A Tale of Magic... (22 page)

“This just arrived for you, Madame,” Mrs. Vee said.

The envelope immediately caught Brystal’s attention because it was scaled like a reptile’s skin and sealed with wax the color of dried blood. Madame Weatherberry went pale the minute she noticed the envelope’s strange texture. She opened it with a butter knife and quickly unfolded the message written inside.

“The post delivers all the way out here?” Xanthous asked.

Tangerina rolled her eyes. “It’s not from the human post, it’s from the magic post,” she explained. “When you place your envelope in a magic mailbox, and close the lid behind it, the letter is instantly transported to the mailbox it’s addressed to.”

“It works with other small objects, too,” Skylene said, and slumped in her chair. “I’m still waiting for my gerbil to be sent back.”

“Wow,
instant mail
,” Xanthous said. “What a concept.”

While the others talked about the magic post, Brystal’s eyes never left Madame Weatherberry. She assumed the black envelope contained bad news because the fairy’s posture became stiff as she read it. Once she finished reading the note, Madame Weatherberry folded it and put it back into the envelope. Her eyes filled with concern and she stared off into space.

“Madame Weatherberry, is something wrong?” Brystal asked.

“Oh, not at all,” Madame Weatherberry said, but she didn’t elaborate further.

“Who wrote to you?” Brystal asked.

“Just an old friend,” she said. “Unfortunately, our mutual acquaintance has been battling a terrible illness, and my friend was writing to update me on her progress. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to write her back before we begin today’s lessons. I’ll meet you outside in just a few minutes.”

Madame Weatherberry held the black envelope by the corner and a burst of violet flames incinerated the message. The fairy excused herself from the dining table and headed to her office on the second floor. Although Madame Weatherberry had said there wasn’t a problem, Brystal knew their instructor wasn’t being honest with them. Madame Weatherberry left with the same intensity she had expressed after Brystal mentioned the Northern Kingdom the day before.

“I’m glad you asked her that,” Skylene told Brystal. “I’ve always wondered who sends Madame Weatherberry those letters, but I never wanted to pry.”

“You mean, they’re sent frequently?” Brystal asked.

“Almost every day,” Skylene said. “But if you ask me, I don’t think they’re actually updates on her sick friend.”

“What do you think they are?” Brystal asked.

Skylene grinned. “I think Madame Weatherberry has a
secret admirer
.”

Everyone around the dining table laughed at Skylene’s theory except for Brystal. She didn’t think Madame Weatherberry had an
admirer
, but the fairy definitely had a
secret
.

“The last time I had a secret admirer, dragons roamed the earth!
HA-HA!
” Mrs. Vee quipped. “Get it? Because I’m old.”

Even with an explanation, her young audience didn’t crack a smile.

“Sorry, if all my jokes were good I certainly wouldn’t have this job!
HA-HA!
”

The housekeeper cleared the dining table and stepped into the kitchen. Once she was gone, Emerelda turned to Tangerina and Skylene with a sharp look.

“Are
any
of her jokes good?” she asked.

Tangerina and Skylene slowly shook their heads in agony, like they had been victims of Mrs. Vee’s insufferable humor for too long.

“No…” Tangerina groaned. “Not a single one…”

After they finished breakfast, the children waited for Madame Weatherberry outside on the castle’s front steps. It was taking their instructor much longer to respond to the letter than she had estimated, and Brystal became even more suspicious.

Just when they were about to check on their teacher, the students and apprentices heard a peculiar noise coming from a distance. It was a compilation of horns, drums, and cymbals that played the same quirky tune over and over again. They all looked toward the edge of the property, and a colorful caravan emerged from the hedge barrier. It was bright blue with red wheels and a yellow roof. Instead of the caravan being pulled by horses, a man and a woman sitting in the driver’s seat propelled the contraption forward by moving pedals with their feet.

The strangers wore makeup and flamboyant clothing. The man had a mustache, a gold earring in his right ear, and a tall top hat with a large red feather. The woman wore a scarf over her head, several beaded necklaces, and a long flowing dress. As they pedaled toward the castle, the gears triggered instruments attached to the vehicle, and the repetitive tune was played. Identical signs on both sides of the caravan said:

“Hello there,” the man said, and tipped his top hat. “Is this Madame Weatherberry’s School for the Magically Inclined?”

“It’s just Madame Weatherberry’s Academy of Magic now,” Tangerina said.

“She decided less was more,” Skylene added.

“Oh, that’s terrific,” the woman said, and then called into the caravan behind her.
“Lucy, get your things! We’re here!”

The vehicle’s back door was aggressively kicked open and a girl about thirteen years old jumped down from inside. She was small and plump, her hair was short and curly, and she had a round rosy face. The girl wore a black bowler hat, an oversize black jumpsuit, big black boots, and a bottle-cap necklace. She carried a small suitcase made from a taxidermy porcupine, and a canteen made from a beaver skull was draped over her shoulder. The odd girl scowled at the majestic castle in front of her, like she was greatly underwhelmed by it.

“Well, this place is obnoxiously cheerful,” she said.

“Excuse me, but who are you?” Tangerina asked.

The girl turned to the students on the front steps. She glared at them with a raised eyebrow, like they were just as disappointing as the castle.

“The name’s Lucy,” she said. “You don’t recognize me?”

“Recognize you from what?” Skylene asked.

“I happen to be a famous tambourine player,” Lucy said, and pointed to the sign on the caravan. “Perhaps you’ve heard of my family’s band?”

“Wait a second,” Tangerina said with a patronizing laugh. “Your name is
Lucy Goose
?”

The young tambourine player turned bright red and sent Tangerina a scathing look.

“It’s pronounced
Goo-say
,” Lucy said. “But you would know that
if
you had any class. So why don’t you just shut your mouth and mind all that beeswax? Someone wearing honeycomb has no right to be that high-and-mighty.
Ever.
”

Brystal, Xanthous, and Emerelda laughed at Lucy’s remarks before they could stop themselves. Tangerina was agitated and her bumblebees buzzed aggressively.

“Don’t listen to her, Tangerina,”
Skylene whispered.
“She’s dressed like she just came from a funeral.”

“I’m sorry, did the
walking puddle
just insult my clothes?” Lucy asked. “I’ll have you know I won this hat after arm-wrestling a goblin! And I removed the caps on my necklace from bottles with my bare teeth! And then I drank them with a tribe of trolls! What’s the coolest thing you’ve done lately?
Evaporate?
”

The children were floored by Lucy’s comments. The girl’s parents shook their heads and sighed at their daughter’s rudeness.

“Please forgive Lucy, she’s just a little nervous,” Mrs. Goose said.
“Lucy, you promised us you were going to be nice! This is no way to make friends at your new school!”

“They started it,” Lucy mumbled.

“Hold on,” Tangerina exclaimed. “She’s
staying
here?”

Mr. and Mrs. Goose glanced at each other with uncertainty.

“Actually, that’s what we’re here to speak with Madame Weatherberry about,” Mr. Goose said. “Is she around?”

“She’s in her office on the second floor,” Brystal said. “I can take you there if you’d like.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” Mr. Goose said.

Brystal escorted the Goose family up the front steps of the castle. Lucy shot Tangerina one last dirty look before stepping inside.

“Don’t worry,
honeypot
,” she said. “Madame Weatherberry doesn’t want someone like
me
at her school. I’ll be out of your sticky hair before you know it.”

The Gooses followed Brystal into the entrance hall and up the floating stairs to the second floor. As they went, Lucy winced at everything she saw, like the castle was so ugly it hurt her eyes. Brystal knocked on Madame Weatherberry’s door and peeked inside. The fairy was pacing in front of her bubbling fireplace, obviously troubled by something.

“Madame Weatherberry?” Brystal said.

The fairy wasn’t expecting company and jumped at the sound of her name.

“Yes, Brystal?” she asked.

“There are people here to see you,” Brystal said. “They’ve brought their daughter to the castle hoping you’ll take her as a student.”

“Oh, really?” Madame Weatherberry was surprised to hear it. “Very well, please show them in.”

Brystal ushered the Gooses into the office and then left to give the family privacy as they talked with Madame Weatherberry. She figured the conversation would delay lessons even further, so Brystal headed to her bedroom to retrieve a book to pass the time.

As she searched her shelves, Brystal heard a peculiar murmur coming from somewhere nearby. She followed the sound like a dog following a scent and realized it was coming from behind the books on a bottom shelf. Brystal moved the books off the shelf and found a small hole in the wall behind them. Curious, Brystal peeked through the hole and discovered it peered directly into Madame Weatherberry’s office on the second floor below.

She saw that Mr. and Mrs. Goose were sitting across from Madame Weatherberry at her glass desk. Lucy wandered around the office and inspected the fairy’s belongings while the adults chatted, but the girl didn’t seem impressed by anything she found. Brystal didn’t want to snoop on the family’s conversation, but Mrs. Goose said something that instantly caught her attention.

“It all started with the ravens,” she said. “That’s when we knew Lucy was going to be
special
.”

“The ravens?” Madame Weatherberry asked. “Oh my.”

Mrs. Goose nodded. “While I was pregnant with Lucy, the birds started showing up outside our home. We figured they were passing by as they flew south for the winter, but even as the seasons changed, the ravens stayed. The larger Lucy grew in my womb, the more ravens flocked to our house. My husband did everything he could to get rid of them, but they never left. The night I went into labor, all the birds started screeching outside. It was deafening and maddening to listen to! But as soon as Lucy was born, all the ravens flew away. To this day we don’t know what they were doing there.”

Madame Weatherberry rubbed her chin as she listened to the story. Brystal could tell the fairy knew exactly what the birds were doing at their house, but she didn’t want to share that information just yet.

“How interesting,” Madame Weatherberry said. “I imagine even stranger phenomena began happening shortly after she was born.”

“Strange to say the least,” Mr. Goose said. “And it continued through her childhood. It was all very eerie but harmless for the most part. The button eyes on her stuffed animals turned into real eyes and watched us as we moved around the house. We had to put a cover over Lucy’s crib because she would levitate when she took naps. If we turned our back to her while she was taking a bath, we’d find the whole tub suddenly filled with frogs.”

“The instances were inconvenient but simple enough to handle back then,” Mrs. Goose said. “But lately, things have gotten completely out of hand. We’re traveling musicians and have performed all over the world, but there are places we can never return to because of the things Lucy has done.”

“Such as?” Madame Weatherberry asked.

“For instance, this one night we were performing at a pub in the Western Kingdom,” Mr. Goose recalled. “The crowd had a lot to drink and became rowdy. They started booing us and Lucy got upset. She shook her fist at them and all the alcohol turned into
dog urine
! People were gagging and vomiting all over the pub.”

“Another time, we were performing a private show for aristocrats in the Northern Kingdom,” Mrs. Goose recalled. “Lucy was in the middle of a tambourine solo when a duchess in the front row began to yawn. It hurt Lucy’s feelings and the duchess’s braids suddenly turned into snakes!”

“A few months ago, we were performing in a small theater in the Southern Kingdom,” Mr. Goose said. “At the end of the night, the owner of the theater refused to pay us. He claimed our instruments were out of tune and hurt the audience’s ears. As we drove off, the whole theater imploded behind us, as if it had been flattened by an earthquake! But all the buildings nearby stayed perfectly intact.”

“My word,” Madame Weatherberry said.

“For the record, I’m proud of that last one,” Lucy said. “That jerk had it coming.”

“Luckily, no one has suspected any of these things were Lucy’s fault,” Mrs. Goose said. “Nonetheless, our act is gaining a reputation for tragedy. We’re worried people are going to realize what Lucy is and try to hurt her.”

“That’s why we’ve brought her here,” Mr. Goose explained. “We love our Lucy more than anything, but we can’t take care of her anymore. It’s just too much for us.”

Brystal knew this must be heartbreaking for Lucy to hear. The girl stopped searching through Madame Weatherberry’s things and went very still. She turned and gazed at the bubbles in the fireplace, so the adults wouldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes.

“How did you learn about my academy?” Madame Weatherberry inquired.

“My brother is a minstrel for royalty in the Eastern Kingdom,” Mrs. Goose said. “He was hiding in the next room when you recently visited Queen Endustria. He heard you discussing plans for your academy of magic and how you asked the queen for permission to recruit students in her kingdom. He knows about our troubles with Lucy and wrote to us immediately to tell us about your school. We’ve spent the last three days in the In-Between looking for it.”

“I see,” Madame Weatherberry said. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Goose, forgive me, but I have to be very frank with you. My academy isn’t designed for students like your daughter. The gathering of macabre animals at her birth, the unsettling phenomena that occurred when she was younger, and the problems she’s been causing lately are not expressions of
magic
.”

Mr. and Mrs. Goose looked to each other and both let out a long, exasperated breath.

“We’re painfully aware of that, Madame Weatherberry,” Mr. Goose said. “There are two sides to the magical community, and it’s very clear which side our daughter belongs to. But we were hoping you might make an exception for Lucy?”

“Please, Madame Weatherberry,” Mrs. Goose pleaded. “She’s a good kid who needs a good home that understands her. My husband and I just can’t do it anymore. We’re desperate for someone to help us.”

The Gooses’ request wasn’t a simple matter. Madame Weatherberry went quiet and leaned back in her glass chair as she considered. Tears ran down Lucy’s round face after hearing her parents’ plea to get rid of her. Brystal’s heart ached as she watched Lucy wipe her tears away before anyone noticed them.

After a few moments of careful consideration, Madame Weatherberry got to her feet and approached Lucy. She leaned down to the girl with a kind smile and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It may be a challenge, but challenges are what life is all about,” Madame Weatherberry said. “I would love for you to join our academy, Lucy. I can’t promise I’ll always know
how
to assist you like I will the other students, but I promise I’ll always do my best.”

Lucy was shocked. Obviously, acceptance to Madame Weatherberry’s academy was the last thing she had expected—and the very last thing she wanted. Lucy’s parents, on the other hand, sighed with relief and embraced each other in celebration.

“Wait!”
Lucy exclaimed. “I can’t stay. I don’t belong here.”

“Lucy, this is a wonderful thing,” Mrs. Goose said. “Madame Weatherberry will provide a much better home for you than your father and I ever could.”

“But I don’t
want
to live at the academy!” Lucy professed. “I want to live with you! We’re not just a family, we’re
the Goose Troupe
! You can’t have a band without its star tambourine player!”

“Actually, your uncle is going to join us on the road,” Mr. Goose said. “He’s going to take over all your solos with his fiddle.”

“His
fiddle
?” She was outraged.

Lucy pulled her parents to the side of the office to have a private word, but Brystal was still perfectly in earshot.

“But, Mom? Dad? Today is my birthday,”
Lucy whispered to them.
“You can’t abandon me on my birthday!”

“This is for your own good, Lucy,” Mrs. Goose said. “One day you’ll understand.”

Mr. and Mrs. Goose kissed their daughter good-bye and profusely shook Mrs. Weatherberry’s hand. From her bedroom window, Brystal saw the couple return to their colorful caravan outside. They pedaled the vehicle into the distance and disappeared through the hedge barrier without a hint of remorse for leaving their daughter behind. Madame Weatherberry escorted Lucy to the third floor and Brystal peered into the corridor as they walked by. The castle had already created a new room for Lucy, and a sixth door had appeared next to Brystal’s bedroom.

“This will be your room, Lucy,” Madame Weatherberry said. “I hope you’ll be comfortable inside. The castle grows bedrooms based on the number of occupants, and the space is usually furnished for the specific needs of—”