“Fine, fine. I’ll carry him, but if I could ask a favor? Would you be so kind as to at least carry one of the sacks from the cart? Perhaps one from each of you? I am carrying your beloved brother after all. It does require a great amount of care.”

  “I’m not carrying bupkis.” said Siouxsie. “That stuff is stolen.”

  “I’ll not carry a single sack.” added Ignatius “I’ll need my hands free to cast if they follow us too closely. I see no eyes upon us at the moment. Let’s depart while that’s still the case.” The trio hurried back to the castle and were lucky enough not to be pursued. Robert wailed and howled the whole way as he bled.

  Inside the castle, the companions anxiously gathered around as Loxo kicked the door open to Princess Cassandra’s already darkened bedroom. By now, every part of the lower part of his mustard-colored vest and pants were drenched in blood.

  “Get him on the bed.” ordered Ignatius. “Siouxsie, get his master belt, scarf and hat.” Everyone watched closely as the girl took the garments covering his head to reveal the dark palm and five fingered birthmark across his face. She then reached into the meshwork of intertwined leather straps to yank a singular belt free. The woven mystery of cords and cloth collapsed upon themselves and lost their form. Ignatius grabbed a fistful of the mass and pulled it all away to reveal Robert’s skin beneath. The prince, Morell, Princess Cassandra and even Loxo collectively gasped as they beheld what had always been hidden from view beneath Robert’s cloak; the entire body of skin beneath his garments was a puzzle of scar tissue indicative of flesh regrown after being severely burnt. Ignatius then sopped up some more blood weeping from his brother’s side as he inspected the wound. “I was right. It’s a flank shot. It won’t be life threatening if we stop the blood flow now. The entry point will need to be cauterized. Siouxsie, give me your dagger. Everyone else, grab one of his limbs to hold him to the bed. Robert? I have to cauterize this wound but it’s going to be painful.” He unbuckled the same thick belt from his waist that he’d use to correct his brother only to double it over and hold it over Robert’s face. “Bite down on this, it’ll help.” Robert’s teeth clamped down on the makeshift gag as everyone close by grabbed an ankle or wrist with both hands and anchored him in place. Siouxsie pulled her dagger from within her cloak and flipped it about to hand it to Ignatius handle first. He took it and held his arms up in a ‘V’ “Tinder and Cinder.” He said aloud.

  A white-hot fireball sprang to life in the witches’ hand, hovering an inch above his left palm and fingers. Conjured fire twisted and rolled upon itself, the others feeling the heat from the sphere. The added light caused Cassandra to retreat behind Hoxley where she hovered silently and watched the act unfold. Ignatius held the blade of the dagger well inside the fireball until it began to glow orange hot. “Hold on, Robert. One excruciating moment and you’ll be allowed to rest. Hold him tight.”

  Everyone held him fast as Ignatius held the dagger to his brother’s flesh. Robert’s scream pierced the gag like it wasn’t there. He bucked and strained to get away from the searing heat. Screams devolved to a tearful wail before finally falling silent. And just as fast as it began, the terrible moment was over as Robert passed out from the agony. Seeing that they no longer needed to hold him, the companions removed their hands. Ignatius immediately set to opening some pouches hanging from his belt and produced more green leaves like the one used on Siouxsie’s scalded hand. He packed two, three, four leaves against the smoking wound before sprinkling a pinch of an unknown grey ash and covering it again with the makeshift bandage. A tied bow atop it all held the cloth in place.

  “He’ll be more upset about the others seeing his body than getting wounded in battle.” The tall witch huffed.

  “Why does his body look that way?” asked Morell. “How did his body become so burned?” Siouxsie looked to Ignatius who gave a slow nod. Everyone gathered close to listen as she spoke:

  “What you have to understand about Robert is the series of events that led him to be as he is was partially my fault.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “It wasn’t your fault.” Ignatius added as he covered his brother with a blanket.

  “Perhaps.” She said with a downcast look and pouted lips. Siouxsie removed her cloak to reveal her right bicep. Upon the skin was the same purple colored birthmark of a handprint with five fingers. “Robert and I share a matching magical birthmark. When the pair of us were inside our mother’s womb, our hands touched each other. His hand upon my arm and my hand upon his face. Some part of me imprinted upon him and he on me. It’s part of our bond, but it's easier to hide or explain a birthmark when it’s on your arm instead of one’s face. When we were small children, some of the other witchlings made fun of Robert for having a mark on his face that made him a little different than the others.”

  “That’s terrible.” Said Morell.

  “Yes.” Said Siouxsie without looking up. “Children can sometimes be cruel to one another. I thought he’d grown used to it and our parents told us to ignore the sour words. But it was too late as the bitter words had already bored deep like beetles into Robert’s brain. One night, when we were eight summers old, Robert woke in the middle of the night, angry at what the children had said that day. While our parents were sleeping, he went to the wash basin in our small home and tried to futily scrub off the birthmark so that the other witchlings wouldn’t make fun of him anymore. As he scrubbed and scrubbed his face next to an oil lamp, his elbow knocked it over and when he went to grab it, he spilled burning oil all over himself and all over our hut. The fire quickly spread, engulfing our home. Ignatius managed to extinguish him with a blanket and pull me from my hammock in time before the rest of the hut went up in flames. The fire took everything from us, even our parents who burned to death when the hut collapsed upon them.”

  “That’s nightmarish.” Gasped Cassandra. Ignatius stepped over and pulled off Siouxsie’s hat before kissing her on the crown of the head. He then replaced it and put his arm around her.

  “Since then, the three of us have been a family of orphans. We don’t have a lot, but we have each other. But as you can understand, the severe burns could not be undone by any type of spell or potion. Since that fateful night, Robert burdens himself with the thought that all of us could have perished in the fire. He covers himself from head to toe in shame, but by hiding his appearance in such a manner, it can be even more off-putting to those who happen upon him. This causes him to feel even more isolated. My brother’s sourness stems from this loneliness, and I don’t know if there’s anything in the world that can untether it from him. Deep down he’s very sweet but the guilt he carries can be as burdensome as the scar tissue.”

  “I’m so sorry.” said the prince.

  “There’s no need to be sorry.” said Siouxsie.

  “But a kind word, even the smallest of them can help change his disposition.” Added Ignatius. “What’s done is done. Robert will have to find his own way out of his grief. None of us can do it for him. I think that’s enough storytelling for now. At the moment, he needs his rest if he’s to recover from his wound. For now, let us continue this conversation out of this room so he can heal in peace.” Everyone turned to leave save for Siouxsie who climbed up into the bed with her twin and held his hand. Ignatius closed the door.

  “We have a more pressing matter to discuss.” Said Hoxley. “Lord Baltus’ soldiers are just outside the kingdom. Loxo? Did you see how many there were?” she asked.

  “A hundred.” He said grimly as he scratched his scraggly goatee. “Several hundred. I sAw archers, pikemen and horsemen.”

  “That’s no good.” Said Atticus. “We have neither the equipment nor numbers to repel them.”

  “Agreed.” She said. “It’s curious how they always seem to find us so quickly.”

  “I think I may have the answer to that question.” Said the prince with a worried expression. Everyone looked to see Prince Damron with his crown pulled from his pack. The gold headpiece radiated with an unnatural bright green glow.