THE MUSIC BOX, THE STAFF AND THE MIRROR
CHAPTER 9
When he had done his time Marc was immediately released and the King decided a new ball was in order. He said to Marc, "Now that the little problem we had is out of the way I want to have a feast in honour of our hero who set us free from the clutches of a wicked witch. This will be all for you, my boy."
Marc knew that he had done nothing to deserve the praise, but didn't say anything. He hoped to see the girl with the beautiful voice again.
Like the previous time the bird told Hannah that he had a dress for her and to remember that although she had her voice back, her straight legs and youthful looks were not her own.
"I know, Roughus," Hannah said.
The dress that was waiting for her was even more sumptuous than the first one. How did a bird manage to conjure up dresses like this out of thin air?
The bird was waiting outside Hannah's bedroom when she came out. He whistled long and hard.
"Marc will want to be with you all night," he said. "You are irresistible."
"Thank you," Hannah replied. "It's really the dress though. Where do you get these wonderful dresses from?"
"I told you before: I know a bit of magic. But it's really not the dress, Hannah. It is you. The dress is just like the frame around a beautiful picture. Only there to enhance it."
Hannah shook her head in disbelief. Then she ran to the ballroom where Marc was impatiently waiting for her. Again he danced with Hannah and still he didn't recognize her. She was still the mysterious girl to him. Hannah danced with Marc and for Marc and danced so prettily that he asked her, "Come to me tomorrow, and dance for me all day."
"I can't," answered Hannah. "My legs are stiff and crooked. I can't dance with them. These legs are not my own. I can only borrow them for tonight."
Again she ran away. She could not continue now that the dream was in tatters again, pierced like a balloon at the fair.
The bird hopped on Marc's shoulder again and whispered to him, "They are her legs, stolen by the witch, like her voice. Destroy the King's staff. They will be returned to her and she will be able to dance again."
Without hesitation Marc went towards the back of the ballroom where the King's throne stood. He grabbed the staff that was leaning against it and broke it in two while walking to the open fireplace. There he threw the pieces in the fire that had been lit so that the women would not be cold in their bare-armed, low-cut dresses. The fire roared, burning so fiercely that in seconds the staff was reduced to ashes. With a slight 'Ping' the crystal on top of the staff disappeared, as if it had been nothing more than a soap bubble.
The Queen had been drawn to the blazing fire and sighed with relief when the staff collapsed to dust. The King looked on, paralysed in disbelief, as Marc destroyed the second one of his prized trophies. For just a moment longer he was dumbfounded then he shouted out, "Throw him in the dungeon." And to Marc he said, "You're lucky WE owe so much to YOU. Let's hope you realise what YOU owe US when you will be released in a month's time."
The music stopped and so did the dancing as the people wondered what had happened. At the sound of her husband's bellowing, the Queen had cowered down in fear while the Princess still danced on all on her own to music only she could hear.
Marc was immediately thrown in jail and every day of that month Hannah was there to comfort him. He could hear her voice when she sang to him and when she danced for him her skirt swirled about her legs but he never saw her face. He realised he missed her sweet smile and shining eyes, he missed his mystery girl.
Author's Note: This was a very short chapter. Only three more chapters to go. Perhaps I should threaten not to post them until I get some reviews.
