THE GOLDEN HOURS

by JAMES DODDS

After three long, bloody years fighting for the throne, Dukes Henri andWilhelm came together in a meadow of wildflowers to broker a truce. Leaving their weapons with their men-at-arms, the two cousins sat together and talked, as they had during childhood. Their uncle, the late king, had taken both inassmallladswhentheirfatherswereslaininbattle.Uponhisdeath,eachmanhadproclaimedhimself king.Thecountrytookupsidesandcivilwarbrokeout.

Equals in battle, neither Henri or Wilhelm could capture victory. Their support waned as the war dragged on. Cheering throngs turned to sour expressions and open grumbling. Nobody wanted to fight anymore. Especially the two dukes, who would both soon be fathers. The midwives promised Henri a sonandWilhelmadaughter.

“I want my child to live in a land of peace,” said Wilhelm. He grimaced. “Truth be told, I didn’t really want to be king. I only laid claim to the throne because the old hag whispered in my ear that King Stephenwisheditso.”

Henri stiffened, nostrils flaring. “No!The hag told me the same! Had she said otherwise, I would havehappilyletyourule.”Hegroundhisteeth.“Shetrickedusintothiswaraspaybackforhersister.”

Urmalach, the old hag, was a witch, like her younger sister Clotilda. Thirteen years earlier, Clotilda had fallen for the king’s only son. When he spurned her advances, she turned him into a slavering beast who fled into the woods, never to be seen again. The two dukes sat in judgment at Clotilda's trial and pronounced her guilty. As punishment, the king buried her alive in the town square. Madwithgrief,Urmalachsworevengeanceontheking,thedukesandtheentirekingdom.

To reunite the sundered country, the dukes vowed to rule jointly as regents until their children came of age, when they would wed and be crowned king and queen.The two kinsmen stood and clasped hands to the cheers of their war-weary followers. The word that peace was at hand spread like wildfire acrossthekingdom.

Seven weeks later, Henri’s son Philip came into the world as the sun rose and shone its glory across the land. That very night, Wilhelm’s daughter Selene took her first breath as the full moon rose clearofthemountainpeaks,castingitssilversheenacrossthecountryside,turningnighttoday.

The country rejoiced at this portent of peace and healing. In the days leading up to the double christening, parades and fairs and merry-making abounded. On the blessed day itself, throngs choked everystreetandalleyleadingtothepalace.Joyoustensionelectrifiedtheair.

The priest blessed the babes, then raised a ewer of holy water over his head.Ahush fell over the masses.Foroneshort,magicalmoment,blessedstillnessreigned.

“No!” screeched an old woman.The crowd flinched and fell back as Urmalach, the hump-backed hag, stumped up the stairs towards the children. Greasy, matted locks trailed down to mingle with filthy raggedclothes.Twofierceeyes,glowinglikecoals,glaredoutfromthetangle.Whereverherglancefell, raggedclothes.Twofierceeyes,glowinglikecoals,glaredoutfromthetangle.Whereverherglance fell, the villagers cowered and made warding signs. Immobilized with shock and fear, the priest stood like a statue,theewerclutchedonhighintremblinghands.

“You,” sneered the witch, glaring at the two dukes. “You sentenced my sister. You condemned her to death. And you, priest, you read the holy words justifying that death. Her blood is on all your hands. Let her blood stain more than your hands this day!” Urmalach thrust her staff at the ewer. It tumbled from the holy man’s grasp, its contents gushing forth. The crowd gasped as blood, red blood, andnotwater,drenchedthepriestandthetwodukes.

Urmalach shrieked with laughter. “You people! You simple sheep! You think these babes will grow up, marry and bear the heir that unites your little kingdom! On my sister’s blood, this shall not cometopass.”Shestretchedherstaffovertheboy’scrib.“You,Philip,bornatsunrise.Youshallonly be aware of this world during the day.” She turned to Selene. “And you, little pretty one, you shall only know life while night reigns. Never shall you two meet. Never shall you walk and talk together, enjoy love’sfirstkissorbejoinedasmanandwife!”

The duchesses cried out in horror and knelt over their babes as if to shield them from further witchcraft. Spurred by their wives’sobbing,Wilhelm and Henri drew their daggers and advanced on the witch.Sheflickedbonyfingersattheweaponsandwhispered,“Calidus.”Theknivesglowedredasboth men cursed and dropped them, blowing madly on their scorched palms. Urmalach snickered. “Time to go now.” She spread her arms and cried, “Umbra!” Her shadow stirred and grew, while she stood motionless. The shadow expanded, inkblot arms seeking out the other shadows on the dais. They quivered and shrank away from their dark predator. But tethered to the objects that cast them, there was noescape.Thewitch’sshadowdevouredthemall.ThedarkmassdrewbacktoUrmalachandflowedup her body, concealing her in an inky black cocoon. Only her red eyes remained visible, blazing at the crowduntilthejetblackshapewinkedintonothingness.

Highoverhead,twodiaphanousfigureshoveredoverthepandemonium,theirwiseoldeyesfilled withsadness.“Couldwenothaveprotectedourcharges?”askedDulcina,Philip’sfairygodmother.

Rhoslyn, Selene’s fairy godmother and Dulcina’s elder by four hundred years (that she admitted to),shookherhead.“Ourpowersaregearedforassisting,notprotecting.”

Dulcina fluttered her wings in indignation. “Well then! Let’s assist. We’ll just cancel that old crone’scurse!”

Rhoslyn regarded her companion, biting back a smile. Ah, the impetuousness of youth, she thought. Was I that naïve at two hundred? “A blood curse cannot be canceled, my dear. It can only be amended, and even that would require more magic than we two possess. No, we’ll watch and wait. I’ll comeupwithsomething.”

The years passed. The country enjoyed peace under the dual regency of Dukes Wilhelm and Henri.Thechildrengrewup,tailoringtheirlivestotheirallottedhours.Bothlearnedearlythat“timefor bed” was no laughing matter.At the age of seven, after escaping his nanny, Philip was scrambling up a tree when his daytime ran out. The sun’s upper edge eased below the western horizon and a suddenly dormant Philip plunged like a stone. The broken arm was an inconvenience. His mother’s wrath was a volcano.Theaccidentdrewlaughteracrossthekingdom.Selenetooknoteandwasnevercaughtout.

Both pined for a glimpse of the worlds they were denied. Selene’s quarters were decorated with paintings of her most common views as seen in daylight. In them, the grounds from her window, the courtyard,theducalmanorandthedistantmountains—allresonatedundergoldensunshine.

Philip had pleaded for a “night room.” Duke Henri commanded his astronomer and his royal artisttoportraythenightsky,inallitsglory,inabasementroom,devoidofanyouterlight.There,using phosphorescent paint, the artist faithfully recreated the stars, the planets and the distant “band of light” thatdominatedthenightskyonMidsummer’sEve.

Despitetheunbridgeablegapbetweenthem,orperhapsbecauseofit,thetworeachedouttoeach other. A ragged correspondence that stuttered to life when they were nine became a sophisticated exchangeofideas,experiences,thoughtsandfeelingsbytheirfourteenthyear.Nothingwasheldback.

At eighteen, their letters acknowledged some uncomfortable truths. “Everybody thinks we’re going to get married somehow,” wrote Selene. “And our union will continue the royal line. I hate the expectantwaytheylookatme.Especiallywhenwhattheywantisimpossible.”

“Yes,” replied Philip. “I wish for their sakes we could meet and try to fall in love. I know you think arranged royal marriages are an old-fashioned relic. I do too. But we might have made a go of it. There’s no one else I enjoy ‘talking’with as much as you.And,” Philip paused, quill pen hanging over theparchment.“I’mtoldyouarelovely.”Hefinishedtheletterinarush,hisfacewarm.

Selene read and re-read the chance phrase, “fall in love.” Once he’d penned it, it came back to Philipaswell,usuallyashedroppedintoslumber.

TimemeantlittletoDulcinaandRhoslyn,butitwasrunningoutfortheirfairygodchildren.“We can’tletthemlivehalf-livesuntiltheydie!”declaredDulcina.“Theywerebornforeachother!”

Rhoslyn nodded, her head bent in thought. It was two days until Midsummer, the longest day of the year.The sun had set, but daylight persisted as the long twilight defied darkness. Philip’s snores had beguntheinstantthesun’sorbvanished.Selenewouldn’triseuntilfulldarknessfellupontheland.

From below the horizon, the sun’s golden light infused everything with an enchanted glow. The accompanying stillness added to the allure. Looking on, Dulcina sighed contentedly. “It’s like a fairy tale,”shesaid.Rhoslynrolledhereyes.

“Noreally,Roz,”Dulcinawenton.“Thisisamagicaltime—neitherdaynornight.”

Rhoslyn gasped. “That’s it!” Whirling, she grabbed Dulcina by the wings and shook her hard enough to coat the ground in fairy glitter. “Urmalach specifically cursed ‘Day’ and ‘Night.’ Twilight hours aren’t either one. Nor are pre-dawn hours.” Rhoslyn’s fairy wings quivered as her mind kicked into gear. “We can’t reverse the curse, but we can modify it. All we need is….” She paused. Her shouldersdroopedupashervoicetrailedoff.

“Iswhat?”askedDulcina.

“Moremagicalpowerthanwehave,mydear,”repliedRhoslynquietly. Will I ever be this obtuse? thought Dulcina. Aloud she said, “So let’s reach out to the neighborhood….”

The fairy godmothers whispered to the breeze. It carried the message to the flowers and trees. They, in turn, told the birds and the bees. Who told everybody. Within a day every magical creature for milesknewtheplan.

What exactly are airy tales and how did they et their name?

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101

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Two nights later, each fairy hovered over her sleeping godchild. As the Midsummer sun sank fromsight,DulcinaandRhoslynbegantoglow.Thisglowgrewtoascintillatinggoldenlightthat pulsed with the concentrated power bestowed by the kingdom’s fairies, wood nymphs, kelpies, dryads, naiads, pixies, leprechauns, brownies and fauns; plus a herd of unicorns, the sole phoenix and five enchanted toads.As the power peaked, both godmothers uttered the counter enchantment. “Awake! Twilight time andpre-dawnglowareyoursforevermore.Awake!”

Philip and Selene rubbed their eyes, sat up and then, noticing the strange light in their rooms, dashedtotheirwindows.Aftergapingforalongminute,eachflungontheirclothingandhastenedtothe courtyard. Palace staff, startled by this unheard-of appearance, thronged Philip and Selene. Both ignored the hubbub as they searched the crowd for a face neither had ever seen. Finally, seeking to escape the mob, both fled to a small rose garden. Entering from opposite sides, each beheld the other and they knew.Philipbeamed,drawingadimpledsmilefromSelene.

Face to face after a lifetime apart, they remained mute, drinking each other in. Eventually Philip foundhisvoice.“Hello,”hesaid.

“Hello back,” she replied. Her voice quivered, but her hands were rock-steady as they reached forhis.

Hovering overhead, both fairy godmothers noted that, despite being surrounded by a time of day neitherhadeverknown,PhilipandSeleneonlyhadeyesforeachother.

Oneyearlater,shortlyaftertheMidsummersunhadset,theyexchangedtheirvows.Twomonths afterthat,withtheheartyapprovalofbothdukes,KingPhilipandQueenSeleneascendedthethrone.

Another year passed, bringing the royal christening of baby Princess Anne. While the populace thronged forward to catch a glimpse, Dulcina and Rhoslyn stood guard at the fringe, waiting for the witch.Sheappeared,stumpingupanovergrownpath.Thegodmothersblockedherway.

“Begone,hag!”criedDulcina.“Youhavenopowerhere!”

Urmalachspat.“Ihavemorethanyou,mypretty,skitterything.Stepaside.”

Dulcina stepped forward instead. “More than us, perhaps. But more power than those?” She swept her arm towards the gathering gloom. Urmalach spun. Hundreds of eyes stared at her, unblinking. Apixietittered.Aleprechauncursed.Atoadflungitselfintoherface.

“Leave while you can, hag,” said Rhoslyn. “Do not return.” Urmalach ducked her head and scurriedoff.

Up on the dais, the blessing of the babe was complete. Philip and Selene knelt by her bassinet, kissedtheirdaughter,thenstoodandwavedtothecheeringthrong. Andtheyalllivedhappily.