Unlocking the Spell (3 page)

Annie had always been the more practical sister. In keeping their distance from their younger daughter, her parents had been sparing in their time and affection, so she'd learned how to do a lot of things herself. From a young age, she had spent long hours with the
children of servants and lesser nobles who didn't have much magic to lose. Spending time with them often meant watching their parents at work. She learned how to churn cream into butter, clean out a fireplace, examine a horse to see why it was lame, and make knots that would last for years. She knew how to take inventory of all the supplies in the kitchen, plan the provisions needed in case of a siege, interview new workers, fire the incompetent, be firm with tradesmen, and give orders that would be followed immediately. Although she couldn't dance as beautifully or sing as sweetly as a princess who been made talented through magic, Annie had mastered many skills that magically gifted princesses could never hope to possess. For someone as levelheaded as Annie, an expedition into the woods to find a nasty, magic-wielding dwarf wasn't at all intimidating.

By the time Annie reached the courtyard, Liam was already waiting for her with his satchel at his feet. Although Annie usually had a sunny disposition in the morning, she felt cross and out of sorts. “What's wrong?” he asked when he saw her expression. “You look like your dog died.”

“I don't have a dog,” she said, sounding surly. “And nothing's wrong. It's just that my father is making me do this.”

“I don't understand,” said Liam. “If you'd already decided to help Beldegard, why does it bother you so much that your father ordered you to go?”

Annie shrugged. “It's one thing if you plan to do something yourself, but it feels different if someone tells you to do it, especially if you already made up your mind about it. Hasn't that ever happened to you?”

“I suppose,” said Liam.

“It doesn't matter, though,” Annie told him. “I still have to go. At least I get to choose who goes with me,” she said, her expression brightening.

“Are you sure Beldegard and I will be enough? Your father offered to send as many soldiers and servants as you wanted. I know he and your mother aren't happy that you aren't taking any.”

Annie shook her head. “The three of us will be fine. Beldegard says that the dwarf is in the forest south of here. If we're lucky, finding him won't take long, but if we drag too many people with us we might scare him off.”

“And if we're unlucky?” said Liam.

“Then we'll need to go farther to find him. If that happens, we'll be able to move faster with fewer people.”

“Your sister wasn't nearly as upset as I thought she'd be when you said she couldn't go.”

“I know,” said Annie. “That's what has me worried. Either it means that she doesn't love Beldegard the way I thought she did, or she has something planned. I've
never known her to give up so easily when she really wants something.”

“Why didn't you want her along?”

“Because when Gwennie does anything, everything always has to be about her. If we're going to find the dwarf, we're not going to have time to cater to my sister. Besides, part of the reason I wanted to go was so I wouldn't have to hold Gwennie's and Beldegard's hands while they kissed. I'm sick and tired of it!”

“I didn't know it bothered you so much,” Beldegard said in his deep, scratchy voice as he padded across the cobblestones. “Sorry I'm late. I was just saying good-bye to Gwendolyn.”

Annie glanced from the bear prince to her sister, who was walking beside him with her hand on his head as if he were a big dog. “You're not going with us,” Annie told her.

“I just came to say good-bye again,” Gwendolyn replied. “Oh, Beldegard, I'm going to miss you,” she cried, throwing her arms around the bear prince's neck.

“I'm going now,” Annie announced, turning toward the drawbridge. “Anyone who wants to go with me who isn't named Gwendolyn had better hurry. Come on, Liam,” she said as she began to run.

“Slow down, this isn't a race,” Liam called, and sprinted after her. “Don't we need Beldegard to show us where to start looking?” he asked when he caught up.

“I wasn't about to wait around while they said
good-bye
again
,” said Annie. “Gwennie would want me to hold Beldegard's paw so she could kiss him. The way those two act we might not get started until noon. We'll head toward the forest. Beldegard will catch up with us sooner or later.”

They had just reached the forest when they heard the sound of thudding feet behind them. Annie turned and smiled when she saw the bear prince galloping across the open field, moving faster than most horses. Her smile faded when she spotted Gwendolyn on the parapet, waving a handkerchief in the air. “Oh, brother,” Annie said as she turned away.

“Where did you want to look first?” Liam asked the bear prince.

“Where I saw the dwarf last,” Beldegard said, sounding grim. “A few miles from the old widow's cottage. It's not far from where I first met you and Annie.”

“Then we have a long walk ahead of us today,” said Annie.

Liam glanced at Beldegard. “I still wish we could ride there. Are you sure horses couldn't go where we're headed?”

“I'm sure,” said the bear prince. “You'd have to abandon them when the going gets rough.”

“One other thing,” said Liam. “Before we go any farther, I just want to know if you're sure this particular dwarf was the one who changed you. I mean, couldn't it have been a fairy or a witch?”

Beldegard snorted and shook his head. “We were arguing when the dwarf raised his hand and said something about me being a bear. The next thing I knew, I was standing on four paws craving fish. That was enough proof for me.”

“Sounds convincing,” said Liam.

As they made their way through the forest, Annie was careful to keep her distance from Beldegard, not because he was a bear, but because she wanted him to stay that way. She knew that he found it difficult to walk when he began to change and his feet were neither bear paws nor human, so when Beldegard wasn't ranging ahead, she walked with Liam between them.

They were following the road through the trees when they passed a woodcutter and his wife heading into town. After that, they walked for hours without seeing anyone else. It was nearly lunchtime when they ran into an old woman sitting by herself on a large rock at a crossroad. She glanced at them, her gaze sliding over Annie, to Liam and the bear prince, then darted back to the princess, her eyes alight with excitement. “It's you!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, yuck,” Liam said as a snake slithered from between the old woman's lips.

The woman spit and wiped her mouth with the back
of her hand. “I was hoping you'd come this way again!” she told Annie. Her mouth widened and a frog crawled out to plop onto her lap. She brushed it off, then raised a crooked finger.

Frogs, snakes, and lizards poured from the old woman's mouth as she screamed at Annie. The writhing creatures half filling her mouth made her words sound garbled, but Annie could hear when magic was present and she could just make out the snippet of a raspy tune. Suddenly a bright light shot from the woman's finger, hit Annie, and bounced back, smacking the woman in the face so that she fell off the rock, sputtering.

When the old woman scrambled back onto the rock, her expression was exultant. “I did it!” she said, sounding gleeful, but even before the last word was out of her mouth, a frog tumbled onto the ground and a stream of pearls dribbled from her lips.

The old woman looked confused. “What was…?” she said, then clapped her hand over her mouth. Her fingers separated as a slow-moving lizard peeked out. The old woman's hand was shaking when she pulled the lizard from her mouth, flinging it into the forest. Rose petals fluttered from her lips to the ground. “That wasn't supposed to happen!” she cried, spewing a shower of pearls, tadpoles, and slimy green snakes. Looking horrified, she jumped to her feet and scurried down the path.

“What was that all about?” Liam asked.

“I think she wanted to replace the spell she tried to use on me the last time we met,” said Annie. “It looks as if she just added pearls and rose petals to the lizards, snakes, and frogs.”

Beldegard nudged a frog with his paw, sending it hopping into the woods. “I'd hate to have that spell aimed at me.”

“Right,” muttered Liam. “Because being a bear is so much better.”

“What did you say?” Beldegard asked him.

“I was just wondering how much farther we have to go,” Liam told him.

“We're about halfway there,” said the bear prince. “No more paths for us now. I'll lead the way.”

“Good,” Annie said as they began to walk. “Maybe we won't meet anyone else who recognizes me.”

They made good time with Beldegard in the lead. He knew the forest well and took them down deer trails and along streambeds. When underbrush blocked their way, he plowed through, making a trail of his own.

Traveling with him was faster than Annie's first trip south, so they came upon the witch's gingerbread cottage while it was still daylight. It didn't look at all the way she remembered it. The roof had collapsed and
rain had half dissolved the walls. Animals had nibbled the sections that were left and the ground around it was crisscrossed with paw prints of all sizes. None were larger than Beldegard's, however, and when he went close enough to peer through a gaping window, two wolves raised their heads and slunk away.

While Annie looked inside for signs of what might have happened to the old witch who had lived in the cottage, Liam examined the ground outside. It didn't take long to see that Granny Bentbone was gone, along with the magic that had held the cottage together. Annie was still wondering what had become of the old woman when Liam joined her.

“No dwarves have been here as far as I can tell. The only shoe prints are yours and mine,” he told her. “Hey, Beldegard, does your dwarf wear shoes?”

The bear prince shuffled closer. “Little shoes with pointy toes. They were made with leaf imprints on the bottom, so they were easy to track.”

“Nothing like that around here,” said Liam.

Beldegard whuffed and said, “I wasn't really expecting there would be. I usually found his tracks near water. There's a lake not far from here.”

It was dusk when once more they followed the bear prince through the woods. When Annie spotted a ring of mushrooms that might have been where she'd danced with the fairies, she walked faster, not wanting to see
them again. Only a few minutes later they reached the edge of the lake, but it was already too dark to look for footprints.

“We'll stay here for the night and start looking again first thing in the morning,” Beldegard announced.

“I don't think we should stay so close to the water,” Liam told him, casting a suspicious glance toward the lake. “There's no way of knowing what might come out of that water at night.”