Miss Enchanter - Ophelia's Story (11 page)

“It is better if you discover Enchanted’s
little miracles on your own, Ophelia. Having to watch your words
and actions because you don’t know who might be listening, or who
knows what, is a good thing. Teaches you to choose your words
carefully and to be more observant.” Thelma pointed out.

“But, I have heard London speak to Janet in a
less than respectful tone, why is it that Janet has not reacted or
given her two heads or something? Oh, that would be fun, is that
something we are actually capable of doing?” Ophelia asked with a
twinkle in her eye.

“You don’t always have to react to unkind
words, Ophelia. That should be another lesson for you to learn, it
is part of being mature. London has her issues that she has to deal
with, she is one of the people not meant to make her permanent home
here in Enchanted.” Thelma answered, ignoring the two headed
remark.

“I guess you are right, Thelma. Besides, one
London face is enough to have to look at. I would hate it if she
had two mouths to spit her disrespectful words out of.” Ophelia
laughed.

Despite herself, Thelma joined in and said
“Talk about being two-faced!”

Ophelia heard a series of bells that she had
not heard up until now. They were different than the welcome back
bells and the bells for the hill. She asked Thelma about them.

“Those are the school bells, lets parents and
others know when school has let out for the day. Although they
pretty much keep to a regular starting hour, the end of the school
day could be at any time. For bad weather, or if the kids have
something they are working on, or just want to have fun.” Thelma
said.

“There is a nice pond that is a bit behind
the chocolate shop where the kids ice skate. It is such a nice day
and not all that cold, so I imagine the kids will want to skate
today. Would you like to walk over and watch them for a bit before
we head back home? Or is there something else you would rather do?”
Thelma stopped, waiting for her cousin to answer before picking a
direction to continue walking in.

“It sounds nice, but after that soak in the
hot tub I would rather just go home and sit by the fire. I see what
you mean now about it being a drain on your ambition for the day.
As marvelous as it felt, I certainly did not get anything done
today, just ate and soaked. Not very productive.” Ophelia said as
they both walked towards the hill.

“On the contrary, you experienced something
brand new that you enjoyed immensely and discovered a truth that
will lead to other truths. I’d say that is a pretty good
accomplishment for the day.”

“I like the way you think, Thelma.” Ophelia
laughed.

As the sleigh approached the house, Ophelia
noticed a flurry of activity. “What is going on here?” Ophelia
asked.

“Oh, just some last minute preparations,
making sure we have supplies and that we haven’t forgotten
anything.” Thelma said.

“Preparations for what?”

“For tonight. These workmen do not know it,
of course, but after they are done with the various chores they
have been assigned to do, they will go back over the hill to their
own homes.” Thelma said.

“Well, of course, I mean, I never expected
that they would stay here, there is something that you are not
telling me, right? Or is this one more thing that I have to figure
out all by myself?” Ophelia asked.

“When night falls, a thick fog will fall with
it. This heavy, smoky blue mist will blanket the area, especially
the area around the bridge. Anyone who might find themselves at the
top of the hill will not be able to see the house in the distance
like they usually can.” Thelma said, pointing to the hill.

“It is a bit of a distance anyway, the house
looks much smaller from the hill than it actually is. I know I was
very surprised how large your house is when we got closer to it
that first day I was here. That porch that wraps all the way around
the house is really amazing and the house is so immense that you
don’t even know there is yet another grand home, although a smaller
one, behind it.”

“Yes, but tonight no one from the other side
of the hill will be able to see the house at all, the dark blue
smoke will shield everything from the hill to beyond the woods in
the back, from being seen by anyone. Also, the bridge will not be
available tonight for crossing.”

“Does this happen often?”

“When it needs to happen.”

“So, I take it this is not a natural
phenomenon? The skies are so clear and sunny right now, and yet you
know this big blue blanket of fog is on its way.” Ophelia said
looking up and shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight.

“Yes. Luna and I thought that we should set
the stage, so to speak, when we get together again tonight to
continue the story of your mother and of the events that have taken
place that you want to know about.”

“I want to know about all of it, everything.”
Ophelia said.

“Of course you do, and tonight all of your
questions will be answered for you.”

“You make it sound so mysterious and
intriguing with blue fog and everything unknown becoming known. So,
Luna is coming back over here tonight for our talk then?” Ophelia
said before one of the workers came over to help her step down off
of the sleigh.

Thelma thanked the young man after he helped
her down from the sleigh as well and watched him as he guided the
sleigh back towards the barn area before she spoke.

“Actually, we will be meeting in the back,
closer to the woods.”

“Are we going to Luna and Hugo’s house?”

“Not quite, but much closer to it. We will be
outside tonight.” Thelma said as they walked into the kitchen.

“Are we going to scatter my mother’s ashes
tonight somewhere near the woods? I have been thinking so much of
her. I miss her and wish I could turn the clock back and be a much
better daughter. There was so much I did not understand back then,
and with that Donald there, not much time to learn about any of
this other stuff.” Ophelia said.

“We learn when we can handle the information.
I am sure your mother must have told you things back then over and
over again that you did not listen to or believe or follow through
on.” Thelma said looking into Ophelia’s eyes. “You are not unlike
your mother, she is someone who did things her own way, and damn
the consequences or anyone who got in her way. That can be a very
good thing, but it can also cause heartache and problems for
others. Do you honestly think if you had the knowledge of who you
and your mother really are, that you could have handled it back
then?”

“Well, no, but it would have been nice to
know why I sometimes had blue smoke coming out of my butt.” Ophelia
laughed. “I probably would have turned Donald into a roach or some
other creature I could step on. By the time I turned into Snowball
the cat I was not totally clueless as far as knowing that I was
different.”

“Yes, you had a tail, and if the smoke came
from your backside then you are more different than you think.”
Thelma snickered.

“That too! So did you! But no, you are right,
I was so full of nervous energy that I did not know what to do with
and so filled with jealously over first John, the man my mother
fell in love with, and then us getting stuck with Donald, his son,
that no, I certainly would not have understood back then. I guess
everything does happen for a reason.” Ophelia reasoned.

“And in its own time.”

The men who had been working outside now
knocked on the door, letting Thelma know that they had finished
their work and asked if there were anything else they could help
her with before they leave. Thelma went to the drawer and took out
envelopes and handed each one to each of the workers. “Thank you
for all of your hard work, it appears everything has been
finished.” The men thanked her and left.

Thelma walked into the living room and
prepared a fire in the fireplace. She went back to the kitchen to
make her and Ophelia a couple of BLTs. She went to the refrigerator
to grab a bottle of red pop and a donut before she walked upstairs
and into her bedroom, shutting her door behind her. A few seconds
later she opened the door again and she called out to her cousin “I
will see you in a few hours, get some rest, you will need it.”

Ophelia knew that she should probably rest up
for the night’s event, whatever that might entail. But she was too
full of nervous energy. She had not been in Enchanted for very
long, but she had learned a lot and grown a great deal. Although
her years alive numbered over one hundred, her experiences and
memories did not stretch that far back. She knew that was due to
her and her mother living on the other side for so many years. She
was missing her mother more than ever, especially tonight.

Thelma came downstairs wearing a very lovely
long blue gown. “Thelma, you look beautiful, I didn’t know that we
were supposed to dress up for tonight, should I go and see what I
can find to change into?” Ophelia asked her cousin.

“No, you are fine, shall we go?”

“Right now?”

“Yes”

“But Luna is not here yet.” Ophelia said,
looking out the window and seeing the heavy blue mist fog that
Thelma had told her about earlier was already hanging heavy in the
sky.

“Yes, they are all waiting for us.”

“All? Who is all? Is Hugo coming too?”

“Yes.”

Ophelia and Thelma walked to the back of the
house and down the long path behind the smaller house where
Sebastian and his sister Isabel had lived in when they first came
to Enchanted. They walked into the vast grassy area that stretched
for several miles before the woods came into full view.

The snow and ice made everything shine and
sparkle under the moon like a winter wonderland. She and Thelma
continued walking towards what appeared to be a very large
bonfire.

“A bonfire! How cool is that!” Ophelia
said.

They walked up to the bonfire and there was
Luna and Hugo, as well as the miniature ponies Caramel, Zippy and
Ace. Ophelia was shocked to see that Janet, the nice lady from The
Spa was also in attendance. Thelma motioned Ophelia to a chair and
as she sat down she almost screamed out as the cat from the Village
jumped on her lap. The funny looking cat with the orange hair,
black noes and white tail. “You again! What is this really all
about?”

Thelma walked closer to the fire and took her
place next to Luna and Hugo. “Ophelia, we told you that the time
had come to leave our home so that the Great Evil and others would
not destroy our family. It was imperative that we all leave there
and quickly, but we also had to be very careful. A mass exodus
would have been noticed and although the people of the forest were
on our side, we could not take anything for granted.” Luna
began.

“Okay, so, hum...” Ophelia said, looking at
Janet.

“We had to devise a plan, one that would get
us out of harm’s way, but one that would attract the least
attention. I have told you about Julia, and about her son. Julia
was very powerful, although she had hidden it well. What we did not
tell you is that Julia escaped and came to Enchanted with us,
although back then Enchanted was not as it is today.”

“How?” Was the only word that Ophelia could
squeak out of her lips at the moment, her mouth felt very dry.

“Julia had a ring. A very powerful,
beautiful, red ring. With this ring she was able to transport
people, over mountains, oceans, no matter, the ring was that
powerful and did its job well. It can also function as a tracking
device and it recharges itself with the rays of the sun.” Luna
explained.

“We told you of the couple who were hired to
be companions to the King’s second cousin, Julia.” Luna said.

“Yes, I remember, Cynthia and her husband Ash
and they were on Julia’s side along with my mother.”

“To make their plan work, Julia had let it be
known that she was going to the next town to shop. She left with
Cynthia as her companion and they had one of the miniature horses
pull the wagon.” Luna continued.

“What about her son, did he go as well?”
Ophelia asked, absently mindedly stroking the odd looking cat that
still sat on her lap.

“Yes, I did.” Hugo said, walking up to stand
by Janet’s side. “It would have been odd for a mother to take such
a young child shopping back then, so I was left in the care of
someone who could protect me.” Hugo said.

“My mother” Ophelia said.

“Yes, and Janet here, is my mother, the
King’s second cousin known then as Julia.” Hugo said, placing his
arm around his mother’s shoulders.

Ophelia was almost shell shocked, but as much
as her head was beginning to swirl, she had no clue as to just how
much more powerful that whirlpool in her head was about to get.

“That is an amazing story! So Cynthia helped
Julia get away from the King and the palace. That was very good of
her.” Ophelia said.

“Thank you.” Said a voice stepping out of the
shadows.

“Cindy! That was you who helped Janet?”

“Yes, with a lot of help from my husband,
Ash, whom you know as Ashton from The Spa, and also from the wagon
as you know me.” Cindy said.

“I don’t understand.” Ophelia said.

“My name is Cindy, but I am also known as
Caramel and my husband is Ashton, known also as Ace.” She finished
as her husband, Ashton stepped forward.

Ophelia did not know what to say. She turned
to Zippy who was standing there and said “So, who is Zippy?”

They all laughed and said “Zippy is Zippy, a
miniature horse we purchased after we came to Enchanted.” Thelma
said.

“I am in shock, I don’t know how I will ever
be able to process all of this information.” Ophelia said. “Do we
have anything to drink out here, any wine perhaps?”