Once Upon a Curse

by E. D. Baker

  "Aye, but the goose gravy made an awful mess. I can't blame the princess for being upset."

  "But throwing you into the oubliette—"

  "Is that what you call it? I call it the pit."

  "And Princess Hazel sent you here?" I asked. If that was true, then the curse must have taken effect already. No one with a shred of kindness in her heart would send anyone to the oubliette. I didn't expect Derwin to have heard the curse firsthand, but nothing stays secret in a castle for long. If people had been discussing it, he might have heard them and....

  Derwin sighed. "I should have been more careful," he said. "The princess has been in an awful state what with all those suitors come for her party. Her relatives have come, too, rich and poor alike, and she's trying hard to please them. She's very particular, our princess Hazel, and she deserves the best. Although sending me to the pit does seem a bit harsh, to my way of thinking. I hope they'll let me out when the celebration's over and not just forget about me altogether. It isn't for two more days, though, so I don't expect them anytime soon. Want to hear the rest of my song? Or maybe the one about the milkmaid's dream, since you're part of a dream yourself? It's my longest, so we'll just have to hope that I don't wake up soon."

  A milkmaid dreamed that she could be

  A princess for a day.

  She made a crown of buttercups,

  A throne of fresh-cut hay.

  The party hadn't been held yet, although I was earlier than I'd hoped. Now I'd have to stick around for two more days to find out exactly what the fairy had said. Maybe the little bit of dragon's breath I'd used hadn't been enough. I pursed my lips and tried to think, but it wasn't easy with Derwin's singing grating my ears.

  "Can't we go now?" Li'l asked, nudging me with her wing. "I don't like it here."

  The little bat was right. It was time to go. I'd have to think of some way to get out of the oubliette and go where I could blend in while waiting for the party.

  "Just say a spell," said Li'l, "and take us somewhere else."

  Engrossed in his song, Derwin didn't seem to hear us, although it wouldn't have made much difference even if he had. We were talking in Li'l's language, and the chances weren't very good that he could understand Bat. "It isn't that simple," I said. "We can't just appear out of nowhere. There's no telling who might be around."

  "Isn't that what we just did?" asked Eadric.

  "That was different," I said. "Derwin thinks he's dreaming. We don't want anyone else to see us until we're ready. I have to think of a way to get us out of here, but I can't see a thing, so...."

  "I can," said Li'l. "I'll show you the way. Although if you were a bat...."

  "That's it!" I whispered. "I'll turn us into bats."

  "Bats!" said Eadric. "I don't know about that."

  "What's wrong?" asked Li'l. "Do you have something against bats?"

  "Not at all," Eadric hurried to say. "Bats are very nice."

  I don't know why I'd never turned into a bat before. I'd always admired my little friend's ability to navigate in the dark and hang upside down without getting dizzy. It wouldn't be hard to do, either. After all, it couldn't be much different than turning into a bird, and I'd already done that. Setting Li'l on the floor, I took Eadric's hand and murmured the spell that would get us out of the oubliette, although Derwin was singing so loudly that I doubt he would have noticed even if I'd shouted.

  Silky fur

  And wings of skin

  Change the shape

  That we'll be in.

  Neither birds,

  Nor frogs, nor cats,

  We'll now be

  A pair of bats.

  Although I couldn't see a thing, I knew when the change was finished because I felt so different. I was smaller, and my body and head were covered with soft fur. Bare skin stretched between my fingers, which had grown long and thin, though my thumb was shorter and could still move freely. The skin between my fingers stretched all the way to my feet, forming wings. More skin connected my tiny feet, and my toes were tipped with long, curved claws.

  "Good job!" exclaimed Li'l. "You make a pretty bat, Emma."

  "What about me?" Eadric asked.

  "You're not bad, either," said Li'l with a lot less enthusiasm.

  I glanced up, hoping to see in the dark, but it still looked black as pitch. "Why can't I see? I thought bats could see in the dark."

  "We can, but not with our eyes. We make a sound, and it makes a picture in our heads. Try it. You'll see what I mean."

  I tried making all kinds of sounds, but nothing unusual happened. Frustrated, I finally made a little sound in my throat, surprising myself when the sound came back, smaller yet quite distinct. A picture of the wall in front of me formed in my mind. That's funny I thought. Turning my head, I made the sound again. When it came back this time, I could tell that the next wall was farther away. So That's how Li'l does it. Keeping my mouth open, I made the sound over and over again, until I had a good idea what the oubliette looked like. In this time, there weren't any bones, and the back wall was sturdy and dry.

  I'd located Derwin sitting against the wall on the other side of the room, where he was singing with great gusto. When he gestured with his arms, I could see it with my mind, although I still couldn't see anything with my eyes.

  I could see Li'l and Eadric, too. "I know what you mean, Li'l," I said. "This is great! Come on, let's get out of here."

  "Finally!" exclaimed the little bat.

  I tried to move my wings the way I had when I was a bird. My bat wings were very different, however, and it took me a while to get it right. Even then I didn't fly very well. I had to learn new movements while keeping my mouth open so I could make the sounds to see where I was going. It was a lot to master all at once, and I bumbled around the oubliette for a while before it began to feel right. Eadric seemed to have problems, too, although he caught on sooner than I did.

  When we finally reached the grate in the ceiling, I was relieved that we fit through the spaces easily. I crawled through one of the holes, still making my sounds, and found that the oubliette was at the end of a short corridor. As we flew away from the grate, I could hear Derwin singing his song, his scratchy voice growing faint with distance.

  We reached another corridor, longer than the first and lined on both sides with cells. From the sounds coming through the doors, I could tell that many of them held prisoners. Eadric and I tried to follow Li'l's example, fluttering down the corridor while staying out of the flickering light cast by the occasional torch. This was just as well, for we passed two guards outside the guardroom door and had to make a wide detour around one who'd stopped to relight a torch.

  The door at the top of the stairs was closed. We looked carefully, but we couldn't find even the smallest opening through which we could escape. Since there weren't any other ways out of the dungeon, we had to wait until someone opened the door. Li'l chose a point midway between two torches where the shadows were deepest and showed Eadric and me how to cling to the ceiling with the claws on our toes.

  My claws held me firmly in place, and I was surprised at how comfortable hanging upside down by my feet could be. It was so comfortable, in fact, that I began to grow drowsy, and I might have fallen asleep if a guard hadn't opened the door at the top of the stairs, letting in a draft that made the torches gutter and rocked us back and forth. The guard was already shutting the door when we zipped past and found ourselves in a dimly lit corridor.

  We needpd to find someplace private where I could turn us back into humans. The corridor led into a large room smelling strongly of old herbs mixed with bits of rotting refuse strewn over the floor. It was the Great Hall, and it looked much the way it would in my day, just messier. A small group of women talked in a corner while two young men playing chess lounged on a bench nearby. Seeing so many people, Li'l darted toward one of the narrow windows set high in the wall. Eadric and I were following her when a woman shrieked, "Eek, it's a bat!"

  "There's a flock
of them!" shouted someone else.

  Hearing other people behind me, I tried to fly faster and had almost reached the window when a pear sailed past, splatting against the wall and showering me with sticky bits of fruit. They were throwing things at me! I veered away, struggling to keep my balance and saw Eadric dodge someone's thrown shoe.

  "It's trying to get in my hair!" shrieked a girl, pulling the end of her surcoat over her head. Other female voices cried out in alarm as they tried to cover their hair as well.

  A shoe grazed my back, ruffling my fur. Li'l had already reached the window, but I had to veer off, heading back into the Hall. The women shrieked. I wove back and forth, hoping to dodge anything else they might throw at me as I aimed for the other window. Suddenly the dry straw of an old broom came swishing through the air, knocking me across the room. I tried to right myself, but before I could get my wings sorted out, I landed in a tangle of something limp and greasy.

  "It's in my hair!" screamed a voice so close it hurt my ears.

  I struggled to free myself until someone started slapping me. Covering my head with my wings, I shut my eyes, curled up into a tight little ball and tried to think of a way out of the mess I was in without using something as conspicuous as magic. If only the woman would stop screaming!

  "Got it!" said a triumphant male voice as a hand closed around me, pulling me out of the woman's hair.

  My eyes popped open. The florid face of a young man with light brown hair was staring down at me. "Watch this," he said to someone behind him. "I can kill it with one hand!"

  My response was automatic, but even if I'd thought about it, I probably would have done the same thing. I bit him squarely on the thumb.

  "Aargh!" he shouted, and I was free.

  I didn't think I'd bitten him hard enough to do any real damage, although I checked my teeth with my tongue just to make sure. The aftertaste was awful.

  Eadric had been trying to reach me, but another young man was chasing him, struggling to trap him in a woven basket. When Eadric saw me, he changed direction and followed me to the window where Li'l was waiting for us on the ledge. Before I followed her into the sunshine, I stopped to look back and was surprised to see that everyone had fled the room. So much for being inconspicuous, I thought.

  Seven

  Did you have to fool around like that?" asked Li'l. "I thought you were right behind me."

  "We were, but those people had other ideas. We need to go outside and.... Oh!" Eadric's jaw dropped as he stared past us out the window.

  Even during my short excursion through the castle, I had noticed differences from the way it was in my time. The furniture was sparse, the people's clothing simpler. However, the biggest difference was outside. Unlike our time when flowers were forbidden on the castle grounds, I saw them blooming everywhere. I recognized the roses climbing the walls and growing in massive hedges, having seen the rose-covered cottages at the Old Witches' Retirement Community, but I didn't know the names of most of the rest.

  Vines dripping with purple blooms covered the castle. Dark blue flowers nodded at the edge of the moat while small yellow flowers and broad, green pads floated on the water. Trees heavy with pink-and-white blossoms stood like rows of soldiers waiting to be inspected on either side of the road leading away from the drawbridge. Although I didn't know much about such things, it seemed odd that so many plants should bloom at the same time.

  "Why would anyone plant flowers around the castle?" asked Eadric. "They make it harder to defend."

  I tapped him on the wing and pointed to the other side of the road where hedges of deep pink roses grew in an intricate maze. "That will be perfect," I said, hopping off the ledge.

  Li'l and Eadric followed me as I flew to the maze, dodging droning bees and butterflies intoxicated with nectar. "Perfect for what?" Eadric asked.

  "For turning back, of course."

  "Already?" asked Li'l. "But we were just starting to have fun!"

  When we passed the drawbridge, I was shocked to see that vines twined around the chains and threaded through the portcullis. Eadric must have seen it, too, because his wings faltered, and I heard him mutter to himself.

  Reaching the maze, we skimmed the rosebushes until I found a secluded niche invisible even to someone looking down from the higher tower. I settled to the ground and used my usual spell to turn us back into humans. No sooner had I smoothed my gown over my hips and adjusted my hem, than I heard voices coming through the maze of shrubs. Eadric heard them, too, and set his hand on Ferdy's hilt, but I shook my head and he took his hand away.

  "Why does Millie need a new gown, Mother? It isn't her birthday," someone whined.

  Startled, Li'l slipped into a dense section of the hedge where even I couldn't see her.

  "I'm sorry, my darling Hazel," a sweet voice replied, "but you want her to look her best for your party, don't you? We wouldn't want her to embarrass you in front of your guests."

  "Really, Mother," said a softer voice. "I don't need another gown."

  "Nonsense," said Hazel. "Mother is right. You'll get a new gown, but it won't be nearly as nice as mine. Will it, Mother?"

  "Of course not, dear. You are the birthday girl, after all."

  "And don't forget, Millie," said Hazel as they rounded the hedge, "stay out of my way when ... goodness, who are you?" she asked, spotting us for the first time.

  Hazel was lovely, but not what I'd expected. She looked like a flower herself, with her porcelain skin, pink cheeks and delicate features. Her thick blond hair reminded me of my mother's. Her lips were the same deep pink as the roses and her eyes a deeper blue than the sky. She didn't look anything like the Green Witch in the tapestry decorating my chamber at home.

  The older woman who walked beside Hazel wore a simple gold circlet to secure the veil covering her hair. Shorter than Hazel, she was plump and had worry lines etching her forehead. Her eyes were green, although not as dark as mine, and I could see our family resemblance. However, the face that really surprised me was that of the young girl peeking from behind her shoulder. Except for her dainty, freckled nose and the carrot-red shade of her hair, which was much brighter than my auburn, I might have been looking in a mirror.

  "I said, 'Who are you?'" Hazel repeated.

  I curtsied and said, "Emma." I wasn't really sure how I should explain my presence since I'd never intended to meet the royal family. I had hoped to talk to one or two people about the curse and leave.

  "You must be one of Aunt Frederika's daughters," said Hazel. "There are so many of you; it's hard to keep track."

  "Are you settled in, dear?" asked the queen, smiling at me kindly.

  "Not really," I said. "I just—"

  The queen frowned and shook her head. "Don't tell me that my steward didn't assign you to a room. I'm so sorry. With all our guests, we simply don't.... I know. Millie," she said, turning to the girl behind her, "you have ample space in your chamber. Your cousin can sleep there. I'll have the steward see that a pallet is brought up before supper."

  The redheaded girl behind her smiled shyly at me and nodded.

  The queen turned to Eadric, who'd been staring at Hazel with obvious admiration. "And you are . . . ?"

  Eadric blinked and cleared his throat. "I'm Prince Eadric, a friend of Emma's."

  Hazel smiled at him coyly. "Another prince? How nice. Do you come from very far away?"

  "Farther than you can imagine," he said. I could have sworn I heard Li'l giggling in the bushes behind us, but no one else seemed to notice.

  "Ah," said Hazel. "That explains your unusual clothes. Perhaps one of the other princes could lend you something more becoming. You can share a room with them. We'll have to find a way to fit in one more pallet." She looked me up and down, her eyes lingering on my gown. "Send a tunic and surcoat for her, Mother. That thing she's wearing is most peculiar. One of your ladies-in-waiting should have something that would fit her."

  "I'm sure we can find her something—-" the queen began.
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  "She is tall, though, isn't she?" Hazel said, brushing past me on the path. "And I can't imagine where she got that nose."

  "We mustn't be unkind to those less fortunate, dear," I heard the queen say as she hurried after her daughter. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks, and I knew that I was blushing—something I hadn't done in a very long time. When I glanced at Eadric, he was staring after Hazel with a dazed look in his eyes.

  "Don't pay any attention to her," said Millie, patting my shoulder. "My sister is like that with everyone."

  "Your sister?" No one had told me that Hazel had a sister, older or younger. It was a shame that so much of our family's history had been lost.

  Millie sighed. "I just turned thirteen, so she's only three years older than me, but she acts twenty years older. Come with me. I'll show you where you're going to sleep. I'll have one of the pages take Eadric to meet the princes."

  "How many princes are there?" Eadric asked.

  "Five," said Millie. "That room is going to be crowded."

  I glanced around, hoping to see Li'l, but she must have still been hiding in the bushes. I resolved to come back and find her as soon as I could. "It's awfully kind of you to let me stay in your room," I said, following Millie through the confusing maze.

  "Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm surprised they didn't put someone in with me sooner. Mother tends to forget about me, and as for Hazel—well, sometimes I wish she would as well. I shouldn't complain, though. You come from a big family. I suppose it's even worse for you."

  "Big family? I don't...." I stopped, remembering that I was supposed to have a whole gaggle of sisters. If my long-ago relatives wanted to believe that I was one of Aunt Frederika's daughters, I wasn't about to try to change their minds.

  "The drawbridge is this way," said Millie, leading us between two banks of heavy-headed roses that looked exactly like all the others we'd passed. We had left the maze and were passing the first of the flowering trees when Millie exclaimed, "Oh, look, there are your sisters now!"