CHAPTER 13: Understanding the Heart

“Where’s she going?” alarmed Bass as the girl’s silhouette vanished in a swirl of snowflakes at the cul-de-sac.  He sprang to his strings and leaped to the residual image trying to fetch her, but to no avail.

“A ruthless truth was lurking in the darkness for the girl to unveil.”

The Magic Journal

Prince found the scene familiar, not literally though, and realised instantly that the girl entered her trial in the magic realm, just like his at the Spiegelkabinett.  The only difference was she did not look for the present or the treasure, meaning she was wholly unprepared.

Their hopes of her return without uncovering the truth dwindled with every passing second, so they decided to go to her rescue by unveiling the source of magic on her behalf.  In case she did not pass the trial, she could still return to the no-magic land to be reunited with the squad.

Prince and Bass agreed to split in search for the signs of magic in order to track her down.

Bass flipped through the photo albums in his smartphone and selected a few photos that best captured the girl’s features and complexion.  The album thumbnail was their first selfie together at Potsdam.  It was like yesterday that they climbed up the palace staircase.  Anxious tears were filling his eye sockets.  His picks were shaking as he showed the images to every human and magical creature on the street he met, hoping someone would have recognised her.

Prince flew out from the inner Altstadt to the old town wall encircling the medieval town, checking out every tower, gate, and bastion along the wall.  The wall was accessible, covered, and long offering some isolated vantages for watching the urban life in an inward direction.  The view was phenomenal as if the entire town were miniatured and protected inside a crystal ball.

Prince caught up with Don, Rocky, and Bianca when they were sauntering by.  He passed on the news and assigned them to search for the rest of the wall.  Then he flew off a bit further to the Burggarten.

In the meantime, the girl was lost wandering in the enchanted Weihnachtsmarkt.  Humans and magical beings alike, the fainthearted ones were most likely to fall under the spell.  Tourists and shoppers, on the other hand, usually set their mind on some places, food, or fun things to do, and were the least affected.

The girl could not bear to be parted with her buddies without saying goodbye.  With the magic spell unnoticed, she convinced herself that Prince and Bass could be just too thrilled for the organ concert, so she kept walking to the direction of the twin spires in her memory.

She was confused staring dumbly at the clock tower of the Markusturm.  She wondered how many clock towers built like the Markusturm in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the city of towers.  She remembered she passed the clock tower about a quarter of an hour ago and half an hour ago.

The nutcracker king was no mass-produced promotion material around the town centre as it appeared to her at first glance either.  The over-sized Santa Claus hat on display had its crown all covered shadowing its painted eyes and moustache underneath, with hardly any hint of its timber substrate.  A matching red scarf was added to the embellishment.  The hat and the scarf were adorned with bright fluffy pompoms dangling off the hem.  With stage drapes and a spotlight, the snow-white furry brim and pompoms flashed as the fur swayed in the chilly breeze.  The sculpted nutcracker king had the precise features of a painted blue and white tunic and gold buttons.  The chestnut fur for the beard and hair was impeccably groomed that no two mannequins could look the same.  The exact details could only confirm that she returned to the same spot again and again.

Thoughts rushed through her mind.  She took her lingering gaze off the nutcracker king.  Then she run away in a single breath right through the Röderbogen, but she could not see the welcoming face of the clock tower on the other side after she passed through the arch.  She halted and found herself being returned to where the nutcracker king stood guard.  The snow-white furry brim and pompoms flashed as the fur swayed in the chilly breeze.  Everything started all over again while the faint evening glow diminished.  A ruthless truth was lurking in the darkness for the girl to unveil.  Tick-tock.  Tick-tock.

Under the spell, she was not able to step out of the Weihnachtsmarkt.  The magic was strongest around the towers of the inner Altstadt, where the first city wall was marking the boundary of the magic spell.  It took several failed attempts before she could come to an understanding that she was trapped within the inner ring of the fortification.

The girl found herself alone, cold, and hungry.  Fond memories comforted her.  She believed Prince and Bass would not let her starve and undoubtedly would come back to fetch her.  Clueless about the spell, she decided to hang around where they parted.

For the seventh time, the girl turned around the building corner where the nutcracker king stood guard.  But for a change, this time she thought she almost bumped into a mirror.  She blinked twice in the dark.

The whole town was soon lit up with an electrical glow here and there.  The amber light of the streetlamps and the Christmas ornaments spilled on the cobblestone street, giving the two girls multiple shadows as if offering them both a star entrance to the magical stage.

It took the girl a minute to figure out their differences in appearance.  They both wore similar trekking outfits for the season.  The girl had an orange scarf and a pair of charcoal fur earmuffs with a pink headband.

The other girl in a velvety burgundy hooded cape was a beguiling presence in the enchanted Weihnachtsmarkt.  The marshmallow brim framed her face in a mysterious fashion and gave her the right proportion of the cape to the overall height of a fair maiden.  The rest of her outfit consisted of meticulous black leather boots and gloves.

“Who are you?” the girl’s voice ricocheted off the walls of the narrow alleyway.

The girl was flabbergasted when the other girl answered, “I’m Georgia Yilton.  Little fella, what took you so long to come to see me?”

“Don’t you dare coming closer!  Prince will come to my rescue!” came the girl’s terrified voice.

The other girl moved one step towards the girl.

“Go away, Witch!” snapped the girl, covering her face in horror.