Hazel, who had been quietly listening to her sisters argue, finally spoke. “No one is leaving!”
Gothel and Primrose stared at their sister in astonishment. Quiet, contemplative Hazel was taking on a role she rarely played, but it was nevertheless her place. She was the eldest sister, and her younger sisters stood there, mesmerized by how calmly and resolutely she spoke. “I will share the blood with you tomorrow, Gothel. Our place is here. We are the daughters of Manea, and we have a responsibility to the dead woods, and to our ancestors. Primrose, you know this! You’ve known it your entire lifetime. I don’t understand why you’re acting as if you’ve just learned about this now! Mother has always told us the stories of times before we were born. Did you think it was all fairy tales? We live in the dead woods, Prim! The dead woods! This shouldn’t be such a shock to you! We have walked among the dead our entire lifetimes! We have heard the stories of our ancestors at bedtime since we were small. If we leave this place, there will be no one left to control the dead after Mother is gone! Do you realize what that means, Prim? Listen to me! We’re all going to take Mother’s blood tomorrow. All of us! I’m the eldest after Mother, and my decision is final.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking Gothel’s side, Hazel! You both make me sick!” Primrose stormed off, leaving Hazel and Gothel on the balcony.
“Prim, please stay! Come back!” Gothel was heartbroken. She felt she had somehow ruined everything. And she wondered if she would ever have Primrose’s love again.
“Don’t worry, Gothel. I think she’ll feel differently tomorrow. She just needs time to think it over. You know how she is. Her anger burns bright but it also dies quickly. You know she can’t stay mad at either of us for very long.” Gothel knew Hazel was right, but there was something inside her that told her she might have lost Primrose for good.
“Thank you for supporting me, Hazel. Thank you for trusting me. I knew you would understand why I am doing this.”
Hazel seemed to be thinking it over before responding. Finally, she said, “I think I understand. We have to do it because it’s our obligation.”
“It’s our obligation and birthright! I’ve spent so many years upset with Mother because I thought she was selfishly keeping her magic from us. I was ready to leave this place for fear of languishing here forever with nothing to do but wander these woods, but don’t you see? If she wants to share her blood with me now, that means she is getting ready to go into the mists. It means she is ready to move on and wants us to have her knowledge before she goes.”
“Gothel, are you doing this to protect us, like you said, or are you doing it for the power?”
Gothel watched her sister walk out of the room before responding quietly, “Oh, Hazel, what would you think of me if I said I was doing it for both reasons?”
Gothel’s room was filled with the hazy grayish-blue light that always accompanied sunrise in the dead woods. Gothel pulled her red velvet duvet up around her chin, feeling a slight chill. She was reluctant to greet the day and face her sister Primrose, but when she focused and really looked about, she realized she probably shouldn’t be so worried. Her room was filled with red paper hearts, hung from the four posts of her bed and strung from the beams on her ceiling. She reached up and pulled one of the hearts from her four-poster and read it aloud.
“‘Together forever.’” Gothel sighed, hoping it meant her sister wasn’t angry with her anymore.
She stood in her room, just looking at the gray stone walls and the magnificent view of the woods from her window, realizing how much she really loved that house. For all her talk of leaving the dead woods, she realized in that moment she didn’t really want to. She loved her home, even if it was cold and drafty and made of dreary cobblestone. Even if it was barren and uninspiring and covered in monstrous carvings of night creatures. It was her home, and it was where she had lived her entire life. She wouldn’t know how to live in the outside world. What she had always wanted was to learn her mother’s magic and to live forever with her sisters. And now it seemed her dream would finally come true. But if Primrose was going to make Gothel choose between her and Mother’s magic, then the choice was simple. She would pick her sisters. And if her mother disowned her for changing her mind, then she would leave with her sisters and learn how to live in the world without magic.
As long as she had her sisters with her, she would be happy.
Sisters. Together. Forever.
There was a light knock at the door.
“Come in!” called Gothel.
It was Primrose. She was already dressed in her finest green gown, and she was holding a tarnished silver tray with two cups of tea and a pile of blueberry scones on it. “Thank you for the wishes, Prim. I love them,” said Gothel, smiling at her sister.
“I have hazelnut tea, your favorite,” said Primrose, smiling back at Gothel and setting the tray on the little round table beside the bed.
“Thank you,” said Gothel.
Primrose sat on Gothel’s bed, patting it with her small hand. “Gothel, please sit with me. I’ve thought about it, and I’ve decided I’m going to take Mother’s blood with you and Hazel.”
Gothel’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”
“Yes. Someone will have to keep you in check, Gothel, and it might as well be me.”
Gothel wrapped her arms around her sister. “Are you sure? Are you really sure? Because this is a big deal, Prim!”
“I know. But you and Hazel were right, of course. I’ve always known the stories. Ever since we were little, we’ve known who our mother is. But I think somehow, oh, I don’t know, I think I managed to turn it into some sort of…”
“Fairy tale?”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
“I’ve never seen Mother use her magic like that before. Somehow, I was able to tell myself the stories, and our history, weren’t real.”
“I understand, Prim. But can I say I think I’m worried about her? Something within her has changed. Something isn’t quite right.”