Enchanted in Time (Enchanted After Thirty #1)

Chapter 29

29

A nd now to you, Frieda!” Hannah said once the children had broken away from her after a while. “How could you send me without my consent?—”

“Oh, now first of all, calm down, dear Hannah. Didn’t you have a wonderful time there? And didn’t it do you good?”

Hannah was about to protest and fly into an indignant rage, to throw everything that had made her so livid back in Frieda’s face, when it occurred to her that her elderly neighbor was right. While the stresses of the past few days had caused the muscles in her arms and legs to ache and the balls of her feet to burn, she felt more alive than she had in a very long time, as though this fantastic adventure had freed her from the depths of sadness.

The kids were excitedly telling her about their days with Frieda, who was happily ensconced among the three of them and laughing at their high spirits. As Hannah watched her, she thought of Irmgard’s warning that this was a woman whom no one would willingly trust with their children. How time must have changed her.

Leon crawled onto Hannah’s lap and nestled himself against her. “Mama, you’re going to stay with us now, right?”

Hannah kissed him on the head and hugged him tight. “Forever, my love, forever.”

The next day, the doorbell rang early in the morning. Hannah struggled to get out from between her kids, who had slept with her. Even Marco had joined in, and the two little ones had snuggled close together and quickly fallen asleep.

“Are you okay, Mom?” Marco had asked the night before, with Emi and Leon’s deep, quiet breathing as the only accompaniment to the silence.

“Yes, sweetie. How about you?”

He’d nodded. “Do you miss that man? The prince?”

Hannah had been taken slightly aback. She had thought of Maximilian from time to time, but the children were so much more important. All that mattered was that they were together again.

“A little,” Hannah admitted, “but I don’t miss him half as much as I missed the three of you.”

“It’s okay,” Marco murmured after a while, “if you meet someone, I mean.”

Hannah had stroked his hair. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

Not long afterwards, they’d fallen asleep.

And now it was barely seven in the morning in the middle of vacation, and someone was ringing up a storm. Hannah made her way to the door, half asleep.

“Who is it?” She peered through the peephole and yawned.

“‘It’s me, Hannah! Open the door!”

Hannah rolled her eyes. Frieda! This early? Some things never changed.

“Just a minute.” She opened the door and stuck out her head. “Shhh, the little kids are still asleep!”

“Well, then it’s time they got up! The early bird catches the worm!”

“We were up late.”

“Hogwash! I have a surprise for you! Wake the children, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

And Frieda was already shoving her way past her and into the living room. Hannah wondered if she shouldn’t simply offer her a room of her own in their apartment.

Yawning, Hannah shuffled into the bedroom quietly, but the three children had already been awake for some time.

“Frieda, Frieda!” Leon cried as he jumped up and ran over to their elderly neighbor. “Do you have any treats?”

“Leon, you don’t ask that?—”

“Oh, we’re past that already, dear Hannah, aren’t we? No, my little angel, I don’t have any treats on me...” She looked at each of the three kids in turn and clapped her hands: “The surprise I have is much more amazing than that!”

Delighted, Emi sucked in her breath, and she and her little brother hopped around the living room. “What, Frieda? What is it?” she cried.

“I’ve conjured up a coach for us. It’s waiting down below so we can all ride together to the castle and hunt for the treasure that Prince Maximilian hid there for your mother!”

Hannah had naturally told them all about her adventure the day before, and in the process, she had also mentioned the little treasure chest that the prince had wanted to leave her as a thank you.

The children were skipping around the apartment. “Yippee! A real live treasure hunt! Let’s go!”

“I need my coffee first,” Hannah said—how she’d had missed it!—”and a decent breakfast. Then we can slowly get ready, and then?—”

“Then we ride to the castle?” Leon cried excitedly.

“Yes, then we ride to the castle.”

Even if Hannah couldn’t imagine it, she was hoping that Maximilian had actually hidden a small box for her somewhere, especially since she had left her bag with her smartphone and keys in the past and desperately needed replacements.

They left the apartment an hour later. Frieda was already waiting down on the street, ready to go in her hiking boots and cardigan. Behind her stood a beautiful coach, again in the shape of a pumpkin. Could it be the same one? It was white and was drawn by six white horses. The coachman on the box tipped his top hat and nodded to her. It was the same man who had steered the horses on the last ride.

How many days had it been since Hannah had stepped into that coach in her red dress, with no inkling of what lay before her? Four? She shook her head. And now she was standing here with her neighbor, an enchantress, and about to ride with her children to an ancient castle ruin where they planned to go hunt for treasure.

Emi immediately jumped into the coach while Leon was insisting on riding along on the coach box. “Please, please!” he whined.

“Isn’t that a little dangerous for a four-year-old?” his mother asked.

“I’ll sit with him,” Marco offered, “and I’ll hold onto him.” He helped him up onto the coach box while Hannah and Frieda joined Emi in the coach. And off they went, clattering down the street. With hardly a soul on the road, the air was filled with the clippity-clop of horses’ hooves.

Would they find the treasure? Had Maximilian actually hidden it for her? She hadn’t gone back to the castle with him. Had he buried the treasure at the agreed-upon spot? Where the brick pathway began on the side of the hill?

Hannah’s heart beat faster. Oh, what she could do with that money!

“I want a pony!” Emi squawked, as if she had read her mother’s thoughts. “Or even better—a unicorn!” Her eyes were as round as saucers. “Do you think they still live in the forest? Can you show me one? Maybe even Irmgard?”

Hannah laughed, although Frieda did not. When Hannah noticed that, she looked at her neighbor and frowned. “There are no unicorns!” she said.

Frieda smiled. “If you say so, Hannah. I thought your adventure had taught you that there are more of them than you could possibly imagine.”

Hannah stopped short. Was Frieda saying that... well, strictly speaking, Frieda was also a magical being—something that didn’t really exist. If Frieda hadn’t been sitting there and Hannah’s own children hadn’t followed her every move through the magic mirror, then she might have spent the morning wondering whether the past few days had even taken place. But with things as they were, there could obviously be no doubt.

“There are too unicorns, right, Frieda?” Emi demanded, interrupting Hannah’s thoughts.

“Of course, my little angel.”

Hannah was silent. She was staring out the window and peering into the forest they were riding through in the carriage. She kept looking for the magical creatures she had encountered, but all she saw were the bunnies and squirrels that fled before the clattering sounds of the coach. Would they soon be riding through the mysterious mist again? From what Hannah could tell, it was nowhere in sight, not even where she had spotted it four days before in the woods. Perhaps it had been there because she had traveled through time. And today they would not be traveling through time but simply riding to the castle in their own time and year.

It wasn’t long before they rounded the bend, and the valley and castle appeared. Hannah’s heart beat a little faster. How thrilled she had been four days before! And now? Some small part of her still hoped to make the leap through time to see Maximilian again. But that was not going to happen.

“MAMA!”

Leon’s cry made her jump. “What’s going on?” She was about to fling open the carriage door when she happened to look out the window. And there it was. Standing on the hill in the valley was not the old ruin that she and her children had been to so many times but the fairy-tale castle where the ball had been held and the story of this adventure had begun.

Beside her on the carriage seat, Emi was pressing her little snub nose against the windowpane. “Wow, Mommy, that’s where you went to the ball? Like a princess?”

Hannah’s mouth fell open, and she nodded. “But how did it...”

“Don’t you remember the curse?” Frieda asked with a little smile.

Hannah blinked in confusion. “Of course. How could I forget what happened to Maximilian?”

“I mean the wording of the curse in its entirety.”

Hannah thought for a moment. She remembered the story about the magical being who had come to the castle, cursed Prince Gustav, and killed King Ludwig von Lichtenberg. And then the wording came to her:

The moment your father dies and you ascend to the throne, you shall be changed into a bear and your entire kingdom consigned to oblivion! None shall remember your royal house. None shall recall the name von Lichtenberg, and your magnificent castle shall be turned into a crumbling ruin. Thorny vines shall cover it, and not one single person shall know which lordly royal house once inhabited these walls and brought them distinction!

Frieda nodded. “And since the curse was averted...”

“... the family was not forgotten, and the castle did not become a ruin,” Hannah said, finishing Frieda’s sentence. Her expression softened. How might Maximilian’s life have turned out? Did he find a woman, fall in love, and marry her? She could probably read all about it in the historic accounts, and she was annoyed that she hadn’t found out about it at home. How she would have loved to search the web for information, and maybe she would even have stumbled across a picture of him. But she could do all of that later that evening.

“We’re there!” Leon cried from outside as the coach came to a halt in the castle courtyard. Marco immediately lifted him up off the box. The coachman climbed down as well and held the door for Frieda, Emi, and Hannah.

“And this time, don’t just take off!” Hannah said, admonishing him. He smiled and bowed. Hopefully, that meant he agreed!

Emi and Leon immediately raced up the wide, dirt-strewn steps that led to the main castle entrance and tugged on the broad double doors. But they were locked.

“Oh, no!” Leon’s shoulders slumped. “I really wanted to see the inside!”

“Then let’s go hunt for treasure first!” Emi squealed and went skipping down the steps and across the castle courtyard to the gate in the massive castle wall. “What are you all waiting for?” she called to the others.

“Okay then! Let’s go hunt for treasure!” Hannah replied as she, Leon, Marco, and Frieda all followed the little girl. They passed through the wide gate and walked outside along the little trail that ran by the castle wall. It was the same path that Hannah had run along when she’d fled the bear prince to cross the forest alone and return to her kids. When they passed the gate that led to the castle garden, Hannah couldn’t resist. She jiggled the handle, but that gate was locked as well. She stood there for a moment, her hand on the latch, and looked down at the ground.

Frieda smiled. “You liked him a lot, didn’t you?”

Hannah looked up and nodded. Then she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. They continued to walk along the trail, which kept leading downhill and closer to the woods. The forest seemed peaceful and idyllic. Birds were twittering, little mice were scurrying through the underbrush, and not a single strange plant was luring them with its scent. The forest had recovered from the Evil, which had evidently withdrawn. Hannah tried to listen for boggarts or forest gnomes, but nothing suggested their presence. Maybe she would encounter them deep within the forest—surely not every evil being had disappeared. But under no circumstances did she wish to find out with her children in tow.

“Look, Mommy, are those the purple flowers that tried to lure you to sleep?” Emi pointed at a carpet of violet-colored blossoms that were lifting their little heads toward the morning sun.

“No, Emi, those are bellflowers. They won’t harm us.” She glanced over at Frieda, who was peering through the trees, curious to see if the terror of the forest was gone. “It’s changed, hasn’t it?”

Frieda nodded silently. After a while, they came to the brick pathway that Hannah’s neighbor had conjured years ago as the only safe passage through the forest.

“Mama, there!” Leon cried and ran ahead.

“I can’t believe the idea that my red shoes would take me home didn’t occur to me the minute I saw this brick path.” Hannah shook her head.

Frieda chuckled. “That was one of my best spells!”

Hannah pondered for a moment. “Would the shoes work again? Could they act as a portal so I...” She stopped short and gave her neighbor a questioning look.

“No, dear Hannah, I’m afraid I must disappoint you. The slippers have served their purpose. But they’re still comfortable. You’re welcome to keep them.”

Hannah smiled halfheartedly, though she felt a pang in her heart. But as she watched her three children running ahead, she was grateful that she was with them again. Even without Maximilian, she felt happy and relieved. She knew now that it could work with another man. Maybe she would meet someone someday—and knowing that Marco had given his okay made her certain that, somewhere out there, another love was waiting. Who knew what amazing man would be standing by her side in a few years, even if he couldn’t possibly be as wonderful as Maximilian.

But right now, she wanted to look for the box of treasure. She wouldn’t believe her money problems were over until she had seen the contents and an expert had confirmed they were real. Not that she didn’t trust Maximilian. But she had been through a time in her life that had taught her to wait until something had actually happened before she could breathe and let go. Hope could help you through hard times, but as a single mother, she couldn’t afford to breathe and relax until she knew the facts or they were staring her in the face.

Marco removed the backpack where he had stashed the two spades they used for their three little balcony planters. “Who wants to help me?” he yelled.

“Me!” Emi cried.

“No, you always get to! I want to!” Leon protested.

Marco decided to settle the matter: “First Emi, then Leon—and whoever whines doesn’t get to do anything!”

The two of them bit their tongues as Emi solemnly took the rusty spade. Together with Marco, she eagerly started to dig in the ground closest to the brick path. Emi dug to the left and Marco farther to the right. It wasn’t long before the little girl started to sweat, so Leon relieved her while Marco kept on digging without interruption.

Even if we find nothing, this outing has been a blessing, Hannah thought to herself as she watched her kids. Frieda winked at her. Hannah walked over to her and gave her a hug. “Thank you, Frieda, for this very special time!”

“My pleasure, Hannah! It’s been good for all of us.”

They smiled at each other, and Hannah knew she would never again be alone with her kids. “I do have one question, though, dear Frieda.”

“Hm?” Her elderly neighbor gave her a questioning look over her half-moon glasses.

“How long have you been watching us?”

Frieda raised her forefinger and chided her. “Now you’re not going to hold any grudges, after all, are you, dear Hannah?”

Hannah smiled and shook her head. “I’m just curious.”

Frieda chuckled. “It wasn’t that long at all. What did take a very long time was the search for you, for someone related to Mirabelle. After I found out what had happened back then with Mirabelle and her mother’s soul, I knew that only a blood relative would be able to save the innocent soul.”

“Did you know that Mirabelle would try to trick us with the potion?”

“I had my suspicions. But I wasn’t sure. To be honest, I hadn’t expected that stupid thing to have the guts to tangle with me. But I was far away, and she felt safe. Ultimately, I knew from her self-recriminations that her vengefulness was the only reason her mother had been robbed of her final peace—which stoked her wrath against the royal family even more.”

Hannah gazed into the forest as she listened to Frieda.

“I knew that only a blood relative could free the soul. And it was not at all easy to find you, Hannah. At the time, your great-grandfather took Mirabelle’s sister and simply disappeared without the least bit of fanfare. Practically overnight, they’d gone off and boarded a ship, and they even changed their names. I can honestly say that years had passed before I discovered who of that family was still living and before I found you.”

“And when you found me, was Andrew still alive?” A disturbing thought had flashed through Hannah’s mind. “Did you have something to do with his death...”

Frieda gasped indignantly. “My dear Hannah, I may not have always told you the truth, but I do not have your husband on my conscience—I promise you that!”

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief.

“By the time I found you, you were already living in that tiny apartment with your three sweet little angels. The only thing you could hold me responsible for is that your neighbor moved out. But I’m sure you’re not angry with me for that.” She chuckled.

“That was a real blessing, dear Frieda!” Hannah was watching her children as they dug away.

“Mom, I’ve got something here!” cried Marco, who had already dug a hole so deep that the whole length of his arm and half his head had disappeared into it. They instantly all rushed over. The spade was making a clong, clong sound as he struck it against the lid of something hard.

“That has to be the gold treasure!” Leon cried excitedly. He wiped his beet-red face, leaving a few bits of dirt on his high forehead. “Quick—get it out!”

Marco kept digging until he had fully uncovered the little box and could lift it out. It was the width of a hand and as long as a forearm. Hannah crouched down beside him and took the box from his hands. She hadn’t believed it till now.

“Open it! Open it!”

Ever so slowly, for what seemed to take an eternity, Hannah opened the lid of the metal chest with its creaking hinges. As the lid fell open, her jaw dropped even more. “I don’t believe it...”

Inside the chest were gold coins, rubies, and emeralds. It was filled to the brim. Hannah slowly shook her head. There was no way this could be true.

“How much is that, Mommy?” asked Emi, whose brown eyes were as round as saucers.

“I don’t know.”

Hannah heard Leon’s high little voice pipe up beside her: “Do we have money now to buy Lena’s baby a present?”

Hannah had to laugh.

“Well, yeah, brother!” cried Marco. “I’m guessing it’s enough that Mom can work less and we’ll still have enough to live on, right?”

A tear trickled down Hannah’s cheek, and she nodded. She looked up to the heavens. Thank you, Maximilian! Thank you for helping me. More and more tears came trickling down until she began to sob.

Unsure of what was going on, Emi gave her a hug. She had never seen her mother crying before. “Mommy, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” The corners of her mouth turned down, and it didn’t take long before she and Leon were wailing as well.

“I’m crying out of happiness and gratitude, sweetie.”

Leon furrowed his kid’s brow. “You didn’t hurt yourself?”

Hannah shook her head and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “No, sweetie, I’m happy beyond belief. We’re all together again, and our money problems are solved. We’re taken care of now.”

“You don’t have to work for Ines anymore?” Emi asked.

“Only if I want to.”

“And?” Frieda asked as she peered at her over her half-moon glasses. “Do you?”

Hannah smiled at her. “No, I want to build something of my own!”

Frieda beamed. “And I’ll help you with it!”

Hannah didn’t know whether that was good or bad, but she had to smile when she saw Frieda’s delighted expression. They could work out the details later. “Let’s go!” Hannah said.

“But I wanted to go into the forest and look for Irmgard!” Emi cried.

“Irmgard died a long time ago. Remember, sweetie, these events took place a hundred years ago or more.”

Emi put her hands on her hips and made her smart-aleck face. “Unicorns get really old, Mommy!”

Right at that moment, a mist swept through the forest, very close by. Hannah stood up and followed it with her gaze. It was too dense to discern any contours, but the glow it emitted spoke of magical powers. Hannah thought she could hear a distant whinnying sound, and she smiled. “There in the mist,” she said, “that’s where the unicorns are galloping by!”

The children’s eyes opened wide, and they wanted to run over, but Frieda and Hannah held them back. “We mustn’t frighten them!”

The mist was heavy and opaque, and they couldn’t distinguish a thing. But they did pick up on the quiet sounds of thundering hooves and snorting. Was a herd of unicorns galloping by?

“The unicorns live in the mist,” Hannah whispered.

After the dense veil of mist had moved on, they started to make their way home. Hannah had convinced the children to save a thorough trek through the woods for another day, when she could show them the route she had taken with Maximilian and Irmgard. Maybe they would even find Mirabelle’s hut. This time, they would go to the top of Rupertsberg, and Leon promised to not be afraid anymore. For now he knew that the unicorns were close at hand and that they would protect human beings if a troll or evil forest gnome approached.

They strolled back to the castle, with its towers so high that Hannah and the kids had to lean their heads way back to see the spires. Up above, a flag was blowing in the wind. They returned to the castle courtyard, where the coachman was indeed still waiting for them. Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. She would not have enjoyed being stuck with her kids in this place that didn’t get any reception—although it could very well be that she hadn’t gotten a signal before because she had traveled through time.

Hannah smiled to herself. She had traveled back in time, ridden on a unicorn, watched as a prince turned into a bear, and battled the Evil, trolls, boggarts, and forest gnomes. What a fabulous adventure!

The coachman came down from the box and held the door. One by one, Emi, Leon, Marco, and Frieda all climbed in. When Hannah’s turn came, she looked back at the castle one last time. “Farewell, Maximilian. I hope you’re well, wherever you are. And many, many thanks for everything!” And by that, she meant more than the treasure chest.

Just as she was about to turn around, the castle portal opened. Was the building inhabited after all? Could a descendant of Maximilian’s be living there? But when she saw who stepped through the door, for a moment, her heart stood still. She went weak in the knees, and a shiver—the kind that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time—ran down her spine.

There, on the steps, standing inside the entrance to the lordly castle, was Prince Maximilian von Lichtenberg. He was magnificent to behold in his dark-blue uniform. His blond hair was parted on the side and neatly combed, and his black boots gleamed. He looked at her with his sea-green eyes as if he had been expecting her. And in his hand, he held the red purse she had left behind in the past.

Hannah blinked hard a number of times. Was she seeing things? This couldn’t be true!

Frieda laid her wrinkled hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “He waited for you.”

“But how can that be? I traveled through time to help him.”

“Well... he did, too.”

“Frieda...”

“I may have coerced you into taking on this adventure without your consent, dear Hannah, but I certainly wouldn’t deny you your happy ending!”

Hannah grew teary-eyed.

“Mommy, is that the prince?” Emi asked.

Hannah’s heart beat faster and faster as Prince Maximilian slowly descended the castle steps. Her knees were about to give way, and her hands were trembling. She was at a total loss for words, when Frieda nudged her from behind. She stumbled a few paces toward Maximilian, and when he stopped and spread his arms, her heart leapt.

Hannah walked toward him as if in slow motion, afraid that a sudden movement could burst the dream like a bubble. But no matter how close she came to the prince, he still remained real, still stood there smiling at her.

She fell into his arms, and he caught her, held her tight, and supported her, just as she had needed all these years. A little later, she felt the children around her legs. The three of them had rushed over as well, as though they had already embraced Maximilian as a part of their lives.

Hannah’s time of existential fears was over. With Maximilian, she now had someone by her side who supported her in everything. He loved the children as if they were his own, and even the little ones seemed relieved that the void had been filled. No one could ever replace their natural father, and they would never forget him any more than Hannah would. But Maximilian gave them strength and assurance. They felt at ease in his presence and could sense how good he was for their mother.

The kingdom was not consigned to oblivion, and the castle did not fall into decay. Hannah and Maximilian never left each other again but spent their days in happiness and contentment. And if they haven’t died, then they’re still alive today!

__________