Muttering to himself again he added, “I’ve stayed in these parts too long.”
“I have some things you might like.” I walked over to his side. “I have instant fire on little sticks. Here, I’ll show you.” I had some of the valuables I’d brought from home in a satchel tied around my hip. I took out the box of matches and struck one. “See how easy it is?”
He grunted, unimpressed. “Any wizard’s apprentice can make fire out of naught. What else do you have?”
I pulled out a spoon from my pouch. “A place setting of silverware that never needs to be polished.”
He took the spoon from my hand and turned it over in his palm. “Nicely made, but my clients have servants to polish their silver. What else do you have?”
“Tylenol.” I took a medium-size bottle out of my satchel. “One or two pills will kill pain and bring down fevers.”
“Fever cure. Now that’s useful magic.” He took the bottle from my hand and tapped the side. “I see the bottle is enchanted too.”
“It’s plastic; that means it keeps water out and it won’t break if you drop it. Here, this is how you open it.” I lined up the arrows and flipped the lid off, showed it to him, then snapped it back on.
His eyes widened and he nodded happily. “Ahh, it’s fine magic. What do you ask for it?”
“Do you have anything to break spells?”
He humphed at me as though I ought to know better than to ask such a question. “Breaking spells is a complicated business. I couldn’t do it for all the wealth the royal family is promising, and I can’t do it for you. Is it the Black Knight’s armor that is enchanted? His sword? Himself? Where came his magic from? I’ll never be able to get close enough to tell so I can give no counterspells.”
“I didn’t mean the Black Knight’s spell. I was thinking of a spell a fairy put on a friend.”
Before I could explain what had happened, the wizard shook his head. “There are as many fairy spells as there are flowers. It’s near impossible to know the recipe for undoing a specific one. Casting a spell is like throwing mice into your neighbor’s barn. Easy enough to do, but near impossible to undo.” He turned the Tylenol bottle in his hand, clearly displeased to have to give it back.
“Is there anything I could do to make a spell better, to modify it somehow?”
“Not unless you know someone with a better enchantment who’s willing to switch.”
“To switch?” I repeated.
A grimace crossed the wizard’s face. “I should have thought of it when I was talking to the prince.” His grip tightened on the bottle. “I do have some switching potion. It’s an obscure bit of magic. Takes years to make a single batch. He can’t fault me for not remembering. How often are two enchanted people in the same place?” The wizard looked at the castle as though debating whether or not to go back inside.
“I want to buy it,” I said. Because even though it wouldn’t break Tristan’s enchantment, it suddenly occurred to me I could still help him defeat the Black Knight. I could switch enchantments with the knight and then he would no longer be invincible.
Simon, who’d been busy placing things into the wagon, stopped his work. His hands froze somewhere among the bottles and boxes, and he turned a pair of startled eyes in my direction. I knew he wanted to say something, but the wizard didn’t give him time.
“You want to buy it?” The wizard’s voice changed so quickly—suddenly all business—that I wondered if his speech about selling it to King Roderick was just for my benefit. He pulled at his beard thoughtfully. “Such an important commodity is expensive. It will cost you the pills, the fire sticks, and the silverware.”
I fingered the spoon, suddenly unsure. This could be either a very good decision or a great financial loss. I glanced at Simon, but he was no longer looking at me. He’d gone back to putting things into the wagon with a grimace set fiercely on his face.
“How does it work?” I asked.
The wizard dug through things in his wagon, sending some of them spilling in a noisy clatter as he retrieved a small mirror. Before I could question what it was, he took my hand in his bony grasp and held it under the mirror. Almost as quickly, he released my hand and held the mirror up to study. His eyes squinted and his eyebrows drew together like two furry caterpillars. “Ahh,” he said. “So you are under an enchantment. Certainly not the worst I’ve encountered. Still, I can understand why you’d want to switch with someone.”
I took the mirror from his hand to see what he was looking at. On its face, and fading as I watched, were the words: When said occupant tells a lie, a reptile or amphibian will appear on his or her tongue.
The wizard took the mirror from me and tucked it back into the wagon. He sorted through several more items and finally pulled out a blue clay jar no taller than his thumb. He wiped off the dust with the sleeve of his tunic until the bottle shone like a robin’s egg. “This is the potion you need, m’lady, and this is how it works. As you know, a kiss can be powerful magic—”
He must have seen my blank look because he added impatiently, “A kiss can awaken a princess from an enchanted sleep. It can break the spell that keeps a prince in the form of a frog.”
I nodded, at last remembering my fairy-tale lore. “Right. A kiss. Powerful magic.”
He swirled the bottle, mixing the contents, and looked firmly into my eyes. “But once you drink of this potion your kiss will lose that power. For seven days, anyone who you kiss or who kisses you—anyone who carries an enchantment— will take yours from you and leave you theirs.” His eyes grew stern, as though I needed to be told the next part. “Therefore, you mustn’t tell anyone of your state or the way the enchantments pass. If you do, you risk all sorts of folks with bad enchantments trying to give you theirs.
“And don’t think you can simply kiss the offender back. Once two enchantments switch, they won’t switch back no matter how many times you kiss.” For a moment he didn’t seem like a man making a business deal, but like my father warning me about something he thought I’d probably do anyway. “So don’t be rash or impulsive. Magic is a downfall to those who don’t think it through. Make certain you want another’s enchantment before you kiss them.”
But I was already certain. After all, if the Black Knight wasn’t enchanted, then kissing him wouldn’t change me at all. And if he was enchanted, well, then I knew what the enchantment was, and I wouldn’t mind having it. Invincibility. I reached into my purse, took out the matchbox and the silverware, and handed them to him. “Can I buy the mirror too?”
He shook his head as he tucked the things I’d given him into his wagon. “What is a wizard without his divining tools? Besides, it most likely wouldn’t do you any good. They that have favorable enchantments usually wear gloves for just that reason.”
The wizard pulled the cork from the switching potion and handed it to me. “Drink up, m’lady.”
I took the bottle from him, but hesitated. Simon had caught my attention again, and was looking at me with agitation, one hand clenched far too tightly on the edge of the wagon. Perhaps the wizard wasn’t telling me everything, or perhaps this was just a bad idea.
Magic was dangerous. That had been my problem since the beginning. I’d tried to use fairy magic to solve problems that were best left alone. I’d gotten Tristan into a terrible predicament and now I owed it to him to help him however I could. If that meant taking some risks, well, it had to be done.
I put the bottle to my lips, tilted it upward, and let the bitter liquid burn its way down my throat. The taste made me cringe and shiver.
The wizard grinned at my reaction and took the bottle back from my hand. “A word to the wise: don’t let any animals lick you for a week—it’s as good as a kiss, and any skin of yours is vulnerable to the switch. You won’t know if they’re enchanted folk until it’s too late and you’re mewing for your supper.”
He dismissed me with a nod of his head, then tucked the empty bottle back into the wagon. His attention turned
to Simon and his voice grew gruff. “Finish loading things, but mind you, don’t break anything or you’ll be finishing your apprenticeship as a goat.”
Then the wizard walked to the front of the wagon, muttering things I couldn’t understand. Simon’s gaze stayed on me, the agitation still in his eyes. I knew he thought I’d acted foolishly and I turned away from him.
I headed for the castle, but I’d only taken a few steps when I felt a tug on my sleeve. Simon had followed me. He held a finger to his lips, then glanced over his shoulder to check and see if the wizard was watching us. He wasn’t. The wizard had settled into the wagon’s seat with his hat pulled down over his eyes as though about to take a nap.
With soft steps, Simon led me to the back of the wagon until we were out of sight from the wizard. He whispered, “Do you mean to switch enchantments with the Black Knight?”
I didn’t answer. It seemed like such a lofty goal to say out loud.
His expression grew urgent. “Do you?”
I nodded.
“It’s a dangerous thing to do, but I have a potion that will help you.” He put a small red jar into my hand and closed my fingers around it. It felt warm, as though it had been sitting in the sun. “Drink it right when you meet the Black Knight. He’ll straightway fall in love with you and do whatever you ask of him. All you need to do is ask for a kiss.”
“What are you charging for it?” I asked.
For a moment he said nothing, then his gaze fell on my hands. “A ring. That one.” He pointed to one that had been mine all along, a ring with three golden hibiscus flowers that my dad had bought me during a trip to Hawaii.
I hated to give that one up, but I pulled it from my finger anyway and held it out to him. “This is a very nice ring. It will cost you the potion and the use of the divining mirror for the week as well.”
He clenched his jaw but nodded. He turned back to the wagon, and his fingers sifted through the contents quickly.
From the front of the wagon the wizard called out, “Simon, haven’t you finished yet?”
“I’m almost done with my work, Master.” Simon extracted the mirror from the wagon’s contents and slipped it into my palm. “Be very careful with it or we’ll both pay a price.”
I nodded. “How will I return it to you?”
“It’s magic. It will come back to the wizard of its own accord.” Simon checked over his shoulder again, and when he deemed it was still safe to talk to me, he added, “Don’t forget to drink the potion.” Without another word he turned and walked back to the wagon calling, “I’m done, Master Pergis.”
Almost immediately the wagon began to move. Simon only had time to pick up the empty pack, throw it into the back of the wagon, and get on himself.
I put the mirror in my satchel, but decided to put the potion someplace easier to reach. I slipped it into my pocket. Then I turned away from the castle entrance and walked toward the bell tower, because I didn’t need to talk to Princess Margaret anymore. I had everything I needed to switch enchantments with the Black Knight. Now all that was left to do was to call him.
Chapter 13
The watchman rang the bell for me three times. He didn’t like doing it. He warned me it was dangerous to get mixed up with dark knights, and I was likely to find myself used as dragon bait. And didn’t I have a father or brother who would be angry at my doings?
But when I gave him a few coins, he put his concerns aside.
After the bell rang I went and stood in the designated spot outside the castle, along with all of the children in the vicinity. They followed me out like I was the Pied Piper.
“You can’t fight the Black Knight,” one little boy told me. “He won’t fight ladies.”
“Let’s hope not,” I said. “I just want to speak to him.”
Another boy crinkled his eyebrows at me. “He’s not a real talkative one, the Black Knight. Mostly he just knocks people off their horses. Perhaps you should choose another gentleman to talk to.”
They continued to supply me with these types of helpful details while I scanned the countryside, waiting. The land around the castle had been cleared of trees for quite a ways in every direction—probably to make sure any attacking armies didn’t have cover—but beyond the clearing, the forest grew thick and wild. I wondered how close the Black Knight had to be in order to hear the bell and how soon he would arrive.
I also wondered when I should take the potion and how long the effects lasted. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t asked Simon these questions. And this after the wizard had given me the speech about how magic was a downfall to those who didn’t think it through.
I mulled it over and decided it would be best to take it as soon as I saw his horse in the distance. When he came close, I would ask him to take off his helmet and kiss me. Or could I just ask him to fight Tristan and lose? How much of a sway did this potion carry?
Several people climbed the towers nearest to the castle gates to see who had challenged the knight. Some people laughed outright when they saw me, others yelled that I’d brought evil on myself.
As I waited, I thought of what I would say. I tried to string together phrases that sounded ladylike, but in my nervousness the words fell away from me like so many scattered beads.
I wondered when Tristan would be done with his business at the armory. He wasn’t going to be happy that I was standing out here waiting for the Black Knight, but I’d explain it to him later.
In fact, after I kissed the Black Knight I could help Tristan on his quest by kissing him and giving him the invincibility enchantment, then nothing would keep him from becoming a prince.
Oh, wait—if I kissed Tristan he wouldn’t need to become a prince, I would. And since that couldn’t ever happen, I’d be stuck in the Middle Ages forever.
Another thought swept through my mind. If Tristan knew that all he had to do to get home was kiss me—would he do it?
I dismissed the thought. He wouldn’t leave me stranded in the Middle Ages.
But then again, he’d already been here for eight months. He was risking his life to try and make it home—the cyclops had nearly killed him twice already. Kissing me would be so easy, such a quick and painless answer to his dilemma. In fact, he’d probably think it was fitting justice for me to be stuck in the Middle Ages among the princes I admired.
I couldn’t tell him about this. Not until the week had passed.
After about an hour, quite a few adults sauntered out of the castle gate and stood milling around, forming a crowd. So apparently this was about how long it took for the Black Knight to show up once he’d been called. I twisted the strap of my satchel, winding it around my finger until it hurt. I hadn’t planned on kissing the knight in front of an audience of washerwomen and stable hands.
I saw Tristan strolling through the crowd. He walked over to me, looking around as though searching for someone. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were trying to visit the princess.”
“I’m waiting for the Black Knight,” I said.
“Yeah, I can see that. Where’s the knight that challenged him?”
I squeezed the bottle of love potion until its heat pulsed through my fingers. I couldn’t explain to Tristan what I was doing and I really didn’t want to get into a discussion of why I shouldn’t be out here. I said, “Are you done with your business already?”
“Nope, but all the armorers wanted to come out and watch the fight.” His eyebrows creased as he continued to scan the area. “So who challenged him?”
I didn’t answer, just looked out at the grassy plains in front of us.
“That’s really odd,” he said. “Someone must have rung the bell but I don’t see . . .”
His stance stiffened as his sentence drifted off. “Savannah, why are so many people staring at us?”
I still didn’t answer.
Tristan took hold of my arm and pulled me to face him. In a low voice he said, “Tell me you didn’t ring that bell.”
“Tri
stan, you have to understand, I’m doing this for you.”
He let go of my arm as though burned. “You rang it to have me challenge the Black Knight?”
I stepped toward him and whispered. “No, I rang it for me. I’m going to . . . talk with him.”
Tristan took hold of my arm again. “I want you to go back inside the castle gates—”
I didn’t see the Black Knight arrive, I only heard the gasp from the crowd and looked to see what had caught their attention. He hadn’t come out of the forest in front of us like I’d supposed. He galloped around the side of the castle wall riding a massive black warhorse. The sight of his dark, gleaming armor momentarily chased all thought from my mind. I hadn’t expected him to be so big or to bear down on us so quickly.
I tried to pull my arm away from Tristan so I could uncork the bottle, but Tristan not only didn’t let me go, he pulled me a couple of steps toward the castle gate.
I dug my heels into the dirt. “Tristan, stop it. You don’t understand.”
“You’re going inside,” he hissed. “Right now.”
I attempted to open the bottle with one hand, pushing at the cork with my thumbnail. It was going to be nearly impossible to drink it with Tristan yanking me through the crowd.
“Stop it!” I yelled and I tried again to wrench my arm out of Tristan’s hands. He pulled back with even more strength and the bottle tumbled from my fingers. It fell to the ground with a crack, and I watched as the liquid seeped out of the broken jar onto the ground.
“No,” I said. It was only a gasp though, a cry of defeat.
The Black Knight slowed his horse to a stop. I heard the swoosh as he pulled his sword from its sheath and held it up. It glinted in his hand like a bolt of lightning. The armor muffled his voice, but he spoke loud enough for the entire crowd to hear. “Who summoned me here to fight?”
Half the crowd pointed to me and the children yelled, “She did! She did!” with such excitement that I wondered whose side they were on.