Miss Enchanter - Ophelia's Story by Carol Colbert Page B

or just did not want to know much of
what was taking place outside of the Palace gates. She was good
friends with your mother, but neither of them up until that point
had confided in the other anything regarding their
powers.”
    “ You told me
about my mother and the Great Evil and how he attacked her, did my
mother leave the Palace after that happened? Did she at least
tell Julia about
it?”
    “ Your mother
wanted to leave the Palace, but thought it would be safer to stay.
That is not to say that she did not start to formulate a plan
though. When Julia’s baby was
born, a young man and his wife were brought in to help Julia. The
girl was to help with the baby and her husband was assigned the
duty of driving them to wherever in the kingdom they wished to go.”
Luna explained.
    “ I am surprised
they let Julia go anywhere if
they thought that the people of the forest might harm them.”
Ophelia said.
    “ Julia was not
a Queen, she was merely the King’s second cousin and as such did
not warrant the King’s full attention. As for Matthew, her husband,
he was very political and spent most of his time away from the
Palace.” Luna said, taking a drink of her wine.
    “ One day when
Julia was in the nursery with her newborn son she saw him trying to
reach for a toy, I believe it was some sort of a rattler, a gift
from someone on their staff. The rattler was out of the little
boy’s reach so the baby sat up and the rattler lifted up and
floated over to the baby.”
    “Did his mother see
that happen?” Ophelia asked, her eyes wide.
    “Yes, and also a
young woman who was there to gather the soiled crib bedding to be
washed.”
    “My mother?”
    “ Yes, Ophelia,
it was your mother. Of course Julia was shocked and was terrified that your mother would
report her and her son to the King and that her own husband would
hear and very possibly put them both to death.”
    “Your mother told Julia not to be afraid and
that her son was to be celebrated, not feared. The two young women
bonded that day. They became very close friends and confidants.
There was no queen and no other women of royalty in the Palace. The
King and Julia’s husband Matthew spent months away from the Palace
traveling and Julia had a rather lonely life.”
    “Sounds like it was a good thing that her
husband and cousin were not around much. Otherwise they would have
been there to witness the little boy’s powers.” Ophelia said.
    “Yes, but little boys grow into toddlers and
Julia was terrified that he would be found out and put to death, as
would she. The Great Evil was still at the Palace and although he
paid no attention to her or to her son, Julia kept her son close to
her.” Luna said.
    “Why was the Great Evil there in the first
place if the King and that Matthew were not even there?” Ophelia
asked.
    “He was on his mission to seek out and
destroy those who were not like him. He had not known that the King
was traveling. He stayed long enough to ride through the forest and
ask everyone questions about their neighbors. He was a dangerous
man who wanted people to be afraid of him and they were. When he
saw an old woman on the path while he was hunting in the forest, he
ran her over before she could move out of his way.” Thelma told
her.
    “Your mother was in a terrible predicament.
She wanted to be there for Julia and protect her and her son, and
yet her mere presence in the Palace put herself in harm’s way. The
young woman and her husband who worked and lived in the palace
became very attached to Julia and her son. They knew that the
little boy was not a mortal and did everything they could to
protect him.”
    “Weren’t they afraid of the King or The Great
Evil? What were their names?” Ophelia asked, wanting to make sure
she kept everyone in her mind straight.
    “The young lady’s name was Cynthia and her
husband was Ash.” Thelma told her. “And yes, they were worried
about what would happen once the King and Matthew came