Victor was in a similar position, and he quickly pulled his garments on, as well. When we were both ready, I said, “All right. We’re ready to go.”
Kirril didn’t immediately turn toward us, and Victor pressed a hand to his shoulder. The Arthurian jumped, as if startled, and I gathered he must have been focused on Dineiro. “Ah, sorry about that,” he told us. “I was checking up on Dini.”
His expression held so much longing that no one could have doubted his honest, almost worshipful affection for my dragon friend. I might have disliked him in the beginning, but I couldn’t hold onto that resentment, not when he obviously missed Dineiro so much.
“Come on,” I told him. “Let’s deal with Anelah, so that you can go back to him.”
Kirril nodded, and together, we left the guest room. Once more, the castle was bustling with activity as the staff dealt with last-minute preparations. Medwin had apparently insisted on the urgency of the wedding so much that even invitations had been hard to send. Anelah’s parents were expected to arrive today, which meant that there was a good chance Snow might have been able to intercept them on the way. At least, I hoped that was the case, because it would be another advantage in our favor. Naturally, the Arthurians didn’t know that, and had ensured every possible luxury for the Morgannian royal family. And of course, there were a great deal of nobles, both Arthurian and Morgannian present. By rights, the wedding should have been even bigger, but the quickness with which it had taken place had prevented that.
Victor and I were, of course, the only genuinely Merlinian guests. Kirril had been assigned to watch over us, which would have been unfortunate if not for the obvious fact that we wouldn’t have been able to watch Anelah all the time today anyway. We had to rely on Rapunzel’s involvement in this, and on the involvement of the Fairy Godfather, who’d promised his assistance as well.
Still, we’d adapted to the circumstances. We headed straight for the foyer, where we found Leonard already busy. The guests had not started to arrive yet—it was very early still—but the duties of the crown prince had obviously begun. While he was more than competent, he also seemed swamped with the numerous tasks that needed to be dealt with.
“Greetings, brother,” Kirril said. “Have you seen the groom-to-be this morning?”
“Not yet,” Leonard replied. “We’ve had some problems. The decorations mysteriously disappeared overnight, and we have to redo everything. Not to mention that the cake we commissioned was raided by some sort of animal and the wines have soured as well.”
I felt a little guilty at his words, since I was personally responsible for several of those issues. To create these little distractions, I’d used my pixie abilities, summoning the Arthurian critters to my aid. The decorations had been easy, and a sprinkle of fairy dust had ensured the wines wouldn’t be usable. If Leonard suspected me, he didn’t say it, although it must have occurred to him. After all, what were the odds of all these little disasters striking exactly the evening of our arrival?
“I have to visit Medwin, but I simply can’t leave,” he added instead. “Would you and your friends check up on him quickly?”
“Sure,” Kirril replied. “We actually meant to go to his quarters now.”
Leonard waved us off, and I wondered if this was his way to make sure we didn’t cause any trouble. Even if that was true, I didn’t particularly mind. Seeing Medwin might help us help him.
Sadly, Anelah seemed to have anticipated our attempt. Just as we reached the royal wing, she intercepted us, glowering at us with sparkling black eyes. “This is as far as you come,” she said, snarling.
“Oh?” Kirril crossed his arms over his chest. “You plan to keep me from seeing my brother? Why is that, Princess?”
He uttered the latter word mockingly, and she didn’t delay in responding. “Let’s get things in the open. I know what you’re up to, and your pathetic little attempts to delay the wedding won’t work, and you’ll regret even trying.” Her lovely lips twisted into a dark smirk. “You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your sweet Dini, would you, Prince Kirril?”
It was Kirril’s turn to growl in anger. “You wouldn’t dare to touch him.”
“Oh, try me. I never make threats I can’t keep.” Her gaze fell on me and Victor. “As for you…shape-shifting and invisibility will be nothing if you continue to interfere.”
I believed her. I could feel her power twining around me, trying to trap mine. Pixie magic wasn’t comparable in any way to the one Anelah commanded. Mostly, it stemmed from our bond with nature. Every pixie was different in that regard, and while some of my kind boasted healing powers or telekinesis, I was nothing quite that special. There was no way I could possibly fight Anelah on my own.
But I wasn’t alone. I had Victor with me, so I stood my ground. I didn’t take a single step back, not even when the pressure of Anelah’s magic threatened to choke me. In the end, though, it seemed apparent that she wasn’t going to let us pass. We were wasting time, time better spent elsewhere. Besides, perhaps this wasn’t a bad thing. As long as she kept her focus on Medwin, she wouldn’t be able to track down and find out our plans.
We left the royal wing with Anelah still glowering at us and Kirril looking distracted, furious, and concerned. I held on tightly to Victor’s hand and prayed that everything would turn out the way we hoped. If not, the consequences could be very dire indeed.
* * * *
Noon came and went without the Morgannian party arriving. King Ralph and Queen Sedonia sent a messenger to find out what was going on, but they warned that it would take a while for the runner to return. Likely, the wedding would have to be postponed because of the delay.
When a message came explaining that there had been a problem with the carriages of the royal party, it became obvious that the Morgannian sovereigns would not be able to make it to Camelot today. I had my suspicions about what had triggered this course of events, and judging by the furious expression on Anelah’s face, so did she.
We were all in the throne room now, trying to figure out this new and unexpected problem. Honestly, I’d have preferred it if the wedding started. Yes, Larue had caused a little chaos by messing with the decorations and the meals, but that was largely to distract Anelah from our true purpose. If too much time passed, our careful but frail ploy would be discovered.
Fortunately, Anelah was as impatient as us. “Let’s get married anyway,” she suggested, leaning against a still besotted-looking Medwin. “My parents will understand.”
“Anything you want,” Medwin answered, completely under her thrall. “I’m sure it won’t be a problem, right?”
He looked toward his parents, who sat on their thrones, looking thoughtful. “I’m not sure that’s wise,” the king said. When Anelah turned toward him, he added, “If you’re certain, though, we shall agree. The last thing we want is to get in the way of our son’s happiness.”
Sedonia remained silent, perhaps to respect her husband’s decree, or maybe because she wasn’t convinced. In an odd way, Ralph didn’t seem very certain of his own words either, but he’d said them regardless, which led me to believe Anelah had a lot of influence over him as well. It was also very likely that she was exerting additional pressure to hasten things along because of our unexpected arrival. No matter what she’d said, she felt threatened by us and didn’t want the delay to give us time to plan anything elaborate.
“Thank you, Father,” Medwin said, beaming. One would have mistaken him as completely blissful and enraptured, but his eyes held a dim quality, as if he wasn’t really the person saying those words.
“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty,” Anelah said. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
Kirril twitched at the latter phrase and the clear selfishness of it. He looked like he wanted to throttle Anelah for reducing Medwin to a puppet at her disposal, but it wasn’t time for that, not just yet.
Fortunately, our wait didn’t have to last for much longer, and the irony of it was that w
e owed the haste to Anelah herself. She rushed to dress in her formal marriage attire and whisked Medwin away with her. Servants followed them, already trained to do her bidding.
From ancient times, the wedding ceremonies of the royal family always took place in the huge gardens of the palace. Even when weather got in the way, every attempt was made to continue the tradition. Today was no exception, and as we stepped into the gardens, I marveled at Leonard’s ability for organization. In spite of what Larue had done, everything was already back to its original condition, even more beautiful than before.
Larue and I were forced to join the rest of the guests. Fortunately, Kirril had made sure we’d get a place that would be close to the proceedings. As the hour of the wedding approached, all those present formed an enormous circle in the middle of the garden, leaving a small path that would allow the groom and bride to pass.
Kirril and the rest of the royal family majestically approached, entering the circle as well. Behind them, the royal high priest followed, with twelve assistants carrying various items. Books, a sword, a chalice, and many other things that were in one way or another symbolic to the life Anelah and Medwin were supposed to share. The one item that went beyond a mere metaphor was a crown, the one that would belong to Anelah as Medwin’s spouse.
Both the priest and his assistants wore elaborate robes with hoods that covered their heads. They created a small circle of their own, with the Arthurian royal family waiting close by.
I held my breath, waiting for the deception to be discovered, but no such thing happened. Instead, the couple arrived, hand in hand and seeming blissfully happy. If I hadn’t known any better, I could have sworn Medwin was truly in love with his fiancée. But I did, and I would not allow her to destroy his life.
As they reached us, the high priest let his hood fall back and faced them. The path closed as soon as they passed, the circle now complete. “We gather here to celebrate the union of these young souls,” the cleric said. “As the gods and the Great Father watch over us this day, may their hearts forever be one.”
He went on to explain the importance of the ceremony and its history, from the very beginnings of Arthurian society. At one point, Anelah twitched and started displaying signs of impatience. I’d have thought it was just her natural reaction to her boring ceremony, but I noticed the corner of her mouth tightening in anger.
“Something’s happening,” Larue whispered through our bond.
“It must be Snow,” I answered. “He reached his parents somehow.”
My guess was confirmed when, surprisingly, Medwin leaned forward and whispered to the priest, “Could we rush this along?”
The cleric looked shocked, and seemed to actually want to say no. However, Medwin was still a prince, and his request, while unusual, could be considered as mere impatience to finally be married with his beloved.
He smiled benevolently and went on, “Prince Medwin, son of King Ralph Theodore the Fourth and Queen Sedonia of Arthuria, do you take this woman to be your companion in all things, from this day henceforth?”
Medwin opened his mouth, but hesitated. For the first time since the beginning of the ceremony, his wide smile slipped. “Prince Medwin?” the high priest asked.
Anelah squeezed Medwin’s arm, and I practically saw all her power focusing on him. I wanted to scream, “Now, do it now!” It was the perfect moment, one Medwin’s strength had given to us. As it turned out, Rapunzel saw it as well.
Still in his garb of a priest’s apprentice, he took a step forward and threw the contents of the chalice he’d been holding straight at Anelah. Pixie dust flew all over the place, and she screamed, her power swirling madly around us.
Distantly, I wondered why the guards weren’t reacting. We’d anticipated a more energetic reaction from the Arthurians, but it didn’t happen. Sadly, by now, Anelah had Medwin under her complete control. He retracted his sword from its scabbard and pointed it at our young ally, ready to attack. I had no doubt that he’d have done exactly that had Rapunzel not let his hood fall.
For the first time, I got a good look at our mysterious friend’s face, and I could only say it should have been a crime to hide it behind those thick veils. He was absolutely beautiful, and if I hadn’t already loved Larue so much, I might have wanted to claim him as mine.
Fortunately, I was quite happy with my mate, and I wouldn’t have had a chance with Rapunzel anyway. The moment Medwin’s eyes met those of the mysterious blond, the sword fell from his hand. “You…I…”
He looked from Rapunzel to Anelah, confusion floating in his eyes. Anelah reached for him, but she was still trapped in the pixie dust. A bright light flashed in front of her, and the Fairy Godfather appeared, blocking her path, “No, you don’t.”
His appearance bought Rapunzel time. Unexpectedly, the young man kissed Medwin’s cheek and said, “It’s all right now. You don’t have to be alone anymore.”
Medwin’s eyes rolled in his head, and he collapsed in Rapunzel’s arms. Her spell shattered, the power recoiling straight at Anelah. But the witch wasn’t about to give up so easily. Snarling, Anelah directed her anger at Rapunzel. I could practically feel her gathering her magic, and she might have actually wanted to attack the young blond. For whatever reason, she stopped before she did so.
“You’re going to pay for this,” she shouted at us instead. “This isn’t over.”
“Oh, this is where you tell us you’re going to return and make us sorry for everything.” The Fairy Godfather sounded bored. “I believe that would be a little redundant, don’t you think? You and I know each other too well.”
“Why you little…”
“Aha!” The Fairy Godfather snapped his fingers, as if he’d just had a revelation. “Here I was, wondering what to do with you, and you give me the perfect idea.”
He waved his hand in Anelah’s general direction, and her form melted, turning small, minute, pixie-sized. At the same time, I felt something inside me change, snap. My world blurred for a few seconds, before returning to normal.
When I recovered, I found the confused Arthurians clustered around us, some of them looking confused, other distinctly hostile. The Fairy Godfather had taken hold of Anelah, who was currently ranting at him. “Why must you always interfere in my affairs? Can’t you mind your own business?”
“Sorry, no can do,” he replied. “Just drop it, Anelah. You don’t want to do this.”
Was it my impression or did some familiarity exist between the two? Had something stirred inside Anelah at his words? Why had she held back from attacking Rapunzel anyway?
I didn’t get the chance to ask any of those questions. As the two magic users spoke, Medwin was opening his eyes, while the king seemed angry. Oddly enough, his fury wasn’t directed at Kirril, Larue, or me. He glowered at the now-tiny Anelah. “You and your people will regret ever trying your tricks on my family,” he said.
I felt a pang of alarm. This was how wars began, and we really didn’t need more violence to add to the harm Anelah had already done. Fortunately, Kirril intervened before the king could say something he would not be able to take back. “You must remain calm and listen, Father,” he said as he wrapped his arm around the Arthurian sovereign’s shoulders. “It’s a really long story.”
Epilogue
A few weeks later
“So, she’s contained now?” Snow leaned toward me, sounding anxious and a little frightened. “She’s no longer a danger to us?”
“Indeed,” I replied, squeezing Snow’s shoulder. “You needn’t fear her anymore. Her spells are all broken now.”
Snow smiled at that, stealing a look at his parents. From their thrones, the Morgannian king and queen watched over him, trying to look calm, but unable to disguise their heartache and anger.
“I suppose that’s what matters,” he said.
“We’ll never be able to thank you enough,” Snow’s mother, Emenah, said. “If not for your help, we might have still been blinded by the witch.”
We hadn’t actually done that much, and our actions hadn’t exactly been so selfless, but still, I was happy that Snow had managed to get his family back. I couldn’t imagine how much he’d suffered throughout all these past years. Even if I’d been forced to leave my life as a pixie behind for Victor, my parents were still very important to me, and I understood how much Snow’s circumstances must have hurt him.
Philippe had, however, been quite helpful for Snow. We’d found out that he’d helped Snow sneak in to see his parents and distracted the guards while Snow did his best to break the spell. It had worked, and in the end, it had provided the opening we’d needed in order to defeat Anelah.
“I take it you’re returning to Merlinia now?” Snow inquired.
I nodded. “It’s time for us to head home. Prince Kirril has already gone ahead to see his mate, and I miss my friends as well.”
“Besides,” Philippe added, “we can’t impose on you forever.”
He was largely the reason why Victor and I had come to Morganna in the first place. Yes, we’d wanted to check up on Snow, but more importantly, we’d needed to make sure that Philippe was safe and cured of the curse as well.
My invisibility problem had disappeared entirely, so to speak, but Victor had preserved the abilities that his shape-shifting had given him. In fact, he’d confessed that he could still turn into a cat, but this time at will. Most of the time, he showed no sign of wanting to do anything like that, but I liked to see him in feline form. Now that it was no longer a sign of the curse, I had to admit I found that shape quite cute. We suspected Philippe must have ended up in a similar position, but we couldn’t be sure until we actually talked to him about it.
Pixie of Frankenstein Page 12
