by Shea, K. M.
Erick narrowed her eyes. “Angelique, you say? It would be a big gamble to use her magic in Arcainia, even if it is to protect us.”
“We will back her. With the curse broken, we can speak for her,” Nick said.
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to do that.”
Elise and the princes of Arcainia whipped around.
Angelique was at the edge of the pond, mounted on her strange horse. She was a little mussed, but she looked darling and gorgeous instead of resembling a muddied street rat, as Elise suspected she did.
“I didn’t manage to break the curse or off Clotilde,” Angelique said, dismounting from her odd horse. The eerie creature shook its mane, and its black fur seemed to swirl in the moonlight.
“But we’re back to normal,” Steffen said.
“Not quite,” Angelique said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Forgive me for my ill-timed introduction. I am Angelique.”
“It is good to see you again, Lady Enchantress,” Steffen said, taking Angelique’s hand and bowing over it.
“I echo my brother’s sentiments,” Erick said, smiling enigmatically.
Elise grasped the important part of the introduction. “What do you mean not quite?”
“I laid a trap for Clotilde. Although I was able to attack her, I did not win. She is not very good with magic; in fact, she is quite bad at it,” Angelique was silent for a moment, as if waiting for a wave of complaints. None of the Arcainian royals protested—they had been brought up to mind their manners better than that. “However,” Angelique continued. “She has an impressive arsenal of premade curses. As a person, she is not strong—she is barely above petty magics like temporary love charms. But she has gotten hold of some strong magical tools. They were what she used to curse you. There are two of them, I think.”
“You were unable to break the artifacts?” Steffen asked.
Angelique shook her head. “No, I am afraid not. I did weaken the curse. I made a crack in it so you will be human for an hour every night when the sun sets, but that is the best I could manage.”
Steffen slowly nodded. Mikk and Nick moved to stand on either side of him like hulking bodyguards. “I see. We thank you; it is more than we ever could have done.”
“Will we be like this forever?” Gerhart asked.
“No,” Angelique said. “All hope is not lost. Clotilde can be defeated. I am too weak to defeat her on my own, but if I am joined by a colleague or two, we will be more than a match for her.”
“How long will it take you to gain support for our situation?” Falk asked.
Angelique pressed her lips together. Her eyes were sorrowful and heartbreaking. “I am afraid it will be all summer, if not a year.”
“If you excuse my manners, could you elaborate, Lady Enchantress?” Gerhart asked, bowing when Angelique looked in his direction.
Angelique flipped her hair over one shoulder. “It’s unfortunate, but the Veneno Conclave knows what I did. They have sent couriers after me, most likely with instructions to bring me before the council. I am not much worried by the prospect of a punishment, but it would be most…inconvenient for me at this time as most punishments involve several years of imprisonment.”
“You will have to run,” Rune said, grappling for a moment when he discovered he had no sword belt to hook his thumbs on.
“I can, and I will. I plan to go to Erlauf. I will return to Verglas when I am certain the Conclave is no longer looking for me.”
“Will they give up on you so easily?” Erick asked.
“As soon as another issue captures their attention, I will be forgotten. I merely need to outwait them. After my misdemeanor is forgiven, it will take time to find another enchanter or enchantress to aid me in fighting Clotilde.”
“So we will remain here while we wait? There isn’t much we can do if we’re human for one hour a night,” Nick said.
“We cannot rally support outside Arcainia,” Mikk said. “We are easy targets in our swan form.”
“So we waste time, kicking up our heels and waiting?” Gerhart asked.
“Sometimes inaction is the best course, little Gerhie,” Erick said.
“Don’t call me that,” Gerhart snarled.
“I am forced to agree with Gerhart,” Falk said, his voice quiet and shadowy. “It seems unwise to waste valuable months while Clotilde is raiding the castle. In our absence, she will have access to everything from the armies to the daily vault. With our Father enchanted as he is, she may even get into the treasury.”
“No she won’t,” Elise said. When her foster brothers swung around to stare at her. “She cannot get into the treasury,” Elise said, picking the gold key that hung from her red sash and waggling it.
Steffen’s face regained a hint of its usual humor. “I forgot you always wear that. Well done, Elise. Clotilde’s damage will be limited, at least, if she cannot get into the treasury. No magic user or locksmith can force their way inside it without the key. She cannot ruin the country if she does not have access to all our money.”
“Still, the less time we give Clotilde to scheme, the better,” Mikk said.
“What can we do? We can hardly expect Elise to escort us around as our bodyguard when we are swans,” Rune said.
Angelique delicately cleared her throat. “I assumed you would spend the summer breaking your curse,” she said when the princes looked to her.
“Our curse can be broken?”
“How?”
“What must we do?”
Angelique folded her hands in front of her and waited for the shouts to die down. “It will not be easy… Elise,” she said.
“What?” Nick blinked.
“What does Elise have to do with our curse?” Falk asked.
Rune curled an arm around Elise’s shoulders, drawing her close to him.
“Unfortunately, princes, you can do nothing to alter your current state. But Elise, if she is willing, can,” Angelique said.
“How?” Elise asked, slipping out of Rune’s grasp to get closer to the enchantress.
Angelique held her finger tips of her right hand together and drew them through the air. The air condensed into a silvery mist before forming a long-stalked, leafy plant. “This is the stinging nettle,” Angelique said, rotating the illusion in the air so Elise and the princes could see the sharp looking hairs that poked out of the stalk. “By sewing a great many of these plants into a covering of some sort, the curse can be broken.”
“…You must be joking,” Falk said after several heartbeats of silence.
“A cover—a shirt would be best—must be made individually. If you mean to free all your brothers, you must make seven shirts,” Angelique continued.
“We’re not her brothers,” Rune said automatically.
“Additionally, once you undertake this ambition, you cannot speak a word. If you make the shirts, all of those you have made up until the moment you spoke will be useless and will do nothing to break the curse,” Angelique said.
“Does it have to be Elise?” Gerhart asked. “Why can’t any number of girls do it?”
“It must be one female who takes the burden upon herself, and it takes great strength of character to make the sacrifices that are called for breaking the curse. Do you know any women besides Elise who have the personal fortitude to stay silent for months, perhaps even a year?” Angelique asked.
“What about Gabi?” Nick asked.
Steffen laughed outright. “Don’t be ridiculous. Gabrielle couldn’t keep her mouth shut for a minute, much less a month.”
“Gabrielle is needed at Brandis,” Angelique said.
Steffen grew stiff. “What?”
“She has a unique tool that will allow her to live side-by-side with Clotilde without any ill effects. She said she plans to remain behind at Brandis and see what she can do to protect Arcainia,” Angelique said.
“A tool?” Nick said, interested.
“What tool?” Mikk asked.
“Her cat,” Angelique said.
“What?”
“It is no matter,” Steffen said, shrugging. “If Gabrielle stays behind at Brandis, it is just as well. She wouldn’t be much use out here.”
“Steffen, stop being a fool,” Gerhart said, taking a step towards his eldest brother.
“Don’t,” Rune said, placing his hand in front of him.
“Why not? He’s being cruel and abusive to his wife, even if she is not here,” Gerhart said. “Out of all of us, I would have thought it would be you to correct him, Mr. Hero.”
Rune leaned towards Gerhart and quietly said, “He is using his words to cover up his pain. Ignore it this one time,” he advised.
“Must I sew the shirts, or can I knit and weave the stalks of the stinging nettle to make them?” Elise asked.
“Knitting or weaving would work just as well, but it will put your hands in much pain,” Angelique said.
“But knitting would be faster,” Elise persisted.
“Yes,” Angelique admitted. “You could use the stalk of the plant, or if you stomp on the stalks, you will find them to be fibrous.”
“How could this break our curse? The idea that shirts made of prickly plants could undo such a strong curse seems laughable,” Erick said.
“If that is how you view it, yes, it is,” Angelique said. “However, you are using logic. Magic deals more with the matters of the heart. The curse Clotilde laid on you was constructed with a basis of hate. Because of her hatred for you, she twisted your lives and ruined you. Only a great sacrifice of love could counterbalance such evil. If Elise attempts to break your curse, she is lavishing more love upon the seven of you than the black hatred Clotilde set against you.”
“Knitting isn’t a sacrifice of love,” Gerhart said. “Ow!” he muttered when Nick smacked him upside the head again.
“The fact that you say that reveals a great deal about your character, young prince,” Angelique said. Her soft chiding made Gerhart blush and look away, but Angelique answered his question anyway. “By knitting shirts and remaining silent, Elise will essentially devote her life to you. Knitting with stinging nettles will be a painful process. If you will allow me to be frank, it is likely, Elise, that your hands will grow stiff and gnarled as a result of this process. They may never return to their normal levels of function. Additionally, remaining silent is no small feat. It will take a colossal amount of self-control. You may think the task sounds like child’s play, but even I will admit I am hard pressed to think of more than a few situations where the task to break a curse required less dedication or love.”
“Elise, will you do it?” Steffen asked.
“Are you out of your mind?” Rune asked. “We cannot ask her to do this. Not only will it be painful, but the dangers are numerous. We will be swans, and she will be voiceless in a country that is known for its assassin’s guild.”
“The guild can’t be that good. They failed to eliminate the second prince of Loire,” Erick said.
“There is no reason for Elise to undertake this task,” Falk said. “It is likely to take her a long time to perform this so-called sacrifice of love. The Lady Enchantress said she could return in a year. After finding a fellow magic user, they will eliminate Clotilde, and we will be free anyway. The wait would be a year at worst. I doubt you could knit seven shirts in that amount of time, don’t you, Honeysuckle?” Falk asked, once again using his mocking nicknames.
“Four months. Possibly three,” Elise said.
Her foster brothers blinked. “What?”
“I could finish seven shirts in three to four months. It depends what condition my hands are in,” Elise said, looking to the sky as she made the mental calculations.
“You already know how to knit?” Mikk asked.
“Yes,” Elise said.
“You only embroider, though. Father has forcibly shown me your work,” Gerhart argued.
“Now, I only embroider. When I was an orphan, I learned how to knit quite well,” Elise said.
“You’re still an orphan,” Falk said.
“No, I’m not,” Elise said, gritting her teeth. “Just because you refuse to acknowledge me, does not mean your parents did not deign to welcome me into your family.”
“Elise, you don’t have to do this. We can wait,” Rune said, taking one of Elise’s hands and lifting it to his lips.
“We cannot,” Elise flatly said. “The country needs us. We must return to our posts, and I cannot stand to let that witch win for a moment more than necessary.”
“Elise,” Rune said.
“She’s right. We’re asking a lot of her, but the country needs us,” Steffen said.
“You expect too much from her, Steffen,” Falk said. “You would not ask Gabrielle to do this.”
“Elise knows her duties,” Mikk said.
Elise sighed and let the princes argue. It was better if they thought she did it only out of a sense of duty. The royal princes of Arcainia were already divided when it came to their differing beliefs regarding her. If they knew she undertook the curse only for them, they would probably start slugging each other.
The weeks Elise spent with swans—beautiful but dumb birds—terrified Elise. Ever since Queen Ingrid had selected her as a foster child, Elise had never been alone or unloved. Yes, the royal family hadn’t fully embraced her, but during the days before Angelique arrived, Elise would have given anything just to hear Falk spit out another degrading nickname. That was how much she loved and missed them.
Elise jumped when Angelique laid her hand upon Elise’s shoulder. “There is one small consolation I can give you,” she said. “For the hour your brothers are human, you may speak. But only when they are human. If you utter a single word—even if it is while they make the switch from swan to prince—your work will be ruined.”
“Thank you,” Elise said.
“You will do it, then?” Angelique said, ignoring the quarreling brothers.
“Yes.”
“Be careful. One of the princes mentioned the dangers of being voiceless and without human aid. He spoke the truth. Verglas is free of evil magic, but it has its share of bandits and brutes,” Angelique warned.
“Wouldn’t it be safer in another country?” Elise asked.
Angelique shook her head, making her lovely hair sparkle in the moonlight. “No. Verglas is still safest. It offers you protection from Clotilde and any vile magic she may have up her sleeve. No evil or tainted magic can breech the borders of Verglas. It has been so for centuries.”
Elise set her shoulders. “Then we will remain here.”
“I suggest you travel east, and a little farther north. There is a bigger pond there that is more hospitable for humans. It also has a large number of stinging nettles in the forest that borders it,” Angelique said.
“I thank you for your wise council,” Elise said.
Angelique snorted, looking more like a normal girl than a breathtaking beauty. “It is hardly wise. I circled it about five times when I couldn’t find you. I had to release the weakened curse and watch which way it went.”
“I don’t understand what you mean. The curse wasn’t instantly weakened when you fought Clotilde?” Elise asked.
“It was, but magic—just like everything else—takes time to cover distance. There’s only one kind of magic that allows for instantaneous travel, and those able to wield such a power are rare. As such, the broken curse ambled along with me as I sought you out,” Angelique explained.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand, but I shall take your word for it. Thank you, Lady Enchantress. You do not owe us your help, and I don’t know if we will ever be able to repay you,” Elise said.
Angelique offered Elise a smile that was flavored with sadness. “I know what it is like to lose someone dear to you as the result of an enchantment. I am glad I can help you reclaim your father and foster brothers.”
Elise bobbed in a curtsey. “Thank you.”
Angelique tucked her hand under El
ise’s chin, forcing her to look into Angelique’s eyes. “This is a burden they are placing on you, Princess. But I think you underestimate how important you are to them,” Angelique trailed off and removed her hand from Elise’s chin, thoughtfully looking at it.
“Lady Enchantress?” Elise ventured.
Angelique shook herself. “Something to think about,” she murmured before turning back to her horse. “You cannot wear your uniform. Arcainian work uniforms are impossible to miss, and it will mark you out in a country of cut-throats. Here are some clothes that will suit you better,” Angelique said, retreating to her odd mount. She removed a burlap sack from a saddlebag and handed it over to Elise.
“Thank you,” Elise said, looking down at her ruined uniform. It was dirty, stained, and ripped beyond repair… but Elise was still pained at the thought of parting with it. It felt like she was giving up her position as department head.
“We thank you for your aid, Lady Enchantress. When this is all over, if there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to call on us,” Steffen said, exiting the family argument.
“Thank you,” Angelique said as she climbed her way into the saddle. “I wish you all luck. Be on your guard, but do not fear Clotilde. Evil can never win for long. Farewell,” Angelique said.
Steffen and Elise, the only ones attending to the enchantress’s exit, bowed and curtsied.
“Good bye.”
“Thank you, Lady Enchantress.”
Angelique acknowledged their farewells with the flick of her hand as her night-sky mount carried her into the shadows of the forest. They disappeared from sight shortly after.
“What will you do, Elise?” Steffen asked.
“Break the curse, of course.”
Steffen scuffed his foot in the sand. “You do not have to. I did not mean to imply you had no choice,” he said.
“You are right; I don’t have to,” Elise said, turning to face Steffen. “But if I want our country to survive, if I want you all to survive, I must. And besides, as Mikk said, it is my duty.”
“I know it’s wonderfully responsible of you, but sometimes I wonder if you may be too dutiful,” Steffen said.
Elise smiled. “That is hardly a fault.”