Chapter 24 - The Biggest Challenge Yet
Becca soon found Sheila in the flower bed, picked her up, and then ran away to a nearby forest. The clock in the tower near the palace began to chime twelve, and Becca angrily stood tall and let the spell break; her ball gown transformed back into her school clothes, her choker turned back into her book necklace, and her onyx flats turned back into her clogs. Her tiara also disappeared and her hair also turned from a bun into a low ponytail.
Once the transformation was complete, Becca felt warm moist in her eyes as she dropped to her knees and laid face-down on the ground near a little pond. Sheila just sat in sympathy as she watched Becca cry. The girl lifted her head and sobbed, "I can't do this! I can't help break this curse! Who said I was actually Bethylasia? No one! That's why I can't do it!" As she kept on sobbing, a white light shone above the pond. The light flashed a little bit, and the spirit of a woman appeared. Becca looked up with tears in her eyes and saw the woman; the girl was surprised as she asked with a lump in her throat, "Who are you? And what do you want?"
"Do not be afraid, my dear," the woman gently told her, "I am the Pagemistress, the Pagemaster's late wife."
Becca looked at her in confusion. Had she heard the word "Pagemistress" before? "What happened to you?" the girl asked.
"I risked my life to save my family," the Pagemistress told her, "My husband's evil cousin wanted revenge on him, so she stopped my heart and turned my son and his family to stone. The only people to make it out of the coup were the Pagemaster and my youngest granddaughter, Bethylasia."
"Yeah, I know," Becca said with slight irritation, "The Pagemaster told me that. But he didn't tell me that I would be part of some con!"
The Pagemistress gently shushed Becca and told her, "Calm down, dear. You know, none of his servants were actually using you. In fact, they never even wanted money to begin with!"
"They didn't?" Becca asked, feeling guilty for getting angry at her friends for no reason, "But I heard…"
"What you heard was a misunderstanding," the woman spirit continued, "My widower is just feeling so stressed at already seeing many other girls claiming to be the princess. In fact, here he comes now!" She pointed to something behind Becca.
What Becca saw was the Pagemaster, who had witnessed the people he argued with transform back into animals at midnight back at the palace. "My dear Pagemistress!" he exclaimed when he saw the spirit, "What are you doing here? I thought you were dead!"
"I am," said the Pagemistress, "But the magic of imagination and literature, along with your heart, keep me alive. This poor girl has clearly been through a lot, and I just came over to comfort her."
The Pagemaster touched Becca's shoulder and said, "My dear child, I misunderstood your friends. They were trying to help me, but I thought I was being conned again. I see you'd like to speak to me."
"Yes," Becca said as she wiped the last of her tears away, "I want you to know that I'm through with this quest, and I want to go home!"
"But you haven't faced your last challenge yet," said the Pagemaster, "Your last challenge in this section involves finding out who you really are. Look at the charm around your neck." As Becca looked at her necklace, the Pagemistress sang a song:
I have crossed the horizon to find you
I know your name
You have lost the heart from inside you
But this does not define you
This is not who you are
You know who you are.
Becca looked carefully at her necklace pendant, and sudden images came to her mind – the picture of the youngest girl in the rotunda, a birthday party, a royal family, opening up a book, and travelling through Libralia with an old man (who was the Pagemaster).
Suddenly, Becca's eyes widened as she finally figured out her challenge's solution! "I'm living a double life!" she told the Pagemaster and Pagemistress, "In the real world, my name is Becca Ridges – an ordinary school girl who's constantly being bullied. But I've known this place far longer than I've thought. In this world… I am Bethylasia. None of the animals were lying, after all! I am Bethylasia!"
"Of course you are!" beamed the Pagemaster, "I knew it all along. But you had to prove yourself worthy of a brave princess in order to come all this way to see me again – not to mention, your grandmother's spirit, also!" And with those words, Becca, whom we now know as Bethylasia, embraced the Pagemaster with a tight hug as she cried tears of happiness. The Pagemistress also hugged her husband and granddaughter for a few minutes before she disappeared completely. Sheila meowed a happy meow while off in the distance, a quintet of certain book-turned animals watched with happiness.
Author's Note: The song "Know Who You Are" is from the movie Moana. ((c) Disney)
