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“OH, IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL, Mary!” Aurora held the green velvet dress against her body and ran a hand along the carefully stitched bodice. “Did you make this yourself?”
Despite the feeling of dread that loomed over Aurora’s birthday party, Mary looked quite pleased with herself. “Oh, yes! I did!”
“It’s so pretty.” Aurora had tears in her eyes as she stroked the soft material. “I’ve never worn something so pretty. It must’ve taken you forever to make this!”
“Well... yes!” Mary wasn’t going to lie; everyone chuckled at her straightforward response.
“I’m going to go try it on.”
As Aurora headed to her bedroom, Molly held out an arm to stop her, nearly clotheslining her in the process. “Not yet, birthday girl! I haven’t given you my gift yet!”
“Oh... right! I’m sorry, Molly. Go ahead.”
From the pocket of her apron, Molly pulled out a small box. Her smile broadened as she held it out to Aurora, who opened the box as soon as it was handed to her. Inside the box was a carved wooden bird.
“I carved it myself...it’s a good luck charm,” Molly explained. “You should keep it with you at all times.”
“Oh, I will. It’s very nice.” Aurora held the trinket in the palm of her hand. “You guys didn’t have to make me such nice gifts. You guys didn't have to make me any gifts.”
Molly smiled at Aurora’s humble words. At least there would be one princess in the world who wasn’t the least bit spoiled.
“Well, I’m going to try on the dress. I’ll be right back!”
When Aurora slipped into her bedchamber, the three women exchanged uneasy glances. Something bad was going to happen today—they could feel it in their old bones. They could no longer protect her, and Medea wasn’t one to waste time.
“So, should we tell her?” Molly asked with a sigh. “It might be our last chance.”
“Yes,” Mary’s high-pitched voice squeaked an opinion, “I think we should.”
“We should have told her a long time ago,” added Meg. “I hated having to lie to the poor girl.”
The women fell into silence until Aurora returned—and as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom in her new dress, Charmaine stepped out of the kitchen holding a cake.
Charmaine?!
“What’s he doing here?” Aurora shrieked. She regretted the words as soon as they flew from her mouth. As crazy as he was, she didn’t want him to feel unwelcome.
“What do you mean, what am I doing here?” Charmaine let out a haughty chuckle as he swaggered into the room. “Your fiancé should be at your party, should he not?”
Three angry gazes of three white-haired witches swiveled in his direction, but even then, Charmaine didn’t realize he’d said too much.
“What... fiance?! I, uh... I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Charmaine, but I never agreed to marry you!” Aurora’s panicked eyes found Molly’s, and she quickly tried to explain, “I met this man in the woods a few days ago. I barely know him! And he never said anything about a proposal!”
Meg slowly shook her head. She grabbed the cake from Charmaine’s hands and resisted the temptation to shove it into his face. “You’re not the one who has explaining to do, Aurora. We do.”
Charmaine, in an attempt to change the subject and cover for his mistake, whipped a small slip of paper from his pocket. “Never mind that. I have written a poem for you, my love! You haven’t exactly taken kindly to my poetry, but if you give me a moment, I’m sure you’ll enjoy—”
“Wait!“ Aurora interrupted. “What’s going on here? Do you guys know Charmaine? Did someone invite him? Why didn’t anyone bat an eye when he called himself my fiancé?!”
Mary ran to Aurora’s side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You might want to take a seat, dearest. Like Meg said... we all have some explaining to do.”
“Whaaat?” Aurora took Mary’s advice and fell onto the nearby sofa, her thoughts racing dizzily. “Is Charmaine...?”
“Your fiancé,” Molly finished. “Technically, he is.”
“But how is that possible? Charmaine said he was a prince!”
“And you’re a princess,” Molly finished.
Aurora’s gaze swept to every face in the room. Suddenly, she felt like she was the butt of a joke, and she was the only one who didn’t understand the punch line. As Molly proceeded to explain the circumstances of her birth, Aurora swore she could hear insects buzzing in her head.
And Molly spared no details. She told Aurora everything. She told her about her aunt’s curse, and her father’s decision to banish her.
“But I don’t understand!” Aurora exclaimed. “Why wouldn’t Medea come after me sooner? Why couldn’t she just finish the job along time ago?”
“There’s a simple answer to that question,” said Mary, who was sitting beside Aurora with an arm wrapped around her. “Your aunt’s black magic has little use on children.”
“Well, if that’s the case, why couldn’t my father keep me in the castle?!” Her mind was swarming with questions.
It was Meg’s turn to explain. “We, too, have some knowledge of magic. It is because of our charms and incantations that she hasn’t been able to approach you. The king thought it would be best if we were around to protect you.”
Aurora rolled her eyes. She watched Prince Charmaine cut himself a second slice of cake, and suddenly she wanted to cry. She had no appetite for it, but at least he seemed to be enjoying himself. “Protect me?” Aurora hissed. “More like he wanted to wash his hands of a burden... my own father! I can’t believe it. I always thought I was an orphan.”
“It’s difficult to explain,” said Molly. “We were just as confused by his decision as you were. In the end, though, I think he made the right decision. I wouldn’t trade these eighteen years for the world.”
“And my mother? I guess she didn’t care to protest? And what does Charmaine have to do with any of this? Someone please explain!”
Upon hearing his name, Charmaine spoke up, “This cake is delicious. Would you like some?” His question was answered by nasty looks from all ladies present.
“Charmaine is... well... he’s...” Even Molly was having trouble finding the right words for him. “Your betrothal was ordained at your birth, and Medea’s magic can’t simply kill someone. As powerful as she is, there isn’t a single spell that will rip someone’s soul from their body.”
“That’s fine and all,” Aurora said, “but why not bury an axe in my head instead? If she really wanted me gone, and sooner than later, she could have hired someone to kill me.”
Mary, who looked dangerously close to weeping, shook her head. “It’s not as easy as that, dear. Once again... our incantations have protected this place. Until this very day, Medea has been unable to make contact because of us. But now that her curse is in effect, there isn’t a spell in the world that could hide you from her.”
“Well, that’s encouraging.” Her sarcasm made Mary squall into a handkerchief, and Aurora felt a bit guilty for taking on such a cynical tone. “I still don’t understand how Charmaine fits into the picture.”
Charmaine’s fork dove into his slice of cake. “I’m your fiance! Need there be any other reason for my presence?”
“Actually, there is a reason,” Molly amended. “Your aunt Medea’s magic can’t take a life, but she has other tricks up her sleeve. Her favorite spell involves putting her victim into a deep sleep... a coma of sorts... one from which she can never wake. It is as close to death as you can imagine, unless...” She cast a hopeless glance in Charmaine’s direction. “Unless the victim is awoken with a kiss. That is the only way to break the spell. Which means, of course, that you would need to be with Charmaine.”
“With Charmaine?” Aurora made eye contact with him, and he winked at her.
Mary started stroking Aurora’s hair, hoping to reassure her with a motherly caress. “He really isn’t so bad, dear, once you get to know him.”
“And have you gotten to know him?”
Mary’s lip quivered. “Well, no.”
“Who I want to be with... isn’t that for me to decide?!”
“Well, Charmaine is the obvious choice,” Molly said, “him being your fiancé and all.”
“If you can forgive him for being a dimwit,” added Meg, and Charmaine sent a scowl in her direction.
“This is too much.” Aurora leapt from the sofa and ran to the cottage door. “I have a lot to think about. I think I want to be alone for a bit.”
Before her godmothers could protest, Aurora threw open the door and fled.
“Oh, but it’s dangerous out there!” Molly tried to call out to her, but it was too late. Aurora was already gone. “Well, it can’t be helped. I can only imagine what she must be feeling right now.” Molly turned her attention back to Charmaine, who was licking white icing from his lip. “Will you look after her?”
“Who... me?”
“Yes, you.”
“You mean... right now?”
“Yes, right now! Unless you've given up already... and I would understand if you have. It might be impossible to woo a girl like Aurora. She’s always been a bit cynical about love, and—”
“Say no more, Miss Molly!“ Without another word of protest, Charmaine bowed to the three ladies and headed for the door. “With pleasure, I will guard her with my life!” the prince declared, and ventured off to find his unwilling fiancé.