All Hallows Eve - Part Two
If you were almost seven years old, Dear Readers, and your friend was having a Halloween Princess Party and everyone was going to dress up like Princesses, well at least the Girls were, and go to a Costume Ball at the Castle, would you be Excited? So excited that you didn't even mind that your Younger sister was coming too... and that your Mother had dressed you both in Sister dresses that made people think you were Twins even though you were more than a year older? Well, such was the case this All Hallows Eve. Fleur's daughter Juliet was having a Princess Party and had invited her friends Amber and Beth and Beth's younger sister Amy too. Juliet's Mother was not dressing as a Princess, but as a Maid because she knew all these Little Princesses were going to require at least One servant to attend them!
When they arrived at the Castle the first thing they found was a Gypsy telling Fortunes with a crystal ball.
Of course, this was just Daphne dressed up as a Gypsy, pretending to be a Fortune Teller, but that was all part of the entertainment, so the girls stepped up to hear their Fortunes...
Imagine everybody's surprise when right before their eyes
the Crystal ball suddenly began to glow
and grew to more than Twice it's size.....
And suddenly a face appeared in the Crystal Ball and Spoke.....
"Daphne..." said the disembodied voice......
"Daphne.... This is your Mother......
I have to tell you something Very Important..."
Everybody was listening and staring in shock.....
"Daphne..... you must help us save the Wizard....!
He is Frozen in Time in the Caverns below the Castle!" said the eerie voice.
"There is One Among you who will Find the Boy who is Carrying the Magic Seed.....
It must be taken and given to the Wizard.... but the Boy cannot go.....!" she said.
"The seed MUST be carried by a Girl child....."
"You must help us find this child, Daphne...." said the voice... and then the Face disappeared.
There followed a moment of stunned silence!
"Well, that was Very well done, Daphne," said Fleur!
"You have a real talent for this sort of thing!"
Daphne just stared in shock.
"That was my Mother..." she said, a puzzled expression on her face.
"I have No idea what she was talking about...."
But the Little Dreamer, Beth, was staring fixedly at the Crystal Ball.
She had heard and Believed every word!
Somewhere in this Castle was a Boy with a seed....
and it had to get to a Wizard in a Cave.....
It was JUST like a Fairy Tale!
Or a Scavenger Hunt!
She was Good at scavenger hunts!
The Party was getting under way and the Castle was filling with people dressed in costume....
You may recognize some of our friends....
Arthur and Pollyanna are back from their Travels around the Globe....
Helen and Charles are Dancing while the floor is not too crowded....
Sally May and Chip and Annabelle have arrived....
Chip doesn't like to wear costumes.....
he says "I'm dressed up as a Regular Guy..."
Annabelle is a fairy....
And the "Deadly Nightshades" are striking up the music.....
But meanwhile....
In Another Time and in Another Place.....
Tommy has taken the seed given to him by his sister Beatrice and carefully put it in his pocket.
He feels that somehow this seed is causing all her illness and he is Determined to do what he can to return it to the Wizard just like Beatrice asked. He took his pony, Prince, and set off for the Castle.
It is late afternoon as they set off for the Castle.
He has been there several times before
so he is confident he can get there and back before it gets too dark.
It is a lovely afternoon for a ride....
But this Time, they don't meet up with the Castle Horses....
And when they arrive at the Castle... the stables are Deserted....
Tommy frowns. But he is sure that he will find someone if he looks around.
He ties Prince in the stable and looks into the next rooms....
But they, too, are deserted.
When he gets to the kitchen all he can see is a pile of old rags in the corner.
And what's worse... he is starting to feel strange....
He decides to sit down and think....
He is having a hard time remembering...
but he thinks the kitchen was where he found Henry and Belle...
and Old Meg....
Meanwhile.... At our Halloween Party....
the children are starting to play in the Castle....
While the grown-ups are Dancing...
the children will explore.....
Beth and Amy find their way down to the ancient Kitchen.
They are not surprised to find an oddly dressed boy sitting there....
"Are you the Boy with the seed?" asks Beth.....
Tommy is only a little surprised.....
"I am supposed to take it to the Wizard" he replies....
hoping they don't think he is crazy to be talking about Wizards....
"The lady in the Crystal Ball said you can't go to the Wizard..." said Beth.
"She said the seed had to be carried by a Girl child...."
She took a deep breath and then said "I will take it to him if you give it to me..."
Tommy gives her the seed.
He is relieved to no longer be carrying it....
but he wants to make sure it will get delivered.....
"You mustn't lose it..." he said....
"The Wizard is trapped...."
"I promise....." said Beth
And almost the minute her hand touched the seed, the boy was gone....
They turned around and realized they were not alone....
In the corner was an Old Crone....
"Do not be afraid, Dear Children," she said...
"I am here to tell you how to find the Wizard...."
"Only One of you can carry the seed... but I am glad to see you are not alone..."
"You will need to leave the Castle from the Stables and follow the path down the cliff.....
It will bring you to the Wizard's cave..."
"Whatever you do, you must not leave the path..."
It sounded harder than it was...
the path was well lit by the moon
and soon they were entering the crack in the Earth where the Wizard Dwelled...
They had never even Dreamed that such a place existed!
And there before them they could see the Wizard....
Standing Motionless.....
Beth approached him slowly.....
Not quite sure what she should do....
She carefully placed the Magic seed into his open hand.....
There was a sudden Trembling of the Earth....
The Wizard is knocked nearly to his knees.....
as though the seed is too heavy to hold......
as though it carries with it the Weight of all that Time....
The Wizard takes a deep breath....
His voice a rusty whisper...
"I must Beg of you..." he says haltingly...
"I must Beg that you will eat this seed...!"
As though she has no will of her own.....
Beth reaches to take the seed from his hand...
And she eats the Enchanted Seed!
A sudden gust of wind rushes past and a terrible grinding noise erupts....
as if heavily laden crates are dragged across a rough floor...
And then all is quiet once more...!
The Wizard stands again ...
free to move once more...
But as he rises... the little Dreamer staggers back.....
A Distant and unfocused look in her eyes....
The Wizard turns to her Sister and says
"Now it is your turn to be strong... you must help your Sister to get home..."
"I will give to you this Wishing Star.... hold onto your Sister's hand and don't let go...!
Your heart will lead you where you need to go...."
And before Amy even had a chance to Think about it....
Her Wish burst forth into her mind.....
The wishing star suddenly burned brightly ..... and then everything changed....
They were rushing through the night on the backs of wild ponies.....
and before they even blinked... they found themselves tucked into bed....
With moonlight streaming in through the window......
Were they Dreaming...?
And did the Party continue at the Castle.....?
Well, the last I checked....
the "Deadly Nightshades" were still playing away.....
The dance floor was crowded with couples dancing.....
And Nobody seemed to Notice the Time Passing.....
This All Hallows Eve...
Except perhaps for the Little Dreamers....
Are they Dreaming Still?
The End..... (For Now....)
