The Enchantress Returns (29 page)

“Which horse should we take?” Alex asked.

“Um…
that one
,” Conner said and pointed to a large brown stallion in the very back of the stables.

“Why that one?” Alex asked.

“Because he’s the only one that doesn’t have bows in his mane,” Conner said.

“That’s Buckle,” a stable hand told the twins. “Are you sure you want that one? He can be a tad aggressive.”

Conner did a lap around the stable to make sure. “Positive,” he said. “All the other ones look like they belong in the doll aisle at a toy store.”

“Suit yourself,” the stable hand said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He threw a saddle with the largest silver buckles the twins had ever seen over the horse.

“Is that why you call him Buckle?” Alex asked.

“Partially,” the stable hand said. “You’ll see.”

A few minutes later Jack, Goldilocks, and the twins were
off. Jack and Goldilocks led the way on Porridge while Alex and Conner rode on Buckle a few yards behind them. It didn’t take long to figure out why the horse had been given his name—he bucked aggressively every few feet and neighed loudly as he did. Clearly, the silver buckles on the saddle were the only fasteners strong enough to keep the saddle on the horse.

“How do you turn this thing off?!”
Conner yelled, clutching the reins as hard as he could.

“I think I’m going to be sick!” Alex said. Her arms were wrapped around her brother’s ribs as tightly as possible without crushing them.

Goldilocks steered Porridge around to face Buckle.

“Porridge, tell the show-off to stop,” Goldilocks said to her horse. Porridge neighed disapprovingly at Buckle, and he stopped bucking immediately.

Porridge rolled her eyes at Buckle. Buckle snorted at Porridge almost flirtatiously. It made the twins a little uncomfortable—obviously there was a history with the horses, a history they weren’t interested in learning.

The twins followed Porridge out of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom and into a forest that rested along the Charming Kingdom and Fairy Kingdom border. Jack and Goldilocks were extra wary—the Enchantress had turned the entire world into the Dwarf Forests.

Before they knew it, nightfall was upon them, and they set up a small camp to the side of the path. Alex and Conner laid out some blankets on the ground to sleep on.

“This discomfort is almost comforting,” Conner said once
he stretched out on the hard ground. “I think I actually missed sleeping in strange forests.”

“Get used to it,” Alex told him. “We’ve got a lot of adventure ahead of us.”

“True,” Conner said. “But at least this time we’ll have friends.”

Unlike her brother, Alex couldn’t sleep. After tossing and turning, she got up and had a seat next to Goldilocks, who was sharpening her sword by a tiny campfire. She kept an eye out while the others slept.

“You’re not like any other woman I’ve ever met,” Alex told her.

“Why is that?” Goldilocks asked.

“You’re just so confident and self-sufficient,” Alex said. “So many girls—especially in my world—are so insecure and jealous. We rely so much on one another, but we’re so mean to each other at the same time. We could use more women like you to look up to.”

Goldilocks was sad to hear it. “I was all those things once,” she said. “But after being on the run I’ve learned a life spent creating enemies isn’t worth leading. Having allies is the best advantage in the world. Jealousy is just a reminder of the frustrations you have with yourself. Who has time to only concentrate on that?”

Alex smiled. “That’s powerful,” she said. “I wish the girls at school could hear that.”

“Bring a sword to school. Trust me—those girls will leave you alone,” Goldilocks said.

“Oh, I couldn’t do that,” Alex said. “Violence is frowned upon in my world. It’s not like it is here; it’s not
needed
.”

Goldilocks liked the sound of that. “Then find out what
your
sword is—find your own
advantage
—and wear it proudly. Beat those girls at their own game by seeming perfectly content in your own life,” she said. “Then again, I’m a wanted fugitive. I may not be the best person to give advice.”

Alex laughed. It was some of the best advice she had ever been given, even if it was by a crook.

Everyone was up by sunrise the following morning. To pass the time as they searched, Jack and Goldilocks told the twins all about their escapades over the last year on the lam.

“I knew Goldie could fight, but I had no idea what a warrior she was,” Jack said. “There I was in the Corner Kingdom, surrounded by twenty soldiers. I had just been caught stealing a loaf of bread from a bakery. I didn’t have my axe, a sword, or anything! I was helpless! Then, like a cannonball, Goldie and Porridge burst through the doors and Goldie fought off all of the soldiers single-handedly!”

“No way!” Conner said.

“He’s embellishing; there were only a dozen soldiers,” Goldilocks said with a modest shrug.

“Where did you learn to fight, Goldilocks?” Conner asked. “And could you teach me? I’ve always wanted to be a good swordsman.”

“When I was younger I realized no one was going to fight for me, so I picked up a sword and taught myself,” Goldilocks said. “I can show you a few tricks if you’d like.”

“Awesome!” Conner said. “I’ve got really good hand-eye coordination! I have the second highest score on Pac-Man at the arcade.”

Jack and Goldilocks had no idea if this was supposed to be impressive.

“Jack isn’t so bad himself, you know,” Goldilocks boasted. “Once he saved me from a trio of ogres! I was tied above a large boiling cauldron—they would have made a soup out of me if Jack hadn’t gotten there in time!”

Jack let out an indifferent laugh. “I only distracted them long enough for you to untie the knots,” he said. “She took care of them once she was free.”

“But it’s the thought that counts,” Goldilocks said and hugged his neck.

The Tradesman-bound group traveled up and down every path they found, looking everywhere for any sign of him.

“He should be in this area,” Jack said. “It’s where I found him as a kid. They call him the Traveling Tradesman, but he never goes far.”

“Wait a second,” Goldilocks said. She hopped off Porridge and scanned the dirt path. There were two sets of identical bird tracks on the ground that stretched a good distance behind and ahead of them.

“What kind of birds walk for this long?” Goldilocks asked.

Jack’s eyes lit up. The twins didn’t know what they were on to but knew they were making progress. Goldilocks remounted Porridge and their group charged down the path as fast as the horses could gallop, following the tracks into the forest ahead.

The group eventually discovered an old covered wagon parked to the side of the path. A small chimney poked out of the wagon’s roof. The wagon’s mule was resting and tied to a nearby tree.

“Look at the tracks!” Alex said and pointed to the ground. The bird tracks led right up to the back of the wagon. It had bird foot–shaped spurs around its wheels—the wagon was leaving bird prints as it traveled down the path! It was an incredibly clever way to cover one’s tracks.

“Tradesman?” Jack called out. “Is that you in there?”

All was silent at first. Then a hurried shuffle came from inside the wagon and it rocked from side to side. The top half of the wagon’s door burst open and the Traveling Tradesman peeked outside.

“Are you a friend or a foe?” the Tradesman asked. He was an elderly man with a long gray beard, tattered clothing, and a wandering eye. He had aged a bit since the last time the twins saw him, but he was just as kooky as ever.

“Friends!” Conner happily exclaimed. “Old friends, actually! Do you remember us?”

The Tradesman studied their faces.

“My boy, I remember every trade I have ever made,” the Tradesman said. “But my mind has grown weary in my old age, and the faces attached have been lost in my memory.”

Jack, Goldilocks, and the twins climbed down from their horses and walked closer so he could view them better.

“You helped us escape the Troll and Goblin Territory a year ago,” Alex said. “We met you in the dungeons and you
traded your freedom for ours. You told us about the Wishing Spell.”

The Tradesman stroked his beard, brushing crumbs off of it. He must have been in the middle of a meal.

“Ah yes,” he said with one squinted eye. “I do admit a small sprinkling of familiarity sweeping through me. I wish I had a memory of
you
,” he said to Goldilocks. “But
you—
I think I remember
you
,” he said to Jack.

“It’s been a long time since we were last face-to-face,” Jack said. “Perhaps you remember a lad you traded magic beans to in exchange for a cow?”

The Tradesman’s eyes and mouth grew wide with delight. “Well, I’ll be darned as a legless goat,” he said and clapped his hands together. “If it isn’t Jack, my favorite customer!”

Jack happily nodded up at him. “It’s me, old man!” he said. “It’s good to see you again!”

“Come on in, my boy!” the Tradesman said and opened the lower half of the wagon door. “I’ve just made some pheasant pudding!”

He disappeared in his wagon and the others took that as their cue to follow him inside.

The small wagon was very cramped. A bed was pushed in the back, a tiny table was in the center, and the interior was lined with cabinets and shelves and cages. Canteens, brooms, buckets, daggers, and more were displayed on the shelves and in the cabinets. The twins knew the objects most likely held some gimmicky value and were waiting to be traded. Geese, ducks, and pigs were locked in the cages—no doubt what the Tradesman had profited from his recent trades.

“Have a seat, have a seat,” the Tradesman said. Jack, Goldilocks, and the twins forced themselves around the table. The Tradesman handed them each a plate of his pheasant pudding (which was bits and pieces of unplucked birds floating in mysterious gravy) and a loaf of stale bread. The twins had to hold their noses so they didn’t become sick.

“So what brings you to my neck of the woods, old boy?” the Tradesman asked Jack with a pat on the back.

“We’ve been searching for you, actually,” Jack said.

“And to what do I owe the honor of being the subject of such a quest?” the Tradesman said.

Conner had to replay this sentence in his head before he understood what the Tradesman was asking. Jack cautiously looked to the others before confessing.

“I was wondering if you had any more magic beans?” he asked. “Like the ones you gave to me as a boy.”

The Tradesman’s good eye darted around the room. He was honestly surprised by the request.

“Why would you need
more
magic beans?” he asked. “Surely the first batch gave you enough adventure for a lifetime.”

“Indeed they did,” Jack said. “It’s not an adventure we’re after but a way back to the giant’s castle. The beanstalk has been removed and we are hoping to grow another one.”

The Tradesman’s good eye studied each of their faces. “But why would you need to revisit the giant’s castle at a time like this?” he asked.

The group looked across the table at one another. Alex decided they didn’t have time to beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

“Have you ever heard of the Wand of Wonderment?” Alex asked.

“The Wand of Wonderment?” the Tradesman asked.

Conner began explaining. “It’s a Wand that you build out of the six most prized possessions of the six most hated people in the world.”

The Tradesman raised a hand to silence him. “Young man, I’ve known what the Wand of Wonderment is for longer than you’ve been alive,” he said. “I just find it hard to comprehend why
that
would be at the top of your agenda, things being as they are.”

“That’s just the thing, Mr. Tradesman—if I may call you Mr. Tradesman,” Alex said. “We’re trying to build it so we can fix the way things are now. We’re trying to stop the Enchantress, and it’s the only way we know how.”

The wagon went silent. Everyone sat on edge, questioning Alex’s decision to blurt out the truth. Would spilling the beans get them closer to obtaining magical ones?

The Tradesman sat back in his chair and stroked his beard, gazing back and forth between Alex and Conner. “I remember you now,” he said softly. “I don’t recall the exact whereabouts or whenabouts, but I do remember the faces of two youngsters on an extraordinary quest. They were so ambitious in their pursuit, but they were completely selfless in their attempt—it wasn’t glory they were after but harmony, rather. I decided to help them because I knew our paths would cross again one day.”

The twins didn’t know what to say. His saving them had been such a kind gesture it still humbled them.

“I guess your intuition was right,” Conner said. “Only now we’re trying to save the world.”

The Tradesman observed them for only a moment more. He stood up and went to one of the cabinets. He dug through it for a while, pulling out strangely shaped plates and goblets and tools and gadgets before finally removing a small brown bag.

The Tradesman poured the contents of the little bag onto the table, and the twins found themselves staring down at three beans. They were round and wide like lima beans but were black and bounced livelily on the table.

“Magic beans!” Jack said excitedly. “You still have some!”

“They’re the last I have in my possession,” the Tradesman said. “They aren’t easy to come across, either. Magic beans have to be plucked from a plant that grows in ground fertilized by unicorn manure and watered with the tears of a witch. But they’re my gift to you.”

Everyone sat up in their seats. “Are you sure?” Goldilocks said. “We were prepared to pay you.”

She pulled a handful of diamonds from out of the side of her boot.

“Goldie, where did you get those?” Jack asked.

“I stole them from Red when she wasn’t looking—she won’t miss them,” Goldilocks said. “I was assuming we would have to make a trade of some kind.”

The Tradesman scooped the beans up, put them back into the bag, and handed it to Jack.

“Consider it my little contribution to the people brave enough to take on the evil Enchantress,” the Tradesman said.