Our Grandparent's House. Part Four.

My brother and I were both left reeling as Grandpa disappeared from the crystal ball.
“This explains why Mum and Dad never wanted us to explore Grandma and Grandpa’s house,” Peter said to me.
“I can’t believe Mum and Dad never told us,” I said.
“It does sound kind of crazy,” Peter told me. “Would you have believed them if they told us?”
“I suppose not.”
I’d forgotten that Princess Alda was still with us until she cleared her throat. “Would you like to come back with me to meet my mother?”
Peter and I looked at each other. He shrugged.
“Ok then,” I answered. “We may as well do what we can to help, now we’re here.”
Princess Alda led us through the wood. I thought that the trees were normal looking ones. But it turned out that at the edge of the wood, there was a tree that wasn’t so normal.
It looked pretty ordinary, until the princess tapped on it three times and said: “Princess Alda.” Then the tree sort of wobbled, and a little door appeared, and swung open. Princess Alda made her way inside.
Peter and I looked at each other again, shocked; we both shrugged our shoulders, and followed the princess inside, after which the door swung shut again, most likely disappearing again. It was probably a spell that the princess’s mother had cast upon the tree, to ward off any enemies.
The inside of the tree seemed to be bigger than the outside, and was furnished to look like a quaint little cottage. The princess, Peter and I were in some sort of living room. In the corner, a log fire was going. I wondered how a log fire could be going off inside a tree, then decided it was probably another spell. A woman was sat at a table, stirring the ingredients inside a cauldron. She looked up and her wrinkly face cracked into a wide grin as she saw Peter and I.
“Are these the two children the Grand One spoke of?” She asked her daughter. “Susan and Andrew?”
“No Mother,” the princess answered. “Their names are Alice and Peter.”
Princess Alda’s mother looked confused. “Alice and Peter? But where are Susan and Andrew? Or did the Grand One get their names wrong?”
“It’s a long story, Mother.” The princess sat next to her mother, and explained all that had happened in the wood; how she came across me and Peter, and confused us for Susan and Andrew, and also the conversation with Grandpa via the crystal ball.
As she finished, her mother motioned for me and my brother to sit down.
“So you’re Susan and Andrew’s children?” She smiled. “I can’t believe you come from a world where the timeline is different from ours. The Grand One - your grandpa - first spoke to us two days ago, but to him it was twenty years ago.” She shook her head in disbelief, then something dawned on her face. “Where are my manners? I haven’t introduced myself, I am Adla, Alda’s mother. I am a witch, and I used to be the queen of the Gypsics, until the evil sorcerer Yelrettek took over.”
“How long ago did this happen?” I asked.
“My daughter and I have been living in the Whispering Wood for about two years now. We used to live in the Valley, when I was married to Emse. Yelrettek comes from a far away land, and he is obsessed with control and power. He’d been wanting to rule over the Valley for years. Over the years, he’d been turning the Gypsics against me, for, even though I am a good witch, good witches aren’t as well known as the bad ones. The Gypsics never really trusted me anyway; they let me live in the Valley foe Emse’s sake. Yelrettek used this to his advantage, to turn the Gypsics against me and drive me to the wood. They also drove my daughter away, in fear she’ll end up a bad witch as well. Then, Yelterrek poisoned my husband, and became ruler of the Valley. It has been this way for about two years now. You see, I really want to defeat him. I don‘t mind if I never become queen again, but I would like to see my daughter become queen of the Gypsics.” Queen Adla smiled at me and Peter. “It was two days ago, when I started talking to the Grand One through my crystal ball. I told him about our plight, and he told us he really wanted to help, and that he would send two children to help us.”
“Our mum and dad,” I said.
“I’m not being rude or anything,” Peter said. “But you’re a witch. Can’t you use your magic to defeat Yelterrek?”
Queen Adla smiled sadly. “My magic is no match for Yelterrek’s. He is stronger ad more powerful than me. All his magic is stored inside a staff which he always carries around with me. If somebody were able to get to it, and break it in half, Yelterrek would no longer be a sorcerer, the spell held over the Gypsics would be broken, and he would also die. You see, the staff also contains his soul, which would evaporate once the staff is broken.”
And then it was clear what Peter and I must do. We must go to the Valley Of The Gypsics, sneak to Yelterrek’s lair, and smash his staff. I didn’t know about Peter, but I was willing to try to help.
“Queen Adla,” I said. “My brother and I will go to the Valley Of The Gypsics for you, sneak to Yelterrek’s lair, and smash his staff.”
The queen looked at me, and smiled her gratitude.