into the evening.

“Whoa,” Wax whispered.

“Margaret May shuddered, but did not have time to waste. Night had started to fall, and she needed to escape the woods before anything befell her. To her great relief, the music box lead her out of the forest. She wound it and listened to where the music seemed come from until she reached the edge of the woods. She emerged far from home, for she had found the elves' shortcut to Eastan. On the edge of the kingdom, she hurried to a lodging house with her music box and gown.

“She had no money, but she offered the master of the lodging house her lucky black feather in exchange for a night's stay. The coronation ball would happen the very next evening, and she would have a long ways to walk the next day to make it to the castle. He accepted the feather as payment, and thus Margaret May gained admittance to an inn, and some bandaging for the wound the raven tree had left on her hand. She did not imagine she would need her feather now that she was a princess.

Jam interrupted, “Being a princess is better than being lucky.”

“That's exactly what Margaret May thought,” Gwen replied. “The next morning she set out for the castle and spent all day walking to arrive by nightfall. A kind old couple of farmers gave her a ride in their wagon part of the way, and shared their lunches with her. She thanked them, and promised herself she would reward them once she was a princess.

“She arrived at the castle just after the ball had begun. The reluctant guards did not want to let her in, until she showed them the music box with the royal crest of Westera. They welcomed her in, and she changed into her gown before heading into the ballroom to find her parents, and congratulate Prince Jay.

“Everyone noticed when Margaret May entered. She was a beautiful young lady in a dress as dark as night and as sparkling as the stars. She looked as though she had been covered in diamond dust, and she caught Prince Jay's eye in an instant.”

“Oooh!” Pin cooed.

“One of the servants asked her name, in order to announce her entrance. She told him, and then trumpets sounded as he called out, 'Announcing Her Highness, Margaret the First—the lost princess of Westera!'

“Much amazed muttering followed, and the King and Queen of Westera, along with Princess Gracia, promptly came forward to speak with Margaret May. She showed them the music box, and explained what had happened the night of her birth. The king, who remembered the crafty and evil raven witch, had no trouble believing this story. The queen proposed that they pass Margaret for Gracia's long-lost twin sister.

“'How wonderful!' the queen announced. 'We stand a chance yet at merging Westera and Eastan. Perhaps we can get Margaret betrothed to Prince Jay. She's very pretty—except for that ugly cut on her hand.'

Margaret did not like this idea—she had come to find her family, not a husband—and it upset Gracia even more. 'What about me! I'm supposed to marry Jay! What good will it do to marry her to the Eastan throne if I inherit the Westera throne?'”

'Oh you won't rule Westera or marry the prince—he doesn't like you Nobody does,' the king said. 'Margaret will marry him, and then they can rule Eastan and Westera together,'”

This outraged Blink. “What a mean thing to say!”

“Indeed,” Gwen agreed, “and Margaret May thought so, too. But then Prince Jay came and asked her to dance. He fell so madly in love with her during the evening that before the ball even ended, he asked her to marry him.

“In the following weeks Margaret May stayed in the Westera castle and prepared for her royal wedding. She sent a messenger to her parents at the inn to explain everything—for she had vanished quite suddenly. She had them come to the castle, where the king and queen gave them a handsome and ample reward for taking care of their lost princess and future queen.”

“What does ample mean?” Scout whispered.

“Lots and lots,” Goose told her.

“What's more, the Kings of Westera and Eastan sent their best soldiers into forest, to make a new treaty with the elves, and also hunt down the banished raven witch. They wanted to put her in prison where she would never hurt or trouble anyone again. Meanwhile, Margaret waited for her hand to heal… but the simple cut began to turn black, and the blackness spread, across her hand and up her arm. The royal physicians had no idea what disease she might have contracted.

“What's a physician?” Scout whispered.

“A doctor-scientist,” Goose answered.

“Margaret May grew very sick. After a few days, she could not even get out of bed. The black infection from the raven tree had spread all the way up her arm to her chest. The doctors said it would kill her if she did not cure it, but the only person they suspected could cure such dark magic was the raven witch herself.”

“Oh no! Oh no!” Peach cried.

“She won't help her!” Pear exclaimed.

“Margaret May is going to die,” Plum announced.

No further objections followed as Gwen explained, “The soldiers redoubled their efforts to find the raven witch. During this time, Gracia never left Margaret May's side. Humbled by her parents' rejection and the sober realization that her unpleasantness had cost her a kingdom and husband, Gracia had resolved to be a better person. She stayed with her sick almost-sister, read to her, talked to her, and brought her water like a servant, which was much more than the king and queen did.

“One day, the soldiers returned from the forest and the royal family assembled to hear their report. They had signed new treaties with the elves, for Westera and Eastan, and the elves had told them the ancient raven witch had died several days ago.”

This twist met mixed reactions: some rejoiced at the villain's death, others pitied her, and still

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