A Tale of Witchcraft... Read online

  Always.…

  You’d be wise to prepare.

  The grim thoughts faded away as if a switch had been flipped, but Brystal didn’t know where or what the switch was. The sensation was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She wasn’t a stranger to peculiar ideas or unsettling emotions, but this seemed completely random and out of her control.

  These thoughts had a mind of their own.

  CHAPTER TWO

  HAPPINESS

  After a long day of energetic crowds, magical charity, and not-so-natural disasters, Brystal was looking forward to a quiet evening alone. Unfortunately, as soon as the Fairy Council returned to the Academy of Magic, she realized solitude wasn’t in the cards for her.

  “Brystal, can we please talk about this?” Lucy asked. “You’ve been giving me the silent treatment since we left the Western Kingdom.”

  In all honesty, Brystal was furious with her, but Lucy’s behavior at the Western Dam wasn’t the reason for her silence. All Brystal could think about was the strange thoughts that had consumed her during the parade. The longer she dwelled on the experience, the more confusing and upsetting the thoughts became. She hoped a little downtime might help her find an explanation, but Lucy wasn’t going to give her any privacy.

  “Come ooooon, Brystal!” Lucy moaned. “How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?”

  “Until I believe you,” she said.

  Brystal hurried up the front steps of the academy and climbed the floating staircase in the entrance hall, but Lucy persisted.

  “Once again, I sincerely apologize for my behavior today,” Lucy said with a dramatic bow. “What I did was childish, reckless, and downright dangerous—buuuuut, you have to admit, it all worked out for us in the end.”

  “Worked out?” Brystal was appalled by Lucy’s choice of words. “You can’t be serious!”

  “Of course I am! The crowd loved it!” Lucy said. “We gave them a spectacle they’ll never forget and a reason to love magic forever!”

  “You almost killed us and destroyed an entire city!”

  “Yes, but then I saved you!”

  “From a situation you caused! That doesn’t make you a hero!”

  “I told you, I never meant to destroy the dam. Honestly, I didn’t know what my magic was going to do; I just wanted to give the Western Kingdom a show. If you had just listened to me, none of it would have happened!”

  The notion infuriated Brystal. She paused halfway up the floating steps and turned to Lucy with a nasty scowl.

  “Don’t you dare blame this on me!” Brystal said. “You put thousands of people in danger! You nearly destroyed one of the biggest cities in the world! You almost ruined the magical community’s relationship with mankind! And until that sinks in, I’m sorry, Lucy, but you’re out of the Fairy Council!”

  Lucy was so stunned her jaw nearly hit the floor.

  “What?! You can’t kick me out of the Fairy Council!”

  Brystal wasn’t certain she could either. Until now, the council had never needed a protocol for bad behavior.

  “Well… I just did,” Brystal said with a confident nod. “You are hereby stripped of all council privileges until you’re mature enough to take responsibility for your actions. Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I have business to attend to.”

  Brystal left Lucy in a frozen state of shock on the floating steps and headed to her office on the second floor. She pushed through the heavy double doors and sighed with relief at the sight of an empty room.

  The office was a circular and spacious chamber with bookshelves, potion cabinets, and glass furniture. It had floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a breathtaking view of the academy grounds and the sparkling ocean beyond it. Fluffy white clouds drifted through the high ceiling, and bubbles emitted from the fireplace and floated through the air.

  The chamber was filled with unique objects that Brystal and her predecessor, Madame Weatherberry, had collected over the years. On the wall above the fireplace was an enlarged Map of Magic. The map was covered in thousands of twinkling lights, one for every living witch and fairy on earth. The lights showed where they were located throughout the four kingdoms and six territories.

  In the back of the office, beside Brystal’s glass desk, was a very special globe that showed her what the world looked like from space. It allowed Brystal to monitor hurricanes as they blew across the seas and thunderstorms as they swept across the land, but most important of all, Brystal used the globe to keep an eye on the northern lights twinkling above the Northern Mountains.

  “Thank goodness,” she whispered to herself. “You’re still there.”

  Brystal was relieved to see the northern lights hadn’t moved while she was away. She never told anyone why the lights were so important, but then again, no one ever noticed how frequently she checked on them throughout the day. It was the first thing she did in the morning and the last thing she did at night, and on the days the Fairy Council traveled, Brystal always inspected the globe before and after their trips.

  The lights meant Brystal could put her mind at ease, at least, about one thing. The day had provided her with plenty of other concerns—and the day wasn’t over yet.

  “You’re making a huge mistake!” Lucy declared as she burst into the office.

  For a split second, Brystal was tempted to remove Lucy with magic, but she figured it wouldn’t help matters.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because losing a member of the band always ends in disaster!” Lucy explained. “The same thing happened with the Goblin Tenors! A few years ago, one of the goblins was kicked out of the group for eating their fans. But the decision backfired! Without a fourth member, people felt like something was missing from their show, and everyone stopped going to their performances!”

  “Or maybe they stopped showing up because people were getting eaten!”

  Lucy paused for a moment—she had never thought of that before—but she quickly waved it off and went back to her point.

  “Look, I understand I messed up and deserve a punishment, but you shouldn’t put the Fairy Council at risk just to teach me a lesson,” she said. “Everyone knows there are six of us—and that’s what people expect to see! If only five of us show up to our events, people will be disappointed. And just like I said at the Western Dam, if we disappoint people, they’ll start to resent us, and soon, they’ll start hating everyone in the magical community!”

  “Lucy, I sincerely doubt the fate of the magical community depends on your attendance.”

  “Not at first, but it will!” Lucy insisted. “Right now, the Fairy Council is the hottest ticket in town—but the hotter the ticket, the quicker it can fizzle out. I’ve seen it happen so many times I’ve lost count. When performers get too big too fast, they start making mistakes. They get comfortable and stop putting in the work to please people. Corners get cut, promises get broken, and audiences get taken for granted. And just when performers think they’re unstoppable—wham!—the audience ditches them for an act that does meet their expectations!”

  “Lucy, this isn’t show business!”

  “Everything is show business! Why don’t you see that?”

  Brystal took a deep breath and slid into the chair behind her glass desk.

  “I’m not trying to upset you, I’m just looking out for us,” Lucy said. “The magical community is safe because people love the Fairy Council, and if we want to keep the public on our side, we can’t risk upsetting them. Giving people what they want, when they want it, is the best way to ensure our survival.”

  She’s right you know.…

  Once again, the thought came out of nowhere, startling Brystal.

  You’ll never own mankind’s approval.…

  You’ll have to earn it over and over again, until the end of time.…

  Brystal heard the thoughts so clearly she had to remind herself they were only in her mind.

  They may treat you like a savior, but in truth, you’re nothing bu
t a slave…

  A jester in mankind’s court…

  A clown in their circus.

  Brystal was disturbed by what the thoughts implied. She tried to concentrate on where the thoughts were coming from, but each one entered and left her mind so quickly, she couldn’t trace them to a logical train of thought. It was like someone else was dropping the ideas into her head and then running away.

  “I can tell I’m making you think,” Lucy said. “I don’t consider myself an expert in many fields, but for once, I definitely know what I’m talking about. It doesn’t matter how much compassion and charity we give people, they won’t be satisfied unless we entertain them in the process. And luckily, I’m the perfect person to help us do that.”

  She doesn’t want to help you.…

  She only wants to help herself.…

  She’d betray you for an ounce of attention.…

  She’d abandon you for a sliver of glory.

  Brystal tried to ignore the thoughts, but the harder she tried, the louder they seemed. She covered her ears to block them out, but she heard them just as clearly as before. Lucy raised an eyebrow at Brystal and took the gesture personally.

  “Are you seriously covering your ears?” she asked.

  “Lucy, please, I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Brystal said.

  “Why is it so difficult for you to listen to me?”

  “There’s just a lot on my mind and I—”

  “This is about the Western Dam, isn’t it? What will it take to get you to trust me again?”

  “No, it has nothing to do with—”

  “Then what’s your problem? Why are you acting like this?”

  Brystal sighed and sank into the chair behind her desk. Part of her wanted to tell someone about the distressing thoughts, but she was still so confused she didn’t know what to say. Besides, it wasn’t a great moment to have a heart-to-heart with Lucy.

  She wouldn’t understand.…

  No one would.…

  Everyone will think you’re crazy.…

  They’ll find a way to use it against you.…

  They’ve been waiting for a reason to get rid of you.

  Brystal didn’t want to think such horrible things, but she had no control over what the thoughts said. Lucy crossed her arms and studied Brystal like she was a human riddle.

  “Something is troubling you,” she said. “I can sense it—trouble is my specialty.”

  “I told you, I don’t want to talk about it,” Brystal said.

  “Why not? I tell you everything about me!”

  “Please, stop—”

  “No, I won’t stop! I’m not leaving this office until you tell me what’s going on!”

  “Fine! Then I’ll leave!”

  Brystal jumped to her feet and marched to the door, desperate for some alone time. But just as she was about to exit her office, the double doors swung open. Tangerina and Skylene skipped inside carrying the PRAISE and REQUESTS bins. Both bins were overflowing with envelopes.

  “We’ve got more fan mail!” Tangerina announced.

  “You won’t believe how much we got this week!” Skylene said.

  The girls were followed by the massive knight with antlers who guarded the border. The knight was dragging two enormous bags that were bulging with even more envelopes.

  “What’s Horence doing with the mail?” Brystal asked.

  “The border’s been pretty safe since the world fell in love with magic,” Tangerina said. “We needed someone to manage the mail, so we gave him a new job.”

  “Brystal, where do you want us to put your letters?” Skylene asked.

  “Some of those are for me?” Brystal asked.

  Tangerina and Skylene looked at her like she was kidding.

  “They’re all for you,” Tangerina said.

  Brystal couldn’t believe how many people had taken the time to write her. There were hundreds—maybe thousands—of letters and every one of them was addressed to The Fairy Godmother.

  None of those people actually care about you.…

  They only want something from you.…

  They’ll always want more and more.…

  They’ll never be content.

  Brystal stood as still and stoic as possible so the others wouldn’t notice how much the thoughts were affecting her mood.

  “Just put them by the tea table,” she said. “I’ll look through them later.”

  “We’d be happy to sort through your mail if you like!” Tangerina said.

  “Sometimes people send gifts!” Skylene said.

  Lucy crossed her arms and scowled at the girls.

  “Do you guys mind?” she asked. “Brystal and I were in the middle of something before you interrupted.”

  “Actually, I was just leaving,” Brystal said. “Feel free to sort through the mail and keep whatever gifts you find.”

  Tangerina and Skylene sat on the glass sofa and excitedly went through the mail. But once again, before Brystal reached the doors, they were pushed open by another guest. Emerelda charged into the office at a determined pace, making notes on an emerald clipboard.

  “Brystal, do you have a minute?” Emerelda asked. “I’ve been going over our schedule for next week and I have a couple questions for you. I’m trying to iron out all the details so there aren’t any surprises. I won’t let another entitled royal take advantage of us again. Hoodwink us once, shame on them; hoodwink us twice, shame on me.”

  “Honestly, Em, right now isn’t a good time,” Brystal said.

  “Don’t worry, this won’t take long,” Emerelda said, and checked her clipboard. “Queen Endustria would like to name a ship after you while we’re in the Eastern Kingdom next week. I told her it depends on what type of ship it is—I don’t want anyone using the Fairy Godmother to harpoon whales.”

  “Good foresight,” Brystal said, inching closer and closer to the door. “I agree—it depends on the type of ship.”

  “Next, King White wants to name a holiday after you,” Emerelda said. “They want to commemorate the day you sent the Snow Queen into seclusion. I don’t see a problem with it as long as we get to choose the name of the holiday. We should also find out what kind of festivities will take place on this day. We don’t want people playing pin the wand on the fairy to celebrate you.”

  “Sounds good,” Brystal said. “Is that all?”

  “Not quite,” Emerelda said. “King Champion XIV would like to place a statue of you in the Chariot Hills town square. If you’re comfortable with that, I suggest we ask for approval over the sculptor. The last thing we want is something abstract that traumatizes small children.”

  “Tell the king I’ll get back to him on that,” Brystal said, and reached for the door. “Now if you’ll please excuse me, I’m going to get some fresh air.”

  “Brystal!” Lucy said. “Are you seriously going to leave before we finish talking?”

  “Brystal!” Tangerina said. “Someone from the Northern Kingdom sent you the most beautiful bracelet! It looks gorgeous on me!”

  “Brystal!” Skylene said. “Someone from the Southern Kingdom sent you a dead caterpillar! Oh wait, the letter says it was supposed to be a butterfly by the time you opened it. Well, that’s a shame.”

  As Brystal opened the door, a bubbly old woman entered the office. She had violet hair and a purple apron and was very glad to see Brystal—but Brystal groaned at another visitor.

  “Oh good, you’re here!” the old woman said. “You’re a difficult person to track down. Either you’re incredibly busy or incredibly good at avoiding me! HA-HA!”

  “Hi, Mrs. Vee,” Brystal said. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering if you made a decision about the request I sent you?” Mrs. Vee asked.

  “Um… I’m sure I did,” Brystal said. “Remind me what your request was again?”

  “I want to knock down a wall and expand my kitchen,” Mrs. Vee said. “We have a lot more mouths to feed than we used to
. One picture may paint a thousand words, but one oven does not cook for thousands of people! HA-HA!”

  “Of course you can expand your kitchen, Mrs. Vee,” Brystal said. “My apologies for not giving you an answer sooner. The council’s been really busy.”

  As Brystal squeezed past Mrs. Vee in the doorway, Xanthous came running and blocked her escape.

  “Brystal! I just came from the southwest wing of the academy!” He panted.

  “Why? What happened?” she asked.

  “A spell went horribly wrong during lessons this afternoon!” Xanthous said. “All the fairies on the fifth floor were shrunk to the size of pixies!”

  “And they need me to change them back?”

  “Actually, they want your permission to stay small. They mentioned the benefits of downsizing, but I didn’t understand the appeal. Anyway, they wanted to get an answer before they get their hopes up—or down, I should say.”

  Brystal groaned and rolled her eyes.

  “Sure! Whatever they want! I don’t care!”

  Brystal pushed past Xanthous and stomped down the hall. She was used to making decisions and finding solutions, but today she felt like she was drowning in all the requests and questions.

  It’s all too much.…

  There are too many decisions to make.…

  It shouldn’t be on your shoulders.

  For once, Brystal agreed with the strange thoughts. All she wanted was a few moments alone; all she needed was a few moments of quiet, but it seemed like an impossibility.

  Your friends will never know what it’s like.…

  They would snap from all the pressure.…

  They’d be crushed by the responsibility.

  The thoughts made Brystal’s heart rate rise more and more. If she didn’t get away from the others, she was afraid she might explode. Unfortunately, as Brystal proceeded down the hall, her friends followed her.

  “Brystal! Would you like to send a thank-you note for my bracelet?”