Derek and all the other men he drafted searched through the night and continued when the sun rose.
Every inch of the kingdom was searched, as word traveled fast when a royal child was involved. Derek and Odette were beloved by their kingdom, so, naturally, were the children. Alex especially, thanks to the resemblance to her mother.
But there was no word of her whereabouts, not a sign, not a sound.
For three long days, what seemed like the entire world searched for Alex. With each day that passed, hope of finding the girl waned more and more.
And when the sun fell on the third day, all hope was gone. Even Adelaide, Camille, and Matthew gave Derek and Odette their condolences, although they were the ones who had the most faith in the beginning. Both Derek and Odette knew that there was a very slim chance that Alex would be found if they had given up.
Eli too had been shaking up at the sudden disappearance of his sister. He would walk around the castle, calling Alex's name. He thought she was playing a game with him. And when he finally started to understand that she was not playing with him, he was heartbroken. Alex was his best friend when Matthew wasn't around. She was the person he could get away with anything with. She was a role model to him, someone to look up to. And although he didn't fully realize it at the time, he was afraid of growing up without her.
Derek returned to the castle after one last search throughout the town to find Odette sitting in Alex's room on the bed, staring blankly at the wall. She had stayed home to take care of Eli, who didn't need much tending to, as he could hardly think about anything other than the words "where's Alex," and Joan, who definitely couldn't understand what was going on but felt the fear and tension.
Upon hearing Derek enter the room, Odette turned to meet him, but when she saw the deep sadness in his eyes as he slowly shook his head negatively, whatever minute amount of optimism she had left vanished completely.
At that moment, like him, she'd finally accepted that Alex was gone forever.
Derek wordlessly crossed the room and sat down beside her.
"I'm sorry," he said, barely louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry I couldn't find her, I'm so sorry…" His voice cracked and he was unable to say any more, but Odette understood his guilt and she shared it.
Why didn't she keep better watch? Why didn't she insist Derek investigate the woods that afternoon?
All these questions came too late. Alex was gone, leaving behind no clue that would help them find her.
"It's harder like this," she said slowly. "I can't believe how much it hurts. I'd rather I be the one to be kidnapped, not Alex. Not any of them."
Derek nodded. "I can't believe I let this happen… even after I promised you I wouldn't let anything happen. But why Alex? And why was Alex in Joan's room?"
"I'm more than sure it was Zelda. She's the only one who could think of something like this and actually pull it off. If I came back after you burned the notes, she must have too. And she probably wanted revenge, so she must have decided to kidnap Joan. But Alex must have heard Joan crying, and she must have gone to her room to find out why. So Zelda probably took Alex because Joan wouldn't remember."
"But what is Zelda, if it was her, going to do with Alex now that she has her?"
The question hung in the air for a few minutes with no vocal answer. Both of them knew that Alex had little chance of survival, should Zelda decide to murder her. A silent tear rolled down Odette's cheek.
"I've been here for every step Alex has taken, every word she's spoken, everything. I just wasn't here when it really mattered…" Odette paused taking a deep breath before she continued. "I remember when she was born, and how much I loved that little girl when I saw her eyes. And when she took her first steps, how I wanted to be there the moment she fell. And now it's just a memory."
"Like a rug's been yanked out from under you; from both of us."
"Yes," Odette agreed. "I thought it was all over and we wouldn't have to deal with the Forbidden Arts, or Zelda, or any of them."
"Neither did I. I should have kept my promise and protected them better. Odette, I'm so sorry. I let you down, and Alex, and Eli. And Joan will never know her big sister. And… I feel so stupid… like I'm worthless. I can't even protect my family when danger is right in front of my face. What good am I?"
XxX
Alex woke up from what seemed like a vivid nightmare. To her horror, it was real.
She was in Zelda's clutches. From her parents' stories, she knew that Zelda was probably the most vengeful of their enemies. Alex knew she would stop at nothing to destroy everything her parents had.
She wondered what Zelda would do to her.
Alex slowly stood up, surprised that Zelda had left her alone. Quickly, she took account of were she was.
It was a cave. There were stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. There were deposits of some kind of mineral – quartz, maybe? – here and there. There was a table strewn with notes and bottles. In the middle of the room sat a glass orb on a pedestal.
Alex recognized it all. Not from her own memories, but from her mother's. Odette told her about the cave and being held captive there. And although Alex didn't do a lot of traveling about the kingdom in her six years of life, she knew the cave was near the mouth of the western river, which ran nearby Swan Lake.
Figuring out how to get home had been relatively simple, she was proud to admit – despite her present situation – but how to escape without Zelda finding her and chasing her down was another matter entirely. As Alex thought on this, Zelda appeared, looking sinister and murderous.
All hope Alex had of escaping left her. She knew that Zelda could find her anywhere. Escape would be pointless. Even if she was safe in the arms of her family, Alex knew Zelda could tear her away.
"What are you going to do?" Alex asked as bravely as she could, trying not to show any fear, like the night before.
Zelda sneered. "I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're wondering…" Zelda's voice dropped as she began to speak more to herself than to Alex. She started pacing around in thought. "But what am I going to do? I can't just let her go… she'd remember how to get home, but if I could make her forget… That's it!"
Zelda turned to Alex. Alex took a step back, seeing that Zelda had raised her wand and was looking even more sinister.
"I'm going to make you forget your family. You'll never see them again, and if you do, you won't recognize them. Say goodbye to your memories."
A green light formed at the end of the wand. Alex cringed, knowing that the spell was going to hurt. Zelda waved the wand toward Alex, and suddenly, the ball of light was burning her forehead. Soon, it felt like it was completely enveloping her head, and burrowing its way inside Alex's mind.
Alex clenched her teeth as the spell was working on her. She could feel the memories slipping away. All of it was becoming more and more foggy, like a memory of a dream. Like it was all a figment of her imagination…
"No! I won't forget!" she screamed in her mind as she held on tightly to an image of her mother.
Finally, it was too much, and she blacked out.
XxX
When Alex finally came to about an hour later, she had a splitting headache. She had no idea where she was, as she did not remember how she got there. But then again, she couldn't think of another place she was supposed to be.
"Alex?" Zelda asked, her voice hard and cold. Alex turned to her, fear and confusion in her eyes.
"Y-yes?"
"Do you know anyone named Derek? Or Odette? Joan? Eli?"
"No… I don't know those people. Who are you? Who are those people?"
"Good…"
Zelda lifted her wand once more and uttered a spell that made Alex lose consciousness again.
XxX
While she slept, Alex was slipped into a cart of hay by Zelda, who didn't care enough about what would happen to the girl to wake her up.
The wagon was in near the market place in the middle of the town outside of Swan Lake, the last place Derek and Odette would still be looking for the missing child.
A few strangers passed without taking any real notice of the sleeping child in the hay cart. Finally, the man who owned the cart was surprised to see a girl sleeping soundly in the hay while he was doing business with the other people at the market.
Not knowing what to do with the child, as he had more than enough of his own at home waiting for him, he stood and scratched his head for a moment. One thing he had to admit, the girl was pretty. He sighed as he sat down on the seat and clicked the reins, making the broken down mule that was carrying the load slowly move toward the edge of the town.
After the ride was over, the man had come to a house that was full of children. Carefully picking up the strange girl, who was shockingly still sleeping, he walked to the door and knocked as best he could with his toe.
He was greeted by a little boy of about four years old.
"Father Clarence!" the boy called, dashing deeper into the house as soon as his spot at the doorway was taken by a grown man.
"Giles? What are you doing here? And who is this?"
"Father Clarence, I know this orphanage is full to bursting, but you see, I need to drop this girl here and"
Giles was stopped by Father Clarence's hand, which was raised, signaling for him to be silent. "Not so fast, my friend. Please, come in, and start your story from the beginning."
As soon as Giles had made himself comfortable inside the house, he began to explain exactly how he had come across Alex sleeping in his cart. "And you see, Father, I can't take her home. I have too many mouths to feed and since Iris died… well, I can't take care of another little one."
"I understand, Giles," Father Clarence assured him.
"But at the same time, I can't bear to think of who would abandon such an angel as this girl."
Clarence nodded again. "She is a very beautiful child. My friend, I don't want you to worry. I'll take her in, and I'll make sure she has everything she needs. We might be a little packed here, but she won't be lacking in company."
As he was speaking, Alex was waking up. She stretched out, and when her eyes fully opened, she was once again confused about her surroundings. Once again, she was in a place she couldn't recognize, and once again, she could not think of where she should have been.
Clarence smiled at the girl, who timidly looked from him to Giles, hoping to find a pleasant face.
"Tell me, child," Clarence said, "what is your name?"
"I think it's Alex."