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Part 23

Posted on Sunday, 13 December 1998

Now, it should be apparent without my telling that Castle Rahonain is not an ordinary castle. Although kings and queens have before now built the seats of their governments in middle of arctic plains or surrounded by desert wastelands, how many are built on islands behind the setting sun? Its very inaccessibility should tell you something about its ruler.

As you have already learned from Sorcerer Steadfast, that ruler is Queen Scornful. However, what you have not yet learned (for the simple reason that I have not told you, since a good storyteller can't spill all of her secrets at once, or else why would you still be reading?) is that she was not always called Queen Scornful, and she did not always live at Castle Rahonain. When she was a young girl, and not yet a queen, she had the grand name of Princess Honoria Belgravia, and she was a sweet, pretty little child. Her parents ruled their kingdom wisely and well, and they were much beloved by their subjects.

One fateful day, however, the princess's mother fell ill, and from this sickness she did not recover. On her deathbed she begged her husband to take good care of the princess, who would now be deprived of her mother's care. The king tearfully agreed, and very soon afterwards the queen died. The funeral was a grand affair indeed, with hundreds of people following the coffin to its resting place in the royal vault, weeping and wailing all the while.

Aha! I can hear you say. Obviously the king married again, and it was the ill treatment the princess received from her step-mother which caused the change in her personality. But no, that is not what happened.

The king never remarried, for he felt he would never be able to find another woman who compared to his late wife in beauty, sweetness, or kindness. Instead he lavished all of his affection on the princess, ensuring that she wanted for nothing. However, as with other princesses who have wanted for nothing, Princess Honoria Belgravia soon wanted everything - and she usually got it, for the king gave her whatever she desired. In short, she was spoiled rotten.

So the years passed, and the princess grew from a sweet, pretty little child to a beautiful (and occasionally temperamental) young woman. When she was old enough, she began to take over the state duties which her mother had formerly performed. It was perhaps a heavy responsibility for one so young, but Princess Honoria Belgravia glided through every royal event with grace and aplomb, and soon the citizens of the kingdom admired her nearly as much as they had admired her mother. (And they pretended not to listen to the tales her ladies-in-waiting sometimes told of the tantrums she threw if every detail of every state dinner wasn't carried out exactly the way she wanted.)

Aha! I can hear you say again. (In case you're wondering, storytellers have very good hearing.) At some point, the strain of these royal duties must have become too much for her, and she fled to Castle Rahonain to escape them, bitter that her father had not allowed her to have a carefree youth. But no, that is not what happened either.

The trouble began when Princess Honoria Belgravia reached an age when her father started to think it was time for her to marry. After all, he wasn't getting any younger, and although the princess was performing her royal duties very well, sooner or later the kingdom would need a king. The princess had no objection to marriage, but she wasn't about to marry just anyone. Years of her father's indulgence had given her an exceptionally high opinion of herself, and she felt she could only wed a comparably exceptional man. Her husband would have to be of royal blood, and handsome, and intelligent, and witty, and strong, and brave, and daring, and know how to dance a gavotte, as well.

In the usual manner of kings who want to have their daughters married, Princess Honoria Belgravia's father decided to send a portrait of his daughter to every country in the world, hoping that all sorts of princes would fall down senseless with love and admiration when it was unveiled before them and that they would then ride with all speed to beg for her hand in marriage. He commissioned the best artist in the kingdom to paint the portrait - and he carefully instructed the artist to emphasize the perfection of her dark hair, alabaster skin, ruby lips, and tall and slender form, but to give no hint of her petulant and argumentative manners. And while she was posing for this portrait, standing for hours on end while arrayed in her most dazzling robes, the princess pondered a most serious question. How was she to know which of her suitors, of whom there were bound to be many, was the most perfect, most charming, most heroic - and therefore possibly worthy for her to deign to marry him?

At last she found a solution. When Princess Honoria Belgravia was still a sweet, pretty little child, her nurse (who doted on her even more than her father did) had entertained her every night with stories of princesses who were won by princes who performed all sorts of impossible tasks. She remembered these stories and decided that she would only marry the kind of prince who would tackle a giant, or fight an army of seven-headed trolls, or out-riddle a Sphinx, or claw his way up a glass mountain.

Convincing her father that her suitors ought to face some kind of challenge was the easiest thing in the world. The king loved his daughter dearly (and ignored her faults of temper, for she always behaved sweetly to him), so he said she was welcome to do whatever she felt was necessary to make a good choice of husband.

So, the portraits were sent out, and soon hundreds of princes began to arrive; and when word began to circulate of the impossible tasks they had to face, their numbers swelled rather than otherwise. How could they resist the opportunity to prove what fine, gallant fellows they were by fetching some unfetchable object from the ends of the earth, or answering some unanswerable question? If they were awarded the princess in marriage as a result, so much the better.

The challenges started rather easily: the first few princes had to do nothing more difficult than collect pots of lentils which had been scattered in the ashes of the castle's large fireplaces, or ponder why exactly a raven was like a writing-desk. However, as time went by, the princess - who was extremely clever, despite being spoiled - began to consider the creation of the challenges as a kind of game, and the tasks became harder and harder. Soon she thought nothing of dispatching a prince to the end of the world in a leaky rowboat to gather a leaf from the Tree of Joy, or making another battle his way through a subterranean labyrinth full of giant poison-spitting spiders. (Some say that it was this impossible task which gave Prince Humperdinck of Florin the idea for his Zoo of Death, but I for one think it's just a rumor.)

Now, all during this time, there were a few brave, noble, and wise men who overcame her obstacles and unraveled her conundrums, but when they marched into the throne room to prove their success and demand their reward, she would simply find some other impossible thing for them to do. Some of them would then depart the castle in disgust and return to their own kingdoms, where they promptly married their childhood sweethearts, who were kind, sensible princesses who demanded nothing more impossible than that their husbands be home in time for dinner; but others wearily bowed their heads and went off to perform this new task.

And of this latter group, there was one who refused to submit to weariness, and who did not bow his head. This stalwart determined fellow was known as the Prince of the Golden Isles. He had been charmed by the beautiful image of Princess Honoria Belgravia which had arrived one day at his father's castle, but he had also heard all the stories about how spoiled and overindulged she was. However, he firmly believed that a loving husband could correct her faults, and the reward of the kind of wife she would then make meant more to him than her beauty, her dowry, or her kingdom.

In her heart, Princess Honoria Belgravia admired the Prince of the Golden Isles more than any of her other suitors, but she was not about to admit it. Out of some perverse sense of fairness, she made him undergo just as many challenges as her other suitors; and just so she couldn't be accused of favoritism, his challenges were even more difficult than what the others faced.

While the Prince of the Golden Isles was working on his fifth challenge (which was to drain a nearby lake using nothing more than a teaspoon with a hole in it), the princess's father became ill. After he had drained the lake, he returned to the castle to offer the services of his personal physician and ask if the princess would marry him yet. Princess Honoria Belgravia would not - and she gave him another task to perform. He bowed, laid the broken teaspoon at her feet, and went away to begin it.

While the prince was working on his sixth challenge (which was to excavate a thousand tons of diamonds out of a nearby mine, using nothing more than an embroidery needle), the king died. When he had collected all of the diamonds (and cut and polished and faceted them, just for good measure), he returned to the castle to express his sympathy for her loss and ask if the princess would marry him yet. Princess Honoria Belgravia would not - and she gave him another task to perform. He bowed, laid the broken needle at her feet, and went away to begin it.

While the prince was working on his seventh challenge (which was to pluck a golden feather from the tail of the Great Roc, which is only seen in Persia once every thousand years, and which had killed every man who had come within a hundred yards of it), the princess's kingdom completed its period of mourning for the king, and began to prepare for the princess's coronation as queen.

This time, the Prince of the Golden Isles - dirty, bruised, and bleeding, but as handsome and proud as ever - completed his task and returned right in the middle of the coronation ceremony. In fact, he came through the great doors of the throne room just as the archbishop placed the royal crown on Princess Honoria Belgravia's head. In the complete silence that struck the room when he entered, the Prince of the Golden Isles marched straight up to the throne and flung the roc's feather at her feet.

The queen - for so we must call her now - was overjoyed to see him, and in fact she had been terribly worried about him all during his absence. She had firmly made up her mind that if he returned, whether or not he completed the challenge, she would accept him as her husband. And she was just about to step off the dais and embrace him when he spoke.

"Your Highness," he said, bowing, "there is the roc's feather which you commanded me to seek. I have come to tell you that this is the last task I shall ever perform for you. For so many years I have given you the work of my strength, my thoughts, my body, my mind, and my heart, and each time I returned, you spurned me, scorned me, and sent me away. I now claim the victor's right to choose an impossible task for your Highness to perform: that you should learn to value others as highly as you value yourself. Farewell."

He bowed again before the throne, turned, and walked away without a backward glance.

He left behind a scene of chaos. The queen fainted where she stood and had to be carried to her chambers, from which she did not emerge for several weeks. The lords and ministers who ran the kingdom during her illness immediately sent home every remaining prince who had hoped to win the queen's hand, and recalled those who were still in the midst of their challenges. The common people of the kingdom, many hundreds of whom had attended the coronation ceremony, did nothing but talk of the Prince of the Golden Isles, and they passed the story along to their friends who had not been present. Everyone was uniformly full of sympathy for the prince and outraged at the queen's callous behavior.

In fact, the story was repeated so often, and the prince's description of how the queen had treated him circulated so much, that it became the source of the queen's new title: Queen Scornful. The name stuck, unfortunately, and on the first day that Queen Honoria Belgravia was well enough to leave her chambers and go out among her people, that is how they greeted her. The poor woman was overcome all over again and had to return to the castle.

Things continued in this unhappy manner until the day when some dreadful news reached the queen: she learned that the Prince of the Golden Isles had married. Until that moment, she had always hoped that he might forgive her and return, and with that hope she had sent hundreds of letters and messengers to his kingdom, begging him to reconsider his opinion. However, every courier returned with his message unspoken, and every letter was returned with its seals intact.

So on that miserable day, the queen closeted herself with her ministers of state for many long hours. When they emerged, the rule of the kingdom had been passed to one of the queen's cousins, and the queen herself began preparations to leave the country, with such members of her court as would choose to accompany her. She chose Castle Rahonain as her destination simply because it was farther away than anything she could think of. No one ever dared to remind her that it had been the Prince of the Golden Isles, in the first impossible task he had undertaken, who had found both the castle and the key to its front gate.

So there she remained, from that day to this.

Part 24

Posted on Thursday, 17 December 1998

The looming towers of Castle Rahonain did not improve in appearance as Serenity approached. The massive blocks of granite which formed the walls were cold and uninviting, and frightful gargoyles leered from every available corner. That the inhabitants of the castle were not accustomed to offering hospitality became obvious during Serenity's brief exchange with the sour-faced guards who prevented her from entering. The main gate was not for the likes of her, they sneered; only when she refused to depart did they reluctantly direct her around to the servants' entrance at the back of the castle.

It was a long walk around the outer wall of the castle, so Serenity had ample time to compare her cold reception at Castle Rahonain with the warm welcome she and her sister had received at Castle Lochlein. If only she was back there now! She sorely missed Beauty, who must be very worried about her. However, she rallied herself with thoughts of Prince Cheerful, and walked on. At last she found the servants' door and knocked firmly. The large woman who opened the door at first looked intimidating, but she proved to be quite agreeable. Finally encountering some friendliness did much to improve Serenity's spirits. She had come to Castle Rahonain in search of work, Serenity said when asked (for such was the explanation she had decided to give for her arrival). Was there any occupation in the castle for which a humble maiden such as herself might be suited?

The large woman (who was a cook, and was as talkative as she was amiable) said that, as it happened, the head gardener had recently left. The fortunate man had somehow come into the possession of two magical laurel trees, which gave him whatever he asked for in return for his kind care of them - raking them with a golden rake, watering them with a golden bucket, and wiping them with a silken towel. Just imagine: all he had to do was recite a little rhyme to them, pluck the flower that appeared, and his wish was answered! According to the latest rumor in the castle, he had gone off into the world with his laurel trees and meant to win a princess for his bride.

Serenity took this as a good omen: if the former gardener felt he could win a princess, then surely one who was trying to free a prince could be the new gardener! She assured the cook that she often worked in her family's garden, which was so green and blooming that it was the envy of the countryside for miles around. (Serenity may be forgiven this small exaggeration - after all, she was taking no chances that she would be denied permission to enter the castle.)

The cook was delighted to hear that Serenity was willing to take the position, and seizing her by the hand, the good woman immediately led her inside. When they reached the garden, Serenity could see that it was a sad mess: weeds everywhere, the gravel paths in disarray, and most of the plants gone to seed. As soon as the cook showed her where she would sleep and where the servants of the castle took their meals, Serenity returned to the garden and began working. In no time at all she had everything set to rights. The cook and all of her scullions were soon exclaiming over the size and quality of the fruits and vegetables, and the housekeeper couldn't get enough fresh flowers.

One evening, after the servants had eaten their supper, Serenity asked her friend the cook about the Queen. The good woman (who had just finished scrubbing her pots and pans and was quite ready for a pot of tea and a fireside chat) made no objection to telling Serenity what she knew. She recounted everything we have learned about Queen Scornful already, until her arrival at Castle Rahonain, but from there her tale continued.

The court that established itself at Castle Rahonain was of course much smaller than that to which Queen Scornful had been accustomed in her homeland. None of the ministers, nobles, or ladies-in-waiting chose to exile themselves to this distant island. Even the posts of higher responsibility within the royal household had to be filled from lower in the servants' ranks: for instance, the current chamberlain had been nothing but an under-butler before the move. Still, running one castle was very much like running another, and the servants who accompanied the Queen on her journey had no trouble keeping themselves occupied in their new home.

The Queen herself was not so lucky. Without her normal round of royal occupations - hosting dinners for foreign dignitaries, distributing medals of valor among the military forces, and so on - time hung rather heavy on her hands. With nothing to distract the melancholy round of her thoughts, she had little to do other than brood over her loss of the Prince of the Golden Isles. Her depression was so great that a cloud of gloom seemed to envelop the entire castle. Her extraordinary bitterness lifted over time, but the servants were almost more worried and frightened about the nothingness that took its place. In the secluded corners of the servants' halls, it was whispered that the Queen's heart was frozen or dead within her breast, so cold and passionless had she become.

There were a few princes who refused to give up their courtship and who followed Queen Scornful to Castle Rahonain. In her vehement refusal of their proposals, the Queen truly lived up to her new name. Such harsh and scathing words had never been heard to pass her lips before! It was astonishing how quickly and pitilessly she was able to reduce these fine men to wraiths of their former selves. Every single one was bold and confident as he entered the throne room of Castle Rahonain, and every single one was pale and trembling as he departed. If Queen Scornful could not have the one man in the world whom she had ever loved, it was clear that she would have no one. She could not forgive herself for driving the Prince of the Golden Isles away, she could not forgive him for marrying another, and she could not forgive any of the other princes for their presumption that they might take his place in her heart.

One night there was a huge storm around the island, and when the weather cleared, an unconscious man was found on the beach. Scattered all about him were broken planks and spars, so it was assumed that he had been wrecked and driven ashore by the storm. The servants carried him to the castle, where he was carefully tended until he recovered from his misadventure.

After he had fully regained his strength, he thanked the Queen for her assistance, and in gratitude he performed the most marvelous entertainments in the banquet hall that evening. For you see, the man was a magician, and he amazed everyone in the castle with his feats of conjuring and illusion. The Queen was intrigued by the extent of the magician's accomplishments, and she watched him narrowly as he cast his spells. The idea that was to direct the new course of her life had formed that night, and she lost no time in carrying it out.

Before the magician took his leave of the assembly, regretfully saying he needed his rest if he was to begin his journey home in the morning, the Queen prettily begged him to drink a last cup of wine. The magician was no match for her smiles - he had magic, but she had years of practice dealing with her many suitors, and the unsuspecting fellow was half intoxicated simply by meeting her eyes. He bowed most gallantly as he accepted the cup, foolishly imagining that the Queen was smitten with him, and drained it to the dregs. The Queen even allowed him to kiss her hand before he departed; and the Queen was the only one who knew that the modest blush which stained her cheeks was far from genuine.

The wine was drugged, of course, and the magician was deep in slumber almost as soon as he undressed and staggered to his bed. Soon afterwards, the Queen stole into his chamber. Her close observation of the magician's tricks had convinced her that he possessed a magic ring; she had noticed it glinting on his hand as he formed the unnecessarily elaborate gestures meant to camouflage the source of his spells. It was the work of only a few moments to find the ring, which the magician had moved to a chain around his neck, the better to secure it while he slept. In only a few more moments, the ring was on the Queen's finger, and she wished the young magician hundreds and hundreds of leagues away. No doubt the poor man was very surprised and unhappy when he woke up.

The magic ring proved to be a great source of consolation and amusement for the Queen over the next few months. She was constantly testing and experimenting with it, trying to discover the extent of its power. Eventually, however, she became bored with it and sought a new entertainment. The ring had enough magic to transport her across the sea to several different countries, and in these places she stole more magical objects: a wand, a lamp, a necklace, and a carpet, among other things.

The servants were rather discomfited by their Queen's increasing interest in magic. On one hand, it could be very beneficial, if the Queen chose to conjure a sumptuous banquet out of the air, and then magically wash the plates afterwards. Magic of that kind saved them a great deal of work (although they all agreed that real food had more flavor). On the other hand, her whims could be downright dangerous: no one forgot the poor stableboy who sneezed at the wrong moment when the Queen - who was already irritated because she couldn't get her most recent acquisition, a magic mirror, to work properly - walked by. She had promptly turned him into a donkey, and although he had a large stall and fresh hay every day in the stable, he would be much happier when the Queen decided to let him be human again. Needless to say, the servants were always on their best behavior, whether in the Queen's presence or out of it - for who knew if she might be watching them through some magical means?

After a time, Queen Scornful had accumulated one of the world's greatest collections of magical books, scrolls, and objects. Word of its existence soon spread far and wide, and many daring or foolhardy (or both) men and women were soon coming to the island to try to steal some of these marvelous things for themselves. Some of them were the former owners of the items, who wanted to reclaim the objects that were rightfully theirs; others, however, simply wanted to try their hand at burglary.

Whether they came openly or with stealth, and whether they used honesty or guile, all of the would-be thieves failed in their attempts. The reason was simple: instead of amassing these strange and wonderful magical things in one location, they were scattered all over the island. And Queen Scornful had put her previous experience to good use, for the way to each object involved the completion of some impossible task, made all the more impossible because the Queen had used her magic to create it.

The tales of Queen Scornful's thoughtless cruelty disturbed Serenity, but she also felt some compassion. How lonely the Queen must be, abandoned by her prince and exiled from her home! Was there nothing other than magic that gave her any pleasure?

The cook answered that if there was, she did not know what it might be. Perhaps it was true that Queen Scornful no longer had a heart! She cautioned Serenity that she must always behave politely and respectfully to the Queen, so that she would not fall victim to any spells.

Of course she would be careful, Serenity replied, but how likely was it that a gardener would encounter her Highness? She was surprised to hear the cook say that the Queen had been accustomed to taking her daily exercise in the gardens, a habit suspended when they fell into such disrepair; however, now that Serenity had restored all of the plants and flowers, it was likely that the Queen would once again have her daily walks.

Serenity found this information very interesting, since a meeting with the Queen must help her in her quest for the three keys which would open the glass coffin. Of course, she couldn't simply come out and say that she wanted the keys; in that case, the Queen might do something to her even worse than what she had done to that poor stableboy. Perhaps she could bargain with the Queen, or offer her something in exchange? But what did a simple woodcutter's daughter have that might interest such a powerful Queen, who might have anything at all if she performed the correct spell?

Serenity spent many days wrestling with this problem, until at last she thought of the gifts she had received from her animal friends. "Surely," she said to herself, "they were meant to be used in just this kind of difficult situation!" At once she fetched the egg which the Eagle had given her, and seating herself in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden, she carefully broke it open.

Part 25

Posted on Saturday, 9 January 1999

The next morning, after she had finished pruning the ivy, planting the iris bulbs, watering the pansies, and cleaning the sundial, Serenity found a shady corner in which to rest. If her friend the cook had not been mistaken, it was nearing the hour at which Queen Scornful was accustomed to visit the gardens. Serenity was apprehensive about the method she had chosen to attract the Queen's attention, but once more thoughts of Prince Cheerful steadied her resolve.

Reaching into the pocket of her apron, she pulled out the object she had found inside the Eagle's egg: a golden comb. It was beautifully made and cunningly wrought, but there was more to it than its lovely appearance. For when Serenity unbound her hair and began to comb it out, with every stroke there came a delightful bell-like melody.

Queen Scornful heard this unusual music as she entered the garden, and curiosity about its source quickly displaced the small pleasure she received from seeing that the gardens were once again flowering and fruitful. The notes were tranquil and delicate, unlike the turmoil they inspired in the Queen. The music was clearly of a magical origin, and it was intolerable for the Queen to think that someone in the castle other than herself could be casting spells. With the carefully raked gravel of the formal garden paths crunching beneath her imperious stride, Queen Scornful began to look for the musician.

Expecting a fairy or at least a sorceress, Queen Scornful was surprised to find that the object of her search was her new gardener, who was braiding her long golden hair. Immediately the Queen demanded to know from whence the comb had come. Serenity, whose outward composure masked her increasing fear of the Queen's anger, curtseyed politely as she begged pardon if her music had offended. She explained that the comb had been a gift from a friend.

The Queen's nostrils narrowed in disapprobation, giving her pale face an even more intimidating look. "You obviously know nothing of its magical powers," she said. (Of course, Queen Scornful knew nothing about the comb's powers either, but she was determined to discover what she could once it was hers.) "Give it to me this instant."

Serenity took a deep breath and replied, "I am sorry, your Majesty, but I cannot." She fully expected to be struck dead for her presumption.

"You would do well to recall whom you are addressing," the Queen said coldly. "Do you dare refuse me?" Her eyes held a dangerous glint.

"I most humbly beg your Majesty's pardon," Serenity replied, her gaze fixed on the ground, "but my friend told me that it could never be given freely to another. If I am to part with it, your Majesty must give me something in exchange." The Eagle had told her no such thing, but Serenity fervently hoped that her evasion sounded reasonable - how else could she bargain for the keys to the glass coffin?

"You expect me to buy this paltry trinket?" Queen Scornful was incredulous.

"Oh no, your Majesty! I did not mean that it was for sale. I assure you, your Majesty, that I would be only too honored to give you this comb, were it not for my friend's dire warning of what would happen if I did not follow his instructions."

The Queen was intrigued in spite of herself. Although she was tempted to simply take the comb, she knew - from her hard-earned experience with other magical thefts - that many enchanted objects would not operate correctly if they were forcibly separated from their owners, and some would even bring horrible curses upon the person who had stolen them.

"Very well. Will you take this ring in exchange for the comb?" Queen Scornful held out her hand, the better to display the emerald she wore.

"If you please - no, your Majesty."

"You must realize that I am being more than generous with you. Will you take this necklace in exchange for the comb?" She lifted a hand to her throat, where rested a heavy golden chain supporting a large diamond pendant.

Serenity took another deep breath, afraid of the Queen's reaction to the refusal that must follow. "If you please - no, your Majesty."

"This is insufferable! Even my patience has limits, you impertinent chit!"

The Queen was about to decide either to storm out of the garden and let her vengeance brew until another day or to blast Serenity then and there, when a new and surprising thought struck her. This girl seemed ordinary enough, like any common garden wench, yet she had her own little store of magic. Anyone foolish enough to bring magic within the domain of Castle Rahonain could not have arrived there by accident - therefore, this girl must have some particular goal she wished to achieve.

Here was a more novel approach than had been tried by the other adventurers who came to her island kingdom with theft in mind. Certainly no one had ever dared to face her directly! But what could this girl want? Whatever the object was, it was probably secreted too well for her to be able to obtain it, but the Queen was now curious about what Serenity could want so badly. There was only one way to find out.

"There must be something in my kingdom which you might prize as highly as that comb. What do you wish to have in exchange?"

Serenity made every appearance of giving the matter some deep thought, not wishing to betray herself with haste. "You may have the comb, your Majesty, if you will give me the iron key which unlocks the glass coffin."

Her answer was somewhat unwelcome to Queen Scornful, for the keys to the glass coffin were one of her most recent acquisitions, and she had no intention of losing them again so soon. Could they hold some magic beyond what she had already found in them? Perhaps so, for she had collected many items that were more worthy of the risk this girl was taking. "Very well. If you will give me the comb, I will take you to where I keep the iron key."

Serenity heaved an inward sigh of relief and agreed. She handed the golden comb to the Queen, who then led her through a door in the garden wall. They walked for a long time, all across the island, on paths that were wide and straight, and on paths that were twisted and narrow. Just when it seemed that they were going to walk straight off the island into the sea, they stopped. There before them was an enormous tree, which extended so high above them that Serenity could not see its topmost branches. If its roots extended as far below the ground as its leaves extended above, then surely it was the anchor which held the island of Castle Rahonain in place behind the setting sun.

A small wicked smile had appeared on Queen Scornful's face as Serenity gazed in awe at the tree. She was confident that she would be able to keep both the key and the comb! "The key you seek is bound to the highest branch of this tree. It is yours if you can retrieve it. I will give you until sunset to reach the key, but after that time it will remain in my possession." And with that she turned and walked away, back towards the castle.

Though nearly despairing, Serenity made many attempts to climb the tree. There were no branches for her to grasp to pull herself upwards: the trunk rose smooth, straight, and unbroken for yards and yards above her head. The bark was too tough for her to scratch hand- or footholds in it, no matter how hard she tried. There was nothing nearby out of which she could have built a ladder, and even if she could have returned to the castle to fetch one, she doubted if any ladder could reach so high. However, she persevered, not caring if the rough bark scratched her skin or snagged her dress, until the sun was well advanced along its downward course in the sky. Then she was tired enough to voice her frustration.

"Oh, is there no one who can help me?"

No sooner had the last echo of her cry died away than she heard the sudden whoosh of feathered wings. It was the Eagle! Serenity greeted her friend joyfully as the Eagle dipped its wings in salute.

"When I was trapped in the hunter's snare, you saved my life. Now I will help you in return!"

And the Eagle flapped its broad wings and flew up and up into the sky. For a long while it was lost to Serenity's sight, and she was worried that it might have encountered some difficulty. However, just as the edge of the sun was touching the horizon, she saw a little speck high above, which grew gradually larger and larger as it descended. It was the Eagle, bearing the iron key in its beak!

The Eagle flew three times around Serenity's head in a triumphant circle and then settled to the ground, laying the key at her feet. Serenity thanked the bird profusely, and it graciously allowed her to caress the soft feathers on its head, but it insisted that no thanks were required.

"You saved my life, and I was happy to do something for you in return. Before I depart, I do beseech you to beware of Queen Scornful. She will congratulate you on your success, but in her heart she will be most displeased. If you win the remaining two keys, she will do her utmost to destroy you before you can leave this island."

Serenity promised to be careful and thanked the Eagle again for its assistance and its warning. She waved farewell as it leapt aloft and flew out of sight. Then with the iron key safely in her pocket, she began the long walk back to Castle Rahonain. She was already planning the encounter with Queen Scornful which must occur the next day, in order to discover where the silver key was hidden. Perhaps the seed pod she had received from the Ant would be of use! Serenity wondered what marvelous object she would find inside when she opened it.

Part 26

Posted on Saturday, 23 January 1999

Serenity followed a similar pattern the next morning: she dutifully completed all her chores in the garden (for she could never bear to do a job poorly, even if it was being done for a cold-hearted Queen who lived beyond the end of the world), before retreating to her quiet spot under the tree to examine the gift she had received from the Ant. She took the seed pod from the pocket of her apron and carefully broke it open, and there inside was an object even more exquisite than the golden comb: it was a little silver flute, which gleamed and glittered in the sunlight. At its end was tied a bunch of gaily colored ribbons which rustled in the slight morning breeze, charming the eye with flashes of scarlet, azure, emerald, and violet.

Serenity had never before played a flute, but somehow she knew that she would be able to play this one. She lifted it to her lips and soon the garden was filled with a merry cascading melody. And Serenity was not the only one in the garden who enjoyed the music, for soon a flock of songbirds had assembled on the branches of the trees and added their own voices to the song. A few particularly acrobatic birds even kept up their chirping and whistling while they were still aloft, dancing through the air as if the notes of music were another bird to chase.

This delightful pastoral scene was brought to an abrupt end by the arrival of Queen Scornful. The Queen was absolutely enraged to see such a joyful display - why, she had been certain that Serenity would be so miserable after failing to reach the iron key that the simple child would be hiding in a corner, weeping in despair at the very least! She did her best to hide her fury and inquired in an icy voice how Serenity had come to possess the silver flute.

Serenity stopped her playing at once and curtseyed before the Queen. "Like the golden comb, your Majesty, this flute was also a gift from a friend."

Queen Scornful's face was pale as she fought the urge to blast the girl into oblivion - she must resist the temptation until she possessed whatever magical items had been brought to her island. "I have warned you once already of the extent of my displeasure that anyone other than myself should practice magic within the dominions of Castle Rahonain. Give that flute to me this instant."

"Again, I most humbly beg your Majesty's pardon," Serenity replied, her gaze fixed on the ground, "but my friend told me that it could never be given freely to another. If I am to part with it, your Majesty must give me something in exchange." Since the Queen had accepted this condition for the comb, Serenity hoped she would also accept it for the flute.

The Queen's anger did not increase, since she had expected Serenity to say something of this sort, but neither did it diminish. "And like the comb, one may assume that you will not part with the flute for either love or money," the Queen said in a caustic tone of voice. "Therefore I will forbear to offer you any of my castle's treasures and simply ask: what do you wish to have in exchange?"

Serenity breathed a silent sigh of relief that her fortune had so far held. "You may have the flute, your Majesty, if you will give me the silver key which unlocks the glass coffin."

If the Queen had been harboring any remaining hopes that Serenity was unsuccessful in her attempt to win the iron key, this statement dispelled them. Her eyes flashed with a dangerous light, but again she managed to control herself. After all, there were still two keys left, in hiding places just as inaccessible as the first - and it might yet prove amusing to watch this girl exhaust her small skill and strength trying to discover them. "Very well. If you will give me the flute, I will take you to where I keep the silver key."

Serenity agreed - after all, she had chosen this course and had no alternative. She handed the silver flute to the Queen, who then led her through a different door in the garden wall than the one through which they had passed the previous day. They walked for a long time, all across the island, on paths that were wide and straight, and on paths that were twisted and narrow. Just when it seemed that they were going to walk straight off the island into the sea, they stopped. There before them was a wide field of grain, which stretched so far in all directions that Serenity could not see where it ended. The stalks of grain were full and golden, gleaming richly in the sunlight, and each stalk was nearly as tall as a well-grown man, so that not a glimpse of the ground beneath could be seen. Surely one season's harvest from this field would have fed the inhabitants of Serenity's village for a year!

A small wicked smile had appeared on Queen Scornful's face as Serenity gazed in awe at the field. The iron key might be lost to her, but she was confident that the others would not be. "The key you seek is hidden in the midst of this field. It is yours if you can retrieve it. I will give you until sunset to reach the key, but after that time it will remain in my possession." And with that she turned and walked away, back towards the castle.

The tall tree had been frightening enough, but this sea of grain was worse. Why, if she were even to walk among the slender waving plants, it would be only moments before she was too far away to see the edge, and then who knew if she would ever emerge again? However, if she did not make the attempt, then Prince Cheerful might sleep forever in his crystal prison. Faced with such a dilemma, Serenity could not help but voice her confusion.

"Oh, is there no one who can help me?"

No sooner had the last echo of her cry died away than she heard a quiet rustling among the grasses at her feet. The ground before her was covered in tiny black forms, and there at their front ranks was the Queen Ant! Serenity greeted her friend joyfully.

The Ant replied, "When you might have carelessly trampled our home, you took another path and spared our lives. Now I and my followers will help you in return!"

Then the ants turned their long procession and entered the field of grain. So great was their number that it took a long while for the last one to disappear among the golden plants, and for a longer while still they were out of sight and silent; any noise of their passage was masked by the breeze which made the entire field ripple like water. However, just as the edge of the sun was touching the horizon, she saw a little black speck coming out of the field, which was soon followed by another and another. Eventually all the ants were reassembled; last of all came the Queen Ant, and behind her six of her subjects came, bearing the silver key on their backs!

The Queen Ant and the six others approached Serenity and laid the key at her feet. Serenity thanked the ants profusely, and they waved their antennae at her by way of response, but the Queen Ant insisted that no thanks were required.

"You spared our lives, and we were happy to do something for you in return. Before I depart, I do beseech you to beware of Queen Scornful. She will congratulate you on your success, but now her fury will be even greater than it was after you found the iron key. If you win the remaining key, she will do her utmost to destroy you before you can leave this island."

Serenity promised to be careful and thanked the Ant again for its assistance and its warning. She waved farewell as the ants once again formed into ranks, as neat and precise as any army, and disappeared into the grass. Then with the silver key safely in her pocket, she began the long walk back to Castle Rahonain. She had two, and now there was only the golden key left to find! Her only remaining gift was the clamshell which she had received from the Fish, and it must surely contain something to aid her. Serenity wondered what marvelous object she would find inside when she opened it.

Unknown to Serenity, her efforts at the grain field and the timely assistance of the ants had not gone unobserved. In a high tower of the castle, Queen Scornful had watched everything through a magic telescope. When she saw the Queen Ant come out of the field with the silver key, Queen Scornful howled in frustration and hurled the telescope to the floor.

"So that is the way she succeeds! Well, I will ensure that the third key will never be hers - and if there is, by some miracle, another creature who will help her to get it, then I will know how to deal with her. That peasant girl will never leave Castle Rahonain alive."

Then she stalked across the room and took several heavy books from a high shelf. These volumes contained the most powerful spells she knew, and armed such strong magic Serenity would be no match for her. No magical creatures or magical objects would help her now!

However, as is the way of most large castles, no one is entirely safe from being overheard, even the Queen - there is always someone hidden behind a tapestry or in a secret passage. So engrossed was the Queen in brewing the revenge she meant to take upon Serenity that she never noticed the cook tiptoeing back down the hallway and away from the door which the Queen had carelessly left ajar.

Part 27

Posted on Wednesday, 3 February 1999

The day of Serenity's third challenge started much less auspiciously than the previous two. Queen Scornful was already waiting in the garden when she arrived, so Serenity was not allowed even the routine of her daily tasks to calm her nerves. The Queen's presence seemed to subdue everything around her - the colors of the flowers appeared less vibrant, the birds were silent, and the breezes did not dare to blow.

In this terrible stillness, the Queen's anger was nearly palpable. She longed to unleash her wrath on Serenity then and there, but she was constrained by the laws of magic, which decreed that Serenity must be permitted to offer her third trade and make her third attempt to win the third key of the glass coffin. (For as everyone who has even the slightest familiarity with tales like this one knows, everything magical happens in threes.) While she could not upset that delicate constraint, the Queen could do her best to hurry matters along, and that was why she was ready in the garden so early.

"Come here, girl," she commanded as soon as Serenity came in sight. "Give your last flimsy bauble to me, and I will take you to where the golden key lies hidden."

Of course Serenity had no choice but to comply with the Queen's demand. She made a brief curtsey, took the clamshell out of her apron pocket, and carefully pried apart the halves of the shell. What was inside the shell proved to be the most delightful object yet: a shining copper music box, made in the shape of an apple, so that the stem of the fruit was the key which wound it. And when it began to play, the two halves of the apple separated along a hidden hinge, the better to display the tiny mechanical figures within, who danced and capered in time to the melody.

In any other situation, Serenity would have been content to listen to and watch the music box all day, but the Queen was hardly so amused. She snatched the copper apple from Serenity's hand and brusquely said, "Follow me." Then she turned and walked at a rapid pace through a door in the garden wall, not even looking to see if Serenity was keeping up with her.

They walked for a long while, all across the island, on paths that were wide and straight and on paths that were twisted and narrow. And this time they did not stop until the Queen had led them onto the beach and up to the verge of the sea itself.

"There," the Queen said at last, sweeping her arm in a wide arc to indicate the unbroken expanse of water. "There is the hiding place of the golden key. I will give you until sunset to search for it, but after that time the key remains in my possession. Find it if you can.." Without another word, or even a glance to gauge Serenity's reaction, she turned away and began to walk back to the castle.

Overcoming this third obstacle certainly looked hopeless, but Serenity was not prepared to give in so easily. Had not her friends come to her aid in the other two challenges? Surely there would also be assistance for this final attempt! Serenity resolutely suppressed her fears and called out as she had before.

"Oh, is there no one who can help me?"

Her cry dissipated into the ocean like the foam that melted over the cresting waves. No more than a moment or two passed before a different sparkle showed beneath the sun-glinted water - it was the Fish, swimming rapidly towards the shore!

As it reached the shallows, the Fish lifted its head above the tide and called, "When I was stranded on the sands and in fear for my life, you showed great kindness in rescuing me. Now I will help you in return!"

The Fish leapt out of the water in a dazzling arc, and then plunged beneath the surface once more, to swim and search and call upon the many denizens of the deep until one was found who knew where Queen Scornful had hidden the golden key. Serenity was left on the beach with no company but the wind and the waves, although once a little sandpiper walked delicately by and stared at her curiously out of its shining black eyes.

While the Fish's friends were many, the sea was large almost beyond imagining, and to find a single golden key in its depths was not an easy undertaking. Serenity did her best to wait patiently as the hours passed, but she could not help feeling apprehensive when the edge of the sun touched the horizon. She was reassured, however, when a lone seagull flew overhead and called out, "Nearly found!"

She returned to her seat on a driftwood log, bleached as white as bone and as smooth as marble by its journey through the sea from some unknown distant land. Thoughts of Prince Cheerful and the warm look in his eyes as he accepted her humble rose occupied her, until she was woken from her reverie by the realization that half of the sun had now vanished under the world's edge. However, in the wide golden path that the sun painted on the water was a large black cormorant which flapped its heavy wings and croaked, "Nearly found!"

Even with the visits from these comforting messengers, time was growing short. Serenity could not bear to leave the water's edge now, so there she stood, alternately casting glances at the ruffled surface of the sea and at the sun, which seemed to be accelerating the pace of its disappearance.

Then, just as the final crescent of molten fire flared into the sky and was extinguished in the black waves, the exhausted Fish hurled itself up to the beach at Serenity's feet - and in its mouth it carried the golden key. Serenity dropped to her knees in the wet sand and ensured that the Fish was unharmed before she took up her prize. A few moments of rest were all the Fish required before it answered Serenity's abundant expressions of gratitude.

The Fish insisted that no thanks were required, saying, "You saved my life, and I was happy to do something for you in return. Before I depart, I do beseech you to beware of Queen Scornful. Now that you have all three of the keys, she will do her utmost to destroy you before you can leave this island. Your danger now is more than it has ever been since you first set foot within the realm of Castle Rahonain."

"What shall I do?" Serenity asked. "I have the keys, but I can make no use of them until I return to Castle Lochlein. I have no boat, nor anything which might carry me away from this place."

"You have the friends which your kind heart finds for you wherever you go," the Fish replied. "The Queen has not quite completed the spells required for her revenge, so it will be safe for you to return to Castle Rahonain. However, take care to leave the castle before first light! One last thing I am permitted to say: you may be sure to trust the first person whom you will meet in the morning." And having fully regained its strength, the Fish pushed itself back into deeper water and swam away.

Serenity waved farewell until she could no longer discern the glimmer of the Fish's scales from the light of the newly risen moon reflecting off the waves. Then she began the long walk back to the castle.

Meanwhile, from her high tower room at Castle Rahonain, Queen Scornful had watched all of Serenity's actions in a magic mirror. (The magic telescope, which she had thrown to the stone floor on the previous day, had been too damaged for any further use.) The Queen had seen the Fish appear and then disappear under the waves, and when it had returned again, this time carrying the golden key, she felt a fury the like of which she had not experienced since the Prince of the Golden Isles had left her. The first victim of her anger was the magic mirror, which was soon a heap of glass shards at her feet. The next would be Serenity.

The Captain of the Queen's guard was quickly summoned to the high tower chamber. The man was surprised that the Queen should have need of him, since there was ordinarily very little guarding of any kind required on an island as inaccessible as the island of Castle Rahonain was. Could there be a fleet of enemy ships approaching? Had an unfriendly army stormed the shores? The fellow was so busy pondering the possible threats that could be facing the castle that he never noticed the figure of the cook slipping quietly away down the corridor.

When he entered the tower room, the Captain saluted and then went down on one knee before his monarch. "How may I serve to you, your Majesty?"

His astonishment increased when he received his orders. Pursuing and capturing thieves and brigands was one thing, but to arrest that lovely young woman who worked in the garden? However, one look at the Queen silenced any objections he might have had - it was not his place to question his liege lady, especially when she was in such a dangerous mood. On the other hand, while he was obliged to carry out his orders and take the girl into custody before she tried to depart the next morning, that didn't mean that his mission had to be successful...

Part 28

Posted on Monday, February 22, 1999

The sky was still dark when Serenity awoke. She dressed quickly and took up her small bundle of possessions, in which the three precious keys were securely wrapped, but just as she was about to open the door of her small chamber she was startled to hear a quiet tap on the door from the opposite side. Pulling the door open a crack, she was surprised to see the cook standing in the hallway. "My friend, what are you doing here?" Serenity asked.

"You must leave at once!" the cook whispered. "The Queen is in a rage because you have succeeded in your quest, and she means to destroy you!"

"So I was warned, and I was just on my way," Serenity answered, "but how am I to get off this island? I have no boat, and she will trap me against the sea!" This was surely the danger which her animal friends had predicted, but without their gifts, Serenity knew not what to do. How was a simple woodcutter's daughter to elude Queen Scornful, who had great magical powers at her command?

The cook was surprisingly calm, despite knowing that the Queen would wish to punish her also, if she dared to help Serenity. "I have a plan," was all she said. "Be of good courage and follow me as quickly as you can."

The cook led them through the cramped servants' passages of the castle, and in a short time they were standing at the postern gate through which they might escape the walls. By signs and gestures - for they still dared not make a sound, for fear of discovery - the two women agreed that the cook should lead the way while Serenity would watch to see if they were pursued. Then they quietly opened the gate and ran as fast as they could along the path that led to the sea.

It happened that the Captain of the Guard, reluctantly following the Queen's orders, had posted his men all along the ramparts. One of these soldiers raised the alarm when he caught sight of the two fugitives running away from the castle. The Captain collected a squad of men and set off after them.

The sun was just rising as they began their flight, and the early rays showed no obstacles on the path, which stretched smooth and straight before them. However, the path to the sea had never seemed so long before! It might only have been their sense of danger all around which made it so, but it was equally possible that the Queen might have used her magic to change it. After running for as long as they could bear, Serenity and the cook were forced to stop for a brief rest.

As she looked back the way they had come, Serenity suddenly saw the glitter of sunlight on the weapons and armor of the soldiers who were following them. She immediately called the cook's attention to their presence. "They have been sent to capture us, surely!" Serenity cried. "What can we do to prevent them?"

The cook made no answer, but instead she reached into her apron pocket and produced a flask of water. Serenity was perplexed to think how a flask might defeat a dozen armed guards, but she remembered the Fish's advice and trusted the cook to know what she was doing. Just before the soldiers came completely into view, the cook emptied the contents of the flask onto the ground. In an instant, she was transformed into a wide flowing stream, and Serenity was changed into a swan swimming on its surface.

The soldiers stopped and milled about in confusion at the water's edge. Where had the two women gone? There was no sign of them on this side of the water, and with no bridge to be seen, how could they have crossed over? After some fruitless searching behind trees and under rocks, the Captain decided that they had simply - somehow - disappeared. At his orders, the squad re-formed and started to march back to Castle Rahonain. The Captain was very glad to think that Serenity and the cook had escaped, but he was not looking forward to telling the Queen about his failure.

When he made his report in the Queen's high tower room, her anger was just as great as he expected.

"Imbecile! Fool!" she shouted at him. "Is the capture of a simple cook and a gardening wench too difficult of a task for the Captain of my guards? Obviously if I want those women found, I'll have to do it myself. Get out of my sight!"

The Captain hastily obeyed, relieved to have escaped the interview with his life. As he walked back to his quarters, he resolved to start looking for a new position - hopefully in a castle ruled by a less volatile monarch. Or perhaps he ought to give up guarding entirely and seek his fortune elsewhere. After all, hadn't he recently heard the story of the former soldier who had won great riches and married a king's daughter, all through the use of a witch's tinderbox?

The cook and Serenity had regained their human forms as soon as the soldiers departed, and they were once more running along the path that led to the sea. They ran as hard as they could, but still it seemed that they were no closer to their goal. Perhaps instead of lengthening the path, the Queen had made the ocean disappear! Eventually they were once again forced to stop for a short rest.

This time, as Serenity looked back, she was greatly alarmed to see a howling dark cloud coming towards them from Castle Rahonain. At the center of the maelstrom was Queen Scornful, riding a horse so black that it had surely been conjured out of thunderclouds. At every stride, its hooves struck sparks from the ground, and every thrash of its tail threw lightning bolts. This fearsome steed was as fast as a stormy gale, and it seemed that it would overtake them in a matter of moments.

The cook did not seem at all distraught by this fearsome sight. At nearly the last moment, she produced a frying pan from under her apron, and threw it onto the path behind them. Then she pulled Serenity into a faster run, but not before Serenity managed to cast a glance over her shoulder to see what happened.

As soon as the frying pan struck the ground, it was transformed into an enormous hedge with thorns like iron spikes. The thunder-horse screamed in dismay when it ran against the hedge, for it could not break through. Even its lightning flashes seemed to catch in the thorny tangle. The Queen had no choice but to rein her mount to a halt while she searched for a way past the hedge.

Serenity and the cook ran on, though both felt they could not run another step. But then at last they came to the end of the path and there was the sea! It looked very friendly and inviting, with the sun shining on its gentle waves, but the shore was bare of anything that might carry them off the island. The cook, however, was well prepared. From her apron pocket she drew a walnut shell, which she tossed into the waves. No sooner had it touched the water than it changed into a sturdy little boat, as neatly fitted and provisioned as a boat could be. There were oars stowed along one side in case the wind failed, but its capacious canvas sail looked ready to catch any stray breeze. Satchels and casks of food and water promised that the travelers would not go hungry during the voyage. The little boat was not nearly grand enough to boast a figurehead, but an eye was painted on either side of the prow, that it might find its way through the waves more easily.

Serenity was delighted with the little boat and pulled her friend toward it. "Let us be off at once, before the Queen catches up to us once more!"

The cook, however, gently disengaged her hand from Serenity's and stepped back. "No, this boat is for you alone. She will take you safely where you need to go. I must stay here to stop Queen Scornful ."

"No, you must come or else you'll be killed! If you will stay then so will I, and we shall face her together," Serenity answered.

The cook smiled. "Your bravery does you credit, but now you must go. I assure you that I am quite capable of dealing with the Queen, and she cannot harm me. You and I will meet again, I promise."

With that she gave Serenity a gentle push towards the boat, and she would not be satisfied until Serenity was seated within. Between one wave and the next, the little boat slid off the sand, the wind filled its sail, and soon it was dancing away over the water. The cook waved farewell to her friend as long as the boat was in sight, and when it was gone she turned to face her adversary.

The Queen, unable to find a way around the thorny hedge, had discarded the thunder-horse, which quickly faded into nothingness like the clouds from which it had been created. If she could not go around the spiny wall, she must go over, and so the Queen transformed herself into a mighty vulture. Her eyes glowed like coals, her beak was as hard and sharp as an iron sword, and each black feather that covered her body was like an obsidian knife. She flapped her enormous wings, speeding through the air towards her prey.

The cook was unimpressed. "Oh, really," she said to herself, "isn't that a bit overly dramatic?"

She allowed the vulture to come close enough that she could hear the clacking of its beak and feel the rush of air from its wings. Just as it was about to stoop down upon her and attack, she waved her right hand - and the Queen tumbled into an ungainly heap at her feet.

This was not at all the sort of treatment to which the Queen was accustomed, and she screamed in frustration as she pulled herself upright. "How dare you oppose me! Why, you insignificant scullion, I will blast you into atoms!" Her rage and pain had twisted every remnant of beauty out of the Queen's features, leaving her true nature plain for all to see. She raised her arm to gather her magic spell - but when she tried to throw it at the cook, nothing happened!

Queen Scornful tried again - even if her previous conjurations had tired her, she still ought to have enough magic at her command to make the cook wish she had never been born! Perhaps just a small spell, to turn her into a toad for a few centuries - but again, nothing happened.

"What have you done to me?" the Queen cried, collapsing to the sand again.

"Your magic is gone, Queen Scornful," the cook calmly answered, "returned to its rightful owners. Their power was never yours to take, even though you may have had the skill and cunning to steal it. All learned magic demands a price from its practitioners, normally paid in the years of study required before one knows how to use it properly and for good cause. In your arrogance you thought you were above such things - but you will pay the price now."

Tears of humiliation were streaking down the Queen's cheeks. After priding herself upon her magic for so many years, what was she to do without it? Who was she without it? "Who are you that you have done this to me?"

"I am no one for you to trifle with," the cook said. She was briefly surrounded by a shimmer in the air, and when it passed, it was no longer the cook but the fairy Elegant who stood before the Queen. "You were given a chance to have love, but your own pride drove it away. Then you abandoned your responsibility to your kingdom and fled here, where you allowed your anger and jealousy to consume you. In your bitterness of spirit, you thought nothing of those who were kind and loyal enough to follow you into exile, but instead terrified them into submission as you acquired your ill-gotten magical powers."

The Queen was not able to make a reply, as Elegant's words forced her to re-live memories she thought - or hoped - she had forgotten.

"You began your life well, Queen Scornful, and you are being given a chance to reclaim that promising beginning. Your punishment is to remain here on this island - without your servants and courtiers, who have all been sent back to their homes - until you accept and learn all the lessons you ignored before, and take responsibility for the mistakes you made and the suffering you caused. Then, and only then, will you be allowed to return to the world."

The Queen nodded sadly - what else was there for her to do? - and started to slowly walk back towards the castle. And if she had happened to cast one last look back over her shoulder at the beach, she would have seen no one there.

Part 29

Posted on Sunday, 7 March 1999

Caprice was sulking. And cold. And wet. And hungry. And in a generally foul mood. Why couldn't her luck ever last? Her little robber band had been doing so well! Every heist she planned came off perfectly, and they always escaped with lots of loot and with no one any wiser about who had stolen the goods. But then Weasel and one of his buddies had gotten too cocky and had tried a theft on their own - as if they hadn't learned by now that Caprice was the only one of the bunch with any brains!

It wasn't just any common theft that Weasel and his pal Ferret had messed up - oh no, they had wanted to bolster their reputations with something big! Not content with stopping that ugly old woman and taking her purse, they decided to climb up that big tower she was always visiting to see if there was any treasure hidden inside. Getting into the tower hadn't been easy, since it was surrounded by enormous prickly bushes that had grown and tangled together into a solid wall, and since it apparently had no door. However, a good thief is prepared for any eventuality, so some rope and a grappling hook out of Ferret's rucksack soon solved the problem. Straight up the wall they went!

Once they got inside the tower, they were initially disappointed that they could find no huge heaps of gold or gemstones to pillage. However, the presence of a terrified young girl - helpless, alone, with astonishingly long hair, and for some reason surprised that it wasn't a prince who had climbed through her window - had at least promised some amusement for them. However, just as Weasel grabbed the girl, who should appear in the window but the ugly old woman!

No, it wasn't any harmless village granny that the two idiots had stumbled into. She was a witch through and through, and it turned out that the girl was her daughter. Needless to say, the old woman didn't take too kindly to the idea that Weasel was getting so brazenly familiar with the girl, or to the notion that they were trespassing on the witch's property. Before the stupid fellow even had time to draw his dagger, the witch had changed Weasel into a rabbit, which could only quiver fearfully in the middle of the floor.

Ferret didn't wait to see any more. He hurled himself out the window and frantically grabbed the rope that they had used to climb up. He slid down as quick as he could, but the witch was faster. She managed to cut through the rope just before Ferret got down to the ground, and he fell painfully into the thornbushes. He emerged rather thoroughly scratched, torn, and bruised, but he somehow managed to stumble back to the thieves' camp. There he told Caprice what had happened, which is how she learned the story.

In no time flat, she had the whole gang (or what was left of it) packed up and fleeing northward, each of them fervently hoping that the witch would be satisfied with turning Weasel into a rabbit and that she wouldn't pursue the rest. By the time they finally felt safe, the lands around them had changed from being lush and green to being snowy and barren, the kind of place where no one is his right mind would ever go (unless, perhaps, he was trying to escape a witch's wrath).

So, Caprice was sulking. Here she was, stranded in the frozen tundra when she should certainly be living the high life with a prince of her own. (After all, if some long-haired chit of a girl who was walled into an inaccessible tower could manage to find a prince, why couldn't Caprice do the same?) What on earth had happened to her original plan of going to that lovely little seaside town? There she would have found handsome and rich men by the score, all of them swooning at her feet and vying with each other to carry out her smallest whim. And the beach would be warmer than this forsaken place, too!

She didn't know how she was going to manage it, but Caprice meant to ditch this sorry pack of rascals as soon as she could, and get back south, where her many charms and attractions would be appreciated - and where princes were more plentiful! In the meantime, her only amusements were practicing her knife-throwing skills (with all sorts of stumps and dead trees in the area, there was no lack of targets) and learning to ride the reindeer that one of the thieves managed to capture.

Then one day, as she was huddled miserably by the smoldering campfire, she heard the faint sound of horses and a carriage. Immediately she leapt to her feet and listened more carefully, to be sure of what she was really hearing - after dreaming so long that something would happen to help her escape from this situation, she might have been imagining things. The noise continued, however, and even became louder, so she mounted the reindeer and went to investigate. As she rode out of the camp, she gave her companions such a baleful glare that not one of them dared to accompany her. She dismounted when she reached the road (which in this part of the country was barely more than a rough track) and carefully crept up to a small rise, where she could see who was approaching without being seen herself.

It was a carriage all right, and though it was not a very big one, it boasted enough gilded ornaments for one twice its size. There were only two horses pulling it - hardly a respectable show, thought Caprice, in whose opinion any carriage that deserved to be called a carriage ought to have at least four horses - but on the other hand, only two horses would be easier to stop. At last! Here was someone worthy of being robbed! It looked like Caprice's luck was finally changing for the better.

As the carriage passed her hiding place, Caprice jumped out and grabbed the bridle of the nearest horse. The animal whinnied in surprise and was dragged to a halt as Caprice dug her heels into the snow and mud covering the ground. In a flash she had yanked open the carriage door and put her knife to the throat of the single occupant.

"P-p-please don't hurt me," said the nervous passenger.

Caprice stepped back a little, surprised to see that she had accosted a girl not much older than herself, dressed richly but without the spoken accents of royalty or nobility. Here was something interesting! She pulled the girl out of the carriage to land in a heap in the snow, and then demanded to know who she was and why she was traveling so far north all alone.

The girl needed no prompting to launch into her tale. Her name was Gerda, she said, and she was searching for her friend Kay, who had been carried off by a strange and beautiful woman wrapped in a white fur cloak and driving a silver sledge pulled by white horses with silver bells on their harness. Gerda went on to say that she had just come from a nearby palace, where the prince and princess had listened to her kindly and given her provisions, warm clothes, and the carriage for the rest of her journey.

Caprice raised a skeptical eyebrow. If this mystery woman was so beautiful, who was to say that this fellow Kay even wanted to be found? It was a pitiful case of unrequited love if Caprice had ever heard one, and this misguided girl was going to extraordinary lengths only to get her heart broken. She tried to explain this rational viewpoint to Gerda, who denied it with all her might. Kay had been tricked, she said, and he needed to be rescued! The woman had dragged Kay onto the seat beside her, no matter how he protested!

Caprice gave up - Gerda was obviously a romantic sentimental fool who had no idea of what treachery men could commit towards the women who loved them. Well, best to send her on her way then, but not before she had relieved Gerda of some of her "burdens": Caprice quickly commandeered the carriage, the horses, and even Gerda's clothes (she had been drooling over the ermine muff ever since she spotted it), forcing the girl to exchange dresses with her. She tossed Gerda a bag of food, told her to take care of the reindeer, gave her a quick warning about the thieves' camp, slammed the carriage door shut, and snapped the reins. The carriage horses started with a jolt, and Caprice was on her way south again. Finally!

She was so magnificently pleased with herself - and so busy admiring how well she looked in her new gown - that she never noticed the lithe red form of the Fox disappearing across the snow. And Caprice certainly did not hear what the Fox was saying under his breath as he ran:

Stubborn girl with a will made of steel,
Should you now mind your carriage's wheel?
If a bolt you don't cobble,
Won't the vehicle wobble?
And then what a bump you will feel!

Continued In Next Section