Enchanted in Time (Enchanted After Thirty #1)

Chapter 16

16

T hey had walked for hours, and gradually Hannah’s feet began to hurt. The red slippers were certainly comfortable, but the balls of her feet had begun to burn, and now she was of a mind to simply toss the shoes.

The forest had hardly changed. If they hadn’t been following the path that could take them back, she would have long since said they were lost. The path went on and on, winding left and then right again, but no clue as to Mirabelle’s whereabouts had appeared so far.

“Did this brick pathway always exist?” How old was Frieda anyway?

“No, only after the curse was pronounced and the forest became dangerous. Before that, there was no need for a path like this. Friederike the Enchantress created it shortly after the night of the ball.”

“How do you know that?”

“My governess told me about it, and so did my parents and all the adults. They repeatedly told me how dangerous the forest was and that it was not a good place for children to play.”

“Did you listen to them?”

“Do you have any idea how tempting those stories and warnings are for a young guy?” He winked at her.

No bear had ever winked at her before. She had to laugh. “So, in other words, you had already been here as a child? Alone? And nothing happened to you?”

“Together with Hans, the kitchen boy. We had been in the forest a couple of times, though not as far as the two of us today. We figured out the purple flower thing and discovered the brick path. One afternoon, as we were returning from one of our secret forays, we saw my governess standing by the west gate. She grabbed us both by the ears, and that same day, the cook and his boy were driven out of the castle in shame and disgrace. I implored my parents and told them that I had forced Hans to come along, but they refused to give in.”

“How sad.” That was probably why the prince had no friends—at least, none that would stand by him and help him break this curse.

“As I said, I’ve spent a lot of time in this forest over the years. Whether as a bear or a human, I’ve explored the whole of it. I can tell you with absolute certainty that there is only one brick pathway. We just need to keep going straight.”

“Then what is that?” Hannah pointed ahead of them to a fork in the brick path.

“How can that...”

The bear got down on all fours, and in three large leaps, he was already at the crossroads. Hannah hurried after him and looked down each path. The one to the left led into a dark coniferous forest that struck her as eerie and oppressive. The one to the right kept winding past the same tall deciduous trees they had seen so far, and its surroundings seemed no different from what they had been making their way through up to now.

Hannah pointed to the right. “I like this path better,” she said. The light was bright, the colors were soft, and a couple of birds were twittering in the trees.

“But someone who has fled the world and gone into hiding is more likely to choose the dark forest,” Maximilian replied. Indicating the path to the left, he added, “This fork in the road did not exist until a short while ago. The brick pathway went off to the right and not into this evergreen forest. I’m sure Mirabelle is hiding there.”

“As sure as you were when you still believed there was only one way through the woods?”

The bear let out a frighteningly loud growl, but Hannah only laughed. He no longer scared her. She gave in and shrugged. “Then I guess it will be the path to the left.”

Hannah had a heavy feeling in her chest as she crept into the dark forest ahead of the bear. The scent of pine needles wafted up to her nose, and without thinking, she took a deep breath. The air was good, but she still felt uneasy among the dense firs and countless pines. How much longer would they have to walk? When would they finally find Mirabelle?

“Do you really think she’s hiding here somewhere along the path?” Hannah mused, reflecting out loud. “Don’t you think she would have run deep into the woods so that no one would find her? If you wanted to withdraw from the world, you wouldn’t live on the main road.”

“As I already said, this path did not exist until a short while ago. And if you didn’t keep slowing down, we would have gotten here a lot sooner.”

Hannah stopped. She was about to make a snappy retort when she suddenly felt how heavy her legs had become. In spite of her comfortable shoes, her legs were aching and cramping all over, front and back. “I wouldn’t mind taking a break. Come on, let’s have something to eat and drink. I’ll move faster after that.”

“I have a better idea.” The bear lay down flat on the pathway. “I’ll carry you. You can eat and drink on my back.”

“But you’re not an animal!” she said, repeating his own words.

“My fur itches, and I’m finding it harder and harder to not constantly scratch myself. I’m afraid that if we don’t get to Mirabelle soon, I’ll turn into one!”

Hannah remembered how Frieda had explained that with each hour Maximilian spent as a bear, the animal side would grow stronger and stronger until his human side was entirely lost.

“You can set the bags on my back. That will make running easier.”

Hannah took the two bags of provisions, climbed onto his back, and grabbed his shaggy fur. “Giddyup, little bear!”

The bear uttered a deep growl that sounded like a throaty laugh. He went down on all fours, and now that he no longer needed to make allowances for her, he tore down the brick pathway at such high speed that Hannah nearly fell off. She squeezed his sides with her legs and leaned forward, and as she got used to his movements, she pulled a banana out of the bag of provisions. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she started to eat. She devoured the fruit and immediately reached for a couple of sausages and little pies. Fortunately, back in the castle kitchen, they’d had access to the entire mass of leftovers from the buffet on the night of the ball, which meant they had been able to pack a truly exquisite meal for the road. The second bag, which held a lantern for the nighttime and a few towels and knives in addition to clothes for the prince, was dangling from Hannah’s shoulder. She was simply too much of a mother to go on a trip through the woods without an emergency bag.

Maximilian raced so fast through the forest that Hannah soon had to stop eating so as to avoid getting sick from all the shaking. She slung the bag over her shoulder next to the other one and watched for some trace of Mirabelle. She peered to the front and the sides, searching the dense underbrush for a sign of human life, but she saw nothing. No footprints, no piles of branches, no man-made clearings bore witness to her presence.

“Maybe we should have chosen the other way after all,” she said. “Perhaps this isn’t a real path at all but a spell cast by some boggart.”

“Boggarts can mimic voices and sounds, but they can’t perform magic. No, this path is the work of Friederike the Enchantress. If there’s one thing we can rely on and use to orient ourselves, then it’s this red brick pathway.”

Hannah was about to refute what he said when right at that moment, they heard a quiet voice. It was coming from the thicket, perhaps some sixty-five feet away. It was the voice of a woman humming to herself, lost in thought.

“Shh!” Hannah whispered, but the bear had already stopped and was listening to the sweet sound. Who was back there? Was it Mirabelle? Or a boggart?

Maximilian veered from the brick pathway and slowly began to make his way into the forest.

“Shouldn’t we stick to the pathway...” Hannah whispered.

But he shook his enormous bear head. “Stay on my back. If it’s a boggart spell, I’ll quickly get us back onto the safe path!”

Hannah nodded, though the bear prince couldn’t see it. With every step he took, her heart beat faster and faster. She ducked down closer to his body and peered out over his large head.

Dense, thorny hedges and prickly branches blocked their view. Slowly, the bear crept around the shrubs. Meanwhile, the humming had turned into a lovely song. It sounded happy and free, not at all like something that a person who was bitter and finished with life would sing.

The closer Maximilian moved, the more Hannah suspected that it had to be a trap, a boggart spell! She tapped the prince on his furry back. He turned his head toward her, and she motioned with her hands that he had best turn back. But he shook his head and looked at her with his green eyes as if to say: “Don’t be afraid!”

Very slowly and quietly, the bear prince crept around the bushes until they finally had a clear view. There, they saw an old, bent woman with her back turned toward them. She was stooping over a basket to retrieve a large sheet. She shook it and hung it on a line that was suspended between two fir trees. Behind her was a tiny house, so small it couldn’t have had more than one room. The walls were constructed of thin tree trunks, and the roof was made of woven twigs covered by a thick layer of moss that had grown over them.

The old woman must have heard them or sensed their presence because she turned around very slowly to face them. Hannah felt a chill run down her spine, and she drew close to the bear prince. On seeing the old woman’s face, she was barely able to stifle a horrified scream. It was riddled with pustules and strange brown splotches. Her skin was wrinkled and gray. She had covered her hair with a plaid scarf, and her blouse and threadbare skirt had been patched a number of times, so that the image of the witch from Hansel and Gretel immediately popped into Hannah’s head. Her eyes were sunken deep within their sockets, and her gaze... her gaze... Hannah shuddered. She noticed something flash in the old woman’s eyes—something she did not like at all.

“What a strange pair you are... Who are you? Who has come to see me?” Her voice reminded Hannah of a raven’s, though it was high, like a woman’s.

“Are you Mirabelle?” Maximilian asked flatly. Hannah could feel the muscles working beneath his thick fur as if he were prepared to flee at any moment.

The old woman laughed softly. “So you are the prince of the castle.”

“Yes, I am. My name is Maximilian Heinrich Ludwig von Lichtenberg. The curse struck me, even though what my father did to you was not my fault. However, I still wish to offer you my formal apology. How he treated you was horrendous, and the way he forced you to reveal your face was beyond shameful.

“He did pay for his arrogance. He spent his life with a woman he never loved, and when he died, he did so knowing that I would have to answer for his evil deed. I am here to beg your forgiveness on behalf of my entire family. I hope you can accept our apology.”

The old woman was silent.

“My family destroyed your life, and I sincerely ask your forgiveness. If there is a way to right this wrong, then I beg you: speak!”

She still did not answer but averted her gaze from his face and examined Hannah. “And who are you, my child?”

Hannah shuddered but sat up straight and looked unflinchingly into the old woman’s dark eyes. “I am Hannah, and by no means a child anymore. I’m here to help the prince. I beg you from the bottom of my heart to accept his apology.”

The old woman raised her hand. With her long, bony forefinger, she motioned to the two of them to come closer. Grateful for Maximilian’s presence, Hannah clung to his thick fur as he cautiously tramped over to the aged woman. She beckoned them to follow her into the house, but it was far too small for the bear prince. He stood before the door as they peered inside the small, dingy home.

“This is where I have spent the past decades. Alone in this forest. Hardly anyone knew I was here, and the magic of the forest kept all unwanted visitors away.”

“I can’t undo these past years!” Maximilian’s muscles were tensing as he stood there, and Hannah stroked his fur to calm him. Frieda must have sent her along because she had guessed that Hannah would have to keep his impatience in check and support him in his apology.

“It’s terrible what you’ve had to endure,” he continued. “A life of utter loneliness and isolation—that’s something no one deserves. If I could, I would undo that accursed night. But sadly, I have no power to do so. All I can do is to once more offer my sincerest apologies on behalf of the entire von Lichtenberg family and to hope for your generous pardon.”

The old woman looked up and turned her gaze toward Hannah. “Come, come.” Again, she raised her bony finger and beckoned to Hannah to enter the meager hut.

Never follow a witch. The thought flashed through Hannah’s mind. Still, this was not a witch but a bitter old woman. Slowly, Hannah slid off Maximilian’s back. He wanted to block her way, but she stroked his powerful shoulders and resolutely wound her way past him and into the barren dwelling. It smelled of mushrooms and herbs interspersed with the scent of something musty and stale. In the middle stood a small open hearth where a large, steaming cauldron was dangling over the fire. On the ceiling hung numerous bunches of dried leaves and roots, and in one corner lay a makeshift bed made of moss, leaves, and twigs.

It was inconceivable how Mirabelle must have lived and dwelt here all alone as a young thing. How afraid had she been? How many tears had she shed? How many times had she cursed the prince and his family for the life they had condemned her to lead?

Hannah pulled herself together. She stepped toward the old woman, and, overcoming all her revulsion and doubts, she took the lonely woman in her arms. The stranger seized up in the warmth of her embrace, but a moment later, Hannah could feel her relax a bit.

After a while, Hannah broke away and held her by her stooped shoulders. “You don’t need to stay here all by yourself. Come with us to the castle. Forgive each other,” she continued, turning toward Maximilian, who was watching from the doorway, “and both of you will feel better.”

For a moment, the aged woman’s eyes grew wide, but then her shoulders slumped. “Oh, how good and kind you are. I wish it were that simple. I wish an apology were enough.”

“But my godmother said—” Maximilian burst out, his anger flaring up.

Hannah was beside him in three quick steps and immediately put her hand to his snout. “Shhhh,” she whispered resolutely. He must not spoil the moment! “Why is an apology not enough?” she asked, turning back to Mirabelle.

“Back at the time that the curse was cast, I was overwhelmed by how powerful it was.”

“Who put the curse on my family? You?” interrupted the bear.

“No, I don’t have the power to do that. I’m neither an enchantress nor a witch—I cannot curse anyone. But the powerful being who cast the curse warned me.”

“Of what?”

“That being able to break the curse requires specific skills.”

“Tell me—now!” the bear prince burst out again. “How can I break the curse?”

“If I’ve rightly understood the laws of magic over all these years, we need to brew a potion.”

“A potion?” Hannah let out a loud groan. How much longer would it be before she could finally be back with her children?

“But Friederike the Enchantress—” Maximilian interjected.

“Here I am, my godchild,” Frieda’s voice crooned from the cauldron that was hanging over the fire, but then it instantly turned stern. “Mirabelle, what is going on?”

Hannah ran to the kettle to see if her children were reflected in the water as well, but only her neighbor appeared. “Frieda, where are the?—”

“They’re fine—they’re taking their afternoon nap. Stop worrying! Now, Mirabelle, to you. You told me that an apology was all that was needed. So what is this all about? Explain!” A deep, angry frown line that Hannah had never seen before appeared between Frieda’s gray eyes.

“We need to brew a potion,” repeated Mirabelle, whose hands were trembling as she faced the enchantress. “The bear prince must drink it, and then he shall be released.”

“But time is running out, you stupid thing! Do you at least have all the ingredients on hand?”

“Not all...”

“Which ones are missing?”

Hannah was surprised at how overbearing her elderly neighbor could be. Hopefully, she was still being as kind to the children as she had always been in her presence! She would have loved to summon the three of them, but the sight of Mirabelle would have terrified Leon and Emi. It would be better if the two youngest ones didn’t catch sight of her.

Mirabelle, meanwhile, was examining the herbs and roots that were hanging from the ceiling. “I have henbane and deadly nightshade here, stinging nettle and medlar as well. But the rest of the ingredients are missing. We shall have to go and collect them.”

“The clock is ticking!” interjected Frieda. “You shall have to split up. It will be faster that way.”

“Do you know anything about herbs?” Hannah asked the bear.

He shook his head, growling. Then, turning to Mirabelle, he asked, “Which ingredients are missing?”

“We need one piece of valerian root, five small leaves of goutweed, the tears of Helen of Troy, a handful of wintergreen flowers, two stems of fireweed, and a handful of small woodland angelica leaves.”

“I’m not familiar with any of that,” Maximilian growled.

“But I am!” Hannah cried, relieved. “At the nursery, we have elecampane, or the tears of Helen of Troy, and I also know wintergreen and goutweed.”

“Then the two of you go look for them. And Mirabelle will gather woodland angelica, valerian root, and fireweed,” Frieda ordered.

“Will we find them by the side of your brick pathway?” Hannah asked.

Frieda shook her head, and her look grew serious. “You shall have to go deeper into the forest.”

“But I thought that was too dangerous,” Hannah replied.

“You have no choice. Never go near the shadows, and do not turn to look if you hear the call of a boggart—no matter how familiar his voice may sound! And stay away from those little gnomes. Stick together, and you won’t suffer any harm. Now off with you.”

As Hannah stepped out of the meager dwelling, she could hear Frieda hiss, “Make haste, Mirabelle, and gather the needed ingredients. Or else you shall learn what I’m made of! And don’t lead me astray again!”

“I didn’t mean?—”

“Spare me. Now go!”