NINE

Summer came and went all too soon. Before I knew it, the air was turning colder, and the leaves were beginning to don their fall colors. Willow’s baby was born on a cool, moonlit night. She was a beautiful daughter with Willow’s soft brown eyes and dainty features, and Matthew’s fiery red hair. They named the child Autumn, for the color of her hair was so like the red-gold leaves of fall. I felt a sense of wonder as I held my little niece, wondering how anyone could be so perfect.

Still, I knew of a babe bathed in moonlight, who was forever after cursed with silver-gray hair and haunted eyes. I was careful to keep Autumn away from the light streaming in through the windows, lest she be cursed with the same ugliness as me. I wondered if the faeries were singing in the forest as Mama had said they were when I was newly born. Of course that couldn’t be, for they were the Goblin King’s people, and they were all vanished to wherever faeries vanished. The Goblin King was, himself, roaming about his castle. No doubt wondering what’s become of me, I thought, somewhat guiltily.

Willow was exhausted after her labor, though it had not been very difficult. I left her and Matthew and Autumn to sleep as I walked to my own cottage. My thoughts that night were on the Goblin King. I could think of nothing else, although I tried. Isolese stood at the edge of the forest, as he had done every night since the beginning of summer, patiently waiting. Tonight I knew that I no longer had an excuse to put off going back to the castle with him.

But I can’t leave! Not yet, I thought. My family still needs me. They will be so disappointed if I go back, especially Father. He has grown so strong now, but if I leave him again, it may destroy him. I had never told him of my bargain with the Goblin King, though I suspected he knew my visit was not permanent. But he never pressed me for the truth, and for that I was glad.

Still, even though I told myself I didn’t want to return, there was a small, traitorous part of me that truly longed to see the castle, and the Goblin King, again. For I missed him, as much as I hated to admit it. I truly missed him. I stepped into the cottage and looked over my shoulder at Isolese, who stood like a dark sentinel at the edge of the forest. He pricked his ears as his eyes found mine and seemed to ask silently, Will you return with me tonight?

"Not yet," I whispered, closing the door behind me. "Not yet."

* * * * *

There was a banquet in the village the next day, to celebrate the birth of Autumn. I attended only because I had no conceivable reason not to, though I hadn't slept well at all the night before. My thoughts drifted as I recalled the dreams I’d had, filled with the face of the Goblin King. They hadn’t been nightmares this time. We had danced together again, and I could still feel his arms holding me close. I found myself wishing that I was in his arms for real, gazing into his eyes; the only ones who had ever met and returned my gaze without flinching.

I was wondering what it might be like if he ever kissed me when someone suddenly jerked me back to reality. It was Maggie Lue, who happened to be the designated village seer…or perhaps madwoman, depending on whom one asked. Some people chose to call her a witch, and indeed many have said that she knew a great many curses and spells to cast upon disliked persons…for the right price, of course.

She was the only one in the village who dared to live in the Enchanted Forest. Her small cottage lay nestled between two sprawling oaks, with a garden behind where she grew her strange plants and herbs for the potions and powders she concocted. She had been there for as long as anyone could remember, and although nobody truly liked or trusted her (she was oft cantankerous on the best of days), they respected her wisdom in herb lore enough to buy her healing potions. Some said that she wasn’t human at all, and now, after my time in the castle, I was tempted to believe that there was more truth to this claim than anyone realized.

Now, as Maggie Lue’s crafty black eyes looked me over in the way a cat looks over its prey, I wasn’t sure whether I should be annoyed or relieved that she’d chosen that moment to strike. "You’re dreaming of him, aren’t you, child?" she asked me in a voice as crinkled and dried up as old parchment.

I blinked at her rather foolishly. "Excuse me?"

"Your young man. You have the look of a girl who is dreaming of her first love."

"I most certainly am not dreaming of a ‘first love’!" I retorted, even as I felt my cheeks bloom with color. Maggie Lue was unusually perceptive, but in the case of love she was quite mistaken! I loved the Goblin King no more than I loved his…his horse!

Maggie Lue gave a rueful chuckle that sounded a bit like fingernails being dragged across smooth slate. "If you say so, dear," she replied innocently, and I had the very odd feeling that she’d just heard my very thoughts, if not my words. It was much like the way the Goblin King seemed to always perceive my feelings, no matter how I tried to hide them. It made me nervous, and I looked about for an escape. Willow was speaking to some of her friends; Journey was skipping about with another young girl I vaguely recognized; and Father was nowhere to be seen.

I sighed.

"It’s quite remarkable the way you’ve come home after all these years," the seer was telling me. "From what I’ve heard, your family all seemed to think you were dead. Why would that be, I wonder? I heard that someone had abducted you. How did you manage to escape?"

I sighed again, having no idea how to answer these questions. "I don’t think you would believe me even if I told you," I replied wearily. "So you might as well not ask, for I have no answer to give you."

"Tell me anyway," Maggie Lue insisted. Her eyes twinkled with amusement. "You may be surprised at what I may or may not believe."

I shot her a searching glance. Then suddenly, whether from being fed up with all the questions, or perhaps from the bit of wine I’d tasted, I found myself telling the old seer the entire story. I explained everything from my abduction to my return, and even the indecision I now faced as to whether I should go back or not. The woman listened silently, thoughtfully, and I could tell nothing of what she was thinking. When I finished with the tale, I gave a short laugh. "And so now you’ll probably tell me that I’m quite out of my mind, and maybe you’ll give me one of your remedies made from heaven-knows-what and I-don’t-want-to-know. I’m right, aren’t I?"

She cackled again and reached up to pat my cheek with a withered hand. "No, actually, I was about to tell you that it was a lovely tale, and as for your decision, you should follow your heart and do what you think is right. Do not let your family come between you and what may very well be your eternal happiness. Talk to them and tell them to give you their blessing, no matter what you decide. This way, I think, leaving will not be half so hard. After all, you came back to say goodbye, to tie up the loose ends, as it were."

I stared at the seer. "Y-you believe me? You don’t think I’m mad?" I asked skeptically.

"My dear, whether or not you are mad is not for me to decide. And if your story is real, and your Goblin King is waiting for you, don’t you think he deserves a bit of kindness on your part?" she asked.

"I…I don’t know what to say. But…you’re right. I have waited for far too long. I fear that he may not be well. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll tell my family that I’m going back to him. And…whether or not they bless my decision, I’ll have to accept that," I replied slowly. I turned to the old seer and offered her a sincere smile. "Thank you, Maggie Lue. You are far wiser than anyone ever gives you credit for. And you are certainly not insane."

Maggie Lue chuckled, her eyes twinkling. "Don’t dare tell anyone that," she confided in a hushed whisper, giving me an absolutely wicked wink. "There are advantages to being thought a lunatic." She chuckled again and stood up—rather easily for being so old and stiff—then reached into her woven basket. When she withdrew her hand, in it was clutched a strangely familiar flower. She handed it to me with a mysterious smile, saying nothing. Then she turned and walked away almost gracefully, despite her stooped appearance, leaving me staring at the bloom with stunned wonder.

It was an Aurelia’s Blossom.

I leaped to my feet, looking around wildly. "Maggie Lue, wait! Where did you…?" My questions died in my throat as I looked for the old seer. She was nowhere to be found. Softly stroking the velvety petals of the flower, I tucked it inside my bodice, next to my heart, and shook my head with a bemused smile and a soft sigh. Apparently, there was more to Maggie Lue than anyone would ever realize.