"We had a band of six new Champions that you deprived of a battle," said the Fairy Godmother, ticking the "faults" off on her fingers. "You gave three Unicorns entirely unsuitable ideas of a new vocation, so now we'll have to pair three of those Champions with the Unicorns, and heaven only knows how we'll manage to keep those boys virgins! You almost intervened as a Godmother, which is a very, very bad precedent to set."
"But that's why I was dressed as Alexander's squire!" Elena protested.
"We know, dear," said one of the old Wizards. "Not to worry. Very wise of you to think of that. Wiser still that you realized what The Tradition would have done and that you could have made a dreadful mess if Kylia had fallen in love with Alexander. It isn't in the tale now; you're just the Champion's female squire who followed him into battle in disguise — that's two Traditional paths you've combined there, the disguised female serving a boob of a man who hasn't figured out his servant is a she and the brave and cunning girl who follows her lover into battle, so that's all right."
"You've opened up the Traditional warrior-woman path a bit wider now, though, so — " the Fairy Godmother grimaced and shrugged. "What's to come of that, I suppose we'll have to see. But why didn't you wait for a few hours to get the replies to your messages? If you had — "
"If she had," Alexander said, his jaw set, "my brother would probably be dead. It wouldn't have taken that — Katschei, was it? — very long to discover he had the Prince in his dungeon."
" Yes, it was a Katschei, " said a Sorceress. "A kind of northern-Kingdom half-demon, not entirely human. He shouldn't have been in your Kingdoms at all!"
Elena bowed her head, and waited for them to tell her that the Katschei's presence was her fault.
But they didn't. "Try this, if you will," said the Fairy Godmother, grimly. "Despite Traditional pressure against anything of his sort coming into our Kingdoms, he got his foothold by getting an unscrupulous amber-merchant to bring his heart as far south as he could and bury it, a hundred years ago, then he waited for the amber-merchant and anyone else who might remember what had been done to die. Of course, a hundred years is nothing to his kind."
Elena's head came up and she gaped at the Fairy Godmother. "You mean — it wasn't my fault?" she squeaked.
"Of course not," the old Wizard replied. "What, were you worried because you'd been breaking Traditions? Good lack, girl, that's what the best of us always do! Bend them, anyway. Shape them the way we want them to go."
"Fretting because you'd gone and married that handsome piece you redeemed?" asked the Sorceress, with a lecherous smile. "Well, generally Godmothers take lovers, but if you're going to restrict yourself to just one man, that just leaves more choice for the rest of us!"
"Shariss!" scolded the Fairy Godmother, as Elena blushed and Alexander began to grin, "you're telling tales!"
"It's all right, dearie," said a particularly grandmotherly Godmother. "The only thing you did wrong — and I'm not saying it's wrong wrong, because as your young man said, his brother might well have been discovered before we could set up a rescue — was to go haring off before you could hear from the rest of us. No, indeed, you mustn't do that anymore, and you must promise us that you won't."
Elena and Alexander exchanged a look and a nod. "I think," she said, carefully, "that providing the next emergency doesn't involve any of Alexander's brothers or father, we can promise that."
The Fairy Godmother looked up, and gave Elena a quick wink. The Wizard chuckled. "She's learning," he said to the air.
"As for Alexander, there is ample precedent for Champions in a Godmother's household as Consort," said the Fairy Godmother. "At least, in the Elven Tradition there is. I see no reason why that can't be extended, although, as Shariss pointed out, I suspect that there are not as many as you might think who will take advantage of it. Champions tend to have wandering ways, you see, and they roam over several Kingdoms in the course of their careers."
Elena's brow wrinkled. "But I'm responsible for several Kingdoms," she pointed out.
"And you're about to get one more," said the Wizard. "There's no one to take Fleurberg. Poor old Hessian never took an Apprentice, and he wasn't strictly a Wizard anyway, he was a Sorcerer who liked to meddle. So Fleurberg's yours, and I expect this young man is going to have his hands full for a while. The Katschei's minions mostly fled. He's going to have to track them down and dispose of them as they pop up. And it's possible that having heard of a way out of an area, other Evil things may try to follow the Katschei's example, so he'll have to look sharp for that." He shrugged. "We'd better get together before we leave and put a Portal to your cottage in the back of an old wardrobe or something. What do you want to do about Glass Mountain?"
"Why don't you bring those six young Champions here and set them up as a sort of Order?" asked Alexander unexpectedly. "That way they have a place to come and go from, you'll have them here to clean up the Katschei's monsters, and they'll be able to come directly to Elena if they need magical help."
"Hmm. You didn't do so badly, did you, dear?" Shariss asked Elena, with an upraised eyebrow. "Beauty, brawn, and brains!"
Alexander blushed, and Elena flushed.
"Done," said the Fairy Godmother. "An Order of Champions is a fine new Tradition to start. Very useful indeed. I can see that you are going to be a valuable addition to the ranks, Champion Alexander."
She turned to Elena. "As for you — are you certain you wish to continue to be a Godmother? You certainly qualify as a Sorceress, if you choose. It seems a waste of your time for you to be puttering about with small problems and making potions and amulets."
She shook her head, vehemently. "No — I would much rather take care of things while they are small problems, please. And I really don't mind making potions and amulets for farmers and shepherds. It's only the ones that live in my village that come to me for such things, anyway."
"True enough, there are Witches in plenty in your other Kingdoms. Well, dear, there are those of us who would rather hide away on the mountaintop until terrible situations require resolving, and those of us who prefer to have people about us and nip smaller emergencies in the bud." She smiled. "And, truth to tell, I wouldn't be living among you mortals if I wasn't the latter."
"Nor me," said the old Wizard, cheerfully. "There's room for all sorts, thank heavens! Now, I hate to put you two to work immediately, but you'll have to for a bit. You, Alexander — I need you to go help your brothers sort out what to do with that little army that your brother Octavian brought. And help Julian out with his reconciliation letter to your father; from all reports he keeps weeping over it and tearing it up. He's a good boy, but a bit — "
" — sentimental," the Wizard and Alexander said together.
"Anyway, when you get that sorted, do something sensible with the Katschei's treasure, too. Just burying it or putting it in the treasury will only invite more trouble. I don't think Julian will need convincing, especially not if you hint at curses."