Power of a Princess

by E. D. Baker

  “I don’t blame you,” said her friend. “I’ll go ahead and get your bath ready.” A moment later, Poppy turned tiny and darted down the corridor.

  “I didn’t like Prince Rory from the first time I saw him,” Kimble proclaimed. “He gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Twinket.

  “You know—he creeps me out big time,” Kimble explained. “I wouldn’t want him to touch me either.”

  “It’s all my fault,” Deela moaned. “I’ll never leave you unprotected like that again, Your Highness.”

  “You heard Queen Surinen,” said Aislin. “Rory is under a compulsion. He was going to keep trying until he succeeded. At least now we know what he was up to and who was behind it.”

  Tomas had been leaning against the wall, waiting for them. Spotting Aislin, he straightened up and said, “Aislin, may I speak to you alone?”

  The princess glanced at her mestari. “You may go on ahead. I’m perfectly safe here in the palace. I’ll be along in just a minute.”

  “But I don’t think you should—”

  “Please go,” said Aislin.

  Her mestari were still reluctant to leave, but once they did, Tomas took Aislin’s hand and pulled her into an alcove where they were out of sight. “Are you all right?” he asked. “I heard about what Rory did. It’s all anyone is talking about now. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  The princess shook her head. “He didn’t,” she said. “I’m fine.”

  “Because if he hurt you I would make him regret the day he was born,” Tomas said, squeezing his free hand into a fist. “I would—”

  “I really am fine,” Aislin assured him. “You don’t have to do anything to Rory. My grandmother turned him into a marmoset and he’s going to be very busy washing the palace windows.”

  Tomas looked surprised when he said, “A marmoset, huh? Well, good. But compulsion or not, if he ever so much as looks at you funny, I’m going to take him apart.”

  “I appreciate your concern, however I’m not a helpless maiden and I can take care of myself!” Aislin told him. “Rory may not realize it, but he has a lot more to fear from me than I do from him.”

  “I know that, but my offer still stands,” Tomas said, and let go of her hand. “I may not be one of your mestari, but I am still your friend.”

  “One of my best,” Aislin said, and gave him a grateful smile before turning and walking away.

  The princess reached her bathing room a short time later to find that Poppy had already added rose petals and lavender to the water and placed clean clothes on the bed. Glancing down, Aislin found red marks on her arms where Rory had held her. Suddenly she was eager to undress, and when she stepped into the pool, she wasn’t sure if she would ever want to wear her jade green gown again.

  After scrubbing and rinsing herself three times, she washed her hair twice. She was contemplating washing it again when there was a knock on the door and Twinket peeked in. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but King Darinar and Queen Surinen request that you join them in the courtyard as soon as possible.”

  “I thought they said I could rest,” said Aislin.

  “I guess they changed their minds. The messenger said that it has something to do with Aghamonda.”

  Aislin frowned and reached for a towel. “I wonder what it could be now. They can’t think that she’s had anything to do with Rory. She’s been a statue for weeks.”

  When Aislin arrived, the king and queen of the fairies were standing in front of the statue that dominated the courtyard. The king was scratching his chin, and the queen was tapping her cheek with one finger. Aislin thought they both looked worried.

  They looked up as Aislin approached. “We’ve spoken to the human royals who are here at the palace,” said Queen Surinen. “They all admit to paying tithes to Gorinda, although none of them seem to have met her. It occurred to me that if Rory used the same mist to put you to sleep that Aghamonda used on you, Aghamonda might have met her and can describe her to us.”

  “How can you talk to a statue?” Aislin asked her.

  “She won’t be a statue when we question her,” said the queen as she reached into a soft gold-colored bag. “This is the only thing that will release her from the spell. Stand back in case she falls down.”

  Opening the bag, Queen Surinen took out a small vial. Aghamonda was tall even for a fairy, so the queen had to stand on her tiptoes to pour one drop onto the statue’s head as she murmured words too softly for anyone to hear. Almost instantly, the gray-white of the statue faded away, becoming the vibrant colors of a living fairy. Aghamonda gasped and staggered, catching herself before she could fall.

  “What’s happening?” she asked, her voice rough from disuse. “I feel so odd!”

  “That will pass,” said Queen Surinen. “We need you to answer a few questions.”

  “Why should I tell you anything if you’re going to turn me back into a statue again?” asked Aghamonda.

  “Because if you help us now, we might reduce your sentence,” the king told her.

  “What do you want to know?” Aghamonda said grudgingly.

  “Do you know a sorceress named Gorinda?” asked the king.

  The statue looked away as if she could no longer meet their eyes. “I know many sorceresses,” said Aghamonda. “One may be named Gorinda.”

  “Is she the one who gave you the sleeping mist?” asked the queen.

  “Maybe,” Aghamonda replied. “Being a statue has made my memory foggy.”

  “If she gave you the sleeping mist, you must have seen her. What can you tell us about her?” Queen Surinen continued. Aghamonda’s attitude seemed to annoy the queen whose tone was becoming more insistent.

  Aghamonda sighed. “You aren’t going to stop, are you? My head aches and you’re making it worse with all your questions. I’ll tell you what I can about Gorinda so you’ll stop prattling on. She is a very powerful sorceress—with far stronger magic than either of you. She was kind to me when I needed kindness. Small-minded humans in a tiny village were tormenting me, and she came to my rescue. Gorinda was the one to teach me how to deal with humans when I had no other fairy friends or family to turn to. I will always be grateful to her and I won’t betray her, even if you add many lifetimes to my sentence. Now turn me back if you’re going to so I might have some peace.”

  “As you wish,” said the queen, pointing at Aghamonda. A few soft words and a sprinkling of silver sparkles turned the fairy into a statue once again.

  “Do you think Gorinda put a compulsion on her, too?” Aislin asked.

  “No, even the most powerful sorceress cannot place a compulsion on a fairy,” said King Darinar. “They must use other means to convince a fairy to do something. Sometimes kindness can be more convincing than cruelty. I’m not surprised that Aghamonda won’t tell us about Gorinda if the sorceress was so good to her. We’ll have to find another way to learn what we can about the woman behind all this.”

  Chapter 14

  Aislin was restless that night and had a hard time falling asleep. When she did, images of Rory carrying her off to some faceless sorceress filled her dreams, waking her again. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, she finally drifted into a deeper rest, only to have Twinket jump on her chest to wake her.

  “Wake up! Something terrible has happened!” the little doll shouted only inches from Aislin’s face. “Aghamonda has escaped!”

  “What?” Aislin cried, sitting up and dumping Twinket off her. “How did that happen?”

  The princess scrambled out of bed and threw a robe on over her nightgown. “No one knows,” Twinket said. “She was just gone this morning, but there are scratch marks on the floor, so the queen thinks Aghamonda was still a statue when she left. Oh, and a couple of fairies were frozen. Queen Surinen hopes they’ll be able to tell us what happened when they thaw out. She’s working on that now.”

  “Where is Queen Surinen?” asked Aislin.

  “B
oth of your grandparents are in the courtyard, looking for something that can tell us what happened. Hurry up! We’re missing all sorts of important stuff.”

  Aislin and Twinket ran out the door and down the corridor. “Wake up!” Twinket yelled, pounding on the doors of Aislin’s other ladies-in-waiting as she passed by. “Everybody needs to help!”

  By the time they reached the courtyard, a small crowd had already gathered. Tomas was there along with his father. Human-sized fairies clustered together, whispering and looking around as if they expected Aghamonda to return at any moment, while tiny fairies fluttered nervously overhead. Fairy and pedrasi warriors stood at every corner of the courtyard, looking vigilant. Aislin nodded at Captain Larch and Kivi when she saw them. When she reached Tomas, she paused. “Why are you up so early? Were you summoned, too?”

  “My father and I got up early to go fishing,” Tomas replied. “This trip has turned into a vacation for us and we’re having a great time, or at least we were until we heard the commotion and found out that Aghamonda had escaped. Now everyone is afraid and doesn’t know what to do. Your grandparents are still trying to find out what happened.”

  Aislin glanced at her grandmother, who was gesturing at her to come over. “I have to go. I’ll talk to you later,” she told Tomas.

  The princess approached three ashen-faced fairies wrapped in soft, warm blankets. “Were you the fairies who were frozen?” she asked them.

  Lilac nodded, making her springy purple curls bounce. “It was awful! We were minding our own business, taking a shortcut through the courtyard, when we heard this terrible grinding sound. You’re probably used to it, being part pedrasi and all, but I’d never heard a sound like that before.”

  Potentilla shivered. “We didn’t know what it was at first, so we all looked over there,” she said, pointing, “and saw the statue of Aghamonda—”

  “It was Aghamonda, silly!” said Zinnia. “She was walking across the stone floor, and her feet were making the sound with every step she took. It was truly terrifying!”

  “She didn’t look our way, but Hydrangea was hovering over her and she saw us. That nasty little wisp pointed at us and cast a freezing spell.” Lilac shivered at the thought. “And to think that she used to be my best friend!”

  “Do you think Hydrangea freed Aghamonda from your spell?” Aislin asked Queen Surinen.

  Aislin’s grandmother nodded at the three fairies and they scurried off, still clutching their blankets. “It looks that way,” the queen replied. “She left after she freed Aghamonda and froze the fairies. No one has seen her since.”

  “From the evidence we’ve found, Hydrangea must have been spying on us when Queen Surinen removed the spell to allow us to question Aghamonda,” said the king.

  “Hydrangea must have seen what vial I used, but she couldn’t hear the words I said. The drop of my potion and the words I spoke must take place simultaneously, or they won’t remove the spell completely. Without those words, all Hydrangea could do was allow Aghamonda to move, but she’ll remain a statue and be unable to use her magic.”

  “Why would Hydrangea want to do that?” asked Aislin.

  “She probably thought that the drop of potion was all she needed,” said Queen Surinen. “I say the words under my breath on purpose so no one else will know them. What I don’t understand is why Hydrangea would do such a thing. She never seemed rebellious before.”

  “I might know why,” Aislin told her. “Hydrangea was upset that I didn’t choose her as one of my mestari. I had hoped she’d gotten over it, but it’s possible that she was still mad. I’m so sorry. This may be my fault.”

  Aislin felt guilty. She’d expected some attitude from the fairies she hadn’t chosen, but nothing like this! She frowned and ran her fingers through her hair, wishing she’d kept a better eye on Hydrangea.

  “Don’t blame yourself. I’m sure Hydrangea didn’t come up with this on her own,” said the queen. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the sorceress Gorinda had something to do with it. No one else has gone against us the way she has for a very long time. Whoever is behind all this, your grandfather and I need to look into it. We were just saying—”

  A tiny fairy flew into the courtyard and headed straight for Captain Larch. A moment later, the captain of the palace guards hurried to the king and queen. “Our warriors patrolling the forest around the palace perimeter have reported that someone is shooting darts at all flying fairies, regardless of whether they’re using their own wings or riding on the back of a bird or insect. Three of our warriors have been injured. I’ve sent the order that all patrols be performed on foot, which greatly limits our ability to keep everyone safe.”

  “I understand,” King Darinar replied. “No fairy should turn small and fly outside until we find out what’s going on. And I don’t want anyone leaving the palace unless it’s absolutely necessary. If Gorinda is behind this, things will probably get worse until she’s stopped. We need to locate her as soon as we can.” The faces of the fairies in the room had all gone pale. Fairies were vulnerable when they were tiny. The thought that anyone might deliberately hurt them then was unbearable. Although Aislin didn’t think she could help find the assailants, something else was weighing on her mind.

  “Did anyone see which way Aghamonda and Hydrangea headed?” asked Aislin.

  “The statue’s footprints headed east, deeper into the forest,” Captain Larch replied.

  “Baibre lives in that direction!” Aislin exclaimed. “Someone needs to go warn her.”

  King Darinar shook his head. “No one is leaving the palace until we can assure their safety. Captain, I want you to double the patrol to make up for the lack of our eyes in the sky. I don’t want any more of our fairies to be injured, so have them wear their armor and travel in pairs.”

  Captain Larch bowed his head to the king and hurried from the courtyard. When the king and queen started talking to each other in low voices, Aislin turned and headed out as well. Tomas stepped in front of her before she could leave. “I heard what you said about Baibre,” he said quietly. “I know you well enough to guess that you have something in mind.”

  “You heard King Darinar. No one is allowed to leave the palace,” Aislin told him. She gave Tomas a meaningful look, then pointedly glanced at the fairy king.

  “Ah,” said Tomas. “I’ll see you soon.”

  As Aislin left the courtyard, her mestari followed her. “You’re up to something, aren’t you?” Poppy whispered to Aislin as they hurried down the corridor.

  “Baibre told me how vengeful Aghamonda can be and she might be in real danger! We have to tell Baibre that her sister is headed her way,” Aislin whispered in reply. “It’s partly my fault that they got back together in the first place. We have to hurry though. It won’t take long before word spreads that we aren’t allowed outside and the guards will try to stop us. Please tell the other mestari that we’ll be leaving in five minutes.”

  They ran to their rooms to dress in the tunics and leggings that Sage and Parsley had made for them. Aislin made sure that Sage had hidden a diamond in her tunic, just in case. She noticed that someone had brought her a basket of pastries while she was in the courtyard. Grabbing the knapsack she’d taken into Mount Gora, she dumped its contents on her bed, planning to leave behind anything she didn’t really need. She found the hardtack and the packet of dried berries that she’d never opened and stuffed them back in. After filling the gourd with fresh water, she put that in as well. She hesitated when she found the calcite globe, then put it back in; it might be useful someday. After wrapping the pastries in the cloth that had lined the basket, she tucked them in and was ready to go.

  Her mestari were waiting for her in the corridor. They practically ran through the palace to the door that opened onto the crystal bridge. No one was in sight as they slipped out of the palace and hurried down the bridge. It wasn’t until they reached the forest that Aislin began to think that they might get away unnoticed.

  They m
ade their way through the forest, keeping an eye out for patrolling warriors and dart-wielding strangers, and suddenly they heard the whinny of a fairy-bred horse. Aislin had ridden such a horse only once, but she had grown up around them and recognized the distinctive sound. She stopped moving and her ladies did, too. Knowing that fairies on patrol didn’t use horses, Aislin couldn’t imagine who was riding through the forest. She was startled when Tomas, the pedrasi named Kivi, and the fairy Sycamore stepped out from behind some pine trees leading seven fairy steeds.

  “When you left the courtyard so abruptly, your grandparents were sure you’d try something like this,” Tomas told her. “They know how determined you can be. They also know how well you can take care of yourself, especially with the ladies you chose. Sycamore and Kivi are supposed to go with you and I invited myself along. We’re riding so we can get there and back as quickly as possible.”

  “My mestari are already helping me,” Aislin told the two fairy guards.

  “We understand, Your Highness,” said Sycamore. “We wouldn’t dream of interfering. We’re just here to assist if you need us.”

  “In that case, you are welcome to join us,” Aislin replied.

  Kimble held up her hand and waved it in the air. “Uh, I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

  “I have,” said Deela. “You can ride with me.”

  “Anyone else never ridden before?” asked Kivi.

  Although Poppy looked uncomfortable, she didn’t say anything. “Poppy and Twinket can go with me,” Aislin announced. She remembered how much Poppy had hated it the one time she’d tried to ride a horse by herself. Poppy gave her a grateful look and a half smile. It would make them both feel better to have the other one there.

  A few minutes later they were all astride their horses, with Kimble sitting in front of Deela and Aislin sandwiched between Twinket and Poppy. “There’s an extra horse,” said Twinket.

  “We’ll take it with us. Baibre can ride it if she decides to come back to the palace,” Sycamore replied before turning to Aislin. “I understand that you know the way to her home.”