by JB Rowley
“You're a wicked witch,” they heard Hamish say.
Nellie and Charli pressed up against the fence to look through a gap between the palings. Charli gasped. Nellie tugged her arm and gestured for her to remain quiet. On the other side of the fence they could see Hamish, tied to a tree, his legs and arms bound with rope. Standing in front of him was the woman who called herself Em. She let out an eerie cackle.
“A witch? Perhaps I should have introduced myself properly. Evil Mother, that’s who I am, but you can call me Em. E for evil and M mother. D’ya get it?” She cackled loudly again and slapped her thigh. “Sweet name, isn’t it?” Her large bosom wobbled like jelly on a plate as she laughed.
The smell of burning wood caught Nellie’s attention. Behind Em, she could see smoke and flames rising from a pit. On one side of the pit was a pile of dirt. Large wire baskets lined with leaves sat on the other side.
“It’s a hangi,” Charli whispered.
“A what?”
“A hangi. It’s what we do in New Zealand. There are stones on the fire at the bottom of the pit. At home we wrap meat in leaves, put it into a basket and lower it onto the hot stones in the pit. Then we cover it all up with dirt and wait for the food to cook. It cooks very slowly and tastes delicious.”
Em was peering into the pit. She picked up a long pole from the ground and poked the fire. “Almost ready for my tasty little morsel,” she said, looking across at Hamish. Her face no longer wore a friendly expression but an evil look that caused both girls to shiver in fear.
“We have to do something,” said Charli, with a tremor in her voice. Nellie nodded.
Em, apparently satisfied that she had stoked the fire enough, withdrew the pole and laid it on the ground. She strode over to Hamish. “You won’t have to wait long, my tasty little morsel.” She squeezed Hamish’s cheek as though testing the tenderness of a piece of meat. “Ha, not much fat on you, is there? You won’t make much of a meal. I can see I’ll have to add a little something to this dish.”
She looked over toward her garden. “Ha!” she said. “Vegetables, that’s what this dish needs.” Then she strode to a vegetable patch near the back door of the cottage.
“Come on,” said Nellie. “We have to find a way into the yard.”
The fence was too high for them to climb over so they skirted along the side and along the back until they found a loose paling.
“Let’s try to get this paling off,” said Charli. “I bet we can get through then.”
As quietly as they could, they both pulled on the paling until it worked loose. Removing it made only a narrow gap but Nellie thought they might be able to squeeze through. Charli was slightly smaller than her so Nellie suggested she go first.
“I’ll keep an eye on that evil woman,” she said.
She watched Em gathering potatoes and cabbages and placing them into a large basket while Charli wriggled through the gap in the fence. Then it was Nellie’s turn. She took off her jacket and handed it through the fence to Charli. Placing her left foot and left hand through first Nellie tried to step through the opening sideways, but her body became stuck.
“Can you pull me through?”
Charli pulled her arm while Nellie tried to push her body through the gap. A loud cracking sound startled them. One of the palings had split. Nellie scrambled through. They both dropped to the ground. Nellie looked in Em’s direction. Had she heard the noise? The woman had turned and was looking toward the fence. Her eyes scanned the fence line but after a few minutes she went back to the vegetables she had gathered and began washing them at the garden tap.
“I thought she had spotted us,” said Charli, breathing a sigh of relief and handing Nellie her jacket.
Em now had her back to Nellie and Charli so they crept forward toward Hamish. When they reached the tree where he was tied, they hid behind the trunk.
“Hamish,” whispered Charli. “Nellie and I are here. We’ll get you out of this.”
Nellie saw Hamish’s body move as though he was trying to turn around to look at them.
“Don’t move,” she hissed. “Don’t say anything.”
They saw Em take the vegetables to a flat-topped tree stump close to the fire pit and pick up a large meat cleaver. Nellie winced as she watched the sharp blade slit a cabbage, separating it from its roots. The round cabbage rolled away from the blade, like a severed head. Charli clamped her hand across her mouth. Nellie squeezed her eyes shut. Would Em use that cleaver on Hamish? She opened her eyes then wished she had kept them closed because the first thing she saw was the sharp blade in Em’s hand.
“Quick,” she whispered to Charli. “See if we can untie these knots.”
Keeping her eyes on Em, she began working on the ropes that bound Hamish’s arms while Charli worked on those around his legs.
“Hurry,” grunted Hamish.
Em turned to look at Hamish. Charli and Nellie stopped what they were doing. Even though they were hidden behind the tree, Em might notice any slight movement. When Em turned back to her work, Charli and Nellie continued theirs. They struggled to untie the knots.
Em finished chopping the vegetables and placed them in a basket. She stood at the edge of the pit with the meat cleaver in one hand and the stoking pole in the other. Flames leapt from the pit as she poked the fire again.
“Aha,” she chortled, resting the pole on the ground again. “Red hot stones.”
Nellie’s fingers worked frantically. Charli had managed to untie one of the knots but not enough to free Hamish. Em turned and, brushing shreds of cabbage from the blade of the meat cleaver, marched toward Hamish. Nellie and Charli froze. Hamish’s knees rattled with fear.
Now Em was in front of Hamish, the meat cleaver raised in the air. Hamish squeezed his eyes shut. Em laughed her evil cackle.
“Don’t worry, tasty little morsel. I am not going to cut you up.” She brought the shiny blade down and sliced the ropes that bound Hamish. He looked away quickly as the blade came dangerously close to his body.
“I need you in one piece for slow cooking,” said Em. “I’ll chop you up when you are nicely cooked. You won’t feel a thing.” An evil chortling rippled in her throat and spilled from her mouth like a turkey gobble. Still holding the cleaver in one hand, she grabbed Hamish around the back of the neck and pushed him toward the side of the fire pit. Hamish struggled to get free. He punched and kicked but stopped when Em threatened him with the cleaver. Charli made to rush forward but Nellie stopped her.
“Wait till that Em is nearly at the edge,” she whispered.
“Let me go, you evil witch,” yelled Hamish.
Still gobbling loudly, Em began to push Hamish into a basket which was dangerously close to the edge of the pit. Charli and Nellie looked at each other, nodded in silent agreement and dashed forward.
“Hamish! Jump back!” Nellie yelled. At the same time, she and Charli used all their strength to push Em. The woman was so startled she lost her balance and fell headlong into the fire pit. The basket tumbled in after her as Hamish jumped backward. He fell and lay face up on the ground.
9: Prince Alphonse
“Are you okay, Hamish?”
Hamish bounced to his feet. “I’m fine.”
“Oh, Hamish,” said Charli. “I thought you were going to get cooked.”
“No way. I would have thought of something.”
“Yeah, right,” said Charli.
At that moment, fiery flames whooshed up out of the pit. The hangi, the cup-cake cottage and the garden disappeared.
“That’s the second disappearing act I’ve seen today,” said Charli.
“What are you talking about?” said Hamish.
“Never mind, we’ll tell you later.”
“Come on, then,” said Hamish. “Let’s get going. The sooner we get out of this crazy fairytale land the better.”
They made their way along the path.
“This place is spooky,” said Charli when they reached the black forest s
he and Nellie had been in earlier.
Nellie and Hamish agreed. They quickened their pace, relieved when the black forest changed to a conifer woodland. No sooner had they entered the new green forest than the path was blocked by a high hedge of flowers.
“Those flowers look like roses,” Nellie said. “They must be wild roses.”
“We haven’t got time to be admiring flowers,” said Hamish. “If we can’t get around this hedge we’ll have to go over it.”
Hamish moved toward the hedge.
“You’ll get scratched,” said Nellie. “The thorns look very sharp.”
Nellie wondered if he would try parkour to get over it, trying to imagine what he might do. She was astonished when, as he drew near, the rose bushes moved aside making a path for them.
“Awesome!” said Hamish.
Charli and Nellie followed him along the path.
“Oh, no. It’s another fairy tale,” said Nellie, as the bushes closed behind them.
“What fairy tale, Nellie?” said Charli.
“Sleeping Beauty,” said Nellie. “The prince had to get through the rose bushes to kiss the princess who had been asleep for a hundred years.”
“Another stupid fantastical story,” said Hamish.
Charli ignored her brother. “Oh, I love that story. That mean fairy who had not been invited to the princess’s christening said that on her sixteenth birthday the princess would prick her finger on a spindle and die.”
“Yes,” said Nellie. “And she did prick her finger on a spindle on her sixteenth birthday. Luckily, one of the other fairies sort of undid the bad fairy’s wish so that the princess slept for a hundred years instead of dying. The whole castle fell asleep.”
“And one hundred years later a prince came to the castle and woke her with a kiss,” said Charli. “So romantic.”
Hamish screwed up his face in disgust. “Yuck,” he said.
They passed through the avenue of roses and entered the grounds of a castle surrounded by high stone walls. The castle was made of golden stone with rows of windows at several levels and turrets and towers reaching toward the sky. Semi-circular white marble steps led up to arched wrought-iron double doors big enough for an elephant to walk through.
Nothing moved. Silence surrounded them. It feels like the middle of the night when everyone in the house is asleep, thought Nellie. Doves sat on the turrets of the castle, heads hidden under wings. In the far end of the castle grounds, sleeping horses stood still and quiet. Dogs lay snoring nearby.
“You see,” said Nellie. “It’s just like the fairy tale. Everything is asleep.”
They walked up the marble steps and pushed against one of the double doors. It opened with a whispered creak into a grand entrance of gleaming golden floors surrounded by marble arches and towering pillars. Nothing stirred. Not a sound broke the eerie silence. Flies slept on the wall. Puffs of dust rose from the rich red carpet as they crept along a wide hallway. The three children wandered from room to room. In the kitchen, the cook stood fast asleep, his hand on a wooden spoon that was stuck in a large pot as though he had fallen asleep in the middle of stirring. The sleeping kitchen maid sat in a chair with a half plucked chicken on her lap.
Eventually, they climbed a long spiral stairway to the upstairs section of the castle. In the grand banquet hall, elaborately dressed men and women lay asleep on velvet couches. The king and queen, still on their golden thrones, slept with heads slumped forward on their chests.
Nellie pointed to some stairs on the far side of the hall. “We should go up to the tower,” she whispered.
They tiptoed across the hall to climb the winding stairs to the tower. When Nellie opened the door of the tower room, the first thing she saw was a young girl fast asleep on an antique settee.
“That’s Sleeping Beauty,” she whispered to the others.
From one of the dark recesses came a whirring rattle. An old woman sat in the corner at a spinning wheel working the treadle with her foot. Her hands pulled long threads from a rough clump attached to the top of the spinning wheel. She acknowledged their entrance with a nod of her head but did not stop the movement of her hands or foot.
“Hello,” said Nellie. “I know who you are. We are not going to touch your spindle so don’t even ask.”
“I would not dream of allowing you to touch it, my dear,” said the old woman. “Children of the modern world do not know how to handle spinning wheels. You would surely break something.”
“We’ll be going then,” said Nellie.
“Of course you must go,” said the old woman. Nellie turned toward the door, but the woman continued. “Before you go, at least wake up the sleeping princess there. If you do not, she will never wake up.”
Nellie looked at the sleeping girl. Soft blond hair framed her heart-shaped face. Her chest rose and fell with her breathing rhythm.
The old woman looked directly at Hamish. “Only a princely kiss will awaken her.”
“Don’t look at me,” said Hamish. “I’m not a prince.”
“You will be a prince as soon as you waken the princess.” The old woman’s foot continued its slow pumping on the treadle while her hands pulled and twisted the long thread.
“I am too young,” said Hamish. “I am only eleven years old.”
“You are old enough to wake the princess,” said the woman.
Nellie and Charli couldn’t help smiling at Hamish’s embarrassment. Nellie reassured him.
“It’s all right, Hamish,” she said. “Maybe you’ll get to live happily ever after like the prince in Sleeping Beauty.”
Hamish looked at the sleeping girl but did not move toward her. “It’s a stupid idea. I have never kissed a girl. I am too young to kiss girls.”
Nellie laughed. “I thought you would be brave enough to do anything.”
“You don’t have to be brave to kiss girls. You have to be stupid.”
“Close your eyes and pretend it is your sister,” said the old woman, dipping two fingers into a bowl of water and running them along the thread. “A sisterly kiss on the cheek is all that is required to wake her from her slumber.”
Charli turned her cheek toward Hamish. “Just a sisterly kiss, brother dear.”
Hamish ignored her.
“Go on, Hamish,” said Nellie. “We can’t let her sleep forever.”
Hamish shrugged and took a few hesitant steps toward the settee. Slowly, he moved closer to the sleeping girl until he finally stood next to her. Still he hesitated.
“Go on, scaredy cat,” said Charli.
Hamish sighed and knelt down next to the princess. He closed his eyes and, with a quick jerk of his head, planted a light kiss on the girl’s face. Then he jumped to his feet and sprang back. Nellie and Charli laughed.
The princess stirred. She raised her eyelids and fixed her brown eyes on Hamish. At that moment the castle began to come to life. They smelled food cooking. Muffled voices. The sounds of people moving around. Music played. Birds chirped. Horses neighed. Dogs barked.
The princess held a hand out to Hamish and smiled sweetly at him. “I am Rose,” she said. “Come. You must meet my father.”
Hamish took a step backward.
“That’s all right. No need for that. We have to go now.”
The princess did not seem to hear him. She rose to her feet, smoothing the creases in her long pink gown. Taking Hamish’s hand she pulled him out of the tower and down the winding stairs. Hamish cast an anxious backward glance at Nellie and Charli who followed the pair. In the banquet hall, musicians played. Dancing couples, their long graceful steps in time with the music, swept around the room. The nobles who had been asleep on the couches were now awake. They stood around in groups talking.
The king and queen, in royal capes of purple and gold, met Hamish and Rose as they entered. Overjoyed at the sight of their daughter, they held out their arms. After embracing her parents, the princess drew Hamish forward.
“This young man awoke me from my
long slumber,” she said.
The king immediately clasped Hamish’s shoulders as though greeting a lost relative. “Young man, you are a hero.”
Embarrassment spread across Hamish’s face.
“What is your name?” said the king.
“Never mind,” interrupted the queen. “You shall have a new name now, a royal name.”
“Indeed,” said the king. “I give you the name of my grandfather. You shall be called Prince Alphonse and you shall marry my daughter. One day you will be king.”
Hamish’s mouth dropped open. He looked across at Nellie and Charli who did not know what to say.
“I am sorry,” said Hamish. “I cannot accept. You see, I am only eleven. I am too young to marry.”
“Nonsense,” said the king. “You are old enough to wake my daughter from a one hundred year sleep; of course you are old enough to marry her. Besides, the wedding will not take place for some time. In the meantime you will all be our very honoured guests.”
Oh no, thought Nellie, we could be stuck here forever.
10: Pages and Sages
Nellie knew they had to think of a way to get back to General Realm as quickly as possible. Remembering the final words of Fairy Godmother, an idea came to her.
“Your majesty,” she said, addressing the king. “We have only seen a little of your castle. Do you think we could have a tour?”
“Most certainly. The queen and I will escort you. When we return, you will be our guests at a royal feast. Princess Rose will retire to her chamber to make ready for the feast.”
In response to the king’s short sharp hand claps, maidservants appeared and escorted Princess Rose away.
“Come,” said the king.
With their royal capes billowing behind them, the king and queen led the way along winding hallways and through grand rooms, followed at a discreet distance by servants. At the entrance to each room, door attendants waited and quickly moved to open and close the heavy doors for the royal party. Finally, they arrived at the room Nellie had been looking for; the library. She gazed in awe at the domed ceiling decorated with strange carvings and the glass-fronted mahogany cupboards filled with ancient books that lined opposite walls from floor to ceiling. More books lay open on low tables around the room. High backed chairs stood to attention along one wall. In the middle of the room a huge vase of flowers from the castle gardens stood on a polished round table. A fire burned in the grate.