A Tale of Magic... (37 page)

“Magic for the most part,” the old woman said. “But I’ve been known to be a bit of a
witch
from time to time. It just depends on what kind of mood I’m in.”

The Sorceress laughed at her own joke, but the students and apprentices didn’t understand why it was funny. On the contrary, the remark only confused them.

“You’re not being serious, are you?” Tangerina asked.

“Of course I’m being serious,” the old woman said. “I didn’t get these ears from sticking to magic over the years. I don’t use it often, but occasionally a little witchcraft goes a long way.”

“But that isn’t possible,” Tangerina said. “You’re born either a fairy or a witch. No one gets to
choose
.”

The Sorceress was stunned by Tangerina’s assertion.

“Young lady, what on earth are you talking about?” she asked. “Having magical abilities isn’t a choice, but no one in the magical community is
born
a fairy or a witch. We all get to be
whatever
we want,
whenever
we want. Personally, I’ve never identified as one or the other, that’s why I call myself a
sorceress
.”

“That… that… that’s not true,” Tangerina argued. “Fairies are born with goodness in their hearts, and therefore can
only
practice magic. Witches are born with wickedness in their hearts, and therefore can
only
practice witchcraft.”

“And who taught you that nonsense?” the Sorceress asked.

“Our teacher did,” Tangerina said.

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but your teacher is
wrong
,” the old woman said. “Nothing in this universe is black-and-white. Even the darkest nights have a degree of light, and the brightest days have a pinch of darkness. The world is full of duality, and we get to
choose
where we stand in all of it.”

The Sorceress was very persuasive as she stated her case, but the classmates couldn’t accept it. If she was telling them the truth, then everything they knew about magic, and the very foundation of Madame Weatherberry’s academy, was
all
a lie.

“No, I don’t believe you!” Skylene objected. “Madame Weatherberry would never lie to us! You’re clearly a
witch
, because you’re trying to trick us!”

“Look, you can believe whatever you want to believe, but I’m not trying to trick anyone,” the Sorceress said. “Here, I’ll prove it to you.”

The old woman pointed to the ground, and a large flower grew out of the thatched floor. It was the most gorgeous plant the classmates had ever seen, and its rosy petals were so vibrant the flower practically glowed. After the children had a chance to admire it, and fall in love with its beauty, the Sorceress clenched her fist and the flower began to whither. Its color faded, its petals broke away, its stem weakened, and the plant decayed into a mound of dirt.

“See?” the old woman said. “Magic
and
witchcraft.”

The demonstration was quick and simple, but it proved the Sorceress was correct. Brystal and her classmates were distressed as they stared at the flower’s remains. Their minds were racing as they reevaluated everything Madame Weatherberry had ever said.

“But
why
did she lie about it?” Brystal asked. “Why would Madame Weatherberry act like fairies and witches were different species if it was just a
preference
?”

“You could ask our Tree of Truth,” Rosette suggested.

“A Tree of Truth?” Lucy said. “Okay, now you’re just yanking our tail feathers.”

“No, it’s real!” Rosette said. “The Tree of Truth is a magic tree that produces honesty. It may answer your questions about your teacher. There’s only one left in Greenhouse Canyon. We had to stop selling them because they were driving our customers mad.”

“Is it safe?” Brystal asked.

“As long as you can handle the truth,” the Sorceress said. “Most people can’t.”

Brystal wasn’t confident she could, either. Learning that Madame Weatherberry had lied about something so significant was crushing enough, but Brystal would be devastated if she discovered the fairy had lied for dishonorable reasons. However, nothing seemed more daunting than another unanswered question, so Brystal welcomed the opportunity to find the truth.

“All right,” she said. “Take me to the tree.”

Rosette and the Sorceress escorted their guests to the opposite side of Greenhouse Canyon. At the end of the dirt path, at the top of a tiny hill, was a small white tree. At first, the Tree of Truth looked very normal, but as the classmates walked closer, they noticed its bark was covered in carvings of human eyes. Brystal cautiously climbed the hill and stood before the tree, but she didn’t know what to do next.

“How does it work?” she asked.

“Take one of its branches into the palm of your hand,” the Sorceress instructed. “Then close your eyes, clear your head, and ask it the questions on your mind.”

Brystal took a deep breath and held a branch. As soon as her hand closed around it, Brystal was transported far away from Greenhouse Canyon. She wasn’t standing on a hill in the middle of the gardens anymore, but on a hill that floated miles above the ground. The clouds flowed beneath her like a rushing river, and the stars twinkled so clearly above her that they seemed within reach. When she looked back at the Tree of Truth, the carvings on its trunk and branches suddenly opened and became real human eyes—and every single one was staring directly at her. Brystal assumed it was all in her mind, but that didn’t make it feel any less real.

“Do you have a question?” said a deep voice that echoed through the sky around her.

“That depends,” Brystal said. “Do you really give honest answers?”

“I cannot predict the future, or read someone’s thoughts, but I know all that is, and all that was,” the voice responded.

Brystal still had doubts about the Tree of Truth, so she started with a few simple questions to test the tree’s authenticity.

“Where was I born?” she asked.

“Chariot Hills,” the voice answered.

“And where did I attend school?”

“The Chariot Hills School for Future Wives and Mothers.”

“What does my mother do for a living?”

“Everything your father doesn’t.”

The last question had been a trick question, but Brystal was impressed by how the Tree of Truth had answered it. She decided not to waste any more time testing its accuracy and skipped to the questions she was there for.

“Is it true that all members of the magical community are born the same? And that being a fairy or a witch is just a preference?” Brystal asked.

“Yes,” the tree said.

“Then why did Madame Weatherberry lie to us?” she asked.

“The same reason everyone lies,” the tree said. “To hide the truth.”

“But why did she need to hide it? Why does Madame Weatherberry want us to believe there is a difference between fairies and witches if there isn’t?”

“I cannot see her exact motivation, but I can give insight on why
others
tell similar lies,” the tree offered.

“Why?” Brystal asked.

“When faced with discrimination, it is common for people to divide their communities into their oppressors’ definitions of
right
and
wrong
. By categorizing fairies as
good
and witches as
bad
, it’s possible that Madame Weatherberry was trying to gain
acceptance for fairies
by fueling
hatred for witches
.”

The theory made sense, but if the tree was right, that meant Madame Weatherberry was encouraging humankind to
hate
and
harm
members of her own community—and Brystal couldn’t imagine Madame Weatherberry wishing
hate
or
harm
on anyone.

“So is that the
real reason
she published
The Truth About Magic
? Are the incantations supposed to help humankind discover and persecute witches?”

“The incantation for witchcraft is fake,” the tree said. “The incantation for magic is the only genuine spell in her book.”

The revelation puzzled Brystal even more. She was starting to think the Tree of Truth should be called the Tree of Frustration, because everything it said made the situation more complicated. Her mind was spiraling into different directions, but as Brystal concentrated on the facts, it slowly dawned on her why Madame Weatherberry had done what she did.

“I think I understand now,” Brystal said. “If Madame Weatherberry convinced humankind to only discriminate against
witches
, and convinced everyone in the magical community that they were
fairies
—it would save everyone! She pretended the community was divided to protect it from humankind—while
still
giving humankind something to hate and fear! Right?”

“Noble people usually lie for noble reasons,” the voice said. “Sadly, you’ll never know until you ask them yourself.”

“How is Madame Weatherberry doing now? Is she still alive?”

“Your teacher is still alive, but she’s been taken hostage by an evil energy,” the Tree of Truth said. “Very little of Madame Weatherberry remains, and the life that she clings to is being drained by her captor. It won’t be long until she loses the fight.”

“She’s been
captured
?” Brystal asked in a panic. “Where is she being kept? Do we have time to save her?”

“Madame Weatherberry is imprisoned deep within Tinzel Palace in the Northern Kingdom’s capital. However, if you continue down the winding paths of the In-Between, the chances of rescuing her are unlikely.”

“Is there a faster way to get there?”

“Ten miles north of Greenhouse Canyon, in the back of Black Bear Cave, you’ll find the entrance to an abandoned goblin tunnel. Take the tunnel, and you’ll arrive in Tinzel Heights in half the time.”

“All right, we will!” Brystal said. “Thank you!”

Brystal released the Tree of Truth’s branch from her grip and returned to the garden in Greenhouse Canyon. The trip back felt like she was falling to the earth all over again, and she screamed, causing all her classmates to jump.

“Did something bite you?” Xanthous asked.

“Sorry!” Brystal said. “I wasn’t expecting the trip back to be so jarring.”

“What do you mean
trip back
?” Emerelda asked.

“It doesn’t matter—I got the answers we wanted!” Brystal said. “Madame Weatherberry
did
lie to us about magic and witchcraft—but she was only doing it to protect the magical community. I’ll explain it all later because we have to go! If we don’t leave Greenhouse Canyon right now, we’ll never see Madame Weatherberry again!”