I told Magic my story, of how this sequence was supposed to go, of how it was supposed to end. I reminded it how it had helped me fool the evil king.
Magic seemed to like remembering about that.
I told it what was supposed to happen tomorrow. Gabriel would stand before the king and present the branches I had broken from the trees. And the spell would break. Gabriel and Leigh would marry. And the kingdom would enter a golden age.
Magic shuddered like a horse tied too tightly in tresses. I could feel it fighting against the way its own power had been twisted against it here.
Somewhere in the far distance, I heard thunder.
I hurried to assure Magic that, if it would help me make the end of the spell work in the morning, those knots and twists would be broken.
I hoped I was telling the truth. From ever bit of evidence I had seen, the cage holding the Magic away from the land would be shattered when the spell was completed the way it was supposed to be.
Which was why Gabriel and others like him had become prisoners. They were too dangerous to the Godparents otherwise.
I spent the next hour soothing Magic, encouraging it to accept its bindings for a few more hours, to control the Chaos until balance could be restored.
Only secretly did I wonder how balance could ever exist in our land again. If this corruption dug as deeply as I suspected… was our entire world doomed?
I followed the Bellatrices back up to the castle, where I set to helping them bandage their feet. We were all quiet tonight. We could feel the pressure around us, half anticipation, half fear. Or was that half hope? I couldn’t tell.
A few more hours and we would know if I’d succeeded.
And if I had not…
We would all probably die.
Chapter Sixteen
Dawn broke cold. Or maybe it was nerves that made me shake as we gathered together one last time. This time, not for a ball, but for an act that would heal or destroy this entire land. Gabriel and I would enter the castle alone. And I would be invisible, behind the scenes, trying to make sure everything worked properly. My one job was to make sure Magic was working with us.
It sounded so simple.
It scared me half to death.
The “princesses” were where they were supposed to be this morning—in their single shared bedroom. Today their uniforms would be day gowns. Their weapons would be hidden under yards of satin and lace. It was my hope that there would be no need for fighting.
I wasn’t sure all the Bellatrices felt the same way. I was worried they were too likely to try to take things into their own hands. And that violence on our part would lose Magic as our ally.
I’d tried to explain this to them, but they had a lot of pent up rage right now. Rightful rage. Their sisters had been murdered. Their lives had been stolen. They’d been physically abused. And this had all been repeated for years.
How could I offer a sweet ending to people who wanted blood to wash their pain away in?
I didn’t have it in me to offer them blood or revenge. I was sure they would get both once I was gone. All I could do was try to be a good Fairy Godmother and fix things my way.
Gabriel was as ready as I could make him. He had three branches from the magical jewel-encrusted trees from the underground path. He knew what story to say. He knew how to go through the motions.
We were all counting on Magic to make them stick.
I wasn’t the strongest Godparent, but I should be the only one here.
And, in case everything went wrong, I was carrying Gabriel’s sword belt for him. He would never be allowed near the tyrant king armed to the teeth, but I would be unseen, so I could carry his weapons for him.
It also meant that Gabriel wouldn’t kill the king on sight, since I had his weapons. That would have been his first choice, but he had agreed to work with me. First.
If my way didn’t work, there would be no avoiding a bloodbath.
The castle was strangely quiet as we joined the short line already started for audience with the king. Gabriel kept eyeing the guards, no doubt waiting for them to recognize him and pull him out of line. But the guards were strangely uninterested in him. No, I realized as one looked straight at him, they did recognize him, but they thought he had a right to be here.
That was interesting.
And a good sign that my plan was working. If Gabriel had solved the riddle instead of being kept as a prisoner, this was how it would have happened.
We waited about an hour. I didn’t know how Gabriel could stand it. He didn’t appear to sweat, even though the rising sun quickly baked the rocks at our feet until the courtyard felt like an oven. I, on the other hand, was restless and anxious. I’d already gnawed my fingernails to the quick. I felt the strangest urge to run around screaming to see just how willing Magic was to conceal me.
At last the line moved forward and so did we. We were in the first group to enter the throne room and face the king.
The king looked straight at Gabriel, which gave me an odd sensation, as if I’d experienced something like this before. It passed quickly.
There were no counselors here today to tell the king what to do. It was to his benefit. Without the puppet masters behind him, he was without doubt a better king.
The man in front of us with the pair of goats left with not just his livestock but a small purse of coins handed to him by the treasurer who sat at a small table to one side.
I don’t know who was more surprised by this development, the shepherd or the king.
“Oh,” I whispered in realization.
The king in the tradition was supposed to be a good king, if a little heavy handed with his daughters. The Magic must be working on him, forcing him to behave as the king in this land should.
I grinned maliciously.
The pattern held true for the next few petitioners. He made fair judgments and was generous to those who deserved it. He settled a land dispute with the first sign of intelligence I had ever detected from him.
And then it was our turn.
The king did not pretend to not recognize Gabriel.
“Well,” the king demanded grandly, Magic forcing him to play his part to perfection, “Have you discovered where it is my daughters go and what it is they do?”
Gabriel knelt on one knee and produced the jeweled branches to the king. He described the pathway and the boat and the ballroom in the way I had instructed him.
I held my breath as the king called for his daughters to come to him.
It was beyond peculiar to see a paternal expression on his face as he greeted the warriors as if they were truly his most beloved children. He stopped short of caressing them, fortunately, as I think at least Joette would have bitten off any offending hand.
“Repeat your story, young man,” the king said benevolently, sitting back down on his throne. Even his posture had changed. Instead of languid and lazy, he appeared old, tired, and kindly.
Magic must be working hard to compel such a change, unless this was truly a facet of his personality never before seen.
It would amuse a corrupt Godparent to twist a good king into a fat, incapable tyrant.
Gabriel humbly repeated his story. A page boy carried the jeweled branches for the king to inspect. He did so carefully.
“Well, my children,” he said in a broad voice. “Is it true, what he says? Think on it carefully, for I have promised one of you to him, if he is right.”
Amanda, posed as the eldest, was the one to speak. “He is correct, Father. And now that he has told you all, the spell is broken and we are free.”
She held herself together well, but I could see the agony of ten long years in her eyes. Bella reached over and gripped her hand tightly.
This would be the telling moment.
It wasn’t an audible crack, but I heard it nonetheless.
Magic burst free and filled the room. In my head, it sounded like choirs rejoicing and bells ringing. But, of course, I was the only on
e who heard it.
“Well, young man,” the king said, a great smile lighting up his round face. “Or should I call you son? Which of my daughters would you wed?”
“The youngest, sir,” Gabriel said as we had practiced.
Leigh moved to the floor to stand beside him and take his hand.
This was the telling moment.
Magic was free, but what would happen when all was fulfilled and the soldiers and the king realized what had happened?
Behind me, I heard the sound of scraping metal. Then the clang as a sword hit the stone of the floor.
One by one, the soldiers surrounding us tossed down their arms. Several of them cast their hands over their faces. One that I could see, near the throne, fell to his knees and began to weep violently.
I wanted to look away from their pain, but I knew that part of my role here was to stand as a witness. I needed to see just what Magic controlled by the wrong people could do.
The king let out a visceral moan.
“My daughters,” he cried. “where are my real daughters? This is not my castle! Oh, I remember it all…” He seemed to crumple in on himself, his face a mask of torture.
Above the castle, thunder rolled. Even inside, we could hear as the rain began to fall. I knew this was no ordinary storm, this was all the energy and bounty that Magic had been forced to withhold for these long ten years. It was ten years of blessings and lifeforce stolen that would now flow into the land and heal it.
I dropped my spell of invisibility.
Several guards cried out and groped for their swords. The king shouted and crawled back into his throne as if I were some terrifying beast set to rip him to shreds. I supposed that to him that was exactly how I appeared.
The Bellatrices shouted warnings and jumped to protect me.
“No!” Caroline shouted. “She is the one who has to save us here!”
It took a few moments for everyone to settle down. I tried to look as sweet and unassuming as I could. It helped that I was short. And that I didn’t have wings.
I was a Fairy Godmother, but nothing like the ones they had met.
After checking to see that Gabriel and the warriors were all fine, I crossed my way to the king. He was trembling like a jellyfish, with his thick be-ringed fingers spread over his face. The sound of pained weeping emanated from his forlorn figure.
“Sir,” I said gently. “Can you tell me what happened to you?”
He pulled his hand away from face and looked up at me with tortured eyes. “I remember everything I have done here,” he moaned. “But I could not have done them. Yet… I remember it all.”
“Were you being controlled?” I asked. Perhaps it was a cruel question, but it was one I needed the answer to.
His thick, red eyebrows drew togethers, but after a moment he nodded. “It was strange,” he said. “It felt like it was me, but I know now I would have never behaved in such a matter.” He shuddered. “They slaughtered maidens,” he said hoarsely. “Did you know that? No, not they. I. I did that.”
“How did you come to be here?” I asked. “Where are you from?”
He lifted his head and looked around as if he could orient himself that way. He shook his head. “I don’t know where I am,” he admitted. “I am a simple king from a small kingdom. It’s called Goneril. Or… it was. I don’t know if it even exists anymore. I have… had three beautiful daughters.” His face crumpled in confusion. “I do not know what happened to them or how I came to be here.”
“Did you know of any Fairy Godparents in your land?” I asked delicately.
His pale eyes flashed. “Godparents! It was them, wasn’t it? They were supposed to watch over my daughters but instead… they laughed when they brought me here. I remember that. They said I had practice being a father and they needed a king…” His voice faltered. His expression, if anything, became even bleaker. “They needed a king they could manipulate, they said.”
He looked down at his own hands in loathing and started to rip off all the rings he wore. By the time he reached his left hand he had a small pile of treasure in front of him. He started to pull at the next ring, then stopped, staring down at it.
“This one is rightfully mine,” he said. He stared down at it, then up at me. “Will you help me find my family—what happened to them? Even if they are gone, I need to know.”
“I’ll help you,” I promised. “And I want you to know that those that helped me end this curse here are also helping me to make sure that those fairies and creatures that have been doing these acts of wickedness will be punished for their actions.”
He gave an exhausted sigh. He shook his head slightly, his eyes still on that one remaining ring.
He stared me straight in the eyes.
“I just want to go home,” he said.
Chapter Seventeen
Dallan told me later that everyone knew when the spell broke.
Every fairy.
They told me there was a wave of Magic that swept through the room. A silent percussion that sent wands tumbling down to the ground and made fairies turn to each other and ask, “What was that?”
Dallan and Astraea knew exactly what that was, of course.
And they were watching.
I sat in my kitchen, grinning into my cocoa as they explained the ripple of consternation that flooded the Godparents that knew full well what was going on.
“It’s just the first wave,” Astraea said, waving a cookie for emphasis. “The Godparents we’ve already spoken to are more than eager to lay their troubles on other doorsteps. They’ve been turning on each other in ways you wouldn’t believe.” She bit into her cookie with a bloodthirsty grin. And why not? This was the first time in her entire existence that her special abilities were in quite so much demand. She was in her element.
A plate of spicy curry appeared in front of me on the table. I patted the table in appreciation. I was excited to be home again, but I had not been prepared in the least bit for how eager my house was to have me back. It had been trying to indulge every whim I’d ever had. My wardrobe had been updated, to the point of being too fine to wear in some cases, my bedroom had been re-decorated, and the furnishings adjusted.
The dragons had been showing their enthusiasm for my not being dead by leaving rare and unusual gems in rare and unusual places.
I’d hit my head quite hard on an egg-sized sapphire one of them had tucked under my pillow.
I knew the fuss wouldn’t last for long, so I had decided to enjoy it as much as I could.
“I’m not sure I want to know,” I admitted, as I blew over a spoonful of curry. The spicy teased my nose and made my mouth water. Other than humans and their animals, curry was my favorite import from the human world.
“Well, you’re going to have to,” Astraea said seriously. She eyed me critically for a moment. “You have uncovered a massive conspiracy. Not just that, but that our entire structure in this world is massively flawed, if such corruption could go on unreported for so long.” She shook her head. “You’re not going to be able to play the ignorant or shy fairy anymore. You’re going to need to know as much as you can just to keep ahead of all the fairies that hate you.”
I winced. “Hate me?” I sighed and put down my spoon. “Of course they hate me. I got in their ways again. If I had just done what my parents had told me…”
“A lot of innocent people would still be suffering,” Dallan said.
“Humans,” I said. “Not that it matters to me, but that’s what my family would say. Is probably saying.”
“At least it appears that your family was largely uninvolved,” Astraea said cheerfully. “Either that, or they were good enough at hiding their traces and frightening other fairies for anyone to be able to pin anything on them.”
I knew which one I believed.
“What about Ferdie?” I asked. I didn’t bother to try to make my tone casual. I wouldn’t be fooling anyone. Everyone here, house included, had seen Ferdie for who he was lo
ng before now.
Dallan shook his head. “He disappeared. Some fairies say they saw him at the meeting, but we never saw him and he managed to disappear without a trace.”
No doubt using some of the Magic he had stolen.
“No Cooper, either,” Astraea added, saving me from having to ask. “They were last seen together, though.”
“I’d wondered if they were together on this,” I admitted. “I still can’t tell you who attacked me. The Bellatrices can’t tell me either.”
“Speaking of which,” Dallan said, “we did find some information on your king’s lost kingdom.”
An image of the enormous, weeping king weeping in despair passed through my mind. He had done terrible things, but I was convinced that they had all been under the power of that spell.
“It’s been ten years,” Astraea reminded me. “His daughters all believed him to be dead.”
“Why was he chosen for this part?” I asked. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Because he would not allow them to work in his kingdom,” Astraea said. “At some point, he became aware of Fairy Godparents and what they were supposed to do, and he realized that they were not following the proper procedures. He threatened to make their missteps known throughout the land.”
“So, they whipped up a spell that convinced everyone that he had been murdered by another kingdom, set both of those kingdoms at each other’s throats, and stole the king for their own purposes. The soldiers they also gathered from various orders across the land. They preferred those that had sworn themselves to strict codes of conduct and chivalry.”
“That’s… despicable,” I sputtered.
“Unconscionable,” Astraea agreed.
“They’ve been working with more or less unlimited power for centuries,” Dallan said. “That’s what allowed them to hide in plain sight for so long. If there was evidence, they just made it disappear. Victims? Erase them. Witnesses?”
“Add them to the spells and use them up,” I said.
The twins nodded.
“How did everything not just explode into Chaos?” I asked. “Everything we do is supposed to keep order and maintain balance. How could they do all this and never upset the balance?”
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