Page 22 of Once Upon a Woven Wish
She should not be thinking of the stranger at the Well of Wishes, but he had been at the forefront of her mind since her return from the merchant.Mr.Fullhide insinuated that he knew about the well—and possibly others in the village—and she worried if that was the case, others would climb the mountain and find their way to the stranger.
And it would be her fault.
She laid in her bed staring at the ceiling wondering what to do.Return to the well?Tell him what she knew?Warn him the king might be visiting?
What would that accomplish?
Nothing, that’s what.
But she couldn’t put it out of her mind.
Maris snoozed away.Nothing disturbed her or worried her mind.In a fit of agitation, Serena flung off the blankets and rose.She grabbed her dressing gown from the end of the bed and wrapped it around her, then crept out of her room.
The fire had burned down to nothing more than glowing orange and red embers.Papa was not in his chair, which likely meant he’d made his way to bed.She was relieved.He needed his rest, despite his renewed strength.
But he’d left his book behind.It was open and upside down in the chair.
Curious, she picked it up and scanned the page.The story was calledThree Wishes, and it was about a poor man who was granted three wishes by a fairy but warned that all wishes come at a price.The man’s wife insisted on waiting to make the best wishes, but he did not and ended up squandering away two of the wishes on frivolous things.This angered his wife and, in a fit of rage, he wished her away, which he immediately regretted.He begged the fairy for another wish to bring her back.The fairy told him if he could find her true name, he may have one more final wish to return his wife.
Serena stopped reading, her head snapping up as an idea formed.She clutched the book so tight, her hands cramped.
“Find the fairy’s true name,” she muttered.
What was it the stranger said to her?
A name is a lock, and the tongue that speaks it is the key.
“Stars above.That’s it.”
She placed her father’s book back in his chair, then hurried to her room.Maris slept on while Serena quickly dressed.
This was madness.
She could not believe she was considering returning to the mountain.It was a risk, she knew, but one she was willing to take.If she returned to the Well of Wishes, she could ask the stranger that if speaking his true name would release him from his bondage.
That stopped her.She froze, her boots in her hand as she stared into the murky darkness.
What was she doing?Why did she care?This stranger meant nothing to her.
But something about the way he looked at her tugged at her heart.That desolate expression in his green-blue eyes sent a pang right through her.He had not asked for help.Perhaps he didn’t need or want it.Perhaps he was content to be bound to the Well of Wishes.
But what if she could help him?What if she could find his true name?Would that, then, release him?
I pay, too.
She could warn him the villagers suspected he was there.She could tell him the king was coming to pay the village a visit.
And she would not make another wish, no matter how tempted.
She pulled on her cloak, wrapping it tight around her, then tiptoed to the front door.She snagged the lantern off the floor, put on her boots, and slipped into the brisk night.
The climb was cold and long, but she was determined to make her way to the Well of Wishes.
The stranger stood next to the well, as though waiting for her.His eyes glinted with expectation, his lips in a firm, straight line.The wind flapped at the edges of his cloak.He did not look pleased to see her.
She held up her lantern to get a good look at this face.Her breath caught.He was handsome in an otherworldly sort of way.The hood was up, as it always was, shadowing most of his face.But his eyes…they pierced right through her.
“Again you come.”His voice strained.Displeasure lined his features.“Why?”
