Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the book belongs to Gail Carson Levine, and not me!



::Chapter 5: Mandy's Secret::

"Your highness, it's morning!" cried the familiar voice of Annabelle, my lady-in-waiting.

My eyes fluttered open. I quickly squinted my eyes, peering into the brightness of the room.

"Princess, you're running late. Breakfast is being served."

I groaned, rolling off the bed and onto my feet.

"Here, wear this," Annabelle said, handing me a simple, green, silk gown.

I accepted it, staring at it approvingly. No frill. "Thank you, Annabelle. Tell Mother I'll be down in a few minutes."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After changing into the gown I walked down the stairs, into the dining hall.

When I entered I noticed that Mother wasn't at the table alone. Seated beside her were two men- more like a man and a boy. The Duke and Nate.

"Sit here, Dear," Mother said, patting the spot in between her and Nate.

I groaned and closed my eyes, taking a seat. "I was hoping it was all a bad dream. . ." I whispered to myself.

"Your not alone," an irritated whisper shot back.

I scowled, digging into the plate of hot cakes in front of me.

I nudged Mother in the arm. She faced me, and I gave her an 'explain what they're doing here' look.

She leaned in towards me and whispered, "We've been having a few complications with the imports and exports of goods in Kyyria and the Duke was kind enough to help me out for a few days."

I sighed.

I ate silently as Mother and the Duke droned on and on about nothing that interested me, when suddenly Mother burst out in a fit of coughs.

"Mother? Mother?! Are you alright?" I gasped, handing her a glass of water.

She continued coughing, her hand to her chest.

"I'll get Mandy," I said, as I raced towards the kitchen. I found Mandy stirring something on the stove.

"Mandy! Mandy, Mother's got a cough," I informed the gray haired cook.

Mandy reached into a cupboard. "Lately Ella has been complaining about feeling pain in her chest when she breathed," Mandy told me. "The Tonic hasn't been helping. . ."

"Mandy? Is Mother sick?" I asked, listening to the muffled coughing of Mother from the dining hall.

Mandy hesitated for a moment. "Nothing a little of my special soup can't fix!" she said cheerfully, pouring a broth into a bowl. She handed me the bowl.

"Now, tell your Mother to eat every last bit. . . and I mean EVERY last bit."

I stared down into the soup in disgust. The soup looked as normal as any vegetable broth. . . except for the thin white hairs floating at the surface.

"Mandy, you've dropped some hair in here. . ."

"Unicorn tail hair," Mandy replied.

I peered up at her. "Unicorn hair. . . ? You're kidding. . ."

Mandy shook her head. "An old fairys' healing trick."

"Where did you get this?"

"I have my ways. Now get that to your Mother before it cools."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I fiddled with my quill pen, my mind wandering from what Brayden, my tutor for the study of mystical creatures, was telling me.

Brayden sighed. "Your highness, you're not paying attention." Although Brayden was only twenty, he acted as though he were twice his age.

"Ye-" everything around me started to spin in circles. I shut my eyes tightly. "No. I'm sorry, I'll try to pay attention."

Brayden sighed again. "Okay. Now where were we. . . Oh, yes. Fairies." He looked down at the thick book that lay open in front of us. "Fairies are very rare, magical, and powerful creatures," he read aloud. "It is often very difficult to tell a fairy from a human, for a fairy has the power to disguise themselves as a human. The only way to tell a fairy from a human is from their unusually small feet. . ." I stared down at my own tiny feet. Mandy had once told me when I was young that I had a drop of fairy blood in me. . . but she was probably just joking around. "Fairies are also known for their extraordinary healing powers. . ."

After our lesson was over, I headed out the study room, only to run right into someone.

"Oof!" I yelped, smacking into someone's chest. "I-I'm sorry. . ." I looked up to see who it was. "Oh. . . it's you," I said, rolling my eyes. "Get out of my way," I snapped, lightly shoving him aside and walking away.

"Wait, wait wait. . ." Nate said, grabbing my wrist. I stared up at him. "Please, leave me alone. I want to live the best out of the few years I have to myself."

Nate slightly rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry. But. . . I couldn't help but point out one thing about you. . ."

I scowled. "What?"

"I noticed that you have this strange thing. . ."

"Excuse me??"

". . .where you always seem to tell the truth. Always."

My eyes widened, and I raised an eyebrow. "S-So. . . what if I do? Is that a bad thing?"

"Well. . . no, actually, but it's quite strange. I overheard part of your lesson and. . ." He paused, then whispered sarcastically. "Maybe your CURSED."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be stupid. I'm not cur-" My vision started to blur, I reached for the nearest wall to lean on. "I'm not-" I tried again. This time the world around me started to spin. My eyes shot open. "Leave me alone." I quickly started to head away.

"See, there you go again," Nate pointed out, following me. "I've noticed that about you. . . Everytime you're about to say something you don't mean, you look as though you're about to faint, and then you don't finish the-"

"I said leave me alone!" I cried, bursting into tears.

I ran away, towards the kitchen, where I always found a source of comfort.

"Oh, what's the matter, sweets?" asked the comforting voice of Mandy.

"Make it go away! Please. . . I'll do anything. . . just make it go away. . ." I cried, tears streaming down my face.

"Honey, make what go away?"

"This. . . This. . . stupid CURSE! I can't take it anymore!" I sobbed.

"Oh, Mena," Mandy said, drawing an arm around my shoulder.

"Mandy, who's this fairy that gave me this. . . 'gift'? I need to know."

"Lucinda, dear. . . but don't expect to find her anytime soon. . . and there is something I've been meaning to tell you. . ."

I wiped away my tears. "What is it?"

Mandy took a deep breath. "I am your fairy godmother."



A/N: Hey! I know not much happened in this chapter, but every little thing is going to play a bigger role in following chapters. PLEASE REVIEW!