Chapter One

The palace’s courtyard hung with yards of velvet fabric dyed in blues, greens, purples, and yellows. Colorful pennants were staked along every pathway in the garden plots filled with roses. Their scent filled the courtyard covering the odors of the aristocracy. The lords and ladies of the kingdom strode in looking like birds in a parade. Servants and peasants crowded the doorways and lined the tops of the walls. They gazed at the parade before them. Some were envious, but most were awe stricken. Here they could see their tax money put to good use. Knights marched by in shinning armor. They stationed themselves along the pathways. The lords wandered by in tights and high leather boots. The ladies floated by on clouds of velveteen, silk, and satin. Most would only wear their outfits only once before the massive amounts of material were recycled as table clothes and drapes.

The nobles paraded into a cavernous reception hall, and then split into groups divide by their stations. King Varden and Prince Lann enter the hall last but approached the dias first. The rulers of Kuhlbert Kingdom sat on their thrones. King Waldemarr beamed at his friend and ally as they came closer. Varden bowed to Queen Alys. She smiled back and shifted on the throne. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide a yawn. Soon her baby girl would awake and want attention. She hoped that Varden would not start a long speech in honor of the new baby princess. The baby’s crib was covered in sheer white silk. Small pink ribbons were tied in bows across the top of the crib.

Varden pushed Lann closer to the bassinette. At five, Lann was still short, skinny, and shy. King Waldemarr intimidated him because he was so different from his father. Waldemarr filled the throne. He was all shoulders and massive legs. Waldemarr looked like he should be astride a large warhorse with an army surrounding him. His father was tall and thin. His shoulders stooped forward. Lann thought that his father looked more at home in an overstuffed chair beside a fire reading a book. He glanced at Alys, who smiled at him with genuine warmth. Lann decided that he liked how her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled.

Lann took a deep breathe and then tiptoed close to the crib. He peeked in at the sleeping baby trying not to touch the sides of the crib. She was tiny and with delicate blonde hair creating a halo around her head. She reminded him of a toy doll he had seen in his mother’s collection. His mother would have liked the baby princess. The baby reached up in her sleep and Lann offered her a finger to grasp. Her tiny fingers were strong and she promptly pulled Lann’s finger to her mouth. Lann shrieked with laughter as she sucked on his finger. The baby awoke and looked at Lann in shock. She let out a small cry that was more like a small puppy than a baby.

“I love her,” Lann said looking up as his father. Varden leaned over the prince and princess. He rested his hand lightly on Lann’s shoulder.

“Good. It’s always good to fall in love with the woman that you are going to marry,” he said. Varden pulled a velvet encased box out of his sleeve. He gave it to Lann who gently set the box next to the cooing baby. Waldemarr laughed.

“What is her name?” asked Lann.

“We are going to call her Rosalina,” said Alys. “She is like one of my little roses in the gardens.”

“Oh,” Lann nodded. “I’ll call her Rosa.” He bowed and joined his father who was now standing beside Waldemarr. The crowd of nobles clapped their approval then began looking around for the next gift givers.

Three women dressing in silk so thin that it took many layers to create a dress that was not see through approached the King and Queen. Each woman had their dark hair coiled on top of their heads. Sparkling gems were strung together and wound around their hair. Their necks seemed to wobble with the weight of their hair as they came forward. They bowed together to their majesties then gathered around the crib. They cooed the baby who cooed back in complete understanding. Each woman waved their hands over the crib and began a complicated ritual of finger motions. They did this three times then the woman on the right spoke.

“I, Arienh of the green fairy folk, grant this child one gift. The gift I give her is the gift of beauty. She will even out shine the roses that are her namesake,” she said.

“I, Oppida of the white fairy folk, grant this child one gift,” said the woman on the left. “The gift I give her is the gift of wit. She will be able to make light of even the most dire of situations.”

“I, Daghda of the blue fairy folk, grant this child one gift,” said the woman in the middle. “The gift I give her is the gift of music. She will be able to charm the birds from the sky with her voice.” The women turned and bowed again to the King and Queen. They moved away from the baby to make room for the next gift giver. The moved closer to the Queen and hovered over the new mother whispering advice to Alys.

In a blast of hot wind the doors to the hall burst open. Dust and ripped pieces of fabric blew around the crowds in small eddies. Two knights lay in a heap of armor. A tall woman stood there with brilliant red hair piled on top of her head. Around her hair she had wound strands of black peals. She wore a long black velvet gown with long dramatic sleeves the swept the ground. A small girl with large brown eyes stood beside the woman. She looked the same age as Prince Lann. Her hair was a mass of chaotic brown ringlets that had at one time been piled on top of her head. She wore one small strand of gold beads around her head. She wore a miniature version of her mother’s dress but done in gold velvet. She peered around at the strange colorful people. She followed her mother closely as they marched up to the dais. The three fairies suddenly moved and crowded protectively around the baby.

Varden watched with amusement and gazed in appreciation at the woman’s curves. Waldemarr scowled at the two intruders. He dismissed the small girl and focused his glare on the woman. Alys began to wring her hands. She glanced between her husband and the red-haired woman. The woman glanced briefly in the crib at the baby then stood in front of Waldemarr. The little girl hung on the edge of the crib and looked curiously at Rosalina. She picked at one of the pink ribbons.

“This is the final straw Waldemarr,” the woman shouted at him. “I will not be insulted anymore.” She pointed at him. “I have been very tolerant of you so far, but this is the last. Arabella,” she snapped at the girl. Arabella let go of the crib and hurriedly joined her mother.

“Orinda,” Waldemarr glared at her. “Leave or I will throw you out myself!”

“I will not. Even if you have denied me my sister and now my niece, I am still part of the fairy folk,” Orinda said. “I am entitled to give the little one a gift.” She smiled coldly at Waldemarr.

“No, please Orinda, don’t,” said Alys. “Please, the baby is my child too. Don’t hurt me as well, sister. Please” she held out her hand toward Orinda. Waldemarr slapped it down. Alys grasped the slapped hand and held it to her stomach.

“I, Orinda of the black fairy folk, grant this child one gift,” she said. “The gift I give her is the gift of eternal sleep. She will prick her finger on a spindle when she is 16 and die. She will not give you any heirs Waldemarr. You’re kingdom is doomed” Orinda laughed.

“Sister, please take it back,” Alys pleaded. “Sister.”

“Don’t you dare call me that,” snapped Orinda. “You are just as guilty as Waldemarr. You will have no more children. Your kingdom will wither and perish. You are to blame for this. Not me,” Orinda turned and swept out of the hall. Alys fell to the dais covering her tears with her hands.

“Aunt Alys,” Arabella spoke in a small voice. “May I give the baby a gift too?” The queen looked at her little niece. Sadly she nodded to the girl.

“I, Arabella of the gold fairy folk, grand this baby one gift,” she said. “The gift I give her is the one of love. She will fall in love with a handsome prince and live happily ever after. You know that love can do anything,” she nodded wisely to her stricken aunt who stared at her in disbelief.

“Arabella,” her mother screamed from the courtyard. Arabella ran to the crib, kissed her baby cousin and snatched a loose ribbon from the crib. She waved at Lann then ran out to meet her mother. Orinda wrapped her arms around her daughter. The wind rose violently and they rode away on the whirlwind.

Alys would not accept any comfort from anyone. She swept through the fairies and clasped her small child to her breast. In tears she fled from the hall. Waldemarr raged around the hall. He ripped pennants from the walls and shouted at the people in his way. Like sheep before the sheep dog the nobles fled the wrath of their king.

“Well, do something,” Waldemarr shouted at the fairies once he was back on the dais.

“We can not break the spell,” said Oppida. “Orinda’s magic is more powerful than ours. It’s…” she shrugged.

“It’s – different,” said Arienh. “It’s more ancient – more dark.”

“It is dragon magic,” said Daghda. She brushed off the other fairies who tried to shush her. “Orinda’s mother, Queen Gitta, was the same mother as your good wife, but it was the father who was different. He was a dragon,” she leaned closer to Waldemarr.

“I don’t care,” he lowered his voice. “He could be the great demon from the abyss for all I care. I want you to fix this.” His eyes bore into Daghda’s. The fairy looked away. “Wilhelm,” he shouted. A small balding man ran from behind a curtain and bowed before Waldemarr. “I will solve this myself. Wilhelm, I declare that all spinning wheels and all spindles to be outlawed in my kingdom.” Wilhelm stared at him in open mouthed shock. “The penalty of possession of a spinning wheel or spindle is death. Go and burn all these cursed instruments.” Wilhelm bowed again and ran from the hall. The idea was crazy, but he valued his head so he would do the task at hand.

“Now Waldemarr,” Varden attempted to sooth his friend. “You are over reacting. Come now. It was just a rant spouted by a spited woman. Surely it won’t come true.”

“You don’t understand,” Waldemarr rolled his eyes and plopped down on his throne. “That woman is evil and she has magic. That is a bad combination.”

“What about the little girl. Remember that she gifted your daughter with living happily ever after. That can’t happen if Rosalina dies, so maybe,” said Varden. Waldemarr snorted.

“That little witch hasn’t been able to do magic from the day she was born,” Waldemarr shook his head. His rage was passing and a cold lump was forming around his heart. “My way is best. I’ll protect Rosalina. Thank you for your presence here.” Waldemarr walked to the crib and offered the box back to Varden. He refused to accept it.

“No, my friend, that is her engagement gift from Lann. The engagement still stands,” Varden said. He reached out with his hand a ruffled Lann’s sandy hair. “Perhaps the boy will find a way to break the curse and make Orinda eat her curse.” Waldemarr grunted. The fairies fussed around him as he hugged the box to his chest. Varden took Lann’s hand and led the boy out of the hall.

“But Daddy, what about the baby,” Lann protested.

“I don’t know,” said Varden. “We will just have to wait and see.”