Curse of Enchanted Haven

Chapter 8

-King Harold and Queen Ravena's Castle Mystic Kingdom-

Merlin and Raven stood before a castle resembling the Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Raven admired the gray stonework and the towers that reminded her of Princess Aurora's tower in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

"This looks like I have been sucked into a fairytale. It's so beautiful."

"This was the castle where you were born. Welcome to Easendelle. We are nowhere near that time, yet I'm afraid. Your mother was only eight when Jonathan and Evanya began their courtship."

"Oh, wow!"

Merlin patted her on the back and said, "Come, we have a lot of ground to cover. There are places to go, people to see, and we need to get more answers to our questions."

The wizard waved his hand, and they disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

* * *

Merlin and Raven appeared in the throne room. Gray-colored marble lined the floor from the entryway to the raised platform where the mahogany throne chairs sat. Large windows outlined the left wall of the room. A red velvet carpet ran down the center aisle from the entry door to the platform. In the center of the room, she saw her mother, Snow White, as an eight-year-old girl with long, curly black hair. Queen Ravena resembled Raven with long, wavy black hair and hazel eyes.

"Is that the woman I am named after?"

"Yes, that is Snow and Jonathan's mother, Queen Ravena. She had a beautiful soul. She never met a stranger and was always willing to help anyone in need."

The large doors behind them opened, and Raven turned to see who was walking in. Jonathan and Evanya entered the room with arms linked. He smiled and regally held out his left hand.

"Greetings, mother, father, and sister!"

Queen Ravena walked up to her son and hugged him. "Jonathan, I'm so glad you safely returned home from your trip. Princess Evanya, I've heard so much about you these past six months. I want to personally thank you for teaching my son how to use his magic."

"It was my pleasure, Your Majesty. Your son is a quick study and a perfect gentleman. Because of his gentlemanly manners, he almost didn't pass a test."

"I didn't want to hurt her!"

The women laughed, and King Harold walked up to join the conversation with Snow trailing behind him.

"Princess Evanya, you're just as beautiful as Jonathan said."

"Harold!" Queen Ravena scolded and gave her husband a disapproving expression. King Harold continued, "My apologies for being so bold, princess."

Evanya smiled and said, "No need for apologies, Your Majesty; you were stating your opinion." Evanya released Jonathan's arm and walked up to Snow. "You must be Snow." The little princess nodded her head. Evanya smiled and said, "Jonathan has told me so much about you."

Snow smiled, and Evanya continued, "It's so nice to meet you finally. I hope we can be best friends."

Raven snorted, "Yeah, we all know how that turned out."

"Remember, this is not the story the Brothers Grimm or Walt Disney created."

"Snow, how about we show Princess Evanya the gardens?"

Evanya's eyes lit up. "I would love to see the different flora you have."

The women left, leaving Jonathan and King Harold in the throne room.