A Nightmare Remembered

I found Matty busy packing clothes at the far end of the main room. When I told him what I needed him for, he suddenly became very excited.

“I’ve always wanted to give a queen a makeover,” he squealed.

His high-pitched voice did not suit his huge, cumbersome frame and masculine features at all.

“As long as you don’t make me beautiful. I need to look the very antithesis of a well-turned-out lady.”

“Oh, don’t you worry,” he laughed. “I know exactly what I’m going to do with you.”

He took me into a now deserted bedroom. It looked just like the one they had given me except it was much smaller. All that was left apart from the bed was a mirror.

“Where is your makeup bag?” I wondered aloud, casting my gaze around the bare floor.

“This is my makeup bag,” He grinned, pulling out his wand. “There are not many mages that can do what I do. It’s a specialized skill.”

I sat on the bed and faced him. “You know, before everything went bad, I used to have a Mage make-up artist. He was very good. He had a huge box filled with every color makeup you could imagine. Of course, I don’t want you to use color on me today.”

“Your Majesty,”—he winked—“let me work it.”

I nodded, cautiously, not knowing what exactly working it entailed.

He scrunched his eyes up for a few seconds before pointing his wand directly at my face, making me flinch.

“It won’t hurt,” he trilled. “Just sit still.”

I did as he asked, feeling very uncomfortable with the wand just inches from my nose. He said some kind of spell, and my face began to warm up. I could feel my cheeks getting hotter. Not unpleasantly so, but the same feeling as when I was blushing. A few seconds later, the heat seeped from them.

Matty clasped his hands together and beamed. “Ok, look in the mirror.”

I turned and gasped. There was a complete stranger looking back at me. My blonde hair was gone, replaced by long, thick, shining auburn hair. My eyes were now a dull green, and my complexion had darkened slightly to an olive hue. My lips were full and slightly less defined, and my cheekbones were more prominent. Makeup couldn’t have done this. I looked like a completely different person entirely. A young girl of my age with a face that was nondescript. I’d fit in anywhere without being detected.

Matty waved his wand again, and my brown tunic changed into a t-shirt and jeans. Another wave and a navy blue sweater appeared, covering the shirt.

I thanked him and ran outside to test how good it actually was. Picking up a box, I followed the line of people packing. Even though I walked right past him, Cynder didn’t bat an eyelid.

“Excuse me,” I said to him, breaking out of the line. “Can you help me with this?” I indicated the box, pretending it was too heavy to carry.

Cynder screwed up his eyes as he took me in

“Charm?”

“How did you know?” I said, dropping the box that, thankfully, only had bedding in it.

“Matty’s done a great job, but I know you too well. He’s covered your face in a magic mask. Most people won’t see through it, but for those that know you well, and know magic, they’ll see you for who you really are.”

My heart dropped like a stone. “So it’s pointless then?”

“I doubt anyone else here will know it’s you,” he replied. He walked over to me and kissed me lightly on the lips. “You still taste like you.”

I arched an eyebrow.

“Go and see if your mother recognizes you if you aren’t sure. We are nearly ready to go. Daniel and I are having the Matty treatment too. I’ll meet you out here in ten minutes.”

He was right about everyone else. My mother actually screamed when I walked through Elise’s door until I told her who I was and then it took a good few minutes to prove it to her by answering questions only I would know the answer to. I gave them all a kiss goodbye with the exception of Alannah who was still sitting by Elise’s side.

A tear escaped from the corner of Elise’s eye.

“Be careful,” she whispered.

“You too,” I replied, sadly. I don’t know who was the most worried, her or me.

Outside I waited for the two boys. Not knowing what they would look like, had me scrutinizing everyone that came out of the house, but when two men came over to me, I knew immediately who they were. It was strange to look at Daniel with dark red hair and a scruffy beard, but it was stranger still to see a fair Cynder. His beautiful deep brown eyes were now a light blue and his curly hair had been changed into a dark blond crop. He didn’t look like Cynder at all, but when he kissed me, and I closed my eyes, there was no mistaking whose lips were on mine.

“We don’t have time for that,” shouted Daniel, jumping up onto his horse.”

“Follow us,” whispered Cynder quickly. “If anything happens, turn and run. Take your horse and get away.”

“I’m not leaving you!” I protested.

“And I’m not letting you come unless you promise me,” he replied.

As I looked into those unfamiliar blue irises, I knew I had to give him this. I nodded slowly and jumped up onto the horse that had been saddled up for me. Cynder handed me a folded up piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a map of where the others are heading tonight. If we get separated, head straight there. Don’t let the MDS get their hands on it.”

I tucked the small piece of paper in my pocket, and we rode out of the grounds of the farmhouse to begin our long journey back to the capital.

The journey was a lot longer than I remembered it. Although without anyone chasing us, there was no need to ride the horses at breakneck speed.

This was the first time I’d seen my own kingdom beyond the capital, and I took it all in, promising myself that if I ever got myself out of this mess, I’d plan a tour. It was much more beautiful than I imagined, with rolling hills, picturesque villages, and endless fields. Every so often, we’d pass someone, but no one stopped us. It was only as we came closer to the capital that I noticed the heightened security. On the very outskirts, where the fields and moorlands turned into suburbs, was a roadblock. I recognized the uniforms of the people manning it as those of the Silverwood Police.

I followed Daniel and Cynder cautiously. A policeman held out his hand, commanding us to stop.

“Where are you headed?” he barked at us.

“We are headed into the Capital,” replied Daniel. I could hear the slight tremor in his voice as he spoke.

The policeman looked us all up and down. “What is your business?”

“I…I…”

“We came to speak with the chief of police,” I interjected. “We have seen one of the men traveling with the Queen.”

I saw Cynder giving me a curious look out of the corner of his eye. Either this would work, or it would go horribly wrong.

The policeman became excited. “You saw him? Who was it? Did you see the queen?”

“No,” I replied thoughtfully. “Just the man on the TV who drove the carriage that took her.”

“Where was he?”

I thought of a town as far away as possible from where we had been staying and from where the others were traveling. “Northich,” I said, remembering its position on a map.

“That’s north of the Capital,” replied the policeman suspiciously. “This is the south gate to the city. How did you see them?”

Damn!

“We saw the guards on the north entrance and decided to head round to the south,” improvised Cynder quickly. “We thought that there wouldn’t be guards here, and we’d be able to get into the city quicker so we could report our findings. Obviously, we were wrong.”

The policeman studied his face for a second, and then deciding that believing him, and potentially being the one that found the queen was preferable to making us turn around, he let us pass.

“I’ll need to know exactly where you saw him,” he shouted up to us as he raised the barrier.

“I’m afraid, we’d rather report it to the chief of police ourselves,” said Daniel.

“Ok,” replied the policeman, clearly excited now. “I’ll call him to come here. You three wait here.”

Our only option was to do as he asked. If we raced into the city, he’d be after us in seconds.

He disappeared into his little makeshift hut, probably to call the police headquarters. Cynder and Daniel moved their horses so we were all standing close together.

“I’m sorry, that was stupid,” I said.

“It was fine,” reassured Daniel. It got us through the barrier. We just have to decide what to do now.”

“I don’t think we have much choice,” replied Cynder. “If he’s getting Copper out to us, then that saves us a journey. I’ll use my wand to make sure that Copper sees the real you.”

I jumped down from my horse and led him to a nearby water trough. Maybe Cynder was right. My spur-of-the-moment idea was bringing Copper to see us which meant we wouldn’t have to walk through the city alone. It saddened me how terrifying a prospect it was to walk through my own city, the place I’d lived my whole life and had never ventured out of. I watched the people coming and going, many of which got turned away from the barrier by another policeman. A lot of them looked like farmers, trying to come into the capital to sell their wares. As each one was turned away, my heart became heavier. This was affecting so many people, and there was little I could do about it. A huge part of me wanted to announce that I was the queen, but in doing so, I was putting myself, not to mention Daniel and Cynder, at risk.

A carriage appeared in the distance, and I recognized it as one owned by the police. The black carriage had a blue stripe running lengthways around it, and a man in a police uniform sat in the driver’s seat.

“That was quick!” remarked Cynder.

“All the better for us,” Daniel replied. “ I guess they really want to find the queen.”

The carriage drew to a stop beside us, and the driver jumped down, opening the door of it. The policeman that had stopped us at the barrier came running out quickly when he saw who had arrived.

I stepped up to the carriage, ready to hold my hand out to Chief Inspector Copper but instead of Jason, out of the carriage came my worst nightmare. For the first time since our wedding, I found myself standing face to face with Luca Tremaine.