Forgotten Magic

Chapter 28

I'll admit this new character gave me something more to wonder about. She was creepy, and strange. But the princess didn't see that.

I was very glad I'd given the lady a fake name. I had a bad feeling she was up go something. I felt like she was trying to brainwash Raps. Or take advantage of her. Not that I cared. I was just concerned.

And then something popped into my head all of a sudden. If anyone in this castle knew anything about this mystery, it might be Cass. Sure, I could've asked Nickolas, but he wouldn't have given me as much of a response as the doorknob.

But in that case...how would I reach her? I was stuck in this room, and even if I made it to her, she would probably drag me right back to the room.

But to my surprise, I heard her voice at just that moment.

"I need to talk to her. Now."

"And why is that?"

"A mission. From the captain."

"And where's your proof?"

Cass growled. "What about this, dimwit?" I heard the crumpling of a piece of paper. "People have gone missing-in the castle too. So let me in before I-"

"Whatever...not that I couldn't just-okay, okay." The door creaked open. "Hey kid. You have a visitor. Remember-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," I interrupted. "Don't speak unless spoken too and don't make any sudden movements."

The door slammed shut and Cass approached me. "So. I've been given a mission by my father, the Captain of the Guard, and I wanted to give you a few questions."

"Okay," I nodded.

"Some people have gone missing recently," she explained. "Feldspar, Lance, Freidborg, and Ulf. Do these names sound familiar?"

I thought about this. "They were all at that art class Rapunzel took me to."

"Exactly. So, since you were in that class too, I wanted to see if you knew anything about the situation."

I thought about this for a long moment. "The teacher's pretty creepy."

"How so?"

"Well, I can't explain it. She sort of lurked in the shadows and gave off this dark energy. I think it was just me, but I got a sense of danger from this woman. She talked to Rapunzel a lot too. I think she was trying to brainwash or use her." I turned to the woman in front of me. "She stared at my pin a lot." I held up the purple star-shaped pin on my bedside table.

"Did you give you her name?"

I considered asking Cassandra what she was asking that for. "Nope. I told her I was Alice Cardew, daughter of the owner of a small bakery in Old Corona."

The raven-haired girl smiled. "Good job. Well, thanks for the info. I'll be sure to investigate this...what was her name?"

"Sugarby. But that's probably an alias, mind you."

"Of course. I'll investigate this Sugarby. I'll let you know what I find."

"Thanks." And she left. But I was confident I had a lead.

. . .

Something very strange happened that night. As usual, I went sleep with my pin in my hair. I was too scared to leave it anywhere. I'm not sure what happened, but I heard a bit of yelling and then...I was awake.

I was in some sort of ancient ruin. At the center was a purple, gnarled tree on a pedestal. Six roots spread from the tree, entwining six identical easels. Around the area where struggling people. There was the cobbler, Lance, the mime, and the handmaiden. Clutching their heads and groaning as if they had just collided with a wall.

"Don't worry about them, dear," a sickeningly sweet voice whispered. Pale, long fingered hands grabbed my shoulders. "They need a little more time to adjust. They aren't like you. You can-"

"I knew you were up to something," I whispered.

She simply giggled. "'Up to something'? Oh, my dear..."

"Let me go. And everyone else too."

"Now Alice, I'm afraid I can't be doing that. Now, why don't you begin." One of her cold hands curled around my wrist and the world disappeared.

. . .

I woke up against a pillar of the old ruins. It was dawn. The decrepit tree was a pile of ashes. And everyone was fine.

"Ann? Are you okay?" Rapunzel ran up to me. Cass was already beside me.

"You stayed in that trance much longer than everyone else," Cassandra informed me. "Not to mention...Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." I put a hand to my head. "I-I don't know what happened...um..."

"Your clip." Rapunzel reached forward and gently pulled the pin from my hair. She held it out to me. And then I saw what she meant. It was glowing. But not it's usual shades of amethyst. A lime green. Like Sugarby's eyes.

"Strange," Cass noted. "Has it done this before?"

"Glowed? Yes," I answered. "This color? No."

"Huh..." Rapunzel peered at the jewel. She passed me a smile. "Maybe I was right all along."

"We should get back to the castle," Cassandra suggested. "I heard something strange happened there."

"Yeah." I got up and followed the lady-in-waiting.

. . .

What we found was worse than I'd thought. Several guards were injured. Nickolas not included. They all had wounds from sharp weapons, arrows they said. One definite thing was that they blamed me.

Something amazing...was that Taylor was the one flitting about the injured men in the halls, trying to tend to everyone at the same time. I glanced at Cass when I saw them.

"Old friend," I explained. "Can I-"

"I don't see why not," Cassandra agreed. "Just don't get close to any of the guards. I think they might be a bit salty." She smiled.

"Alright!" I waved and approached my friend. "Taylor. Crazy seeing you here."

They jumped and looked at me, surprised. "Ann?"

"Didn't expect to see me here, did you?" I smiled, arms crossed. "I didn't know you worked in the castle."

"Yeah, uh, it's...a pretty new thing," they answered modestly. "My father and I came to Corona recently, and I decided it was a good time to try and get a job."

Something hit me. "Taylor...your mom, I-"

"I know," they dismissed the question, sadly as they did so.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry too much about it."

"Yeah...okay...well...I've got to go...I think..." I glanced at Cass, who was now looking at me sternly. "See you."

. . .

They said they'd deal with the problem of the attacks tomorrow. That today was a time to celebrate. Not for me. Too much was spiraling through my brain.

Now that I was thinking about it, I could dissect a few memories from the time of my...possession. There was the memory of an open portal. Of a spirit. And of Rapunzel's words. "Touch choices make us who we are." At first, I didn't know what that meant, or why I had picked that phrase.

And then it hit me. As I was gazing out over the island at the mainland, it hit me. My choices made me who I was. And that meant holding it out for Varian. Because that was who I wanted to be.