A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(103)

Hagetta smiled. “She returned the favor a few years later. A gang of trolls cornered me in the woods and tried to enslave me. Goldilocks heard my pleas for help and she came out of nowhere on that horse of hers.”

“Wow, talk about karma,” Conner said.

“Indeed,” Hagetta said. “And since then, I’ve tried to assist anyone I met who needs a helping hand. I never thought a wanted fugitive would teach me the power of a clean conscience.”

“We can’t thank you enough for helping us,” Conner said, then quickly looked around the room. “Wait, where’s Lester?”

The twins heard a squawk as Lester drowsily popped his head up from under Hagetta’s table. Flames covered his busted beak and his left wing was ablaze as the peach-colored fire slowly re-grew his wing one feather at a time.

“That is the most stubborn gander I have ever met,” Hagetta said. “He wouldn’t let me touch you when I first found you—it was like he was protecting his own chicks. I told him I only meant to help but still had to sedate him with a sleeping potion to calm him down. It should be out of his system by now.”

Conner made an affectionate frown and rubbed the giant goose’s neck. “Thanks for looking out for us, bud,” he said. “Mother Goose will be very happy to hear that.”

Alex searched her dress pockets and suddenly gasped. “Oh no,” she said. “My wand broke and the pieces must have fallen out of my pocket!”

“No worries, child, your wand will be back to normal soon,” Hagetta said. She pointed to the fireplace and Alex saw her crystal wand had been placed directly on the firewood and the flames were slowly mending it.

Alex was so relieved she laid back down and almost forgot she was on fire herself.

“You’re the nicest witch we’ve ever met,” Conner said. “I thought all witches were terrible, but you’ve proven me wrong.”

“All it takes is one bad apple to disgrace a whole tree,” Hagetta said. “I come from a very long line of witches and I’ve only ever heard of one witch who eats children—but thanks to the story ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ the whole world thinks all of us live in gingerbread houses and lure innocent youths to their deaths.”

“That’s an interesting point,” Conner said. “I’ve met just as many ugly humans as I have ugly witches but we’re not stereotyped.”

“Most witches don’t start out as ugly,” Hagetta said. “Dark magic leaves its mark on its dealers. My sister Hagatha was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Men traveled across kingdoms to woo and court her. But after devoting her life to harmful witchcraft, its effects began to show on her face.”

Alex sat straight up. “Wait a second, how long have we been here?” she asked.

“A few hours,” Hagetta said.

“Oh no,” Alex said. “Conner, we’ve got to get back to the Fairy Palace at once! Now that the Grande Armée has started attacking we have to form a new plan!” She made the mistake of stepping on her bad foot and yelped in pain before falling back onto the cot.

“You two are no good to anyone in the condition you’re in,” Hagetta said. “Wait for the flames to finish doing their job. Once they burn out, you’ll be healed.”

As much as it killed her to sit still at a time like this, Alex had no choice. Their plan had been compromised, and she slumped as if they had already lost the war.

“It was really smart of you to keep half of the armies hidden, Alex,” Conner said. “At least no one was unprepared for this to happen. As soon as we get back to the Fairy Palace we’ll find out who has and hasn’t been attacked—maybe our first plan can still work.”

“I’m not sad because of our plan,” Alex said. “You saw how viciously they opened fire on the Elf Empire. There’s no way the Corner Kingdom or the Bo Peep Republic stands a chance against forces like that—”

Hagetta couldn’t help but interrupt. “Did you just say ‘Bo Peep Republic’?” she asked. “What on earth is that?”

“It’s the new name of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom,” Conner said. “They changed the name because Little Bo Peep was elected queen.”

Hagetta raised both of her eyebrows and looked off into space, completely flabbergasted. “Was she now?” she asked.

“Do you know Little Bo Peep?” Alex asked.

It was obvious from her expression that they were acquainted. “Very well, I’m afraid.”

“How do you know her?” Conner asked.

“She sought me out when she was a little girl,” Hagetta explained. “Apparently she dozed off one afternoon on her farm and lost track of her sheep. The whole thing was a great embarrassment for her so she found me in the woods and paid me five gold coins to make her a potion that would keep her awake.”

“Did you make her the potion?” Conner asked.

“I did,” Hagetta said. “And it was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made.”

“Was something wrong with the potion you gave her?” Alex asked.

“No, there was just a lot wrong with the customer,” Hagetta said. “The potion worked so well that Little Bo came back to me many times, expecting fixes for all of her problems throughout the years. She needed a potion for her sheep to grow the fluffiest wool, she needed a potion for her cows to give the sweetest milk, she wanted seeds to make her chickens lay the biggest eggs—it never stopped! Especially when that man came into the picture.”