Karl's grandmother heard opened the door. "Who is this?" Her voice definitely sounded old, but steady and familiar. His heart was pounding and his mouth was dry. He could only see the back of her head. Her silver hair was regally styled and she wore a silver tiara. When it came to it, he couldn't answer.

"Shall I get security?" said the lady sitting beside her.

"G-Grandmama, it's me, Karl," he said, his voice coming out in a hoarse whisper.

The Duchess stiffened.

"How dare you, boy?" said the other lady angrily.

The Duchess rose and looked him full in the face. She was smaller than he remembered – naturally. She was shorter than him now. Tiny compared to Leevana. Her milky blue eyes widened.

"I – I – Karl… like an angel … how?"

She was trembling and her eyes now glistened with tears. She reached for his cheek and touched it. "So soft and warm… but you're dead."

"No Grandmama, I was rescued from Steel. A – A kind lady rescued me and raised me as her own." He had forgotten exactly what he wanted to say.

"I shall call security about this naughty boy," said the other lady.

"Remember our secret, Grandmama? How you smell of peppermint and how peppermint would remind me of you when you came here?"

"Stop, Sofie," said the Duchess. She rose and clasped Karl's face with her hands, staring into his eyes as if she could not get enough. "My Karl. But how is it possible after all this time? In Ostinia? That land is now benighted."

"Oh yes. But the lady who rescued in me lived high in the mountains."

Sofie was gazing at them now, apparently astonished.

"Indeed? High in the mountains? Where is this lady now?"

"She brought me here…" Karl began.

"I must meet her. At once."

On cue, Leevana entered, bending down so she wouldn't hit her head on the door frame. She had the ugly mannequin mask back on her face.

The Duchess' eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Y – You're Highness," stammered Lee, curtseying awkwardly. "I am… your humble servant. I – uh – I'm so glad to meet Karl's Grandmama. Heard so much about her… erm … you." The Duchess' eyes narrowed. Karl supposed Lee was making an awkward first impression.

"You're a strapping young girl," said Sofie cheerfully. "Must be seven foot at least."

Cintia entered, grinning, her blue eyes gleaming. "Isn't she just? Must be all that exercise living in the mountains."

"We must leave," said the Duchess abruptly.

"Oh, but the second act is starting," protested Sofie.

"Some things are more important," said the Duchess drily. "You stay for the rest of it."

The close confines in the ornate, horse-drawn carriage that took them to the Empress' apartments in the harbour city, Lee's body odour was more noticeable than ever. She was really too big for the carriage and had to hold her legs in an uncomfortable position. It was clear she was nervous. Karl kept his arm linked in hers.

In the Duchess' palatial accommodation, lit by shimmering crystal chandeliers, the Duchess chained the door. She turned to Leevana. "Take off that mask, night-hag."

Lee pulled the mask off, revealing her shiny green face. Her grey lips formed a nervous smile. "Your Highness… yes. I am a night-hag. I rescued Karl from that monster, Steel that night… um…"

Karl took her hand in both of his. "Lee is a night-hag and she's also my mother, now. She's been taking care of me for the last ten years."

"A night-hag for a mother?" said the Duchess coolly.

Karl did not know quite how to answer that, so Cintia answered for him. "That's right, your highness," said the red headed girl with a bow.

Karl kept hold of Leevana's gloved hand.

"Have I lost you to this creature-?" began the Duchess, but at that moment the hag sobbed and the Duchess strode forward, her expression softening. Karl looked up to see tears sliding down his mother's green cheeks and her grey bottom lip quivering.

"Hey, hey, be the big girl that you look, there's no need to cry" said Karl's Grandmama, taking out a lace handkerchief and holding it up. She could not reach Lee's face, so Lee took it from her and began to dab the tears from her shining cheeks. Cintia looked, smirking behind her hand.

00O00

It's difficult when meeting someone again after a gap of so many years, to know precisely where to pick up the threads. Karl thought it best to begin with an account of how the three of them quested to reach the Rosewood province. The three of them took it in turns to fill in details. Karl was feeling tired, so he leaned against Leevana, who put an arm around him. To his great relief, his Grandmama was no longer cool towards his mother. She even patted her other arm when she sniffed.

Grandmama had always been too dignified to gasp or cry, but she did look grave at the shocking details of the fights with Clay Fingers, Fear and Mortis and Captain Bloodaxe.

"I dearly hope that the Wall has fully crumbled now and the spooks are gone," said the Duchess gravely. "It was in the news… the Wall is definitely crumbling. Ostinia is a tiny land. It does not in fact include vast areas of desolate land, nor valuable oil and coal reserves. Without the supernatural, Steel doesn't have the resources to be a threat to the world."

"Thank Goodness Steel doesn't rule a nation like that one you've just hypothesised about," said Cintia. "What if tyrants like him ruled great nations?"

"It does not bear thinking of," said the Duchess. "Now Leevana, I see I owe you a debt of gratitude. Name your reward."

"I don't want a reward," said Leevana frowning. "I just wanted to bring you comfort. Let you know Karl was alive and well, hey?"

"Spoken like a young lady with a good heart," said the Duchess approvingly.

"Young? She's a lot older than you," interrupted Cintia. The Duchess raised her eyebrows at her. "Um… because you look so youthful, Your Highness," said Cintia, her freckled cheeks flushing.

"My Dearest Karl," said the Duchess turning to her grandson, "knowing that you are alive and well cared for" (Lee grinned at that) "seeing the beautiful young man you have become, brings me joy I never thought I could feel again. I would like to organise a celebration to publicly announce your return. Leevana… I'm sorry, but you will have to attend in that awful mask."

"I'm used to it," said Lee with a sad smile.

00O00

The day of the celebration dawned. Fliers had been sent around town and Karl's return had been announced in the papers. Now that he was of age, according to Royal Ostinian tradition, Karl had to wear traditional royal garb, including the silvery white jacket that felt over-starched… He was glad to see his mother and grandmama getting on well now though, talking happily by the fire. Although he wasn't sure what he thought of them sharing funny stories about him. Grandmama was in her armchair and Leevana sat on the floor, wrapped in an oversized man's dressing gown, her massive green feet bare. The flickering firelight shone off her green cheeks and forehead and glinted off her long red hair as she turned her face to the Duchess and gabbled on about Karl: "When my little Karl saw my impressionist style painting for the first time, his little face looked so puzzled, but then he patted my arm and told me, 'well the important thing is you tried your best, Mum.'" The night-hag threw back her head and laughed out loud at the memory. Her ringing laughter echoed throughout the chamber. "Such a kind and conscientious little boy, always."

Karl felt himself blushing. "Great, Mum."

Lee grinned at him. "It's a trey in your character we both love."

Grandmama nodded. "I agree. Ostinia would have been well served with Karl as a ruler. My son was a fine man, and a clever one, but he was a hothead."

"Maria… I would never blame a man for failing at a job that was too onerous for him," said Lee in her best soothing voice, touching the Duchess' arm with her green hand. "The stress of it must have been appalling." She was calling Grandmama 'Maria' now?

Grandmama rubbed her cheek, pensively. "I can't help but wonder, was there anything I could have done differently…?"

Lee rose, bringing her face close to Grandmama's and cupping her face in her long, green hands. "Hey - don't torture yourself, Maria."

Maria swallowed and nodded.

Cintia arrived at that point. She was decked out in a gold coloured dress. "There had better be some really cute nobles at the party, what with all the trouble I'm taking."

Maria smiled weakly at her. "Good thinking, Miss. It is never to early to think about the future. Marriage to the right man is important to a woman's happiness."

"Marriage, your highness?" Cintia tossed back her long red hair. "I admit I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"I – I have often wondered what it would be like," said Lee, biting her grey lip.

"I sincerely wish things could be different," said Maria, touching Lee's green cheek. "But it would take something exceptional for a night-hag to be accepted in Rosewood."

00O00

It was the night of the party. Soon Karl would be officially announced. The dance hall was different to how Karl remembered the Ostinian Dancing Hall in the Winter Palace. It was lighter and airier. Karl had never been one for dancing, so he sat on Leevana's knee behind the balcony curtains instead, as Maria made a speech to introduce him. The hag had stuck the mannequin mask back over her green face. "You'll be great, my love," she told him, her cold breath tickling his ear. "Now my little Prince has grown up."

Suddenly she looked up. "Oh no! An evil spirit is approaching, I can sense it. It's manifesting in the hall. Steel isn't willing to give up just yet."

Karl drew breath sharply. "Can you fight it, Mum?"

"I must. Wait here," she ordered.

She pushed aside the curtains. At that moment, there were screams and gasps from the hall. Shadows were coalescing above the dance floor. They formed the glowing outline of an evil looking old man with a straggly beard and crazy eyes. He was dressed in furs with ermine trimmings and wore a crown of black velvet and fur trimmings. Karl's heart sank. He recognised this ghoul from his history books. Isaac the Dreadful, the first King of Ostinia, famed for his terrible cruelty. He had been dead for centuries, but now he was very much back, and one of Steel's spook agents and kindred spirits. He wielded a sceptre made of black metal that seemed to warp and distort the air around it.

"Thou hast not invited thine sovereign, miserable rabble," he bellowed. "So now will Isaac the Dreadful put you all to the sword. And Steel sends his regards…"

Leevana launched across the hall, bounding over the tables on all fours, her long limbs flailing, sending plates and tureens crashing everywhere. She landed in front of the evil spirit.

"Foul demonspawn," hissed Isaac.

Karl's heart thudded in his breast as he saw his mother grapple with the tyrant. His grandmama took his hand.

In the scuffle, Leevana's mask slipped off, revealing her green face. Isaac thrust his sceptre at Leevana, striking her in the chest.

"My Sceptre of Doom brings death to the living…" he hissed. Lee trembled, transfixed for a moment and Karl cried out, but then the hag grabbed the sceptre.

"I am immortal," she said through gritted teeth. "And your reign is long over." She grabbed the sceptre, wrenching it from the ghoul's grasp and snapped it in two.

"Ahhh … Witch! What hast though done? My sceptre, the symbol of my power…" The evil spirit faded from sight. There was a moment's silence and then the guests erupted in cheers. Leevana was heroine of the hour again. Karl hoped that it would be enough to get her accepted. It ought to be. It did look like it would be… Everyone wanted to clap her on her broad, green back and congratulate her.

Karl wanted to go to her, but he didn't think he could push through the crowd. "Grandmama, please…" he said pointing.

"Make way for the Prince," ordered Maria.

The guests stood aside and Karl ran up to Lee, and they hugged and kissed. He was shocked to find that she was hot now, as well as clammy. And her heart was hammering. That had never happened before. Her green face glistened with a sheen of sweat and her cheek felt really icky when he kissed her. Her body odour was a lot stronger. "Mum! Are you alright?"

"I – I don't know darling." Her breast was rising and falling as she gasped for breath. "The ghoul's sceptre had some kind of magical charge I know nothing about… I don't know what it's done to me."

"OK, Mum, you better rest, now."

But Lee didn't get chance to rest. It was time to toast her as the heroine who defeated Isaac the Dreadful and as the mother and rescuer of the Prince. Karl wished they would let her rest, but he was glad she was getting the credit she deserved. She was the real heroine.

They raised their glasses and toasted: "To Leevana!"