by Chanda Hahn
“Who?” I wondered, questioning who had the knowledge to do this. Kneeling in the grass, I leaned in closer to the spell for seeing and plucked very carefully at one of the magic threads. Pulling it up to the light, I closed my eyes and tried to listen to the magic, listen as it whispered the name of its castor.
Nothing, I heard nothing. Feeling down and frustrated, I tried again, digging deep into the earth, asking for help. The magic came awake. Slowly, it answered, like an old man being woken from a deep sleep. It yawned, and then the magic trickled up and whispered to me.
The name.
I blinked, listened again, and frowned.
When I came back around to the front of the tent. Helia emerged, her face blotchy and red with tears.
“It’s not true,” she bawled. “It can’t be true.”
Evander looked exhausted, and he signaled to one of his guards, who were never far away, and they escorted poor Helia away.
Without waiting, I stormed back into the tent to confront the ogress.
“I knew you would be back.” She smiled.
“Tell me about this tent. You are not the original owner of this tent.”
“That is correct. For the tent was made by a powerful sorceress, and she graciously passed it and its powers on to our troupe when she left. I have been the Madam De La Cour for the past cycle, and there have been two others before me.”
“Then the prophecy about my future, who said it? For you were not the seer at that time. So why say that you foretold it?”
“No, you are correct, but all the secrets that are seen or foretold within this tent are kept within this tent. With each new seer, we have access to those stories and prophecies told before. It is here.” She waved her hand along the side of the tent, and it glowed wherever her finger touched. “And then it is here.” She touched her own head.
“Who spoke to my parents? Who convinced them to give me up for adoption?” I was shaking. The tears burning at the corners of my eyes were only held back by my outrage.
“You know.”
“No. I want you to say it. Out loud.”
“It was Lorelai Eville. Your adoptive mother.”
I collapsed on the stuffed pillow and buried my face in my hands. Was it all a scam? Did she see my future and then coerce my parents into letting me go?
“Why?” I asked. “Why would she convince my parents to give me up?”
“I cannot tell you everything, for she did not reveal the whole prophecy. I only know what she spoke out loud. But I can tell you that she fully believed that this was the best outcome for you.”
“What outcome is that?” I said, terrified of the answer, knowing that I may not be ready to hear it.
“Why the future queen of Candor, of course.”
Chapter Sixteen
My heart dropped into my stomach, and I began to feel ill. This wasn’t what I wanted. Or at least, I didn’t think this was what I wanted. Evander was really nice, but to what purpose? I would make a horrible queen.
“No, she said I was supposed to come here and get revenge for my mother. That she had been killed by the king. Wait. Was she killed to keep me from being queen?”
“Now you are asking the right questions, but alas I cannot answer any more without payment.” The ogress held her hand out expectantly.
“I don’t have anything else of value.” I patted my dress down.
“I will take your glass slippers,” she said.
“I can’t. My mother told me that I would need them.”
“Your adoptive mother. The one who lied to you. Hmmm?” she said with a wink.
In shock, I stumbled out of the tent and wandered while I tried to gather my thoughts and picture Lorelai Eville as one of the troupe members. Once a lady of high nobility, she gave it up and lived here, among the nomadic troupe. Was it because she wanted to escape and leave everything—her father’s death and being a scorned fiancée—behind. Maybe, yes, I could see her trying to start a new life here. And if she was part of the troupe and traveled with them to each kingdom, then of course she would learn about them, their weaknesses, and plot revenge on them.
Or maybe it was more than that. Maybe it was during her travels that she became jaded toward the kingdoms. I could see that. If she foresaw the future of a few of the kingdoms, then she may do everything in her power to fix it, or see to its fall.
What was I then? The kingdom of Candor’s salvation or their damnation?
I wandered back to the main group of girls. It seemed, after Helia’s fortune, no one wanted to know their future or risk being escorted away. Nessa and Tess had disappeared from the group, and I didn’t pay much attention to their whereabouts.
Instead, I quickly became caught up in the show, or should I say glamour.
A sword swallower reveled the ladies by swallowing a long sword, but I could see the shimmer and smell the caramel scent of his glamour, since I knew what to look for. The handle was real, the dagger was all glamour.
“How does he not cut his throat?” Harmony asked. “Surely he would die?”
I grinned as we walked up to a bare-chested man who was pretending to lay on a bed of nails, when in actuality he was on a flat board. When he opened his eyes to look at me, he did a double take. I gave him a knowing wink and nodded to his bed.
“B-But,” he stuttered and pointed to me, but I walked away.
A woman in a deep red gown sat by a mirror combing her long beard. Glamour here, glamour there. Everywhere I turned, I saw the shimmer of glamour, the illusion, and I felt at ease. The castor was extremely strong, and I had no doubt that it was all done by one person. For each item had the similar smell of caramel popping corn.
“Come and be amazed. Let your eyes be dazzled!” a man with a graying mustache and sideburns called out to us. Prince Evander slowed before the performer who stood behind a table of colored gemstones. “As we unleash the magic within you!”
“You will not want to miss this,” Prince Evander said proudly and gestured for a few of the ladies to step forward. Harmony, Adelle, and Elsie were the first to volunteer. I hung back amongst the girls, but the promoter looked right at me.
“You. Yes, you!” he called when I tried to shake my head. “Come here.”
I felt a shove from behind as I was catapulted forward to the covered table where four precious stones were laid out in the middle of the table. The edges of the table had four white crystals that were used to keep the cloth from blowing away in the wind.
“Now, ladies, the mind can easily be deceived, but the heart not so much. I ask you to look deep within yourself to find the real diamond on the table.
“May we touch them?” Harmony asked.
The man’s mustache curled when he smiled. “Of course, touch, feel, sense, find the real gem on the table. The winner will get a special gift from me.”
At the magician’s prodding, the girls each took turns picking up the diamonds, holding them up to the light, turning them every which way to see if they could spot the fake.
I frowned at his duplicity and didn’t enjoy being played a simpleton.
“This one.” Harmony held up one. It was wrong.
I had to give it to the magician, it was quite a unique trick. If I closed my eyes halfway I could see the faint shimmer over the stone in her hand.
“Wrong,” the promoter said.
“This one is the real stone.” Elise held up the second.
“Wrong again.”
Adelle grinned and held the third up triumphantly. But her smile was short-lived as the promoter shook his head.
That left only one untouched.
“That’s not fair,” Adelle pouted. “Eden wins by default, and she hadn’t even touched the stones.”
I hated that she was whining, and if I was smart about it, I would have guessed wrong on purpose. But now I just wanted to prove her wrong.
I watched the magician closely, and his mustache twitched. I was right. I could see the glamour on all the
gems; they were just pieces of colored glass, but then I didn’t know what else I was missing. I studied the table and the four crystal stones that were mere props… or were they? Then I saw it. Everything was glamoured. The four crystals were actually four precious gems. One ruby, sapphire, emerald, and diamond. The diamond was on the corner closest to his left elbow.
“You want me to find the diamond, correct?” I asked.
“Yes, find the real diamond.”
My hand hovered over the fourth piece of glamoured glass on the table, and I saw his shoulders drop in disappointment. I should have turned it over. Should have just played the game to lose. But I didn’t want to lose. I wanted to win.
I reached past him and picked up the white glamoured crystal and handed it to him. “Here’s your diamond,” I said triumphantly and tapped the three other glamoured crystals and muttered under my breath so only he could hear. “Sapphire, emerald, and ruby.”
I enjoyed watching his eyebrows rise up and his slight nod. “Very good.”
“What just happened?” Elsie asked, her face a mask of confusion and indignation.
“They were all glamoured,” the magician said and waved his hands over the table to release the glamour, and the four diamonds in the middle turned into plain pieces of glass.
“Whoa!” Harmony laughed at the magical reveal.
Feeling pleased with myself for passing the test, I tried to step back from the table, but the magician stopped me. “Don’t you want your prize?”
“No, that’s okay,” I said truthfully. I didn’t want a reason for the others to hate me or be jealous.
“Well, for your prize, you’ve won a tour to see one of the most magical and rare creatures to ever walk our kingdoms.”
“Only if we all get to take the tour,” I said, feeling good to share the prize.
Again, I must have surprised him with my answer. He bowed his head. “As you wish. Follow me.” He beckoned and led us away from the main entertainment tents and into the woods. A white and gold tent stood in the middle of a glade; it was heavily guarded by large, muscular troupe members. One of them even looked like he could be half ogre. I couldn’t help but wonder what was inside that needed this much protection.
The magician paused and turned to us. “What you are about to see is a very rare treat, one that I assure you is real and not a glamour.”
When he mentioned glamour, I looked away guiltily. He waved us in, and I followed behind Harmony and Elise.
Harmony squealed in delight. Elise gasped, and I moved around the girls and made my way to the white waist-high corral fence. I forgot that air even existed as my heart was filled with joy at what I saw.
Unicorns.
Two adult unicorns and their colt. Their coats gleamed white, their hair a mix of silvery blue, white, and cream. An albino child tended them. Her hair and skin was almost the same hue as the horses. She was singing sweetly, feeding them sugar cubes and brushing them down.
“Why is a child tending them?” Elise asked.
I couldn’t pull my gaze away from the creatures, and my eyesight became blurry with unshed tears at their beauty.
I had to clear my throat to answer. “Only the purest may touch the unicorns.”
“You mean virgins,” Elise said snidely. “Well, that includes me. I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me by.” Elise opened the gate and slipped inside to approach the baby unicorn.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I warned.
Elise ignored me. I turned to Evander. “Don’t let her.” But he wasn’t watching what was happening. He was in a deep conversation with the magician. It sounded like they were arguing.
The little child tried to place herself in front of the baby unicorn, but Elise gave her a cold glare fit for a queen. The child backed away.
Elise kneeled near the colt that was curled on the ground sleeping. She reached out, and her hand brushed along his neck. “He’s so soft!” She giggled. But Elise’s giggle turned to a scream as the parents turned to protect their young. They reared up, their silver hooves dangerously close to her face. The colt became startled. Elise tried to run but slipped and landed on the colt.
I stared in horror as the unicorn’s small horn stabbed Elise in the chest. His coat turned red with her blood.
Screams erupted, Melisandre fainted, and Evander was now rushing into the corral to try and pull Elise to safety, but he was met with two dangerous and protective unicorns refusing to let him pass.
The albino child had run away, hopefully to try and get help.
“Move!” Evander called out and tried to sidestep past, but the male unicorn’s horn followed him wherever he went.
“Over there!” the magician yelled and tried to lead him over to the other side so he could sneak in, but he was stopped by the mother.
Meanwhile, Elise had passed out on the straw, her face pale, her light blue dress turning purple from her blood.
“Harmony,” I cried out to my frightened friend. “It has to be you.”
“What?” she said, her hands trembling as I pushed her toward the gate.
“You have to go in there and pull her out.”
“I can’t. Those things will surely kill me.”
I grasped her hands between mine and looked deep into her fearful green eyes. “Listen to me. Being pure does not mean virginal. It is pure in your soul, mind, and body. You are pure. Honest. Loyal. True. I’ve seen your aura. You can go in there and pull her out.”
“Why can’t you?” she trembled and looked up at me. “Why can’t you go in there?”
“Because I am not good,” I stated. “I’m jealous more often than not and don’t think of others. I would not let myself corrupt their young.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. It has to be you.”
Harmony wiped her tears away and approached the fence, keeping her hands near her side. “Evander, move away from the corral,” I ordered.
“We have to save her,” Evander yelled.
“No, they won’t let you near their young. Your auras are not pure, but Harmony can.”
When Evander saw Harmony and the determination in her eyes, he motioned for the guard to back away, and the unicorns stopped their prancing.
Elise lay unconscious in the straw, and I silent said a prayer over her. Harmony opened the gate and slowly entered. The unicorns’ eyes were no longer crazed with worry; they sniffed the air and bowed their heads toward her in subservience. Harmony’s slim body was shaking in terror so bad, I thought she would fall over.
She made it to Elise, who was passed out in the straw, and tried to drag her out by her arm. It took quite a few yanks and pulls to get the momentum, but she did it, pulling Elise across the stall, leaving a trail of blood. I waited anxiously near the gate and had almost set a foot inside, but saw the male unicorn lower his horn and take a step toward me.
“C’mon, c’mon,” I chanted, beckoning Harmony to pull as fast as the petite girl could. Finally, Elise was within a few feet of the entrance, but Harmony was losing steam. Biting my lip, I raced in, grabbed Elise’s other arm, and dug my heels in to pull her out. I was in the enclosure for mere seconds.
The unicorns spun and screamed at my presence, and I nodded my head. “I know. I know. But you will have to forgive me this time.”
I pulled Elise out and quickly assessed the damage. She was losing a lot of blood and fast. I tore a piece of my skirt and tried to staunch the flow.
“The magician went to find a healer.” Evander kneeled next to me and pressed his hands on top of mine, adding pressure to the wound.
I knew they would be too late. Her face was pale, and her skin was becoming clammy. I had to make a choice. Do the best I could with my meager abilities and heal her, thus exposing myself? Or let her die?
“Get everyone out of the tent,” I ordered.
No one moved.
“Evander, send them away,” I pleaded. Looking deep into his eyes, I hoped that he would
trust me.
“Out now!” he ordered. The guards that were in the room ushered the remaining ladies out, and then we were alone. Evander and me.
“You too,” I said.
“No. If she dies, I want to be able to tell her parents that I was with her,” he said nobly.
“She’s not going to die,” I snapped. “Not if I can help it.”
I tried to go over the healing spell in my head, but the images kept getting jumbled up. It was akin to doing a large mathematic equation without seeing it. Once I saw it in my head, I could formulize the correct spell and words.
Evander could see my lips moving, and I kept shaking my head and mumbled, “No, that would be too much,” but he wisely didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t have been an issue, except that he was right here next to me, watching my every move. Silently, judging me.
“Oh, stars guide me,” I muttered and pulled the makeshift bandage way and looked at the wound, which was really bad. If only Rosalie was here instead of me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, envisioning the wound and sending a trickle of magic into the surrounding area. I used magic to reknit the muscle. For me, using healing magic was akin to running a mile with a lodestone around my neck. Not impossible, just extremely difficult, and I was getting weary quick.
Sweat trickled across my brow, and I tasted blood in my mouth; I must have bit the inside of my cheek. But I couldn’t worry about it. I needed to worry about Elise and closing up her wound. I was struggling to breathe, to catch my breath, but I was forcing the magic to work with me, not against me.
“Please,” I begged. “Just a little farther.”
A soft muzzle brushed against my cheek, and I looked up into the pure blue eyes of the young unicorn, who had come and was leaning against me. My hands began to tremble from pure joy, and I began to cry.
I was scared to go near the unicorn because I felt so unworthy. My whole life I had felt unworthy, less than, and afraid to reach my full potential because I didn’t want to fail. But this creature, the epitome of all that was good in the world, approached me, gave me the confidence I needed.
