William slowly came from the bed and took the woman's hand. The next moment they rose off the floor and flew through the window and down the hill the castle sat on and over the tops of the trees and the village. Soon they were flying through darkness so thick that William could not see even the fairy. He clung tightly to her hand.

"Do not fear," he heard her voice from his side.

Suddenly a great ball of white light exploded before them. William shut his eyes against the brightness, and when he opened his eyes, he and the fairy were on the ground once again. Looking around, he perceived that they were in a village.


"Do you know this place?" the fairy asked, looking at him.

Oh, yes! I used to come here quite often with my nanny when I was but a lad, when Mama would have tea with Grandpa," William answered, surveying all about him with a look of wonder and joy. He called out a greeting to a passing man, but the man did not greet him in return or even glance at him. William looked questioningly at the fairy.

"These are shadows of your past. They can neither see us nor hear us," the fairy explained.

Children ran laughing through the streets while throwing snowballs. Men and women, hurried along, all the while wishing each other a merry Christmas. A rather large woman with silver gray hair and pink cheeks and wearing a black cloak entered the square with a little boy of about six years old with fiery red hair. The folk welcomed the lady and dropped bows and curtsies to the boy.

"Do you know that child?" the fairy asked William as they watched the village children shyly come and play with the boy.

"It's me!" William softly said.

"And the woman?"

"My old nanny. Dear sweet Martha. She would chase me through the halls trying to catch me. She also comforted me when Mama died. She died shortly after Grandpa gave me Glen Castle," William answered.

The fairy laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come. We must move on."

William cast a last glance at the boy and turned to follow the fairy. He was surprised to see that they were suddenly no longer in the village but now in a large ballroom in a castle. A tall Christmas tree decorated with flickering candles and red bows and silver balls was tucked into a corner. Tables were 1aden with the most delicious pastries and sweets and dishes. Steaming wild goose and duck and pig made one's mouth water. Couples in handsome suits and dazzling dresses waltzed around the floor. .

"Do you know where we are?" the fairy asked.

"Do I?!" William cried. "This is my grandparents' winter castle. Every Christmas we would come here and have parties and balls and feasts. We would tell stories around the fireplace in the great hall and play games. What fun we had!"

"And now you spend Christmas in your treasury," the fairy rebuked him.

William hung his head, and there was an awkward silence between them. They looked on as the crowd parted and bowed to two men as they passed through. The older of the two had a gold crown on his head and was dressed in fine robes. His hair was white, and his beard flowed below his waist. The younger man, who appeared to be around twenty years old, was tall and handsome. He was dressed in red pants with gold stripes down the sides and a white shirt with a red coat over it. In the warm light from the torches and candles, his hair appeared golden red. Coming through the guests, the men stood next to William and the fairy, allowing them to hear their conversation.

"Well, William, my boy. How are you enjoying the evening? Have any of the ladies appealed to you?" the older man asked, patting the lad on the shoulder.

The youth smiled and shook his head. "No, Grandfather. None of them has interested me. As for my enjoying the evening, the food has never been so good. The music is wonderful. And the couples whirl round and round as though like on a music box. But I have not yet had the heart to dance."


A flash of deep green silk flashed by the men and William and the fairy. The youth jerked his head to follow the silk; a lovely young woman with laughing green eyes and hair of spun gold looked over her partner's shoulder and met the youth's gaze for a moment before she was lost among the dancers.

William came from the trance the passing woman had put on him and listened to the old king.

"Well, if you aren't in the mood for dancing, you can sit with your grandmother and mother and me. But you do know your mother is hoping that one of the young ladies here will catch your eye and --"

"Excuse me, Grandfather," the youth interrupted, "but I want to see something." Bowing to the king, young William walked over to where a young woman in a frock of green silk was taking some refreshments. The old king watched with amazement and interest as William brushed the woman's fingertips with his lips while holding her gaze and waltzed her onto the dance floor. The king chuckled contentedly, shared a grin with his wife and daughter across the room, and went over to get some wine.

"What was so special about this ball?" the fairy asked.

As William watched his young self and partner whirl by, he said, "I had come of age, and my mama wanted me to choose a bride."

"Who is the lady?"

"She is Elizabeth, one of my grandfather's knights' daughters."

"And who became your wife before the harvest began!" the fairy added. William nodded.

They watched as they whirled round and round again. The fairy touched his arm. "We must move on," she said, leading him from the room to a dark passageway.

William watched the smiling couple a moment longer, and then turned down the hallway.

They were in a bedroom with the curtains drawn. The only light came from a few lighted candles around the room. A four-post bed with white linen and sheets was to one side of the room. And lying underneath the covers was a woman merely skin and bones, so thin was she. Her face looked more old and wrinkled than her real age. Her gold hair was turning silver. Next to the bed a woman stood, holding a bundle wrapped in a cloth.

The woman in the bed made a sign for the woman to come closer. "My queen?" the woman asked. The queen gently stroked the little head that poked out of the cloth. 

"Take good care of her," she said softly. "And tell the king that I waited as long as I could. Give him my love. I shall wait for him." And with that, the lady shut her eyes and breathed her last. The woman started sobbing.

A few minutes later, there was the sound of loud voices in the hall, and a man burst through the door. The woman curtsied. The man looked at the bed, and then looked at the woman with the bundle. "How long?" he asked, staring at the pale face on the pillow.

"A few minutes ago, Your Majesty," the woman answered. "She lasted as long as she could. She grew weak in the six months you were gone. If you hadn't been playing games with the ogre so much to win his gold, you may have seen her before she left. She gives you her love and shall wait for you."

As she finished speaking, the king slowly approached the bed and took the cold white hand that rested on top of the covers.


"It couldn't be helped," the king said. "The ogre placed much on the bet, and I had to have it."

"But you have more than enough riches," the woman said. The king did not answer. There was silence.

"Do you know where we are?" the fairy asked William.

William nodded. "This is Glen Castle, a wedding present from my grandfather. One year I heard from travelers passing through the kingdom stories of an ogre who had a cave full of treasure. He would play a game of chess with any knight who wished to play. If the knight won, he could get as much treasure as he could carry. If he lost, he paid the ogre. I wanted to see this for myself; so I set out with a group of twelve men and went to the ogre. The queen begged me not to go, but I greatly desired to see the wondrous treasures I'd heard about. The ogre and I played a long game, but I won in the end, and when he showed me the cave, I hardly knew what to pick first. After that I begged for another game and another. For six whole months I stayed there and played against the ogre until I finally heard that the queen had fallen ill. I then set home with all the treasure I had won." Motioning toward the scene, he finished, "But I was too late to say good-bye."

A wailing cry broke the silence. The king looked up from where he knelt at the bed. The woman stepped forward. The bundle she held squirmed.

"The queen gave you a daughter six weeks ago." The woman held her arms out so that he might see.

From the dark corner where William and the fairy watched, they could not see the infant but watched the king's reaction. The king looked long at the tiny face that peeked out from the cloth without a hint of emotion.

"What a pity her hair isn't gold like her mother's;" he said with disappointment.

The woman looked at him with surprise. "The queen asked that she be named Mary."

"So be it," the king said, nodding his consent and walking toward the door. As though remembering something, he turned and said to the woman, "And you shall be her nanny." The woman bowed, and he went out the door.