Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (7 page)

“Up…to the tower at once!” he stammered.

“Here now, young man, I won’t have you—or anyone—ordering me to towers, or to anywhere else, for that matter!”

“Excuse me, mum, but the queen commands it! The castle is under siege!”

T
he Dark Fairy’s crow was perched in the apple tree outside the witches’ gingerbread mansion. It looked at the odd sisters, who were whispering in their kitchen. From the expressions on their faces, the crow could see they didn’t find his mistress’s message at all pleasant.

“Do you think she knows?” hissed Ruby.

“She knows something! Why else send the warning?” Lucinda was incensed. “And who is she to warn us? She who meddles in the lives of children!”

Martha gasped. “We’re not to speak of the child, Lucinda, not ever! We made a promise!”

“And so we have, but I won’t have Maleficent interfering with our aims! We must find Circe!”

Ruby was ripping her dress, as she always did when anxious. Bits of red cloth littered the black-and-white kitchen floor like splotches of blood.

“Maybe we should ask her for help. Make an exchange. If we agree to sever our pact with Ursula, the Dark Fairy will have to help us find Circe!”

“No! We cannot betray the sea witch—or there will be a price. Likely far worse than any Maleficent could dole out!” said Lucinda. “And stop ruining your dress, Ruby, please! You look frightful.”

“Maleficent is an ally, too!” said Ruby, looking at the state of her beautiful red dress, which was now in shreds. “What are we to do? What are we to do?” she asked, pacing the floor.

Lucinda was furious with her old friend and went out to the cliffs to speak to the crow. She made an effort to speak clearly and in a straight line, as Circe would call it, so there would be no mistake in the translation when he took the message to Maleficent.

“You tell your mistress to keep her foul screeching creatures away from our home! We need none of her nasty spies about us! Do you understand?”

The crow snapped at Lucinda, but she knew the creature had no real power to harm her.

“Our business is our own, and if Maleficent wants our continued support, she will stop sending threatening messages, no matter how well intentioned she thinks they may be! We appreciate and value her friendship, as ever, but we will not submit to her demands!”

With a violent caw the raven flew off into the mists, away from the sisters, to the land of fairies and the sleeping princess.

“Do you think you should have been so harsh, Lucinda?” asked Ruby.

“I don’t fear Maleficent! Her powers are no stronger than ours! And by no means are they stronger than Circe’s,” said Lucinda.

Ruby wasn’t convinced. “I wonder! She did know what we were up to even though we were careful.”

Lucinda rolled her bulbous eyes at her sister. “We didn’t think of the crows!”

Ruby pressed on. “But what if Maleficent is right? What if we
can’t
trust Ursula? Ursula has always been our friend! She has no reason to betray us! But neither has Maleficent! It’s all so confounding.”

“Not really, my dear sisters,” Lucinda replied. “The Dark Fairy has never had any love for Ursula. It’s like I said: water and fire don’t mix.”

P
rincess Tulip’s gentlemen callers had caused the sequester of the entire Morningstar household in the highest tower; the ladies were at the mercy of the guards’ protection while King Morningstar was away on diplomatic matters. The young man in the sky-blue velvet and white lace, who they learned was Prince Popinjay from two kingdoms over, was shouting orders to the other young men, who had a battering ram and were attempting to break down the gates.

“Crash the gates, good men! To my bride! We shall take the castle by force!”

“Good gods! Did you hear that? They’re getting in! You, over there, push that case against the wall!” Queen Morningstar was in quite a state, which wasn’t her custom; she had never been one to let her emotions get the best of her. But now she was shaking as she pointed out the large piece of wooden furniture for the guard to shift. Tulip turned away from the mayhem and toward her mother.

“Mother, please! No one is getting in! Please sit down and calm yourself.”

“Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip!” the men chanted. “Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip! Princess Tulip!” Over and over and over.

“Do you hear that? What’s come over them? They’re going to hurt my baby girl!” Tulip’s mother was clutching her kerchief, eyes wide with terror. “Darling, please come away from the window, come over here with your mama.”

Ignoring her mother, Tulip turned her attention to her nanny. “This is madness! Were you able to get a message to Circe?” she whispered to Nanny.

“No, my dear, we were brought up here before we could.”

Tulip was frightened, truly frightened for the first time since she had been in the Beast prince’s company.

“Nanny, please do something!” she shouted.

“Come on, Pflanze, we have no choice but to do it here.” Nanny went to the desk, got out three candles, and placed them on the floor. With a piece of chalk she drew a sign of conjuration within the triangular configuration.

“What’s going on over there? What are you up to?” cried Queen Morningstar. “Some sort of devilry? Stop it! Stop it at once, I say!” Nanny casually waved her hand in the queen’s direction, not taking her attention away from her task, and simply said, “Calm,” putting Queen Morningstar into a deep sleep.

“Nanny! What have you done to Mother?” Tulip shouted.

“Hush now, girl, and let me do my work!”

Nanny and Pflanze stood before the place of power and called Circe.

“We beseech the winds, fire, and sea, bring us the witch, bring Circe to me!”

And in the candlelit triangle, they saw Circe’s form, slight and wispy, translucent like pale smoke. She looked deeply frightened and worn from crying.

“Circe, my girl, what’s happened? Where are you?” Nanny asked, but before the ghostly image could answer, a dark gray swirling mist entered the triangle, dispersing Circe’s frightened image to places unseen. The mist was swirling around the room, starting to take the human form of a witch Pflanze knew very well.

Ursula!

Pflanze jumped onto the mantel and hid behind a large bust of King Morningstar; she wasn’t quite ready for Ursula and her witches to know what she was up to. “So this is the famous witch of legend I’ve heard so much about? I’m surprised you were able to summon me on your own.” Ursula laughed as she looked at Nanny.

“I was calling upon the little sister of the dreaded three.”

“I know very well who you were trying to summon. But I am the great sea witch, and you did call upon the ‘winds, fire, and sea’! Fool, you should know who I am. I
am
the sea!”

Nanny looked suspiciously at Ursula, who continued in the same fashion. “You should feel honored I answered your summons! And yet I find you disappointed with my arrival! If you don’t want my assistance, I am happy to leave and let you contend with the rabble at the gates all on your own.”

“Of course we want your help!” Tulip interjected, looking more worried than Nanny had ever seen her.

“Well, angel cake, it looks like you’ve got yourself into a bit of trouble once again. What
shall
we do about it?” Even though Ursula was in her human form, she gesticulated and spoke in such a way that Tulip had no problem imagining the creature she had met under the crashing waves.

Nanny spoke before Tulip could. “We won’t have any of your deals this time, Ursula! You keep your tentacles away from my Tulip!”

Ursula laughed.

“Calm yourself, old woman! She has nothing I want or need! I’m here out of pure charity! And these men are on
my shores
while your king is away and unable to protect his lands! If I take a payment for this deed, it shall be from him upon his return.

“Now, what to do about little Popinjay and his crew?” Ursula went to the window, casting her hands toward the crashing waves, which swelled to epic heights and smashed onto the castle gates.

“Yes, I think that will do very nicely.” She laughed as the waves battered the men with a violent verve.

“Ursula, no! You’re going to kill them!” screamed Tulip.

“What do you care for these fools?” asked Ursula, her laugh booming.

“Not a jot!” said Tulip. “But I don’t want to see them die!”

“Then close your eyes, dear!” said Ursula, laughing again, this time allowing her voice to echo throughout the lands, as was customary. She wanted no creature, no human or witch, to mistake who and where the power was coming from. Her voice was so piercing a flock of crows scattered from the nearby trees, screeching into the mists beyond.

“Damned birds!” she hissed as she toyed with the waves, making the men’s bodies smash even harder against the castle walls. They were screaming in pain, bloodied and bruised, and begging the sea witch to stop their torment.

Pflanze looked on from her hiding place. Luckily for the cat, the king had an unusually large head (which, thankfully, Tulip had not inherited). As a result Ursula could not see Pflanze squinting at her from behind the king’s bust. Pflanze didn’t much care what happened to the men outside, but she was wondering what Ursula was up to.

“There! That will do!” Ursula said as she calmed the waves, leaving the badly injured men scattered on the castle grounds.

“Oh, yes, there’s just one more thing. What, may I ask, do you want with dear Circe?”

“It’s none of your concern, Ursula,” said Nanny, looking at the sea witch with suspicion.

“Oh, isn’t it? What was your name again? Granny, was it? Well, it so happens I am helping Circe’s sisters to find her, Granny.”

“And we might have found her if you hadn’t shown. I think—”

No, Nanny, no!
Nanny looked about the room, trying to find Pflanze, whose voice was whispering in her head.

“You think what?” asked Ursula with narrowed eyes.

Say nothing, flatter her, and make her leave. I don’t think she can be trusted.

“I think we were very lucky you answered our summons. Thank you,” said Nanny, taking Pflanze’s advice.

“Yes, thank you, Ursula. We are again in your debt,” Tulip repeated.

“Yes, my dear, you are. Well, at least your father is. I’ll see to it those men no longer bother you, and please keep Granny here out of trouble. We can’t have addle-brained old witches doing half-remembered spells all over the seaside. It can be dangerous, for everyone concerned. And please, leave the search for Circe to me and her sisters. If we need the help of elderly witches and dimwits, we’ll be sure to let you know.”

As unceremoniously as she had arrived, Ursula departed, leaving Nanny and Pflanze to wonder what the sea witch was up to and how she had known they were trying to summon Circe. Clearly they had to be more careful if they were going to reach out to Circe again.

P
flanze watched as Nanny took control of the situation. “Tulip, please see your mother to her room.” Tulip began to protest. She wanted to ask what Nanny had done to her mother and what was going on, but Nanny didn’t have time for explanations, not then. “Tulip, please just do what I say. Do you trust your nanny?” Tulip nodded, knowing there must be a good reason for Nanny’s serious behavior. “Then take your mother to her room and stay with her until she wakes.” Tulip took her groggy mother up to her room while Nanny rang for Hudson, the head butler of Morningstar Castle.

“You rang, Nanny?” Hudson asked as he entered the room.

“Yes, Hudson, please see that Tulip is served her afternoon tea in her mother’s room, and ask all the maids, upstairs and down, to gather as many candles as they can carry and bring them here to me.”

It wasn’t Hudson’s place to question Nanny, but he was clearly puzzled. “Shall I ask the footmen to assist, mum?”

Nanny hadn’t thought of them. “Yes, I need to infuse this room with as much light as possible, and I need to do it quickly, so please—”

“Of course, mum. I will take care of this right away.” Hudson wasn’t in the habit of interrupting his seniors, but he could tell whatever was the matter, it was important—important enough to panic Nanny. He hurried off to complete his tasks.