The Odd Sisters

by Serena Valentino

  Snow White was sitting on a little red velvet love seat with a heap of letters on her lap, looking out the large round window. “Nanny’s letters and the book of fairy tales say Tulip is well, and that she and the Fairy Godmother are working to repair the damage to the castle.” Circe looked up from the tray of tea and cakes she held and smiled at her cousin.

  “Thank you for going through all those letters and books. Are you sure you wouldn’t be more comfortable at home in your own castle?”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me already?” Snow said, winking at her cousin.

  Circe set down the tray on the little table and rushed over to Snow. “Of course not! I’m so happy you’re here! But I’m worried you will be bored sequestered in the house while I’m at the castle. I know it may seem overprotective, but Nanny really does feel you’d be safer here than at the castle, with my mothers’ bodies still in the solarium.”

  Snow smiled. “I understand. I have the fairy tale book and all these letters to keep me occupied. Besides, I’m not at all ready to go back to my old life. Not just yet.”

  Snow laughed at the stack of letters. “That poor little owl. Nanny must have kept him busy while she was unable to reach us. By the look of it, she sent several letters a day while we were in that strange and beautiful place.”

  “The Beginning,” Circe reminded her. “There’s so much I don’t know about my mothers, or this house. I wonder if the fail-safe spell was reversed when I took away their powers.”

  Snow White smiled at Circe. “Well, that is why I am here, to help you in your research. You haven’t even had time to process everything that happened to Gothel, let alone Maleficent. There are some things your mothers said that I’m finding really curious, and I want to know more. And I know you want nothing more than to go through all these books, but you can’t be in two places at once. At least, I don’t think you can,” Snow said, giving Circe a playful look. “So please let me help you. I’m happy to do it, truly I am.”

  Circe poured her cousin a cup of tea and watched her take a sip. “You know, that cup used to be yours. I read it in Lucinda’s journal,” Circe said.

  Snow looked at it closely and smiled. “I thought so! I’m guessing your sisters—I mean, mothers—took it from my parents all those years ago?”

  Circe nodded. “I’m still trying to figure out what they were doing with all these cups. Do you think they could just be mementos of their misdeeds, or is there something more sinister at work?”

  “I think I read something about the cups in Maleficent’s story, actually. Do you want me to—” Before Snow could finish, Circe snatched the cup from her and threw it across the room. It shattered against the wall.

  “Circe!” Snow was shocked. “Circe, please calm down!”

  Circe took Snow by the hands, clenching them tightly. “Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry, Snow. I don’t know what came over me. I think I’m much angrier with my mothers than I realized.”

  “I understand, sweet Circe, I do. But please, go see Nanny, she’s been so worried about you, and I think it will do you good to see her. I promise I will be fine here. I want to read the rest of the fairy tale book in peace.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I think seeing Nanny will help.” Circe put her hand on Snow’s cheek. “My dearest Snow, should I have taken you home after we checked on Mrs. Tiddlebottom and her charges? Have I asked too much of you? Won’t your husband be worried?”

  Snow White kissed Circe on the cheek. “No, Circe. My dear, sweet husband understands. He’s never been comfortable with how close I am with my mother, and I think he is happy that I am finding my independence without her.”

  Circe was happy to hear that. “I’m going to enchant the house while I’m at the castle, Snow. No one will be able to enter. I promise, you will be safe. And if you need me, for anything at all, you can contact me through the hand mirror.” She paused, worried. “You’re sure you will be okay here alone? Maybe I should try to convince Nanny it’s okay for you to come with me to the castle.”

  Snow shook her head. “No. I understand completely. Really. Nanny thinks I will be safer here. I get it, Circe. Please don’t worry.”

  Circe smiled at her cousin again. She thought Snow had such a beautiful soul. Who else would have dropped her entire life to go on this adventure with her? Who else would have ventured to distant lands to check on the sisters of a terrible witch who kidnapped children, or seen to a sweet, befuddled elderly woman consumed with baking birthday cakes? Even though Snow was much older than Circe, it sometimes seemed that she was just a little girl. There was a youthfulness about her that Circe found utterly charming. A kindness she felt she didn’t deserve, not after everything her mothers had done to Snow years ago. Snow had proven that she was a wonderful woman with a forgiving heart. A woman who could forgive even her own mother for trying to kill her.

  “You know, Snow, I truly love you,” said Circe.

  “And I love you, too, Circe.”

  The ladies hugged and hugged. Circe didn’t want to leave Snow. “And if you learn anything important in the fairy tale book, you’ll let me know?”

  Snow had the book in her hand. She looked down at it. “Of course I will. Now go and give my regards to Nanny.”

  With a kiss for Snow and a protective enchantment on the house, Circe left for the castle.

  As she traveled, Circe couldn’t help feeling that her heart was still with Snow. She looked back at her mothers’ house, silhouetted against the crashing waves. With its witch’s-cap roof, dark green hue, and black shutters, it was the last place you would expect Snow White to live. Circe laughed, lost in her thoughts and the beauty of the landscape. She had missed Morningstar, with its brilliant lighthouse and glittering sea. Then, as she neared the castle and her heart skipped a beat, Circe could see Nanny and her sister, the Fairy Godmother, in the distance outside the gates. They looked like they were talking about something important. She sped up her pace, but a voice she hadn’t expected to hear startled her.

  Hello, Circe. Circe spun around, wondering where the voice had come from. Then something soft brushed against her legs.

  It was Pflanze. The odd sisters’ cat was a tortoise-shell telepathic beauty with orange, black, and white markings.

  “Pflanze!” Circe squealed with delight, though it seemed Pflanze wasn’t as happy to see Circe. She just looked up at Circe with narrowed eyes, shifting her weight from one marshmallow-white paw to the other.

  As long as Circe could remember, Pflanze had always been there. When Circe was younger, the cat had almost been like another sister. The most levelheaded sister in the house. The wisest, and most mysterious. There was so much more to Pflanze than Circe had ever suspected. And it was all in her mothers’ journals. She had always felt she and Pflanze had an understanding. But that day something seemed different.

  I’m so disappointed in you, my little one, the cat said. But there is no time to discuss my broken heart. I must get back to your mothers. They have been waiting for you. We all have. Pflanze gave her a disapproving look.

  “I know, Pflanze, I’m sorry. I was trapped in the Beginning.”

  Pflanze blinked and said, So the house took you to the place of its birth, and you took away your mothers’ powers to get out?

  Circe didn’t understand what the cat meant. “Of course I didn’t, Pflanze! How was I to know taking away my mothers’ powers would release us from the Beginning?”

  So lofty Circe took away her mothers’ powers for noble reasons. I see. Well, you have much more to learn. When you took away your mothers’ powers, every spell they had ever cast was broken, including the fail-safe on the house. That’s why you were able to return to the many kingdoms. We have so much to talk about, Circe. There’s much you need to learn, and not all of it is in those journals and that fairy tale book Snow White is reading now. If your mothers knew she was in their house, touching their things…do you have any idea how angry they would be, Circe?

  Ci
rce was past caring what her mothers thought.

  Oh, that’s very nice, Circe, said Pflanze sarcastically.

  Circe had always thought she and Pflanze felt the same way about Lucinda, Ruby, and Martha. Of course the cat loved them, but she remembered times when Pflanze would become so fed up with the odd sisters’ theatrics that she would leave for days just to get away from them. Now it seemed Pflanze was more loyal to them than ever.

  I have always been loyal to your mothers, Circe. Always. Long before you ever came into being. Don’t forget that. I saw what they went through to bring you back. I saw them deteriorate into what they’ve become all for the love of their precious Circe. You think they’ve destroyed everyone in their path? You think they’re foul murderous creatures? Well, I can say the same of you. You did this to them, Circe. Your life brought all of this about. If there is nothing good left within them, it’s because they gave it all to you. Remember, Circe, you are them. To hurt them would be like hurting yourself.

  Circe didn’t know what to say. Pflanze’s words wounded her deeply, threatening to break her heart into tiny pieces. It felt like one of her mothers’ mirrors; with each heartbreak there was another crack in the mirror, and she wondered how long it would be before it shattered entirely. How long before it sliced at her insides like Grimhilde once described in the book of fairy tales.

  “Do you know why they hate Snow White?” she asked.

  Pflanze adjusted her paws, giving Circe one of her characteristic looks. Circe could feel that Pflanze was surprised she hadn’t worked it out on her own.

  It was never really about Grimhilde, not until she had your mothers escorted out of the solstice celebration, humiliating them in front of the entire court. That is when their hate switched from Snow White to Grimhilde. They always hated the little brat.

  “Don’t call her that!”

  Pflanze saw beyond Circe’s anger. She saw into her heart.

  You have no idea why your mothers wanted to get rid of Snow White! Why they still want to see her dead. What did you do the entire time you were trapped in the Beginning, if not read your mothers’ journals? You know nothing of the women you’ve condemned to solitude.

  “Would you like to come with me to the castle, Pflanze?”

  Pflanze didn’t answer. Her silence stung Circe’s heart.

  “And where are my mothers’ bodies? Are you so angry with me that you’ve left them alone and defenseless in the solarium so you could condemn me?”

  Pflanze didn’t answer.

  “Never mind. But don’t think this conversation is over.”

  Oh, I think it is. If you want to know why your mothers hate Snow White, tell the brat queen to look it up in your mothers’ journals. I imagine she will find it in the section devoted to Grimhilde. I suppose you have one of your mothers’ mirrors in your pocket so you can contact the brat queen?

  “I do.”

  I see. So you’re not opposed to using your mothers’ magic when it suits you. You think you’re helping Snow White by keeping her locked away in their house? Leaving her alone with only a mirror for comfort and communication? Doesn’t that sound like the life you are trying to save her from?

  Pflanze ran ahead before Circe could answer, leaving her feeling desperately sad and alone. She had always thought she could count on Pflanze, but it was clear something within the cat had changed.

  Circe missed Snow. They had been together in her mothers’ house since it spirited them off to the Beginning. It felt like a lifetime, but it had all happened in a matter of days. She had felt so far away from Morningstar, and from Tulip and Nanny, when she was only reading about them rather than being there to help them during the crisis caused by her mothers. And in that moment Circe realized how much she missed and depended on Nanny. How much she loved her. She felt terrible for leaving her alone to deal with all of this, and she couldn’t bear to have Nanny upset with her. She saw her in the distance, and her heart desperately wanted to be with Nanny’s.

  And before she understood what happened, she found herself magically transported into Nanny’s arms and showered with love and affection.

  “Oh, my dear sweet girl, I am so sorry I hurt your feelings when I thought you would be better off if your mothers stayed in the dreamscape. You know I only wished to protect you!” said Nanny with tears in her eyes, kissing Circe again and again, holding her face between her unbelievably soft hands.

  “I’m sorry, too! I’m sorry I left you alone, Nanny. I see things much more clearly now. I know something has to be done about my mothers. I know you were only worried about me! I’m so sorry I stormed out like that, leaving you on your own to deal with Maleficent. Can you ever forgive me?”

  Nanny looked into Circe’s sad eyes. “Oh, my darling girl, there is nothing to forgive. The house took you away. You didn’t choose to leave. More importantly, what is this delightful advancement in your abilities?”

  “What do you mean, did I teleport?” Circe asked, noticing the concerned look on Nanny’s face. “I thought you brought me here from across the field.”

  Nanny shook her head. “No, my dear, that was entirely your doing. And I don’t think it was teleportation.”

  Circe blinked, confused. But all she could think about now was how happy she was to see her dearest Nanny, who never seemed to change. Even in the wake of the Dark Fairy’s death and the near destruction of Morningstar Castle, her eyes sparkled with life and love for Circe. “Oh, my dear, I’m so happy you’re here. I want to hear all about your adventures with Snow White, and what you learned when you read Gothel’s story,” said Nanny, but before Circe could answer, they were distracted by the Fairy Godmother, screeching in the distance.

  “Sister! Sister!” she cried in distress. “We have to go! We have to go!”

  The Fairy Godmother wobbled toward them, completely discombobulated. She took several steps in one direction, changed her mind, and then went off in the other direction, back and forth.

  “Is she okay? What’s happened?”

  Nanny and Circe hurried to the garden, where the Fairy Godmother was shaking and fumbling with a letter she had just read. “Sister! What’s the matter?” Nanny asked.

  The Fairy Godmother looked up, her face filled with terror. “Oberon says we have reason to believe the odd sisters are trying to lure Maleficent from the other side of the veil to fight at their side.”

  Circe felt her heart seize with panic. “Can they do that? Do they have the power to bring people back from the dead like that?”

  Nanny frowned. “I don’t know, my dear. I don’t know. They may.”

  The Fairy Godmother seemed to notice Circe for the first time. “Oh! Circe, my dear. I’m so happy you’re safe! You poor sweet thing! Everything you’ve gone through!” Circe was enveloped in the Fairy Godmother’s arms. She hadn’t expected her embrace to feel so much like Nanny’s. To feel comforted and loved in the same way. She suddenly felt overwhelmed. Lucinda, Ruby, and Martha had always loved her. Loved her desperately. Loved her too much. This love, the love she felt from Nanny and her sister, was something quite different. It was pure. It wasn’t tainted by sacrifice, the insatiable need to protect her at any cost. And Circe wondered if she was worthy of it.

  “Come on, my dear. Let’s go sit down,” Nanny said, leading Circe to the garden outside the conservatory. The conservatory was an architectural marvel of windows and a giant domed ceiling. Large French doors led to a lush garden filled with wandering roses, wisteria, honeysuckle, and jasmine. The scent was so sweet it made Circe’s head swim.

  Once in the garden, they made themselves comfortable under a large blossoming tree filled with delicate pink and blue flowers. “I don’t remember the tree being these colors,” Circe mused. “Weren’t the flowers white?”

  Nanny laughed and rolled her eyes. “This is the three good fairies’ handiwork. They came back to help after Aurora’s wedding.”

  “Oh, are they still here?” Circe asked, squinting and looking around
the garden for them. She didn’t know how she felt having so many fairies about. It was strange enough being in the Fairy Godmother’s company. Maleficent’s death was still so fresh. Snow was right. She hadn’t had time to properly process everything that had happened. Circe felt conflicted about the fairies. If they hadn’t been so cruel to Maleficent, she might never have destroyed the Fairylands and been forced to turn to the odd sisters for help. She would never have created Aurora and lost herself in the process. And Circe’s mothers—her meddlesome mothers—if they hadn’t manipulated and used Gothel, then Gothel would probably be ruling the dead woods with her sisters now. So many things would be different.

  My darling, it’s so much more complicated than that. Quiet your mind. Don’t dwell on what might have been.

  Nanny patted Circe’s hand tenderly. “The three good fairies are with Tulip, Oberon, and the Tree Lords, doing their best to heal the wounded.” Nanny was eyeing her sister and Circe, clearly worried about both of them. Circe had so many questions and there was so much to say, but they were being dragged into yet another of her mothers’ dramas, and she felt she’d better find out what was really going on before the Fairy Godmother fretted herself into another tizzy. “Perhaps we check in on your mothers in the dreamscape? See what they’re up to?” asked Nanny. Circe took her hand mirror from her pocket. She dreaded seeing them just then. But if they were planning to try to lure Maleficent from beyond the veil, that would help her in her decision. She’d been looking the other way for far too long when it came to her mothers. And it was time to put a stop to their antics and skullduggery.

  “Show me the odd sisters.” Circe spoke and the words caught in her rapid breath.

  Rather than showing the odd sisters, the mirror filled with familiar green flames.

  “Do you think your mothers succeeded in bringing her back?” Nanny’s face was filled with worry. I will never forgive my mothers if they drag that poor creature back from death. It will break Nanny’s heart, thought Circe, grasping the mirror so hard it might have broken.