Tangled Magick (17 page)

Poppy nodded and pulled the shift over her head, followed by the dress. The sleeves flowed over her hands, and the hem pooled around her feet. Mae pulled her wand out. “Mend and patch, cut and sew, shrink the clothes, no need to grow.”

The sleeves shortened, the hem rose, and the body tightened to fit Poppy just right.

“Thanks, Mae. It's all right, you can turn around now,” Poppy said to the men.

“Not that you don't look—amazing—in that dress, but I don't think it will keep you very warm. I know where our bags are,” Tory said. “We had to search just about every room in the castle to find you two. I'll be right back.”

“I'll come with you,” Bailey said, following Tory down the hall.

“Have you figured it out, Maewyn?” Mr. Whiteknoll asked.

Mae nodded. “Do you know where the troll queen is?” she asked the group.

“She's in the dungeon, locked up with the other creatures,” Thorain said.

“Thorain, can you bring her to me?” Mae said.

“For what?”

“She's not a troll, she really is a queen…well, a princess, actually. She was captured by the trolls in the Trillium War. We must—”

A roar went up from the crowd. “How do you know about that?” Horace yelled.

“Does it really matter
how
I know right now?” Mae asked. She scanned the faces of the hapennies. They were all smudged with dirt and streaked with the sweat of hard work. Dark circles painted their eyes, and their mouths were all turned down. Only Mr. Whiteknoll smiled at her. “Truth is, I know. And I think Huldfrejya is the princess that was taken away. But it wasn't just the trolls who took her away; it was the wizard Geindride too. He was in league with the trolls. And now he has some crazy plan to capture all the hapennies.”

Mae took a deep breath and continued. “Leif gave me an owl carving before we left. I transformed it into a real owl and sent her to the Wedge. I wasn't sure if she would be able to pass through the magick that borders the castle, but I think she did, and I think she found Leif and Aletta.”

“So it is Leif and Aletta that the wizard spotted?” Dale asked.

“It could be.” Mae nodded and wrung her hands. Half of her hoped it was, the other half feared it was.

“And whoever was stupid enough to follow them,” Horace grumbled.

“Or brave enough,” Thorain said. “I'll go get the queen… er, princess.”

“Thank you, Thorain,” Mae said, gesturing toward the hidden door by the hearth. “You can go this way, it's shorter.”

Thorain raised a bushy eyebrow. Mae smiled, closed her eyes, and thought of Huldfrejya. The hidden door groaned open.

“There is a flight of stairs that leads directly into the dungeon.” Poppy pointed to the hidden entrance.

Thorain shook his head and stalked toward the door. As the ring of his boots on the stone steps faded, Horace stepped forward. “What are the rest of us to do, Mae?”

“I need you to release all the magickal creatures,” Mae said.

“Even the gryphon?” Dale asked, his eyes wide.

“And the dragon?” Bilbey said.

“Even the gryphon and the dragon,” Mae said.

“And what can we do?” A feminine voice carried over the crowd.

T
he hapennies turned, startled by the voice behind them. Gilda and Folkvarus stood behind the hapennies with wide grins on their trollish faces.

“What are you doing here? Left behind by your master to keep an eye on us?” Horace crumpled his hand into a fist and dove at Mae's dad.

Cook Barley tackled him before he could reach his target. They rolled on the ground, uttering curses at each other, until Cook got the upper hand and pinned Horace's arms to the ground. “I might be younger than you, old man, but I know a bit more about what's going on here, so you'd better listen.”

Horace rolled his eyes and relaxed against the stone floor, out of breath. “Go on, then!” he puffed.

“This here's…Meadow Longthorn.” Barley pronounced
Longthorn
as though he was speaking to a toddler, all drawn out and exaggerated. Horace's eyes grew round as they traveled over to Gilda.

She smiled and wiggled her fingers at him.

“That can't be Meadow Longthorn…” Horace said. Then he raised his head and whispered in Cook's ear. “She's so… She's so…ugly.”

Gilda's eyes narrowed as she fisted her hand and drove it into the palm of her other hand. “Why Horace Not-So-Bright-Path, I oughtta pound you like—”

Horace's eyes lit up. “Meadow…it
is
you!”

Mae stepped in. “She's under a spell, Horace. Just like my dad.” Mae reached for his hand and curled her fingers around his. “It will wear off when we break the spell on the castle.”

Horace blushed and bucked Cook Barley off his chest. “Get off me, you stinky cabbage. I need to say a proper hello to my…well, she was my sweetheart a long time ago.”

Cook Barley rolled off him and laughed. He threw his arm around Mae's dad. “I never thought I'd see you again, Glenn.”

“Nor I you,” Glenn Bridgepost replied.

“So, the last expedition was captured by Huldfrejya too, I'm guessing,” Cook Barley said.

“That's right—and the wizard Geindride,” Meadow said, pushing Horace's arm off her shoulder.

“Oh boy!” the gargoyle interrupted. “It's gonna be a good show! Too bad I can't see it!”

Mae's ears perked up at the clamor coming from the stairwell.

“Quit prodding me, you hairy-eared mongrel. I'm climbing as fast as I can!” The princess' shrieks bounced off the stairwell walls and rang in their ears. The hapennies exchanged glances as Huldfrejya entered the chamber. Her face registered surprise and she looked back at the stairwell. “I didn't know this was here.”

As suddenly as the look of surprise had crossed her face, a sneer replaced it. “What am I doing here? Has Geindride promised you a kingdom and servants galore? A hapenny queen wouldn't last long in a room full of trolls.”

“Did he promise you the same thing, Princess?”

Huldfrejya's head snapped toward Mae.

“Now that I have your attention, I'm going to tell you what you are going to do,” Mae said.

“I don't take orders from no peapod like you,” the princess scoffed.

“We don't have time to argue with you,” Poppy yelled and pointed to the copper tub. “Get in!”

Huldfrejya wrapped her arms around herself and cowered toward the door leading to the dungeon stairs. Thorain crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. He was no taller than her elbow, but he looked frightening all the same. The other hapennies closed in around her, herding her toward the tub like a sheepdog herding a flock. The princess had no choice; she was cornered. She tried to make a break for it, pushing through the crowd. Meadow got a firm hand on her arm, Mae threw her arms around her waist, and Poppy wrapped her arms around her leg. Slowly the trio pulled and pushed the princess into the tub with a tremendous splash.

Huldfrejya and Mae rose from the water, spluttering and wiping their eyes. Poppy grabbed the soap and one of Huldfrejya's hands and started lathering it up. The princess yanked her arm away. Poppy pursed her lips and yanked it back.

“Why are we giving the princess a bath?” Meadow asked over the curses and splashing water.

Mae grabbed one of Huldfrejya's feet and rubbed the soap into all the cracks and crevices. “To break the spell!”

Meadow turned to Cook Barley and pointed to the mop bucket. “Get some more water from the kitchen. Horace, you go with him and grab some more soap. The rest of you, guard the doors until she calms down. If Maewyn thinks this will break the spell, we are getting the princess clean whether she likes it or not!”

Meadow rolled up her sleeves and went to work on Huldfrejya's face. The bucket dumped new water over the princess' head. Lots of curses flew about the room. While Poppy and Meadow worked on the rest of her, Mae clambered out of the tub and lathered the soap into Huldfrejya's hair. She'd never seen such a tangled mess. Not even when she'd woken up with her hair tied in knots before she'd learned to control her magick. There was only one way to start untangling this mess—at the bottom.

Mae pulled the comb through the ends of Huldfrejya's hair.

“You're hurting me!” the princess screamed and put her hand protectively on the back of her head.

Cook Barley returned with a large kettle of water. Mae nodded, and he dumped it over Huldfrejya's head. The princess removed her hand to wipe her eyes, and Mae pulled the comb through again.

“I'm going to feed you all to the trolls for this!” Huldfrejya screeched.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Meadow pushed her under the water. She grinned wickedly at Mae as Huldfrejya splashed and struggled and continued to screech until Meadow released her.

The princess rose from the water spluttering, and Meadow shrugged. “She needed a rinse.”

Mae smiled and continued to comb the princess' long locks. She was glad Meadow was on her side. Meadow wrestled for control of Huldfrejya's left hand and began to clean the dirt out from under her fingernails. Poppy found the scrub brush and began scrubbing at her toenails. Pink flesh was shining through the grimy soap bubbles.

“More clean water!” Mae called as Poppy pulled the plug on the tub. The nasty brown water sloshed down the grate as Horace bustled out of the room, the mop bucket clanging behind him. Mae continued working on the tangles in Huldfrejya's hair. She'd worked the comb halfway up her head. She was almost there.

Tory and Bailey entered the chamber looking like pack mules. They dropped the baggage just inside the door as Horace came rushing through with more water. He dumped it over the princess' head, and she screeched curses at him again.

“What's happening, Mae?” Poppy whispered. “Why isn't it working?”

What was different between Poppy and Huldfrejya? Mae bit her lip as water dripped from her clothes and onto the floor around her feet. She shivered as a cold breeze wafted through
the chamber. “We need to get these clothes off her. Get the men out of here.”

Poppy stood and wrung the water from her sleeves. She rounded up the men and hustled them out of the chamber.

“But what are we supposed to do? Just stand out here waiting?” Bailey asked as Poppy pushed him toward the door.

“Go see if the other men need help!” Mae yelled.

“Follow me,” Mae's dad said. “We can get the horses and wagons ready to move.”

Poppy shut the doors behind them. As Mae loosened the bodice strings and struggled to pull it off the princess, Huldfrejya wrapped her arms around herself and gripped it with all her strength.

Meadow pulled a kitchen knife from her apron pocket. The metal surface glinted in the firelight. “Let go or I'll cut it off you,” she said with a growl.

The princess burst into tears and loosened her arms. Mae breathed a sigh of relief and yanked the bodice off. Meadow and Poppy yanked at the overdress and shift as Huldfrejya quit struggling. She pulled her legs to her chest and laid her head on her knees as Mae finished combing her hair. Silent tears streamed down her face. The hapennies exchanged nervous glances.

The princess' dark chestnut strands turned almost silver as the last of the tangles were combed away. She looked old—too old. By Mae's reckoning, the princess should only be in her early thirties—too young for silver hair and the number of wrinkles that folded her skin. Poppy reached for the mop bucket full of warm water and gently poured it over the princess' hair, smoothing her tresses away from her face. A soft
clip-clop
sounded behind them. Meadow's hand went to her bosom as she gasped. The unicorn stood in the dungeon doorway.

The unicorn bowed, thrusting one leg in front of him and stretching his neck. Then he approached the tub. Poppy and Meadow moved away, giving him room. He plunged his horn into the water, and it began to glimmer. The frown lines faded from the princess' brow. Her ragged nails smoothed and began to shine. Her pupils shrank, revealing copper-brown irises. She was not the blossom of youth, but no longer ancient-looking, either. Her skin had softened, and despite the small wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and the freckles on her hands, she was beautiful. Huldfrejya reached out to the unicorn and began to smooth his mane with her fingers.

“Thank you. Thank you all,” she whispered.

Poppy's eyes grew wide. “You did it, Mae. You broke the spell.”

The unicorn removed his horn from the water and bleated.

“
We
broke the spell. I couldn't have done it without you two.” Mae smiled at the hapenny women. She patted the unicorn's back. “Or you.”

Mae straightened up and gestured to the princess. “Poppy, Meadow, meet the Princess Huldfrejya. She was kidnapped by Geindride and the trolls during the Trillium War and kept prisoner by a spell.”