The Kingdom of Back(28)

We swam until the rocks in the distance became very close, so that I could make out their jagged edges and the carpets of moss that grew in clumps on their backs. When we were near enough to touch the walls of the rocks, I wiped water away from my face and looked down into the ocean. The water looked lit from below, a brilliant blue. I took a deep breath and submerged myself to get a better view.

Not far from the surface appeared a crevice in the rock.

I came back up. “Woferl,” I said breathlessly. “I’ve found the entrance to the grotto.”

Hyacinth was right. The ocean had not risen yet, and the waters were low. We did not have to dive far to reach the grotto’s entrance. The crevice looked dark when we approached it, but as we swam farther inside it began to grow lighter, the same strange blue light that we had seen when we first saw the beach of white sand. I took a giant gulp of air as we surfaced inside the cave. The water tasted sweet, like diluted honey.

I could hear nothing in the grotto except the sounds we made—the splash of water, our breathing. The light came from hundreds of flowers that grew along the sides of the limestone walls, black and violet in color, each with a glowing spot of brilliant blue light in its center. The limestone itself looked wet and crystal-like, almost clear. I saw Woferl stare in wonder at the scene. Garlands of heavily scented flowers hung so low from the grotto’s ceiling that I could touch them.

Then we saw her. She stood in one corner of the grotto where the lights from the flowers shone the brightest, leaning her head against a silver harp, and there she wept silently. A long, tattered gown of white and gold draped against her slender figure. Her hair was snow-pale, like Hyacinth said, and dotted with tiny black flowers. Her skin seemed delicate, the knot of her eyebrows thin and dark. I had been afraid to see her, picturing her as a withered, bony, witchlike faery, but now I felt drawn to this poor creature. Wrinkles on her skin, soft in the blue light, gave her a fragile appearance. Her feet melted into the cavern floor, so that I could not be sure where her legs ended and the rock began.

Woferl pointed quietly at her shoulders. There, I saw that her wings were faded and torn, hanging limply against her back. She must have fought hard to escape this grotto.

Woferl guessed what was going through my mind. “She is not what she seems,” he whispered, repeating Hyacinth’s warning.

Do not look at her. Do not talk to her.

I turned my face away, my heart pounding. As I did, I noticed the black ivy trailing along the cavern wall behind her. The night flowers that blossomed there were much larger than the rest, their vines coated with angry thorns. These were the flowers Hyacinth had sent us for.

The witch heard Woferl’s whisper too. She lifted her head and looked around, bewildered, before settling her gaze on us.

I froze. She must have been very beautiful when she was young, and even now her eyes were large and liquid like a doe’s, framed by long dark lashes and mournful shadows. She stopped crying.

“Hello,” she said. Her voice sounded very weak.

Do not speak to her.

Hyacinth’s warning seemed to echo in the cavern. But the witch’s eyes were so mournful, so intent on me, that I heard myself reply. “Hello,” I echoed. Beside me, Woferl gasped at my disobedience. We hoisted ourselves out of the water and onto the rocky floor. “I am sorry to disturb you.”

The witch smiled at us. “Not at all, dear child,” she said. “Come closer, please. My children were stolen from my side and I was sealed in this cave. I have been so lonely here, trapped for centuries without a soul to keep me company. Oh! Tell me, little one. What do the twin moons look like outside?”

I swallowed hard. The words fell from my lips as if compelled by some enchanted force. “They are bright as coins,” I said, “and sit at the opposite ends of the sky.”

She shook her head back and forth. “Ah, it’s no wonder I am so weak. When they align, my magic shall come back to me, and I will find a way to return home. Have you come to free me?”

Her voice sounded so hopeful that I immediately felt ashamed. “I’m sorry,” I said. Woferl squeezed my hand tightly. “We haven’t come to free you.”

The witch’s smile grew wider. “No matter. I have missed the sound of another voice. Come here, children.” She held out her arms to us. “Come here, so that I may see you better.”

Woferl looked at me with a frightened face. “She is a witch,” he whispered. “Remember what the princeling said?”

I shot him a warning glare. The faery blinked at us, then giggled. Her voice was strangely lovely, as if she was younger than she appeared. “Don’t be afraid, little boy,” she said to my brother. “I will not hurt you. I know you will not stay long, but I only want to see your faces closely, to touch another’s hand before I return to my prison.”

My thoughts fluttered, frenzied, through my mind. I did not know how we could pick one of the flowers from behind the witch. One of us would need to distract her, and the other would have to take it. I felt a pang in my chest at the idea of stealing from this lonely creature. Hyacinth’s warnings still lingered in my mind, but they were starting to turn numb.

Woferl and I exchanged a pointed stare. Then I released his hand and started to walk closer to the witch. She smiled.

“What is your name, child?” she asked me. Her words had begun to sound like musical notes, as if she sang each sentence she spoke.