A Sweet Magic: Part Two

Chapter Thirteen: Tummy Ache

Chester rubbed his bulging belly and belched—For the hundredth time since they left the fortress.

"Stop that!" Hex snapped. "It's disgusting."

"I'm trying... but... ow, my tummy... it aches." Chester flopped onto his back and stared at the sky. "I must have food poisoning."

Hex glared at the toad, who appeared much rounder and larger than usual.

"That'll teach you not to eat slugs. You don't know who they've been." Hex chuckled at the thought.

"How was I supposed to know you'd transformed Giggleton into a slug?" Chester drew his knees up to his chest at the sharp griping pain. When it subsided, he said, "It's indigestion."

Hex frowned. "It's wind."

"Shush a minute." Chester lay still, listening. "Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Hex said.

"My tummy."

Intrigued, Hex scooped Chester up and pressed the toad's bloated stomach to his ear like a conch shell. Instead of the sound of waves, there was a squeak, followed by a gurgle.

"Oh," Hex said, holding Chester at arm's length in case he exploded. "You sound like a firework. You'll alert every guard within a mile radius of the Castle Of Jewels. This is a problem."

"So, how do we cure it?" Chester asked, his brown cheeks turning beetroot red.

Hex scratched his chin. "Well, it was a long time ago, but I seem to remember when my daughter, Florence, was a baby, we used to wind her."

"Then, that's the answer." Chester popped and wheezed.

"No."

"Please, Hex. It hurts." The toad's eyes watered with each painful gurgle. "After all, it's your fault."

Hex sighed.

"Very well. But you're never to breathe a word of this to anyone. Understood?"

"Yes, not a word. On my honour as a toad... I mean goblin."

Hex placed Chester against his shoulder.

"Ready?" Hex asked with a shake of his head. This was above and beyond.

Chester snuggled against the sorcerer and closed his eyes. "Yes, I'm ready." The toad popped and fizzed as he waited.

Hex tapped the toad's back. Nothing happened.

Chester opened one eye. "You'll have to tap harder." Chester closed his eye with an amused grin.

Hex tapped harder. Still nothing.

Neither Hex nor Chester heard the clip-clop of hooves as two strangers on horseback approached.

"Unhand that toad, peasant," commanded one rider.

Startled by the voice, Hex dropped Chester and spun around to find none other than Prince Sebastian and his personal bodyguard, Terrance.

A drowsy Chester tumbled to the ground and rolled. He came to a stop in front of the prince's horse.

"Toad, was this man hurting you?" Prince Sebastian asked, his forehead creased with concern.

Hex waited for Chester's reply.

The toad looked up at the Prince and burped loudly.

"Hex, it worked!" Chester yelled as his tummy deflated.

The Prince dismounted his horse and stepped closer to Chester. "Will someone explain what is occurring here?"

Terrance leaned forward in the saddle and Hex prayed Chester would remain silent and allow him to speak, but Chester had already forgotten his promise.

"Well," Chester began. "Hex is a powerful sorcerer. Some say the most powerful sorcerer." The toad puffed up his chest.

"Is he, indeed?" Prince Sebastian said, studying Hex from his head to his toes.

"Yes, and he turned a no-good, greedy goblin called Giggleton into a slug."

"Did he?"

"Uh-huh." Chester nodded enthusiastically.

Hex's eyes widen as magic tingled at his fingertips. He longed to seal Chester's mouth shut, once and for all.

Instead, he stood helpless as Chester continued, "I didn't know, and after a rather vigorous exercise routine, I'd worked up an appetite. Of late, I'm especially partial to slugs. They're quite the delicacy. So I ate him." The toad licked his lips at the thought. "Giggleton must have been on the turn because he gave me terrible tummy ache."

Prince Sebastian's gaze darted from Hex to Chester.

"Hex, having experience with these things, agreed to help me... And that's when you came along."

Hex slapped his hands over his face. Oh, the shame.

The Prince grinned from ear to ear. "Terrance, have you ever heard such a story?"

Terrance slid down from his horse, and with the reins in his hand, he smiled in return. "Never, Your Royal Highness."