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Horrified to see Zelda out of bed, the knights moved as one toward her, Calain and Cassandra scrambling up from their seats, all talking at once, all coaxing her back to bed or scolding her for being up and about. They all crowded close, towering above Zelda, and Gweneth even set aside her wine to take Zelda’s arm, intent on carrying her back upstairs.
Zelda impatiently held up a hand, silencing them all. “Would it kill the four of you,” she said, “to take direction from me for once, rather than treating me like some prized cow you must guard?”
Gweneth gave a half-smile. “You’re a damn pretty cow,” she said.
Zelda glanced up at Gweneth and smiled grudgingly. It was the first time they’d spoken since the argument in the barn, and some small part of her wanted to hold to her anger. But she looked in Gweneth's worried blue eyes and could see the knight regretted her earlier taunting.
The four knights still looked as if they wanted to protest, but instead, they obediently returned to what they’d been doing. Selene returned to the oven, and Calain and Cassandra sat at the table again. But Gweneth, instead of returning to her drinking and pacing, sat at the table with Calain and Cassandra, and when Zelda sat on Calain’s knee, Gweneth silently reached across and took Zelda’s hand, which Zelda acknowledged with a little smile.
The other knights seemed amused by Gweneth’s humble devotion. They were all holding back smiles and pretending not to notice. Perhaps they thought Gweneth had finally learned her lesson. Zelda highly doubted that, though.
“You said something about seeking aid, my lady?” prompted Calain curiously.
“I don’t know many powerful sorceresses who would cross the sea to protect me,” Zelda admitted, “but there is my friend from the Order of Vira, Wick Blackwood.”
Zelda thought she saw Selene fumble and nearly drop the hot poker. Gweneth also noticed Selene’s reaction and smirked.
Deciding not to put Selene on the spot, Zelda pretended not to notice her sudden clumsiness and went on, “Wick comes from an entire family of sorceresses! She has six sisters who are of magick skill. They would apparate here in a heartbeat if I but asked Wick.”
“And they would be powerful enough to stand against Melvalda?” asked Calain anxiously.
“They are elven,” said Zelda at once. “Elves have always been the most powerful sorceresses!”
But even after assuring the knights that Wick and her sisters would come, Zelda still wasn’t entirely certain they would. Wick had six sisters who were mages, it was true, but these six sisters also had lives of their own, and there was no guarantee they would drop everything and come running just because Wick had asked them.
Of all the sorceresses at Vira’Toss, Wick was the only one who would care enough about Zelda to come to her aid. The only problem was, Wick wasn’t very powerful without her sisters, and most lesser mages could not make their spells cross water without the assistance of another. It was the reason witches and sorceresses lived in covens, for their numbers gave them strength. The fact that Melvalda had followed them across the sea to Koradara, very likely by apparating, spoke to the greatness of her power. But Melvalda probably wasn’t alone, for Calain and Selene had not slain her entire coven.
Zelda didn’t know what else she could do. She could barely defend herself in her condition, and even if she weren’t pregnant, Melvalda still outmatched her in power. And so, she apparated to the floor above, and waddling to the mirror in the barracks, one hand upon her great belly, she swirled the dust from the glass with her other hand and spoke a spell into it, awaking it so that it glowed.
“Wick?” Zelda called as the glass swirled with purple light. “Wick, are you there? Can you hear me?”
If she was lucky, Wick would be standing near a mirror or other reflective surface and would respond. If there was no response, Zelda would have to try again later.
Zelda stood there, clutching her big belly, waiting for an answer, feeling helpless. Wick was her only hope. Without her help, she would lose the child growing inside her. Perhaps she would lose Calain and the other knights as well, for they would fight in her defense and they would lose. She didn’t want to think of it.
Zelda was shaking when Wick's face finally appeared in the swirl of purple light. It was the same small, plain face, curtained either side by sheets of long, straight black hair, from which her pointed ears reached. To her surprise, Wick was glaring at her.
Zelda hesitated. “W-Wick? It’s me! It’s Zelda!”
Wick was very slow to respond. She just stood there, glaring at Zelda for a time, her face twisted in the utmost dislike and disgust. When she finally spoke, her voice was dripping disdain, “Yes, Zelda, I can see that tis you.”
Zelda hesitated again. “Are you well? You sound strange?”
“No,” disagreed Wick, “I sound very normal.” She glanced Zelda up and down, her lips spreading in a nasty smile. “But you seem to be in a bit of trouble. As usual.”
“Y-Yes,” Zelda responded, the dread filling her. Wick seemed very angry with her, though she could not fathom why.
“You won’t help me, will you?” Zelda realized, crestfallen.
Wick’s nostrils flared. “No, Zelda, I will not.”
Zelda shook her head, utterly baffled. “Why?”
Wick’s eyes grew round in disbelief. “Why?” Her lip curled. “But of course, you’re so vain and self-centered, you wouldn’t even realize!” She took a deep, angry breath and accused, “You were a terrible friend! Always snapping at me and ignoring me, only speaking to me to unload your petty problems on me! Even now I am little more than a tool you would use for your own benefit! You’ve been gone two months, and the first time you contact me is when you’re in trouble!”
Zelda stood in stunned silence as Wick glared hatred at her. She couldn’t even find the words to argue. Wick was absolutely right about her: she was a terrible friend.
“I never meant you any harm,” Zelda managed at last, and her words were true. To her surprise, tears filled Wick’s eyes.
“I know,” said Wick quietly. “Do not contact me again.” With that, Wick’s face vanished and the mirror darkened, leaving Zelda alone in the shadowy silence.