moderate, so they could talk. Even as she was scared of William's rapid change, she was also eager to see what would happen. As long as he let her control things, they would be safe. "Sense the connection, if you can, that goes to the wand and to me."
William did just that, but he could not locate anything that had a sign 'Hilda' hanging from it. Just the wand's presence was indelible. It was there to stay, growing clearer and stronger every hour. He slipped both hands around the broomstick. "Come on, broom, if you have anything to tell me, now would be a good time," he said, slowly.
Hilda looked at him, understanding what he was trying to do. As she was feeding magic into the broom, perhaps he could pick it up through the broom, as that was something he could see and touch. He was from a mostly physical way of life, after all.
William tried to empty his mind. He only wanted to feel the wind, the broom, the power that went through it. The power of the pretty witch with the big mouth and the beautiful eyes.
"I do not have a big mouth," Hilda said.
William almost froze on his broom. "What was it you just said?" He kept his eyes on the broomstick.
"I like what you said about me being pretty and my eyes being beautiful. But I really resent the remark about my mouth."
"Hilda... I did not -say- anything. It were thoughts."
The brooms slowed down to a crawl. "What? Thoughts? I picked those up as if you were talking directly in my ear, William. How did you do that?"
"I wish I knew. I tried to empty my mind and let my senses take over."
"Okay. Stop. This is weird," said the witch. "You were focussing, I could see that. But then you were talking to me. I just want you to do that again."
"I'll try. But it would be nice if we get back to speed again, I think that helped me."
Hilda grinned. "My pleasure." She pushed the brooms upto speed again. "But still, I don't have a big mouth."
William laughed. Then he focussed again, emptied his mind. Reached out to feel the broom, the wind, the motion. He sensed something else. As if there was electricity, except that it wasn't. He thought of the king's castle. Of the broom. Of the movement. Of moving slightly to the left, slightly to the right, and of Hilda's long hair.
"Uhm, William, what are you doing?" Hilda hit him on the arm to pull his mind out of the half-trance.
"What?" William looked at her.
"You were trying to move the broom, weren't you?"
"I am not sure. It just felt like it."
"Well... don't. Let me make this clear: I'm the one who'se flying here, okay?"
William nodded. "I'm sorry. It felt as if I was being sucked into something."
"You were sucked into my hair?" Hilda's experience held her on the broom.
William felt stupid and grinned sheepishly. "No, I was thinking of it. And you picked that up, it seems."
"Indeed. So, can you tell me now how you did that?"
William gave it his best shot. If he had to resort to childish or clumsy words, he did. Anything to make it clear to Hilda, because that might make it clear to himself as well.
The wicked witch listened with intent, not interrupting him, not laughing at words and sentences that seemed to go nowhere. She knew how impossible it was to explain something for which there were no words.
"So if I get this correctly," she repeated as William had ended his account, "there is something like a stream of something that you feel, and when you tap into that, like putting your finger into it, it is as if your thoughts come to me?"
"Believe me, I know it sounds insane, but that is the best I can do, Hilda."
"Don't worry about it. And grab your broom. There's the castle, and you know how we approach that."
Almost instinctively William grabbed hold as the brooms fell into something that would make rollercoaster riders envious.
Hilda tore both brooms low over the moat, scaring the life out of the local ducks and swans, shrieking her laughter over the castle walls. She then swooped them through the main gate. That way to enter the castle was infamous among the guards as they had to run for their lives (or so it felt for them) to make enough room for the witch. The fact that there were now two people on broom coming through made things even more lively for them.
Hilda was in a very cheerful mood, so she chased the two guards a little longer, making them fall on their faces as she pulled up just inches short of their helmets. Her cackle filled the courtyard of the palace, making several people come out of the building, including the king himself.
"Grimhilda!", he yelled, excited and looking happy. "Good to see you!"
"Hey, king, we chased them up a bit. They're getting fat and slow, you should see to that."
The guards sat on their behinds, panting and their faces still red.
"See, only a four hundred foot dash and they are finished. It is a shame, really."
William, who hovered slightly behind Hilda, realised that he had forgotten to pull the hood over his head. He could kick himself for it, doing it now would attract too much attention. 'I have to have that hood on,' he thought. The hood slid up his back, over his shoulders and then covered his head. William almost fell off his broom.
Hilda sensed a slight sensation through the bond she had with William's magic. It took her some effort not to glance back at him, instead keeping her attention with the king. She wished that whatever it was William had done, he would not do it again!
King Walt, during that incident, was looking at his men and talked to the head of his staff. The man was nodding as if he was trying to shake his head of, so Hilda considered him a person that lived up the king's ass.
"Hey king, have fun, we are going on again," she said, boldly interrupting the ruler of the kingdom.
"Sure, Grimhilda, thank you for the visit. And thank you, mysterious wizard."
For a moment it looked as if Walt would wave at them, but that was not done for a king with all the household and staff around.
Hilda slowly made the brooms lift straight up, because she loved the effect it had on the spectators. They never failed to keep watching until they almost strained their necks. Then slowly, almost majestically, she made them sail away from the castle.
Once they were at a safe distance and a proper altitude, Hilda turned to William. "So what were you doing back there? I sensed you did something."
"Yes, I did something. And I was somehow aware that you sensed it. No promise that it works again, but this is what I had down at the castle." He shoved the hood back. "Stupid, I know."
William closed his eyes, to free himself of distractions, and willed his hood back on his head. It took him a few tries, but then it worked.
"Suck an elf..."
William pushed back the hood again. "Indeed."
"I am not sure what to say, William, but shiny is very much in order here. It scares the hell out of me, but I am also... proud."
"I am with you on the scary end, sweetheart. Let's lay low on the proud part for now. I won't play again unless it is necessary. Too high up for that anyway."
Hilda smiled and maneuvered her broom as close to William's as she could. There she kissed him. "Come. We're doing the rounds."
27. I fly
They flew out to the village. William enjoyed that tremendously as now he recognised some places where they had walked, and where they had done their stunt on the market square.
As they passed over the square, William grinned. "Honey and fish bits. How did you think of that?"
"It just seemed the appropriate thing to do," Hilda grinned. "I have to make my reputation trustworthy, don't I? Besides, he did not have to eat it."
Some people on the ground were yelling something up to them, but the distance was too large, they couldn't understand a word.
"Come, we're going down. Hold on to your breakfast, I am going to make this a killer entree."
William wondered, was grateful tha
t she warned him and held on for dear life. And not in vain. Entering a kamikaze-like roll, she made the two brooms plummet to the earth in a most sickening way. The tip to hold on to his breakfast had been a nice one, but as they saw the ground come closer in a gut-wrenching way, William silently wished she had also given him a tip on how to do that.
Whether it was his good health or mere G-forces that prevented him from throwing up, he never knew. The fact that they suddenly came to a halt only five feet off the ground gave him the feeling that his stomach just kept going down. Somehow the hood had remained on his head, and William was grateful. It would be too much of a show for the people to see a green-faced wizard.
Hilda had no difficulty at all. "What did you yell?", she asked the good people of the village.
"We wanted to thank you and the wizard, honourable witch, for what you did here the other day. These young men have been been making a nuisance of themselves for weeks, and nobody could handle them."
Hilda lowered her broom so she was at eye level with the speaker. "For weeks? And you never sent me a message about that?" She turned to William. "Did you hear that? It's full of stupid!"
The wicked witch treated the two men to a shriek of laughter that had the potential to turn hair grey.
"Next time something like this happens, you should let me know. Or do you expect me to show up here every day to see if you didn't shit yourself?"
"No, of course not, honourable witch! We'll send a message next time!" The two men seemed to shrink under Hilda's sharp words and gaze, but it was clear that they got the message.
"Very good. Anything else you have to say or give us?"
William was rather surprised to hear that. Give us?
The man who had been silent until then pushed the other to the side. "Yes, honourable witch. A wagon with vegetables and other food is on its way to your house already."
This really was a surprise for William.
"I appreciate that," Hilda said, nodding at the man.
The brooms went up again, not fast, showing ultimate control.
"Hilda, about that wagon..."
The witched looked at him. "Yes?"
"Do these villagers actually give you food?"
"Of course."
"Oh. I am probably missing something then."
Hilda took her time to look at him. "Perhaps," she then started to explain, "you have missed the part where I am not growing food in the lawn, and instead fly around fixing their things and solving their problems. That is my part of the deal."
Everything became clear to him instantly. William felt ashamed for not having been able to puzzle that out by himself. "I am really sorry. I should have understood."
"It's nothing, sweet man," Hilda smiled. "I understand. You came here less than a week ago, from your own world where everything is insane, and that world makes sense to you. Do you think I expect you to understand how my world works in such a short time? It is probably as strange to you as your world was to me. I didn't ride the things you do, like those men on their two-wheelers, and the horseless carriages like your truck, and here you are, flying a broom. Really, I understand."
William still felt like a first-class idiot for doubting something about the wicked witch. Granted. she wasn't the most diplomatic kind. but she had never been unfair towards anyone, as far as he had been able to determine. "Thank you. Still, I apologise."
"If you insist, I accept."
"Thank you." William was serious.
"Let's go on, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Hilda made the brooms turn and they sped off through the air.
William did not try any tricks while in the air that day. There was a lot for him to think about, to get used to, now he was in such a state of transition.
Hilda told him that she was not sure what he should or could do, except practice his new-found magic to her directions, the way she had learnt to use it also. For her there was the challenge to cope with the erratic way William's magic was developing. She had been taught by several old and respected witches, and the way her magic had developed was similar to that of the other witches she had been with then.
"Your magic is acting weirdly, William," she told him as they were sitting down for dinner that day. "Something pops up and you are not ready for it, while something simple just doesn't work yet."
It was true. He was not able to light a candle yet, or move a sheet of paper over the table. And he did manage to make the hood of his cloak move over his head, which according to Hilda was far more complicated.
He agreed with what she said. "I am sure it is as confusing to you as it is for me. Only I have an advantage."
"Really? And what might that be?" Hilda stared at William.
"I get to play, and you have to suffer the consequences."
Hilda was flabbergasted. She dropped her fork, walked round the table and started slapping William over the head. "Magic is not something to play with unless you know what you are doing, okay? And any consequences that I may suffer, mister, will be reflected on to you. So you'd better be very careful with what you are going to do, did I make that understandable for your ordinary's brain?"
William was laughing very hard, and he turned to Hilda as she had stopped her happy slapping, pulled her in his lap and wrapped his arms around her.
"You're not supposed to laugh when I am slapping you, William," she pouted, "I am trying to get a point across."
"Point taken, pretty witch. I just love it when you are getting so worked up over something." He then became serious. "Dear Hilda, I was teasing you. I am very much aware that wielding magic is not something to take lightly. I have seen some of the things you can do and I am seriously impressed. And frightened also. The ease with which you manage to get both of us in the air with the brooms and keep us there, it is amazing, to mention something."
"See, you really are mixed up. Flying isn't that difficult, you just have to do it. Maybe tomorrow I'll try and show you. But with the likes of you I really worry about what will happen." The witch kissed the beginner that was in her care. "So... Do you want something more to eat? Or are we done here?"
"I think we're done here. I also think that I am not yet done with you..." He lifted her as he stood up.
"William? What are you planning?" Hilda already had a notion, as the link between them was becoming the perfect tattle tale.
William just grinned. "You'll find out soon enough." Then he set course for the stairs.
A few minutes later the goldfish agreed that Hilda had become much more relaxed since William was there to take care of the needs she had repressed for so long.
The next day, as they were on their way home from doing the rounds, William asked Hilda about the magician Gurtrheyn. "What kind of person was he? Do you know much about him?"
"Why do you want to know about him?" Hilda wondered about the question. "It's his labyrinth I am worried about, not the dead wizard himself."
"In my world, pretty witch, it is known that if you get to know the person who built something, you understand the reasoning behind what he made. And that can be an advantage."
"Oh. Right. Well, I don't know much about him. Sorry. I can tell you what I know when we're done with your training," she offered.
"That's great."
Hilda had drawn up a plan to train William in using magic. The plan was quite simple, basically it consisted of trying something and see what would happen. His ability was too fickle to follow any serious plan, so she had decided that this approach would be the best option. Or rather: gamble.
"I have an idea," she said as they had just past the village. "I said that flying is basically simple, remember?"
"I remember, yes." William already had a feeling of what was coming at him.
"Why don't you try it while I hold you?"
William now had the certainty of what was coming at him. "I somehow knew you were going to propose that."
"And what exactly should I m
ake of that reply? Are you afraid, William?" Hilda moved her broom closer to his, and touched his arm for a few moments. "No need for that, sweet man. I am here. I won't let you fall."
"I know that, Hilda, but the idea is a bit... daunting."
"Oh, shush, you. Just get the feel. Like you did yesterday when you wanted to move the broom left and right. Only now you want to keep it level and going forward."
William's idea for trying to fly had their origins a bit nearer to the ground, but Hilda was right. She was there to catch him. "Okay... I will seriously do this."
"Don't cramp up, William. It is really as easy as breathing. Or kissing...", she added with a smile. "Try to feel the magic inside the broom. Feel its life, and feel where it goes. Where you want to go." She kept talking to him, her voice being gentle, calm, even seductive in bringing his mind into a state of peace and attentive calm awareness. That would be a first step into sensing what he'd need.
William let her voice lead him. His vision seemed to go a little out of focus and he let his senses take over. He felt the broom, the air, he saw the house where they were going in his mind and he felt Hilda close to him. William dared to relax as he let all that take him over.
The feeling of his magic was faint, but it was there. He had learnt to notice it by now, although there were plenty of times that he missed it.
Hilda kept a close eye on the man who was flying next to her. Her sensation of him told her that he was going in the right mental direction. William was letting go of the disbelief and the uncertainty. 'Yes, my dear man, you just need to will it without pushing,' she thought for him.
The hold she had on him was firm. In fact the hold she had on her magic was firm, and that did the real work.
She noticed a change in William as his magic flowed out of his core and into his veins. Almost with baited breath she watched the metamorphosis in him happen as he took control of the broom and the flight. She slowly started to let go.
William discovered and embraced a new feeling. A tingling sensation that was going through him, and it seemed to envelope him, Hilda, the brooms. It was as a light that could not be seen, just felt, he decided, and smiled at the idea. He felt in control of the situation. He knew where they were going. And how they were doing it.
Hilda saw William's smile and that something was happening inside him. She had let go of him completely now, and he was still flying. Very very slowly she made her broom rise up, only a few inches. William followed. His smile widened, and the feeling it gave Hilda made that she started smiling also. She did not say a word, afraid that she would ruin the state of mind he was in.
William had noticed Hilda's broom rise and wanted to stay with her. His broom went up. He turned his head to look at the pretty witch, whose hair was flying wildly behind her, just because she wanted it to. "How am I doing? Am I doing something, should I ask?"
Hilda's smile remained as she replied. "You, William Connoley... you are flying a broom."
"I know that," he said, his eyes shining, "but-" It was then that he became aware of the actual meaning that her words carried.
He was flying a broom. He did it himself. Slowly he turned his head and looked at the bristles in front of him. The