The Princess In The Pearl – Part 2

And so Prince Walther, though he had always been sceptical about such things, now went to see an old mistress of white magic called Napowera who knew all that there was to be known about the secret world of dreams and he told her everything about his strange undersea dream and about the girl inside the pearl and also about his wife and how she seemed different from the girl he knew before their marriage and Napowera consulted her crystal ball which at first became clouded by a strange, luminous mist but then, within it, Walther saw the girl that he had seen in his dreams imprisoned within a pearl.

“This is surely magic of the darkest hue”, said Napowera , shaking her head and then, focussing her mind, the old white which brought another face into the crystal ball, the face of Walther’s wife but all of a sudden, to the Prince’s horror, he saw the face of his wife peeled away like a mask revealing another darker and more hideous face beneath, the face of Ivelda.

“There is no doubt of it”, said Napowera then, “Your true love has been imprisoned within that magical pearl beneath the sea and the evil Ivelda now occupies her place beside your throne".

“Then what shall I do?”, asked the Prince, stunned and bemused by all these strange, magical goings on.

“I shall take care of the witch, Ivelda”, replied Napowera, “While you go to rescue your true love”.

“Deep under the ocean?!”, asked the Prince, “But how shall I get there? I am a prince not a fish!”.

Napowera opened an old chest beside where she sat and, rummaging within its many small inner compartments, pulled out a charm made of coral that she told him would allow its wearer to transform at will into any creature of the sea, then she placed the charm around the princes neck, “Wear this and you may become the smallest shrimp or the largest whale but use it wisely”.

Then the Prince departed on his quest to find the true Chrisobel and the old woman, turning herself into his exact likeness went to the palace and Ivelda, believing Napowera to be the prince opened her arms to welcome her and Napowera then presented her with a golden necklace which she said was a token of love.

Overjoyed by the gift, Ivelda eagerly placed the necklace round her neck but no sooner had she done this when Napowera revealed her true form.

The moment that Ivelda saw her, her eyes filled with rage and she lunged towards the old woman screeching, “I’ll kill you!” but Ivelda could do nothing for the necklace around her neck was another of Napowera’s magical charms and it both robbed the evil Ivelda of her powers and put her under Napowera’s control.

“Prince Walther has gone to rescue his true love, Crisobel and there is now nothing that you can do to prevent him”, said Napowera.

But the evil witch just smirked, “There is one power I still possess”, she said, “And that is the power to summon my fire-breathing sea-beast, the Grathmoth. He shall defend the Pearl and devour Prince Walther if he tries to rescue his beloved Princess”.