to be king and is waiting for you to prove it. In which case, the question is . . . how?”
Merlin wiped his spectacles with his robes, making them even dustier. “That’s theory #1.”
“And theory #2?” Agatha asked.
“That it isn’t the sword making these decisions at all,” said Merlin. “That someone else has found a way to control it, like a master controls a puppet, preventing you from sealing your own coronation. In which case, the question is . . . who?”
“But no one is powerful enough to control Excalibur,” Agatha rebutted. She slowly turned to Tedros. “Unless . . .”
“No way. The School Master is dead!” Tedros scoffed.
“Like forever dead,” Agatha agreed.
“Like really forever dead,” said Tedros.
They goggled at each other, then back at Merlin. “Right?”
“These are the same questions I have,” said the wizard, looking troubled. “But it is up to Tedros to find the answers, since it is his test. The sooner he retrieves his sword and seals his coronation, the better. Not just for Camelot, but for the sake of the entire Woods.”
“Entire Woods?” said Tedros. “What do you mea—”
“Are you talking about the attacks in the papers, Merlin?” Agatha cut in. “I’ve been reading about problems in Ever and Never kingdoms: pirate raids in Jaunt Jolie; a poisoned wishing well in Bremen; a band of werewolves looting families in Bloodbrook . . . but none of it seems connected.”
“It isn’t. Just a bunch of petty crime,” said Tedros. “Leaders of neighboring kingdoms think it’s more than that, but they just want Camelot to come in and clean up their problems like Dad used to. We have our own problems, thank you. But kings and queens keep writing me letters, demanding meetings.”
“Which you clearly haven’t answered,” said Agatha. “I heard two chambermaids whispering about why you haven’t investigated the fire on Glass Mountain.”
Tedros turned to Merlin quickly. “Well, are the attacks connected? You said our classmates are having trouble on their quests. What’s happening out there in the Woods?”
“Are they okay?” Agatha pressed.
“Dear girl, maybe you’d know the answer to that if you’d been answering your letters,” the wizard replied. “Your best friend’s included.”
Tedros looked at Agatha, dumbfounded. “You haven’t written Sophie?”