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AURORA RETURNED TO her favorite spot in the woods, sat on her stump, and buried her face behind her hands. There were so many thoughts swimming in her head, she thought her brain would drown.
A princess?
A curse?
Marry Charmaine?
How quickly one’s life could change. She rubbed her hands across her face, hoping it would somehow wake her from this nightmare. She wished she could disappear into yesterday and stay there forever, to be a simple girl with a simple life.
The sound of snapping twigs alerted her to Charmaine’s presence. She saw him out of the corner of her eye and politely waved him over.
“Really? You’re asking me to join you?” Charmaine asked with a smirk. “I’m pleasantly surprised. A moment ago, you said you wanted to be alone.”
“Yeah, well... I changed my mind. I need someone to talk to.”
Charmaine patted the grass before he sat beside her. “You don’t think this grass will stain my pants, do you? These are very expensive pants, you know. They were tailor-made. Well, all of my clothes are tailor-made, of course, but I’m especially fond of these. The tailor who made them was particularly skilled.”
Aurora groaned. She needed someone to talk to, but present company left something to be desired.
Charmaine could see the disappointment on her face, so he quickly changed the subject. “So, what did you want to discuss?”
“Do you even need to ask? Everything!”
“Everything, as in... what?”
“Everything!” Aurora repeated. “I’m troubled by everything they told me. It all seems so foreign to me. Am I really a princess? I mean... it can’t really be true, can it?”
“It’s very true indeed,” Charmaine assured her.
“And I’m going to die?” Aurora whispered. “My aunt is going to kill me? So much for a happy family reunion, huh?” She almost laughed at her sarcasm, but her heart was too heavy for laughter. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?”
“Well, you can’t blame me! I only met you three days ago!”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” Aurora buried her face behind the palms of her hands and heaved a sigh that seemed to last forever. “I never asked for any of this. I had dreams for the future, and none of them involved being a princess.”
“Is it really so bad?”
Aurora peeked at him from behind her fingers. “Well, it changes everything, that’s for sure. I just wanted to live a normal life. I wanted to open my own shop... maybe a pie shop, or a sweet shop. I wanted to make truffles and cinnamon rolls, licorice and fudge.”
“Well, maybe you should be glad that didn’t come to pass.” Charmaine raked his eyes over Aurora's body. “All that candy couldn’t have been good for your figure. Not to mention, your teeth...”
“Charmaine!” she snapped at him. “You’re not helping!”
Her scolding must have gotten through to him, because he changed his tone completely. “Aurora, my pet, you need to look on the bright side. Most young women would be thrilled to find out they’re a princess. Most orphans would be happy to know their parents are alive. You have three aunts who love you, who are trying to do whatever it takes to save you. You needn’t be so glum.”
Aurora’s eyes widened. The fact that such encouraging words were coming from Prince Charmaine was unbelievable. “Wow, that’s... that’s actually good advice. I like you like this, Charmaine.”
“You like me?”
Aurora’s smile dissipated. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. “Well... yeah. You seem more direct... more real. I highly doubt the real Prince Charmaine walks around reciting poetry at a moment’s notice. When you’re not trying too hard to impress someone, your company is nice.”
From his pocket, Charmaine extracted the slip of paper where he’d scribbled a poem. He was going to read it to her, but he was having second thoughts. “You really don’t like my poetry, do you?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t like it!” she protested. “But I’d like it better if you acted like yourself.”
“Oh, well... in that case.” All of a sudden, Charmaine tilted his head toward her. Inexperienced as she was, it took her a few seconds to realize what he was doing. He was leaning in for a kiss! She literally rolled off the stump to dodge it.
“What? Wait! No!”
“You told me to act like myself. The real Charmaine isn’t shy, and he doesn‘t waste time. I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the moment I met you.” He leaned in again, but she scooted backward. “Someday I might have to kiss you out of a coma. We might as well practice, right?”
“Well... no!”
“Don’t be foolish. You know I’m handsome. Even I know I’m handsome.”
“Being handsome has nothing to do with it! I hardly know you!”
“You don’t have to know someone to kiss them. In fact, if we’re going to make a connection, I can think of no better way to do it!”
For a third time, Charmaine tried to steal a kiss. She laid a hand over his mouth to block him and uttered his name as sternly as she could. “Charmaine, I most certainly do need to know someone if I’m going to kiss him! At my age, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but...”
“You’ve never kissed anyone.” When she didn‘t correct him, he knew he was right. “Well, now’s a good time to start!”
Before he could move in on her again, Aurora leapt to her feet and walked several paces away from him. She regretted having asked him to “be himself.” His kind and thoughtful remarks must have been a rare thing indeed. Still, she wondered if it was too early to give up on him. Between moments of spouting drivel, superfluous self-loving, and attempts to ambush her for a kiss, there were glimpses of a more charming Charmaine.
“I better get back to the cottage.”
Charmaine leapt up. “Leaving so soon?”
“Yeah, I think so. I don’t want my aunts to worry.”
“Would you like me to go with you?”
“No, that’s alright.”
“As much as I’d like to be a gentleman and insist on accompanying you, I cannot. I told the old ladies I’d look after you, but there are pressing matters I must attend to.” Charmaine took her hand and lightly kissed the back of it. A kiss on the hand must have fallen into the category of acceptable kisses, because she didn’t protest. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“Of course. I’ll see you soon?”
“You’re my fiancé. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.” His own words brought to mind a provocative image, but he quickly pushed it out of his head. “Until next time, Princess.”
Charmaine breathed a sigh of relief when Aurora headed off. Once again, he pulled the piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. As he scanned the poem, his eyes were drawn to the words Dearest Cydney at the top of the page. For once, he was glad for Aurora’s aversion to poetry. He could be sure she wouldn’t insist on seeing it.
“Speaking of Cydney...” As he whispered to himself, Charmaine raised the poem to his nose and inhaled deeply. “My pressing matters await.”
* * *
AS SHE WALKED BACK to the cottage, Aurora looked down at her feet. The hem of her green birthday dress was already muddied, and there was a hole in the top of her slipper. She looked more like a pauper than a princess, she realized with a frown.
“I’ll have to apologize to Mary,” she said, staring at the muddied hem, grimacing at her carelessness.
But it wasn’t Mary who came rushing toward her—it was Meg. Her face was flushed, her eyes were wide with panic, and her voice was filled with a sense of urgency. “Aurora!” she called out to her. “Aurora, come here, quickly!”
“Meg?” Aurora hurried to the older woman and gave her a brief hug. “What’s wrong? You look terrified!”
“I haven’t had a chance to give you your birthday present.”
Aurora’s tense shoulders were eased by premature relief. “Is that why you’re so upset?”
Without another word, Meg reached into the front pocket of her apron and pulled out an elongated wooden shaft. On the rounded end of the shaft, there was a dial. Several unfamiliar characters etched into the wood.
When she offered the gift to Aurora, all she could do was stare at it. “What is it?”
“My gift to you. It’s a wayspinner.”
“A way... what?”
“A wayspinner,” Meg repeated, speaking so hurriedly that she was a bit breathless. “It’s a priceless object, and they’re very rare. If you want to get technical, it’s a sort of magic wand. I made this one myself.”
“You made it?” Aurora took the object from Meg’s hand and held it toward the light. “Well... what does it do?”
“Quickly, you don’t have much time! Turn the dial!”
“What? Why? What does it do?” For the first time, she looked over Meg’s head and noticed a ribbon of smoke in the distance. It was coming, without question, from the direction of the cottage. “Wait a second! Meg, what’s going on?”
“Oh, it’s so terrible... but I don’t have time to explain! She’s coming for you!” Meg laid a hand over Aurora’s, encouraging her to grasp the wayspinner more tightly. “Just know this: turning the dial will whisk you out of harm’s way whenever danger approaches. Use it now!”
“Meg, you need to tell me what’s going o—!” Before she would finish speaking, a strange noise pierced the sky. It sounded like a shrieking bird, but the noise was so sharp that it made Aurora’s hair stand on end. “What was that?”
“If you’re not going to do it...” Meg reached toward Aurora, turned the wooden dial, and quickly stepped away. “Please, Aurora, be safe!”
Aurora heard another shriek; this time, it was closer.
Then she was enveloped by a flash of light, so bright that it blinded her for several seconds. She had the strangest sensation that her body was being turned upside down, then back again, like an hourglass.
The wayspinner had done its job.