The dressmaker’s shop was in a tizzy when she arrived. Normally, she was fond of the women, who were patient with her fidgeting and related some of the best gossip in the kingdom. Today, they were too busy to talk, hustling her into the enormous white gown dripping with crystals, delicate lace, and tons of ruffles and pink bows.
“Madame Fran,” she gasped as the older woman squeezed her into the tight boned bodice, “do you remember any ruler here before Stephen? I had a strange dream last night…”
She pulled tighter. “Hush, Your Highness. Don’t talk. Let me focus on this.” Cora could barely breathe when she pulled away from it. “Now, isn’t that beautiful? Our king says it’s the finest creation we’ve ever made.”
It was very beautiful. All the lace and ruffles and brocade and satin also made it very heavy. She could barely move. “Don’t you think it’s a bit much? I’d much rather have something simpler, like what you’re wearing.”
“This old thing?” Madame Fran twirled in her elegant red and white dress, with its simple lines and bit of ruffle on the skirt. “No, this isn’t suited for a queen. Our king says you should have only the best.”
“Yes,” she murmured, “I suppose so. Madame,” she added, “what do you know about King Stephen? How long has he ruled here?”
Madame looked up with pins in her mouth, scrunching her wrinkled face in though. “I…I don’t know, Your Majesty. There was someone else before him…a nice young man.” The older woman shook her head. “But he vanished. King Stephen took over a year ago. He’s quite a catch, isn’t he? He’s so very handsome, every woman in the castle swoons over the sight of him!”
Cora frowned. “He is handsome,” she began slowly. “But what else do you really know about him?”
Madame shrugged and tied off the last thread. “What else is there to know? He’s funny, good-looking, and charming! Isn’t that all that matters?”
“What about how he’s tripled taxes? Or treats anyone he sees as beneath him like dogs?” She yanked harder at the pearl buttons in the back than she meant to. “I saw him kicking a dog on the stairs that got in his way! And he barely gives them scraps to eat. And you should see how he treats the cats we have to keep away mice! Pushes them away and leaves them out in the cold.”
Madame’s eyes remained dreamy. “Huh? Oh, that. You know how young men are. They have tempers. I still think he’s the second-most handsome man in the kingdom. After…” Madame frowned. “After…” She shrugged and got the bottom buttons done. “Well, there was someone. But he’s gone now. Stephen is the true beauty of the kingdom, and every woman’s dream of a man.”
“Except mine,” Cora muttered as she got back into her own dress. There was just something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. She should have been happy with him, but…
She had just returned to her rooms when a familiar misshapen face peered inside, knocking on her door. Stephen’s humpbacked manservant stumped shyly over to her, a book in his hand. The pockmarked face was now joined by a symphony of bruises that made him resemble a swollen potato.
“Thank you,” Cora said gently, “this is my favorite book, but I’m more worried about you. You look like someone beat you badly. As far as I can tell, you’ve never harmed anyone. You work like a dog, obeying Stephen’s every command.”
He nodded. The sad look in those hazel eyes…she knew that look. She’d seen it before. “You know,” she added slowly, “you’re not really such a bad fellow. I’ve grown very fond of you. Stephen and the others only seem to care about themselves or what the nobility think. You’re sweet to everyone. When I’m mistress of this castle, I’ll make sure everyone treats you better. You should fight them! You’re not big, but you’re strong. You don’t have to listen.”
His rubbery lips turned down, and he nodded. “No, you don’t! You’re a man, same as anyone.” She patted his shoulder. “You’re not really so bad-looking. You have a really nice smile, and your eyes are such a lovely hazel!” Her eyes locked with his. They were so familiar…
“Cora, what are you doing?” She was about to give him a kiss on the cheek when Stephen barreled into her room. His chiseled features looked far less attractive when they were blotchy scarlet with fury. “You are only supposed to be kissing me, not this…this freak!” Those long bony fingers grabbed the hunchback by his messy black hair. “I think I’d better lock you in the servants’ quarters again. You’ll only get in the way at our wedding.”
“Stephen! Leave him alone!” She pushed between them and took the stubby little man by his shoulders. “You’re stronger than him! Your biceps are bigger than his head. You could probably beat the stuffing out of him if you wanted!”
“He can’t.” Stephen’s high-pitched giggles were more sinister than cute. “He can’t disobey me. Can you, you little freak?”
“He’s not a freak!” Cora turned furiously to face the man she was supposed to marry. “He’s more of a man than you’ll ever be! You’re nothing like the real Stephen. They told me he was kind and noble and just. You’re a spoiled bully!”
The man who claimed to be Stephen grabbed her by the chin. His deep brown eyes flooded with red. “You will love me. Of course, you will. I’m beautiful and powerful and talented. I’m everything a woman could ever want.”
She was ready for it this time. “You’re also rude, obnoxious, selfish, and abusive. You don’t love anyone but yourself.” Cora pulled back, glaring at him. “That’s how you break the spell. You admit the truth…and the truth is, you’re a terrible ruler and a worse person. Everyone in the castle may fawn over you, but they don’t know the real you, do they? They don’t see the man I see, or that he,” she nodded at the hunchback, “sees.”
“You…you little…” His finely sculpted cheeks flamed red as his eyes as he yanked her arm, squeezing it painfully. “You want the truth? I don’t love you. You’re a stuffy, boring little chit. I love that fertile land in your family’s kingdom. When I marry you, I’ll be able to expand my lands. You are a means to an end.”
Cora struggled, kicking him hard. “You bastard, you’re hurting me!”
To her surprise, he suddenly released her arm. She fell back as the hunchback slammed head-first into his gut, sending them both sprawling. The upper arm strength built up from months of hauling garden tools and logs allowed him to hold Stephen to the floor.
“You…you…” He sputtered. “How did you…you’re supposed to obey me! It’s part of the curse!” A black light managed to lift the hunchback and throw him into the wall.
Cora ran to the hunchback’s side. “You poor man,” she moaned as she gently rubbed his back. “Are you alright?” She wrapped her arms around him, leaning into his rough, bumpy shoulder. “Whomever you are, I’ll protect you. I won’t let him hurt you again.”
The hunchback opened where his mouth was and tried to form words, but no sound emerged. “What is it? I can’t hear you!” He tried again, but while the lips moved, nothing came out. “What are you saying?” Her heart went out to him as despair filled his eyes.
His fingers flew as he tried to mime his concerns about his master. “I know,” she admitted. “We really have to get out of here.” He reached for a quill and scroll that were on her desk, but his stubby sausage fingers spilled the ink and couldn’t grasp the quill. Several attempts at writing “I…am…” barely produced a few scratches.
“You can try all you want.” Stephen suddenly towered over them. “You can’t write. You can’t speak. You can’t communicate. I made sure of that. You’re a slave to me.”
Cora pushed between them again. “Slavery is illegal in this kingdom and Pennlyn! Can’t you do anything besides abuse and use everyone around you?”
His red eyes glowed like smoking fires. “That’s how you survive. You use people, before they use you. My cousin was always too soft to run a kingdom. Too kind and noble. If you’re kind to them, they’ll run all over you. People need an iron fist that will force them to bend to their command. Power is what’s important. No one is anything without power.”
Cora glared at him. “Where did you get all of that cynical nonsense? Honey catches more flies than vinegar. The kingdom needs someone who will make decisions based on what everyone needs, not just an elite few.”
He let loose with one of his titters…but it now sounded like the unhinged music of a madman. “Oh, it is, is it? You’re such an amusing woman. My cousin was amusing, too. I offered him everything,” he squealed, “did he tell you that? I told him we could rule together. We could bring this kingdom to its knees, his brilliant mind and my magic! I offered that fool unlimited power, and do you know what he said?” She stepped back as he grabbed her arm. “He said a leader listened to his people, not his ego, then tried to throw me out! Can you imagine that? He was weak and stupid, but I taught him a lesson.”
“I’m sure you did,” Cora muttered. She tried to yank her arm away from his grasping fingers. “Stop hurting me!”
His red-hot eyes smoldered like burning coals. “Stop fighting me. You’re just a woman. You exist to do what I want you to do. None of the other women here have any trouble doing what I say.”
The man who claimed to be Stephen turned his red-hot glare on the hunchback. “I can see my weak cousin is a bad influence on you. We’ll have to remove him.” Another black light shot from his hand, surrounding the hunchback. When it subsided, he was gone.
“Where is he?” She hissed. “What did you do to him?”
“He’s at the fortress in the center of the woods that I call my home.” He shook her like a rag doll. “You have no time to worry about him. We’re getting married.”
She finally yanked her arm away. “Are you crazier than you look right now? I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on Earth!”
“The ceremony will be in an hour.” The sorcerer she was certain wasn’t Stephen glared at her. “One of the maids will be along with your dress in ten minutes. You will be in it.” Fortunately, he stomped off before he could see her stick her tongue out at his back.
There was no way she would marry that contemptible ass. The real Stephen was out there somewhere. When the maid came in with her dress and gushed about how beautiful her gown was, she convinced her to try it on, just to see how it looked. While the maid admired herself in the mirror, she changed into the maid’s clothes and sneaked out the door.
To her surprise, she was easily able to walk out of the castle. No one stopped her, or even looked at her twice. They were all too busy preparing for the wedding to notice a simple little maid. By the time they discovered the switch, she’d be half-way across the woods.
Trouble was, Cora forgot how vast the woods were. Within an hour, she was hopelessly lost. She’d walked in the woods before, but only for short strolls. She’d never gone so far on her own. There were all kinds of scary noises that made her nearly jump out of her skin!
She had started to give up hope of ever finding her way out when she came upon an older woman gathering mushrooms from the forest floor. “Mistress,” she asked, “I’m lost. I need directions to a fortress owned by a wicked sorcerer.”
“Oh, I know all about it, Princess Cora.” Graying curls and wrinkles spreading out from her eyes indicated that she was perhaps 50, but she had a large, shining grin and lively dark eyes that gave her a more youthful air. “I know why you’re here.” She groaned a bit as she rolled up to a full standing position. “Darn it. Every time I stand, I hear another crick. I make more noise than a full standing orchestra of crickets!”
Cora frowned. “You said you knew why I’m here, mistress.”
She waved a hand at Cora. “Florrie, dear. Call me Florrie. You seek our true king.” The merry eyes narrowed. “He’s in Harron’s keep in the darkest part of the woods. Harron isn’t going to let go of the throne that easily. His black magic is strong.” Cora could barely keep with her as she hurried down the overgrown path, mushrooms in hand. “If you’re going to rescue my poor Stephen, you’ll need protection.”
“Your poor Stephen?” Cora raised her eyebrow. “You know him?”
“Know him?” Florrie snorted. “I was his nurse when he was a child, then his advisor.” She sighed. “He was such a good boy, even as a child. Rarely gave me much trouble. When the other boys would be playing soldiers or cattlemen, he would be reading or tending to his flowers in the garden. He never would have gone to war if they hadn’t conscripted him. When he returned, he vowed he’d never allow violence in his kingdom again.”
The older woman made a face. “Harron was a terror when he visited. Played the roughest of all the boys, tore flowers out of the ground, bullied animals and people alike. He was horrible to Stephen. He’d step on his flowers and rip pages out of his books. He couldn’t understand why Stephen didn’t want to join him out carousing with the other boys.” She smirked. “For all that, he never went to war. He spent those years practicing his spells.”
“How can I get in the castle?” Cora pulled her rough knitted shawl around her shoulders. “I haven’t any magic.”
“I’ll help you.” Florrie pushed past a thicket of raspberries, stopping to pick a few. “I’m a witch myself. Not a bad witch, mind you. Never took to the black arts. They do more harm than good, and I like living the simple life.”
Cora was barely able to follow the quick older woman. They finally came upon a little cottage in a clearing. It was only one room, with a thatched roof, a bed, drawers, a table and chairs, and a little chimney and cauldron, but it was clean and well-kept.
Florrie went straight to a spinning wheel in the back of the room. “Here.” She reached into a basket and came out with a ball of yarn. “Unraveled, this will show you the way to wherever you wish to go. If tied around a person, it will hold them fast until you leave.”
The older woman was almost a literal whirlwind as she went through her cupboard, dropping food in basket. Cora saw a thick sausage, oil to dip it in, an apple, some cheese, and two loaves of bread. “The cheese and apple are for you. The rest are for the animals and other objects who live in Harron’s keep. They’ll help you gain their confidence.”
She then handed Cora a long, sharp knife with a simple but elegant gold hilt. “This is a very special weapon. Only magicians can create steel this sharp and fine. It will cut through anything and reflect whatever magic is shot at it.”
Her long, bony fingers brushed gently across Cora’s forehead. “You’re a sweet woman, but you’re smart, too. Smart enough to see through Harron’s illusions. Once you know what Harron really is and how he works his magic, it no longer has any power over you.”
“How did he do it?” Cora complained. “Florrie, how did he manage to pull the wool over the eyes of the entire kingdom? Not one person remembers Stephen, but the ladies swoon over Harron, and the men invite him for another round of beer.”
Florrie tucked a knitted cloth into the basket. “They see what they want to see and what they’re told to see.”
Cora shook her head. “I could never reconcile the King with the man everyone talked about in Pennlyn. Harron treated his servant, his dogs, and everyone around him who didn’t try to win his favor badly. He was a follower, not a leader. Everyone abused the hunchback because he was ugly, but he never did anything unkind to me. I’d rather have a kind man who looks like a beast than a man who abuses anyone he sees as beneath him.”
“Then you’re wiser than most.” She gave her a slightly yellowed grin. “Now, you go rescue my Stephen, while it’s still light out. Please bring him home! He’s like a son to me. I’ve missed him these past months.”
She waved as she hurried down the path. “I will, Florrie! And thanks again!”
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