The Curse of Thorns

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Are you crazy?" Briar's voice echoed through the room. "I'm not going to steal a magic book from a witch. Stealing from a witch is like signing your death contract."

Lilliana sighed deeply as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Then forget about breaking the curse."

"There has to be another way," Briar insisted. She glanced around the room, hoping for support.

"Like what?" Lilliana placed a hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"We can ask the witch to give us the book," Briar suggested.

Leon chuckled. "You must have misheard. It's a witch, Briar, not a kind old lady who bakes cookies. Not all witches are as nice as your friend Lavonna."

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Briar said. "Lavonna would probably forgive someone who stole something from her, but maybe this witch is dangerous. We need to handle this carefully."

"Well," Evalina began hesitantly, her wings fluttering slightly. "I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with stealing in this context."

"What?" Briar's jaw dropped in disbelief. She had always seen Evalina as the most level-headed and sensible of the fairies. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you."

"I mean," Evalina continued, a touch of pink coloring her cheeks. "Stealing is bad, of course. But in this case, you're stealing for a noble cause. The book doesn't even belong to the witch. She has no rightful claim to it."

Briar shook her head, her curls bouncing with the motion. "Listen, the best way—or should I say the safest way, the way that won't get us all killed—is to go to the witch and talk to her."

"Talk to her about what?" Lilliana's eyes narrowed.

"Maybe we can negotiate a deal," Briar suggested. "Witches love trading. Maybe we can trade something with her for the book."

"Trading with a witch? Are you serious?" Evalina's voice was laced with astonishment.

"Why not?" Lilliana's voice dripped with sarcasm as she shot Briar a knowing look. "If you're willing to trade a part of your body, half your age, or maybe even your whole life. Or worse things you can't even imagine. I've got plenty of horror stories about trading with witches."

"Include ours," Viviana added, her voice somber. "Mother had to give the witch the Ancient Book of Spells. You can't win against a witch."

Briar bit her lip, the fairies' words weighing heavily on her. Deep down, she knew they were right. The tales of witches and their dark bargains were enough to make anyone think twice.

"Look, stealing is not that difficult," Leon said, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous light. "We'll break into her house, get the book, and leave. No problem. No trading our lives or anything." It was clear that he was with the fairies on this one. Leon always chose the side where there was trouble.

"Princess, do you want to save your kingdom or not?" Lilliana asked.

"Of course, I do," Briar replied. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to protect my kingdom."

"Except get a book from a witch," Leon taunted.

Briar felt a surge of anger, Leon's words hitting her like a punch to the gut. "I'm not scared," she shot back.

"Yeah, we can see that," Leon said, a smirk playing on his lips. "I don't know about you, but I will get that book."

"You know what? Let's vote," Lilliana suggested, raising her hand high. "I'm in favor of breaking into the witch's house and taking what belongs to us."