Nightshade Forest

by Nikki Mitchell

  It was in that moment that Eleanor’s fears became a reality. She was right, there wasn’t a kidnapper. Prince Franco was the crystal thief, and they were in terrible danger.

  “Elfie,” Eleanor whispered, nudging her friend. “We should probably get out of here now.”

  “Oh, why is that, miss?” Prince Franco asked sternly.

  “Well, you see, the guards burned our stuff earlier so we should probably head back to the village and get some more supplies. This was a fun camping trip, though,” she said nervously.

  “Camping trip?” Elfie interrupted. “We’re not on a camping trip. We came to save the kingdom. We need to get the crystal and get it back to the castle. But now Prince Franco can help us!”

  “You mean this?” Prince Franco took the crystal from his pocket and showed the three fairies. “Yeah, this is not going back to the castle until I am king.”

  “King? But—” Elfie realized what Eleanor had been trying to tell her a moment ago. Elfie, Eleanor, and Milo turned on their heels and started for the front door.

  Prince Franco waved his arm and the door slammed shut. Without even thinking about it, Eleanor blasted the door with her fire and the three took to the sky. The owls were the last thing on their minds.

  “Get back here, now!” Prince Franco shouted, running out the door behind him. The crystal grew hot in his hands, causing him to drop it back into his pocket.

  Eleanor, Elfie, and Milo flew fast and didn’t look back to see if Prince Franco had conjured up anything to chase after them. He hadn’t, but they kept flying anyway. They flew for hours until they could see daylight again. They landed just beyond the castle.

  “I—haven’t—flown—that—fast—since—the—ogres,” Elfie said, catching her breath.

  Eleanor just shook her head at Elfie. A large part of her didn’t want to know about this run-in with the ogres, but Elfie was like a walking storybook, filled to the brim with great tales of adventure. She thought about how amazing it would be to sit and listen to Elfie’s stories all day.

  “We should alert the queen,” Eleanor said, remembering that she didn’t have time to listen to her stories. She had a kingdom to save, so she turned and started toward the castle gates.

  “Whoa, wait,” Elfie said, grabbing Eleanor’s arm. “Gargoyles. Plus, the queen is in no place for this kind of news. We don’t even know what really happened back there.”

  “Uh, yes we do. Prince Franco stole the crystal for himself so he can be king,” Eleanor said. This was classic fairytale stuff, but obviously fairytale characters didn’t know that.

  “But why would he do that?” Elfie asked.

  “I don’t know, but we can’t go back,” Milo said. “Pix is right. We should let the guards know, and they can do whatever they want with the info; I’m going home.” He started walking toward the main village.

  “Milo, wait!” Elfie said, chasing after him.

  He turned around and handed Elfie the map. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

  Eleanor looked at Elfie. She wanted to follow Milo back. It could be the quickest way to solving the problem and getting back home. But then she remembered that the heroine was always the one who had to solve the problem on her own, usually with the help of others. The queen was essentially powerless because she didn’t have the crystal. Right now, even Eleanor had more magic than her.

  “Milo!” Eleanor caught up to him. “Wait.” She bent down and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She was still exhausted from the flight.

  “What? Look, I’m not going back,” he said.

  “I know. I don’t want to either, but I’m pretty sure we’re wanted for questioning in the village right now. Remember what the guards said before burning down our camp? If we get put in the dungeon, Prince Franco will get away with it. We need a plan, and I need your help keeping Elfie from getting into any other trouble,” Eleanor said, forgetting that Pix probably went on all kinds of adventures with Elfie alone.

  Milo looked at the ground and thought for a minute. Eleanor was right.

  “Okay, but we need to have a really good plan,” he said, walking back toward Elfie, who was trying to figure out the map. The x was starting to fade because the fairy powder was wearing off.

  “Oh, look who came back for more adventure,” Elfie said, shoving her elbow into Milo’s ribs.

  “Only because I’m wanted for questioning in the village,” he snapped.

  Eleanor could tell they had gotten into fights before about Elfie’s dangerous adventures.

  “Okay, let’s make a fire and figure this out,” Eleanor said, gathering sticks. Fire was common in the outskirts of the castle, so they didn’t have to worry about being sold out by smoke. She lit the fire and sat on the ground with her legs crisscross. Milo joined her and began poking at the fire. After a few minutes of silence, Milo looked up.

  “I’ve got it,” he said.

  “Got what?” Elfie asked. She had been dozing off in the grass.

  “The plan,” he said, pointing at a huge cave on his map.

  For the next few hours, Eleanor, Elfie, and Milo sat by the fire, eating snacks and putting together a detailed plan to capture Prince Franco and return the crystal to its rightful owner. Eleanor finally felt like she had a place here with her friends and their epic adventure, but she missed home too. She reminded herself that it was almost time for the epic battle scene, or something like it, and then she’d be on her way back to her cozy living room. Or at least that’s what she hoped.

  “All right let’s go get some help from our friends underground,” Milo said, pulling Elfie up from the grass.

  “Maybe I should stay here,” Eleanor said, remembering her last encounter with a dwarf.

  Milo hadn’t been there, so he looked at her, puzzled.

  “They don’t really like me much because of my fire magic,” she said, looking at her hands.

  “Nah, you’re coming. Just don’t even think about fire while we’re down there,” Milo said.

  Eleanor followed closely behind Elfie and Milo. He had tucked the map in his pack because he knew his way to the mines. Milo had been working with the dwarves for years, creating maps of their underground mining system. Eleanor hadn’t been to the mines yet, so she was okay keeping watch for anything tracking them. She was exhausted. Milo led them back through the old rock gardens, but then took a right toward a huge mountain.

  Eleanor was surprised to see mountains that reached all the way to the sun. She had read about them in geography books, but in person, they were breathtaking.

  “If the dwarves live underground, why are we headed to the mountains?” Eleanor asked Elfie.

  “They mine under the mountains. The rocks help to keep everything cool and dark, which they need to harvest the light crystals.”

  As they grew closer, they decided to travel with their hoods up, just in case they ran into castle guards.

  “The entrance is right up there,” Milo said, pointing to huge stone doors.

  Eleanor was amazed. These were the biggest doors she had ever seen. The doors were carved right into the side of the mountain and adorned with gemstone carvings.

  “These doors were a gift from the giants,” Elfie explained, noticing the curious look on Eleanor’s face.

  “The giants gave the dwarves a gift?” Eleanor asked, surprised.

  “When the mines exploded, the dwarves were irate and disappeared into the mountains for a while to get away from the kingdom,” Elfie said. “The giants live in the mountains, so they became friends. They’re actually the only ones from the village who can enter giant territory.”

  “Then why did I have to be the one to light the fire? Couldn’t the dwarves do it or just walk up and tell them to not squash the city?” Eleanor asked.

  “The dwarves do nothing unless it helps them,” Elfie said. “They are greedy. They also have an agreement with the giants that they won’t interfere with the giants’ business. These doors were part of that
treaty.”

  “So how do we get in?” Eleanor asked as she and Elfie caught up to Milo.

  “There’s a horn,” Milo said, pointing to a ram’s horn attached to the side of the mountain.

  “Let me do it,” Elfie said, grabbing the horn. She blew into it and the doors began to open. However, the entrance wasn’t open for them to enter. Behind the stone door was a wrought iron gate, guarded by two dwarves.

  “What do you want, market boy?” one asked.

  “We’d like to speak with Mammot,” Milo said.

  “You’d like to speak with Mammot, huh?” the other said sarcastically.

  “Yes, please. It’s urgent,” Milo said.

  “And what is this urgent business?” the first dwarf asked.

  “It’s in regard to the missing crystal,” Elfie blurted out.

  The dwarves looked irritated but agreed to open the gates. “You’ll have to take a cart down, and hold onto your lunches,” the dwarf said, chuckling.

  “Who’s Mammot?” Eleanor asked Elfie.

  “Oh, he’s uh, the dwarf you met today in the village,” she said.

  “Oh great,” Eleanor said. “Maybe I should stay up here.”

  “No,” Milo said. “They will need to be persuaded. The more of us to help make him see that helping us will help them, the better.”

  And so the three fairies descended into the dark cave.

  16

  The first part of the cave was pitch black. At first, Eleanor wanted to summon fire so she could see where she was going, but then she remembered it would be a death sentence down there. As they made their way deeper into the mine, Eleanor noticed the place was getting lighter. There were no torches in sight, but instead, the walls were lined with white crystals. They seemed to glow brighter at the fairies’ presence.

  “Over here,” Milo said, climbing into a cart.

  Eleanor and Elfie joined him. The cart was small, but as fairies, they fit pretty well.

  “How do we make it go?” Eleanor asked.

  “Dwarf magic,” Elfie said.

  “They have magic?” Eleanor asked, looking at her hands. “Then why do they hate me so much?”

  “Your mom blew up their mines. You have her hands,” Milo said.

  Just then, the cart jerked and started racing to the dark depths of the underground. The light crystals started to blur together, and Eleanor found everything to be out of focus because of how fast the cart was descending. It zoomed through several twists and turns. Eleanor was sure they had gone through a few tunnels because the air had gone stale and everything was even darker.

  As they continued to descend deeper into the earth, Eleanor held her stomach; she was going to puke. The air grew chilly and damp, and she glanced at Elfie, wondering if she was just as nauseous. Elfie looked a little pale but didn’t seem to be bothered a bit at how fast they were moving. She looked over at Milo to find him looking a little bored. She remembered that he had been working with the dwarves for a while, so he had probably been down in the mines a dozen times.

  She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heart and stomach with no avail. She was about ready to lean over the side of the cart and lose her lunch, as the dwarf had joked, when it came to a startling halt.

  “Oh, thank heavens,” Eleanor said, climbing out. “Where do we go from here?”

  “We have to wait for Mammot. If we enter the main mine, we will be turned into stone,” he said. “They don’t do well with visitors.”

  Eleanor, Elfie, and Milo waited in silence, which Eleanor appreciated since she was still feeling sick.

  Within a few minutes, a dwarf with a yellow mining hat adorned with light crystals came out of a hidden door in the wall. The last time Eleanor saw him, he was in normal clothes and a long, pointed hat. He looked even grumpier in his mining uniform, she thought.

  “What can I do for you?” Mammot asked Milo. He hadn’t noticed Eleanor, who had purposely tucked herself behind Elfie.

  “Well, we found the queen’s crystal,” Milo explained to the dwarf.

  “Great, return it to the castle so we can get back on with life,” he said, heading back toward the hole in the wall.

  “Wait,” Milo said, grabbing him by the arm. “Please.”

  The dwarf grew angry and tore his arm from Milo’s grip. “Don’t you dare touch me, boy,” he said.

  “We need your help. We found the crystal, but we don’t have it. Prince Franco does,” Elfie piped up.

  “I’m still failing to see the problem,” the dwarf grunted.

  Eleanor stepped out from behind Elfie, and the dwarf frowned even more.

  “What is she doing down here?” he asked angrily. “Did you come to blow us up again?”

  “No, sir. Prince Franco was the one who stole the crystal. He wants to be king,” Eleanor said.

  “Well that messes stuff up a bit, doesn’t it?” the dwarf said, staring into Eleanor’s eyes. “What did you come here for?”

  “Your help, sir,” she said.

  “How am I supposed to help? Go ask the queen. Or the villagers.”

  “We can’t. We’re wanted.”

  “Blow something else up, did you?” the dwarf laughed.

  “No. The guards found our camp near the edge of the kingdom,” Milo said, finally regaining his courage to speak to the dwarf. “We need the dwarves to come with us so we can outnumber the prince.”

  “You’ve lost your mind, boy, if you think the prince will ever be outnumbered. He has the crystal and half of the creatures of the Nightshade Forest on his side. It’s a lost cause. I’ve got mining to do.”

  “Sir, you have the numbers, and if the crystal isn’t returned, Prince Franco will become king by force, and we all know what that will mean for our kingdom. He can’t control the crystal and he can’t lawfully be king. Please help us,” Milo said.

  “You’ve got a point there, I suppose. But I won’t do it to help you. I will do it to save my mine from destruction again,” he said, looking directly at Eleanor.

  “That’s all we’re asking.” Milo reached out to shake the dwarf’s hand.

  “Give us the rest of the day,” Mammot said, shaking his head at Milo’s advance. “We will meet you at the edge of the castle tomorrow morning,” he said, walking back through the magic door.

  “Now what?” Eleanor asked. “We can’t wait that long. The kingdom is in trouble.”

  “Well, we don’t have much of a choice, I suppose,” Elfie said. “Let’s sleep by the entrance.”

  They didn’t have their hammocks anymore thanks to the guards, so they found a grassy area next to the mountain. Soon they were all sound asleep.

  Eleanor had only been asleep for what seemed like minutes when she heard a noise right above her.

  “Ahem,” Eleanor heard as she rolled over. She peeked her eyes open to see Mammot and a whole group of dwarves behind him. It was morning already.

  “Oh,” she said, sitting up.

  “Are you going to lead us to the prince or are you just going to sleep all day?” he asked.

  “Right,” she said, shaking Milo and Elfie awake.

  Milo went over to talk to Mammot about his epic plan to restore the crystal while Eleanor and Elfie packed up what they had left, which wasn’t much. After they were packed up, they joined Milo and Mammot.

  “I have spoken with the giants,” Mammot explained. “They are on standby. When I sound the alarm, they will come.”

  Eleanor remembered seeing them coming over the hill. They were the biggest creatures she had ever seen, and she was glad they were on her side.

  “Oh, that’s great, sir,” Milo said.

  “You three can take care of the wolves with your music, yes?” Mammot asked.

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Elfie said. “They are enchanted and don’t respond to the music anymore.”

  “Well, then we will stop at the castle and let Queen Maribelle know the problems we are facing. If we can get the crystal in her hands, eve
n if the battle is still going on, their enchantment will fade and you will be able to control them,” the dwarf said.

  “Let’s hope,” Elfie said.

  “You three fall into our numbers. That way you won’t be spotted by guards.”

  Eleanor, Elfie, and Milo did as they were told. The whole mission would be spoiled if they were captured, and Eleanor would never make it to the last chapter.

  17

  Eleanor, Milo, Elfie, and the army of dwarves came upon the castle gates. Mammot, who had taken the lead of the group, turned around and raised his hands to stop the march. “Stay here,” he told his army of dwarves. “I need the three fairies front and center.”

  Upon hearing Mammot’s command, they broke through the crowd of chatty dwarves and joined Mammot.

  “You will come with me to tell the queen all that you know,” he grunted. “If things don’t go well, I will tell them that I captured you and I’m here for the reward.”

  Just the thought of Mammot’s plan made Eleanor uneasy. Milo said the dwarves could be trusted, but she wasn’t so sure that Mammot wasn’t there for the reward, especially the bounty on her head.

  “We’ll just disappear,” Elfie said, putting her hood up.

  Mammot seemed satisfied with that and grunted in response. He was very articulate with his words when he did speak, but it was clear he did not enjoy conversing with fairies.

  The four of them walked to the gates, and the guards blocked the entrance with their spears.

  “No one is to enter the castle,” one guard said.

  “I have crucial information for the queen,” Mammot said, looking up at the guard.

  “What information?” he asked.

  “The information is regarding the crystal. I know where it is and who has it, but I will only share the information with Her Majesty,” Mammot said.

  The guards looked at each other and finally agreed to let the dwarf in. Eleanor and the others kept closely behind Mammot so they could make it in before the gates slammed shut again.

  “Don’t make eye contact with the gargoyles,” Elfie whispered to Eleanor. “We don’t know if they can see us through the enchantment.”