Amelia's chance for mischief came sooner that Madeline feared.
Elizaveta left two days later to buy the guns she'd promised, and Roderich had locked himself in a room with a desk and bookshelves (a study, he called it), telling the girls to amuse themselves for a few hours.
Madeline winced as Amelia gripped her wrist tightly and practically dragged her towards the east edge of the clearing.
"This isn't a good idea," Madeline complained, eyeing the yellow flowers that grew in abundance around the moss-covered well. "Roderich said it was poisoned!"
"We're not going to drink it, dummy."
"Then why go near it at all?"
Amelia paused a few feet away and turned to face her sister. "I just want to see what the water looks like." She bent down and gather up some of the yellow wildflowers. "We'll be fine, ya big baby." Madeline pouted but accepted the gift anyway, she'd always had a weakness for flowers, and her sister knew it all too well.
Releasing her grip on Madeline's hand, Amelia took the last few steps and peered into the well. Two blackthorn trees cast the well's interior into deep shadow, forcing Amelia to squint. The water looked clear enough and for a moment she was disappointed. Then she noticed that the stones on the inside of the well were a bright yellow, and was that a glimmer of light at the very bottom?
Madeline gasped in alarm as Amelia bent closer and closer to the surface of the water. When the tips of her hair were submerged Madeline could take it no longer. She rushed forward and pulled her sister away.
"Ow, Maddie! Stop, I saw something!"
Amelia growled and pushed Madeline off, going once again to the well, but her twin was determined. She wrapped her arms around her sister's waist, in the process, her long braid fell into the water. There were a few desperate moments of yanking and tripping and wildflowers being crushed underfoot. In the end, they stumbled over each other's feet and fell on their backs. Madeline got up first and tugged Amelia into the sunlight. They glared at each other.
Then they both gaped at each other. More specifically, they gaped at the other's hair.
The tips of Amelia's hair looked like they had been dipped in gold, and half of Madeline's braid looked like a gilded rope. Simultaneously they reached out; Madeline ran her hand through Amelia's short locks and Amelia tugged at Madeline's braid. "It… doesn't feel like hair…" Amelia whispered. "Do you think it's actually…?" She turned around suddenly, snatching up another wildflower and dipping the stem into the well. When she pulled it out half the stem had been turned into gold.
Madeline abruptly felt a chill run through her whole body. "What if we had tried to drink it?" she whispered. She glanced back at the house, then at her braid. "'Melia, they'll know what happened, what do we do?!"
Amelia grinned. "That's easy, we find some scissors."
They couldn't find any scissors.
Amelia stomped her foot. "It's a magic house, you'd think there would be at least one pair around here."
"We're going to get in so much trouble," Madeline whimpered.
Amelia hmphed and stomped her foot again. "Calm down. We'll just have to use a knife from the kitchen."
A shadow swept over the girls and they turned in shock. Roderich stood over them, his face looking like it had been etched in stone. A very, very, very angry stone. "I told you to stay away from the west well," he growled through clenched teeth.
"We-we-..." Madeline stuttered, shrinking back. Amelia swept her sister behind her with one arm. "It's my fault! I was the one who was poking around. Madeline tried to keep me away, but I didn't listen!"
Roderich pinched his nose, screwing his eyes shut. He took several long breaths before daring to open them again. The twins stared at him; Amelia tried to act fearless though her eyes betrayed her fear, and Madeline looked like she was seconds away from bursting into tears. He groaned and rubbed his forehead, wishing desperately that Elizaveta was there. "Now do you understand why it's dangerous?" he asked quietly. The girls nodded, the gold in their hair sending glints of scattered light across the room. Roderich flicked his wrist and in a flash of light, a pair of silver scissors appeared in his hand. "You're both very lucky that it was just your hair."
You're both very lucky that it was just your hair," Elizaveta admonished. She was brushing Amelia's hair because it wouldn't get done otherwise. Madeline sat on her own bed, brushing her hair out and marveling in how light it felt with half of it gone. Once Amelia's hair with thoroughly brushed Elizaveta gripped the girl's chin and turned her head until they were looking each other in the eye. "Don't. Go near it. Again."
Amelia pouted but nodded. "Okay, I get it." She stared at her coverlet for a few seconds before asking in a rush, "But why do you have a magic turns-things-into-gold well anyway? Did Roderich make it? Is he a wizard?"
"Because it's useful from time to time, yes Roderich made it and yes, he's a wizard," Elizaveta answered, not missing a beat.
Madeline placed her brush on the dressing table and joined her sister on her bed. "I thought wizards lived in big cities and worked for kings," she said.
Elizaveta smiled softly, tucking her legs underneath her. "He used to, but… well, let's just say the king he worked for was unethical-"
"What's that mean?" Amelia interrupted. Madeline would have hushed her, but she didn't know what 'unethical' meant either.
"He was a bad king, greedy and ruthless," Elizaveta explained. "In any case, Roderich refused to give the king what he wanted, which made the king angry. He hired seven other wizards to lock Roderich in a magical prison." She had to hold back a chuckle when the twins looked at her in horror. "It's alright, I came along and saved him. We had to hide in the forest until the king called off his search and..."
"And you fell in love," Madeline finished, looking a little doe-eyed. Amelia gagged.
"Yes. We did." Elizaveta glanced at the clock. "You'd better get to sleep. Tomorrow you begin your first day as huntswomen."
