It did not take long for Duke Henry and his small party of knights to arrive outside of Carol's estate. He guided his horse directly toward to the outside root cellar where Michael had believed that Evelyn was being held.
"CAROL!" Henry bellowed from his horse. "Give me back my daughter!"
A strong wind blew in his direction, spooking his horse, but Henry sat strong in the saddle as he saw Carol come out from her spot behind a tree. "GO AWAY!" She hissed at Henry
"Not until I have my daughter!"
"I told you to not come here!" She didn't even try to hide her annoyance and anger in her tone now.
"And I told you that I will be taking Evelyn back with me! Where is she?" He demanded.
Another strong gust of wind surged toward Henry as Carol made her way nearer to where he sat on his horse. He could see about 10 other witches slowly moving from their spots behind the trees and he shifted in his seat at the sight of them. All of them looked disheveled but ready for battle.
"Carol!" He called out to her once more. "I said, give me Evelyn. Don't do something we will both regret!"
"Fine!" She threw her hands up in indignation. "By all means, if you can get close to her, you can take her," she sneered and pointed toward the root cellar doors.
Henry followed her line of sight and saw the doors to the root cellar sitting off their hinges and he heard just the tiniest of cries coming from that direction. He flung himself off his horse and raced to the doors, only to be thrown back by a strong invisible force.
"Sir!" Michael called out as he dismounted his horse. "Are you alright?"
"Be careful!" Henry called back, stopping Michael in his spot. He carefully got up from the ground and inched his way closer to where he had been thrown back. "Evelyn," he called out. "Papa is here. Please let me come and take you home," he pleaded, hoping she would be able to hear him. "Please, baby. Let papa take you away from here," he tried once more.
He felt the winds die down and cautiously moved closer to the cellar entrance. This time, he was not flung back, but he could feel the tension that was keeping the others away from the entrance. "I'm just here to take you home. They won't do anything to you," he pleaded once more.
"Papa," Evelyn sobbed quietly from the cellar.
He could barely hear her, but he called out again, "yes, baby. Papa wants to take you home. Can you let me in?"
"Papa," he heard her cry once more and felt the force that was keeping him out waver.
He took the chance and approached the entrance until he could see down the dark stairs. He could barely make out what he saw, but there she was, circled up in a little ball with a soft red glow surrounding her and splatters of blood on the ground. He raced into the cellar and felt the small resistance finally give away and embraced her.
"It's okay, baby. Papa is here. We can go home now," he wiped the tears from her face. She nodded her head as he held her close.
"CAROL!" Henry bellowed out as he carried Evelyn to his horse. "What on earth have you done to her!?"
Carol was frozen where she stood. He couldn't be sure if she had known exactly what the charm was for and hoped that she had just thought that maybe Lauren had created a protection charm for her like the one that Peggy often wore. "I didn't do anything!" She snapped.
"If you didn't do anything," he made his way in front of her, hand on the hilt of his sword. "Then why is there blood splattered on that floor? And why is she crying?"
Carol took two steps backward, "we didn't do anything. I went to test her blood for the magic stone and all of a sudden we were thrown back and we have been waiting for an opportunity to get close enough to her to calm her down."
"You must have done something to trigger her protection spell," he lied. It was safer for Evelyn if they believed that the small protection charm she wore was triggered then risk them finding out about the fae ruby. "I am taking her with me and you will NEVER take her from me again!"
"Henry!" Carol started
"No, Carol." He cut her off. "I said you will NOT be taking her. If she chooses to join a coven it will be Lauren's old coven and it will have nothing to do with you." He strode back to his horse and rounded up his small party to head back to their Dutchy.
***&&&***
"So," Henry concluded as he looked between Geoffrey and Arthur, "you can see why we have not contacted the coven here and why Evelyn has not joined Lauren's old coven. I ask that what I have told you stays in this room; I do not wish for Evelyn to be put in harms way again."
Aurthur stared blankly between Evelyn and her father, unsure of what to say. He never would have guessed that Carol's coven would do anything to harm her, but he knew that witches were not always to be trusted, that much they knew because of the temptations of dark magic were always present.
Geoffrey cleared his throat, "if I may," he began. "I'd like to just ask you one questions."
Henry patted Evelyn's hands that were clenched to her sides, "go ahead."
"How is it that her scent has changed? The boys confirmed that she has a different scent today than she did last night."
Evelyn let out a shaky breath and then leaned over to adjust her stocking. She gently removed a small golden anklet that held featured a teardrop emerald charm. "My mother made these for us," she played with the tiny stone before she mumbled something. Both Geoffrey and Arthur stiffened in the seats. "They are protection charms that cloak our scents so that we smell human and I alter the scent every time Peggy goes out to the coven or I practice my magic. It keeps us safe, it was not my intention to trick you."
"Is that so?" Arthur mused. A small smile appeared on his lips, "well, I guess that answers our questions; doesn't it Geoffrey?"
Geoffrey shifted in his chair, "I suppose that it does."
"I will make sure that the girls do not practice any magic while they are here. They have already been warned," Henry shot Evelyn a disappointed look and her shoulders slumped.
"That won't be necessary," Arthur began. "I have no problems with the girls doing magic, as long as it is done away from prying eyes and under the supervision of Geoffrey or someone from the local coven. I need to be sure that the magic we sense is their magic and not the work of someone else. Since they alter their scents, it would be best if it was conducted with one of us present to ensure the safety of my domain."
Evelyn glanced over at Geoffrey before nodding her head in agreement. "Well," she played with the small charm in her hands. "I was planning on taking Peggy out with me in the morning to work on her elemental magic on horseback tomorrow morning," she spoke hesitantly.
"Oh, well I believe that Geoffrey here can accompany you on your ride tomorrow. You can meet at the stables after breakfast and he will keep watch for you and show you the way to the small pond that is located in the East of the estate. No one goes over that way and he will be able to protect you as well."
Evelyn's smile widened she hadn't liked the idea of sneaking around, but now that they had gotten the okay to do magic, she was looking forward to teaching Peggy more and trying out some of her own newer spells herself.