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When Belle rapped on the door, she was startled to find herself answered by a sudden rattling that sounded like a shower of pots and pans cascading to the floor. This was followed by a few mutterings and the sounds of approaching footsteps before the door opened and Orddu stuck her head out into the night air.

“Yes..? Why, Belle, come on in.” Orddu welcomed her as if she was a dear neighbour who had come to tea, even though the last time they had seen each other was a year ago. Belle smiled, politely and stepped into the cottage. HenWen scuttled in behind her, shaking mud off herself. Belle’s suspicion about the falling pans had been right; it looked like the witches had been in the process of cleaning all their kitchenware before she had knocked.

“Hello, Belle, dear,” smiled Orwen, kindly.

“Belle!” Orgoch exclaimed, jumping over a couple of discarded pots on the floor as she danced over to Belle in her usual manic way. “Are you here about the Sea Witch?”

“Sea Witch?” Belle looked from her to her sisters.

“Belle, we were on the verge of calling for you anyway,” Orddu said, closing the door behind them. “Though we thought at this time of night, you’d still be in bed.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Belle explained. “I needed your help. What’s this about a Sea Witch?”

“You mean you didn’t know?” Orgoch stopped her dancing. “Ursula, the Sea Witch is creating havoc now that the Coven are all dead.”

“You see,” sighed Orddu, “bad as the Coven were, they did do the world one favour. When they were at the height of their power, back when Esmeralda was still with them, they had only one rival – Ursula the Sea Witch. She was once a beautiful young mermaid who had hoped to marry the Prince of Atlantica, Triton-”

“And some said that when they were young and didn’t know any better, Prince Triton did promise she could be his Queen of the Sea someday,” Orgoch interrupted, “and that Ursula took it as a serious promise.”

“Which is why she took it as a personal betrayal when the Prince fell head-over-heels in love with a mermaid named Athena,” Orwen added.

Belle sat down on a nearby stool, wondering why this was relevant to why she was here. Something told her that her friend’s disappearance was somehow linked to this Sea Witch. “Tell me more.”

“Ursula tried to convince Triton that he was already promised to her, but he laughed in her face,” Orddu went on. “It broke her heart so much that she sought out a way to make Triton love only her forever. But such magic is forbidden because it’s dark and dangerous. She discovered the tomb of the last Sea Witch, who had been killed years ago by Triton’s grandfather, King Neptune, and found the tablet on which she had written all her dark spells and potions.”

“But it didn’t work,” Orgoch cackled. “Because no spell in the world is powerful enough to rip apart true love. The whole incident ended in a battle between Triton and Ursula, in which Ursula was exposed to the raw energy from Triton’s trident. It has a terrible effect on the humanoid appearance, Belle, I wouldn’t recommend you get near it, you’d lose all your beauty!”

“What did it do to her?” Belle asked.

“Her hair, which was once brown, like yours, but darker, turned white, and it became crisp and brittle. So brittle in fact, all her hairs broke until they were short and coarse instead of long and soft. And her skin turned from pale to purple, her slender form became larger and her tail...split! Into tentacles, like an octopus!” Belle felt a chill run down her spine as she remembered HenWen’s vision. “She lost the battle and was subsequently banished to the farthest reaches of the ocean!”

“Then, when she heard about the Coven, an entire clan of witches who had powers to rival hers, she became jealous,” Orddu added, “especially because these new witches were young and beautiful.”

“So, she sought them out,” Orwen went on, “and they all did battle together. The Coven could have killed her, but you remember, Belle, how sadistic they all were, they relished the idea of torture and torment more than death.”

“I remember,” Belle agreed, with a shudder.

“They trapped Ursula in an enchanted block of ice,” Orddu explained, “so that she was still alive but permanently trapped, unable to move or speak, unable to break from from her prison, kept alive only by their magic.”

“And now the Coven are dead...” Belle realised.

“It took almost a year for the ice to finally melt completely,” Orddu said, “but now it has, and she is wreaking more havoc than ever.”

“But what’s this got to do with me?” Belle asked. “Is it because I stopped the Coven? All that was more luck than anything-!”

“I’m afraid it is something to do with that, yes, Belle.” Orddu laid a hand on her back. “You see, you have power stronger than that of the Coven, and stronger than that of Ursula. Though you weren’t born with any magic,” she added, before Belle could object, “or ever made a deal to get any, you have a good kind heart, Belle, a strong will and bravery unmatched by anything in this forest. Your determination and love for your siblings was what helped you to save them last year, as well as being clever enough to answer all the Horned King’s riddles directly.”

“It takes more than magic, you see, Belle,” Orgoch added. “Magic can be fought with magic, you see. The strongest witches in history have been taken down by mortals like yourself. For example, a witch who shapeshifted herself into a dragon was defeated by a brave prince. There was the case of a witch who was aged to death by a cunning thief. And don’t even get me started on the case of the sorcerer who was tricked and defeated by a street urchin and a parrot!” She cackled, gleefully. “He didn’t see that one coming!”

“So, you think I’m the key to stopping this Sea Witch?” Belle asked. HenWen snuffled at her feet, getting comfortable, and Belle suddenly remembered why they were there in the first place. “Wait...I came to see you because my friend’s disappeared. Giselle. She seems to have vanished into thin air and when I went to her house to find her, HenWen...” She gestured to HenWen. “She had a-”

“Oh, yes, the pig!” Orgoch clapped her hands together. “She’s clairvoyant, Belle, we sent her to you because we thought she might be useful to you! And we can’t have a pig with that kind of magic falling into the wrong hands!”

Belle blinked at her.

“You see, Belle, in the Forbidden Forest, lots of animals get exposed to magic, and become magical beings themselves,” Orwen explained. “Your pig – HenWen, did you say? – could be a valuable asset to both good and evil magical beings. Good people can use her to find missing friends and help those they care about. Evil people can use her to find things that don’t belong to them, objects of great power that could make them invincible.”

“Like King Triton’s trident,” Orddu added, nodding. “Or the Black Cauldron.”

Belle got the picture. “So, you sent HenWen to live with us. She showed me a vision of a mermaid turning into an octopus-woman holding a trident.” The witched gasped as one. “And then there was also some kind of creature...I couldn’t tell what it was exactly, and a castle on an island, somewhere, and then I saw what looked like Giselle...what does it mean?”

“This is serious!” Orgoch exclaimed, glancing between her sisters. “What do we do?”

“We find out what’s going on.” Using her magic, Orddu filled a bowl with water and placed it down in front of HenWen. She took a spoon and stirred the water in a clockwise direction. “HenWen, from you we do beseech knowledge that lies beyond our reach, troubled thoughts beyond your heart, pray you now those thoughts impart.”

HenWen watched the swirling water until she looked dizzy, and then place her face in the water as before. The witches peered over Belle’s head as the same images she had seen earlier appeared in the water. “Yes...” Orddu murmured, reading them. “Ursula...she seeks to gain control of the trident...and the Kingdom of Beljardin...”

“Beljardin?” Belle questioned.

“Shh,” Orwen hushed her, gently.

“She has cast some spell on the Prince of Beljardin...” Orddu went on. “Knowing her she will use it as a way to get the King to hand over full control to her...and that girl..she seems to be an innocent...she must have encountered Ursula and been taken by her...” HenWen raised her head from the bowl.

Belle looked up at Orddu. “What’s Beljardin?”

“It is the enchanted kingdom on an island in the middle of the ocean,” Orddu replied. “Ruled over by a benevolent king who would do anything for his family, even hand over power to the likes of a Sea Witch if he thought she had the answer.”

“You must go there at once, Belle,” Orgoch exclaimed. “Find out what she’s done to the Prince. If she takes the trident AND the throne of Beljardin, she would be as unstoppable as the Coven!”

“And when you discover what she has done, you can inform us and we can tell you how to break the spell,” Orwen added. “Her leverage will be gone. Then, you will need to find out her plan to take the trident from-”

“Wait, why me?” Bele got to her feet, feeling a little indignant. “I know what you said about me having power that can defeat Ursula, but surely you three can go to Beljardin-?”

“But we can’t,” Orddu interrupted, “nor can we set foot, or fin, in the kingdom of Atlantica. You see, both kings have had so much experience with bad magic that neither of them will trust witches, even white ones. You must go as our emissary to convince them that we only want to help them and bring the Sea Witch down.”

“But I still don’t understand why she’s taken Giselle,” Belle said.

“Neither do we.” Orwen looked worried. “Ursula doesn’t need the blood of innocents, like the Coven did. Her usual means of operating is to make a deal with an innocent and then find some way of making sure that innocent can’t fulfil their side of the bargain, so she can take their soul. Oh, it doesn’t kill them,” she added, when Belle looked worried, “it just makes them her servant for life, or until she is defeated.”

“Here, Belle.” Orddu opened a cupboard. “It’s a long way to Beljardin, you’ll need some help.”

A familiar colourful rug shot out of the cupboard and wound itself around Belle in a hug of pleasure. “Carpet!” Belle laughed, patting one of his tassels. Carpet straightened himself and bowed to her. HenWen sniffed him and Carpet looked, if a flying carpet could look, down at her. “It’s alright, Hen,” Belle told her. “He’s a friend. Carpet, meet HenWen.” Carpet tickled HenWen’s ear with one of his tassels, which she seemed to like very much.

“And you’ll be needing this to get to Atlantica,” Orddu added, fiddling in the same cupboard and pulling out a bottle filled with an acid green liquid. “It will enable you to breathe underwater, but be warned, the transformation will be painful.” She pulled out a similar bottle, this one filled with sparkling yellow liquid. “You must drink this one to turn back to yourself again.” Belle took the two bottles and tucked them into her bag. “And I have a feeling you will definitely need this with you this time.” Orddu handed her to sword she had given Belle the last time, although in the end Belle hadn’t needed it. He own intuition and cleverness had been all she needed. “We don’t want to send you out there completely unarmed.”

“If you need to call on us for anything, you can use this.” Orgoch hopped forwards and held out an ornate mirror, white with a rose design on the back. “Just as for the Witches of Morfa and we can talk to you with our own mirror.”

“Take courage, dear, like last time,” Orwen advised, kissing her forehead.

Belle smiled at them all. Ugly as they were, they had kind hearts and she hated that people didn’t trust them simply because they were witches. Maybe she did have some kind of secret power, the power to look beyond appearances and see people for who they truly were.

“Thank you,” she said. “I wish Tink was here too, like last time.”

“Oh, we can help with that, dear!” Orgoch produced what looked like an ordinary stick. “Go to the pool where the Fair Folk live and dip this stick in the water. When the water turns purple, call for Tinkerbell and she will come to you.”

“Hurry, Belle,” Orddu added, opening the door for her. “The sooner you reach Beljardin, the sooner we can defeat Ursula, and find your friend.”

Belle nodded and hurried out of the cottage, with HenWen and Carpet at her heels. She climbed up the slope and raced towards the Fair Folk’s pool. She dipped the end of the stick into the water and when it turned an odd purplish-pink colour, she called out “Tink! I need your help!”

With a small splash, Tinkerbell broke through the water’s surface, although she wasn’t wet at all. Fairy magic was strange, Belle reflected.

“Belle, what is it?” Tinkerbell glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, Carpet!”

Carpet waved a tassel in greeting. Belle quickly explained everything that had happened and everything the Witches of Morfa had told her. “I want you with me,” she finished.

“Like last time?” Tinkerbell did a backflip in the air and nuzzled Belle’s nose with her own. “Fighting witches and questing? Count me in!”

Belle smile and lit a candle. “Come on, then, everyone.” She looked down at HenWen and Carpet and then at Tinkerbell. They made for an odd team, but she was confident, even though they had a long journey to undertake and she didn’t even know yet half of what they were facing. “Here we go.” She turned in the direction Carpet was indicating. “Into the unknown...”

Description

When Belle rapped on the door, she was startled to find herself answered by a sudden rattling that sounded like a shower of pots and pans cascading to the floor. This was followed by a few mutterings and the sounds of approaching footsteps before the door opened and Orddu stuck her head out into the night air.

“Yes..? Why, Belle, come on in.” Orddu welcomed her as if she was a dear neighbour who had come to tea, even though the last time they had seen each other was a year ago. Belle smiled, politely and stepped into the cottage. HenWen scuttled in behind her, shaking mud off herself. Belle’s suspicion about the falling pans had been right; it looked like the witches had been in the process of cleaning all their kitchenware before she had knocked.

“Hello, Belle, dear,” smiled Orwen, kindly.

“Belle!” Orgoch exclaimed, jumping over a couple of discarded pots on the floor as she danced over to Belle in her usual manic way. “Are you here about the Sea Witch?”

“Sea Witch?” Belle looked from her to her sisters.

“Belle, we were on the verge of calling for you anyway,” Orddu said, closing the door behind them. “Though we thought at this time of night, you’d still be in bed.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Belle explained. “I needed your help. What’s this about a Sea Witch?”

“You mean you didn’t know?” Orgoch stopped her dancing. “Ursula, the Sea Witch is creating havoc now that the Coven are all dead.”

“You see,” sighed Orddu, “bad as the Coven were, they did do the world one favour. When they were at the height of their power, back when Esmeralda was still with them, they had only one rival – Ursula the Sea Witch. She was once a beautiful young mermaid who had hoped to marry the Prince of Atlantica, Triton-”

“And some said that when they were young and didn’t know any better, Prince Triton did promise she could be his Queen of the Sea someday,” Orgoch interrupted, “and that Ursula took it as a serious promise.”

“Which is why she took it as a personal betrayal when the Prince fell head-over-heels in love with a mermaid named Athena,” Orwen added.

Belle sat down on a nearby stool, wondering why this was relevant to why she was here. Something told her that her friend’s disappearance was somehow linked to this Sea Witch. “Tell me more.”

“Ursula tried to convince Triton that he was already promised to her, but he laughed in her face,” Orddu went on. “It broke her heart so much that she sought out a way to make Triton love only her forever. But such magic is forbidden because it’s dark and dangerous. She discovered the tomb of the last Sea Witch, who had been killed years ago by Triton’s grandfather, King Neptune, and found the tablet on which she had written all her dark spells and potions.”

“But it didn’t work,” Orgoch cackled. “Because no spell in the world is powerful enough to rip apart true love. The whole incident ended in a battle between Triton and Ursula, in which Ursula was exposed to the raw energy from Triton’s trident. It has a terrible effect on the humanoid appearance, Belle, I wouldn’t recommend you get near it, you’d lose all your beauty!”

“What did it do to her?” Belle asked.

“Her hair, which was once brown, like yours, but darker, turned white, and it became crisp and brittle. So brittle in fact, all her hairs broke until they were short and coarse instead of long and soft. And her skin turned from pale to purple, her slender form became larger and her tail...split! Into tentacles, like an octopus!” Belle felt a chill run down her spine as she remembered HenWen’s vision. “She lost the battle and was subsequently banished to the farthest reaches of the ocean!”

“Then, when she heard about the Coven, an entire clan of witches who had powers to rival hers, she became jealous,” Orddu added, “especially because these new witches were young and beautiful.”

“So, she sought them out,” Orwen went on, “and they all did battle together. The Coven could have killed her, but you remember, Belle, how sadistic they all were, they relished the idea of torture and torment more than death.”

“I remember,” Belle agreed, with a shudder.

“They trapped Ursula in an enchanted block of ice,” Orddu explained, “so that she was still alive but permanently trapped, unable to move or speak, unable to break from from her prison, kept alive only by their magic.”

“And now the Coven are dead...” Belle realised.

“It took almost a year for the ice to finally melt completely,” Orddu said, “but now it has, and she is wreaking more havoc than ever.”

“But what’s this got to do with me?” Belle asked. “Is it because I stopped the Coven? All that was more luck than anything-!”

“I’m afraid it is something to do with that, yes, Belle.” Orddu laid a hand on her back. “You see, you have power stronger than that of the Coven, and stronger than that of Ursula. Though you weren’t born with any magic,” she added, before Belle could object, “or ever made a deal to get any, you have a good kind heart, Belle, a strong will and bravery unmatched by anything in this forest. Your determination and love for your siblings was what helped you to save them last year, as well as being clever enough to answer all the Horned King’s riddles directly.”

“It takes more than magic, you see, Belle,” Orgoch added. “Magic can be fought with magic, you see. The strongest witches in history have been taken down by mortals like yourself. For example, a witch who shapeshifted herself into a dragon was defeated by a brave prince. There was the case of a witch who was aged to death by a cunning thief. And don’t even get me started on the case of the sorcerer who was tricked and defeated by a street urchin and a parrot!” She cackled, gleefully. “He didn’t see that one coming!”

“So, you think I’m the key to stopping this Sea Witch?” Belle asked. HenWen snuffled at her feet, getting comfortable, and Belle suddenly remembered why they were there in the first place. “Wait...I came to see you because my friend’s disappeared. Giselle. She seems to have vanished into thin air and when I went to her house to find her, HenWen...” She gestured to HenWen. “She had a-”

“Oh, yes, the pig!” Orgoch clapped her hands together. “She’s clairvoyant, Belle, we sent her to you because we thought she might be useful to you! And we can’t have a pig with that kind of magic falling into the wrong hands!”

Belle blinked at her.

“You see, Belle, in the Forbidden Forest, lots of animals get exposed to magic, and become magical beings themselves,” Orwen explained. “Your pig – HenWen, did you say? – could be a valuable asset to both good and evil magical beings. Good people can use her to find missing friends and help those they care about. Evil people can use her to find things that don’t belong to them, objects of great power that could make them invincible.”

“Like King Triton’s trident,” Orddu added, nodding. “Or the Black Cauldron.”

Belle got the picture. “So, you sent HenWen to live with us. She showed me a vision of a mermaid turning into an octopus-woman holding a trident.” The witched gasped as one. “And then there was also some kind of creature...I couldn’t tell what it was exactly, and a castle on an island, somewhere, and then I saw what looked like Giselle...what does it mean?”

“This is serious!” Orgoch exclaimed, glancing between her sisters. “What do we do?”

“We find out what’s going on.” Using her magic, Orddu filled a bowl with water and placed it down in front of HenWen. She took a spoon and stirred the water in a clockwise direction. “HenWen, from you we do beseech knowledge that lies beyond our reach, troubled thoughts beyond your heart, pray you now those thoughts impart.”

HenWen watched the swirling water until she looked dizzy, and then place her face in the water as before. The witches peered over Belle’s head as the same images she had seen earlier appeared in the water. “Yes...” Orddu murmured, reading them. “Ursula...she seeks to gain control of the trident...and the Kingdom of Beljardin...”

“Beljardin?” Belle questioned.

“Shh,” Orwen hushed her, gently.

“She has cast some spell on the Prince of Beljardin...” Orddu went on. “Knowing her she will use it as a way to get the King to hand over full control to her...and that girl..she seems to be an innocent...she must have encountered Ursula and been taken by her...” HenWen raised her head from the bowl.

Belle looked up at Orddu. “What’s Beljardin?”

“It is the enchanted kingdom on an island in the middle of the ocean,” Orddu replied. “Ruled over by a benevolent king who would do anything for his family, even hand over power to the likes of a Sea Witch if he thought she had the answer.”

“You must go there at once, Belle,” Orgoch exclaimed. “Find out what she’s done to the Prince. If she takes the trident AND the throne of Beljardin, she would be as unstoppable as the Coven!”

“And when you discover what she has done, you can inform us and we can tell you how to break the spell,” Orwen added. “Her leverage will be gone. Then, you will need to find out her plan to take the trident from-”

“Wait, why me?” Bele got to her feet, feeling a little indignant. “I know what you said about me having power that can defeat Ursula, but surely you three can go to Beljardin-?”

“But we can’t,” Orddu interrupted, “nor can we set foot, or fin, in the kingdom of Atlantica. You see, both kings have had so much experience with bad magic that neither of them will trust witches, even white ones. You must go as our emissary to convince them that we only want to help them and bring the Sea Witch down.”

“But I still don’t understand why she’s taken Giselle,” Belle said.

“Neither do we.” Orwen looked worried. “Ursula doesn’t need the blood of innocents, like the Coven did. Her usual means of operating is to make a deal with an innocent and then find some way of making sure that innocent can’t fulfil their side of the bargain, so she can take their soul. Oh, it doesn’t kill them,” she added, when Belle looked worried, “it just makes them her servant for life, or until she is defeated.”

“Here, Belle.” Orddu opened a cupboard. “It’s a long way to Beljardin, you’ll need some help.”

A familiar colourful rug shot out of the cupboard and wound itself around Belle in a hug of pleasure. “Carpet!” Belle laughed, patting one of his tassels. Carpet straightened himself and bowed to her. HenWen sniffed him and Carpet looked, if a flying carpet could look, down at her. “It’s alright, Hen,” Belle told her. “He’s a friend. Carpet, meet HenWen.” Carpet tickled HenWen’s ear with one of his tassels, which she seemed to like very much.

“And you’ll be needing this to get to Atlantica,” Orddu added, fiddling in the same cupboard and pulling out a bottle filled with an acid green liquid. “It will enable you to breathe underwater, but be warned, the transformation will be painful.” She pulled out a similar bottle, this one filled with sparkling yellow liquid. “You must drink this one to turn back to yourself again.” Belle took the two bottles and tucked them into her bag. “And I have a feeling you will definitely need this with you this time.” Orddu handed her to sword she had given Belle the last time, although in the end Belle hadn’t needed it. He own intuition and cleverness had been all she needed. “We don’t want to send you out there completely unarmed.”

“If you need to call on us for anything, you can use this.” Orgoch hopped forwards and held out an ornate mirror, white with a rose design on the back. “Just as for the Witches of Morfa and we can talk to you with our own mirror.”

“Take courage, dear, like last time,” Orwen advised, kissing her forehead.

Belle smiled at them all. Ugly as they were, they had kind hearts and she hated that people didn’t trust them simply because they were witches. Maybe she did have some kind of secret power, the power to look beyond appearances and see people for who they truly were.

“Thank you,” she said. “I wish Tink was here too, like last time.”

“Oh, we can help with that, dear!” Orgoch produced what looked like an ordinary stick. “Go to the pool where the Fair Folk live and dip this stick in the water. When the water turns purple, call for Tinkerbell and she will come to you.”

“Hurry, Belle,” Orddu added, opening the door for her. “The sooner you reach Beljardin, the sooner we can defeat Ursula, and find your friend.”

Belle nodded and hurried out of the cottage, with HenWen and Carpet at her heels. She climbed up the slope and raced towards the Fair Folk’s pool. She dipped the end of the stick into the water and when it turned an odd purplish-pink colour, she called out “Tink! I need your help!”

With a small splash, Tinkerbell broke through the water’s surface, although she wasn’t wet at all. Fairy magic was strange, Belle reflected.

“Belle, what is it?” Tinkerbell glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, Carpet!”

Carpet waved a tassel in greeting. Belle quickly explained everything that had happened and everything the Witches of Morfa had told her. “I want you with me,” she finished.

“Like last time?” Tinkerbell did a backflip in the air and nuzzled Belle’s nose with her own. “Fighting witches and questing? Count me in!”

Belle smile and lit a candle. “Come on, then, everyone.” She looked down at HenWen and Carpet and then at Tinkerbell. They made for an odd team, but she was confident, even though they had a long journey to undertake and she didn’t even know yet half of what they were facing. “Here we go.” She turned in the direction Carpet was indicating. “Into the unknown...”