Half Upon a Time: Chapters 28–36

Merriweather’s wands continued their dance through the air, conjuring up her next spell...only, the genie didn’t give her the time.

“Princess,” Phillip shouted, struggling to be heard on her other side, “we have no idea what kind of spell imprisoned him within the Mirror. It was not necessarily logical that removing the crown—”

With a triumphant yet eerily monotone cry, it released Merriweather, letting her slump over.

The ball of light passed right through the spot where she’d been, incinerating a swath of forest at least a mile long in its wake.

Even as the genie endeavored to free itself, Merriweather steadily reduced both their sizes, shrinking as quickly as she’d grown.

What might have been an ethereal laugh from the fairy queen floated into his ear.

Phillip took the other side with a curt nod, and suddenly, the weight was bearable.

And just like that, the Mirror was its normal weight again. Without the heft to balance against, all three of them lost their footing: Phillip tumbled to the ground while May and Jack both fell to their knees.

“I learned about Malevolent from others, however. Stories of her vanity, her evil deeds. They say only one person has ever come close to matching her, and that’s the Wicked Queen.”

“Malevolent...she despises my family in particular. The following events happened when I was but a baby, so I learned the details later: A neighboring kingdom to mine had just been gifted by the birth of a baby daughter. Seeking to unite our kingdoms, my father betrothed me to this girl—”
“Betrothed?”
“It means engaged,” Jack said, grinning widely.

This royal family asked for the blessing of all the fairy queens at the birth of their children, hoping that each child would receive gifts beyond any that nature might bestow.

However, at the birth of the king’s first daughter, he erred, asking for the blessings of all the fairy queens except one.

“Malevolent, enraged at what she perceived to be a lack of respect, stormed the castle during the baby’s celebration, then cursed the child to die the day the baby girl turned fifteen by pricking her finger on a spindle.”

“This castle, though, sounds pretty much par for the course for us. So, I guess we know where we’re going next.”

The dragon’s claws acted like ramparts, perfect for defense.

“So,” Jack said as calmly as he could, “what kinds of things did the thief steal from the giant?”
“Priceless trinkets and such,” Phillip said. “A harp that sang the most perfect melodies. A bag of gold bigger than the thief’s head.”

Other individual sprouts still grew on their own, but most seemed to gravitate toward the larger vine.

As Jack watched with growing apprehension, the first shoots reached the bottom of the overhang.

The shock of the break sent the beanstalk into brutal convulsions, shaking Jack right off the plant.

As he frantically searched for another foothold with his right foot he watched the overhang fall away as the stalk continued growing.

“However, you must heed this word of warning—”

You said you would give me my hat back if I freed her, yet you’ll still be stuck in this dank, dreary cell!

A cousin of mine taught a girl to spin straw into gold once, if she would give up her firstborn child. The girl agreed at first, then reneged on the deal—typical human.

“Is it your skull?” the imp said, licking its lips. “The skull of a princess is a delicacy, you know.”

“You didn’t know?” the imp said, grinning evilly. “Someone as worldly as you? I’m so surprised! Now...”

It opened its mouth to say something else, then glared at the princess, who glared back defiantly.

Jack led the way, wondering briefly as he trudged down the stairs what would happen at the end of all this.

She seemed a bit disheveled but otherwise okay as she climbed up May’s shoulder and back into her spot in May’s hair.

“So you’re saying that instead of searching through the rest of the castle, we should just save ourselves some time and fight our way through the thousands of goblins to wherever Malevolent is?”
“Pretty much,” she said, “though I think you’re getting cynical in your old age. We probably won’t have to fight more than a hundred or so.”

It looked as though none of it had been used in years.
And yet, voices wafted up through the grate.

He could clearly make out words now—a woman was speaking to someone, her voice resonating with power, much like Merriweather’s had.

It had to be them...only, Jack hadn’t ever heard the prince sound so beaten, so dejected.

While others might have sought personal wealth, I knew better. Wealth is fleeting, yet wisdom, knowledge—these are the true hallmarks of personal power!

Wealth is fleeting, yet wisdom, knowledge—these are the true hallmarks of personal power!

As he stared down at the wolf, his face expressionless, the sword’s normal cloudy white glow changed to a deep, desolate black, as if it were sucking the light out of the very room.

The claws on her back continued thrashing around, growing as they pushed out farther and farther until, finally, long batlike wings unfurled, spreading from one corner of the room to the other, ripping apart the rest of the fairy queen’s body as they did.

The terrifying beast whipped her long neck first to the left, then to the right, reveling in her freedom from her human-shaped shell.

Just before she could let loose another torrent of flame, Jack grabbed the ends of the reins in both hands and swung the mouthpiece right into Malevolent’s open mouth.

This set off the loudest bout of wailing yet, but the dragon obediently began to mumble words that Jack couldn’t understand.

Then, abruptly, the mist began to drift apart, dissipating into nothingness.