The Thickest Thicket

Does the ugly stepsister even have a happily ever after?

 

Once upon a time, King Dewey had just divorced his wife, Queen Bernadette, who was of a much older age. To celebrate, the king went hunting in the woods. Then, he spotted and followed a graceful roe who led him into a very dense thicket. He stepped out of his horse to cut the bushes to form a clear path. Suddenly, he met a beautiful maiden sitting under a huge oak tree and wearing a dress of flowers. She was a druid named Susannah. The king made her his new queen, and built her her own castle called Way Castle. They soon had two sons, twins actually, named Reynard and Lupine.

 

Reynard was skilled in combat and weapons, and he was known for his cunning and agility. While Lupine was skilled in taming horses and hunting, and he was known for his wits around the councilors. They were just pages then. They were united by the warmest affection and inseparable in all their enterprises. Then, the two had a quarrel of who would inherit their father’s throne. They went to their father and asked him. But all he answered was “Why must you think of my death, my sons?” Thus, he refused to write a will for it was too early.

 

And yet, he didn’t see his sudden death coming. He was playing his lute in the throne room alone, then he dropped dead on the floor. Queen Susannah tried ever so hard to cry for his grave. But instead, she only wailed and destroyed many things. The royal children were then afraid, and their grandparents took them in the Sun Palace to stay away from their demented mother. Reynard and Lupine continued their education there. When they were squires, they wanted to come to Way Castle though Lionel, their herald, kept on saying it wasn’t safe yet. Until, the shocking news reached their ears. Their mother was long dead, and her second husband already took over Way Castle.

 

Reynard and Lupine travelled at once to their mother’s castle where they only met King Jack’s two wives, Queens Amaryllis and Isinglass, because King Jack was out hunting as usual. Reynard and Lupine demanded their rightful castle back, but Amaryllis instead challenged them in a joust. The princes knew they could not match her expertise, so they cheated by tampering with her lance, and putting pressure on her horse before they began. But Amaryllis didn’t put up with her mischance, and refused to keep her word. The princes declared war and left. When they were in the thicket, Isinglass appeared and changed Reynard and Lupine into a fox and a wolf respectively.

 

The forest became their home, and they could not find their way out, as if they were meant to stay there. One night, they encountered a dark tower where the sadistic fairy named Lulu haunted and would scare anyone going inside to take her treasure. They asked her of how to get rid from the witch’s spell. She told them that it would be broken if they helped someone find a happy ending. “Trust me. I’ve been working with fairytales for a long time,” Lulu said, “It always works.” But whenever Reynard and Lupine encounter a human, they would become the prize game for being magical talking animals.

 

Then, one day, they met a little princess sitting in the woods alone. She was just there sitting and nothing else. She was obviously abandoned there to starve to death. Then, Reynard and Lupine could feel that she was of close blood to them. But Reynard realized she was deaf, never answering his questions of who she was, how and why she was there, and does she want her happy ending. He nuzzled her back while Lupine let her pat him. But she called them Roy and John, and wobbly walked around hitting a tree. Lupine realized she was blind, really blind, illiterate, the term of Necropolitans for people who couldn’t sense auras.

 

Lupine carried the girl on his back and Reynard led the way to the dark tower. Thunderclouds surrounded it, and its bricks gravely moaned. The two brothers were scared and were having second thoughts if they should let the innocent girl go there. But the girl already walked to the door, and went inside. She climbed the seemingly never-ending staircase filled with bones and dry blood. She soon reached the room above, and for the very first time, she could “see” something glistening in the dark. She touched the brilliant thing, and it was as refined as a diamond. Lulu appeared and using magic, she forced the girl away from it.

 

Then, the fairy began conducting nightmares within the room decorated with cobwebs. The sound of knells appeared archly. A grove of thistles crawled about the floor and walls. The ghosts commenced a night of sighs, and breathed cold air upon the girl’s neck. The ghouls spread out their wings of dread and menacingly flew above the girl. Creepy crawlies went inside the girl’s clothes.  The skeletons danced around as they ululated their macabre song. But amidst this phantasmagoria of horrors, the girl only stared and smiled at the diamond floating in the middle of the room. She never felt such happiness of being able to see something in all her life.

 

In the morning, Reynard and Lupine saw the princess holding the precious gem as she magically flew out of the tower and out of the thicket. But days passed, the two princes hadn’t change back to their human forms. They wondered, then suddenly, they sensed the distressed heart of the young princess high up in the air. It was the stepmothers’ playful assassination. It would’ve been a bloody success, if it had not Reynard and Lupine attacked them. Unfortunately, they were thrown away and became unconscious. When they woke up, they saw the evil stepmothers defeated. The witch in flames vowed vendetta upon the two brothers.

 

But Reynard and Lupine ran away and laughed and laughed. Suddenly, they were grabbed by surprise, and put in a sack. They were on a carriage. But the next thing they knew, they heard the coachman’s terrified scream and someone looting the carriage. The sack they were in was opened and they leaped out to meet a girl wearing jewels from the other sacks. But she was disappointed to see two filthy animals in that one. “Who are you calling filthy?!” Reynard growled. Lupine added, “My dear girl, we are more valuable than those jewels for we could help you find your happy ending.” The girl doubted, but since they were talking animals, she went with them.

 

“My half-sister came back with a precious jewel that she became more precious to father. My father never loved me, but my mother advised me to go to the thicket, too, and find a treasure to win father’s love.”

 

Along the way, she wondered why the fox and the wolf weren’t repelled by her so-called ugliness. “Maybe because they’re animals.” That night, the eyes of the sky cried, and the three spotted a beautiful cottage in the forest. The girl, who was called Magenta, rudely barged in. The man and woman seated by the fireplace were frightened upon her hideous aura. They were so frightened that they became her slaves. Reynard and Lupine disapproved of her behavior, but they soon learned to live there with her.

 

One night, the couple asked Magenta, as the new owner of the cottage, to set up the defenses herself from the goblins who would invade unprotected houses. But she was an idle and lazy girl who didn’t care and laughed at their stupid superstitions. So, that night was interrupted by the march of the goblins and their serenade of their special fruits. Lupine advised Magenta to not go near them. But she was so tempted by the mouth-watering fruits. Reynard bit her skirt to stop her, but her desire was stronger. Upon one taste of a pomegranate, Magenta became psychedelic. The goblins would make her dance and sing in exchange of another taste.

 

Reynard and Lupine watched her become more stupid. The goblins left before dawn, and Magenta licked the floor clean of fruit juices. For the next week, she became nicer, maybe because, she got mellow by the magical effects of the forbidden fruits. Then, another week came, she became unstable, refusing to eat anything and shouting her desire for more of the goblins’ fruits. One night, Reynard lay by the fireplace as their slaves groomed him, while Lupine was at the couch, reading a book. Magenta came in with a huge yet disturbing smile. Her two friends were about to say “no” for the millionth time, but seeing her shaking like a twig, they pitied her. They thought maybe it would be the stupid girl’s happy ending – choking on a fairy fruit and dying happy.

 

They ordered the couple to lead them to the goblins’ market. They were scared to go, but they were more scared of Magenta. They came upon a stream where an island was found. On it was a glowing rowan tree. Magenta slid through it excitedly, as Reynard and Lupine peeked in to watch her cause hysterical chaos upon the glittering pink world of the fairies. She ate all the forbidden fruits, raided the fairies’ flowery homes, and assaulted them even. The fairies could not do anything for her aura was too powerful for them. Magenta’s hunger was finally appeased, and left Faerie in ruins. To punish her, the fairies resorted to the fairy who worked with Death himself – Lulu.

 

She then flew up to the sky of Necropolis and took two eyes from Gemini. She found Magenta abusing the former owners of the cottage as her footstool and fanner. Lulu placed the two eyes upon her eyes sockets that had been empty since birth. Her slaves soon found her sleeping, but it was strange for no Necropolitan actually “sleeps”; they had no eyes to rest for. Then, they felt her foul aura was gone. They no longer feared her, but just in case, the couple packed their things and ran away.

 

In the morning, Magenta felt the sunlight upon the spray of her cataract. She was surprised on what she could see, the light, the colors, the outlines of everything, so clear, so solid, so real. She looked at a polished glass, and there she was with eyes, beautiful and shining eyes. She wasn’t ugly at all, and her purple hair gleamed like an amethyst. She happily called out the names of Reynard and Lupine. But there was no reply. She went upstairs, and there she found the empty fur skins of a fox and a wolf. And for the first time, a tear shed from her eye. She took the fur skins, and went to find her only friends in the woods.

 

Soon, she came upon a village where everyone was merrymaking. When they felt her presence, Magenta expected horrified screams from their throats and flight of their feet. But instead, the villagers welcomed her like a beautiful princess or some angel. Magenta never felt such acceptance from a large number of people. When night fell, their celebration was interrupted when they felt the presence of a witch coming. Magenta hid with them, as the witch walked with the cold night breeze. Magenta perceived her having golden hair, and unlike other witches, she wore white and she’s beautiful. It must be her evil aura that frightened the villagers so much. Suddenly, Magenta realized she could not feel auras anymore, even she closed her eyes.

 

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a crystal ball on the witch’s hands. Inside was a mist taking shape of a fox and a wolf. “Reynard! Lupine!” Magenta appeared before the witch, and challenged her in a duel. She shouted a spell to summon ice. But not even a spark came from her wand. The witch laughed at her, “Fool! With that feeble aura of yours?” Then, she summoned fire to encircle the girl. It hurt Magenta’s eyes and blinded her in tears. But she saw Reynard and Lupine in trouble, then she felt a sudden emotional bond with them. She jumped out of the ring of fire, and blindly hit the witch with a stone.

 

Blood oozed out of her head. Upon the sight of its redness, Magenta was stirred to hit the witch with more stones. Thunderbolts came out of the witch’s wand, but Magenta could see these and easily dodged them as she stoned the witch who could not concentrate on sensing the aura of both the girl and the flying stones. Their battle didn’t last long, for with one hit on the head again, the witch fell dead on the ground. The crystal ball she was holding broke into shards. The souls of Reynard and Lupine were freed, and they went back to their fur skins.

 

 Magenta hugged her animal friends, yet the two brothers didn’t know it was the same horrible girl who saved them, because they sensed a beautiful aura in her now. It was like she was a totally different person. They inferred they were now near Magenta’s happy ending. She then planned to come back to her castle where she expected her father to love her now that she had eyes. Soon, they came out of the thicket and reached Way Castle. But this troubled the two princes, but they kept quiet and hoped what they thought wouldn’t be true.

 

Magenta went directly to the throne room, and found her stepmother alone. Amaryllis was surprised to meet the stranger call herself as Magenta, the invisible daughter of Isinglass. Magenta arrogantly asked for her father. But Amaryllis angrily replied that he was long gone to find his Timber Lea. She then sought her own mother, but Amaryllis replied that she didn’t return to the castle with her. When they somewhat escaped their horrible fate in the thicket, Isinglass went to another direction to take care of an unfinished business. Then, Amaryllis changed the topic.

 

“So, you now have eyes, don’t you? Humph! I pity people with eyes. They’re weak; always giving in by emotions their tears would pour out for them. They’re also dumb; never knowing the truth, the very essence of what they see as reality. As for you, those eyes of yours would only cause you nothing good, nothing at all. You sleep, and you’ll wake up regretting the things you had missed. You deceive for you hide your true aura, and you’ll think if people actually love the true you. You become blinder than us Necropolitans who gouge their eyes, and you’ll misjudge things.

 

“You’ll misjudge people for you were used in knowing them through their auras. But now, you no longer can see auras, can you? How sad. Maybe, you could have met your mother in the thicket easily, if it weren’t for those eyes. But you would never know her anyway, for you had never seen her physical looks. Then, you cry, you cry so pathetically.”

 

Magenta just ignored her stepmother and went to her chamber. Along the way, Reynard and Lupine’s hearts were beating rapidly with fear and guilt. In her room, Magenta wanted to look at the painting of her and her mother. But, when she looked at it with her eyes, a sudden and unheralded fear of hideous intensity evoked the most horrible scream in Magenta. With her own hands, she squeezed her accursed eyes until blood and juices splattered in everything, and she forcefully gouged them with all the pain in her heart. Reynard and Lupine felt the strong aura flooding out of her. They were terrified, not by her ugliness, but by the ugliness she felt at the moment she saw the painting with her own two eyes. Magenta madly rushed out of the castle and into the thicket beyond.

 

The painting, her mother, she had golden hair, wore a white gown. She’s beautiful but she’s a witch. SHE’S THE WITCH.

 

Author's Note

I want to know what you think of this chapter because it is quite absurd for me.