Rank took his time getting back to Donnabella's boot. In fact, he had questions about Gloriosa's urn, so he decided to take a break.
Cinderella left the urn on the driver's seat, so he tucked it under his arm as he hopped down. As he stuck his head in the wagon's interior, Rank preemptively winced. He half-expected another whack from Terra's crutch. She didn't hit him, but judging from the intensity of her scowl, she certainly wanted to.
“Hello, ladies,” he greeted them jovially. “I was just wondering something.”
“What?” Terra snapped at him.
“This.” Rank raised the urn. “Isn't this the urn that houses your dear Fairy Godmother?”
“Yes!” When Cinda tried to snatch the urn from his hands, he pulled it away from her. “Give her to me!”
“In a moment.” Rank smiled down at the urn. “Is this how Fenix conquered his curse? Was it the wish fairy's magic?”
“Yes.” Cinda held out her hands. “Now give her back!”
“In a moment,” Rank repeated his answer. As he swaggered away from the wagon, his fingers glided along the urn's rusted surface. “Can I get a wish? If everyone else gets a wish, Rank should get one too... don't you think?”
When she was freed from the urn, Gloriosa appeared on Rank's shoulder. The tiny witch sprinted along his neck and swatted his cheek. “You awful boy!” she chided him. “You awful, awful boy! Why would you choose to work with a witch like Donnabella? Have you no soul?”
“Hey!” Rank pinched the collar of Gloriosa's dress and pulled her away from his neck. “You're supposed to grant my wish! You're not supposed to hit me, love!”
Gloriosa's legs flailed as he held her aloft. “I'll hit you if you deserve it!” she shrilled. “Put me down!”
“Will you grant my wish if I put you down?” Rank asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I trust you?”
“Yes...”
As soon as she was back on his shoulder, Gloriosa ran up to his cheek and swatted him again. “Rotten boy!” she roared. “I hope you get your karma for this! I hope you get it tenfold! No... twentyfold!”
“You're a violent little thing,” Rank observed. “You're way more terrifying than Fenix ever was.”
Rank had no time to make a wish, or to even consider his heart's desire. A legion of armed knights suddenly rounded a nearby hillside. When he turned around, he saw twenty more soldiers marching to his flank.
He was surrounded on all sides.
“Ah. Look at this, Cinda!” Rank chuckled. “I think Princey's coming to your rescue!”
When she looked outside and saw the soldiers, a wild grin flew across Cinderella's lips. “Oh my god!” she gasped, “Sharman?”
“Aye. I'm pretty sure it's him. So much for my wish, eh?” As he expressed his regret, Rank nudged Gloriosa into the front pocket of his tatty coat.
“It stinks in here!” the shrunken witch whined.
“I know. It probably needs a wash,” Rank agreed. As the soldiers closed in on him, he drew his sword and twirled his wand. Cinda expected him to look nervous, but his grin matched hers. “This should be fun, eh?”
Rank didn't wait for the knights to finish their march. He rushed forward, twirling his wand as he ran into a sea of soldiers. When they were within striking distance, he slammed his spinning wand against the ground.
Rank's magic sundered the earth. At least a dozen knights toppled into the sinkhole that appeared beneath their feet. “Sorry about that,” Rank apologized as the knights tumbled in. “That had to hurt a bit, eh?”
There were more soldiers at his flank, so he raised his wand and made it whirl. The sound of rustling grass stretched the mage's grin. He knew what was coming—the knights didn't.
Before a single soldier could raise a blade, a tornado dropped down from the darkening clouds. The cyclone cut a path through Rank's enemies, and Sharman's knights were knocked aside like tiny toy soldiers.
“I hope you're watching, girls,” Rank whispered as his wand twirled again. “You might say you're not impressed, Terra, but I know you are.”
When his wand stopped spinning, Rank pointed at the sky. A giant box, wrapped in birthday paper, appeared above the knights' heads. As a dozen soldiers were vacuumed into the box, a snickering Rank whispered, “I like that one.”
As soon the knights were sucked in, the lid closed, and the birthday box vanished. It reappeared a mile away, on a farmer's land. If they wanted to relaunch their attack, the soldiers would have break out of the box and march through a field of steaming cowpats.
There were still a few piles of soldiers to deal with, and Rank was caught in a pincer attack. With his wand, he created a horizontal spiral of wind that pushed back the soldiers on his left. With the sword in his right hand, he masterfully took on three soldiers at once.
“Is it weird that I'm a little worried for him?” Terra asked Cinda as they watched from the wagon.
“A bit,” Cinda replied. “To be honest, though... I feel the same way.”
“I mean, I don't hate him,” Terra said. “I intensely dislike him, of course, but I wouldn't want to see him dead.”
Cinderella nodded in agreement as she watched the battle with bated breath.
Rank's wind knocked back the advancing soldiers until they were on the ground and rolling backward, like barrels caught on a wave. As soon as he disarmed the knights he was dueling, he cast a tickling curse on them, and they dropped to the grass in a fit of giggles.
“He's not killing anyone,” Terra quietly noted.
Her stepsister nodded again. “I know. I already thought that.”
“But he could kill them, I'm sure,” Terra added. “At least he's not a butcher.”
Sharman's army had thinned considerably. Roughly twenty soldiers were still on their feet, so Rank's wand twirled again. “How should I deal with them?” he quietly pondered while nibbling his lip. “What would amuse the ladies?” When his decision was made, Rank's wand pointed at the grass. In an instant, the ground was shaking so violently, the soldiers couldn't stay on their feet. Most of the remaining knights were toppled by Rank's earthquake as they tried to charge forward.
“Fun fun fun!” tittered Rank, whose mad cackles echoed as his magic felled his foes. “That was almost too much fun.”
But there was one enemy he didn't expect. A colorful bird swooped down from the sky with an earsplitting screech. With its beak, it seized the collar of Rank's coat and lifted him off his feet.
“Fenix!” Rank hissed and flailed. “Fenix, you idiot... I'd almost won! Don't intervene, you rotten little sh--!”
Before he could finish, Fenix tossed him across the field. Very few soldiers were still standing, but as soon as they saw him drop, they tackled him. Rank whimpered as his wand was ripped from his fingers.
“Are you alright in there, love?” Rank croaked the question to Gloriosa, who was still stuck in his pocket.
“I... think so?” her tiny voice squeaked. “That was quite a fall, though.”
“We lost,” Rank reported as the knights dragged him to his feet.
“You lost!” the miniature witch was quick to correct him. “I'm quite happy with the outcome. At long last, Cinderella finally gets to be with her prince.”