Unlocking the Spell (5 page)

“Do you plan to stay the night?” Mother Hubbard asked Beldegard.

“We don't have time,” said Beldegard. “I came to ask
if you'd seen the dwarf I was hunting. You know—the one who turned me into a bear.”

“Do I know you?” Granny Bentbone asked.

Annie turned back to the old woman and gulped. Granny Bentbone was staring at her, tapping her chin with one finger. She no longer looked quite so pleasant or friendly.

“I don't think so,” said Annie. She'd been disguised as a boy and calling herself Charlie when she met the old woman before. Too bad she was dressed as a boy again.

“No, I've never seen your dwarf,” Mother Hubbard told Beldegard. Her smile faded as she faced the bear prince and Annie thought she saw the first sign of uncertainty in the woman's eyes. Mother Hubbard took a step back, bumping into the dog, who was sitting behind her. His body was perfectly still, although it had been quivering with excitement just moments before. His ears were back now too, and he was staring at Beldegard as if he were seeing the bear prince for the first time.

“You look so familiar…,” Granny Bentbone said to Annie, leaning forward in the rocker.

During their last encounter, she'd learned that the old woman had a terrible memory, but now and then she could remember things very clearly. If Granny Bentbone remembered that Annie had destroyed her house, no one would believe it was because she'd been
trying to force Annie into the room where she locked children in cages.

Everyone turned to the dog when he began to growl. His ears were pinned back and his fur was bristling when he took a tentative step toward Beldegard.

Mother Hubbard scowled, then turned suddenly and took a step toward the bench. Annie was surprised when the woman picked up one of the cushions, plumped it with her hands, and set it back down.

What an odd thing to do
, thought Annie,
unless
…

Annie glanced at the cushion. PEACE, HARMONY, HAPPINESS read the needlepoint decoration.
So that's it!
Annie thought, noticing that the tune that she'd heard when she entered the cottage had faded. The cushion itself must have been the source of the magic, ensuring that anyone who entered the cottage would be peaceful and happy. Just like the music, the magic was fading because Annie was there. It was time for her to leave.

“I think I'll wait outside,” she said as she scurried around Liam and out the door.

Annie had just crossed the threshold when she heard the sound of running feet and caught a glimpse of a figure darting into the underbrush at the edge of the woods. Branches shook wildly, then stopped suddenly as if the runner had decided to hide instead of run. Curious, Annie walked to the grass that the figure had crossed and bent down to see if he had left footprints.
She saw two distinct ones; the tracks were about the size of Annie's own feet, and led back to the cottage. Still bent over, Annie followed them. Whoever had made the tracks had been standing at the window and could have witnessed everything that went on inside.

“Annie!” Liam called as he stepped out of the cottage. “We're going into the village.”

“Shh!” she said, gesturing for him to come closer.

“Mother Hubbard remembered something. It seems Rose Red told her that someone came into the Gasping Guppy asking about the dwarf,” said Beldegard as he followed Liam out the door. “She suggested we go talk to Rosey.”

“Would you please be quiet?” Annie whispered. “Someone has been spying on us and is hiding in those bushes.” When she pointed at the underbrush, she could have sworn she saw them quiver.

Liam nodded. Pointing at himself, he gestured at a spot on the other side of the underbrush. When Annie nodded back, he slipped away, walking so quietly that she couldn't hear him.

“I think I'll go look for some berries,” Beldegard announced in a loud voice, shambling around the shrubs from the other direction.

Annie was watching the shrubs, waiting for one of her companions to do something, when the branches thrashed and a slim person in the clothes of a stable
boy burst free. In a flash, Annie darted after the fleeing figure and threw herself onto his back, knocking him to the ground.

“Ow! Get off me!” the figure cried. Startled, Annie grabbed his shoulder and flipped him over, only to see her sister, Gwendolyn, glaring up at her.

“What are you doing here?” Annie demanded.

“Let me up and I'll tell you,” Gwendolyn said, tucking her hair back in the boy's cap she was wearing.

“Oh, for…,” Annie muttered as she got to her feet, and thrust out her hand to help her sister up. “How long have you been following us?” she asked, annoyed.

Gwendolyn stood and brushed off her clothes. “Since just after you left. I crossed the drawbridge the moment you entered the forest.”

“But I saw you on the parapet waving that stupid handkerchief at Beldegard!” said Annie.

“That was one of my ladies-in-waiting. I'd already changed my clothes and was waiting until you couldn't see me. I'm surprised it took you so long to notice that I was following you. I expected you to spot me long before this. Beldegard!” she called as the bear prince emerged from the underbrush covered in bits of twigs and leaves. “Here I am, my love! I've come to join you on your quest!”

“I
should
make you go home,” Annie grumbled.

“But you won't—not by myself,” Gwendolyn told her. “You knew I wanted to come with you! Now you can't do anything about it. I'm going, no matter what you say.”

Annie sighed. She had hoped that Liam and Beldegard would agree with her and want to send Gwendolyn home, but Liam had said that someone would have to go with her and he wasn't about to go, and Beldegard didn't see any reason why she couldn't join them. Now Annie was stuck traveling with her sister, who would make demands, expect to get her own way, and probably be as useless as a horse in a row boat. Life wasn't fair.

Once again Beldegard took the lead, only this time Gwendolyn was beside him. Annie and Liam were walking far enough back that they were able to hold their own private conversation.

“What happened at that cottage?” Liam asked. “One minute everyone seemed friendly and the next minute you could cut the tension with a dull sword.”

“There was a needlepoint cushion that said ‘harmony, happiness, and peace,' or something like that. I
heard the magic as soon as we walked in. Someone had imbued the cushion with magic so that everyone in the cottage would be nice and get along.”

“You mean they filled a cushion with friendly magic?”

“Exactly. An object can be used to do something magical, but my presence caused the magic to go away. I read about it in a book just the other day. Ever since people started asking me to undo their magic, I've been looking through all the books on magic I can find so I know what I might come across.”

“Huh,” said Liam. “A magic cushion would explain why Mother Hubbard would let a bear into her house in the first place. She expected him to behave himself because of the magic.”

Annie nodded. “And I'm sure it worked just fine until I made the magic fade.”

“So what about that other old woman? She said she recognized you. Had you ever seen her before?”

“Unfortunately, yes. She's the horrible witch I told you about who feeds children to fatten them up so she can eat them.”

“That was
her
! I wish I'd known,” Liam said, suddenly looking serious. “I would have taken care of the old witch then and there.”

“With her cousin standing by? For all we know, Mother Hubbard may be a witch herself. Just because she has a magic object that works on its own doesn't
mean she wasn't the one who put the magic in it. And even if she is a good witch, we'd need proof before we can do anything about Granny Bentbone. No, what we need to do is get word to my father. He can send men to search what's left of the gingerbread cottage. The cages are probably still intact, and there were all those old children's clothes and toys in the loft. If the men dig through the rubble, they might be able to find something. Once they have proof, they can deal with the nasty old witch.”

“Good idea,” said Liam. “I'll send word from the village. If we're lucky, we'll find the dwarf and be back in time to help your father's men.”

Annie shuddered. “I wouldn't call that lucky. I'd be a whole lot happier if I never saw that old woman again.”

Set on the shore of the Crystal River, the village of Farley's Crossing was a good-sized village built at the only ferry crossing for miles around. Annie was eager to reach the tavern and sit down for a while, but Beldegard called for a halt just inside the tree line before they ever set foot in the village.

“I've been here before, back when I was still human. It's a nice enough place, but the people here wouldn't take too kindly to a bear walking through the center of their village. The tavern is on the main street. You
three get some supper and I'll meet you at the back of the tavern. Find Rosey and tell her that I'm out back and want to talk to her.”

“I'll stay with you, my love,” said Gwendolyn. “I'm not dressed to go to such a public place.”

The princess glanced down at the boy's clothes she was wearing and plucked at a sleeve with distaste. For once Annie agreed with her sister's decision. Gwendolyn might be dressed as a stable boy, but she still had the face and figure of a beautiful princess. If anyone got a good look at her, she was bound to draw attention of a different sort. It didn't matter if Annie was dressed as a girl or a boy because people rarely spared her a second glance.

“Liam and I will take care of this,” said Annie. “We'll bring you something to eat.”

The main street ran straight to the dock where the ferry waited to take on passengers and cargo. The street was lined with shops and cottages, most in good repair. While Liam found someone to take a message about Granny Bentbone to King Halbert, Annie studied the buildings, but didn't see anything big enough to house a tavern until she reached the river's edge. An old building to the left of the dock had a sign over the front door that read FERRY. Chickens scratched the ground for insects just outside the door and Annie spotted clothes drying on a sagging rope behind the back of the building. Apparently the
building was the ferryman's home as well as his place of business.

Across the street on the other side of the dock was another, newer building. The sign hanging over the door read THE GASPING GUPPY with a picture of a small fish, its mouth wide open as it gasped for air. Liam joined Annie as she approached the tavern. They had to step out of the way when a party of travelers arrived and swung down off their horses, handing the reins to boys who came running from the stable next door.

“I hope no one recognizes me here,” said Annie. “We're still close enough to home that they might know my reputation. Helping people with their magic problems is just as bad as having them hurry away when I show up.”

“I wouldn't worry about it,” Liam told her, cupping her elbow with his hand to guide her to the door. “No one is going to expect to see royalty here, and we both blend in better than most princes and princesses would.”

“Which one is Rose Red?” Annie said, peering into the darkened room where three tavern maids scurried from table to table.

“I didn't think to ask Beldegard what she looked like, so I guess we'll just have to ask in here,” said Liam. “Why don't we sit down and get something to eat? I don't know about you, but I'd enjoy a nice hot meal.”

Although it was still early in the day, there weren't
many empty seats in the room. Liam finally found two by the back wall hidden from view behind a large man who spoke in a loud, boisterous voice. Once they took their seats, Annie was afraid that the tavern maids wouldn't know they were there, but they'd been sitting at the table for only a few minutes when a man announced that the ferry was about to leave and most of the people in the room stood up. Annie was glad that the big man and his smaller companion were among them; the man's booming voice was getting on her nerves.

When everyone who was riding on the ferry had gone, there were only half a dozen people left in the room, including Annie and Liam. A tavern maid with long salt-and-pepper hair spotted them right away and came plodding over. “What can I get you?” she asked Liam.

“Is your name Rose Red?” Liam replied.

“Rosey!” the woman called to a dark-haired girl about Annie's age bending over another table. “This gentleman is asking for you.”

As the older tavern maid walked off, Rose Red glanced at them and went back to talking to the man at the other table. A few minutes later she laughed at something he'd said, gave him a pat on his cheek, and sashayed to where Annie and Liam were waiting.

“You asked for me?” she said, eyeing Liam in an appreciative way.