Nicole's change of heart boiled down to two things, Jake's trickery and the fairies' assistance. Jeremy was right, there were those on her side and those who sought to sabotage her efforts. If she had one more wish she would use it to rescue Jeremy, knowing he would support her no matter what was thrown at them. Still, she had the rose, the flute and the cape which allowed her to see the truth of a situation. That's why the girl wanted me to have it, she thought, as the fairies sped on their way. And, that's why Robin, no Jake didn't want me to wear it. I would have realised it was him.
The fairy lord hovered by her ear. "We are about halfway to the forest you require. We are not permitted to enter, but we shall remain at the edge for your return."
"What do I do when I reach the castle wall? I don't have the rope, or the carpet. There's no way I'll be able to get in."
"You have the white rose," the fairy lord replied. "I can smell its beautiful fragrance."
"And, what do I do with the rose?" Nicole asked. "Do I give it to someone?"
"You ask it to grow."
"Right. Silly me. How?"
The fairy lord chuckled. "My, my, you really don't know how it works here, do you? You play the flute and the rose will climb. Use it to enter the tower where I believe the dancer is imprisoned."
"Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Then what?"
"Use the rose to climb down, follow the path back out, where we will be waiting."
"Got it. Path, flute, rose, tower, rescue, path. Simple enough. No wait, I don't have the lantern. I won't be able to see where I'm going."
"We will give you a bag of fairy dust. Sprinkle it on the path and you will see the way."
"And, what about this enchantress? You said she resides in the forest. What do I do if I meet her?"
The fairy lord sighed. "Whatever you do don't give her the cape. You won't be able to find your way out without it."
"Always a catch," she said. "Thank you for helping me. I wouldn't know how to do this on my own."
The fairy lord bowed, his wings continuing to flap as they journeyed towards their destination. "We help those who are true, who seek our help without realising they need it. We heard you in the forest. It is quiet for that reason."
"Ah yes, sorry about that. I was a little stressed being tied to a tree. I apologise for swearing."
"We heard your heart calling. That's what we listen for. Words are of little consequence, often spoken in haste, not always meaning what is said. But, a person's heart can always be relied on to tell us what is true."
"So the forest is super quiet so you can hear a person's heart."
"Correct. We are nearing our destination. Give my love to Waverly. Tell her we'll be waiting."
"I will. Sorry, sorry, one more thing. Jake, the one who tied me to the tree said the witches were coming to play. I didn't see any."
"The cape. It hides you in plain sight. However, their noses are keen. They would have been drawn to the fragrance of the rose."
"Guessing that's why Jake left the items. To entice the witches to find me."
The fairies swooped lower and lower until Nicole's feet touched the ground, allowing her to stand upright. Handing her a sack of fairy dust they wished her good fortune, rising up into the sky once more. Nicole took a deep breath, not relishing the prospect of entering yet another dark wood, or the possibility of encountering the enchantress. Despite what the fairy lord said about the blue cape's abilities, she really didn't want to meet anyone else who would seek to sabotage her mission, or worse.
A narrow path led through the trees, practically impossible to see, Nicole struggling to remain on it, taking a pinch of fairy dust between her fingers and sprinkling it at intervals on the ground. All she could hope was to get to the castle wall before someone got to her. She had no idea how far she would need to venture into the forest, or how high the castle walls would be. She wasn't even sure which tower Waverly might be trapped in, assuming she would have to figure that out when she got to wherever she was headed.
A crack of a branch told her she had company, straining to see if anyone was following. The darkness heightened the sound and her nerves, gripping the flute tighter, praying if it was the witch who lived in the forest the cape would keep her safe. Picking up her speed, trying to navigate the path without light, her feet found a fallen branch, unable to stop herself from tumbling headfirst over the offending item. Letting out several swear words, rubbing her knee, she realised she had given away her position, holding her breath as a figure emerged from the trees, sniffing the air, picking up the scent of the rose.
"What a delightful smell," the witch said, taking in the heady aroma once more. "I do believe it's the white rose. My, oh my, such a perfume. But where is it? Where is that delightful smell coming from?"
Nicole remained motionless on the ground, afraid if she made even the tiniest of movements her pursuer would know where she was. The witch continued to scour the path close to where she had fallen, edging closer, moving away. It was torture waiting for whatever was about to happen, hoping she would be lucky this time, knowing things had a tendency not to go her way in this world. Please make her go away, she repeated silently in her head. Please make her go away.
She heard the frustrated huff of the witch, watching as she disappeared back through the trees, thanking the stars above for no other reason than the huge relief at not having been caught by the enchantress. Picking herself up, looking around she couldn't see the flute anywhere, almost screaming at stars for her own stupidity in letting it out of her hand. "Where are you?" she whispered. "Flutey, where are you? Come to mama, there's a good flute. Seriously, where the fuck are you?"
Her eyes scoured the ground. "I need you. I'm so close and this happens. Think Nicole, think." Slapping her forehead, realising what she needed to do, she called to it. "Happily, where are you?"
A toot came from the direction the witch had travelled, Nicole's heart sinking, knowing who now had it in their possession. She had no choice but to follow, scattering the fairy dust as she went to be able to find her way back to the path, if, when she had the flute back in her own hands. The witch's house provided enough light for her to make out where she needed to go, watching from behind a tree as the wizened woman closed the door, peering in through one of the windows, spying the flute on the table. Slumping to the ground, she sat with her back against the witch's house, shaking her head. Use what I have, she repeated to herself, use what I have. A rose the witch wants. But, if I give it to her I won't be able to scale the castle walls. The cape, but I won't be able to see the fairy dust on the path. Okay, the fairy dust, but if I give her that I won't be able to mark the path to the castle.
Rubbing her head, closing her eyes she couldn't think past the problem. "Rose, cape, dust. Rose, cape, dust. Wish I had Jeremy's intelligence for this one. He'd know what to do." No sooner had she whispered those words when the answer came to her, gasping at the simple logic of the solution.
Pulling the rose from her jacket, she peeled off the petals one by one, dropping them in a large circular pattern around the witch's house, knocking loudly on the door. The witch's nose twitched as she smelt the intoxicating scent of the flower, following the trail of petals away through the trees, giving Nicole just enough time to sneak in, grab the flute, run like hell.
Panting, pausing for a moment, she scanned the woods for the path, spotting the fairy dust trail, congratulating herself on her sudden brilliance. It hadn't occurred to her the wish, her fourth wish, had been granted, assuming she was the one who figured out how to cheat a witch. It also hadn't occurred to her she had been granted this wish because of Jake. Had he not cheated her out of her third wish she would not have had Jeremy's smarts to outwit a witch. A wish is a wish that must be granted.
Feeling decidedly more confident about her chances, Nicole marched along the path eventually coming to a large clearing, an imposing castle looming ahead. This is it Haught, this is what we came here for. You can do this. Nearing the walls she could see how tall they were, reassuring herself she had everything she needed to get to Waverly. Four towers. There were four towers she counted, not knowing which one held the dancer. Hands on hips, gazing up at the first tower, she once more was stumped. Could be this one, she thought. Then again, it could be that taller tower. Okay, I'm going with the tallest tower, that's where I'd keep her. But, what if she's not there?
"The mirror. I have the mirror," she said, pulling it from her pocket, gazing into it unable to make out her own reflection. "The dust, use the dust. Wow, I'm on fire. Game on." Taking a pinch of dust in her hands, letting its light shine on the mirror, her face stared back at her. "So need a shower after all this."
"Do you now," came the voice, Waverly's face appearing.
"God, you're a sight for sore eyes. I thought you'd abandoned me."
"I needed to rest. It takes a lot to reflect myself."
"Oh, right, the water. I thought it was because I dropped the flute."
"Did you? That's a pity. Still you made it this far."
"No, I've got it. And, the rose. Well, the stem, which is the important part. And, fairy dust."
"Where are you?"
"I'm hoping outside the tower you're in. Guessing you're in the tallest one."
"You mean, you're here. That's wonderful news. And, your heart is still true?"
"My heart is still true. The fairy lord heard it in the forest. That's how he was able to rescue me."
Waverly gasped. "He's here. He's with you. I haven't seen him in a long time. Oh Nicole, your heart really is true."
"So, the tall tower right."
"Yes, I can't believe this is finally happening. Hurry, before the wizard changes his mind."
"Let him try. Okay, just need to work out how to play the flute, climb a rose stem, enter your tower. Shouldn't take too long."
Placing the mirror back in her pocket for safe keeping, extracting the remaining part of the rose from her jacket, planting it in the ground outside the tower she attempted to play the flute, the sounds coming out not the most melodious. It suddenly dawned on her the flute could play itself, placing it on the ground, asking Happily if it would play a tune to make the rose grow.
The flute was more than happy to oblige, Nicole watching as the small stem began to quiver, bursting into life, start its ascent up the side of the tower. Its branches provided footholds and handholds for her to hang onto as the rose grew taller.