Unlocking the Spell (21 page)

“Hey, at least I didn't eat her! I was starving and no one was going to give me food if I just went up and asked. When I saw Little Red carrying a basket of food I thought she could help me.”

“If you were so hungry, why didn't you chase down a rabbit or something?” asked Gwendolyn.

“You people don't listen very well. I told you, I don't know how to be a wolf. My body wants me to eat raw meat, but I still find it revolting. The dwarf turned me into a wolf just last week and I've been eating people food whenever I can.”

“If that's true, how did the dwarf turn you into a wolf?” asked Liam.

The wolf sighed. “I was in a tavern, minding my own business playing cards with my friends, when the dwarf insisted on joining us. We hadn't played more than a
few hands when he accused me of cheating. The next thing you know, I'm scratching fleas with my back foot and men with pitchforks are coming after me. Running away wasn't easy ‘cause I had no idea how to do it with four feet.”

“So you're saying you really were a human?” asked Gwendolyn.

“All my life, until the day I met that dwarf. My name is Yardley.”

“Wasn't that the name of Rose Red's boyfriend?” Annie said.

“You know Rosey?” said the wolf. “I felt bad for running off like I did, but I didn't want her to see me this way.”

Liam scowled at the wolf. “So you've come all the way from Treecrest. And you wanted to talk to the pigs because…”

“I wanted to know about the dwarf and no one else would talk to me! I would have talked to you after I heard you say you were looking for him, but it didn't seem like the right time with Little Red's uncle standing there with an ax in his hand. And then every time I tried to get close enough to have a conversation you chased me off,” the wolf said, giving Liam an accusing look. “Where is the bear, anyway? I thought you had all gone ahead when I saw his prints heading down the road.”

“He'll be back soon,” said Gwendolyn.

“Listen, if you're looking for that dwarf, maybe I should go with you. I can help track him, or hold him down while you make him undo his magic. I could gnaw on him some, too. I wouldn't like it,” the wolf said when he saw the horrified look on Annie's face, “but it might make him easier to convince.”

“Do you know what the dwarf smells like?” Liam asked.

“Not really. I didn't learn how to use my sniffer until I'd been running for a few days.”

“Then how can you track him?” asked Annie.

“I could… I mean maybe if I… I guess I couldn't, but then there are other things I could do. Like scare off that prince who's been following you. He sure seems to have it in for that bear friend of yours. All the prince talks about is what he's going to do with the bear's hide.”

“I guess Prince Maitland didn't give up,” said Liam. “Listen, Wolf. If you really want to help, why don't you distract the prince? I doubt you'd be able to scare him off, but it would help if you could keep him from following too closely. We don't need him coming after Beldegard when we're so near to finding the dwarf. Do you think you could do that?”

“And stay away from the little pigs,” said Annie. “They were humans once, too.”

“If it would help you get the dwarf, I'd distract a dozen princes,” the wolf said, giving them a lopsided grin.

“One will be enough,” said Annie. “The rest of the princes around here have a job to do.”

“Do you trust him?” Annie asked Liam as they left the pigs' cottage behind.

“Who, the wolf? I know his type. He'll help us as long as he thinks it benefits him. He wants Beldegard to convince the dwarf to undo his magic, so he probably will try to keep Prince Maitland away. As for the pigs—I'm not sure I believe that he's fighting his wolfly urges to kill for meat, so before we left I suggested that Curcio and his brothers stay inside for a while. He said he's going to block off half the chimney to keep intruders out.”

“Do you remember the directions he gave to the dwarves' cottage? They sounded fairly complicated.”

“No problem,” said Liam. “Go past the lake, then turn left at the fork in the road. Go right at the next fork, then left, then look for the cottage with the well-built chimney.”

“Sounds like this road has more forks than our old master's chest of silverware,” said the cat from atop the donkey's back. Neither Annie nor Gwendolyn wanted to ride that day, so the cat and the rooster were riding instead.

Beldegard grunted. “Unless I'm mistaken, we'll have crossed the border between Montrose and Helmswood before we reach the cottage.”

“Do you think Maitland will follow us across the border?” asked Gwendolyn.

“He will if he really wants to get rid of me,” Beldegard replied. “My brother isn't known for giving up easily.”

By the time they reached the last turn, the road was little more than a path winding between the towering trees. Annie was sure they'd found the right cottage when she saw the chimney that looked like a narrower version of the little pigs'.

An old woman pushing a cart was walking away as Annie and her companions approached the cottage. The woman's shoulders were shaking, but because Annie could see only her back, she couldn't tell if the woman was laughing or crying. For a moment, Annie heard a thin, high-pitched hum that she knew meant evil magic. Then the woman disappeared among the trees, Liam knocked on the door, and a lilting voice sang out, “Just a moment!” from inside the cottage.

When the door opened, instead of a dwarf, a lovely young girl with black hair and fair skin stood inside. “Oh!” she said, looking surprised when she saw them. “I thought the old woman had come back. We don't usually get so many visitors.”

The high-pitched hum was louder now and seemed to be coming from the girl. Suddenly her eyes looked frantic and she began to clutch at the ruby necklace around her throat. Her red lips were turning blue when Annie realized what was happening.

“She's choking!” Annie exclaimed, pushing Liam aside. “The necklace is strangling her!”

Even as she reached for it, Annie could see that the necklace was biting into the soft white flesh of the girl's neck. The girl was gasping for air when Annie grabbed hold of the necklace. The moment she touched it, the necklace stopped shrinking and relaxed until it was back to its original size. The hum stopped then as well, and didn't resume even after Annie had undone the clasp and tossed the necklace out the door into the forest.

“The old woman just sold that to me,” the girl said as she rubbed her neck. “She said that I should have it because the stones were the same color as my lips.”

“Are you all right now?” asked Gwendolyn.

“I think I should sit down,” said the girl as she took a seat on a bench just outside the door. She didn't seem to notice the bear prince as he slipped away into the
woods, but she smiled when Dog came over to be petted.

“Should we get someone for you?” asked Gwendolyn.

The girl shook her head. “No one's here except me. If you hadn't come along when you did… Oh, I forgot to thank you!” she said, blinking up at Annie. “That necklace was meant to kill me, I just know it!”

Liam frowned. “Why would anyone want to kill you?”

“Not just anyone; my stepmother. She must have found me somehow. My stepmother has always hated me, although I don't know why. She tried to have me killed when I was a little girl, but the huntsman who brought me into the forest let me go. I don't know if he was kind-hearted or if he just thought the wild animals would get me. I spent a night in the forest, then wandered around until I found this cottage. The dwarves who live here took me in and I've worked as their housekeeper ever since. My name is Snow White, by the way. The dwarves are always telling me not to talk to strangers, but I don't think you're strangers anymore, not after saving my life.”

“You aren't related to a girl named Rose Red, are you? She has a sister named Snow White,” said Gwendolyn.

Snow White shook her head. “I'm an only child.”

“It must have been a popular name to give baby girls back then,” Gwendolyn said, shrugging.

“I suppose,” said Snow White. “But I thought my
name was unique. My nursemaid told me that my mother wanted a daughter with hair as black as coal and skin as white as snow. I was always grateful that I wasn't named Coal.” Snow White gave them a little half smile, which faded away when she added, “My mother died when I was born. My father married my stepmother a few years later.” Seeing their sympathetic expressions, she quickly said, “Well, enough about me. Tell me, why are you here?”

“We're looking for someone,” said Liam. “A dwarf, actually. One who has lived somewhere else and would have just come home because of a family emergency.”

“Seven dwarves live here,” said Snow White. “They just fetched their brother home. Their grandfather is ailing and wanted to see them all together before he died. That's where they are now. I have no idea when they'll be back. It could be tonight, it could be next week.”

Annie sat down beside her. “My name is Annie and this is my sister, Gwendolyn, and my friend Liam. We've come a long way to talk to the dwarf who just came home. Do you mind if we wait until they get back?”

“I wish you would,” said Snow White, her eyes brightening as they met Annie's. “I'd enjoy your company. It isn't often that I have someone to talk to during the day, and I haven't talked to a girl close to my age in years. You and your sister can sleep in my room with me. It used to be the dwarves' parents' room. Your
friend can sleep upstairs until the dwarves get home.” She glanced shyly at Liam. “There are plenty of beds up there to choose from.”

“Thank you,” said Annie. “We'll be happy to help you in any way that we can while we're here.”

“Oh, you don't have to do that,” said Snow White. “Just having someone to talk to will be enough.”

Although Gwendolyn said she was too tired to help, Annie insisted on working alongside Snow White. Annie scrubbed the kitchen table while Snow White used long paddles to take bread out of the brick oven and Gwendolyn grudgingly arranged flowers in a vase for the table. While Snow White started a pot of stew for supper, Annie swept the floor and Gwendolyn folded napkins, grumbling. Snow White whistled while she worked, which Annie found annoying, so she ignored both girls and studied the house while she cleaned.

The first floor of the cottage was one large room with a staircase in the middle dividing it in half. On one side of the staircase stood the kitchen, most of which was filled with a long table and the benches that sat on either side. A brick oven was set into the wall next to the large fireplace, which was also used for cooking. Opposite the fireplace stood a dry sink and a cupboard stacked high with eight sets of dishes, a
basket filled with apples, another with onions, and a third stuffed with potatoes.

Large windows on either side of the room filled it with light, making it easy to see the carving that decorated every wooden surface. The legs of the table had been carved to look like tree trunks, the benches were covered with carved leaves and flowers, as were the cupboard and dry sink. The door and window frames, the beams on the ceiling, and the mantel above the fireplace had been decorated with the birds and animals of the forest, including unicorns, griffins, and dragons.

As Annie finished the kitchen floor and worked her way around to the other side of the staircase, she saw that this room had been decorated in a similar manner. Along with birds, animals, and plants, however, the artist had also included insects. Butterflies swarmed across the front of the fireplace, and dragonflies decorated the mantel, where flower candleholders rested. The carved faces of mice, chipmunks, and squirrels peeped between the vines growing over the backs of the eight chairs facing the fireplace. Although the carving had obviously been done by the same person, each chair was different from the others. Some had wide seats and thick cushions, some had thin cushions and deep seats, and one had a curved seat and no cushion at all.