āShe cleans up Torvilleās messes, I suppose,ā said Vivien. āYou know heās too lazy to do anything himself.ā
āI donāt like children,ā Elgin said. āThey get underfoot, and they bite.ā His face loomed larger in the gazing ball. āDo you bite, child?ā
āOh, yes,ā said Marigold. āAlmost every day.ā She disliked the Miseries enough that she might have been tempted to bite them if theyād been there, even though she was sure Elginās arm tasted like moldy furniture and Vivienās like overripe fruit. Behind her, Collin swallowed a laugh.
āIām surprised at you, Torville,ā Vivien said. āI never dreamed youād steal a second child, not after you spent so much time griping about the first one.ā She shoved Elgin out of the way. āDo you know what a mess you made in Blumontaine?ā
āWe didnāt make a mess!ā Now Marigold was sure she would have bitten the Miseries. āWe ā Torville, that is ā turned Queen Hetty against Foggy Gorge in less than five minutes.ā
āI saw it myself,ā said Pettifog. āI can personally guarantee that Queen Hetty wonāt be attending the peace negotiations.ā
āThen why is she on her way to Imbervale right now?ā crowed Vivien. āTraveling with six full suitcases, all her advisers, and an iguana in a wig? Half the kingdom saw her leave, Torville. I knew you couldnāt be trusted to get things right!ā
āBut thatās not possible!ā said Pettifog. āWhen we left the queen, she was ready to order seventy-five gallons of quicksand! She was going to seek revenge! She was āā
āShe was about to speak to Rosalind,ā Marigold reminded him. The morningās peach cobbler felt heavy in her stomach. Sheād crafted Collinās disguise, traveled across the kingdoms, fooled the guards in Blumontaine, and told stories to the queen, but Rosalind had undone it all in an instant. āShe ruined our plan. I donāt know what she said to Queen Hetty, but it must have been convincing.ā
Pettifogās wings slumped. āSheās a very persuasive person.ā
āAnd youāre a bunch of ninnies!ā said Vivien. āYou too, Elgin. Youāre the one who fell into a dragonās nest.ā
āI did not fall,ā said Elgin. āI simply lost my footing. You should show more concern toward someone whoās almost been eaten. Did you know the Hartswood dragonās just had triplets?ā
āI know you were too busy saving your skin to catch up with the queen of Hartswood,ā said Vivien, āor the queen of Carroway. Along with Blumontaine, thatās three opportunities you and Torville have squandered.ā
āDonāt pretend you did any better.ā Elgin leaned close enough for Marigold to see some of the scratches heād gotten from the baby dragons. The worst one, across his forehead, made him look even more alarming than usual. āWhen Vivien showed up in Stickelridge to steal those hunting dogs, the king was delighted. He was just heading off to Imbervale for the peace negotiations and needed someone to look after his hounds. He practically begged her to take them.ā Elgin laughed. āAnd when she got the dogs to Puddlewater, the royal family thought it was the nicest surprise theyād had in months. The little princesses chased those hounds all around the palace and had a marvelous time.ā
āItās not funny,ā said Vivien sourly. āI doubt you could have cast a transportation spell on twelve dogs at once.ā This only made Elgin laugh harder. āAnd donāt you join in with him, Torville. Weāre in a real mess now, and I blame you. By this time next week, the Cacophonous Kingdoms might be at peace, all because you said we needed to be subtle!ā She snorted. āWell, Iām done with subtlety.ā
Elginās laughter had faded into more of a dry cough. āSheās right, brother. We tried to do things your way, but as usual, your way didnāt work. What we need now is big magic. The powerful stuff.ā
Marigold thought Torville had mentioned big magic once or twice. She didnāt like the sound of it.
āI know youāll object,ā Elgin continued, ābecause youāre squeamish and soft āā
āHe certainly is not,ā muttered Pettifog.
āAnd none of us likes going hat in hand to Skellytoes and Petronella and the rest. Itās embarrassing, and the others may end up doing us more harm than good. But the rulers of all ten kingdoms will be in Imbervale by tomorrow, and we canāt work a massive spell quickly enough to stop this peace by ourselves. Weāve got no choice but to ask the society for help.ā
āThe society?ā Marigold asked.
āThe society!ā Pettifog looked stricken. His wings fluttered in panic. āItās nearly Tuesday!ā
āYouād better be well by then, Torville,ā said Vivien. āIf you give skin-crawling sickness to the entire Evil Wizardsā Social Society, theyāll loathe you even more than they already do.ā She flicked a bony finger, and the image in the gazing ball winked out.
It was more important than ever now to turn Torville back to himself. In two daysā time, Pettifog explained, wicked enchanters from across the land would arrive at the fortress, expecting their usual evening of rich food and raucous laughter. āTorville hosts . . . the Evil Wizardsā Social Society . . . on alternate Tuesdays,ā he said, breathing hard under the weight of the long mirror he was helping Marigold carry out of Torvilleās bedroom and up the workroom stairs. āIf heās still a blob . . . of glop . . . one of those wizards is going to find out. Did Torville say where this should go?ā
āAcross from the cauldron, I think.ā Marigold guided the mirror around the peach trees at the top of the stairs and leaned it against the wall. āEverything I do while I cast the spell should be reflected in the mirror.ā
āAre you sure thatās backward?ā Pettifog bent over to catch his breath. āI might call it opposite.ā
āTell that to the blob,ā Marigold said. āThe mirror was his idea, and we donāt have time to argue about it. Whereās Collin?ā
āHere!ā Collin called from the stairs. He was taking them two at a time, more cheerful than ever now that the Miseries were gone. āIāve got the snail shells, the swamp mist, and the pinch of salt,ā he said, setting three jars on the workroom table next to Marigoldās ragweed, ābut I donāt know what to do about the yawn or the strand of Rosalindās hair.ā
āI bottled a yawn this morning,ā said Marigold. āIāll get it from my bedroom. And as for the hair . . .ā This was the one part of the Overlook Curse that had her truly stumped. It didnāt seem possible to come up with any more of Rosalindās hair without Rosalind herself. Marigold had looked through all the work dresses in the wardrobe, but the only stray hairs left on their collars were Marigoldās own brown ones. āWe could use another hair of mine,ā she said doubtfully, ābut I tried that last time, and it didnāt work out so well. Iāll check the wardrobe again; maybe Rosalind left behind a comb I havenāt found yet.ā
In the bedroom, Marigold knelt on the floor and fumbled in the midnight darkness until she found the stoppered jar of yawns sheād left next to her bed. Then she launched herself toward the wardrobe. Halfway there, she discovered a peach tree she hadnāt known about before. āAwful trees!ā she muttered, holding her bumped nose. āAwful curses! Awful Miseries! Awful Rosalind, ruining everything again!ā There were the wardrobe knobs at last. If she couldnāt find a strand of Rosalindās hair somehow, she didnāt know what sheād do.
Scrabble, scrabble, scrabble. The sound came from outside the wardrobe, like animals climbing in the walls. Marigold shuddered and tried not to notice it. Scrabble, scrabble, scrabble. No, not in the walls ā it was coming from the window. Marigold closed the wardrobe doors and listened. Now there was a fumbling sort of sound, as if something on the other side of the window was trying to get in. This was impossible, Marigold told herself; it was at least thirty feet to the ground below, and anyone who might have been foolish enough to want to climb the fortress wall would have been eaten by the Thing before they could get close enough to try. But the fumbling sound grew louder. Carefully, Marigold crossed the room and pushed the drapes aside. The glass in the casement window was old and wavy, so she still couldnāt see much of anything. āHello?ā she said, feeling ridiculous to be talking to no one.
The fumbling sound stopped. āMarigold?ā said a voice on the other side of the window. Even through the glass, her own name was unmistakable. āMarigold!ā There was a lot more fumbling then, and the window swung open on its hinges. There on the other side, flushed and pleased, was Rosalind.
Marigold stepped backward so quickly that she almost ran into the peach tree again. She wondered if she was imagining things or if her eyes had been dazzled by the sunlight outside. Could that really be Rosalind peering into the darkness, the little furrow in her brow deepening with each blink? Marigold squeezed her own eyes shut, but when she opened them again, Rosalind was still there.
āMarigold?ā Rosalind said again. āAre you in there? I canāt see a thing!ā Rosalind stuck her head into the midnight room and quickly pulled it out again. āOh, Marigold, if youāre there, please say something!ā
Marigold supposed there was no use in hiding, not when Rosalind was obviously determined to find her. āIām here,ā she said into the midnight dark.
A smile as lovely as sunrise broke across Rosalindās face. Her hair was damp, Marigold noticed now, and her shirt and riding breeches were disheveled from scaling the fortress wall, but of course that only made her look more beautiful than ever. The window ledge was just deep enough for her to kneel on, and she didnāt seem to have any fear of falling. āCan you make your way to the window?ā she called. āOr do you need me to come inside to help you?ā
āDonāt help me!ā said Marigold, rushing over to stop her. āWhat are you doing? How did you get up here?ā
āIām rescuing you, silly!ā Now that Marigold was close to the window, Rosalind could see her, and she took Marigoldās hand in hers. āCome quickly, before Torville hears. I knew heād take down the rope I used to escape, so I brought one with me.ā She pointed to the metal hook that was clinging to the edge of the windowsill and to the length of twisted fabric that led all the way down to the ground. āYou donāt have to worry. Itās perfectly safe.ā
āBut I donāt need to be rescued!ā Marigold said. āI want to be here. I came here on my own.ā
Marigold had expected Rosalind to be surprised, maybe even scandalized, by this detail, but Rosalind didnāt really seem to notice. āThe kitchen boy told us youād run off,ā she said, āafter the accident with the water bucket āā
āIt wasnāt an accident,ā Marigold said flatly.
āā but none of us knew Torville had captured you until I saw you both in Blumontaine. I wish Iād been able to rescue you right there in Queen Hettyās hallway, but I didnāt recognize you in that awful old cloak he made you wear, and by the time I heard your voice, you were already gone.ā She squeezed Marigoldās hand. āIām here now, though. If we climb down right away, weāll be able to get past the Thing. I tossed it a leg of lamb before I swam the moat.ā
Marigold stared at Rosalind. What was it like, she wondered, to be so stubbornly good? Didnāt Rosalind have anything more to say about that awful night at the party or about how Marigold had run away? Wasnāt she furious, or even upset? Didnāt she have questions? Marigold certainly did, and she wasnāt too well behaved to ask them. āArenāt you afraid,ā she said, āthat if Torville catches you here, heāll turn you into a bug?ā
Rosalind considered this. āHe threatened to often enough, especially when I was younger ā when I grew bluebells by the front door or let in too much fresh air. He said I ruined the atmosphere, and he made me hide away whenever his wicked friends came to visit. But he never actually cursed me.ā
āNot even a little curse?ā Marigold was shocked. She had tried to curse Rosalind the first chance she got, and it wasnāt even her job. āNot even once? I wonder why not.ā
Rosalind shrugged. āThereās no understanding Torville.ā She looked over her shoulder, down toward the moat. āMarigold, we have to leave now. Iām not sure how long that leg of lamb will last.ā
Marigold finally managed to get her hand free from Rosalindās. āYou should go, then,ā she said firmly. āPlease go. And donāt bother waiting for me, because Iām not going anywhere ā especially not with you. Do you understand?ā
For a moment, Rosalind looked concerned. Then something in her expression shifted, and she nodded. āI do,ā she said, wrapping her arms around Marigold and squeezing her tight before Marigold could duck. āI understand every word.ā
Marigold didnāt think that could possibly be true, but at least Rosalind went. She climbed out of view, and a little while later, the rope shook free from the window ledge. As soon as it did, Marigold pulled her own head back inside the fortress and let out a long, frustrated breath. After all the work sheād done to get every trace of Rosalind out of that room, Rosalind had shown up there anyway. Why had she decided it was her job to save Marigold? Why hadnāt she stayed in Imbervale, where perfect princesses belonged?