A Tale That Could Not Be
Chapter 18: The Maze of Roses

Queen Titania and King Oberon stood at the edge of the landing platform jutting out of the side of their castle with Selvina and Tinkerbelle standing before them. Off to the side, Thumbelina and Cornelius watched silently. The queen held a small pouch in her hands and offered it to Selvina, a gentle smile on her face.

“This is dust from my wings,” she said in her soft voice. “The king has given you some from his as well. Use it sparingly, Selvina, as it is all we can give you.”

“Don’t you let Pan get his hands on that pouch,” King Oberon growled. “Fairy dust from sovereign fairies is the most potent kind there is.”

Selvina grabbed the offered pouch and opened it, looking inside. Blinding white light flared into her eyes, forcing her to close it and pull the drawstrings tight. She blinked rapidly, recovering her vision, and then fixed her gaze on the king and queen and bowed low. “I thank you for this with all my heart, your highnesses. I promise you that I won’t let Pan take this from me. I’ll defend it with my life.”

“Good,” King Oberon barked as the queen nodded slowly.

Queen Titania then placed a small white cube in Selvina’s hand and closer her fingers around it. “Eat this when you are ready. It shall return you to your regular size.”

Selvina curled her toes nervously, her feet now in leather boots offered by the queen earlier that morning, and nodded curtly. “I will.”

Tinkerbelle then stepped forward and slapped a fist over her heart and furrowed her brow. “I will gladly give my life to ensure that she Pan never touches fairy dust ever again, my king and queen. I will do all I can to safeguard Selvina and ensure that peace finds the kingdom of Celustaria once again. You have my word.”

The king and queen nodded and offered Tinkerbelle, their best fighter, a short bow in a show of great respect.

“Be careful out there, Tink,” Thumbelina said as she walked up to her friend and gave her a tight hug. Tinkerbelle hugged her back strongly.

Cornelius gave Selvina a pat on the back and a wink. “The entire race of fairies in Wonderland is counting you, Selvina. No pressure.”

Selvina rolled her eyes and failed at hiding a smile. “Yes, of course, no pressure.”

“You’ll be fine,” Cornelius reassured, giving her a light punch in the arm. He nodded his head toward Tinkerbelle. “You’ll have the best warrior we can offer watching your back. You’ll have nothing to worry about.” He started to walk away but then turned around and raised a finger, as if remembering something. “Just…be strong and don’t do anything stupid. If you get in a bad situation just ask yourself what I would do!”

The fairy royal family said their farewells as Tinkerbelle turned to Selvina and eyed her directly, a hard expression on her face. “Are you ready?”

Selvina held the gaze and nodded as her heart began to beat rapidly. This was it. She was now going to the castle where she’d meet Pan, Goldilocks, Wendy, and the queen that had a liking for beheadings. Selvina hoped she would find Rapunzel on the way but her focus now was saving Goldilocks and Wendy. She debated whether finding help first would be the better option but she had no time to waste. For all she knew Wendy and Goldilocks were already—NO! She had to believe that they were still alive and well.

With her back straight, her brows furrowed, and the pouch of powerful fairy dust wrapped around her wrist, Selvina remained perfectly still. Tinkerbelle gathered some dust from her own wings and then sprinkled it over Selvina’s head.

The two then left Celustaria behind them, never looking back.

The journey through the forest was long and took most of the day but they encountered no dangers. The closer they came to the castle the quieter the forest became and when they reached the edge of a massive field Selvina could only hear the flutter of Tinkerbelle’s wings and the beating of her own heart.

They landed in the tall grass behind a tree and Selvina, with a deep breath to gather her strength, ate the white cube. Selvina immediately sprouted like a weed and was back to her normal size in an instant. The experience left her dizzy for a few moments and she leaned against the tree for support. When she recovered, Selvina felt her body all over, ensuring that all was as it had once been, and sighed in relief. She noticed that the pouch of fairy dust had adjusted to her size as well, which she found odd, but was grateful all the same. Handling a pouch smaller than her finger tips would have been otherwise impossible.

What resembled an insect buzzed in front of Selvina’s face and she nearly swatted at it before realizing that it was Tinkerbelle. The fairy fluttered to Selvina’s right ear and hovered beside it. She spoke and, even though she was right beside her, Selvina struggled to hear what she said. “Beyond this field is the maze leading into the castle. It’s a rather simple maze as the queen despises anything too challenging. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting to the castle.”

Selvina furrowed her brow in confusion. She glanced sidelong at Tinkerbelle and asked, “Are you not coming with me?”

Tinkerbelle shook her head. “I was given another task, Selvina, but I assure you that I shall return to you soon.”

Selvina turned to face the fairy, her brows now etched in a frown. “Another task? What do you mean? I thought you were going to protect me?”

Tinkerbelle flew to Selvina’s ear and replied, “The king and queen gave me a different mission, Selvina. Your task is to rescue your friends while mine is to bring you aid in finishing Pan off once and for all.”

“Why don’t we both do that after Goldilocks and Wendy are rescued?”

“It will take time for me to acquire this aid and I need to start now before Pan finds the last fairy kingdom.”

“The king and queen were perfectly fine with letting him find them before. Why are they in such a rush to stop him now?”

Tinkerbelle giggled. “Because of you, Selvina! You gave them hope!”

“What if something happens to me while you’re gone?”

“You have the fairy dust, Selvina. If you are in terrible danger, and only in the greatest of dangers, use it. Remember that once you do, however, that Pan will know you have it and he will do everything in his power to take it from you. He can sense fairy dust when he is near it therefore keep it hidden in the pouch until the utmost of needs.”

Selvina felt the pouch with her hand as it hung from the drawstrings wrapped around her wrist. She fondled the powder inside of it, its consistency that of sand, and experienced a surge of courage flow through her veins. Tinkerbelle was right. Splitting up would ensure that help arrived in time to deal with Pan before he found Celustaria. If matters turned for the worse, Selvina had the fairy dust. Despite having no idea what it could do and though curious to know, Selvina would only use it if she desperately needed to.

“Be brave, Selvina,” Tinkerbelle’s tiny voice said.

“You too, Tinkerbelle,” the young woman replied.

Without any more words, the fairy flew away and Selvina was left standing alone at the edge of the field. She walked around the large tree she had hid behind and gazed across the expanse of tall grasses. About a mile away stood a massive castle of red brick. Many towers poked up into the sky at impossible heights and at the top of each one was a crimson, heart-shaped ornament. Banners of various shades of red waved in the wind and reliefs of hearts of all sizes were etched into the side of the curtain wall that surrounded the entire keep. The maze Tinkerbelle had mentioned lay before the castle and, to no surprise, it too was heart-shaped with the bottom tip of the heart pointing to the castle’s front gates. Selvina could see armoured guards patrolling the outside of the maze, with spears, which she assumed were probably heart-shaped as well, glinting in the sun.

She felt the pouch of fairy dust again and gulped down some rising fear. She looked down at the pouch and wondered if it was too conspicuous. One of those guards might question its contents and take it away. Selvina couldn’t chance that so she slipped it off her wrist and speculated where she could hide it. She had no deep pockets on her dress and hanging it around her neck would be even more conspicuous. An image of Jack’s smirk flashed in her mind and she couldn’t help but smile at its timely arrival.

“I can only imagine what he’d say to this,” she said as she stuffed the pouch deep into her cleavage. Shaking her head at the measure she had to take, Selvina had one more look at the castle and began her trek across the field.

It didn’t take her too long before she was standing directly in front of the maze’s entrance. Two guards stood beside it, armoured from head to two in silvery armour gilded with red. The guards’ pauldrons were heart-shaped, as were their greaves and visors, and upon their breastplates were carvings of more hearts. Their speartips were exactly as Selvina had imagined they were, the hilts to their sheathed swords were covered in red leather, and their pommels consisted of a glittering heart-shaped jewel. They hardly paid her any attention and it helped to quell some of the worry that had been rising upon sight of the imposing, and yet somewhat comically attired, guards. Without a spoken word, Selvina walked toward the maze.

The guards’ spears immediately crossed over her path and blocked the way.

“What business have you here?” asked one of the guards in a deep, masculine voice, its helm turning slowly to face Selvina.

“I am here to see the queen,” Selvina replied, struggling to keep her voice steady.

“Have you an appointment with her?” asked the other guard, this one’s voice clearly feminine.

“No…I just…”

“Are you here to make an offering?” asked the male guard.

“An offering of what?”

“Your hair,” replied the female guard. “What else?”

Oh right, the queen has a thing for blondes, Selvina remembered. Hoping it would give her unhindered passage, she nodded quickly. “Yes, I am here to offer the great queen some of my hair.”

“Some?” questioned the male guard.

“Um…”

“The queen takes it all or does not take any of it,” clarified the female guard.

“Yes, that is what I meant. I will give her all of it.” It’s not like I’m actually going to give her a single strand, Selvina thought, smirking inwardly.

The spears parted and stood erect, the path open once again. The guards’ visors faced forward and they said no more. Selvina tentatively took a step forward but the spears never moved. After a few more steps and no reaction from the guards she sped up her walk and entered the maze.

She was immediately overwhelmed by the scent of roses and paused a moment, recovering from the sensation. It had hit her like a wall and she soon noticed why. Unlike the outer wall of the maze, the inside of it was made entirely of rose bushes. Roses dotted the maze walls by the hundreds and Selvina was careful to avoid the thorns that poked out like thousands of spikes. She journeyed down one path of the maze before soon reaching a dead end and having to turn around. She explored another path and found that one to be a dead end as well.

“Tinkerbelle said they all went one way,” Selvina grumbled as she stopped at a third dead end. After several more unsuccessful attempts she stopped moving and breathed deeply, hoping to calm herself. Had Tinkerbelle lied to her? She had ventured down numerous paths now and they all led nowhere. A chill ran up her spine as she considered the thought that perhaps the fairies had tricked her. The queen had given her some fairy dust, the most powerful kind there was, not as a measure of safety but perhaps as an offering to Pan. Could it be true? Tinkerbelle had led her to the queen’s castle where Pan was thought to be and where the fairy dust would find him. Selvina would be offered to the queen, her pouch of fairy dust would be discovered, and Pan would take it. The fairies maybe believed that if Pan had the fairy dust in his possession that he would then leave the fairy kingdom be, at least until he needed more.

Selvina fell on her knees and held her hands over her chest, feeling cold. It couldn’t be. Tinkerbelle was getting help. She hadn’t simply abandoned her, had she? No. It wasn’t true. Yet what other explanation was there? The maze was clearly more challenging than the fairy had let on. What other surprises could there be in store?

Selvina pulled the pouch out of her blouse and frowned at it. She should just dump it on the ground. That way Pan never got it and he would then keep searching for the fairy kingdom. Once he found it the fairies would pay for deceiving her. That would teach them to never cross a human ever again.

“What am I thinking?” Selvina breathed, her eyes growing wide. King Oberon clearly despised humans and had initially refused to trust her but why would he endanger his kingdom by tricking her and hoping she didn’t find out? Selvina had looked into their eyes, both the king’s and the queen’s, and had seen sincerity and hope. She had seen the eyes of friends, not enemies. Yet, some of the greatest enemies one could have were one’s friends.

Selvina held the pouch and stared at it for many long minutes. What was she to do? Should she keep trying to find her way through the maze or just dump the fairy dust? Should she perhaps use the dust? The maze had turned her completely around and Selvina doubted she could even head back the way she had come in. Climbing over the walls was beyond question but what if she floated over it?

Selvina slowly loosened the pouch’s drawstring and opened it, the fairy dust’s white light immediately illuminating the area and making her eyes squint. Gulping down fear and hesitation, Selvina slowly lowered her fingers toward the open pouch.

It didn’t matter what happened now. The fairy dust would kill her, help her, or do nothing. She could remain lost and let her sorrow and hopelessness slowly drive her mad or she could take the only chance she had at saving herself and toss some fairy dust on her head.

Besides, if the dust did nothing a life of madness might not be too bad. The Hatter and the Hare seemed happy enough.

A tear rolled down Selvina’s cheek as her fingers dipped lower.

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