The squeaky voices pursued them through the forest: “Have to stop ‘em. Mustn’t escape!”
At last, the bear leapt onto the brick path. The roaring and din that had followed them suddenly stopped as if they had only imagined it. Maximilian was panting and trotting slowly along the brick path. With each step, his breathing became calmer, and his steps continued to slow.
Hannah looked back at the dark evergreen forest. She could hear neither the high-pitched voices nor the menacing words.The air was still, and the forest lay before them, silent and deserted. “Are they gone?” she asked.
“I think it’s more likely that Godmother Friederike’s magic is keeping them away.”
“She must be incredibly powerful to be able to conjure such a safe pathway through this forest and to still have it work even though she’s nowhere near here.” Hannah scanned the evergreens and bushes to her left, but she neither saw nor heard anything or anyone. “Do you think they’re walking beside us? Can they still see us?” she asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m sure Godmother Friederike has cast a spell upon this path so that no forest creature can enter or cross it or see who is walking on it. Otherwise, anything would be able to stalk us and follow us without our noticing. To grab us, all that creature would need to do is to wait for us to step off the path.”
“I hope you’re right.” Hannah shook her head. What an adventure. Had Frieda known it would be like this? Had she realized that Hannah could get hurt? What would happen to her children if she didn’t return, if something terrible happened to her in this forest?
Hannah’s heart was still pounding so hard she could hardly calm down. Maximilian seemed to sense it. He suddenly turned around and trotted in the opposite direction along the brick path.
“Where are you going? That’s the wrong way. We’re still missing one ingredient!”
“I cannot allow your children to become orphans on my account. You’ve described the plant to me, so I’m sure I can find it. I’m taking you back to Mirabelle’s house. We’ll speak to my godmother through the cauldron and ask her how to conjure you back. You helped me find Mirabelle, and she accepted the apology. I can do the rest on my own.”
“But I... that’s not how I... I mean?—”
“No arguing!”
Hannah wanted to object, but she didn’t have the strength. He was right. Why did he still need her? She couldn’t brew the potion anyway, and she had helped him to find Mirabelle and apologize to her. They already had two of the ingredients, and he’d find the third on his own or with Mirabelle’s help. The old woman would then brew the potion that would change him back. So why should she stay any longer? She didn’t belong here. The prince would remain in his time period, and she would have to go back to hers to be with her children. Oh, how she missed the three of them! She had never been away from them for such a long time, had never spent a night without them. With a smile on her face, she let Maximilian carry her to Mirabelle’s hut as she imagined her return and how she would hold her sweet peas in her arms.
Lost in thought, Hannah stroked the bear prince’s thick coat and snuggled up close to him. He felt so warm and comfortable, so familiar and safe. Still smiling, she ran her fingers through his fur. She nestled against him, enjoying the final few yards she would spend with him. He carried her and protected her. How long it had been...
After a while, the ramshackle hut came into view. The air was filled with thick, swirling smoke. Hannah sat up. As she craned her neck to see, she noticed a large cauldron hanging over a firepit outdoors. Mirabelle was standing before it and stirring the contents with a large wooden spoon. She took some leaves that were lying on a tree stump beside her and crumbled them into the cauldron as she stirred without pause.
On hearing Maximilian’s heavy bear steps, she looked up. She smiled, and as she did so, she looked so hideous that it sent a chill down Hannah’s spine.
“I’ve already begun,” Mirabelle croaked. “I threw in wild angelica, valerian root, and fireweed, and I also found elecampane in the forest. I hope you found wintergreen and goutweed flowers.”
Hannah laughed with relief. Such luck! Now she wouldn’t have to leave, after all, before Maximilian changed back. “We found goutweed and wintergreen, but we were still missing elecampane.”
“Then there’s nothing standing in the way of brewing the potion.” Mirabelle said, continuing to stir the contents of the cauldron. “Hand me the ingredients.”
Hannah slid down off Maximilian’s back, set the bag of provisions on the forest floor, and retrieved the small pouch. She cautiously took out the flowers and leaves and handed them to Mirabelle, who immediately tossed them into the steaming cauldron. It fizzed and bubbled, and the potion turned a reddish color.
“Is it ready yet?” Hannah sniffed. It did not smell good at all. Instead, it smelled acrid and—she sniffed again—strange. She wasn’t familiar with that smell. Wait—there was something familiar in those fumes. What was it, though?
“I need to stir it three more times, and then it will be ready.” Mirabelle continued to move the wooden spoon around in the seething brew, and after the third time, she stopped. She took the spoon out of the kettle and shuffled into her hut.
Hannah was beaming with joy as she looked at Maximilian. “Soon you’ll be free. We did it!”
The bear grinned, and Hannah had to laugh at the sight.
“Go ahead and laugh!” he growled, but there was a tenderness in his growl that tugged at Hannah’s heart. “As soon as the potion is ready, we’ll call Frieda. She can tell us how to get you back to your time. And remember what I told you earlier. You don’t have to worry anymore.” He winked at her,and Hannah smiled once more. A comforting warmth flowed through her innermost being, and she breathed a grateful sigh of relief. Yes, her money worries were over.
Still, it no longer felt so easy to walk away now. Something still tugged at her heart. Was she yearning for him? He was a bear, after all. But maybe that was the very thing that had made it easier for her to lean on him, to get involved with him, to open her heart to him. Because it was simply impossible. “Thank you!” she said.
They looked deep into each other’s eyes, and what Hannah saw was so much more than the dark eyes of a wild animal. She was seeing him—his inner being, his goodness, and his humanity. Something tugged at her heart again, and she felt a flutter in her stomach. She stepped toward him and stroked his furry head. He raised his enormous paw and laid it very gently against her cheek. Hannah trembled. Then she placed her hand on his paw and smiled.
Perhaps in another time, in another place... She felt a sense of wistfulness.
Mirabelle came out of her hut, ladle in hand, and interrupted their moment. She approached the kettle, dipped the ladle into the reddish potion, and scooped out some of the brew. Then she held it under the bear’s black nose. He sniffed it and made a disgusted face.
“Medicine rarely tastes good,” she croaked.
