Beauty Beheld: A Retelling of Hansel and Gretel (The Becoming Beauty Trilogy Book 3)

by Brittany Fichter

  A murmur began to spread among the people, but Sacha turned to them and raised her hands. “Deep claims, your queen makes!” She turned back to Isa, her eyes narrowing. “I would like to see you prove it.”

  Isa narrowed her own eyes in return. Oh, she would most definitely do that. But... she glanced up at the crowd... if only the crowd weren’t so very big. Convincing the crowd in Samsin had taken nearly every ounce of strength she had. This crowd was more than ten times that size.

  “I have a question,” Ever’s voice rumbled down to the people. Thankfully, he seemed to have recovered himself well, for there was no trace of hesitancy now as he spoke. “Have you not lived in peace and prosperity in these past few years? What claims have you brought to me that I have not addressed? And considering that, what in this woman’s history has proved to you that she should rule this kingdom? What does she know of stewardship, of keeping a treasury full or settling land disputes?” He stood slowly, and the people standing nearest him at the foot of the dais scrambled to step back. Relief nibbled at Isa as she felt the first wave of guilt work its way through the crowd. But just as people began to talk amongst themselves, a familiar mop of red hair appeared and began to push its way toward the front.

  Agnes. How could one baker cause so much mischief?

  “You have not healed our children, Sire.” The skinny woman spat out Ever’s title. Then she looked at Isa. “And before you go saying such, Your Highness, I was patient! I was patient like you told me to be! I prayed without end that my daughter’s hands would heal. And yet, this woman here was the one who healed her!”

  With that, Agnes nodded to the two men who had brought the boy forward. Normally, Ever would not have allowed such flagrant disrespect to continue in a throne room hearing. But the only guards present were those who surrounded them, and losing any of them to wrestle away an unruly peasant would not only cost them bodies, but would show the crowd and Sacha that their numbers were indeed low. Better to let them think Ever was simply being unusually patient.

  “Do you think then,” Ever asked in the same calm voice, “it would be better to bring her on as a healer?” He looked back to Sacha, his eyes suddenly kind. “I would very much like to know the sister who was denied to me.”

  And, Isa could feel, he was being completely honest. One of the few areas in which Ever and Isa had never understood one another had been on the subject of siblings. As an only child, as Ever had believed himself to be, he’d never had the chance to enjoy the inexplicable bond that forms between brother and sister, older and younger. Isa had, of course, experienced such a bond with both Launce and little Megane. And as Ever continued to stare at Sacha with a sudden expression of longing, Isa was hit by the strength of his desire for a sister. In four years of marriage, Isa had never known such a desire burned so strongly within him.

  “You would make me another servant. How kind. No, I think you have been tested by this Fortress enough... and failed! And the people of this kingdom deserve new blood, not the line that has grievously injured them over and over and over again.”

  It took all of Isa’s will power to keep her eyes trained on Sacha’s quick, angry movements. For beside her, she could feel the pain of transgressions remembered beginning to eat away at her husband. Somehow, his sister had found the chink in his armor. If Ever doubted anything, it was himself.

  Truly, Isa wondered as she scanned the crowd, how had so many come to join Sacha? What illusions had the Fae shown the people that they might believe what she was telling them about Ever? About her?

  Ever turned to the holy man, who stood trembling to his right. “What is there in the Holy Writ or the ancient texts that might suggest a legal path for what my sister demands?” He was stalling. Isa knew there was nothing in the texts that could justify ripping two monarchs from the throne who had sworn their lives to and been accepted by the Fortress. But it might buy them time. Though to what end, Isa wasn’t sure. With so many children present, how could they fight?

  Please, Fortress. Show us the way.

  “There is no path to the throne,” the holy man stuttered. “You have made a covenant with your lifeblood to serve it all of your days. The only way to fulfill such a promise is...”

  Sacha smiled. Her smile should have looked like Ever’s, as her face mirrored so many of the Fortier features. But rather, her smile was cold and hard. The people behind and around her began to hiss and boo, displeased with the holy man’s answer, obviously missing what Sacha had not.

  “See how little he cares for your children? I cannot heal this many without the power from this holy place. And though he cannot do it himself, he still denies you that healing!”

  The shouts of outrage began to grow louder, and the crowd began to move, like a creature being awakened from its slumber. Sucking in a deep breath, Isa pushed the truth out into the crowd, straining to cut through the lies they must have been fed. But every time she got one group calmed down, another began to rail against them even more loudly, and the effort quickly drained her. And yet, she continued, straining until she shook with the effort. Until a warm hand gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

  Isa opened her eyes and looked up to see Garin standing over her. A soft blue light shone from beneath his hand, though it was gloved, and Isa felt a rush of healing take her body.

  “What can I do to appease you?” Ever stood. “For it seems your minds are made up, no matter what the truth.”

  Taking the boy by the shoulders, whom Isa had nearly forgotten in the throng of angry people, Sacha led him up the dais until he stood before Ever. “Then show us the truth,” she said, holding a hand up behind her. The people quieted, but not as completely as the time before. “Heal this boy, and we will all know whom the Fortress wishes to sit upon its throne.”

  Ever stared at his sister for a long time. Then he placed his hand on the boy’s head and closed his eyes.

  A blue flame began to spiral above them, dancing in slow swirls as it radiated from his hand into the child. As it grew in intensity, the fire began to move up into the air before cascading back down around them like a fountain. The amount of power Ever summoned was immense, and caught Isa’s breath in her throat. She had never seen him use so much power before. Never had he been so strong. When the boy opened his eyes, they glowed with the intensity of a full moon, large and luminous in his little face. Isa could hear exclamations as the people pressed forward to see. And yet, Ever’s power continued to build until it swirled above their heads, nearly touching the ceiling in its reach.

  Slowly, the fire began to sink, slowly, slowly returning to Ever until the room no longer shone blue, and the fire was gone.

  “Well, son?” A man pushed forward, breaking away from the throng. “What do you see?”

  The boy hesitated before answering, his eyes moving back and forth cautiously. Finally, he turned to face his father.

  “Nothing, Father.”

  Isa’s heart plunged. The boy was still blind. All that power, and the boy was still blind.

  Without a word, Sacha took the child’s hand, and a blue light began to move down her arm and into his hand. But it wasn’t the deep, pure blue of the Fortier power. Rather, it was tinted with green. Garin’s grip tightened ever so slightly on Isa’s shoulder as they watched the far less impressive display, Sacha’s strange fire making a faint buzz as it moved through the boy. Finally, she let go, and the boy opened his eyes and turned toward the crowd once more.

  “Papa!” he cried, looking directly at the man who had called to him moments before.

  “Take them,” Sacha ordered. “But I want him alive.”

  Isa’s hand was on her sword in an instant, but Ever was faster. The two Fae that climbed the dais with their pikes in hand got their weapons sent clattering to the ground. Isa felt a movement to her left, turning just in time to block the strike from a third Fae.

  Isa had spent countless hours with Ever in the training room and had even progressed enough to begin practicing swo
rdplay with multiple enemies. She was growing proficient, he’d told her. But her best efforts had only included opponents of twos or threes, and they had been human. Now, as she and Ever fought back to back, Isa felt perspiration building quickly on her skin, running down her back and temples as she moved faster and fast to block the attacks of the spirit men. She could see now why Ever hadn’t wanted his soldiers fighting an army of this. The creatures would lose their bodies in one location just to materialize in another. She heard her crown’s clang as it fell to the floor. A quick glimpse told her that Ever had lost his as well.

  Just as Isa began to lose her balance, a deafening roar filled the air. Fae screams mixed with the cries of the people as a great wall of black rose around them. As it shot up, the Fae disappeared, and so did Sacha and the mob. In an instant, the throne room with its towering rectangular windows and its glittering white walls disappeared, and there was only a single light from above, though Isa couldn’t tell its source. Black surrounded them in every other direction. But it was not an oppressive black. Rather, it felt like the darkness of a gentle summer evening just before the stars began to appear. And it was quiet. Nothing stirred, save for the sounds of their own ragged breathing.

  “Garin,” Ever said, gasping for breath, “what is this place?”

  Garin simply cupped their faces in his hands in the same way Isa’s father had caressed her face as a little girl. Without a word, he pulled Isa forward and softly placed a kiss on her forehead. And then Ever.

  “The Maker saw it fit for me to defend this sacred ground from the bloodied hands of my own son,” he whispered. “But He gave me two new children in my boy’s place. Now, my children, go!”

  Garin placed his hands upon their shoulders and shoved them backward, and as Isa felt herself hit the floor, the black curtain disappeared, and they were once again on the throne room dais. The irate crowd still shouted, but this time, neither the people nor the Fae were looking at them. The people were looking at Garin as he walked toward them with the utmost calm.

  Then Garin changed. As he removed his gloves and tossed them off to the side, his skin began to blaze so brightly that it was like looking at sunlit snow. Silver wings unfolded from behind his shoulders. Once spread, the wings were wide enough that they spread all the way across the dais.

  Even Sacha stood immobile, her mouth open as Isa felt the horror pulsate from her nearly as strong as her hate.

  With one final step to the edge of the dais, Garin turned once more, his eyes smoldering, a blue-white glow as they locked with hers. His silver wings began to shimmer, like metal that was being put to the flame. “Go!” He ordered in a voice that shook the Fortress walls.

  The Maker had indeed made him a being completely other.

  Isa stumbled forward but turned when she realized Ever was not at her side. Instead, he was still on the floor, laying exactly where Garin had pushed him. Crawling back, Isa took his arm and pulled him to his feet. She had to drag him all the way down the front lawn, down to the edge of the forest. Only when they were safely hidden within the sheltering trees of the forest did she allow herself a short sigh of relief.

  But as they began the trek down the mountain, Isa still guiding Ever, a familiar voice gave a cry so loud that it escaped the Fortress’s walls, and echoed into the night. And Isa couldn’t help but wonder whether it was the cry of a warrior or a cry of pain.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Go

  “So…” Isa’s father shook his head as if to clear it of the horrible events Isa had just related, the lines in his face suddenly looking much deeper in the light of the single candle. “What do you need?”

  Though Ever sat beside Isa in body, Ansel had eventually stopped directing any questions his way, as they could draw little from him except grunts.

  “We’ll need at least three horses and supplies for a week’s journey,” Isa said softly as she stroked Genny’s golden hair. “The Fae can sense our power, so we won’t be able to use our fire to speed the horses. It will take the full three days to get to the southern forest. I can only guess we’ll spend a day or so there, then it will take another two to reach Launce.”

  “You can’t go straight to Launce?” Deline pursed her lips tightly. “He could offer you shelter at least.”

  Shelter wasn’t exactly what they were seeking. Rather, their rendezvous with her brother would be in preparation for war. But Isa didn’t correct her mother, for doing so would have only brought on more worry. Instead, she continued to brush the little girl’s golden locks with her fingers. Genny stirred in her sleep, but didn’t awaken.

  Henri slept, too, though his head was on a cushion Deline had provided, rather than Isa’s lap. Still, he was close enough that his knees were pushed up against her, something he wouldn’t have done a few weeks ago. In the midst of all the dreadful goings-on, Isa took comfort in this little victory.

  “And what of the children?” Ansel asked in a wary voice.

  “Megane,” Isa murmured, turning to her sister. “Take Genny for me?”

  Megane nodded eagerly, taking Genny in her arms so quickly that Isa guessed she had wanted to do so all night. As soon as the little girl was resettled, Isa motioned her father up out of the cellar. They took no light, leaving the single candle behind them with the others.

  “Ever and I were going to... actually, we took the blood joining oath just before his sister arrived.” Isa was glad he couldn’t see her face through the dark. “They’re ours now. They don’t know it yet, but they will be coming with us.”

  Ansel paused for a moment. It must have been a strange night for him, Isa thought wryly. Not only was he sheltering his children who were on the run, but he was learning that he was suddenly a grandfather through them as well. “Wouldn’t it be safer to leave them here?” Ansel finally asked, his voice trembling just slightly.

  “No. We’re not sure what she wants with them, but we’re sure she has something planned. Unlike all of the other children, they were never cursed. And then she sent a Fae after them in the Fortress.”

  “Do you think she knows of their relation to her?”

  “I don’t know, to be honest. It would appear so, but we’d prefer not to find out.”

  “Huh,” Ansel said. Isa nearly cringed as she waited for her father to warn her against the dangers of taking two children halfway across the kingdom, but to her surprise, he only sighed. “And what of your steward?”

  “He’s in the Fortress’s hands now. He ensured our escape when Sacha arrived.”

  One of the floorboards was lifted, interrupting whatever Ansel was about to say. Megane peeked through the crack, then emerged from the cellar.

  “Where are you going at this hour?” Ansel asked with a frown.

  “It’s almost dawn,” Megane said, nodding at the window. And to Isa’s surprise, it was. The gray light was beginning to seep through the streets outside and into their little home. “Mum says she wants me to get some salve and bandages for Isa and Ever, in the off-chance they should need it. I’m also to ask Mr. Sager if we can borrow his spare horse.”

  “Be careful, Megs,” Isa said. “I will not have you getting hurt over this.”

  Megane laughed, her blue eyes twinkling. “Are you in earnest? This is the first adventure I’ve gotten a part in. You and Launce have all the fun!” And before Isa could warn her anymore, she grabbed her basket and flounced into the street.

  “That one is going to give me more gray hairs than you and your brother combined,” Ansel shook his head as he frowned at the slamming door.

  Isa wished she could argue, but Megane indeed possessed a flair for the dramatics. And it didn’t help that she was still a few years too young to enjoy the court lives of her brother and sister. Granted, growing up as a merchant’s daughter when one’s brother was a prince and one’s sister was a queen would be sure to rub anyone a little in the wrong direction. Hopefully, Isa thought, this taste of adventure would suffice for her until Megane was of age and
a little more discerning. At least, that’s what Isa had been telling Ever since Megane had turned ten.

  As time passed, Isa prayed her sister would keep her head. The errand that should have taken only twenty minutes turned into forty, and then an hour. Ever continued to brood in the basement, but the children eventually woke up and were kept quiet with cookies. Isa and Deline continued to exchange looks of worry as the sun grew higher, and there was no Megane to be found.

  Finally, just as Ansel was ready to grab his coat and go looking for his daughter, Megane came skipping in. “Mrs. Sager says they’ll bring the horse over this afternoon. Mr. Sager has him out in the fields.”

  Instead of smiling at the girl’s enthusiasm, Isa grabbed Megane by the arm and dragged her up to the attic. She didn’t want her new children to hear the chewing out she had planned for her sister. For judging by the look on Megane’s face, she’d been up to no good. “What took you so long? We were so worried!”

  “I was hurrying, I promise! But then Margot caught me just outside the Pottens’ shop.”

  Isa groaned. Would that old busybody ever learn to mind her own business?

  “She asked me where I was going in such a hurry, so I had to think of a story on the spot!”

  “What did you tell her?” Isa almost didn’t want to know.

  Megane turned a light shade of pink and giggled. “I told her that Davin Crowley and I were going to be kissing on the old bridge, and I was late, so I had to hurry!”

  Isa was horrified. “Megane, you are to be telling no such stories to people from now on, do you understand me?”

  “I had to think of something unless you wanted me to share your real whereabouts!” She smirked, then made a sour face. “Is that an order from my queen?”

  “That’s an order from your sister. And I have a good mind to tell Papa what sort of mischief you’ve been up to!” She looked hard at her little sister. “You haven’t been kissing Davin Crowley, have you?”