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  GIRL POWER

  Book 2

  Good vs Evil!

  John Zakour and Katrina Kahler

  Copyright © KC Global Enterprises Pty Ltd

  All rights reserved

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 1

  Mom, Dad, and I were off for a day by the ocean for a little Saturday fun. Adding to the fun, Mom and Dad let me bring along my friends and new knights Mika, Sebastian, and Gail.

  I needed some fun because I usually have a lot of responsibilities. Sure, I was kind of used to having all sorts of duties. After all, I was once queen of all the known lands. But, things are different now. Now I’m a thirteen-year-old kid, trying to stop the most powerful person in the world from taking over the earth. Plus, I have to deal with the ups and downs (mostly downs) of middle school. So, a little fun was badly needed. I could move the idea of stopping Morgana, if not out of my mind, at least to the back of the mind. Today would be all about soaking up the rays and trying some windsurfing with my friends. I had to admit I was a little nervous about the windsurfing part.

  “You anxious to hit the waves?” Sebastian asked me.

  “Ah, sure,” I answered. “Though right now I’m more worried that waves will be hitting me when I fall face first into them over and over… I’ve never windsurfed before. In fact, I’m amazed Mom and Dad actually have a wind surfboard.”

  The more I learned about my adopted parents, Maude and Claude, the more they surprised me. They certainly seemed to have lived interesting lives before I became a part of it.

  Mika smiled. “You’ll be fine. You’re a natural athlete.”

  “Even if you fall, you’ll be falling in water!” Gail said. “Water is soft and comforting. Oh, and also wet.”

  Gail had a way of stating the obvious but somehow making it sound like it wasn’t so obvious.

  “Just be careful,” Dad said from the driver’s seat. “I know you are a very capable girl. But now that you have some of your knights back, Morgana might be ready to make things even more challenging for you.”

  Mom looked back at me and smiled. She gave me a knowing nod. I returned her smile.

  My mind drifted off to a time long ago. I walked into a dark and musty cave. I had received an invitation wrapped around the leg of a black carrier pigeon. I knew Arthur and Lancelot would not have wanted me to do this alone, but the writer of the invitation swore they would not talk to me unless I came alone. Yes, looking back at it now, it was probably a silly thing to do. I’m sure Merlin would have said I was very silly, but I had to do it. After all, a queen’s job is to protect her people; even when those people are the king and his greatest knight.

  I walked through the cave, sword in one hand and torch in the other. The torch flickered, casting dancing shadows on the walls. I reached the end of the long cave. There was nothing there except for an empty alter.

  “Well, you actually had the nerve to come,” Morgana said from behind me.

  I turned towards her. I raised my sword. “I knew it was you who wanted me to come here!”

  Morgana laughed. “Yet you still came.”

  I walked closer to her. “You do not frighten me!”

  Morgana turned away and looked down at the floor, almost daring me to strike. I did not. She turned back to face me. She grinned. “You know, young silly Queen, I didn’t like you at first.”

  “The feeling is mutual!” I told her, holding my ground.

  Morgana looked me in the eyes. “I thought you were a spoiled brat. Not good enough for Arthur, and certainly not good enough for Lancelot.”

  “That is none of your business!” I told her, inching closer.

  Morgana put a finger on the tip of my sword. “But you have bravery and courage, and you show great intelligence. Now I think you may be too good for them. Maybe…”

  “Your point?” I demanded, waving my sword at her.

  Morgana tapped my sword with her finger. The steel blade turned to dirt and crumbled to the ground. “That was my point,” Morgana said. She disappeared in a poof of orange smoke.

  My mind returned to the present.

  Gail snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Gwen, you okay?”

  “I’m fine…” I said.

  Sebastian looked at me. “Another memory of the past?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I replied. He could read me well.

  “A good one or a bad one?” Mika asked.

  I shrugged. “Truthfully, I’m not sure.”

  We hit the beach. Mom and Dad prepared a delicious picnic lunch while Sebastian, Mika, Gail, and I headed to the water with our sailboards. Gwen had a smaller board called a kiteboard, apparently she was an expert, so that made me feel a tiny little bit better. Sebastian must have noticed the look of impending doom on my face. He leaned into me and said, “Don’t worry, you’ve got this. I’m here to help if you need me. But really, the wind does all the work.”

  “The wind can be your friend,” Gail added.

  “Yeah, except for Merlin’s wind,” I said. “He’s working on a way to weaponize his cat farts.”

  “Well I guess he just wants to help,” Mika grinned. “In his own strange way…”

  I figured it must have been hard for Merlin. He was once one of the most powerful wizards in the land. Now, he was reduced to being a farting, talking cat. He needed to contribute with more than his wisdom. Truthfully, at times his wisdom didn’t seem all that wise to me. He said that was because he was so deep and someday I would get it.

  We took our boards into the water. I pulled myself up onto mine. I began to slip but maintained my balance. “Phew, that was….”

  I never got to say “close” as I promptly slipped into the water, face first. It’s nearly impossible to talk when your mouth is filled with water.

  “Nobody gets it first go,” Sebastian said from his board.

  “True, my queen,” Gail told me.

  “Gail! Please don’t call me that!” I said.

  “Right, true, Gwen. Sorry, my qu – I mean Gwen. Think of the board as a steed. That’s how I do it,” Gail said from the top of her board. “Feel the flow and go with it, but also control it.”

  I crawled back up onto my board. I wobbled to my feet. I certainly didn’t feel like a queen. For a second I thought if I can’t even ride a sailboard, how am I going to defeat Morgana?

  “Okay, you can’t have any negative thoughts in your head,” Sebastian coached. “Each fall is a learning experience. You figure out what you did wrong and don’t do that again.”

  “My bro makes a great point,” Mika said. “Remember, we’ve all done this before.”

  An hour or so passed. I fell in again and again, but after getting up I maintained my balance a little longer each time. Eventually, I could stand up almost as easily as if I were standing on solid ground.
<
br />   “You’re doing great, Gwen!” Sebastian coached.

  “Man, you catch on fast,” I heard Art’s familiar voice from behind. I saw him gliding towards us on a board.

  “Art, I didn’t think you could come,” I said.

  “Believe it or not, your cat texted me and said he felt it was important we all be here. So my parents brought me. I tried to get Bart and Brett to come but they can’t swim.”

  “Oh, I so believe all of that,” I said.

  “How did your cat get my phone number?” Art asked.

  “You know he was Merlin, right?” Gail told Art.

  “Yeah, he’s always been a tricky one…I guess you can transform a wizard into a cat but you can’t totally take the wizard out of the cat.”

  “In fact, that might even make him more cunning,” Mika added.

  “Good point!” Art said.

  It had been a calm day, but now the wind picked up. In fact, it became so strong this couldn’t have been natural. We started gliding deeper into the water.

  “Should we paddle back?” Art asked. “I don’t like this…”

  I shook my head. “Let’s see where this wind takes us….”

  We rode the wind and waves for a few more minutes. The wind was strong and steady. It seemed to have a purpose. At times like these, I really wished Merlin was here. But being a cat, he hated the water. “This wind is magical,” I stated.

  “What makes you think that?” Art asked.

  A giant octopus rose out of the water. The octopus wrapped a tentacle around me, pulling me off of my board. It held me up in the air, just looking at me with its two giant eyes.

  Looking around, each of my friends was now each trapped in a giant green tentacle.

  Art looked over to me. “Okay, I think I figured out why you thought this was magic…”

  “Yeah, do ya think?” I said.

  Art looked at me. “Now’s not the time to be cynical,” he replied.

  Yeah, I had to admit he was right.

  My Notes:

  It felt nice to have a team of knights around me again. Of course, being grabbed by a giant octopus’s tentacles sort of put a kink in that, but nobody can say that my life isn’t interesting. Speaking of interesting, my adopted mom and dad, Maude and Claude, certainly must have led interesting lives even before meeting me. I mean, they had windsurfing boards ready for me and my friends, plus a mini-van to transport them in. I mean how cool is that?

  Chapter 2

  I looked down at the giant octopus that had us all in sticky tentacles.

  “These things really suck,” Sebastian said, as he fought unsuccessfully to free himself. He thought about what he’d just said.

  “We need to attack!” Arthur shouted.

  I took in the situation. The thing was, though, this giant sea beast seemed to be checking us out. He (or she) truly could have crushed us at any moment but he (or she) didn’t seem interested.

  “I don’t think so,” I shouted over to Arthur. “For one thing, we have no weapons!”

  “You do have magic,” Mika shouted back at me.

  Mika did have a point. I did have magic. I probably could have hurt this giant creature, but I got the feeling that wasn’t the right course of action here. Not sure why.

  “I’m going to try something else,” I said to my team.

  “What are you going to do? Challenge it to an arm wrestling contest?” Arthur snapped.

  I ignored his comment and focused on the giant creature. “Ah, hi,” I said.

  “He’s an octopus!” Art frowned. “I doubt he can talk! Maybe you should hit him with some magic?”

  “Hello!” the octopus said. “And I’m a she…”

  “I stand corrected,” Art said.

  “I’ve read that octopuses are very intelligent,” Gail told Arthur. “Plus, she’s kind of cute….”

  “Thank you,” the octopus replied.

  “Mrs. Octopus do you have a name?” I asked.

  “I’m a Miss,” the octopus replied. “I’m very picky. But I do have a name: It’s Gladys.”

  “Somehow that name fits,” Sebastian said.

  Gladys held us in the air, examining each of us carefully.

  “So, ah, Gladys why are we here?” I asked.

  “The ocean often does as I wish,” Gladys answered. “And I wished to check you out.”

  “Okay, fair enough. But, why?” I asked.

  “I need to decide if I find you worthy!”

  “Worthy to eat?” Arthur asked, being a bit stubborn here.

  Gladys shook her giant head. “No, worthy of my trust.”

  “Okay, phew,” Arthur nodded.

  “Of course, if I don’t find you all worthy, I might decide to eat you,” Gladys replied.

  “Yikes!” Gail said.

  Gladys waved a free tentacle at her. “Just kidding. I only like shellfish.”

  “Well, that’s good to know…” Gail said.

  “If I don’t find you worthy, I will just pull you under the ocean and drown you,” Gladys was very matter of fact.

  “Well, I guess you’d better find us worthy then,” I told her.

  Gladys nodded. “Yes, I truly hope I do.”

  “Okay then, how will you find us worthy?” I asked.

  Gladys pointed to Gail. “What’s your favorite food?”

  “Fried beans!” Gail said proudly.

  Gladys pointed to Sebastian, “What’s your favorite sport?”

  Sebastian looked away.

  “Tell her,” Mika coaxed.

  “Figure skating,” Sebastian said.

  Arthur snickered.

  Gladys pointed to Arthur, “What’s your favorite color?”

  Arthur stood there silently.

  “The truth or you are not worthy,” Gladys said.

  Arthur lowered his head. “Pink,” he said meekly.

  “Louder,” Gladys ordered.

  “Pink!” Arthur said.

  Gladys pointed to Mika. “What your favorite TV show of all time?”

  “Barney,” Mika answered.

  Now Gladys pointed to me. “What’s your biggest fear?”

  “That’s easy,” I said without thinking. “My biggest fear is that I’m not strong enough to face the challenges in front of me.”

  Gladys closed her giant eyes. She sank under the sea. She released us. Somehow our surfboards sailed back to us. Gladys bobbed her head out of the sea. “Oh, in case you haven’t figured it out…you pass,” she said. “You’re free to continue your quest. While you’re at it, you should seek out the fisherman prince, he might be willing to lead you to the Grail of Knowledge…”

  Gladys dove back under the sea.

  “Now that was fun!” Gail commented, a confused expression on her face.

  I climbed back on my board. “Let’s head back to the beach,” I said. “We need to get home and regroup so we can talk about this with Merlin and the others.”

  Back at home, we all gathered around Mom and Dad’s round table in the dining room. The entire team was there: Mom, Dad, Sebastian, Mika, Gail, Art, Bart, Brett, Fern, and Merlin. Well, actually, Fern sat on my shoulder, and Merlin curled up in the middle of the table.

  “So this octopus named Gladys told you to look for the fisherman prince?” Merlin asked.

  “Yep,” I said.

  Merlin scratched his head. He rolled over on his back and slid next to Mika. She started rubbing his tummy. Merlin smiled as his rear right paw started shaking up and down contentedly.

  “Yo cat, talk!” Fern blurted out.

  “Well, I’m not normally one to take advice from an octopus. I do find them quite tasty though.” He rolled to his feet. “But, the advice is sound. Traditionally, Fisher King guards the grail. I guess in this new reality he’s a fisherman prince, which makes sense, at least as much as anything magical makes sense.”

  “What exactly does the grail do?” Sebastian asked.

  “It grants eternal wisdom to whoever drink
s from it as long as that person is deemed worthy, and pure, and wise, and all that jazz,” Merlin said.

  “But only the purest can touch it,” Gail added.

  “Correct,” Merlin nodded. “Hence the reason I’m betting Morgana can’t touch it. You can’t work in reality TV and be pure.”

  Brett snickered. “I agree. But that’s good then. We don’t have to worry about Morgana grabbing it…”

  “If only it were that easy,” Merlin sighed. “Just because Morgana can’t touch it doesn’t mean she doesn’t want it.”

  “She is a collector of rare items,” Dad said.

  I looked at Dad. He smiled. “I saw it on a TV special once.”

  “So you could be playing right into Morgana’s hands if you go after the grail,” Mom said.

  “True, but we’re still going to do it!” I hit the table with my fist. “It would be a great help to our cause.”

  “Would it?” Art asked, breaking his silence. “One, we don’t know if the grail exists in this time. Two, if it does exist, we might be helping Morgana by finding it ourselves. Three, we’re not sure if it could really help us. I mean, come on. What does granting wisdom really mean?”

  I considered Arthurs words. They certainly made sense. Both my brain and my heart told me that getting the grail would be key to stopping Morgana.

  I locked eyes with Art. “I understand your point, but I still believe getting the grail is worth the risk.”

  Art looked at me. He opened his mouth. He closed his mouth and mumbled, “This is your show. You’re the leader.”

  “Thanks,” I told him.

  Gail looked me in the eyes. “Then, if we’re going to do this, it would certainly help if we could find Lancelot and Percy. Lancelot is the best fighter in the world and Percy is so pure….”

  “I agree,” I said. I looked at Bart and Brett. “You guys have any idea who Lancelot might be?”

  “We'll scout it out,” Bart said.

  “So we have a plan!” I smiled.