Princess Before Dawn

  The wizard glared at Emma. “I’m not giving this up! I’m using this card right after lunch.”

  “No, you’re not,” Emma said, and turned back to the witch. “Either I get every Treecrest postcard in the Magic Marketplace right now, or I’ll make sure that none of your cards work again. They’ll be nothing but pretty pictures of faraway places that no one will ever visit.”

  “You can’t do that. I’d be ruined!” cried the green-haired witch. “Everyone would want their money back.” She gestured and two large dogs walked up, stiff-legged and growling.

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Emma told her. “It’s your choice. Give up the Treecrest cards, or lose your business.”

  The witch laughed nervously. “I shouldn’t even listen to you. This is a magic-free zone. No one can use unauthorized magic here. There’s a dampening spell on the entire market that prevents it.”

  The dogs drew closer, their hackles raised.

  “No ordinary witch can,” said Emma. “But then, I’m not ordinary. I doubt the dampening spell is any match for me.”

  The witch gasped when Emma started to change. Everyone backed away as she grew, turning into a beautiful emerald-green dragon over twenty feet long. The two dogs guarding the stand ran off with their tails between their legs.

  “A dragon!” someone shouted.

  “There’s a dragon in the marketplace!” cried another voice.

  “Is that even allowed?”

  “Who’s going to make it leave? I’m not, are you?”

  “Fine!” the witch cried, cowering behind her table. “Take the Treecrest cards!”

  “Three times the standard rate?” Emma said as she started to turn back. With a flick of her wrist, all the Treecrest cards that people had already selected flew out of their hands to form a pile on the table. “Now, where are the twenty-two cards that you mentioned?”

  The witch bent down to fumble in some boxes under the table. When she stood up, she added the cards to the others.

  After Francis counted the cards, Emma paid the woman. “And you’ll guarantee that you’ll never make any more Treecrest postcards?”

  “Oh, I promise,” the woman said, holding up her hand.

  “Good!” said Garrid. “Because if any more unwanted guests use a postcard to visit Treecrest, I’ll find out where you live and send my friends and relatives there for a nice, long visit.”

  The woman turned ashen when he pushed back his hood enough that she could see his face. “Aren’t you the vampire prince?” she asked, her voice a harsh whisper.

  “I am,” he said. “You might want to recall all the Treecrest postcards you sold before we showed up today. No uninvited postcard visitors, remember?”

  The green-haired witch nodded, saying, “I’ll do my very best!”

  “Now,” said Emma, “what am I going to do with all these cards?”

  “I’ll carry them for you,” said Francis, and took out his acorn. Liam seemed especially interested to see the entire stack disappear inside.

  When the table was cleared, Emma turned to Annie and said, “Would you like to look around?”

  Annie nodded. “I’d love to.”

  “Francis and I are going in this direction,” Liam said, and the two took off into the crowd.

  “If we’re finished here, I’m going home,” Garrid told Annie. “The market is too sunny for me.”

  “Oh, of course!” Annie exclaimed. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done.”

  The vampire prince shrugged. “Apparently, it was my mess to clean up. Thank you for helping Zoë. Her mother and I are forever in your debt.”

  Zoë hugged her father and was watching him go when Emma asked Annie, “Did you want to look for something in particular?”

  “A coronation gift for Liam. We’re supposed to be crowned when we return home.”

  “Then we’ll start with this aisle,” said Zoë, and led the way.

  “What do people usually give for coronation gifts?” Annie asked as they started walking.

  “I don’t really know,” said Emma. “I’ve never gone to a coronation.”

  “What do you think he’d like?” Zoë asked. “Something unusual, something fun, or something useful?”

  “I’m not sure,” Annie replied. “I was hoping I’d know when I saw it.”

  They were walking past a stand where a parrot was preening in front of a full-length mirror when Zoë said, “How about a magic mirror?”

  The parrot swiveled its head to look at Annie. “Magic mirror! Magic mirror!” it squawked.

  “Liam doesn’t really need one,” Annie said, even as she studied the assortment at the stall. There were small mirrors she could hold in her hand and tall mirrors that rested on the floor and could show an entire person. Some mirrors had fancy gilded frames while others were framed in old, cracked wood. Annie particularly liked a simple, silver-edged one that fit on a table.

  “Everyone needs a magic mirror!” exclaimed the parrot. “You can ask it all sorts of questions like who’s the fairest in the land, where does the milkmaid go in the middle of the night, or where is a traveling relative right this very minute?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that!” said Annie. “We could ask the mirror where Clarence is now that Ting-Tang is gone.”

  The parrot stepped away from the mirror and pointed at it with one wingtip. “Go ahead. Ask it.”

  Annie shrugged. “All right. Mirror, where is Prince Clarence of Dorinocco right this very minute?”

  The reflection of Annie and the marketplace dissolved into a sea of swirling blue. An image seemed to float closer and soon she could make out Clarence dancing around a fire with a group of wildly gesturing people. The trees behind him were just like the ones she’d seen when she and Liam had gone with Audun to rescue Ting-Tang.

  “Good!” Annie declared. “I’ll have to tell Liam.”

  “So, which mirror would you like to purchase?” asked the parrot.

  “Like I said before, we don’t need one,” said Annie. “We already have a magic mirror at home. It just never occurred to me that we could use it to check up on Clarence.”

  The parrot bristled and clacked its beak. “If you’re not buying, don’t waste my time by pretending that you are!” As another young woman approached, the parrot strutted over to her screeching, “Magic mirror! Magic mirror!”

  “He was rude!” Zoë said as they walked away.

  “The merchants here often are if you’re not buying anything,” said Emma. “Didn’t Liam say that he wants a singing sword? We could look at those.”

  Annie laughed. “I’m sure he’s choosing one right now. Oh, look! That man is selling magic acorns like Francis’s. Liam would love that!”

  Annie hurried to the stall where a picture showed a flood of objects pouring into a capless acorn. “Could I see one of your acorns, please?” she asked the man behind the table.

  “Sorry, miss, but I just sold my last one,” the man replied. “However, I do have a lovely watermelon suitable for holding entire buildings.”

  “No, thank you,” Annie said with a sigh. “The acorn would have been perfect.”

  They walked on, pausing now and then to look at something, but nothing seemed quite right to Annie. She liked the magic instruments that played themselves, but wasn’t sure that Liam would. The magic horseshoes that never needed replacing were a possibility, but she thought she could do better. After a while she narrowed her choices down to a pillow that guaranteed a restful sleep or a water jug that poured endless amounts of clean, fresh water.

  “Which will it be?” Zoë finally asked. “I’m sure either one is a good choice.”

  “The pillow, I suppose,” said Annie. “Liam hasn’t been sleeping well lately, and he can be so grumpy when he isn’t rested.”

  When Annie returned to the stall to buy the pillow, Zoë wandered off in search of Liam and Francis. Annie and Emma were waiting for them when they overheard a group of people talking. “Di
d you hear that a dragon was in the market earlier?” one of the people said.

  “Really?” said another. “I wish I’d seen that! I would have stolen one of its scales to make my magic stronger.”

  “I would have killed it and sold off the body parts. Imagine what you could get for the heart and lungs.”

  “You couldn’t kill a dragon! You can’t even kill a chicken for supper!”

  “Well, I would have tried.”

  “That’s awful!” Annie told Emma as they walked away. “Why would people say such things?”

  “Because they want to sound brave when they really aren’t,” said Emma. “The ones who brag about it aren’t usually the ones who would actually try. If they do try it’s because they want to prove something or their friends have goaded them into it. People like that always sound brave until they meet you face-to-face. Real dragon hunters are much more discreet, and that’s what makes them dangerous. You don’t always know when that kind of person is coming after you.”

  “Have you ever faced a dragon hunter?” Annie asked her.

  “A few times, but then, I don’t usually turn into a dragon in public places like this,” Emma replied. “I’ve heard lots of stories, though, and none of them end well for the humans. It’s very hard to kill a dragon because of their physical toughness and their magic. Usually when you hear that someone killed a dragon, it’s because the poor creature was sick and dying anyway.”

  “Annie, what did you buy?” Liam called as he walked toward them down the aisle between the stalls.

  Annie glanced at the basket she’d bought to carry the pillow. “A surprise,” she said when she looked up.

  Liam grinned. “I love surprises when they come from the Magic Marketplace.”

  Although Liam wasn’t carrying anything in his hands, she guessed that Francis could be carrying it for him in his acorn. “Did you buy anything?” she asked.

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out when I’m ready to tell you,” Liam said, looking pleased with himself.

  The postcards didn’t work anywhere in the marketplace except the area around the fountain, so they all turned and started that way. Francis joined Zoë and Emma while Annie walked with Liam, who seemed to be in a very good mood. After studying his face for a moment, Annie said, “Promise you won’t be mad?”

  “That depends,” said Liam. “Mad about what?”

  “I know you weren’t happy that I invited all the fairies from Treecrest and Dorinocco to the coronation, but I’ve thought of a lot more people I want to invite. I’m sure you won’t really mind once you hear who I’m talking about. Our coronation is going to be the best one ever!”

  CHAPTER 17

  Because all the people they’d invited needed time to get there, the coronation didn’t take place for another two weeks. By then, the floors were all washed and strewn with fresh rushes, the tapestries and banners had been taken down, beaten, and rehung, the chalices polished, the gears of the drawbridge oiled, and even the display of small wooden animals that Liam had carved were dusted and rearranged. When Annie told Squidge that all the sprites who had helped to chase away the vampires were invited to the celebration, he contacted them via fairy messenger right away. A whole squadron of sprites descended on the castle, helping with the cleaning and polishing, chasing down the cats, dogs, and vermin to wash them, and generally getting in the way whenever possible. Not wanting to be outdone, the fairies of Treecrest and Dorinocco arrived two days early to help decorate the castle, festooning the great hall with flowers and placing songbirds on every window ledge.

  King Montague didn’t know what to make of all the activity, and took to his bed for a day. But after a fairy visited him, taking him tea and tiny cakes, he decided that he liked it and installed himself in the great hall, telling everyone that he was in charge. Edda sat with him, watching the hustle and bustle with great interest. The fairies were kind enough to humor the king and let him decide which flowers went where and whether they should bring butterflies or hummingbirds to flutter around the flowers. They were overjoyed when he suggested they have both.

  When the royal guests began to arrive, the old king was still the center of attention. The fairies used magic to move his throne to the dais, along with new ones for Annie and Liam. After King Montague sampled all the tasty confections that Cook was making, the king’s gout started bothering him again, so he sat on the dais with his foot propped up, watching all the activity. Edda lay down beside him.

  The morning of the ceremony, King Montague was back on his throne when Annie and Liam walked up. Edda stood and nudged Annie, asking to be petted. Annie was happy to oblige.

  “I don’t think the castle has ever been this clean or this beautiful,” the king told them. “And all the people! I’ve never seen so many here, and they’re still arriving! It’s a sign of how popular you two are. A very good sign, indeed.”

  “Annie is the popular one,” Liam told him. “None of this would be happening if it weren’t for her.”

  “You have friends here, too, Liam,” said Annie. “Captain Sterling and Francis have both become good friends of yours. And Millie said that Audun was very unhappy until Ting-Tang announced that she was able to make the trip. He really wanted to come to the coronation, but he didn’t want to leave her behind.”

  “True,” said Liam. “But just about everyone else is here because of you.”

  “I think Liam is right,” the king said, nodding. “You are a treasure, Annie! I’m so glad you didn’t fall asleep in the Treecrest castle like Liam’s mother had planned. You and Liam are just right for each other. Much better than my wife and me. It’s such a relief that she’s settled in to life on the witches’ island so I don’t have to worry about her nasty tricks. Tell me, who is that beautiful woman dressed in blue who just walked in the door?”

  Annie glanced at the door and smiled. The only woman wearing blue was an older, white-haired witch whom Annie and Liam had met in Greater Greensward.

  “That’s Azuria, the Blue Witch,” said Liam.

  “I’ve heard that she just broke up with her farmer boyfriend,” Annie added. “It would be nice if you talked to her for a few minutes.”

  “It would be my pleasure!” the king replied.

  Edda barked when Squidge bounded up the steps carrying a well-groomed mouse. “The king and queen of Treecrest just arrived,” the sprite announced. “And I spotted a bunch of other royal-looking people I don’t recognize coming down the road.”

  “Then we should go outside to greet them,” Annie told Liam.

  “I’m going, too!” Squidge said, and jumped on Edda’s back. The troll dog shook herself, but the sprite held on, chuckling when she started to walk.

  By the time they reached the steps to the courtyard, Annie’s parents were descending from a beautiful new carriage that she had never seen before. The entire carriage was covered with silver and the doors were emblazoned with flowers made from semiprecious gems. “Hello, darling!” said her mother. “Don’t you just love the carriage? It’s your coronation gift from your father and me. We commissioned a family of dwarves to make it.”

  “The dwarves used their magic to make the stones stay on. They’ll never come off, not even if you try to remove them with a dagger,” said King Halbert. “I tried it just to see if their magic worked and it does.”

  “Thank you so much!” Annie cried. “It’s lovely. I’ll make sure I don’t touch the stones. I’d hate it if they fell off because of me. Perhaps I’ll ask Francis and Audun to reinforce the spell.”

  Queen Karolina glanced up at the roof and called, “Posy, we’re here. Come see Squidge.”

  “She rode on the roof all the way from Treecrest?” asked Annie.

  Her mother shrugged. “She insisted on it. She said she likes the view and the feel of the wind on her face.”

  The little sprite girl popped up from behind some ornate curlicues on the roof, yawning. “Sorry, I fell asleep. I always sleep during long ca
rriage rides.”

  “Come down!” her brother called from Edda’s back. “I have lots to show you. Everyone else is here already.”

  “We’re the last ones to arrive?” asked Queen Karolina.

  “Not at all,” Annie said. “He meant all the other sprites are here. They’ve been very helpful in their own way. Just watch where you step. They do tend to get underfoot.”

  “I’m sure they do,” said the king. “But I must admit, Posy has been a big help. Some vampires showed up one night with postcards in their hands and Posy chased them off. We haven’t see any since.”

  “I’m glad to hear that!” Annie declared.

  The sound of more arrivals clattering over the drawbridge drew everyone’s eyes and suddenly there was a flood of royalty as one carriage after another vied for space in the courtyard. Annie’s aunt and uncle, Queen Theodora and King Daneel, were there with their son, Prince Ainsley, and his wife, Ella. Their carriage had scarcely moved out of the way when two more rolled up carrying Annie’s sister, Gwendolyn, and brother-in-law, Beldegard, his parents, King Berwick and Queen Nara, and his twin sisters, Willa and Tyne. When King Dormander of Scorios and his daughter Mertice arrived, Annie was thrilled that they had come. (She still thought of Mertice as Lilah, the girl who had hidden herself at Snow White’s court disguised as a servant.) When Prince Andreas rode up, he took one look at Mertice and started following her around like a puppy.

  Princess Snow White, her father, King Archibald, and her intended, Prince Maitland, were next. Then Prince Emilio rode up on horseback with his two children, Tomas and Clara, and his cousin, Prince Cozwald. As soon as Willa and Tyne saw the younger children, they took them from Prince Emilio and ran off with them to explore the castle.

  “We’ll keep an eye on the children,” Squidge declared, and he and Posy took off after them astride Edda.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” Annie whispered to Liam.

  Silver sparkles in the air announced that the fairy Moonbeam and her husband, Selbert Dunlop, were there. Ella was thrilled to see her and hustled the couple over to meet her in-laws. The most dramatic arrival, however, was when Emma, Eadric, Grassina, Haywood, Francis, Zoë, Millie, Ting-Tang, Garrid, and Li’l rode in on a flotilla of magic carpets with Audun, their dragon escort. Everyone gasped and got out of their way as the carpets settled to the ground and Audun landed beside them.