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“It’s my pleasure, my queen,” said Jacob, gesturing for all the witches to follow him. “Come, my ladies. Come out of the cold. Queen Gothel has arranged a magnificent feast for the celebration.”
“Oh, Gothel, a feast?” asked Primrose, smiling.
“The house is so beautiful, Gothel! Thank you!” said Hazel.
Gothel loved seeing her sisters so happy. “I wanted our first celebration together without Mother to be special! I wanted to make you happy! Please tell me you’re happy!” But they didn’t have to answer: within moments she was enveloped in her sisters’ embraces.
“Thank you, Gothel!” they squealed. “Thank you!”
“Yes, it’s very beautiful,” said the odd sisters, mesmerized by the lights from the house. The morning room looked especially brilliant from a distance. “That room there, it reminds us of the Lighthouse of the Gods.”
“Thank you! That was my intention.”
“Oh, you’ve been there?” asked Lucinda as they all followed Jacob through the vestibule and up the stairs leading them to the morning room.
“No, I’ve only read about it. We’ve never left the dead woods,” said Gothel sadly as they entered the morning room. There were hundreds of skeletons quietly making their way out of the house and back to their graves. It became clear that Jacob had arranged for them all to light the candles at once. There wasn’t a surface that wasn’t covered in candles. The house was entirely filled with light, the way Gothel had imagined. As they entered the morning room, she was struck by the beauty of the solstice tree placed in the center, stretching to the top of the glass dome overhead. The tree was covered in red glass hearts, birds, and glittering glass balls of various colors that sparkled in the candlelight.
At the far end of the room was an altar with the small oil paintings of their ancestors, and in the center was a portrait of their mother. There were hazelnuts, tea, oranges, various flowers, and chocolates on the table, as well as a brass bell and a pretty teacup they only brought out for that occasion. The teacup was silver with black skulls, and it had a chip with a hairline crack. There were also an emerald broach, a remarkably beautiful diamond necklace, a string of pearls, and an onyx ring—all possessions of their ancestors, all treasures their mother had kept in a wooden box in the vault and brought out for that occasion. The altar was filled with many taper candles of different heights in silver candlestick holders. Those candles seemed to burn more brightly than the others; the light was almost blinding, which had been Gothel’s intent. She didn’t want her sisters to have to see their mother’s portrait if they didn’t want to. She would have done away with the altar altogether for that celebration, but she didn’t want to anger her ancestors any more than necessary. She was already afraid they would be offended the witches were not celebrating the longest night under the cover of dark, in solemn contemplation.
Under the tree was a pile of gifts wrapped in red and silver paper, with black bows and little white tags. There were even gifts under the tree for their guests. It had all been seen to by Jacob, who wanted to be sure that no one was left out of the festivities. Gothel was astounded by Jacob’s attention to detail and had to admit she was utterly dependent upon him.
“Now, if you ladies would like to follow me to the dining room, dinner is ready,” said Jacob.
The dining room had a blazing fire in the fireplace, casting light and shadows on the harpies carved into the stone wall. The room was warm even with the windows open to reveal a spectacular view of the courtyard that had replaced the conservatory.
“It’s so lovely in here, Jacob, thank you.”
“Come to the windows. I have something to show you,” he said to all the witches.
Gothel could see just beyond the courtyard, in a small greenhouse near the carriage house, the light of the rapunzel flower, amplified by the greenhouse windows. She had almost forgotten it existed, with all the renovations and vexation about her sisters’ health. She wondered if the visiting witches knew what that one tiny light was. She started to become nervous. She hadn’t thought what it meant to have other witches in her home and on her grounds so near the flower. Did they think it was a candle for the festival of lights, or did they know the flower was their secret?
Jacob could see that Gothel was concerned, which in turn concerned him. But within moments other lights started to appear in the courtyard. That, not the flower, was the surprise he had intended to share with his witches. Each one of the formerly frolicking stone dancers near the fountain was now holding glowing candles in its stone hands, and in the center of the fountain was the Gorgon, surrounded by floating candles illuminating her gleeful grin. It was a beautiful spectacle. And then, one by one, lights started to appear throughout the woods. Thousands of candles lit up the entire forest, all held in the hands of her devoted minions. It was remarkable, not only the brilliance, but this show of power to her guests. It was like an endless sea of light that stretched out as far as they could see.
“Thank you, Jacob. Thank you for everything you have done for us this night, and every other since the passing of our mother,” said Gothel sincerely.
“It’s my pleasure, my queen.” Gothel noticed Jacob had been referring to her as his queen since the arrival of the odd witches. She was almost eager to get the evening over with so she would have the opportunity to talk with him alone. “Please, everyone, take your seats. Dinner will get cold,” said Jacob, directing the witches to their chairs.
The witches took their seats at the long wooden table, which was covered in a bounty of delicious foods and tiny votive candles in glass holders. Jacob managed to include everyone’s favorites, even those of the odd sisters, who helped themselves to large portions of baked apples spiced with brown sugar and cinnamon and served with cold cream.
“How did you know we loved cherries in brandy?” asked Ruby as she poured them over a hearty piece of walnut cake.
“Jacob is a master at anticipating our every whim,” said Gothel, smiling at her guests.
To Gothel’s surprise, Primrose and Hazel piled their plates high with their favorites, as well. Primrose was munching on cherry tarts, while Hazel was spreading chocolate hazelnut butter on thinly grilled cakes covered with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Gothel thought she would happily provide her sisters with a feast every day if it meant she would be able to get them to eat. Maybe it was the warmness of the room, but it seemed to Gothel her sisters had more color in their cheeks. The evening was everything she wanted it to be.
Between taking bites of her tart and sipping wine,
Primrose was asking the new witches a litany of questions.
“How long have you been studying magic? Where do you live? How did you find us in the dead woods? How does your magic work?” And on she went, not even giving the witches time to answer. It was nice to see Primrose so happy and so full of life. Like her old self, Gothel thought. Hazel was quiet, as was her custom. She was the contemplative sister. The observer. She let Primrose, the outgoing sister, ask all the questions and sat there listening carefully to the responses.
“Give them a chance to answer, Prim!” said Gothel, laughing.
“That’s okay, Gothel. We understand,” said Martha. “We felt the same way when we met other witches for the first time. But it must be even more overwhelming for you after being here alone for so many years.”
“It is!” said Primrose. “We’ve had no one here in the dead woods our entire lives. Imagine living your entire life not meeting a soul other than your sisters and mother. And Jacob, of course.” She looked at Jacob, standing nearby in case anyone required anything. “Jacob! Why aren’t you joining us?” she asked. If Jacob could have blushed, he would have. Gothel could tell he was touched by Primrose’s gesture.
“Thank you, Lady Primrose, but I should check in on the kitchen. Since you ladies seem to be favoring the sweets rather than the savory dishes, I think I will request the other desserts be brought out immediately.”
