Chapter 4

Noella

I walked deeper into the forest heading north from Snow White's province. My anxious thoughts were thinking of my mom and where she could be, but I had to remain focused on finding the second mirror. I talked to Riley for a bit as I walked on my way catching her just after she got home from school. She reassured me that Uncle Mark had believed her tale about my going on a random vacation with mom.

"I think I'm beginning to understand your love of Disney, Ri." I told her.

"Really?" She replied incredulously.

"How can I not admire a world so different from our own? Even though it's shocking such a place exists in reality. Makes a girl wonder how Walt Disney thought up such stories to tell?"

"Maybe he came there…" Riley replied.

"Who knows, but hey I have a question. The queens mirror directed me to find Aurora."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I know I don't remember much about the Disney movies, but did a tornado strike the land anywhere in that story?"

"Uh no, why?" Riley answered.

"Because that's what I'm looking at right now." I muttered.

The forest coming from Snow White's province just blended into more forest as I moved past the area from the barrier, but then many of the trees in the area were toppled over. The ground had cracks in several areas opening into deep and wide pits a long way down. The earth in the vicinity was jagged and rough and in a few places I had to jump from rock to rock avoiding a lethal fall below me. Eventually along my way I ran into some more woodland creatures including an owl, a pair of rabbits, a squirrel, and a few birds. They all seemed shaken up and when I tried talking to them, I heard no reply. I felt stupid for trying, but they seemed to comprehend the name Aurora when I asked them. The group of creatures led me forward, but we were halted by a huge wall of thorns. I looked at the animals in disbelief.

"You gotta be joking." I said glancing down at them.

If I only had something sharp to cut through that at least would be something. Clues to my mom's location was beyond this wall, I had to press on. The animals brushed against my legs as if they were saying good luck. I threw up my hood to stop my hair from getting caught in the thorns and began pushing forward. It was a slow process and far from an easy one. I got stuck a couple of times forcing me to shake myself free, which caused the thorns to pierce my skin several times causing me to bleed. My baby blue sweatshirt was turning red before my eyes. These thorns were something else snagging my jeans and ripping holes in them exposing my skin to more pricks and scratches. Finally, I saw what lay ahead and there was a huge medieval looking castle like something out of King Arthur from Camelot. After seeing the light out of this sharp and thorny tunnel, I pushed my way out excitedly. Though a little too much enthusiasm as a thorn hit my cheek slicing it open stinging immediately. I dabbed at my cheek with the sleeve of my sweatshirt. I had no bandaids so I would just have to deal. Once through the thorns, I was free to approach the castle. Everything on this side looked sturdy enough not like the forest on the other side. It felt as if everything on this side froze.

I approached the castle gates with the drawbridge leading across through the gates and I noticed there were no guards in sight. However, there was a horse racing about in a panic. It was a beautiful stallion with a grey coat and black hair. Poor thing was going mad with fear and so I slowly approached him and carefully grabbed the reins settling him down by patting his snout and rubbing his neck. The horse calmed down quickly as soon as I touched him. He was saddled and bridled all ready for a ride, but where was his owner? There were no personal belongings anywhere, but just the saddle on his back. I did spot a name engraved into the saddle though.

"Samson." I said aloud and the horse seemed to respond. "Where is your owner?"

The horse neighed and began gesturing toward the castle. I felt more anxious as I went inside, the castle courtyard was quiet and still. There was nobody around and I expected to see someone by now. Samson followed me inside and the clop of his hooves echoed loudly within these high stone walls, but I felt something weird like I was being watched. I pressed forward and went up a staircase leading up to two double doors. I opened them and the sunlight shone in the room. It wasn't pitch black, but the light I brought in by opening the door had barely helped. This room was huge and I could make out the silhouette of a grand chandelier from the ceiling. I also saw shadows of people surrounding the entire perimeter of the room. Once my eyes adjusted, I tapped on a man's shoulder to ask for assistance, but it was hard and cold like stone. The man was a statue. I glanced around the room at all the faces of people looking terrified and frozen. There were a pair of thrones toward the front of the room with a king and queen, which I figured by the crowns on their heads, who were hugging each other who also were stone. I quickly pulled the walkie from my pack.

"Ri, I'm looking for Aurora now and every soul in this castle has been turned to stone."

"That's awful." Riley replied.

"What does Aurora look like?" I asked curiously.

"Long blonde hair wearing a blue dress." Riley answered.

"I thought that was Cinderella…"

"Well, that's true, but depending on the fairies, she could be in pink as well."

"Riley." I moaned complaining about her vague answer.

"I know, but just keep a lookout."

I looked around and if Aurora was the princess surely she would be by the king and queen. Samson also trotted around and soon he whinnied grabbing my attention. I joined him toward the center of this ballroom and I think he finally found his owner. Samson nudged a stone statue of a man standing in front of a young woman defensively with his sword drawn. I think it was safe to say he never got the chance to defend him or the girl. I circled the woman looking at her curiously. Her face seemed quite familiar even with a stony countenance. Long hair trailing down her back that curled at the ends. I came around to the front again feeling sad for her and all these people. I reached out my hand placing it gently on the stone shoulder of the woman.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you." I whispered.

Suddenly, I felt a peculiar, random warm sensation coming from where my hand was on the statue. The stone began cracking and the stone burst off the body of the young woman. Understandably stiff, she began to slump forward, but I caught her before she fell. In a daze, she slowly looked up at me with her chestnut brown eyes. The dress she wore was blue just slightly off the shoulders and moved like silk. Her hair was golden like the sun and her lips were red like a rose. This was Princess Aurora. She stood up stiffly looking around gasping as she did so. Then threw her arms around the statue of the man beside us.

"Phillip!" She cried. "Are the fates so cruel that we are separated once again?"

Aurora looked over at Samson and then at me curiously and also concern.

"You're hurt." She mumbled.

"Yeah, but I'll live." I shrugged.

"When we've freed everyone, you must let me tend to that." She insisted. "How did you do it? How am I free?" She asked curiously.

"I just touched you and the stone broke off." I said simply.

"Are you a fairy?" She asked.

I held back a laugh remembering a similar remark from Snow White. Why did everyone in this world think that? Though I was beginning to wonder how ordinary I was and in fact the opposite.

"Nothing of the sort, but I am a friend and I was told to come find you."

"By whom?"

"A magic mirror."

"Truly?"

I nodded and she smiled at me bowing politely.

"I can see the truth in your eyes as clear as day. This kingdom of my father's is in your debt. What is your name?" She asked.

"It's Noella, your highness."

"Please call me Aurora." She insisted.

We were quite surprised to find that I couldn't free anyone else from their stony prison, but why only Aurora? I tried freeing other people starting with the king and queen, but nothing happened when I touched them. Aurora was getting discouraged, but she refused to give up. I was more exhausted by the minute from the thorny blockade I went through earlier. Maybe I had lost more blood than I thought.

"Have you seen three fairies flying around?" Aurora asked curiously.

"I don't think so…" I replied, "But I know who can help us…"

Aurora looked at me knowing what I meant. The mirror. The two of us left the ballroom going into her chambers on the second level of the castle. It might as well of been the fifth with how many stairs we climbed and Aurora did it wearing heels. She brought me to a vanity in the corner of the room.

"I summon thee." Aurora spoke to the mirror tapping the glass gently, "Come forth."

Our reflections disappeared and soon a face appeared. Though this mirror entity was different than the last. The previous mirror had a greenish tint to their face with a serious expression, while this mirror was blue in face and expression.

"What does thou wish of me princess?" The mirror asked.

"Where are Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather?" Aurora asked

"When evil came bringing with her your stoney plight, the three fairies took off in sudden flight. The evil one locked them away up in a tall tower where a spindle took you and all of your power."

"So they're in the tower. Let's go." Aurora pressed.

"Wait." I said hesitating in front of the mirror. "May I?" I asked.

Aurora nodded.

"Where can I find another mirror? You and your brethren offer me clues to find my mother." I told the mirror.

"You're bringing down barriers this I can see, you are mighty powerful kind of like me. My nearest brother is found south of here by a princess they call Snow White, but another lies just to the east protected by another barrier close to this site. A young housemaid who became a princess by marrying someone charming no longer is she farming. No other prospect can be so alarming."

With my next clue, I was ready to move on as soon as I freed Aurora's people. The two of us rushed up more stairs leading to a freakishly tall tower. Inside were three older women wearing bright garments of red, green, and blue. They all hugged Aurora thankful she was safe from harm and soon curiously surrounded me.

"Can you lift the curse of stone on everyone?" Aurora asked quickly.

"This poor dear is in bad shape…" The fairy in red said, "We should help her first."

"I'll tend to her." Aurora said quickly, "Please free my parents, Phillip, and everyone in the ballroom."

The three of them exchanged looks and nodded leaving Aurora and I alone. Aurora grabbed my hand pulling me out of the room and back down following after the fairies.

She brought me to a different room that I could only guess was a medical ward of some kind or maybe in this time period maybe an apothecary area. Aurora had me take off my ripped and bloodied clothes only leaving on the undergarments. She made funny comments not really knowing what they were naturally. To my surprise, Aurora was quite the nurse. She cleaned up my skin starting from my legs and working her way up to my face. With how much I bled into my sweatshirt that Aurora promptly threw in the fire, I don't think those thorns outside were just thorns. I don't know if it was adrenaline I was running on before now, but I was really starting to feel sick. Once Aurora had cleaned me up, the three fairies found us again. Aurora gave me a loose yellow dress, which I figured to be their version of a nightgown, but it was something. I slipped it on over my head thankful to be less exposed.

"Phillip and your parents are looking for you dear." The fairy in green told Aurora.

"I'll be back." Aurora told me before running out leaving me with the fairies.

"Is everyone better?" I asked them.

"Right as rain." The fairy in blue replied.

"We took down the wall of thorns surrounding the castle too." The fairy in green added.

"We haven't been introduced my dear, my name is Flora." The red fairy told me.

"I'm Fauna." The green fairy added.

"And I'm Merryweather." The blue fairy replied.

"Nice to meet you all." I said smiling weakly, "I'm Noella."

"We know, dear." Flora smiled.

"We know all about you dear." Fauna added.

"Well, we know most." Merryweather corrected.

Suddenly a wave of nausea hit me and I grabbed a bucket sitting next to the bed I was on vomiting harshly.

"I was afraid of this…" Flora commented glumly.

"W-Why?" I said weakly before throwing up again.

"The thorns surrounding the castle were laced with a toxic poison, which could be deadly with enough contact with it." Fauna continued.

"And you were cut and injected over a dozen times." Merryweather finished explaining.

"That explains my sickness so suddenly...I felt fine moments ago." I reasoned.

"Unfortunately, that's how poison works my dear." Flora added, "It festers and gets worse over time. Luckily for you, we are fairies after all. We can help."

The three of them waved their wands at me in perfect unison and as soon as they cast their spell, I fell asleep hitting the pillow as I fell over.

The next thing I knew, I glanced around and I was in a large bedroom. Aurora was with me brushing her hair at the vanity. She whirled around excitedly seeing my face peer back at hers in the mirror.

"Noella, you're awake!" She exclaimed excitedly.

I sat up feeling quite groggy.

"What happened?" I asked putting a hand to my head.

"Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather saved you and you're as good as new." Aurora smiled. "It took some time, you've been asleep for a night and a day. You must be starving."

I hadn't noticed it yet, but my stomach was in fact roaring hungry.

"I have to move on and find my mom." I said trying to stand up and Aurora quickly put her arm around me to steady me.

"Take it easy." Aurora urged me. "You've been through quite a bit in a short time. Rest is good for you."

"Yes and apparently I got plenty. I've got good stamina." I replied trying to not sound grumpy.

"Let us feed you and give you some things for your journey." Aurora offered.

"If you insist." I shrugged.

"I do and I also provided a change of clothes made by the fairies tailored to my exact specifications." Aurora pointed to the dress laying on the end of the bed. I picked it up and it was a beautiful shade of red and the hem fell to the floor. I wasn't one for dresses, but the gown was lovely all the same and I was grateful for the gesture.

"I'll leave you to get dressed and meet me downstairs for breakfast." Aurora commented and promptly left leaving me alone to change. The beautiful, but impractical gown was all I had, so I would have to make it work. Once I got it on and saw myself in the mirror, I did a double take not believing the reflection I saw was my own. It made me look like a different person. I combed through my hair quickly and slipped on my sneakers. They didn't fit with the look, but I was determined to wear something that distinctly was more my style with this outfit. Aurora and I ate breakfast together along with Prince Phillip who Aurora promptly introduced me to as I came to the table. Upon my departure, I got a royal audience with King Stefan and Queen Leah giving me their thanks and welcome to the kingdom anytime. I bowed awkwardly before them grateful for their kindness to me being a stranger and all. Aurora, Phillip, and the fairies escorted me outside the gates. Phillip handed me the reins of Samson who was grazing nearby and I looked at him in surprise.

"I can't take your horse." I told him.

"Consider it an insignificant gift in repayment for what you've done for us." Phillip said putting his arm around Aurora. "I insist you take Samson and trust in him to get you to where you need to go."

"Thank you." I said simply completely shocked at the gesture.

Phillip got Samson over to me and the fairies helped seal Samson's loyalty to me. Otherwise the horse wouldn't part from Phillip. Then the fairies looked at me with a smile.

"Good luck on your journey, Noella dear." Flora said, "In parting, the three of us wish to grant you three gifts to aid you on your journey. My gift is the gift of transformation." She said and waved her wand conjuring a small gold circlet and placed it on my head. "This circlet enables you to alter your appearance whether it be your attire or actual being."

"Are you saying I can transform into a bird or something?" I asked.

"If that's your desire dear, but just know the harder the transformation, the harder the side effects on you."

"Okay got it. I'll be careful."

"Only you are affected and only you can remove it from your head." Flora continued.

Then Flora kissed my forehead and Fauna stepped toward me.

"Dear Noella, I give you the gift of summoning. Whenever you need aid and sing any little tune, no matter where you are, help will come." Fauna said waving her wand tapping it on my head and kissed my forehead too. Next Merryweather timidly stepped forward and seemed frustrated scratching her head with her wand.

"Noella, I'm still trying to figure out what gift to give…" Merryweather said timidly.

"Good gracious Merryweather, just pick one." Flora snapped. "You're holding up her journey."

"I know." Merryweather said suddenly. She grabbed my hand waving her wand and soon a small blue bean appeared.

"Noella, I give you the gift of friendship. Plant this bean whenever you may need me and I'll come right to you, but I can only come once so please choose wisely." She said.

I smiled gratefully placing the bean in a small pocket in my pack that was attached to Samson's saddle already to go. Lastly, I said my goodbye's to Aurora. She smiled at me hugging me tight.

"I know it wasn't long, but I enjoyed having you here and I owe you so much." She smiled.

"Take care Aurora."

"Will I see you again?" She asked curiously.

"I hope so." I shrugged.

Without further delay, Phillip helped me up onto Samson's back. A few days ago, I didn't let Marcus even help me up, but even I was curious why I let Phillip. This place was growing on me even in the slightest of way. Samson and I took off down the bridge and then turning east where the mirror had described. I looked back seeing everyone wave and I waved back. Sooner or later, I would reach a barrier and soon another province and another mirror to lead me to my mother.