Once Upon a Curse

  "Who is that?" asked a fairy with spiky green hair, pointing at Hazel,

  "Shh!" hissed the people around him. I saw another gap between two groups of witches and hurried to get through.

  "I'm about to open my presents," Hazel said. "And I'd like to thank you all now."

  "She does that so she doesn't have to thank anyone afterward," whispered Millie.

  It took some time for Hazel to open all the gifts because there were so many, but it gave me the opportunity to work my way closer to the dais. The presents from her relatives were fairly boring—-clothes mostly and a few pieces of jewelry. The princes had given her cups embedded with gems, bolts of rare fabrics and boxes with lids of hammered gold. The witches gave her gifts such as a farseeing ball, a ring for carrying secret potions and a new broom. The membership in the Apple of the Month Society—one plain and one poisoned apple per month—was more original, although it earned the gift giver scowls from the people around her.

  When Hazel unwrapped a hand mirror, she held it up so everyone could see it, then asked the traditional question, "Mirror, mirror in my hand. Who's the fairest in the land?"

  A light shimmered over the mirror's surface. "Not you, missy," it said. "You cheat at dice!"

  Blushing, Hazel handed the mirror to one of her mother's ladies-in-waiting. "This mirror doesn't work right. Put it with the others we need to get fixed."

  We had almost reached Hazel when she began to open the presents from the fairies. Suddenly even the most bored guests were taking an interest. Everyone had already seen the cups and the dandelion wine, but the silver flute that played itself and asked for requests after each selection was new. So was the pink flower-petal skirt that came with directions. "Water twice a week," read Hazel from the attached leaf.

  There were other musical gifts and a few that were meant to make the wearer more beautiful, like the crown that made her glow with a golden light. A tiny gilded cage held a hummingbird that laid golden eggs. "Stingy," said a lavender-haired fairy near me when the fairy who'd given the gift beamed smugly. "She could have given the princess a bigger bird."

  Another gift, and the most exciting one as far as I was concerned, was from an elderly fairy dressed in willow leaves. Everyone waited quietly as she climbed onto the dais. When she reached Hazel's side, she showed her a ring, the very same ring I would wear many years later on my finger, and spoke in a loud, clear voice that carried throughout the hall. "My gift to you, sweet Princess Hazel, will last for all generations. From this day on, the nicest and most powerful witch in your kingdom will be the Green Witch. With this gift comes greater power as well as greater responsibility, for the Green Witch must be the kingdom's protector, using her magic to ensure the safety of its inhabitants, whether human- or fairy-kind." Taking the princess's hand in hers, the fairy slipped the ring on Hazel's finger and said, "I name you the first Green Witch."

  A ripple of applause ran through the room. Smiling, Hazel curtsied to the fairy and thanked her. As the elderly fairy climbed down from the dais, I watched the first Green Witch turn her hand this way and that to admire the ring on her finger.

  "Look at her," whispered Millie. "She likes the ring, but I doubt she paid any attention to the part about taking care of the kingdom."

  "Now it's my turn," called out the green-haired fairy who hadn't known Hazel. "I didn't know what to bring you—" he said, striding toward the dais.

  "Since he crashed the party and didn't know anyone here," said a fairy no taller than my knee whom I hadn't noticed, even though he was standing beside me. His broad red cap dotted with white spots made him look like a mushroom, and he had an earthy kind of smell.

  "—-so I decided to wait for inspiration before choosing a gift," continued the green-haired fairy. "That last gift inspired me!" Flourishing his hand in the air, he presented Hazel with a tapestry that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

  "What is he, a wizard or a fairy?" asked the mushroom.

  Hazel glanced at the tapestry and frowned. "Let us see," called someone from the back, so she turned it around and held it up.

  It was one of the tapestries that hung in my tower room and showed the Green Witch from behind as she watched a retreating enemy from the battlements. Only now the Green Witch had long blond hair instead of auburn like mine.

  "What is it?" someone shouted.

  The fairy's grin slipped when he saw the puzzled expressions. "It's the Green Witch defending the castle, of course," he said, pointing at the picture. "It will always show the current Green Witch, no matter who she is."

  "It's very nice, I'm sure," said Hazel, but it was clear that she was disappointed. When the deflated-looking fairy had rejoined the other guests, the princess smiled again. "And now for the announcement that you've all been waiting to hear."

  "Oh, no!" said Millie. "I'm too late!"

  "Wait!" shouted a voice, and Prince Jasper pushed his way to the front. "Before you tell us who you plan to marry, I have something to say that I'd hoped to say in private."

  You too? I thought.

  "I owe it to you to be honest," said the prince. "I am not worthy of you. I have fallen in love with another and can never give you the love that you deserve."

  "Forget it," Hazel said, brushing him off with a wave of her hand. "I wasn't going to choose you anyway."

  "You weren't?" Millie squeaked.

  "I'm going to marry Prince Garrid! We've made our plans. We'll be married within the month."

  "You can't marry him!" Millie said, pushing past the little mushroom fairy. "Garrid is a vampire!"

  Hazel glanced at her and shrugged. "So?" she said. "Nobody's perfect!"

  The crowd had begun to get restless when they realized that Hazel had received her last present. Hazel must have noticed this, because she held up her hand and called out, "One last thing! Make sure you see me before you go. I have gifts for each of you!"

  Even the dour-faced witches looked happy after hearing this. Since she hadn't let me help, I'd just have to hope that she had enough for everyone.

  Eleven

  The party went on until dawn, but by the time the faint light of a rainy day had crept through the windows high on the wall of the Great Hall, nearly all of the guests had gone home. The normal, human guests—including the relatives and the unsuccessful suitors—had already gone to bed, even though they wouldn't leave until the next day. After staying up with us all night, Eadric had wandered off to the kitchen in search of breakfast. Only Hazel, Millie and I were still in the Great Hall waiting to say farewell to the last of the guests.

  A trestle table had been set up to hold the everlasting bouquets. When the final guest came to claim her present, I was delighted to note that there were still two bouquets left, even though some guests had taken more than their share. It looked as though Hazel had enough bouquets for everyone.

  "You're sure she's the last one?" I said, gesturing toward the table where Scrofula was chatting with Hazel.

  "I'm positive," said Millie. "We had the pages look everywhere, just as you suggested. They found her in the garden and brought her here to get her gift."

  "Good," I said. "Then maybe it really is over."

  When Millie and I went to the table to say good-bye to Scrofula, she was reaching for a second bouquet. "My sister left early. I'll give it to her the next time I see her."

  "So we still had enough," I said, watching Scrofula leave.

  "I don't know why you're so worried," said Millie. "If we'd run out, Hazel could have made more."

  "Made more what?" asked Garrid.

  I hadn't noticed him come into the room, and apparently neither had Hazel. "Where have you been?" she asked, her gaze frosty. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

  "I had things to take care of so I could concentrate on you this morning," he said, putting his arms around her. "We still have a lot to talk about."

  I turned away when they started to kiss, and that's when I noticed something small and black fly in through a wind
ow and land in one of Hazel's trees. I slipped away to investigate. "Li'l, is that you?" I whispered.

  A little head popped up from behind a branch. "Why didn't you tell me there were trees in this castle?" Li'l asked. "I could have stayed in one of these."

  "They weren't here before," I said. "Hazel grew them for the party. I'm glad you came. I was just about to go look for you. I'll be leaving as soon as I say good-bye to Millie and Hazel. The party is over. Most of the guests have left. Since there were enough gifts for everyone, no one cast a curse."

  Li'l crawled around the branch until she was hanging upside down. "I didn't come to say good-bye now. I was looking for Bugsy. He was late coming to see me, and then he acted funny. I was worried about him, so I followed him after he took me home. He came to the castle. He has to be around here somewhere."

  "I haven't noticed any other bats, but then I haven't been looking. Maybe I should go—"

  Someone groaned on the other side of the tree, loudly enough that even Millie heard it. "Emma, was that you?" she asked from halfway across the Hall.

  "No," I whispered, tiptoeing around the trunk. "It was...."

  The Swamp Fairy sat up and looked at me, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. "What day is it?" she asked.

  "The day after my birthday party," said Hazel, joining us by the tree. "Everyone else has gone home. I thought you'd left already."

  Li'l pulled her wings closer to her sides, trying to make herself look smaller and less conspicuous. "Is that a bat?" asked Hazel, backing away from the tree. "What is a bat doing in my castle?" She looked around frantically, spotting a dirty tankard on a table. "Get out of here!" she hollered, snatching up the tankard and hurling it at Li'l.

  The tankard missed Li'l by inches, but was close enough to frighten her. Releasing her hold on the trunk, she fell a few feet, then began flapping frantically. Hazel reached for another tankard and was about to throw it, when Garrid leapt in front of her and shouted, "No! Don't hurt her. That's Li'l!"

  Frightened, Li'l blundered onto the table where the ale had been served. "Oh my, oh my!" she cried, knocking over an empty eggshell cup and dragging her wing in a puddle of spilled ale.

  I ran over to the table to help her, but Garrid was there first. He caught her in his hands, then cupped her gently and said, "Don't be afraid, Li'l. It's me, Bugsy!"

  "What do you mean, Bugsy?" demanded Hazel, her face turning a deep red. "Why are you acting like you know that bat? What's going on, Garrid?"

  Garrid looked up. "Hazel, I—"

  With Garrid distracted, it was easy for Li'l to wriggle free. She slipped out of his hands and darted toward the window.

  "Li'l! No!" Garrid called after her.

  "Pardon me," said the Swamp Fairy, massaging her temples with her fingertips. "If you'll just give me my guest gift, I'll be on my way."

  "Li'l!" shouted Garrid, more loudly than before. A shadow passed over him, there was a puff of cool, dank air and Garrid turned into a bat. Hazel shrieked when he followed Li'l out the window.

  "Now do you believe me?" Millie asked. "Vampires do that kind of thing."

  "About that gift—" the Swamp Fairy began.

  Red faced, Hazel turned on the fairy. "Stop pestering me!" she screamed. "Can't you see that I'm in the midst of a crisis! I don't have any more of those bouquets, anyway, so just go away and leave me alone!"

  I bit my lip as the Swamp Fairy's eyes grew hard and her tired face turned angry. "I can't believe you said that to me!" she said to Hazel. "No one talks to the Swamp Fairy like that and gets away with it!" The air around the fairy began to shimmer. Raising her arms to the ceiling, the fairy called out in a loud voice,

  For being rude to fairy-kind,

  There is a price to pay, you'll find.

  From those who could not be polite,

  We do not soon forget a slight.

  If, after your fifteenth year,

  You should touch a flower, dear,

  All your prettiness shall fade

  Leaving you an ugly maid.

  Your beauty gone, your sweetness, too,

  No one wilt want to be with you..

  A nasty spirit, ugly face,

  You won't be welcome anyplace.

  Daughters of your family, too,

  Will become nasty just like you.

  If after the fated hour,

  They should touch a single flower.

  This curse shall Last until the day

  A true Love's kiss can help convey

  That he Looks past her nasty ways

  To see her true self in her gaze.

  Thunder boomed and green lightning flashed through the window as the fairy left the Hall. When Millie cried out, Hazel turned on her and said, "Don't be stupid! I'm a witch! My magic is more powerful than anything a fairy can throw at me."

  I staggered, shocked by what had just happened. I'd come to their time to hear the curse, but had begun to hope that the fairy might not pronounce it after all. Although I'd worried about changing history, I'd meddled where I probably shouldn't have. It didn't seem to have had any real effect, however, since the curse had been cast anyway, making me feel like a failure even though I'd done what I'd originally set out to do.

  Millie and Hazel were arguing when I went outside to find Li'l and Garrid. Li'l's heart must be broken, I thought, dashing past the guards and into the garden. It was pouring rain, and I stepped in a puddle the moment I left the drawbridge, soaking my shoes and the hem of my gown.

  I found the two bats in the spot where I usually met Li'l. Perched on a rosebush beside Garrid, she was so agitated that she couldn't sit still. "You were one of the princess's suitors, weren't you?" she asked Garrid. "What did you plan to do? Were you going to marry her and never tell me? It's not going to work."

  "I'm sorry, Li'l," he said. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I never wanted to hurt you. I think you're wonderful. I'd choose you if I could, but I'd already offered my hand to Hazel. If only you and I had met sooner."

  "Well, we didn't, and now you're going to marry her. And to think I wanted to stay here with you after Emma went home. Emma," she said, turning to face me. "When are you leaving?"

  "As soon as I change my clothes and say_good-bye. I heard the curse, so I know what needs to be done."

  "Then I'm going to the castle with you. The sooner we get back where we belong, the happier I'll be!"

  I sneaked Li'l into the castle inside my sleeve, which was just as well since the rooms were bustling with people clearing off the tables and hauling away the trash. After I'd changed back into my own clothes, I gathered my pouch and farseeing ball and went downstairs to the Great Hall to say good-bye. We heard the sound of wailing before we reached the door. Millie was gone, but Queen Angelica and her ladies-in-waiting were there, tears streaming down their faces.

  "This is terrible," the queen wailed. "You've offended a fairy! We've tried so hard to get along with the fairies, and now this!"

  Hazel rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Mother. It doesn't mean a thing. I'm a witch. Fairies can't cast curses on witches!"

  "Is that true?" Li'l whispered.

  "No," I whispered back.

  "Look. I'll prove it to you," Hazel said, "and you'll see that you're being silly."

  "Don't!" screamed her mother as the princess reached for an enormous blossom dangling from a vine on the wall. There was an audible gasp in the room when Hazel buried her face in the flower.

  "Princess Hazel," said Garrid, standing by the door, a man once again. His eyes were sad, and he looked more dejected than a hound left behind from the hunt. "I must apologize for what just happened. I will marry you, if you'll still have me."

  "Of course I'll have you," said Hazel, taking her face out of the flower. But she had changed already, and the difference was shocking. No longer lovely, her eyes were small and beady, her nose and chin so long and pointed that they nearly met in front of her mouth. Bumpy warts had sprouted on her cheek, and her once-lustrous hair was
thin and straggly.

  After one glance at her elder daughter, the queen shrieked and fled the room while two of her ladies-in-waiting fainted. Garrid's face turned ashen, but he stood his ground without flinching.

  "But you're going to have to change your ways, bat boy," said Hazel. "No going out at night with your friends. No more all-day hunting trips. You'll stay home with me and do what I tell you. Your taste in clothes is pitiful, so I'll pick out what you'll wear. Starting tomorrow, you'll "

  Garrid looked horrified. With each new pronouncement, he stepped backward, away from his future bride. She was still listing the changes she would make in his life when he reached the doorway.

  "I know you have an eye for the ladies, so I can't trust you. I'll need to know where you are every minute of the day. You'll report to me and—"

  "Never!" shouted Garrid before he turned and bolted out the door.

  "You're not getting away that easily, mister!" shrieked Hazel. She had a gleam in her eye when she passed me at a run. Even after they left the room, I could hear their feet pounding the stone floor. When I felt a cool, dank puff of air, I knew that Garrid had turned back into a bat.

  "Well," said Li'l. "I guess he changed his mind. But I haven't changed mine. Emma, can we go home now?"

  Twelve

  The castle was in an uproar after Hazel disappeared, and Eadric, Li'l and I couldn't wait to go home. Relatives afraid of the curse were throwing their belongings into wagons and onto the backs of packhorses as they rushed to leave early. Prince Fenton was already gone, having taken one of the ladies-in-waiting with him. The queen had retreated to her chamber along with the rest of her ladies. No one went near King Grunwald, who was bellowing that he'd find the fairy and force her at sword point to change his daughter back.

  Eadric wanted to leave right away, but I insisted that we find Millie before we go. We finally located her in a quiet antechamber, far from the chaos in the rest of the castle. She was talking to Jasper, and I could tell from her expression that something wonderful had happened. Jasper was holding both of her hands, and he didn't look as if he planned to let go.