“The Great Oracle hardly ever receives here on his own realm sweet vampire, but due to the assault on your eyes we could not stay on the Neutral Plane.” Sybil explained as she settled herself on the arm of the chair the man sat on, crossing long white boot covered legs in front of her.
Manuel almost choked on the sweet, fizzy drink. That man was the Great Oracle? That man? Manuel was barely able to keep the shock from showing on his usually impassive face. He concentrated on swallowing carefully.
“Aye. You heard her right. I’m the Great Oracle that ya seek. And I can tell you don’t think much of your rum ‘n coke neither. But I can also tell you from experience that they, like me, will grow on you, you have enough of them and you’ll soon love ‘em.” The Oracle laughed at what was he thought was the height of humour.
“Pardon my apparent discourtesy, Great Oracle. I was led to believe that the oracle was a woman, I humbly apologise for my offensive actions.” Manuel replied cautiously setting his glass down on the low table in front of him.
“Hardly needed young vampire, most oracles are women. Now I’m needing to thank you for returning the crystal to my Sybil, that Magella’s a wily one en she? As wily an elf as there ever was.” The Oracle shook his head in amusement.
“You knew who had stolen the crystal?” Manuel asked quite surprised.
“Course I did Mate. I’m the Oracle en I? But I also knew you would bring it back, so I didn’t worry.”
“If you would pardon my asking, why would you wait for me to return it? I had understood that a muse could die if separated from her crystal.” Manuel asked, still surprised.
The Oracle grew serious at once. “Now Sybil was never in any danger; I knew you would bring it back, I saw you do it. Besides, it was me that made sure you heard about it, wasn’t it.”
Manuel was about to ask how, but stopped himself; the answer really was irrelevant, this was the Great Oracle...nothing was impossible.
“Now,” The Oracle continued. “Had I retrieved it, you would have had nothing to attract my Sybil’s attention, and therefore no reason to attract me. And you need me mate.”
Manuel wasn’t sure how he felt about being told he needed someone, in fact he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about the Oracle in general. The mad blonde man was certainly not what he had expected. But none of that distracted from the glaring truth of the statement; he did need the Oracle.
“That I do, Great Oracle.” Manuel affirmed focusing on his mission instead of his pride, perhaps for the first time.
The muse Sybil, looked deep in to the Great Oracles blue eyes in silent communication, amusement dancing across her pretty face.
“Now Sybil, you remember the rules here, especially when we have company.” He sternly admonished her, then softening it with a small squeeze on her arm. “Sybil here, thinks that you might be more relaxed if you finished your rum ’n coke.”
Manuel eyed the glass on the table, unsure whether he ever really wanted to touch the contents again.
“Go on. It can’t hurt you now, can it?” The Oracle nodded encouragingly towards the glass. “Sybil, think you can make me another? And see if you can bring something in to eat too if you can luv. A pizza would be lovely.”
Sybil smiled fondly down at the Oracle, grabbed his empty glass and left the room. The Great Oracle turned his full attention to the tense vampire.
“Relax Manuel, I will do everything I am permitted to help you. When I am allowed to tell you the answer, I will tell you. Where I can show you, I will show you. And when I can only lead you, I will simply lead you.”
The Great Oracle grew quiet for a moment as he studied Manuel carefully.
“You are wondering if you made a mistake in seeking me out. And if you thought that you could tell me what you want and that I could simply arrange for it to happen, exactly as you wished it too, then yes, you have made a mistake.” The Oracle explained.
Manuel reached for his glass and took a long sip.
“There is a certain pattern to the events in life as they happen, very intricate. Certain paths must be taken in order for far more important events to unfold. I cannot, would not interfere with that. For example Magella had to steal the crystal so you could bring it back and have this very conversation. I knew she’d do it, but I also knew why she had to do it. Snow White had to run away and be found by the good Doctor so that you could meet Rapunzel. Do you see what I am saying? But I can help you. And I will.”
“Why? If you don’t mind my asking.” Manuel found himself asking. “Clearly you are from another world.”
“Love.” The Oracle said simply with another big beautiful smile. “And we can’t fight love when it comes for us, can we? Us poor saps, we don’t stand a chance.” He laughed at the thought.
“Love.” Manuel repeated with a small forced smile. “I beg your forgiveness but I do not spend much time dwelling on such an emotion.”
“I’d say you spend more time dwelling on it than you realise little vampire. I’d also say it controls you nearly as well as it controls me.”
Manuel glared at the Oracle.
“Love is the single most powerful creative force in existence, I champion it, as do most people to some extent whether they realise it or not.” The Oracle looked him dead in the eye.
Unsure what to say, Manuel decided not to say anything he finished his drink in one big gulp feeling the burn all the way down again, only this time he was thankful for it...it gave him something else to focus on for a minute while he organised his thoughts.
“Okay mate, in the simplest terms, when you love something, all of that energy is used to create more of what you love. For instance, a musician loves to play music so much that they create new songs to play. A doctor loves to save people so much that he pushes himself to find new breakthroughs. You follow? Your little friend Cindy loves fashion so much that she creates new outfits.” The Oracle explained. “It’s much more than that, but that’s the simplest way I can explain it for you right now. Love creates.”
Manuel was about to correct the Great Oracle on his apparent misconception regarding his feelings towards the tiny blonde nuisance, when he realised that the Oracle was never wrong. Damn.
“Love pushes us to become more, to grow. I can see it pushing you already; you’re going to have a wild ride mate. There’s so much more to it, but that’s really the simplest explanation I can give ya mate.” The Oracle smiled. “Ain’t love just grand?” He said as Sybil silently returned.
~~*~~
Snow opened her eyes slowly, as she adjusted to the half light she turned her head slightly and found herself face to face with Prince Leonardo.
Leo, his head resting on one of his hands while the other held Snow’s, had fallen in to a light sleep. Not wanting to disturb him, she studied him in silence. How strange that he was holding her hand, there was no way she was going to make a single move that might cause him to release it. No way. As far as she was concerned, he could go right on holding it forever. How many times in life could a girl wake up and find the prince of her dreams holding her hand?
Speaking of which, why was she sleeping? Where was she? The last thing she could remember was...oh. Right.
She had felt so sick, and had staggered her way over to Mercury, interrupting his beautiful dance with Red and...she supposed she had passed out after that because somehow she had ended up here. With Leo. Now how that had happened she wouldn’t mind knowing. She hoped she hadn’t done anything embarrassing.
“Good morning Sleeping Beauty.” A soft whisper brought her back from her daydreams.
She blushed, and timidly smiled at the prince beside her. “See, here you come all this way to visit me and I go and sleep the whole thing through.” Her voice emerged somewhat raspier than usual.
Leo reached over and handed her a glass of water, waiting patiently as she drank some. “You gave us all quite a scare.”
“Really?” She asked. “What happened?”
&n
bsp; “Well, we aren’t sure how, but you were poisoned. It was a very fast acting poison, laced with a dark curse and administered through a comb. The Mother Sardinia, thankfully, is a master at her craft and led your uncle and I through the healing process. Without her...” He trailed off.
“We have much to learn from her, and much to thank her for.” He finished.
The mime. She gulped. The mime had replaced the comb in her hair, scraping her scalp in the process. That is how the poison entered her system. The mime could only have been Rosalyn, in disguise yet again. How could she have fooled her not once, but twice now. Oh Rosalyn, why couldn’t you love me, her heart wept; it never failed to hurt her, like a knife slicing through her heart each and every time she realised that Rosalyn had tried to kill her...again.
“Snow.” He whispered intently. “Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me you were the Rylakian heir? That you were ‘Snow White’?”
Well crap. Crap, crap and double crap. Oh great revelation...let me count the ways I hate thee...How do you explain to someone why you didn’t trust them? And not hurt them in the process? Is there ever a reasonable answer? No, of course there wasn’t. Sometimes, she decided, all you can do is tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may; she was too exhausted to do anything else.
“Leo, I didn’t trust anyone enough. I was scared, I’m still scared. I tried to keep it a secret and look; she still got to me...twice now. And no one knew who I was, much less where I was. She really wants to kill me. She’s not done you know.”
“You understand that this is all very hard to fathom.” He replied looking down.
She sighed deeply. “Oh I know, I know alright.” She had loved Rosalyn fiercely when she was young, and had been sure Rosalyn had loved her back. What could possibly have changed all of that to the point that Rosalyn had tried to murder her three times now. Hard to fathom...an understatement. But she didn’t say all of that to Leo.
That feelings of betrayal would have extended to her father as well, but Snow kept trying to remind herself that in his advanced illness, he wasn’t even aware that she was missing. Regardless of all of Rosalyn’s evil and all of her faults, which were many, she was committed to seeing King Roland experience a full recovery. That, Snow did not even question. Rosalyn did love Roland, however twisted and obsessive that love had become.
“Perhaps you would be more comfortable in the Holiday Palace, Princess Snow?” Leo inquired politely.
“Oh no, I love Uncle Doc and the boys, they are my family now, and if I were to stay in the palace it would bring a lot of very unwanted attention.” She pointed out the obvious flaws. Although, it was every teenage girl’s dream to be invited to stay as a guest in either of the palaces.
“Of course, of course. What was I thinking?” the prince gave his head a shake.
“You were gallantly trying to make a visiting princess feel at home. But since you insist that I call you Leo, then I have to insist that you refer to me simply as “Snowy”. I’m really, really uncomfortable with all of the hoopla. Besides, I’m never going back, so Snowy Rutherford I will be from now on. I will never be Snow White again. She doesn’t exist anymore.
“That is where you are wrong, no matter what name you choose to call yourself, inside you will always carry the grace and wisdom of generations of Rylakian rulers.”
Just then the beads were pulled back and a very large dark shape bounded towards her, enveloping her in a huge hug. Mercury, with his extraordinary hearing had heard voices coming from the chamber and nothing could restrain him from bounding in and nearly crushing poor with the exuberance of his greeting.
Cindy, Rapunzel, Uncle Doc, Alessa and Mother Sardinia followed him in and soon the small chamber was effectively “standing room only”. Prince Leonardo let go of her hand and stepped back to allow Cindy, Rapunzel and Uncle Doc to crowd closer to her bed.
“Dearest girl, that was too close.” The small doctor leaned forward and kissed her pale forehead.
“Really, all of you, I feel just fine. A bit tired though perhaps, but I’m okay. Thank you Mother Sardinia, I understand that you saved my life. I owe you a great debt of gratitude.”
“We all do.” Mercury agreed.
“Nonsense children!” The old gypsy said with a wide smile, once again regaining much of her youthful beauty. “The thanks must go to your loyal werewolf protector, and your quick thinking vampire friend. Now Dr. Rutherford,” She turned to Uncle Doc with a smile, holding up two strangely marked bottles. “I have noticed certain stiffness in your joints. “
~~*~~
It was very early in the morning, just after sunrise to be exact, when a tall, thin figure in purple tinted traveling clothes entered the rustic looking Wolf Camp just inside the Lonesome Forest.
Werewolves were by nature nocturnal beings, they did tend to sleep at night, although they didn’t require as much sleep as a human or an elf so even at this early hour, several wolves were out going about their daily business.
The purple elf stopped next to a middle aged wolf, chopping wood. He gestured to a moderately sized. wooden cottage just down the street. She nodded in appreciation and heading in that direction. Stopping in front of the cottage door, she rapped imperiously three times.
The door opened, and a bleary eyed handsome wolf looked the elf up and down.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we know any elves, we don’t need any elixirs, and our carpets don’t need cleaning.” Mercury mumbled and started to close the door.
The elf stuck one small, but surprisingly strong foot in the door.
“Are you the Werewolf Mercury, trusted confidante of the Vampire Manuel?” The elf lowered her hood to reveal a dainty heart shaped face, two pointed ears and sleek purple tinted hair.
Mercury regarded the elf in silent confusion for a moment before answering. “I’m Mercury, and I’m a friend of Manuel’s, but I’m not sure that he would appreciate you calling me a ‘trusted confidante’.” He chuckled a bit at the thought before stretching his long heavily muscled arms. Shirtless, he was overwhelming with his tanned muscles and dark, tousled hair.
“Look, I don’t care what you want to call yourself, call yourself his boyfriend if you want. I’m just here to make my report.” She snapped somewhat impatiently, completely oblivious to his incredible good looks.
“Manuel told you to report to me?” Mercury asked with reasonable scepticism.
“He made it very clear to me that if he was for any reason unavailable, I was to relay my information to Mercury from The Lonesome Forest Wolf camp immediately.” Magella said with slight irritation. “So here I am. Immediately. I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me being here. And that is significantly more than the vampires in his Coven wanted last night...or maybe they did want me there...” She shuddered at the implication.
Mercury scratched his head in sleepy confusion. “I just don’t understand.”
“Mercury!” A warm, husky female voice scolded from inside the cottage. “Have you no manners at all? Invite your friend in for breakfast!”
Mercury opened the door wide and made an inviting gesture.
“You have got to be kidding.” Magella sputtered. “I’m not having breakfast with you!”
“Are you refusing my mother’s hospitality...” Mercury trailed off leaving the intended threat unvoiced as he leaned in closer to the delicate elf, dwarfing her with his size.
“Look at it this way, at least here you are being invited to join us for breakfast, you aren’t expected to be the breakfast.” Mercury couldn’t help pointing out humorously. “Come on, you look like you could use a strong cup of coffee, and I know I could use one, so tell me whatever it is you need to tell me over coffee.”
Somewhat mollified, it had been a very long night; the elf shrugged her delicate shoulders and strutted past the sleepy wolf and on in to the cottage.
After Mercury’s mother had poured a big strong cup of coffee for each of
them and retreated tactfully in to the next room, he turned his attention directly on the elf.
“Manuel had...asked me to find out whatever I could about a “Mother Goethal” living in The Lonesome Forest, and especially about her daughter, Rapunzel.” Magella started.
Mercury made a gesture for her to continue.
“What I have uncovered is quite strange. And even stranger is how difficult it has been to uncover even that. Now usually, there isn’t much I can’t find out if I put my mind to it. I have a...a knack for it you could say. But this, this is different. This is really difficult. Most times I could come back with everything you could possibly want to know, about anyone you could name.” She shook her sleek, purple tinted hair in frustration and took a sip of her coffee. “Someone has gone to extreme lengths to keep secret any information regarding this crone and the girl.”
“I’m sure you did your best.” He assured her with a pat on her long thin hand and yawned; he wished she would get to the point; he wanted to go back to bed.
“Oh believe me, I did. Manuel can be most...persuasive. He’s also gotten me out of a few jams, you know?”
“Really?” Mercury couldn’t quite hide the surprise he felt, did anyone really know that damned vampire? Quickly he glanced up as the elf continued.
“Manuel was quite right; this Mother Goethal is not human at all. She is a crone, a full breed and I don’t think she’s the bingo playing, sugar packet stealing kind either. This is the real deal right down to the goblin and ogre consorts, which makes her somewhat dangerous as well. She arrived in Lonstas about fifteen years ago, and my information appears to describe her as a native to Rylak, the southern quadrant more specifically, where the rebellion started years ago, but beyond that I don’t know...yet. And this Rapunzel is most definitely not her daughter. Likely she was stolen from somewhere, perhaps from a noble during the uprisings but I can’t find any information about who she might actually be; several children matching her age and description were lost. The Rylakian Queen might be a hard ass, but she sure put a stop to that craziness all right. Anyway, the crone hid in the Lonesome Forest for years it seems, going all but unnoticed aside from her ritual dealings with trolls, goblins and ogres.”