CHAPTER IX

"Well." Said the crone. "And I thought you a fool. But you where a much greater fool than I thought, or you should never have succeeded."

"And now you must give me the flower."

"I suppose I must. But first you must tell me which flower it was that you wanted."

"Surely you know."

"Perhaps I do and perhaps I don't, but if you want the flower you must name it. That's the proper way of things."

"Well then, give me the beautiful flower."

"The what?!"

"The beautiful flower!"

"My dear boy, I don't have anything of the sort!"

"But the magician said..."

"The magician lied to you! One cannot be a very good thief, without also being a liar. And though I have heard that strange word before, and even know what it means, I have never seen anything beautiful in all my long life, and frankly, have always thought that it was a myth!"

The dreamer sat down, crushed. He seemed on the verge of bursting into tears, but too dejected to muster the effort. The crone watched him for a while. It gave her no satisfaction to see him thus, clearly destroyed by his own hand.

"Perhaps I can help you, boy, but you're going to have to tell me what's going on. I see the white queen in all this. You would have never come here unless it had something to do with her, for she is the only one more terrifying than me."

"That's not true!" Said the dreamer. "You frighten me much more than she does."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, boy." Said the crone, though smiling ever so slightly.

"And if that were true, whatever drove you to come here?"

"Love."

"Ugh! Don't say that horrible word! Well, it's obvious the white queen has something you... ugh, I can't say it, and will give it to you only if you bring her something beautiful. But there are no beautiful things in this entire world."

"But she said that even a child could find it!"

"Just because something doesn't exist, doesn't mean it can't be found!" Snapped the crone. "I can't help you with that, but... let me see.." She went on, looking through the cabinet.

"Aha!" She said, producing a jar in which something seemed to be thrashing about.

"This flower comes from a faraway land. It is a poison, but unlike other poisons, which wait patiently for their victim to eat them, this flower will lash out at anything nearby, killing it instantly. They are used, sometimes, to fight duels, although they must be held very carefully. But you needn't worry about that. Just give the white queen the jar, and when she opens it, the flower will kill her, and you can take the thing you... ah.... want."

The dreamer reached for the jar, and paused a moment, but then some indescribable change came over him and he stopped.

"I can't." He said. "For I used to hate her, but now I pity her, because I realize she is as much a prisoner in her tower as my friend is."

"Oh." Said the crone, and looked at the dreamer for a long moment, her cold blue eyes staring into his. For a moment, he was no longer frightened, and gazing at him, she grasped, or almost grasped, something she had forgotten long ago. And then the moment passed.

"Bah! I was so close, so close to having my revenge, and it is all spoiled because you are too much of a weakling. Oh well." She said, more thoughtfully. "The pleausure is never as great as one imagines. And if you will not take my flower, I must find something else to give you. You gave me something, I must give you something. Those are the rules, and the rules are not to be trifled with."

She went to her cabinet again, coming out with something too tiny to see. "This is a seed." She said, putting one into his hand. "And the thing about seeds, especially here, is that one never knows what they might grow into. I can do no more for you. Now get out of my sight!"