Carnival at Candlelight

#33.
PZ7.O81167Car   2005   [Fic]—dc22   2004018256
    v3.0

For Gail Hochman, of course

I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs;

A palace and a prison on each hand:

I saw from out the wave her structures rise

As from the stroke of the enchanter’s wand…
    —Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

D awn was breaking in the Frog Creek woods. Jack saw a light shining up ahead. He ran toward it. He ran so fast, he couldn’t hear his feet hitting the ground. He couldn’t feel the frosty winter air.
    As Jack got closer to the light, he could see the magic tree house at the top of the tallest oak. A girl and boy were looking out the window. The girl had dark, wavy hair and sea-blue eyes. The boy had tousled red hair and a big grin on his face. As the two kids waved at him, Jack felt incredibly happy.
    “Jack, wake up!”
    Jack opened his eyes. His sister, Annie, was standing beside his bed. She was wearing her winter jacket. It was barely light outside.
    “I just had a dream about the tree house,” she said.
    “Really?” Jack said sleepily.
    “I dreamed we were running through the woods at dawn,” said Annie, “and when we got to the tree house, Teddy and Kathleen were there waiting for us.”
    Jack sat up. “I just had the same dream!” he said.
    “Meet you downstairs,” said Annie.
    Annie left Jack’s room. Jack jumped out of bed, put on his glasses, and threw on his clothes. He grabbed his winter jacket and his backpack. Then he slipped quietly down the stairs and out the front door.
    Annie was waiting on the porch. The February air was chilly. Frost sparkled in the grass as the sun rose over the Frog Creek woods.
    “Ready?” asked Annie.
    Jack nodded and zipped his jacket. Without another word, he and Annie hurried up their street and headed into the woods. They ran through the long shadows of early morning, between the bare winter trees. Then they stopped.
    The tree house
was
back, just as Jack had seen it in his dream! It was high in the tallest oak tree, shining in the cold morning light.
    “Wow,” breathed Jack. “Dreams
can
come true.”
    “Yep,” said Annie. “Teddy! Kathleen!”
    No one answered.
    “I guess only part of this dream came true,” Annie said sadly. She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed. Annie climbed into the tree house. “Oh, wow!” she said.
    “What is it?” said Jack.
    “They’re here!” said Annie in a loud whisper. Jack climbed in behind her. Their friendsTeddy and Kathleen, apprentices to Morgan le Fay, were sitting under the tree house window. Wrapped in heavy woolen cloaks, they were both fast asleep.
    “Hey, sleepyheads!” said Annie. “Wake up!”
    Kathleen blinked and yawned. Teddy rubbed his eyes. When he saw Jack and Annie, he gave them a wide grin and leapt to his feet. “Hello!” he said.
    “Hello!” cried Annie. She threw her arms around Teddy. “We both dreamed you were here.”
    “Ah, then our magic worked!” said Teddy. “Kathleen suggested we send dreams to let you know we were here, and it seems our magic sent
us
to dreamland as well.”
    “But now we are all awake,” said Kathleen. “And I am very glad to see you.” She stood up, drawing her cloak around her. Her blue eyes sparkled like seawater in the dawn light.
    “I’m glad to see you, too,” Jack said shyly.
    “Are you taking us on another Merlin Mission?” said Annie.
    “Not exactly,” said Teddy. “Merlin has a most important mission for you. But this time, we will not be going along.”
    “Oh, no!” said Annie. “What if we need your magic to help us?”
    Teddy and Kathleen looked at each other and smiled. Then Kathleen turned back to Jack and Annie. “Morgan thinks you may be ready to use magic on your own,” she said.
    “Really?” said Jack.
    “Yes,” said Teddy, “but Merlin is
very
cautious about sharing magic powers with mortals, even with two as worthy as you. He is also wary of magic being used outside the realm of Camelot. Nevertheless, Morgan has convinced Merlin to let you prove yourselves. You will be tested on four missions.”
    “But we don’t know any magic,” said Jack.
    “Remember what I told you on our lastadventure?” said Teddy. “If we all work together—”
    “Anything is possible!” said Annie. “But you just said you weren’t coming with us.”
    “That is true,” said Kathleen. “And that is why we bring you
this.”
She reached into a pocket of her cloak and pulled out a small