No one answered.
“I demand the soul of Mirabelle’s mother! Release her!”
Then she heard the response of the dark voice, which now no longer frightened her: “Only a blood relation can find her here in the darkness.”
Hannah gulped. True. That was what Irmgard had said as well. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? How could she find the soul of a stranger?
“Follow your heart!”
Where did that soft voice come from? That was not the Evil! But who then?
“Listen to your heart, and go where it leads you,” it whispered once more. And although it was an unknown voice, it also sounded familiar.
Hannah tried to feel what was going on inside her. Now that the Evil’s hand no longer held her heart in its grasp, her heart could beat freely and easily. She listened to its comforting heartbeat and suddenly knew which way to go. She could see nothing, yet still she walked through the gloom with a sense of purpose. Until a scent wafted toward her nose—a scent that seemed at once both strange and familiar. Exactly like the voice.
Something was gleaming in the darkness. Something transparent with a faint pulse. Was that the soul? Its form was blurred, but with each step that Hannah took, its contours grew more distinct. On reaching the glimmer of light, Hannah found herself facing a woman with long, dark-blonde hair and a smile that was familiar.
“You found me, Hannah.”
“Are you Mirabelle’s mother?”
Tears welled up in the soul’s eyes, and she nodded. Hannah looked at her closely. As she did so, her heart beat faster with excitement, and a sense of warmth flowed through her as if she were returning to someone to whom she belonged.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“I am your great-grandmother.”
Hannah gazed at the soul in amazement. Now it all made sense. “You’re my grandma Anna’s mother... Annabelle!”
The soul nodded.
“She told me you died.”
“And in a sense, I did.”
“Why did she never speak of her sister Mirabelle?”
“She may have forgotten about us because of the curse. But now, tell me, do you have the fireflower?”
Hannah nodded. She held the flower out to the soul, and her great-grandmother took the pearl from its midst. As soon as she touched its gleaming white surface, the darkness around themdissolved, and they found themselves standing together on the mountain plateau.
28
Hannah and her great-grandmother were back with the herd of unicorns, who now encircled them. The dark mist had vanished, but since it was now the middle of the night, only the unicorns’ magical glow illuminated the mountains.
“Where is Irmgard?” Hannah immediately asked.
The unicorns stepped to the side to reveal an exhausted Irmgard lying on the ground—though with open eyes.
“Irmgard!” Hannah ran over and threw her arms around the unicorn’s neck. She nestled her head against Imgard’s and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hannah, you did it!” Irmgard neighed excitedly. “Fabulous, that’s all I can say—just fabulous!”
Hannah turned toward her great-grandma and saw that she was still nothing more than an apparition. Slowly, she rose and approached her. “Why have you not come back to life?”
“Because my time ran out a long, long time ago.” She smiled as if she were glad. “It’s not important to me. My time has come. Now I have only one thing left to do before I can finally find eternal rest. I would like to see my daughter and ask herforgiveness. Only when I know that her heart is at peace will mine, too, be able to find the peace I long for.”
“We’ll take you there!” Hannah cried, full of hope. “Then Mirabelle will be sure to forgive Maximilian, and he’ll change back to a human again!” She looked at Irmgard, who was still lying on the ground, exhausted.
