“More than I wanted to, less than I was afraid I might have to,” said the cook. “It’s a good thing your hair is so thick or that green stuff might have gotten to your scalp, and you’d have been cooked, so to speak.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I bet one of those ladies-in-waiting can do something pretty with your hair,” said the kitchen helper who had dumped the bucket of water on Annie.
Pursing her lips, Annie tried not to laugh out loud. They thought she was worried about her hair! It was the person who had tried to kill her that had her worried!
A footman stuck his head into the kitchen. “The ceremony is over and the tables are almost all in place. We can start taking the food out. Oh, I, uh, didn’t see you, Your Highness. Is everything all right?”
“It is now,” Annie said, although her voice was shaky and it was obvious to her that everything was not all right. Whoever had tried to kill her wasn’t using magic. She could defend herself against magic, but not this! “I would like to wash my hair to get the smell out, though,” she added, trying to make her voice sound normal.
“I have just the thing,” said the head cook. “It’s a soap I made myself. I put rosemary and lavender in it, so it smells a lot better than you do right now.”
Annie gave her a halfhearted smile.
“You can wash your hair over there,” the cook told her, pointing to a corner by the fireplace. “We have too much work to do to heat water for a full bath and have someone haul it upstairs, so you’ll have to wash your hair in a bucket. I can spare one of these lazy girls to help you, but be quick about it. I’m going to need her back in a few minutes. Betha, you can help her. I’ll get you that soap, then leave me in peace. I have too much to do as it is.”
Annie knew Betha would have kept up a constant chatter if Liam hadn’t been there. As it was, the girl was in awe of the prince and spent so much time gawking at him that Annie wondered if she ever looked at the hair she was washing.
“Where did you get this flower?” Liam asked, shifting the bowl from side to side as he examined the smoldering remains.
“I already told you,” Annie said, leaning over the bucket while Betha rubbed more soap into her hair. “A few of the flowers that Lady Clara had put in my hair fell out when someone bumped into me. I asked to have Marie replace them, but I didn’t see who actually put them in. Someone is bound to have seen who did it.”
Liam frowned and shifted the bowl again. “I’m going to send this to an alchemist. I want to see if he can identify this green stuff.”
“I can tell you one thing,” said Annie, flinching when Betha poured cold water over her head to rinse her hair. “That green stuff may smell awful, but it isn’t magic. If magic had been involved, it wouldn’t have worked so close to me. But that doesn’t mean someone didn’t use magic to hold it until they had it in my hair so they wouldn’t get burned themselves. I didn’t hear the sound that magic makes, but then again, the music was loud.”
“All done, Your Highness,” Betha said. “Now we just have to dry your hair. I’ll go see if I can find a bit of clean sacking. Be right back!”
Liam took Annie’s hand in his and squeezed it. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to the feast. Someone just tried to kill you!”
“I know,” said Annie. “And it frightens me more than you can imagine! I’ve had people try to hurt me using magic many times, but no one has ever used anything like that strange fire. I don’t have any way to protect myself from it. I guess that’s what scares me the most.”
“Don’t worry,” said Liam. “I’ll find out who’s behind this. In the meantime, maybe you should stay away from public places.”
“I’m not going to hide or change my life because of whoever did this,” said Annie. “I just have to be more careful, that’s all. Besides, Gwennie would never forgive me if I wasn’t there for her feast. It’s bad enough that I had to run out during the ceremony.”
“Considering the circumstances, I’m sure she’d forgive you,” Liam told her, and laughed when he saw her expression. “All right! I can see that your mind is made up. We’ll go to the feast, but I’m not letting you out of my sight. Now, whatever you do, don’t accept anything from a stranger or let anyone stick anything in your hair, or pocket, or shoe or—”
“Don’t worry,” said Annie. “I won’t! If a stranger comes up to me, I’ll shriek and run the other way.”
When they entered the great hall, Annie was certain someone would say something about the way she had left the ceremony early, or make a remark about her damp hair, or note the slightly singed smell that still clung to her. Instead, no one said anything as they walked to the front of the room and took their seats at the table with Beldegard’s sisters and the visiting princes.
Situated just below the table where the bride, the groom, and their parents were seated, Annie and Liam’s table was close enough that they could overhear Gwendolyn when she said to Beldegard, “I think it’s so sweet that you wanted Annie to sit near us.”
“As I said before, magic or no magic, you will always be the most beautiful princess in all the kingdoms to me,” Beldegard told her. “We would never have met without your sister’s help, so she deserves to sit up here more than anyone.”
“I love that you’re a man of honor,” said Gwendolyn, squeezing his hand where it rested on the table.
“I really like my gown,” Princess Willa announced. Beldegard’s twin sisters were wearing pale green gowns with white embroidery on the sleeves and square-cut necklines. Although the gowns had started out looking the same, Willa’s gown was still clean and neat, without a wrinkle or crease, while Tyne’s looked as if she had slept on the ground while wearing it. Annie thought she saw bits of dried herbs from the floor in Tyne’s braid.
“It’s okay,” Tyne said with a shrug. “Wow! Look at the roasted pheasant they just brought in. I want some of that!”
“Everyone looks so beautiful,” Willa said, casting an admiring glance at the people sitting nearby. “Except you,” she said to Annie. “I was wondering about that. Why is your sister so beautiful and you’re so ordinary?”
“You know why,” Tyne said. From the way she shifted in her seat and her sister grunted, Annie thought that Tyne had kicked Willa under the table. “Beldegard told us that magic doesn’t work on her. That’s why she could help him and why she couldn’t get any magical christening gifts. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how we can be twins. You don’t remember anything!”
“I remember that you aren’t supposed to kick me!” Willa hissed. “I’ll get you later!” Suddenly her frown turned into a scowl, and she leaned so close to her sister that they were almost touching. “What’s wrong with your face? You don’t look like you anymore.”
“What are you talking about?” Tyne said, looking annoyed.
Willa giggled. “Your face is changing. Your nose is shorter and you have freckles!”
“Don’t laugh at me!” said Tyne. “I can see freckles popping out all over your face!” She gasped and turned to Annie. “It’s because of you, isn’t it? It’s that whole thing about magic not working around you! Willa, this is what we’d look like if magic didn’t make us beautiful!”
Willa gasped. “I bet you’re right! Look at Maitland! He looks different, too! Everybody does, except for you, of course,” she said to Annie. She turned to look at Liam. “And you. Why is that?”
“Because he must not be handsome because of magic,” said Tyne. “He’s handsome even without it!”
The princes all knew what happened when they were near Annie, having been near her before, but none of them seemed to care much.
“Tell me, how was your trip here?” Emilio asked Willa.
Annie gave him a grateful glance when the twins began to chatter about everything they had seen on the way there. When she heard a sound at the next table, she glanced at her own sister. Gwendolyn was nibbling on a quail egg while a serving maid offered a platter of beef to Beldegard. Annie noticed that the prince had
helped himself to the best-looking slice and placed it on Gwendolyn’s plate.
“Oh, Beldegard,” breathed Gwendolyn. “You are so chivalrous!”
“I can’t stand to look at them,” grumbled Prince Digby. “The way they gaze into each other’s eyes makes me ill.”
“I must say, I’m happy for Beldegard,” said Maitland. “I think he and Gwendolyn suit one another very well.”
“Not as well as Eleanor and I suit each other,” said Annie’s and Gwendolyn’s cousin, Prince Ainsley. “I knew we were meant to be together the moment I saw her.” He turned to look at the girl seated beside him, placing his hand over hers.
“With a little help from her fairy godmother,” Annie murmured to Liam. “He would never even have met Cinderella if it hadn’t been for the fairy Moonbeam.”
“I can’t believe Gwendolyn and Beldegard are actually married,” said Prince Andreas, whom Annie had met on her quest for Gwendolyn’s true love. “I came all this way hoping that he’d turn back into a bear, or she would decide that she didn’t like him after all. And for what? They’re married and I’m still without a bride. My parents are going to make my life miserable when I go back home. They let me come only because I was sure I still had a chance with Gwendolyn!”
“Cheer up!” Gwendolyn exclaimed, beaming at the princes. “I have good news to share with you. A friend of mine, Princess Snow White of the kingdom of Helmswood, is looking for a prince to marry. Not only is she very beautiful, she is the only child of the king. The prince who marries her will rule at her side one day.”
“Really?” murmured Cozwald. He was Emilio’s cousin and another prince who had wanted to marry Gwendolyn. “I’ve heard that Helmswood is a very wealthy kingdom.”
“Didn’t they have some sort of problem with a nasty witch recently?” asked Emilio.
“Who hasn’t?” said Digby. “I think I should pay Helmswood a visit and let the princess see what a real prince is like.”
“I believe I’ll go there as well,” said Andreas. “My parents will understand as long as I come back married to somebody.”
“If you’re all going, I suppose I should go, too,” said Emilio. “I may never get another chance like this.”
Maitland looked stricken when he heard the other princes announce their intentions. Annie couldn’t help but feel sorry for him when she saw his expression. “Poor Maitland,” Annie whispered to Liam. “He’s going to have competition for Snow White’s hand. You know, if they all converge on Snow White at once, that sweet girl won’t know what to do. She asked me to go see her, but I think she’s going to need my help more than ever now. You said you were leaving in the morning to help take Granny Bentbone to the tower?”
“As soon as the sun comes up,” said Liam.
“Then I’m going with you,” Annie announced. “We’ll drop off Granny, visit your father, and go to Helmswood as quickly as we can. Snow White won’t know what to do when all these princes show up, and I want to be there to help her. Besides, she liked Maitland until she overheard him talking to his friends about her father’s throne. The more I’ve gotten to know him, the more I think he actually is a good person, and I’m afraid she won’t give him a chance. I’d like to talk to her before she makes any decisions.”
“But it will be her choice,” said Liam.
“Of course!” said Annie. “I just want to be there to make sure she makes the right one.”
Chapter 4
“I suppose I should ride in the carriage with Granny Bentbone,” Annie said with a sigh, tugging her cloak high around her neck to ward off the chilly morning air before pulling on her gloves. She stepped back as four of the guards accompanying them rode to the front of the line, preparing to get under way.
Liam glanced up from checking his horse’s girth. “I thought you were going to ride with me.”
“I want to ride with you, but I don’t trust the old woman. We don’t know how she lures children to her, or what other magic she can do. We’ll be passing through some villages and I’m afraid she’ll use her magic on more children. I think someone should ride in the carriage to keep an eye on her. I’m the only one her magic can’t affect, so I should be the one to go with her.”
“I was looking forward to talking to you,” Liam said, giving his horse’s girth an extra hard tug. The stallion grunted and stepped to the side, flicking his ears back as he glanced at Liam.
“You could ride in the carriage, too,” said Annie. “I know you don’t like Granny Bentbone any more than I do, but at least we could be together.”
“But we couldn’t talk in front of her. I know! Let’s put a gag in her mouth and truss her up like a goose. That should stop her from using her magic, and neither of us would have to ride in the carriage,” said Liam.
Annie shook her head. “I don’t want to be cruel, even to someone as horrible as Granny Bentbone.”
Liam opened his mouth to say something, but when he saw the look on Annie’s face, he shook his head and said, “No, you’re right. I’ll go with you. I don’t want you riding alone with her. We’ll tie our horses behind the carriage so we can ride them once we’re past the villages.”
While Liam talked to Horace, the elderly guard, Annie climbed in. Granny Bentbone was on the front bench facing backward, so Annie took the seat facing forward, across from the old woman. A chain clanked when the witch shifted her feet; the guards had chained her wrists and ankles together so she couldn’t jump out.
“What do you want?” the old woman snapped. “If I’d wanted company, I would have said so.”
“I’m here to make sure you don’t try to work your magic on anyone,” said Annie.
“Magic? What magic?” the old woman said, but from the sly look on her face, Annie was sure the witch was lying.
“Behave yourself, and you can sit there in comfort. Try to use your magic, and you’ll be tied and gagged.”
“You don’t know who you’re talking to!” Granny Bentbone snarled.
“Apparently, neither do you,” said Annie.
The old witch cackled and leaned toward Annie. “If you know about my magic, you should be afraid of me.”
“If you knew me better, you’d know why I’m not afraid,” Annie replied.
It was true that she wasn’t afraid of the old witch. Fairies and witches had tried to use their magic on Annie, but it always bounced back onto them. Annie had been impervious to magic her whole life and had grown up unafraid of it. Being attacked in a way that didn’t involve magic was much more frightening to her. Annie was as vulnerable to that kind of danger as anyone else.
Both Annie and Granny Bentbone turned to the door as it swung open, and Liam climbed into the carriage. Annie moved over so Liam could sit beside her.
“How many more people do you plan to stuff in here?” grumbled Granny Bentbone. “I need room to stretch my legs or they’ll cramp.”
“This is going to be a very long day,” Liam murmured.
The carriage started with a jolt, making Granny Bentbone lurch so that she almost fell to the floor. Muttering to herself, she wiggled back onto the seat and wedged her body into the corner. “I hate carriages!” she announced.
“You’re not the only one,” said Liam.
Annie glanced out the window beside her. Metal bars had been added to the windows the night before. Black fabric had also been draped on either side to cover them if necessary, but Annie left the window uncovered so she could look out. Because most of the castle’s inhabitants were just beginning to stir, there was hardly anyone around to see the travelers leave. Annie could hear the riders in the front clatter over the drawbridge and braced herself as the carriage rattled across the uneven boards. They were just getting started, and she already couldn’t wait for the trip to be over.
They took the road headed north, passing through the village of Shelterhome soon after leaving the castle. It was still early enough that there were few people on the streets, and only a couple of them were children. Gr
anny Bentbone leaned toward the window, peering out, but the carriage was traveling so quickly that the children were left behind before Granny could try to do anything.
After passing through Shelterhome, Granny Bentbone closed her eyes and seemed to fall asleep. Liam let his eyes drift closed as well. As the carriage bumped down the uneven road, Annie wondered how anyone could possibly sleep. All the roads in Treecrest had deteriorated after years of neglect. When her father had banished spinning wheels from the kingdom to keep Gwendolyn from touching one, he had taken away one of the main sources of income for the kingdom. As soon as the curse was over, he immediately began to import spinning wheels into Treecrest, and the kingdom had once again begun to prosper. Annie had heard her father talk about repairing the roads, but so far only those closest to the castle had been fixed.
While Liam’s breathing slowed as he fell into a deeper sleep and Granny Bentbone snored, Annie stared out the window at the vast groves of linder trees that covered the countryside. After miles of looking at the same trees, her mind wandered. She was startled when Granny Bentbone woke up with a snort and looked around. “Why am I in a carriage? Where are we going?” the witch asked, her voice becoming shrill.
Liam awoke, looking annoyed. Annie took a moment to study Granny Bentbone. The old woman no longer had the sly look she’d worn earlier, and she seemed to be genuinely confused and frightened.
“You’re going to a peaceful place where no one will bother you,” said Annie.
“Is it in the forest?” asked Granny Bentbone. “I do so like the forest.”
“Yes, it is,” said Annie.
“Good,” the woman replied, then peered more closely at Annie. “Do I know you?”
“We’ve met a few times,” Annie replied.
“Ah,” said Granny Bentbone. “What happened to your hair? It looks like a rabid squirrel made a nest in it.”
When Annie’s hand flew to the top of her head, Liam snorted. Annie glared at him, and his snort turned into a cough.