Crowns and Curses

by V. B. Marlowe

  Owen stopped suddenly. “Wait. I haven’t thought about it that way before. Never mind. Scrap that idea.”

  Molly laughed, and they talked some more about how horrible it would be to have Halifax as a stepmother as they made their way to the cinema. A stream of people filed in—the girls, the kitchen staff, housekeepers, and the ladies from the Glam Room. Before they got to the actual theater, they were greeted in the foyer with a huge self-serve concession stand. There was a soda machine, a candy counter, a giant popcorn maker, soft pretzels, and nachos with oozing cheese.

  “What can I get you?” Owen asked.

  Molly thought for a second. “A cola, gummy bears, and some popcorn would be great.”

  “Coming right up,” Owen said before approaching the stand.

  Anais inched up on Molly’s side. “So, how’s that going?”

  Molly didn’t mean to smile as big as she did, but she couldn’t help it. “Pretty good, I guess.”

  Anais nudged her with her elbow. “Good. At least some good things can come out of being trapped here, huh?”

  Molly smiled, but it was a sad smile. Although Owen was great, she should be getting more out of this experience than just a guy.

  Owen came back with their snacks, and the two of them found seats in the center of the fourth row where Molly always like to sit when she went to the movies. She immediately dug into her popcorn. It had been a long time since she'd had really good movie popcorn complete with too much salt and imitation butter. She realized that it had been a while since she'd been to the movie theater, even when she was on the outside. She had been too occupied with finding a job and erasing Clay and Jessica from her life. This popcorn however was the best she had ever tasted. She wasn't surprised in the least. The buttery puffs melted into her mouth.

  The theater filled as everyone found their seats. Owen put his arm around Molly and she found herself nestling close to him. It didn't feel new or uncomfortable at all. It felt just right. The room darkened, and everyone fell silent as the huge screen lit up. Blonde hair filled the screen along with the words LEGALLY BLONDE in large pink letters. Molly was surprisingly impressed by Ms. Halifax's choice in movies. Legally Blonde was one of Molly’s favorite movies of all time and not just because she was blond like the main character, but because she could relate to Elle’s character.

  Molly knew what it felt like to be pressured into marrying the perfect guy to give you the right social standing and how it felt to be doubted when you wanted to do something unexpected. She also knew what it felt like to have the person you loved leave you for someone else. Molly pushed thoughts of Clay away. As much as she had been hurt, she had to move on. She was there with Owen, and she wanted to be in the moment.

  Molly looked over to see his reaction. He didn’t look too impressed. “Have you seen this before?” she whispered.

  He nodded but said nothing else. Molly figured it probably wasn't his type of movie and he had probably seen it with an ex-girlfriend.

  The movie played, and no matter how many times Molly saw it, she would never get tired of it. The audience seemed to enjoy it also. It was great to see everyone laughing and having a great time even though a great danger lingered in the air. The following morning Molly and some of the girls would be leaving, and there was a great chance not everyone would come back. There was a great chance none of them would go back. Molly wouldn't think about that until the movie was over. That was the great thing about films. They provided a temporary break from your real life.

  The movie ended quicker than she wanted it too. As the credits rolled, everyone headed back to their quarters. Molly herded the girls together before they left the theater. “I want everyone to go to sleep immediately.” She glanced at Isleen, “or at least get as much rest as you can before the morning. As you know this journey will be long and filled with many dangers. Even more than what we faced the last time.”

  The girls nodded, a few of them yawning, so Molly bid them good night. Owen was still waiting, so she turned to him. "I should turn in too."

  “Let me walk you to your room,” Owen said, offering Molly his arm.

  “I’d like that,” Molly replied, looping her arm around his. The two of them took their time ascending the stairs to the bedrooms. The hallway was empty. Molly stopped in front of her door and stared into Owen’s eyes.

  “This is probably the last time I’m going to see you before we leave tomorrow. It could very well be the last time I see you.”

  Owen put his finger gently on her lips. "Don't talk like that. You are coming back, and I can't wait."

  Molly tried to smile, but it wasn't quite working. "We have to travel to three lands. We have to defeat a giant crocodile and who knows what else."

  Owen shrugged like it was no big deal. "You defeated a giant wolf, didn't you? A crocodile will be a piece of cake. They're just like alligators, and people wrestle alligators all the time. They're not so tough."

  Molly appreciated how he tried to make it seem so easy. She wished that she felt as sure as he sounded. "Right," she said. "But really, if I don't come back, tonight was perfect."

  “Me too,” Owen said. They stood there silently for a moment neither saying anything until Owen leaned in and pressed his lips against Molly’s.

  The kiss lasted for what felt like forever to Molly sending surges of energy up and down her body. His lips felt perfect. They weren't too hard or too soft, and he tasted like strawberry Twizzlers. They only pulled away from each other when they heard a gasp coming from the end of the hallway.

  Isleen stood there with her arms folded over her chest. "Wow. Just wow. Ms. Dillinger, I could have sworn that Ms. Bea said she brought you here to help us break our curses, not for you to make moves on the groundskeeper."

  “Izzy,” Owen began, but she cut him off.

  "Save it! And my name isn't Izzy," she shouted before storming off. Molly ran her fingers through her hair. She probably should have cared that Isleen was upset, but she didn't. There were too many other things to worry about at the time, and that girl was always upset about something.

  Molly gave Owen a quick peck on the lips. “Don’t worry about her. See you when I get back?”

  Owen nodded. "You got it. Good luck, Molly. You and the girls will do just fine, and everyone will come back in one piece."

  Molly nodded, hoping he was right. She watched Owen walk down the hallway. Once he was gone, she turned her key in the lock and headed inside.

  20

  MOLLY

  MORNING CAME MUCH TOO fast for Molly's liking. The sky was still pitch-black by the time her alarm shook her from her sleep. She didn't know how to describe the emotions she felt that morning. Before the first journey, she'd felt fear and dread. The way she was feeling at the moment was much, much worse than that. Something gnawed on her insides, warning her that something bad was going to happen.

  She forced herself out of bed and into a hot shower. The warm water ran over her, loosening her joints and waking her senses. As she savored the comfort of the heat on her skin, she thought back to her sword-fighting training and practiced the moves, pretending there was a sword in her hand.

  In the dining room, she and the girls were served an early, hearty breakfast. Bea told them to eat as much as they could because it could be a while before they ate again. Those going through the portal were given a bag of freshly-baked bread and several wedges of cheese to keep in their packs, along with a canteen of water.

  Everyone gathered in the War Room where a pile of winter clothes waited for each person who was going. Everything was white to help them blend in with the snow once they arrived on the island of Thule.

  On top of her leggings and long-sleeved shirt, Molly slid on a thermal top, a thick sweater, a coat, snow pants, mittens, a scarf, ear muffs, and a snow cap. She had on so much gear she could barely move. Molly tucked her sword and sheath down her left side and pulled her pack onto her back. She worried about how cold it would be or how long they would h
ave to walk, but that was something she would have to face once she passed through the portal.

  Ms. Halifax made the rounds making sure everyone was properly dressed as Ms. Bea stood in front of the group. "Good luck, everyone. Remember your training and stay focused. Most importantly—work together. You're going to have to depend on each others' skills and knowledge to get you through. I'm sure you will all be back in no time with the next pen, and we will celebrate."

  Bea hugged each of them long and tight before turning to the empty wall of the War Room.

  “Wait!” Scarlett called. Ms. Bea froze and turned to her.

  Scarlett looked at the other girls. "I know some nasty things have happened over the past few days. We've literally been at each other's throats." She eyed Isleen who looked at the ground. "I want us to put all that aside when we go out there. We need to be able to trust and rely on each other. No hard feelings. We have to put all our drama on the back burner and deal with it when we come back."

  Everyone voiced their agreement except for Isleen. All eyes went to her. She glanced around the room. “Yeah. Sure. I mean, I don’t want to die out there.”

  With that, Ms. Bea moved her hands in a circular motion. Molly silently prayed that Bea would be able to create the portal, and more importantly, be able to keep it open until they got back.

  “I can keep this open for three days. Any time longer than that is risky so please, move as quickly as you can and take rests only when necessary.”

  Molly looked at her watch and made a note of the day and time. A sizeable swirling circle formed on the wall, glowing a bright purple. "You may enter," Ms. Bea announced.

  Slowly the group moved toward it. Molly's knees wobbled, and her heart raced. There was nothing more frightening than entering the unknown. Once she stepped through there was no coming back until they had conquered their obstacles. They would have no one to depend on but each other.

  As Molly entered the portal, she felt an electric charge as if bolts of lightning were running through her body. By the time she had taken ten steps forward, the portal closed, shrinking down to the size of an acorn and then disappearing altogether. She and the girls took in their surroundings. It took a few seconds for their bodies to realize what was happening and where they were.

  Cold immediately gripped every inch of Molly’s body. The chill was so bitter that it stung her skin. Molly had never been that cold in her entire life. She wrapped her arms around herself.

  Scarlett shivered, her teeth already chattering. “Okay. We need to make this as quick as possible. I don’t think I can last long in this cold.”

  “Agreed,” Oriana said, pulling the golden compass from the pocket of her coat. “We need to go straight ahead,” she said, moving forward. Molly and the others followed.

  There wasn’t much to see. It seemed as if they were standing on a barren iceberg. The sky was a mixture of white and gray. A thick fog hung over them like an umbrella, hindering their visibility. Far in the distance stood a forest of trees which had been stripped of their leaves by of the frigid temperature.

  They ambled along for a while until Lily broke the silence. “What exactly should we be looking for, Izzy?”

  Isleen had been quiet since they’d arrived on the island. Her pale face peeked from underneath the hood of her white coat. Molly realized it was the first time she’d seen Isleen without her tiara and a fancy dress. She looked like an entirely different person. Her cheeks were a bright red and her lips and turned a sickly shade of purple. “The Yuki-onna. She may be in the form of a woman or a small cloud. Either way, she’ll blend into her surroundings so she’ll be hard for us to spot. Keep your eyes open.”

  Once Molly calculated that they had been walking for an hour and a half, they stopped to take a short break. The trek wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the heavy packs on their backs. Molly wished she could dump hers and leave it behind, but she needed everything that was in it. Thankfully no one was hungry yet because everything they had brought with them to eat was frozen solid. After their short rest, they hiked for another hour.

  Molly was hoping that after a while her body would adjust to the cold, but that never happened. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be getting colder the farther they walked.

  “If it’s this cold now,” Gretchen remarked, her voice trembling. “Imagine how cold it will be tonight.”

  Molly had been thinking the same, but she hadn't wanted to say it out loud. Hopefully by nightfall, they wouldn't be there. Molly didn't see how she could possibly survive it.

  “I’m going to die,” Scarlett announced. “I can’t take this.”

  Molly put her arm around her. "Mind over matter. Imagine yourself lying in the warm sand on a tropical beach." Molly had been trying to do that herself, but it wasn't working. The fierce frost refused to let her mind escape, but maybe it would work for Scarlett.

  After four hours of walking and a few short breaks, the group took a seat on a cluster of boulders. They weren't too far from the barren forest. The closer they got to it, the eerier it looked. The trees were bare and unwelcoming.

  Molly jumped at a cracking sound coming from the forest. It sounded like someone snapping sticks in half. Everyone sat up straight, staring in the direction of the noise. Lily stood, her bow and arrow ready.

  Isleen tugged on the leg of Lily’s snow pants. “You can’t defeat her that way. I told you that. Sit down.”

  Lily remained standing. “Maybe not, but what if it’s something else? Like an animal or something? What if it’s not her?”

  Isleen made a face. “There isn’t anything on this island but her. Any noise that we hear is from the Yuki-onna.” She said it so casually as if it were something they encountered every day.

  “What do we do?” Gretchen asked.

  Isleen glared at the forest. “Just sit and wait.”

  They sat in silence for a long time. Molly wished the snow hag would hurry and appear so they could get it over with and leave the island. She felt as if the blood in her veins would freeze if she had to stay there much longer and longed for the hot shower she had taken that morning.

  More sounds came from the forest, even louder than the last. Even though it didn’t seem possible, the temperature dropped lower than it had already been. Molly tried to imagine herself sitting in front of a warm, toasty fire drinking coffee. Like her beach fantasy, it didn’t work.

  “Why is it getting colder?” Scarlett asked, her voice filled with worry.

  “She knows we’re here,” Isleen replied in a whisper.

  The atmosphere around them turned thicker, whiter. Molly couldn’t even see the forest anymore.

  Gretchen sat back to back with Molly. Her body shifted back and forth. "What's happening? Why can't we see anything?"

  “Be still, Gretchen,” Isleen snapped. “Don’t make any sudden movements. We don’t want to give her any reason to blow her frost breath on us.”

  The group sat still and quiet as the air around them grew crisper and the fog heavier. Molly tried to make herself breathe evenly as she waited for what would happen next. Suddenly, the quiet air filled with the cries of an infant.

  Isleen’s body stiffened next to Molly. “Whatever you do, don’t take that baby from her.”

  Molly gasped as the fog parted and a woman walked through as if she were emerging from behind a curtain. She was every bit as beautiful as Isleen had described, or as beautiful as a dead person could be. Her skin was white as the snow, whiter than any humans. It was ethereal and translucent. A flow of raven waves cascaded down to her knees and hugged her body. She had coal black eyes, red lips, and wore a white kimono that went past her feet. The woman appeared to be floating on air.

  In her arms, she cradled something swaddled in a white blanket. The woman looked down at the bundle and wept. After a moment, she looked up. “Please. Please help me. Take my child and keep him warm.” Her voice was like a strained whisper—like someone who hadn’t used their vocal cords for a
long time.

  No one moved or said a word. Molly found it hard to keep still with Gretchen shivering behind her. She wanted to pat her back and tell her that it was going to be okay, but she dare not move.

  The Yuki-onna floated closer to them. She lowered herself and held the bundle out to Molly. Piercing cries came from the blanket but whatever was wrapped inside was bundled so tight it could not be seen. Molly didn’t move to reach for the faux baby. She didn’t even raise her gaze to make eye contact. The woman scrunched her face and moved on to Isleen beside her. Of course, Isleen remained still also. The woman gnashed her teeth and went around the circle offering the sobbing bundle, but each girl refused to take it.

  The woman made her way back around and snarled. The bundle vanished into thin air as if it had never existed. The woman glared at them. Anger radiated from her like a furnace, but it didn't help with the cold. They had to do something before the Yuki-onna decided to blast them with her icy breath.

  Isleen rose slowly. “Hello. We’re not here to cause any harm. We’ve been sent here to retrieve an object. Do you have something for us?”

  She smiled slyly and nodded. “I do.”

  “What can we give you for it?”

  The woman's smile broadened—twisted and creepy. "I require two promises—one for the box and the second, so I don't kill you."

  Someone gasped, but Isleen remained unphased.

  “Very well. Please give us a minute.” Isleen turned to the others. “What can we promise her?”

  Scarlett pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. “I don’t know. What does she like?”

  “Pretty things and freezing people to death.”

  Everyone groaned. Gretchen turned to the group. “I-I have an idea.”

  “Go for it,” Molly told her. No one else knew what to offer.

  Shivering, Gretchen stood and reached for her pack resting by her feet. She knelt and unzipped it. Everyone looked on as she clumsily removed several bottles of spices in unmarked canisters and a small tin cup. Her thick mittens made the task difficult, but Gretchen banged her thermos of water against the icy ground until a small piece broke off. She placed it in the tin cup and then poured a white powder on it. "The salt will melt it." Everyone was silent as she worked, adding spices, tasting what she made, and then adding more. She mixed the contents of her tin cup with her wooden spoon. When she was done, she stood before the Yoki-onna.