Hilda - The Challenge Read Online Free

described
as utter despair. "Planning on flying backwards, are you? Here, let
me show you." She mounted the broom, bristles to the front, and
lifted off a few feet. "That is how it works."
    William stared, again. "Not the way they told
me how it works," he grinned. He turned the broom around.
    "Okay. Hold on and don't wobble about too
much. I'm not used to flying two people at the same time. I'll go
slow at first."
    William had no idea what to expect, only that
there would be a very uncanny and uncomfortable feeling between his
legs, that would make proper sitting a chore. To his surprise,
there was nothing of that. It felt as if there was a soft cushion
under his behind as the broom lifted him into the air. It did not
feel unstable at all.
    "Are you okay there?", Hilda asked from
several yards higher up.
    "So far, so good," William said. He did not
dare to wave at her. Holding on to the broomstick with both hands
did feel like the proper thing to do. After all, it was only a
broomstick.
    "Cool puppies," Hilda said with a grin. She
found some bizarre pleasure in this. "Hang on then, we're going!"
She started off the flight slowly, as she had promised. Gone for
now were the anxiety and the fear about the challenge, the worries
about how to get out of that alive. She had a new thing to
entertain herself with, and that give her a thrill she did not have
very often.
    William at first only focussed on staying on
the broom. The environment went by mostly unnoticed. After a few
minutes already, however, he felt more confident. The invisible
seat was stable and felt good, so he glanced up to Hilda a few
times, who flew higher than he did for some reason. He also now
dared to look around a bit, seeing the last bits of mountainous
area fleet away beneath them. They were approaching a magnificent
lake, blue as only in fairy-tales or photoshopped pictures. The
grassy patches around it, interspersed with incredibly high trees,
were greener than green. He saw herds of sheep, and people walking
along with them in clothes that belonged in the Middle Ages, as
they were not flying that high.
    The shepherds did not notice the witch and
her strange companion up in the air, or did not deem them
interesting enough to react to. After all, there were more
important things to do, like making sure the sheep were not
drifting away from the herd. Sheep were important.
    "We're going higher," Hilda warned William.
It was necessary to avoid the high treetops. She was however a
wicked witch. She got it exactly so that William's shoes hit the
tops of the first trees they were coming over, making him squeal
and grab hold of the broom again with a frenzy.
    "Relax, nothing can go wrong," Hilda told
him, but her laughter did not underline that statement.

5. Flying business

    As they progressed, Hilda sped up the
journey. Otherwise, she knew, it would be past dusk before they'd
reach her house. While they were flying faster, talking had become
more difficult, which was fine with Hilda. She pained her head
about what had happened, and the complications that it would
present while she was trying to mosey herself through the challenge
bit.
    William was getting more confident about the
flying business and looked around freely now. They had passed over
several small villages that all looked interesting. He would love
to go there and see what kind of bookstores they had, if any.
    He noticed that they were slowing down again
as they sailed over a large forest area.
    "This is the forest where most of the gnomes
live," Hilda told him. She had dropped some altitude and was flying
next to William now.
    "Gnomes. Right." William did not grin or try
to make a funny remark. He had seen so many things already that did
not make sense, gnomes were easily added to that gallery.
    "When we're past this, we're going to make a
circle over the castle of the king and the mean queen," Hilda
informed him, "although most of her meanness has left her by now, I
guess." She chuckled and did