Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (12 page)

“What has she to do with the Beast?” asked Tulip, looking from the sisters to her nanny, confounded. “Who are these women?”

Nanny placed her hand on Tulip’s arm to calm her.

“They are Circe’s sisters, dear. They’re here to help us find her.”

Circe’s sisters? Can that be true?
Tulip looked at the odd sisters, for surely they were sisters. They had to be; they looked exactly like each other in every respect. There was something sinister about them, something foul. She didn’t like the look of them now that she had a chance to take in the entire scene. Their hair was black as a bucket of tar, their skin was white as a cuttlefish bone, and their overly large eyes were lined with black, making them look rather more deep-set than they ought to have been. They were painfully thin, these sisters, with long skeletal hands adorned with rings that hung loose on their bony fingers.

It looked as though a necromancer had summoned them from the grave for the Samhain ball. There was no way the frightful hags were related to Circe.

No way at all.

“Be careful, dear, or we might take the bell in your soul,” said Lucinda, laughing.

“Blight her, Lucinda! She’s stolen our cat!” “We can boil her in oil and give her bones to the Romanian witch as an offering!”

“Calm yourselves, Sisters,” said Lucinda, laughing. “She’s stolen nothing. Remember, our Pflanze lived in the Beast prince’s castle when he was engaged to Tulip. She didn’t know she belonged to us. How could she?”

Nanny was surprised that Lucinda was being so sensible. Still, Ruby and Martha were seized by little twitches, trying to contain their anger. They had been so reserved the past several months, so quiet, so unlike themselves. It took all their willpower to keep themselves from opening a door to Hades right there and then and shoving the little brat within so they’d never have to see her stupid angelic face again.

“Watch your thoughts, good sisters,” warned Nanny.

“So the One of Legends has remembered she’s a telepathist.”

Tulip felt she might be losing her mind.

“Who is this One of Legends they speak of?” she asked.

The sisters laughed. Tulip’s head spun; she felt like she was caught within their laughter and she would never escape.

“Why, it’s your dear sweet nanny. Didn’t you know, my dear? She’s a witch like…us.” Martha cackled.

Tulip backed away from the witches as if they were deadly serpents.

“You’re
what
?”

The witches could see Tulip trying to take it all in. Nanny felt she had made a horrible mistake not sending Tulip away while she dealt with this matter. She hadn’t wanted to diminish the princess’s chances with Popinjay, but this wasn’t working. It was a disaster. There was far too much to explain to Tulip to make her understand, and they were losing time.

“I’m sorry, my dear heart, but I think it’s time for you to sleep.”

Tulip looked dazed, as if in a waking dream. “Yes, if you’ll excuse me, I think I will go rest now.”

With a kiss for her nanny, Tulip went off to her rooms, where she would stay until Nanny went to wake her.

“I see you remember how to put young girls to sleep,” said Lucinda, laughing. It had been a very long time since Lucinda had laughed; she had laughed more on that day than she had in several months and thought it was a very fine thing. Her sisters seemed to agree, because they joined her. Their laughter swelled and fed upon itself, becoming louder and wickeder until it filled the entire sitting room, shaking it and rattling the chandeliers.

No, witches, no!

It was Pflanze, making her thoughts known to all the witches.

You will catch this beautiful room on fire!
she said, looking up at the chandelier bouncing about, jostling the lit candles.

“Ladies, tea is waiting for us in the solarium. The view is much better there and the room is less, ah…combustible,” said Nanny as the footmen came into the room. She turned to them. “The princess is very vexed from her ordeals over the past several days, so I gave her something to soothe her nerves. Could you please tell Rose to make sure she’s made it to her rooms?”

“Yes, mum.”

“Now, let’s go help ourselves to some tea.”

The witches made their way to the solarium down a long hallway with striking murals, which looked particularly lovely in the golden candlelight. Tea was waiting for them, with tiny pink frosted cakes, scones with clotted cream and lemon curd, and a beautiful cherry and walnut cake. Ruby sneakily slipped one of the black-and-silver teacups into her purse while fawning over the selection of confections.

“What a lovely tea, Nanny. Very thoughtful.”

The main room was astonishingly beautiful, with its glass-domed ceilings and breathtaking view of the rest of the Lighthouse of the Gods. The twilight sky was darkening, and sunset was almost upon them. The witches were growing nervous about the part they must play in Ursula’s plot.

“That’s why we’re here, sisters. We know what you’re planning with Ursula.”

Lucinda was quick to anger. “Has the Dark Fairy contacted you, then? Did she send you her odious warning, as well?”

Nanny hadn’t heard from the Dark Fairy in ages. In fact, she had forgotten all about her until recently, much like her powers. She had lost her memories before coming to the Morningstar court.

“No, I can’t imagine she’d be involved with this madness,” she said as Martha scoffed.

“She was always a favorite of yours, wasn’t she? Always so perfect. She could never do wrong in your eyes, not even when she destroyed the Fairylands in a fit of rage.”

Nanny sighed. “I thought she was
your
friend.”

“And so she is,” said Lucinda. “But I won’t have her interfering with our plans to find Circe! She has crossed the line with us far too many times. It’s time she was knocked down from the lofty place she’s set herself upon!”

Nanny was growing impatient.

“We’re not here to discuss Maleficent! Her story is too long and complicated to debate in the time we have left, but I am interested in this warning she sent you.”

Lucinda rolled her eyes. “It was nothing. I won’t discuss it.”

Then, giving Nanny a sly look, she continued. “I’d rather discuss how you came to remember who you are. How long were you here among the Morningstars, not knowing your own powers? Not remembering?” She smiled. “I wonder just how much you truly remember.”

Nanny remained calm and gracious in the face of Lucinda’s torments.

“I am remembering more with every moment, my dear, ever since Pflanze came to court. Though truly I think it began when I was in her company while visiting the Beast prince, though I didn’t know it at the time. I suppose I should thank you, sisters, for sending her there to spy.”

Martha and Ruby looked at Pflanze, outraged. “Pflanze! How could you betray our secrets?”

Nanny laughed at the sisters.

“Pflanze didn’t betray you!”

Ruby and Martha were pacing with worry.

“Lucinda, how could you send our cat to the One of Legends? She’s turned her against us!”

Lucinda closed her eyes, willing herself not to strangle her sisters. “How was I supposed to know she was Tulip’s nanny? She didn’t possess her powers! There was no means to track her! For all I knew, she was dead.”

Pflanze was sitting quietly and patiently in front of the enormous solstice tree while the witches argued. The tree towered to the heights of the domed ceiling. She was watching the silver decorations reflect the candlelight and the light casting itself about the room. But her attention was diverted to the debacle of her plans. How could she have thought she could bring these witches together and accomplish anything at all, let alone save Circe’s life?

“What do you mean ‘save Circe’s life’?” asked Lucinda, who was in a frenzy. “What do you mean? Is Circe in danger?” Pflanze breathed in heavily and let her breath out slowly, sighing. She had made a terrible mistake. She had to try to keep her witches from losing their minds; she needed them
sane
. She needed to show them what had happened. Words could be interrupted, twisted, and misunderstood.

She needed to
show
her witches; then they would understand. Then they would know.

“Show us what?” The sisters were on their feet again, screaming and clicking their shiny black-pointed boots. “Show us Circe! Show us our sister!” The glass in the domed ceiling was rattling, threatening to shatter, but the sisters didn’t seem to take notice or care.

“Show us Circe!”

“Calm yourselves, please! You’ll have glass raining down on our heads!” Nanny shouted.

The sisters were in a rampant delirium, screaming and ripping the ribbons in their hair. Their ringlets were in tangles and their makeup was smeared from crying.

“Show us our sister!
Lucinda, use the mirror!
” shouted Martha.

Lucinda snatched Ruby’s purse and took out the enchanted hand mirror.

“Lucinda, we’ve tried summoning her in the mirror! It doesn’t work!” yelled Ruby, but Lucinda wasn’t listening.

“Show us Circe!” Lucinda screamed at her terrified reflection in the mirror.

Nanny snatched the mirror from Lucinda’s shaking hand. “Show us Circe!”

A strange sickly creature appeared in the mirror. It was a horrid greenish gray with deep blackened pits for eyes.

“Damn this mirror to nothingness! Show us our sister!”

“That is your sister, my dears. That creature
is
Circe.”

T
he odd sisters sat in disbelief as they looked into their enchanted hand mirror. Their poor dear little sister! How could this creature be their Circe? And why was the One of Legends able to conjure her when they could not?

“I asked Pflanze to bring you here because I’m afraid Ursula is going to break her deal,” Nanny said solemnly.

“What deal?” chimed the sisters as one.

“I don’t think she plans to give Circe back, like she promised you.”

The sisters’ heads cocked to the left in a quick jerk. They seemed to be looking at something very far away, in almost a trancelike state, until Lucinda finally responded. “Give her back? What do you mean give her back?”

“I’m sorry, I assumed you knew.”

“Knew what? What in Hades are we supposed to know?”

“That Ursula took Circe. I thought that’s why you were helping her.”

“No, we called her for help. She said she’d help us find Circe once we destroyed Triton.”

“I see, so you agreed to ruin Ariel and kill Triton for your own pleasure?”

“Not for pleasure! For Circe! Ursula told us her tale and gathered our hate so we could destroy Triton together! In return she was to help us find our sister! Now our hate will rain down on her like a thousand nightmares for betraying us! She will live in baleful agony beyond the end of her days for this!”

Lucinda rose to her feet. Her sisters remained sitting, utterly astounded that Ursula had used them so shamelessly. Clearly Ursula hadn’t been lying about her brother; they had seen the proof of Triton’s treachery in the divination fires.

“Triton truly deserves to die, there was no question, so why this betrayal?” Lucinda screamed. “There was no need to deceive us! I don’t understand. Perhaps Ursula thought we would refuse her. We would have helped no matter, and what if we
had
refused? Was she going to threaten us with the life of our sister? Blackmail!”

Lucinda was raging with anger, clutching the hand mirror. “Where is Ursula now? Show me the sea witch!”

Vanessa appeared in the mirror. She was on the wedding ship, looking like a maniacal bride. Her pallor was almost ghastly. It was as if her anger was starting to distort her lovely guise and the sea witch was now melding with Vanessa. Ariel was lying on the deck of the ship and Eric was looking on in horror as Vanessa bellowed, “You’re too late! You’re too late!”

Lightning burst from her fingertips, penetrating the sky like the worst of storms, before her true form exploded from her human shell, causing everyone on the ship to scream in horror, as she crawled along the deck like a slithering thing of nightmares toward Eric and the little mermaid.

“She has Ariel!” screamed Ruby. “We’re too late!”

Lucinda clutched the mirror and said, “No. No we’re not!”

She cast her hand at the chamber door, sealing it with her magic so none of the servants would be able to get in. She moved to the center of the room and stood beneath the glass dome. The sky exploded with light as fireworks burst above their heads, raining down upon the dome. Ships had been gathering near Morningstar Castle all evening for the winter solstice, there to pay tribute to the Lighthouse of the Gods with offerings of fire and light. Lucinda recited a new incantation.

“Kill the witch and make her bleed, release our sister, my words you’ll heed!”

Ursula’s brother appeared in the mirror, his face full of wrath. “Let her go!” he yelled at Ursula, who had Ariel in her grasp. Ursula laughed. “Not a chance, Triton! She’s mine now. We made a deal!”

Ursula showed Triton the contract Ariel had signed, and wondered what was going through his mind. Was he frightened for his daughter’s life?
Perhaps I should make him watch while I kill his precious child—make him suffer the pain and fear my father felt before his death, the death he said my father deserved!