"What?" I practically screamed. Brandy was only nine years old she couldn't get married.

"Yeah I know, the prince is supposed to be a really cold person, who knew he could fall in love?"

"That girl is my sister and she's only nine years old!" I said holding my head and trying not to freak out.

"At least if they're married then neither the queen nor the prince would harm her," Seth said in an effort to cheer me up.

"I don't know about that, if your sister is really going to become the princess then she's going to have to be a ghost" The boy explained.

"How do you become a ghost?" I asked as if I didn't already know the answer.

"The queen will have to kill her. She'll probably just poison her, or something don't worry I doubt it'll be violent or painful."

"I have to stop that wedding," I stammered trying not to pass out, I grabbed the boy by the shoulders.

"You have to help me! Tell me how I get inside the castle?"

"My sister is a witch, she can probably help you," the boy said pulling away from me.

"No way are we seeing a witch for help," Seth complained "besides those stingy hags don't give out their spells for free."

"My sister's not like other witches she's really nice."

"Can you take me to her?" I asked letting the boy go and apologizing.

"Sure, it might be fun," the boy said cheekily, he led us around the pond and into a forest.

The forest was huge and dark green full of tall trees with thick trunks and thousands of big plush leaves, the ground was full of thick grass and hearty mushrooms that smelled like oven roasted chicken. The path was narrow, constructed of light brown dirt there were several tracks imprinted in the path that looked like wolf prints, similar to the kind Seth made.

"I don't like this place," Seth said stepping close to me, his furry head pressed against my leg.

"Why not?" I said I thought it was beautiful probably my favorite forest so far.

"This is gray wolf territory, a lot of people died here, that's why the population is mostly witches," the boy explained no fear in his cheery voice as he skipped along the path.

"I used to live in this forest," Seth explained sadly "the wolves took my whole family."

"Don't worry, me and my sister kill at least one wolf a week in our traps."

"That cheers me up a little bit I guess," Seth chuckled still drooping his head.

We came up on a cute little cottage shaped like a mushroom and painted red and white, the chimney was pouring green and purple smoke and happy music was pouring out. The boy knocked on the door and it was answered by a teenage girl with long red hair and a bright green dress, she wore a pointy black hat and long silky cape, she held an elegantly crafter wand in her hand with a little leaf growing off the end.

"Ollie," she squealed throwing her arms around her brother's neck and squeezing him tight.

"Oh Olivia, I missed you," he said happily throwing his arms around her "I got the lake rocks you wanted," he said pulling handfuls of rocks out of his pockets.

"I don't care about that, all I care about is that you're home safe," she said kissing both his cheeks.

"How long have you guys been apart?" I asked curiously.

"Like two whole hours," Olivia complained holding her little brother's hand "The party has been a drag without you, come in," she dragged him into the house, and we followed.

Her house was similar to Bambi's house with fluffy cutie furniture, she even had a big fluffy cat with long purple fur. There were dozens of butterflies flying around the house along with caterpillars crawling all up and down the house plants. Olivia led us outside to where several witches were standing around a foldable table drinking punch from plastic cups. A huge banner hung in the trees which read congratulations Bethany and another which read It's a girl. Seth's mouth fell open in shock when he saw it.

"What's wrong?" I asked him looking around for a baby witch.

"Bethany is my old girlfriend she's the one that turned me into a dog."

"Hello Seth," a witch whispered behind us.

She was tall with beautiful dusty skin and long curly black hair her eyes were emerald green and shone like stars, her lips were bright pink and soft, she was wearing a tight navy-blue dress that really showed off how thin she was. She had a long pointy hat like the other witches but hers was a golden color.

"Congratulations, on the baby you look great?" I commented and she patted my head.

"Who's this little sweetie, Seth!" she asked angrily kneeling down to Seth's face.

"Don't tell me you're still mad, I've been a dog for years," Seth complained.

"You went out with my sister behind my back, and on my birthday," she said sadly, and the other witches all said Aww! in unison.

"I'll turn him into a frog for you," one offered.

"I'll set him on fire if you want me too," said another.

"Come on! I didn't know it was your birthday, and nothing happened we were just talking," Seth complained and all the witches started booing him.

"Oh I know, let's turn him into a piñata," a witch in red suggested.

"What a wonderful idea," Bethany chimed pulling out her wand and casting a spell. 

Seth transformed into a large black piñata shaped like a dog with tissue paper for fur, the witches strung a string through his back and hung him in the tree. They all charmed themselves a bat and began hitting Seth.

"Can you turn him back?" I pleaded with Olivia who stood off to the side and watched.

"Don't worry she'll turn him back after she's had her fun," Olivia said chuckling to herself.

Suddenly a baby started crying from inside the house and Bethany went running. She came back out of the house with a little baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket her little pink face poking out from the sheets, tiny brown curls sticking out of her head.

"She's just adorable," One of the witches squealed petting her soft little curls.

"Thank you," Bethany said proudly kissing her little forehead.

"She is really cute, but I thought a baby shower was supposed to be for a baby that wasn't born yet?" I asked curiously.

"Usually it is, but she wasn't promised to me until after she was born," Bethany explained.

"How did you get the mother to give up such a lil' cutie?" One of the witches asked trying to push past the others and hold the baby.

"I had to give a man eternal riches to promise me his first daughter and she wasn't half as cute," one complained.

"The mother came to me, she offered me her baby in trade that I make her beautiful,"

Bethany bragged "She was a real dog but with a little M.A.G.I.C I turned her old face into one fit for a princess, or should I say prince," Bethany said elbowing another witch as they giggled.

"What are you going to name her?" Olivia asked taking the baby in her hands.

"Well, the mother named her Mary, but that's a little plain," Bethany complained.

"Ooh you should call her Belinda."

"No how about, Sherry."

"Oo Valentina!"

"How about get me down from here!" Seth shouted from the tree he had turned back into a dog and was dangling from the branch on a rope, several large bruises on his body and a broken lip pouring a little stream of blood.

"But we haven't gotten our candy yet?" Bethany teased pulling out her wand.

"Don't worry I'll give you something real sweet when I get down there," Seth threatened angrily, does he ever think anything through.

"Let's play pin the tail on the doggie," a witch suggested then Bethany turned Seth into a poster.

She charmed his tail off and duplicated it then they all took turns blindfolding themselves and sticking the sharp tails into Seth's sides.

"Can you make them stop?" I pleaded with Ollie who was leaning against the table eating a slice of cake.

"They'll stop eventually once they get bored," he mumbled licking the cake off his skinny fingers.

The little gate in the picket fence was thrown open and a witch came strolling in with a large pink present in her hands. I recognized the witch instantly as Bambi with the same hair and face but a different pink dress and no hat, I couldn't believe my eyes I was sure she had been burned alive.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized handing Bethany her gift.

"No worries," Bethany said taking the gift and placing it on a present table.

"Hey," she said when she saw me "you're the rotten little brat whose girlfriend shoved me in my oven!" she said angrily pulling out her wand "where is she I ought to teach her a lesson."

"She only shoved you in there because you were going to eat me," I shouted, and all the witches gasped.

"Eat you?" Bambi said appalled "Where would you ever get such a crazy idea?"

"You were going to cook me and eat me for breakfast, that's why you had me locked in a cage," all the witches burst into laughter making jokes and giggling like little girls at a birthday party.

"I locked you in there because I wanted your girlfriend to clean my house and didn't want you getting in the way, I was going to let you out as soon as she finished making my breakfast," the witch explained like it was obvious rolling her eyes back into her head.

"Why eat children when you can eat anything you want and charm the weight right off," a witch asked, and they all giggled.

"If you're so magical then why did you kidnap us to clean your house?" I asked and she rolled her eyes again.

"I forgot the cleaning charm and my house was getting dirty," she said, and Olivia offered to show it to her.

"It really wasn't very nice of you. We were really scared."

"I wasn't nice of you to set her on fire, that hurts you know," Bethany said pulling out her wand "perhaps I should turn you into a piñata like your little friend and teach you a naughty boy lesson."

"Bethy wait," Ollie said stepping in front of me.

"This has been fun and all, but we need to take these two back to my sister's house, his sister is marring the prince tomorrow and he has to save her before the queen can turn her into a ghost."

"Why didn't you say so earlier," Bethany said charming Seth back into a dog, he groaned in agony from all the little holes in his side.

"Of course, we'll help," Olivia said "family is very important to us witches," she said grabbing her little brother and squeezing him planting kisses all over his face.

"Thank you so much," I said then they began brainstorming on how to get me into the castle.

"I know we'll turn him invisible!" Bambi suggested zapping me with her wand and sending a tingling sensation over my body as it disappeared.

"No way, he'd never get through the fence it senses invisible people," another witch said charming me right back.

"Oh, I know let's disguise him as a girl and say he's one of her friends," one suggested waving her wand at me, suddenly my hair grew longer, and my clothes were transformed into a bright pink dress.

"He looks ridiculous, besides the queen will never fall for something so dumb," Bethany said changing me back.

"I know we'll turn him into a cake," Olivia said charming me into a large wedding cake.

"No, I'm sure they already have a cake. Besides they might eat him," Bambi said charming me back, all the spells were making me dizzy.

"Olivia is on the right track though, how about instead of a cake we turn him into a wedding gift something she couldn't refuse," a witch suggested then Olivia got excited.

"I have the perfect thing," she said pulling a tiny pink bottle out of her pocket "It's a potion take it and it'll turn you into a unicorn for twelve hours, once you see your sister you can rescue her and then use your wings to fly away," Olivia squealed and they all agreed that was a spectacular plan. 

"But who will give him away a unicorn can't just show up as a gift?" Bambi asked.

"Could one of us, do it?" A witch asked and Bethany shook her head.

"Nobody trusts gifts from witches, they're sure to be suspicious about it."

"Can Ollie, do it?" I suggested and Olivia refused.

"It's much too dangerous for my Ollie Wolli," she cried grabbing him and kissing his head once more Ollie just smiled how could he stand to be kissed so much.

"I could do it, if you turned me back into a human," Seth suggested, he had gotten some water and convinced one of the witches to heal his wounds.

"But you're such a cute doggie," Bambi said getting down on her knees and rubbing Seth's head as he wagged his tail unintentionally. 

"I don't know, have you learned your lesson?" Bethany asked and Seth nodded giving her big sad puppy eyes.

"Oh, please great and wonderful Bethany make me a human once again," he begged bowing down in front of her.

"Alright but only for twenty-four hours," Bethany said with a flick of her skinny wrist.

Seth began to transform, he slowly turned from a fluffy black dog into a man, he was tall over six feet with long blonde hair that hung down to his shoulders and covered one of his eyes. He was strong with large muscular arms and chest. His eyes were a dark brown similar to the ones he had as a dog. Bethany had charmed him some clothes even though the other witches had begged her not to.

"Thank you," he said happily with the same voice he had as a dog, he looked over his human hands with a huge smile.

"Remember it's only for twenty-four hours just long enough to take Bailey to the castle and give him away as a gift," Bethany reminded him a small frown on her face she didn't seem happy to see human Seth once more.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Olivia said charming a piece of paper and writing on it with her wand.

"When you rescue your sister, you need to bring her to the pink meadow and find the forever tree, it should take you out of Luminari and put you back exactly where you came from," she said giving me her little handmade map.

The map she drew was incredibly detailed it would have taken a normal person a year to draw it. It was clear to see that the castle was north of the pink meadow like Seth said, although the meadow me and Seth were in wasn't the pink one. It was full of pink flowers, but it was marked as the Lilia meadow on the map.

"Thank you so much, and I'm really sorry about earlier," I told Bambi and she smiled.

"No worries, now go save your sister."

"Don't forget your party favors," Olivia said handing Seth a little blue bag that he shoved in his pocket.

We left the party, and the witches began to talk and laugh like they did before we arrived as if we had never even been there.