by Chris Colfer
“Please forgive the mess we made on the way in,” Mistress Mara said. “We got tired of looking for the entrance, so we created our own.”
“What are you doing here?” Brystal asked.
“Why, we’ve come to pay our respects to the great Fairy Godmother, of course,” the Mistress said. “What you’ve done for the magical community is nothing short of a miracle. I never thought I’d see a day when we could live as openly, as freely, and as safely as we do now. My girls and I are so grateful we were compelled to thank you face-to-face.”
Her compliments were kind, but Brystal could tell they weren’t sincere.
“I’m flattered,” she said.
“As you should be,” Mistress Mara said. “In fact, you’ve been such a source of inspiration, I decided to follow in your footsteps, and I recently opened a school of my own.”
Brystal was surprised to hear it. “You opened a school of magic?”
“Not exactly,” the Mistress said with a twinkle in her eye. “There is so much more to the magical community than just magic. And while no one can deny the progress you’ve made, let’s be honest, you don’t represent the entire community, do you?”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t mean any offense, dear. I’m simply stating the obvious. Half of our community has been horribly neglected in all your endeavors. We’ve been shunned, shamed, and denied the same opportunities. So I’ve opened a school to fix that.”
Skylene gasped. “They’re witches!” she exclaimed.
“They can’t be!” Tangerina said. “Witchcraft distorts people’s appearance—and they’re too pretty to be witches!”
Mistress Mara gave a patronizing laugh, like they were children in grown-up clothes.
“Witches have evolved in ways you couldn’t imagine,” she said.
Tangerina and Skylene were spooked by the comment. They pulled Lucy in front of them and used her as a shield.
“You’re wrong about me,” Brystal said. “I created the Fairy Territory so everyone in our community would have a home. It doesn’t matter what your specialty is, or what your interests are, everyone is welcome. We don’t discriminate here.”
“You may tolerate witches, but you don’t encourage them,” Mistress Mara said. “If it were up to you, we’d all be converted into fairies by now. But witches aren’t something you can just wish away. We’ve been in the world just as long as fairies have, and we’re here to stay.”
The witch moved through the Fairy Council, leaving a trail of dead grass behind her, and she addressed all the fairies watching her throughout the property.
“Without question, the Fairy Godmother has made magic more acceptable, respectable, and admirable than ever before. Dare I say it, she’s made fairies normal. But some of us don’t want to be normal, do we? Some of us were born with a strong desire to be different. Some of us prefer the strange and unusual to the safe and predictable. Deep down, you know you’ll never be satisfied with granting wishes and rewarding good deeds. Deep down, you know you’ll never thrive among flowers and unicorns. You and I are creatures of the night, children of the moon, and the only way to lead a fulfilling life is by embracing the darkness within us. And luckily, I can teach you how.”
“So that’s why you’re here,” Lucy said. “You’re trying to poach our students!”
Mistress Mara turned to Lucy with her first genuine smile of the visit.
“My, my, my,” she said. “Is that the notorious Lucy Goose I see?”
“Actually, it’s pronounced GOO—oh wait, you said it right.”
“I’m a big admirer of your work,” Mistress Mara said. “Is it true you destroyed the Western Dam with just a touch of your hands?”
Lucy shrugged self-consciously. “It wasn’t my finest moment,” she said.
“I beg to differ,” the witch said. “It’s very rare to find someone with gifts like yours. We’d be honored to have you at our school.”
“Seriously?” Lucy asked in disbelief. “Wow, it’s been a long time since someone actually wanted me to—”
The Fairy Council shot her a dirty look.
“Um… I mean, no thanks,” Lucy said. “I admit the overall cheerfulness of this place can be obnoxious at times, but it’s home.”
“Pity,” Mistress Mara said. “We could have done great things together.”
The witch spun around and continued her pitch to the other fairies.
“As for the rest of you, the Ravencrest School of Witchcraft is officially open and ready for enrollment. If my words resonated with you today, if you’re eager to connect to your true nature, to unlock limitless potential, and to expand your abilities beyond the Fairy Godmother’s definition of magic, then perhaps you belong with us.”
Mistress Mara extended an open hand toward her audience. Brystal nervously watched the fairies as they considered the witch’s offer. She could tell some of them were intrigued by the invitation, but no one said a word or stepped forward.
“As you can see, we’re all perfectly happy here,” Brystal said. “I’m sorry you made the trip for nothing.”
“Very well,” Mistress Mara said. “Consider this an open invitation. Should any of you change your mind, the Ravencrest School of Witchcraft is in the Northwestern Woods between the Dwarf and Elf Territories. We hope to see you soon.”
The witch returned to the black carriage and held the door open while Sprout, Hareiet, Beebee, and Stitches climbed inside. Just as Mistress Mara was about to shut the door behind herself, she was stopped by a voice across the grounds.
“Wait! Don’t leave!”
Brystal recognized the voice immediately. She glanced over her shoulder, praying she was mistaken, but her ears weren’t deceiving her. A young fairy pushed her way to the front of the crowd and presented herself to the witch.
“I’d like to join your school of witchcraft, Mistress Mara!” Pip announced.
The witch observed her like a cat observing a mouse.
“Excellent,” she said. “Please come inside and take a seat.”
Pip was excited to join the witches and sprinted toward the carriage. Before she could climb aboard, Brystal grabbed Pip’s wrist and pulled her aside.
“Pip, what are you doing?”
“I’m joining the Ravencrest School of Witchcraft.”
“No! I won’t let them take you!” Brystal exclaimed.
“They aren’t taking me; I want to go,” Pip said. “Everything Mistress Mara said about being different is exactly how I’ve been feeling—I’ve just never been able to explain why. Maybe the reason I feel so empty all the time is because I’m in the wrong place? Maybe I belong with the witches?”
“We all feel different from time to time, but that doesn’t make someone a witch!”
“There’s only one way to know for sure. If I don’t go with them, I may regret it forever.”
Brystal couldn’t believe how determined she was to leave. Pip tried to get away from Brystal, but Brystal wouldn’t let go of her wrist.
“Pip, you’re like a sister to me! I can’t let you do this!”
“It’s not up to you! This is my choice!”
“But this isn’t a choice—it’s a mistake!”
“Then it’s my mistake to make!”
As Pip pulled away from Brystal, her arm started to stretch like rubber. It expanded several feet as she headed toward the carriage, but Brystal reined her in like a long rope.
“Pip, trust me, you don’t want to do this!” Brystal said.
“Don’t tell me what I want!” Pip said.
“They’re using your emotions to trick you! Witches earn people’s trust so they can manipulate them later! They don’t actually care about you!”
“Neither do you! You just want to keep me here so you can control me! This academy is no different from the Bootstrap Correctional Facility! But I won’t be a prisoner anymore! I’m leaving whether you like it or not!”
Pip kept stretching and stretching, an
d eventually, her wrist slipped out of Brystal’s hands. Her arm snapped back to normal and Brystal fell backward on the ground. By the time she got to her feet, Pip was already seated inside the carriage. Mistress Mara smiled and waved good-bye.
“Once again, thanks for all the inspiration,” the witch said.
“Pip, wait!” Brystal pleaded. “Please, come back!”
Mistress Mara slammed the carriage door shut. The vehicle rose to its feet and crawled back into the hedge barrier. Brystal ran after the carriage, but there was nothing else she could do.
Pip was gone.
CHAPTER FIVE
WARMTH FROM A COLD HEART
After Pip’s departure from the academy, Brystal spent the rest of the day inside her office. She locked the double doors and applied a spell to keep everyone out, but even with complete isolation, Brystal never felt alone. Her disturbing thoughts had become so persistent they developed a presence of their own—like a shadow she couldn’t escape from.
You should have done more for Pip.…
But you were too busy to help her.…
You were too selfish to care.…
You let her down, and she made the biggest mistake of her life.…
The witches took her away, and she’s never coming back.
The thoughts thrived in silence, as if a quiet room was their natural habitat. Although they didn’t make a physical sound, Brystal could have sworn they echoed around her.
You can’t handle all of this.…
Mankind’s approval…
Prince Maximus…
The Three Thirty-Three…
Witches…
You’re going to drown.
Brystal had never felt more helpless in her life. She desperately needed advice on how to manage everything on her plate, but who in the world could help her? Who could answer all the questions tormenting her? Who could supply comfort and reassurance in a time like this?
Her weary eyes drifted toward the globe beside her desk. Thankfully, the northern lights were dancing above the Northern Mountains like always. Brystal was relieved to see the lights hadn’t changed, but this time, they also gave her an idea.
Perhaps there was someone she could talk to—or at least, half of someone.
The idea quickly became a possibility, and the possibility quickly turned into a plan. Later that night, when the rest of the Fairy Territory was asleep, Brystal carefully wrapped the glowing red arrow in a handkerchief and dressed in a warm, sparkling coat. She quietly opened the windows of her office and floated outside in a large bubble.
Brystal flew as high as she could so no one on the ground would notice her. She steered her bubble over the academy grounds, across the Troll and Goblin Territories, and into the clouds above the Northern Kingdom. The night air became colder and colder as she flew farther north, and soon the snowy Northern Mountains appeared below her. Still, Brystal continued her northern excursion and drifted deeper into the mountains, far beyond the reaches of civilization.
In the distance, hovering above the sharp peaks of the mountain range, were the shimmering northern lights. Brystal landed on a snowy mountainside directly below the lights and popped the bubble with her wand. The howling wind was freezing, and Brystal pulled up the collar of her coat to shield her face. She had no clue what she should be looking for, but Brystal searched the frosted mountain for anything that might lead her in the right direction.
All Brystal could see was the snow whirling around her, but as her eyes adjusted, she eventually noticed the narrow opening of a small cave. She squeezed through the opening and was grateful to get out of the bitter wind. She waved her wand and illuminated the dark cave with hundreds of twinkling lights. The lights filled the darkness like a swarm of fireflies, and Brystal discovered it wasn’t a cave after all, but a long tunnel.
She cautiously followed the tunnel as it snaked deeper and deeper into the mountainside. As she went, Brystal noticed the walls of the tunnel were covered in scratches, as if a frightening creature had been dragged through it. Strangely, the unnerving sight gave Brystal hope—a frightening creature was exactly what she wanted to see.
Brystal proceeded down the tunnel for miles. Just when she started to worry the passageway was endless, the tunnel opened into an icy cavern. The twinkling lights wrapped around the largest icicle on the ceiling and it illuminated the area like a chandelier. Brystal searched every corner and crevasse of the frigid cavern but found nothing out of the ordinary.
“What a waste of time,” she mumbled to herself. “I was stupid for coming here—finding her is like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Brystal knew the person of interest was somewhere in the Northern Mountains—otherwise the northern lights wouldn’t be in the sky—but there were probably thousands of caverns she’d have to search before she found the person. Cold and defeated, Brystal sat on a boulder and rested her tired legs before heading home.
As she moped, Brystal spotted something strange out of the corner of her eye. A tall silhouette was watching her from the back of the cavern. Alarmed, Brystal leaped to her feet and pointed her wand at the strange figure.
“I see you!” she announced. “Don’t come any closer!”
The figure obeyed Brystal’s order and didn’t move an inch.
“Who are you?” she asked.
They didn’t respond. In fact, it was eerie how silent and still they were. Brystal slowly approached the back of the cavern and realized why she hadn’t seen them before—the figure was frozen in a wall of ice! She wiped away a layer of condensation and immediately jumped back when she recognized the person trapped inside. It was a monstrous woman with an enormous snowflake crown and a white fur coat. Her skin was blackened and cracked from frostbite, her teeth were as jagged as broken glass, and a cloth was wrapped around her eyes. Without a doubt, Brystal had finally found the infamous Snow Queen.
“I knew you’d come eventually.”
The voice came out of nowhere and startled Brystal—but this time, it wasn’t just in her head. She spun around and pointed her wand in the direction of the voice. A beautiful woman with dark hair and bright eyes had appeared in the cavern behind her. The woman wore a plum gown and an elaborate fascinator and she beamed with a warm smile.
“Madame Weatherberry?” Brystal gasped.
The fairy looked younger and more vibrant than ever before. Brystal didn’t know how it was possible for Madame Weatherberry and the Snow Queen to exist in two different places, but she didn’t care. Without wasting another second, Brystal ran across the cavern to embrace her former mentor, but she passed through Madame Weatherberry like she was made of air.
“Are you a ghost?” Brystal asked.
“Something like that,” Madame Weatherberry said. “After we said our good-byes in the Tinzel Palace, I tried my best to keep the promises I made to you. I traveled as far away from civilization as my feet would carry me, but living in seclusion made the Snow Queen stronger. It was only a matter of time before she conquered me completely, so I searched the mountains for a place to imprison her and discovered this cavern. I froze myself in a wall of ice to trap her, and just in case it melted, I blinded myself so she would never find a way out. With my last bit of strength, I performed a detachment spell to separate us. As long as the Snow Queen lives, I’ll exist like a phantom outside of her.”
“Can you come back to the academy like this?” Brystal asked.
Madame Weatherberry’s smile faded and she shook her head.
“We no longer share a body, but I’m still linked to her and can’t stray beyond the walls of this cave,” she explained. “Not that I deserve to anyway. I’m responsible for creating her, and therefore responsible for all the destruction she caused. I belong in this cavern just as much as the Snow Queen does.”
“Then why perform a detachment spell at all?” Brystal asked.
“Well, for a couple of reasons,” Madame Weatherberry said. “First, if anyone came here with the intention of free
ing the Snow Queen, I wanted to talk them out of it. Second, I thought I might be useful to you one day. I left you with an impossibly heavy burden, Brystal. While I still have nothing but absolute faith in you, I figured you might need a little guidance at some point. Now that you’re here, is it safe to assume my hunch was correct?”
Brystal nodded and her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes,” she cried. “And you have no idea how much I need you.”
Being in Madame Weatherberry’s presence made Brystal feel safe. She put her guard down for the first time in months, and all her suppressed emotions surged forward. Brystal fell on her knees and sobbed in the middle of the cavern.
“You poor thing,” Madame Weatherberry said. “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have placed so much responsibility on your shoulders.”
“No, it’s not that.” Brystal sniffled. “We did it, Madame Weatherberry—we did everything we always dreamed about! Magic has been legalized in all four kingdoms! Mankind doesn’t just approve of magic, they’re fascinated by it. The academy is now home to thousands of fairies who are learning to develop their abilities. And not only have we made the world a safer place for the magical community, we’ve also done amazing things for women and the talking creatures, too!”
If Madame Weatherberry had had a physical form, she would have needed to sit down. The fairy placed a hand over her heart, and her eyes went wide with exhilaration. She let out such a deep breath, it was like she was sighing with relief for the entire magical community.
“Oh, Brystal,” she said. “I’ve waited a long time to hear those words. You’ve brought so much warmth to such a cold place.”
Brystal nodded and forced herself to smile.
“I know—it’s amazing,” she said. “I didn’t think the world could change so much.”
“Then why do you seem so sad?” Madame Weatherberry asked.