Enchanted in Time (Enchanted After Thirty #1)

Chapter 21

21

H ow awful.” Hannah was rubbing her arms, which were covered with goosebumps, and she was breathing deeply to fight the feeling of trepidation welling up in her chest. She felt compassion for the woman who had treated her and Maximilian so badly. “And then what happened?”

Irmgard the unicorn whinnied. “Mirabelle searched for her mother for years, if not decades. But she couldn’t find her anywhere. Her heart grew darker and filled with more hatred with every passing year. Her fury at the prince and the entire royal family continued to build, and she devised a plan to avenge her mother. Should the prince ever come to her and ask to be released, she would first mislead him, just as the prince himself had done to her, and then plunge him into eternal ruin.”

“But it was Prince Maximilian who went to her, not Prince Gustav!”

“Prince Maximilian?” Irmgard asked absentmindedly.

“His son.”

“I’m sure that’s all the same to her. It’s the same blood that flows in him. She has had her revenge now but still will find no peace.”

“She acted so abominably. But in spite of that, I feel sorry for her. I can almost understand her behavior. And then her mother rescued her, and now she, too, is eternally subject to the Evil as a result. How awful! But every mother would do that for her child.”

Irmgard’s beautiful eyes blinked softly. Could she read Hannah’s heart and see that she would do the same for her own children?

“But there’s one thing I’ve been wondering,” Hannah said, brushing a strand of long hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. “If all you unicorns knew this story, why didn’t Frieda find out about it long ago?”

“Frieda?” The unicorn blinked and gave her a blank look.

Impatient, Hannah simply ignored it. “I can’t imagine that that stubborn woman didn’t consult every last inhabitant of the forest to help her godson. If every unicorn knew about it?—”

Irmgard neighed and shook her silvery, shimmering mane. “I only just found out myself. The other unicorns don’t know about it yet.”

“How did you find out about it?”

“I’ve been watching Mirabelle for some time. At night, she’s plagued by terrible visions, and when she feels that no one is watching, she talks to herself or a ghost.”

“Do you think she’s speaking with her mother in her head?”

Irmgard neighed loudly. “Exactly.”

Hannah thought for a moment. That, of course, would explain why Frieda hadn’t heard about it.

Irmgard stamped the ground with her front hooves excitedly. “I’ll come with you if you’re trying to save the prince.”

“Isn’t your herd waiting for you somewhere?” Hannah replied, though she immediately regretted her question. The forest would be much less frightening and dangerous with this noble, pure creature by her side.

Irmgard shook her head, which tossed her mane about. “I travel alone.”

“Alone? Don’t unicorns live together in herds like horses?”

“Normally, yes, but I set forth on a mission.” The unicorn thrust out her broad chest. “The forest is changing. Every year, it gets darker and more threatening. A lot of unicorns are pressuring our lead stallion to move away. But I don’t want to leave the forest. I’m searching for a solution so we can stay! Maybe I’ll find the answer by your side.”

Hannah beamed. “I’m glad. So that’s why you travel alone. Is that why you’ve been watching Mirabelle?”

Irmgard nodded, and Hannah observed this human gesture of hers with astonishment. “Since Mirabelle has been living in the forest,” Irmgard continued, “the way it’s structured has changed. I thought she might have a secret.”

“But why did no one go with you? Your mission is obviously of great importance and will affect the future of your entire herd.”

Irmgard looked down at the ground and hung her head. Even her tail seemed to sag all the way down to the ground. “My mission is only one reason I travel alone. I set out to acquire wisdom.”

Hannah was listening closely. “Why? Is that something all unicorns do? Is it a kind of initiation rite?” Weren’t all unicorns wise?

“No, that was my own decision.”

“And why is that?”

Irmgard pawed the ground with her hooves and snorted. “I’m very... forgetful—or so the others say. But it’s not that bad. I’m a little absent-minded sometimes. My memory is not quite as good as the other unicorns’, and some of them have teased me about it and tried to exclude me. They claim that only a truly pure and noble unicorn, whose noble head is full of knowledge, is allowed to travel with the herd.”

She snorted again. “They also claim that I’m too young, that I lack experience and knowledge. But if I go with you, I’ll gain experience and knowledge! And if, on top of that, I can find a solution that allows us to stay in this forest, which for centuries has been our ancestors’ home, then I’ll be a respected member of my herd!” Her tail was swishing wildly, and she was neighing loudly and happily.

Was that a unicorn laugh?

“Dear Anna?—”

“Hannah!”

“Dear Hannah, may I accompany you?”

Hannah laughed out loud. “May you accompany me? I’m honored that you want to come with me! I would love it!”

The unicorn smiled and was beaming even more than before.

How could anyone ostracize such a good, kindhearted creature? Hannah shook her head, unable to understand. Apparently, even the wisest creatures were not immune to vanity.

“Where are we going? How are you planning to free the prince?”

“Hmm.” Hannah was pondering. “We should summon Frieda.”

“Frieda?”

“The prince’s godmother.”

“You mean the highly esteemed Friederike the Enchantress?”

“Highly esteemed? I should think so. She’s the one who conjured the brick pathway through the forest.”

“Oh, yes! I’ve never met her, and neither have many of the other unicorns. That would be fabulous!”

Irmgard was trotting in place, wildly swishing her tail, and neighing enthusiastically. As she did so, she lifted her noble head. That gesture could have appeared arrogant, but her carefree manner and happy neighing made Hannah smile.

“How do we summon that great enchantress?” Irmgard asked.

“We need a spring, a brook, or a small lake. Do you know where there’s water nearby?”

Irmgard whinnied. “Of course! Follow me.”

And the unicorn immediately trotted off. She raised her hooves in a way that made her seem wary of touching the dirty forest floor, though not a bit of dirt had landed on her legs, ankles, or hooves. No matter which pile of earth she stepped on, not a single speck of dirt, grain of dust, or pine needle clung to her shining hooves. And she was so fast that Hannah could hardly keep up.

“Wait!” Hannah was running after the mythical creature. She jumped over sticks and stones as she hurried after Irmgard, who hardly seemed to remember she was there. “You’re too fast for me!”

The unicorn snorted and turned around. “Oh, I’m sorry! I guess that didn’t occur to me. We’re in a hurry, though, aren’t we?”

Panting, Hannah propped her hands on her knees and nodded.

“I’ll carry you. Can you ride?”

Hannah stared at Irmgard, speechless. Was she serious? “No...”

“Then you’ll learn! Stand over there on that tree stump!”

Hannah did as she was told, and Irmgard trotted up beside her.

“Now jump on my back!”

Carefully, so as not to hurt the noble creature, Hannah climbed onto her back, and Irmgard immediately set off. It wasn’t as cozy as Maximilian’s back, but Hannah could sit straighter and adapt more easily to the unicorn’s trotting movements. She put her arms loosely around the animal’s neck and smiled. If only her little Emi could see her now—what a thrill that would be for her!

“There’s a little spring up ahead!” Irmgard cried. But when they reached the spot in question, there was no water in sight.

“Did it dry up?”

“That can’t be. It’s an ancient spring that’s been spouting water from the rocks for hundreds and hundreds of years.”

“But there aren’t any rocks here.”

Irmgard neighed. “Oh, I forgot! We should have made a right turn by the elderberry bushes.” The unicorn snorted and turned around. In her noble and delicate way, she trotted back down the path until they came to a large group of elderberry shrubs. The scent wafted up to their noses as Hannah’s shoulder brushed against the clusters of white flowers. A short while later, they arrived at a gushing spring that was next to a boulder. Individual rocks were piled one on top of the other. A thick, powerful stream of water was gushing out from between the cracks and splashing into a shimmering green pond surrounded by ferns.

“Perfect. We can call Frieda here.” Hannah leapt off the unicorn’s back and bent down over the spring-fed pond. “Frieda! Are you there? Can you hear me? Frieda?”

But the surface of the water was quiet.

“Frieda!” Hannah cried and then tried again, each time louder. “Frieda!”

At last, the water began to ripple. The first thing Hannah saw was the gleam of her neighbor’s half-moon glasses. Then, shortly after, Frieda’s pointy face appeared with Hannah’s three children beside her, all looking worried.

“Mom, is everything all right?” Marco immediately asked.

“There’s a unicorn next to you!” Emi marveled.

“Friederike the Enchantress!” Irmgard whinnied as she bowed her noble head. “It is my honor.”

“Mama, Mama! Are you okay?” Leon squealed.

Were his eyes red? Had he been crying?

Frieda heaved a sigh of relief. “Very good. I see you have help.”

“Yes, Irmgard the unicorn rescued me from the forest gnomes.” When she noticed her children’s horrified faces, Hannah immediately added, “It’s all right. No need to worry!”

How she would have loved to stroke her youngest child’s dark-blond mop. She stretched out her hand, but all she could touch was the water’s surface.

“See, little angels? Your mama is fine!” Frieda laughed the heartiest of laughs, as if Hannah had merely gone for a walk. As she did so, she stroked Leon’s and Emi’s shoulders.

Seeing that loving gesture, Hannah felt both a sense of relief and a stab in the heart. She was the mother! She was the one who should be with her children. She was the one who should comfort them—oh, heck, if she were there, they wouldn’t have had anything to worry about anyway!

She smiled bravely at her children. “How are you doing?”

“Good, good! Is that for real? The unicorn can talk?” Emi exclaimed in amazement.

Irmgard whinnied. “Of course I can talk, Anni.”

Emi started to correct her, but the unicorn wouldn’t let her get a word in edgewise. “All unicorns can talk. We know every language in the whole world.” She knit her unicorn brow as if wanting to say something in another language, but the words seemed to have slipped her mind.

“Frieda, Irmgard told me what happened to Mirabelle at that time. She had planned all along to deceive Prince Maximilian. That was her intention from the beginning.” Hannah quickly summarized for her elderly neighbor what the unicorn had told her about Mirabelle and her mother.

By the time Hannah had finished, Frieda looked furious. “That stupid creature. She’s joined forces with the Evil. Doesn’t she know that no good can come of that? Always these young things!”

“The Evil?” Hannah shuddered. “What are you saying?”

“The Evil lives everywhere, including here in this forest, hidden away. We haven’t heard from it in this area for hundreds of years. But now that the forest is full of fiends, it should have occurred to me sooner that its power had grown.”

“So are the fiends the Evil?”

“The Evil attracts the fiends and drives away the peace-loving creatures.”

Irmgard neighed in confirmation. “For weeks now, many in our herd have been talking of leaving the forest before the Evil can wipe us out.”

“How was it able to come back to your forest?” Marco asked, joining the conversation.

“The Evil needs souls to increase its power,” Frieda explained. “It goes to the miserable and desperate, to the angry and hate-filled souls. It beguiles them, ingratiates itself with them, and promises them everything they desire. In return, it requires their souls—for all time!”

“Who would go for something like that?” Marco asked, unable to understand.

“It takes strength and courage to pick yourself up in a hopeless situation and keep going. To not give in to hopelessness and self-pity. Mirabelle was unable to do that.”

“She was still young and all alone,” Hannah said, defending her without thinking. “She didn’t know what she was getting into.”

Frieda shook her head in disapproval. “There’s no point in racking our brains over it. We need a plan.”

Irmgard neighed. “Mirabelle needs to forgive Prince Casimir?—”

“Prince Maximilian!”

“Mirabelle needs to forgive Prince Maximilian for him to be saved. She won’t be able to do that unless we do something for her.”

Hannah thought for a moment. “She’s been trying to free her mother and hasn’t been able to all these years. If we succeed in doing that, I’m sure she would forgive Maximilian in return.”

Irmgard and Hannah looked into the spring at Frieda, who was wrinkling her pointy nose.

“Oh, yeah, Mama—that sounds exciting! Off to fight the Evil! I wish I could go with you!” Leon cried excitedly, and Emi’s eyes were sparkling.

Only Marco understood that this was no fairy-tale adventure but reality. “But Mom, how do you plan on defending yourself against this Evil?”

“Your mother has nothing to fear,” Frieda said, chuckling. Was she really that carefree? “Now go and read your siblings something from their book of fairy tales. I’ll be right there.”

Marco was about to protest, but both Frieda and Hannah gave him a stern look. Sighing, he gave in, and he and the two younger ones disappeared from view.

“Take care of yourself, Mama!” Hannah heard him say, and it tugged at her heart. For months, he had been apathetic, indifferent. As strange as these circumstances were and as sorry she was that he was worried about her, it was still nice to see him becoming a part of the family again and no longer isolating himself. Was the purpose of this adventure for him to find his way back to them? To become more open and accessible again?

“Where do we find this soul?” asked Hannah. “Where does the Evil live? Does it have a house where it keeps the soul imprisoned?”

“The Evil lives everywhere and nowhere,” Frieda began to explain.

Immediately, Hannah glanced over her shoulder to make sure it wasn’t lurking behind her. But there was nothing in sight.

“It’s there where the shadows lurk, where fear and despair prevail, where the creatures are controlled by rage and anger. By now, it’s almost everywhere in the forest.”

“It’s almost everywhere? What do you mean by that, Frieda?”

“The forest was once peaceful and good,” Hannah’s elderly neighbor explained. “The dark creatures that are wreaking havoc there these days did not exist back then.” She paused for a moment, lost in thought, and nodded. “Now it all makes sense. Since the Evil has gained new strength through Mirabelle, the forest has grown darker and more sinister with each passing year. Even the animals that live there are becoming aggressive. The unicorns are the last good creatures there, but many of them have pulled away as well.”

Irmgard gave an affirmative nod. “My herd is the last one still living in this forest. But even they are thinking of leaving soon if the Evil isn’t checked.”

Frieda folded her hands. “The good leave, and the bad have more room.”

“Is the soul of Mirabelle’s mother the only soul the Evil keeps imprisoned?” Hannah asked.

“I assume so. But remember: if Maximilian becomes aware he has been turned into a bear, as long as a remnant of the man remains, his soul is also in danger.”

“You think he could fall prey to it?”

Frieda removed her half-moon glasses and rubbed her eyes. Hannah’s normally carefree neighbor looked tired. “I’m afraid so,” she said. “His days as a human being are not yet fulfilled. His human spirit will continue to dwell within him for a few more hours. But the moment will come when he clearly sees who he once was and who he is now. And when that happens, the Evil will be there to try to take him.”

“That can’t happen!” Hannah cried. “He’s a good man—he can’t end up alone in the darkness! We have to free him!”

“To do that, you need to rob the Evil of its power, to free the soul that it keeps imprisoned.”

“So if we free the soul of Mirabelle’s mother, we take away the Evil’s power, and the forest becomes brighter and more welcoming again?”

Frieda nodded. “That’s how it must be. And when Mirabelle sees her mother, she will forgive Maximilian.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I’m hoping so.”

“Where do we find her soul?” Hannah asked resolutely.

“Everywhere and nowhere.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Can you be any more specific, Frieda?”

Irmgard neighed. “The Evil can take hold of you anywhere. But somewhere it has a kind of hiding place—like a castle, a cave, a lair, or a shadow. And that’s where it keeps the soul imprisoned. There has to be a point of entry.”

Frieda nodded. “And you must find that point of entry

Hannah raised her hands questioningly. “But where? The forest is huge!”

“You must look where the Evil is strongest.”

“And once we’ve found the darkness, how do we free the soul?”

“I can’t tell you that. But there must be a way. And I’m sure you’ll find it! And Hannah, stay with Irmgard. If you’re separated for any reason, then you must immediately go back to the brick path!”

Hannah’s heart was beating faster. “What have you gotten me into, Frieda?”

“Have faith, dear Hannah, and it will all work out.”

Irmgard snorted. “I’ll take care of Hannah. Don’t worry!”

“Wonderful, dear Irmgard. And now, go! The clock is ticking!”

Hannah rolled her eyes. That Frieda! She climbed on Irmgard’s back, and off they rode.