Spell Bound - Chapters 11 & 12
Sorry we’re so late this week. A combination of too much going on and updating the book covers for our Enchanted Fairytale series. You can find them all at our Lavender Cottage BookShop and most retailers!
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And here are the next two chapters of our Enchanted Fairytale. This is the second book in our Enchanted Fairytale series, and it’s no longer free at retailers…so we’ll be putting this behind the paywall in a few weeks. Everyone who has already subscribed to our Substack should be “comped for life” - so you’ll be able to keep reading the story. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do so as soon as possible.
Chapter 11
Felicia and Hob ducked down, hoping Mrs. Havermale hadn’t seen them. Nora hissed and ran past her. “That silly cat. I don’t know why the master keeps it around,” Mrs. Havermale said as she walked into the kitchen.
Nora quickly hurried down the cellar stairs and back to the table on the far side of the room. Sitting down, she waited for Felicia and Hob to slide off, then changed back into her pixie form.
“So, what can you tell me about all this?” Felicia asked, looking from Hob to Nora.
“Oliver knew we needed someone with certain talents,” Hob replied, smiling at Nora. “Not everyone can see a pixie, much less summon a portal.”
Nora nodded. “Oliver has brought in a few people as apprentices and none of them could do it.”
“Where is this portal?” Felicia asked. “And more importantly, why me?”
“You must have a little pixie blood somewhere in your family history,” Nora said. “It does happen from time to time.”
“Oliver has been watching you, and we…um,” Hob glanced at Nora. “We helped encourage you to leave a few of your earlier jobs.”
“The vase…” Felicia said. “I knew I hadn’t touched it.”
“And the baking ingredients,” Nora added. “Sorry, but we needed your help.”
“And the dressmaker’s shop?” Felicia asked.
“That was all you,” Hob replied, “but it gave me the idea. You were so distracted reading a book, you forgot about the iron and I told Nora…that’s what we need. Someone, who loves books and has pixie blood.” He smiled. “You were perfect.”
Felicia smiled back. “Thank you.” She cleared her throat. “However, I don’t know how I can help you with a portal. Why can’t you open that yourself?”
“It has to be opened on the human side by a human,” Nora explained. “And by a pixie on the pixie side. That’s why we haven’t been able to go home.”
“What about this other apprentice?” Felicia looked over at Hob. “Why did he summon you in the first place?”
“That clever rascal took advantage of Oliver,” Hob said. “He took the knowledge and realized he could enter our realm and probably do more damage than good. We not only need to get home. We have to send him back here.”
Felicia nodded. “I’ll help you. What do we need to do?”
Nora took Felicia’s hand. “We’re hoping our side has left the portal open. If so, we need you to repeat the words with us and see if we can open this side.”
Hob took Felicia’s other hand and she felt a slight heat go up her arm. It might have been a nice distraction at a different time, but she needed to focus on what she was doing. She took a breath and looked at Nora. “Now what?”
“We say the same words that shrank you down to our size,” Nora replied.
Felicia nodded and said the words with Nora and Hob. “Call the distant ends of time, ask for chance and fate. Find the place that marks the space between the time and date.”
A small breeze blew across Felicia’s arm and they said it again. “Call the distant ends of time, ask for chance and fate. Find the place that marks the space between the time and date.”
“Once more should do it,” Hob said. The wall is starting to shimmer.”
Nora nodded and they said it again. “Call the distant ends of time, ask for chance and fate. Find the place that marks the space between the time and date.”
The wall seemed to bend slightly, and a white beam of light shot out that slowly turned to light pink, then lavender. “That’s it!” Hob exclaimed. “Let’s go!”
They kept holding hands and ran towards the light. The wall disappeared and Felicia felt the breeze against her face as she landed in a meadow full of wildflowers.
“We made it!” Nora turned to Hob and hugged him. “We’re home!”
Chapter 12
Felicia turned to give them a moment of privacy and realized there were flowers stretching as far as she could see. They were beautiful but very large, and for a moment she wondered why…then remembered she was still pixie size.
“I don’t suppose we can grow a little larger?” Felicia asked, glad they’d landing by the chamomile and not the poppies. “Unless you don’t have any problem with wild animals here?”
“Well, we do have these,” Hob said, stretching out his wings. “We can always fly away from any problems.”
“I don’t think that will work for me.” Felicia raised an eyebrow. “Unless I have wings, too?”
“Sorry, those are not included with your spell,” Nora replied. “Wings have to be issued by someone with a little more authority.”
“Issued?” Felicia repeated. “Are you teasing me?”
“Not at all,” Hob assured her. “We aren’t born with wings; we have to earn them. And once we do, they come in very handy.”
“Well, we’d better grow a little larger until we see…” Nora began, then smiled. “Finally, I wondered where everyone was. Not a single pixie to greet us as we came through.”
Felicia stood on her tiptoes, trying to see over the chamomile.
“Those aren’t pixies,” Hob said. “Nora, take Felicia’s hand and get ready to fly towards those willows over by the creek.”
Nora nodded. “Don’t worry,” she whispered to Felicia. “We’ll get you there in no time.”
Felicia looked from Nora to Hob, then back to the ones approaching. “Who are they?” she whispered back.
“Just don’t let go of my hand,” Nora replied, ignoring the question.
As she and Hob each held onto her, Felicia felt herself starting to float above the ground. It was wonderful for a few moments. Then, her stomach lurched as they flew very quickly above the flowers.
All she saw was a blur of colors, then they were flying through the branches of the weeping willow. “Let’s follow the creek as far as we can,” Hob suggested.
“It would be faster to cut across the next meadow,” Nora replied.
“I don’t think we should risk it with…” Hob looked at Felicia and smiled. “With our guest.”
“Who are they?” Felicia asked, “And why are they chasing us?”
“Faeries,” Nora replied. “And trust me, you don’t want to be caught any more than we do.”
Felicia nodded, then closed her eyes as they zoomed between several small trees.
“They’re gaining on us,” Hob said, glancing behind him. “We need a distraction.”
“I’ve got it.” Nora reached out and grabbed a dead branch. It looked huge, but Felicia realized it was probably only six inches long.
“Take us over to those aspens,” Nora continued. “You know the ones I mean?”
“Brilliant,” Hob replied. “We’ll be there in about fifteen seconds.”
“Whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand,” Nora said.
Felicia nodded and held on tight as they swooped down towards the grass growing around the aspens.
“There it is!” Hob exclaimed.
Nora reached out and swung the branch as hard as she could, then dropped it on the ground. They kept flying along the creek, almost touching the water as Felicia heard screams behind them.
“Don’t turn around,” Hob said. “Just focus on those tall oaks up ahead.”
“I think that should take care of them,” Nora said. “At least, for now.” She glanced over at Felicia and smiled. “Faeries don’t like hornets. And the feeling is mutual.”
When they reached the oaks, Hob flew to the top of the nearest tree. “Do you see anyone?”
Nora glanced behind her. “No. I think we lost them.”
“Then, let’s go home,” Hob replied. “We need to find out what’s happened since we left. Faeries have always been a pain, but I’ve never had any chase us this far. And I didn’t like what they were saying.”
“What were they saying?” Felicia asked, realizing it had sounded like a foreign language.
“Let’s just say, you heard some very colorful Fae curses today,” Nora said. “I don’t think you’ll want to repeat any of them.”
Felicia nodded and smiled as they flew back down to the creek and across the next meadow. From up here, she could make out every flower and they were all beautiful.
Read another two chapters on Thursday!