Nanny hadn’t meant for Circe to hear what she was thinking. “I want only to protect you, Circe. I promise you,” she insisted.
Circe stood silently, not knowing what to say. She felt numb and close to tears. She couldn’t look Nanny in the eye. “I think I will go home, write to Snow White, and ask her more about this book,” Circe said. “Besides, I think I could use a change of scenery.”
In the time Aurora had been in the dream realm, she had never been able to speak with anyone who appeared in the mirrored chamber; she was always just an observer. And now that she was speaking with someone in this lonely, dreary place, it had to be with these women, these witches, these bizarre raving lunatics she could hardly understand.
“Oh, that isn’t nice, Princess. Not nice at all.”
“Yes, watch your manners, dear!”
“Didn’t your stupid fairy godmothers teach you manners?”
Aurora didn’t know what to say. She still wasn’t entirely convinced that the witches were actually speaking to her. She remembered one night when she was watching her cousin Tulip. She could have sworn that Tulip was talking directly to her, but it turned out she was talking to her cat, Pflanze. Aurora had felt silly for answering Tulip, and she’d promised herself she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Oh, we’re talking to you, Princess! Oh, yes, we are!”
Aurora narrowed her eyes at the witches in the mirror.
“Oh, yes, Aurora! We see you!” The two witches in the left and right mirrors were waving manically, eyes bulging as they smiled at her like madwomen.
Even though they all looked exactly alike, the witch in the middle somehow seemed older than the other two. She wasn’t joining in their antics. She just stood there, staring right at Aurora, taking her measure. “So you’re the princess Aurora. Maleficent will be so pleased that we found you.”
“Who…who are you? And how do you know Maleficent?” Aurora said hesitantly.
“My name is Lucinda, and these two rather animated witches are my sisters, Ruby and Martha. As for Maleficent, well…she is a very old friend of ours,” the witch in the middle replied.
Aurora studied the odd sisters. The women were clearly magical, but Aurora sensed that their powers were limited by the twilight magic of the dreamscape.
“Are you Circe’s sisters?” the princess asked, putting it together. She had seen a beautiful young witch named Circe at Morningstar Castle with her cousin Princess Tulip. Circe had been fretting over her sisters, who were trapped in the land of dreams.
“How does the sleeping Rose know our little sister?” Ruby screamed, her face contorting itself horribly.
Lucinda shot her sister an evil glare, silencing her. “Don’t squawk, Ruby. And let’s please try to talk plainly and in a straight line for the princess here. This place is confusing enough without us adding to the bedlam.”
“Oh, no! Are we doing that again, Lucinda? Please! Please tell us we don’t have to!” Ruby and Martha yelled.
“Tell us how you know our sister!” Ruby snarled, making Aurora jump back in fright.
“Stop this, Ruby, and let the girl answer the question!” Lucinda scolded her.
Clearly Lucinda is in charge of the other two, the princess thought.
“She’s not in charge!” squeaked Martha, reading Aurora’s mind.
“Oh, you know she’s in charge! She always has been!” said Ruby.
“Sisters, please! Let the girl speak. She was going to tell us about our sister,” Lucinda said.
“Well, I wasn’t, actually. It seems to me since I have information you want, it might be better to keep it to myself,” Aurora said bravely.
Lucinda smirked slyly. “I see.”
What happened next was entirely unexpected. Lucinda stepped through the mirror like a specter from the fathoms of death, her long bony hands grasping at the princess. Terrified, Aurora fell backward onto the ground, suddenly seized by a terrible burning sensation within her.
The three sisters cackled. “Careful, dear! You haven’t discovered all the magic in this place, or the magic within your own soul. Now tell us what you know about our little sister!”
Circe sat on the floor of her eerily quiet house, surrounded by her sisters’ books. She had written her letter to Snow and was now searching for something—anything—that could help her wake her sisters. The house’s stained glass windows, depicting her sisters’ many adventures, did nothing to inspire ideas about how to wake them up. It was so strange being in that house alone, flipping through her sisters’ books and going through their pantry. She had found countless sleeping enchantments and their antidotes, but nothing to bring someone out of the realm of dreams—if that was in fact where her sisters were. If history told Circe anything, it was that there had to be some addendum to whatever curse had sent her sisters to the land of dreams in the first place. It was likely that the person who had cursed them would have to be the one to bring them back. Nevertheless, she searched.
The black onyx crows that flanked the fireplace stared into nothingness while Circe searched in vain through her sisters’ many spell books and journals. Circe had to use all her willpower not to be distracted by the stories inside. Her sisters were so much older than her. She’d often wondered what their lives were like before they had to care for her. They never spoke of it—of the time before she was in their world, or of their parents, or how they had died. Circe’s childhood was a mystery to her. She remembered nothing of her upbringing. Whenever she had tried to ask her sisters about that time, they had simply rambled off senseless words so that she would drop the subject. If only her power to rewind and look at time worked on her. She couldn’t help wondering if those years were documented somewhere in the books. When she was a child, her sisters’ spell books would either refuse to open or scream in pain if she touched them. Her sisters had been alerted anytime she had tried to spy on them. But now her sisters weren’t there. She needed only to open the books, which simultaneously thrilled and frightened her. If her sisters’ protection spells were broken, did that mean they would never recover from their ordeal? Usually a spell stopped working only when a witch was dead.
Circe recalled Nanny telling her how Circe’s spell had gone haywire when Ursula had taken Circe’s soul. Nanny had worried that something terrible had happened to Circe, but she had recovered, hadn’t she? That at least gave Circe hope.
As Circe sat with a stack of books before her, the light coming through a stained glass window featuring a single red apple caught her eye. She had seen the window countless times over the years, and she knew the meaning behind it. She knew fragments of the story, anyway, as she knew only bits of the tales that had inspired all the windows in her home. But right then, the apple caught her eye and tugged at her heart. She thought of Snow White’s book and wondered what secrets it might hold.
Just then, she heard a light tapping on the doorbell, so soft that she almost missed it. She opened the door to find a tiny owl hitting its beak against the large brass bell visitors normally rang to make their presence known. The tiny creature was so enchanted by his own reflection in the brass that he was completely oblivious to Circe.
“Come in, little one. I will give you a biscuit,” Circe said, scooping him up. The little gray owl hooted his thanks as Circe placed him gently on the kitchen table. He promptly stuck out his tiny foot, waiting for Circe to take the scroll that had been tethered there. He looked somewhat wobbly as he stood on one foot. Circe had to wonder how long the little owl had been delivering messages and with what success. She found the biscuit tin, broke a biscuit in half, and gave it to the owl to nibble on while she read the message. He gave her a strange look, as if she was being stingy.
“You’re a wee one, little sir. You may have the other half when you’ve finished that,” Circe said as she unraveled the scroll and began to read.
Dear Circe,
Thank you for your lovely heartfelt letter. I wanted you to know I received it and my mother ha
s agreed to help me with the instructions for the travel charm you sent. There is so much more I want to say to you, but since we will be together soon, I think I will leave it until then.
With kindest regards,
Queen Snow White
Circe was ecstatic at the idea of finally meeting her cousin Queen Snow White. She looked down at her dress and laughed. Well, I’d better change my clothes! Circe was completely disheveled from the events that had befallen her in the past weeks. She hadn’t even bothered to look in a mirror—and she didn’t dare now for fear of how frightful she surely looked.
The owl tapped his little foot on the wooden table, waiting for his reward. She tossed him the other half of the biscuit while she scribbled a hurried note to Nanny, letting her know Snow was on her way to Morningstar.
Once she cleaned herself up and heard what Queen Snow White had to say, she would continue searching through her sisters’ books. Circe just hoped she could find something before it was too late.
Pflanze was sitting quietly in the solarium with the odd sisters. She was keeping herself occupied by looking at the solstice tree, its silver and gold ornaments glittering by the candlelight, when a dreadful feeling came over her. She sat very still. Her ears perked up as she felt a terrible tremor. Something large was approaching Morningstar Castle. As it drew closer, the decorations on the tree started to shake violently, falling from the branches and shattering into splinters all around Pflanze. She bolted away from the tree and let out a loud screech to get someone’s attention. She rarely used her voice, and it sounded strange to her. She decided to call Nanny telepathically, but before she could, the solarium doors burst open, revealing a worried-looking Nanny and Tulip.
What is it? What’s happening? Pflanze asked, looking more frightened than Nanny had ever seen her.
“We don’t know! We thought the odd sisters had woken up and that’s why you were howling!” Nanny cried. She looked around the room, frantically trying to find the cause of the shaking. The room grew dim, and then everything went black.
“Stop!” Nanny raised her hands skyward, creating a brilliant silver light. In its glow, they could see the source of the vibrations. Massive trees had surrounded the solarium. Trees larger than any others, trees thought to have been extinct. Trees that had ruled the kingdom in the time before men or women.
Nanny knew at once why they were there.
Tulip looked up at the trees in shock. She had dreamed of the creatures as she’d read their history, but she’d never thought that she would ever see them in real life.
“They won’t hurt us. That’s not their way!” Tulip screamed. She was afraid Nanny would harm them with her magic.
Before Nanny could answer, there came a rapid knock from the front door of the castle. Nanny and Pflanze turned their attention in that direction as Tulip dashed out of the room to see who was there. When Hudson opened the door, Prince Popinjay ran into the castle, looking rather pleased with himself. “Tulip! The Tree Lords! They’re here!”
Tulip laughed. “Yes, my love, I know. But what are you doing here?” She brushed the leaves and twigs from his velvet jacket, straightening the ribbons at his sleeves.
“I had to follow them when I saw they were headed to the castle, my love! But they assured me they mean you no harm. Their leader, Oberon, he wants to speak with you,” Popinjay said.
Tulip blinked a few times. She was dumbfounded. “With me? But why?”
“I don’t know, my darling. You’d best ask them yourself.”
“I suppose I’d better go out and meet him, then,” Tulip said.
“Now, darling, I know you don’t fear Oberon, but please be wary,” Nanny said. “Don’t agree to anything. Don’t make promises that are not within your power to keep. And whatever you do, please warn them that Maleficent is on her way and will not hesitate to use fire to protect herself.”
Tulip nodded, taking in everything Nanny was saying with grave importance. “Of course.”
“Choose your words wisely, my dear. As you’ve read, the Tree Lords speak very straightforwardly. There is never room for interpretation, and you should use similar language. Always speak as directly as possible. Your words matter now more than ever. Misinterpretation could be disastrous. Now go! Speak to the King of the Fairies!”
Princess Tulip Morningstar stood in the shadow of Oberon. She couldn’t have fathomed how tall the Tree Lords were without seeing them with her own eyes. Her imagination was great—but seeing the sheer awesomeness of Oberon and his army in reality was more earth-shattering than anything she could have conjured in her wildest of dreams. He stood taller than the Lighthouse of the Gods, dwarfing Tulip, who felt smaller than she ever had before. Despite this, somehow she was not afraid.
She stood silently, waiting for Oberon to speak first. Technically, he was visiting her lands, but he had ruled there first, long before the time of men and women. Princess Tulip wanted to show him the respect he deserved. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. Oberon’s voice rumbled from overhead, shaking his branches. His leaves cascaded around Tulip as his sonorous voice—one befitting a venerable and powerful being—boomed out of the darkness.
“Princess Tulip, I am honored to meet you. Would you mind if I took you within my branches so we may speak face to face?”
“Not at all, I would like that,” Tulip replied. And she meant it. She had never felt so fearless. As Oberon’s branches gingerly grabbed her, she didn’t fear that she would be crushed within his powerful clutches. He placed her safely atop the balcony of the Lighthouse of the Gods, where they could meet almost face to face.
“Ah, there you are. You have the face of a queen. You possess beauty that surpasses my imaginings.”
Tulip smiled at the Tree Lord, examining the lines in his face. His features were defined by his bark and the deep cracks in his trunk. And it seemed to Tulip that he might have the most benevolent face she had ever beheld.
“Kind words, my dear,” Oberon said, reading her mind. “We are here to protect you from the Dark Fairy, Maleficent. Long ago, she destroyed the Fairylands. We left it to the other creatures of the forest to exact revenge while we slumbered. But now that we have awoken, we cannot let her come to our lands—your lands—and destroy those you love, dear Tulip.”
The princess didn’t understand why Oberon felt such a devotion to her. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve such an honor.
“We were slumbering in darkness and obscurity for what felt like a millennium, until your interest woke us,” Oberon answered. “Your stories, your imaginings of us brought me and my brethren out of our slumber and gave us life once again. We were forgotten in these lands after we were driven off by the Cyclopean Giants following the Great War. But your thirst for knowledge has sparked life back into us, and for that we are grateful. Without your interest and devotion, we would not exist. I witnessed many things while I slept, my dear. There are many wrongs in this world that we intend to right. It is time to take my place among the fairies once more as their benefactor. To deserve that place again, I must destroy the Dark Fairy known as Maleficent for her crimes against the Fairylands.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, why punish Maleficent now for burning the Fairylands so many years ago?” Tulip said.
Oberon seemed to be contemplating Tulip’s question. “Because, my dear, we were sleeping before. We watched her atrocities while we slumbered. We watched in horror as she destroyed every living creature in those lands—all except the fairies themselves. It took the fairies years to repair the damage. Never once did she return to see if anyone had survived. She didn’t even care to find out whether her adopted mother still lived. We were helpless, as if trapped in a nightmare, seeing all of this without being able to do anything about it. But now that we’ve awoken, there is no choice but to avenge nature by making Maleficent pay for what she’s done. She is a danger to all living things. She is a danger to herself. She is a danger to those you love!”
Tuli
p was speechless. She knew nothing of Maleficent other than the fact that she had put Tulip’s cousin to sleep on her sixteenth birthday. Tulip could not defend the Dark Fairy. “May I ask another question?”
The Tree Lord laughed. “You may ask anything you wish, little one. If it weren’t for you, we would not be here.”
Tulip smiled. “Thank you. Who put you to sleep? I know you ruled these lands long before men and women came to the shores. And I know you and your kind left after the Great War between your kindred and the Cyclopean Giants. But where did you go? Was it the Fairylands?”
Oberon’s laugh rumbled from his chest. “Indeed it was the Fairylands, my dear. We had decided to wander until we could find a place to call home when we came across the fairies. They were living in fear, under constant threat of ogre attacks. The vile beasts had swarmed the Fairylands, burning them again and again. They’d killed everything and everyone in their path. So we stayed, fought off the ogres, and made the Fairylands our home until we wandered into obscurity for our rest.”
“You put yourselves to sleep, then?” Tulip asked.
“I did, my sweet. Our kind live many lifetimes, like your nanny, but infinitely more. Without sleeping for a number of years, we would wither and die. Of course, we take the risk of being forgotten if we cease to exist in the imaginations of the various prevailing inhabitants of the lands. But someone always brings us out of our slumber, like you did, my little one.”
“My nanny, the one you know as—”
“Yes, the One of Legends. She’s one of the most powerful beings of the Fairylands,” Oberon interrupted.
Tulip looked surprised. She had just gotten used to the idea of her nanny being a witch, and now Oberon was telling her she was a fairy.
“Yes, my dear, she is a fairy of the highest rank. Should she want to admit it or not, she is of that realm and always shall be,” Oberon said, reading Tulip’s thoughts. “She is the purest of fairy kind. I ceased to sense her magic in the world as I slept. I thought she was gone from us forever, but lately I have sensed her once again. Did you awaken her the way you woke me, my little one?”
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