The moment we returned to my parents’ castle, Grandmother came running down the steps to the courtyard. I was still getting off my magic carpet when she said, “Emma, I have to talk to you. Where is that girl Adara? I thought she was with you.”
“She’s right here,” I said, patting my pocket. Adara peeked out and blinked.
“A mouse, huh?” said Grandmother. “Good choice, although I would have turned her into a rat. Hand her over to Eadric. I want to talk to you without her listening in.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said, passing Adara to Eadric.
Grandmother and I walked only as far as the dovecote before we stopped to talk. “I found that information I told you about,” she said. “Adara got one thing right: Ermingarde was married to King Snodgrass. She was his first wife, marrying him when they were both very young. She died childless a year later. I believe it was Mud Fever, which wasn’t uncommon those days in damp places like Lower Mucksworthy. Snodgrass had five wives, but none of them gave him children until the last two. He was old by then and practically in his dotage. That girl doesn’t have a drop of our blood in her and she knows it! Saying that she looks like Ermingarde! I knew she was lying the moment she said it!”
“I’m not surprised that we’re unrelated,” I told Grandmother. “Adara said something that made me wonder about her and Frazzela, so I scryed their meeting. This whole visit was a scheme they cooked up to get Eadric away from me.”
“I had a feeling it was something like that!” Grandmother cried. “I don’t know if you really want Frazzela as your mother-in-law, Emma!”
I sighed and shook my head. “I’m marrying Eadric, not his mother. I really want to like her, but she’s making it very hard. Thank you for letting me know what you found out,” I said, and kissed her cheek. “At least my relatives are wonderful!”
When I joined Eadric in my tower room, Adara was sitting on my worktable, complaining. “Emma never let me ask Queen Willow! Now I’ll be stuck as a mouse for the rest of my life!” She saw me then and became even more agitated. “Until we left the garden, I thought it didn’t matter that you hadn’t let me ask her. I was sure you would ask her for me. But no, it was never the right time, and you were too busy to think about helping me!”
“I didn’t need to ask her,” I replied.
“Why, because you want me to stay a mouse forever so Eadric won’t choose me?” asked Adara.
Eadric snorted. “Emma doesn’t have to worry about that. I was never going to choose you for anything. Since the day Emma and I kissed and she turned into a frog like me, I’ve known that Emma is my true love. I would go anywhere and do anything for her. My life would be worthless if she wasn’t in it.”
“Oh, Eadric,” I said, and stepped into his waiting arms.
We kissed then, but were interrupted when Adara whined, “Do you have to do this now?”
I pulled away reluctantly. Eadric touched my cheek, then glanced down when the mouse squeaked. Turning back to me, he said, “Do you have a piece of parchment that I could use? I need to write someone a note.”
When I handed it to him, I was thinking so hard about what I was going to say to Adara that it didn’t occur to me to ask about the note. As he walked toward my window seat, I looked at the mouse and said, “You must know that you never stood a chance with Eadric. He is the love of my life, too. It’s time that you forgot him and found your own true love. I know you came here because Queen Frazzela sent you. I also know that you’ve been lying to us. We are not related in any way. If you continue to pursue Eadric, I will make sure that you remain a mouse for the rest of your life. However, if you promise to leave now, and never come near Eadric or me again, I’d be happy to turn you back myself.”
“But I thought we either had to find the fairy who cast the spell or ask the Fairy Queen, who can fix anything,” said Adara.
“We could have done that, but have you already forgotten that I can be a dragon? Dragon magic is even stronger than fairy magic. I could have turned you back at any time. I was just waiting until the moment was right.”
“So is this the right time?” Adara asked me.
“It is if you make that promise. Remember, if you go back on your word, I can always turn you into a mouse again. Or maybe it will be something else, like a rat with mange or a squishy slug.”
“I was going to make that promise anyway,” said Adara. “I can’t look at Eadric anymore without remembering what he looked like as a frog. I don’t like frogs, and the thought of kissing one turns my stomach.”
“And you’ll leave right away?” I asked.
Adara sighed. “I promise to leave right away and never come back. Why would I stay? The people in this castle are crazy!”
“In that case …” Setting the little mouse on the floor, I said:
A human girl became a mouse
When a fairy spell was cast.
Return her to her normal shape;
The mouse form cannot last.
When nothing happened, it occurred to me that I needed to be a dragon, at least partway, for my magic to undo a fairy’s. I started the change just enough to feel scales forming on my skin before I repeated the mouse-to-human spell. In an instant, Adara looked just as she had before Nightshade cast his spell. She was still as beautiful on the outside as she’d been before, but now that I knew what she was really like, I didn’t see how anyone could think she was attractive.
“How should we send her home?” I asked Eadric. “I believe your mother’s carriage is still here.”
“Excellent!” said Eadric. “Then Adara can take this note to my mother. Get your things, Adara. Your ride will be leaving within the hour.”
Beautiful Princess Adara twitched her nose and scurried from the room. I couldn’t help but think that her movements were a little more furtive now—almost like a mouse’s.
We had just reached the bottom of the stairs when I turned to Eadric and said, “May I ask, what did you tell your mother?”
“Here, I’ll read it to you,” he replied.
Dear Mother,
I know you mean me all the best, but you need to stop interfering in my life. I am going to marry Emma, my one true love, regardless of what you do or say. I knew what you were up to as soon as Adara arrived in your carriage. Really, Mother! Could you be more obvious? Trying to tempt me away from Emma by sending your hand-picked princess? It was never going to work!
Adara is a beautiful girl, but she is not for me. Neither Adara nor any other princess could ever compare to my Emma. I will never give Emma up for anyone, including you and Father. We will be getting married in a few weeks. If you and Father want to be part of my life, and that of my future children, you have to accept Emma and stop trying to break us up.
Your son (if you’ll accept Emma),
Eadric
I couldn’t stop grinning. “Wow! That says it all. You really didn’t give her much choice. A few weeks, huh? Were you planning to talk to me about that?”
“Right now!” Eadric said, taking my hand. “Emma, will you marry me as soon as we can get it all arranged? A few weeks would do. Even sooner would be better.”
Reaching up, I tugged his head close to mine and kissed him. “I would love to marry you as soon as possible,” I told him after a long and lovely kiss. “Thank you for being you!”
“You’re welcome?” he said as if unsure how to respond.
“I am so lucky!”
Eadric wore a goofy grin when he said, “Why is that?”
“Because I already know who my true love is, and I don’t have to look for him or wait for him to come looking for me!”
Eadric and I were watching the carriage roll away with Adara inside when Grassina joined us on the castle steps. “There’s a rumor going around that you helped the Fairy Queen and have made all the fairies very happy. Would you please tell me what happened?” she asked.
“Nothing much,” I said. “I reunited Willow with her true love, Acorn, and stopped a troublesome fairy from taking over. The queen is happy because she’s about to enjoy the future she always wanted. Acorn is happy because he has Willow in his life. And the fairies are happy because the queen they love and respect is back. I learned a very important lesson from all of this, too. You should always believe in your one true love, even if it means you have to fight for him.”