Tamsin visited me the next morning; we were becoming friends. She was a real princess—just as they should be, kind, smart, beautiful, and regal. I was growing to trust her.

Together we walked down through the castle and into the courtyard where breakfast was served.

"Have you seen my cousin?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Not since yesterday."

Tamsin looked away, wondering. "I heard Gaspard has been an utter tyrant. I wonder if Stefan is avoiding him."

I thought back to the day before, to the strange thing Stefan had said:

"…But sometimes they die."

"I need to talk to the prince," I said. "I'm worried about him."

Tamsin nodded sadly. "We've all been worried about him, ever since, well you know-"

I shook my head. "Ever since what?"

Tamsin cocked her head, her eyes passing over me in confusion. "Well, ever since the Necromancer wounded him. He almost died. Didn't you know?"

Suddenly Marius appeared next to Tamsin, he eyes wide as he glared at her. "Tamsin," he said sharply. "What are you doing?"

She was taken aback by his urgency. The prince's best friend seemed pale and ill. His eyes were red, as if he hadn't slept.

"What are you doing?" She snapped back at him.

"A word, please," he said, steering her away by the arm. I watched them go with raised eyebrows.

Marius returned a moment later, his cheeks flushed crimson. "Mary," he said uneasily.

"Yes? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"It's about Stefan. I… I have to ask you something-"

Just then, there was a light tugging on my sleeve. One of the castle page boys, no older than ten, looked up at me expectantly.

"Are you Mary?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Good!" he said. "The prince Stefan has arranged for your appointment at the castle gates. Your visitor is waiting."

I shook my head, confused. "Stefan did what? I have a visitor?"

The page boy nodded. "They are waiting now, if it please you."

I looked to Marius apologetically. "Sorry," I said. "I didn't know. I guess I should go see who it is…"

Marius nodded silently. I could feel him watching me go.

That was weird, I thought.

The morning was already so hot and bright, even in the final dredges of summer. I squinted in the sunlight as the page boy led me from the courtyard, through the castle halls and outside again, making our way down to the gates where visitors waited.

Who could it possibly be? I wondered. And then I spotted Didi standing in the shadow of a fountain. As I approached her I realized her face was wrought with grief and her eyes were swollen with tears. When she saw me, she hid her face in a handkerchief, her shoulders heaving.

"Didi," I said cautiously. "What are you doing here? What's happened?"

I had only just seen her the night before when I had served her the deed for the house, leaving her and Anna in furious hysterics.

Didi blew her nose into the handkerchief and sniffed hard before answering. "Oh, Mary," she sobbed. "It's terrible… it's awful!"

"What is?" I asked, stepping closer.

"There was an accident," she said tearfully, clutching the handkerchief tightly in her fist. I had never seen her so upset before. My mind started racing.

"Tell me what happened," I said.

"It… it may be too late," she cried. "I'm afraid this could be goodbye…"

"What are you talking about?" I urged her. "Just say it!"

Didi sighed dramatically. "It's Old Mia," she said.

My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. No, I thought. No, it cannot be!

"You must come at once."

I did not hesitate. I rushed to the gates and quickly explained to the guards that there was an emergency. Didi had a coach waiting outside the castle grounds.

And the next thing I knew we were bumping along and winding our way down the streets, heading back to the house I swore I left behind.

Stefan woke with a start, staring wildly around at his darkened bedroom. His mind had been so far away that he had to take a few moments to realize that he was even awake. There was a knock on his door.

Sluggishly he stumbled out of his bed and to his door, wincing in pain as the bright morning light from the hallway hit him full-on. Through the blur the prince recognized his friend Marius standing there.

"You were still sleeping," he noted.

Stefan blinked in the light. "I didn't mean to," he said dreamily. "I took some sleeping medicine for the pain. It's started to come back."

Marius stepped in and closed the door tightly behind him. "Mary knows," he said immediately. "Soon everyone will know. The potion you took is wearing off and you won't be able to hide it anymore."

"I know," Stefan said, sitting down on his bed as Marius flung open the curtains, bringing in the daylight. "Mary is the very person I can't hide it from."

"Is that why you're keeping her occupied? Only minutes ago she was whisked away for an appointment you arranged-"

"—She what?" Stefan interrupted.

They exchanged confused glances.

"I didn't arrange for any appointment."

I tried to get more information out of Didi on our way to the house but she only sobbed and hid her face. Then the carriage came to a screeching halt at the gates and I jumped out, leaving DiDi behind.

"Mia!" I shouted, looking around frantically for her. The dining room was empty, as were the living room and den. I burst into the kitchen and noticed the back door was wide open. I followed the overgrown path through the garden and over to the stable that had once held my father's horse.

Inside was dark; I had to squint to see into the dusty shadows and there appeared to be nothing there. But then, as I turned to go, my thoughts frantic and my heart slamming against the inside of my chest, a voice said my name.

"Mary…"

I stopped, and I looked around—and saw a small sliver of light illuminate the darkness in the barn. The voice had come from the light, I was sure of it…

"It's a trap," the voice said, a high pitch voice like the ringing of bells.

The voice of a fairy.

I peered into the light, trying to see her face.

"You must wear the necklace," said the voice, "Find the necklace and wear it like you promised. It will protect you…"

What does that mean? I thought.

"Who are you?" I demanded, squinting into the light but I was still unable to see the fairy.

"Leave this place!" The voice urged. "Leave it or you'll never break your curse! Find the necklace!"

The necklace? The one I was wearing when Stefan found me? Why would I put that back on- I didn't even know if it was mine!

"What do you mean?" I urged the voice, temporarily entranced by the lightness and the sound of bells.

"Who are you talking to?"

I spun around. It was Didi, standing there upon the garden path with her hands on her hips.

"No one," I said quickly. "Where is Old Mia? Why isn't she here?"

Didi cracked a smile. "She is here. Come." She turned and made her way calmly back up the path.

I hesitated before following her, the fairy's strange words echoing through my head. Behind me in the barn there was no trace of the light or the voice that had just been there.

So had I imagined it?

An early autumn breeze blustered through the garden and upset the trees. I ducked back inside the kitchen as a flurry of dying leaves showered down from above. Didi disappeared around the corner. I followed her into the hall as she waited for mat the foot of the staircase.

"Tell me what's going on!" I demanded.

She nodded her head up the stairs. "Go on," she said. "Mia is just up there. She wants to see you."

"I thought there was an accident," I remarked.

The second floor was deserted: I was meant to go continue up to the tower, but I stopped before taking the first step.

"Mia?" I called out uncertainly.

"I'm here!" she called down to me. It was her voice, I realized with relief.

Anna appeared in the doorway to my bedroom, her silhouette dark against the morning sunlight. "Be quick, Mary," she said.

I ascended the stairs and stepped past Anna into the tower. Old Mia was laid in my bed, the covers drawn up to her chin.

"Are you okay?" I asked, hurrying to her side and taking her hand. "Tell me what's happened."

I didn't even notice Anna leaving; she closed the door soundlessly behind her.

Old Mia's face was thin and pale—she looked ill, quite ill, although she hadn't only a few days ago. Her hands were as cold as ice. "Mary," she wheezed. "It's for you. They did this for you."

My eyes scanned her face as my heart continued to race. "Did what?"

"Poison," she said weakly. "They gave me the poison that killed Lorna."

I jumped to my feet, my body shaking. "No," I said slowly, "they can't-"

Old Mia suddenly snatched my wrist, her fingers drawn tightly around it. "Listen to me," she said. "There is something you can do."

"What?" I said in confusion as tears of panic filled my eyes. "What—what can I do?"

From beneath the covers Old Mia produced an apple, and grasped it in her palm. "For you, my dear. It's all for you."

I looked at the apple and then I looked back at Old Mia, her face twisted in pain. She was holding the apple out for me to take.

But I did not reach for it.

"You must take a bite to make things right," she said in a dreamy, sing-song voice.

The fruit was so shiny I could see my own reflection in it, blurred and stretched. A tremor of fear struck my heart.

Find the necklace, the fairy had said, It will protect you!

Just then, a frantic knocking on the front door echoed through the house and up to the tower.

"Quickly now," said Old Mia. "Do what's needed."

The urgent knocking continued.

"Wait," I said to Old Mia. "I need to figure out what's going on-" I reached for the door to find that it was stuck closed. Anna had locked it from the outside.

I gasped and turned around; Old Mia was now standing, the apple shaking in her trembling fist. "Take a bite," she said steadily.

"You're—you're not-"

I couldn't even choke the words out before the creature lunged towards me. I ducked and ran towards the window.

"Help!" I yelled out in the air.

The creature seized me from behind and yanked me away from the window. And then I saw its face: it was some kind of elf, with piercing golden eyes. I screamed.

"Mary!"

I heard a voice from outside, down in the yard. It sounded like the prince.

"I'm here!" I screamed.

"Take a bite to make things right," the elf repeated, wrestling me to the floor.

"No!" I yelled, kicking my legs against him as hard as I could, thrashing out of his grasp. He was going to try to force the apple into my mouth.

I don't know how much time passed as I fought against the elf, but somewhere along the way I knocked the apple out of its grasp and it rolled underneath my bed. The elf hissed angrily as wings erupted out of its back.

"Stefan!" I screamed.

I could hear the prince on the other side of the door. "She's in here!" he was shouting.

The door rattled, the creature hissed, and upon its bony wings it dove out the window and out of sight.

At last the door heaved against its frame and shuddered to the floor. Stefan, Lance, and Marius all stepped into the room with swords brandished.

By the time Stefan reached me I was shaking with tears.

"It's gone," I managed to say.

"Was it the Necromancer?" Stefan asked frantically, helping me up and holding me tightly.

"No," I said. "No—it was something else. I don't know what. It had yellow eyes—and wings-"

The boys exchanged worried glances.

"Take the step-sisters to the castle," Stefan said to Lance. "They will not be permitted their freedom until they confess to what they conspired."

Lance nodded and exited the tower, Marius in his wake.

"I'm sorry," Stefan said in my ear as I cried. "I've got you now. I've got you, Mary…"