Saving Mirabeth

"Wake up, baby. Can you hear me?" Mirabeth's mother gently shook her young daughter but try as she might, she could not get the little girl would not open her eyes. She had just left her alone for a minute while she took a shower. She thought that Mirabeth was sleeping but now she feared something more ominous.

Without a phone in the house and no car, Chloe wrapped Mirabeth in a blanket and ran to the Johnson's who lived nearby. "Please let them be home, God," the young mother prayed. "Don't let anything happen to my baby."

Pounding on the door, it seemed like hours before Mrs. Johnson finally answered. She took one look at Chloe and grabbed her keys, pushing mother and daughter toward her waiting vehicle.

"She won't wake up," Chloe sputtered. "I thought she was asleep. She took sick this morning and her temperature shot up but it wasn't all that high until now. I should never have left her side."

"Now hush, dear" Mrs. Johnson assured the frightened mother. "Kids can spike a temperature faster than you can say Jack Robinson. We'll get her to the hospital and she will be fine."

"But what if it is her heart?" Chloe couldn't choke by the tears. "She has a bad valve and her heart is enlarged. I keep her inside and protect her as much as I can but maybe it wasn't enough."

Mrs. Johnson put her hand on Mirabeth's forehead. It was hotter than she hoped it would be. Still she smiled at Chloe in hopes of allaying her fears. Within minutes they were at the ER, rushing through the door.

Nurses met mother and child immediately and scooped up Mirabeth. "Wait here until the doctor has a chance to examine her. Then we will call you. In the meantime, you can fill out the paperwork."

Chloe nodded, throwing herself into her neighbor's arms. "It's all my fault. I know it is."

It seemed like hours as the two women waited for word on Mirabeth's condition. Finally, a kindly old man in a white coat stepped into the waiting room. "Mrs. Miller?"

"That's me," Chloe stepped forward, nearly tripping over her own feet with fear. "Is she awake yet?"

"No, she's still in a coma," the doctor explained. Her temperature was over 106 degrees. I need to get some medical history so I know what I'm looking for."

"She has a bad heart valve and an enlarged heart that resulted from scarletina. She's always been sickly; catching anything and everything that comes along. I try to watch her every moment but she hates that."

"No one is blaming you Mrs. Miller," the doctor explained. "Kids get sick. It sounds like Mirabeth may just be more susceptible than others. At least that tells me some things to check out. I'll get back with you as quickly as I can."

Mirabeth heard weird whispering sounds in her sleep but she was unable to respond to anything. The Black Queen's venom had hit her square in the face, paralyzing her.

She remembered the frog guards lifting her up and carrying her. Though she wasn't absolutely sure of the destination, she knew the Queen's intent was to imprison her in the Tower of Tears. She wondered how she would escape or if it was even feasible.

"At least my friends are free," she thought to herself before completely succumbing to the blackness once more. Little did she know that her friends were already formulating a plan to approach the White Wizard for his assistance in rescuing her.

"I can make it to the Wizard faster if I go alone," Fergie the insisted despite all the negative nods he was receiving from the rest of Mirabeth's friends. "Time is of the essence. Once Mirabeth is in the Tower, there is no telling what the queen might do to her."

"I can run as fast as you," Simon scowled. "I think it is important we both go just in case there is trouble along the way."

All of Mirabeth's animal friends agreed that it was safer if both animals went together. Benjamin the rabbit cut in. "Hedgehog, Arty and I will head to the Good Witch's house to see if she can do anything to help. Jane, Jennie and Firefly can go back into the woods and monitor what is going on, getting information back to us.

"Okay, we have a plan," Fergie agreed. "It's time to move. We have to save Mirabeth in order to save Elysia. Without her we are all doomed." With that the little group of friends broke rank and headed in their various directions.

"We can't get too close to the swamp," Jane the butterfly warned ladybug and firefly. "You don't seem as suscepitable firefly, so you can go in for the deep recon work. Hurry, it's important we find out what is happening as quickly as we can."

"Lay her on the floor," spit the Black Queen at her guards. "She doesn't need a comfy bed."

One of the guards peered down at the tiny redhead with tears in his eyes. Careful not to let the other guards see him, he was the first to volunteer to wait outside of Mirabeth's cell.

"Very well, Bartholomew," said the queen. "Take note guards, what a true patriot will do for queen and country." With that she slithered away to her own quarters.

After everyone was gone, Bartholomew gathered water from the nearby well in a little golden cup and took it to the sleeping girl. "Drink, Mirabeth, if you can," he begged. "It will help, I promise you."

"Drink, Mirabeth," Chloe said as she held her daughter carefully in her arms. Come on baby, we have to get your fever down. "Come back to me, sweetie. Mommy's right here waiting for you."

Something inside Mirabeth stirred and her eyes fluttered slightly. "Nurse, I think she is trying to awaken," Chloe called out. "Her eyes moved."

The nurse rushed into the room and watched as Mirabeth's eyes fluttered once again. "She's just dreaming, Mrs. Miller. But her temperature is coming down so there is every reason to believe she might awaken soon."

Chloe laid her head next to her daughter's hand. Mirabeth's grandparents would soon arrive, but there was no trace of the little girl's father. She had contacted all of his drinking haunts and called his the friends that she knew about. As usual, he was absent when his daughter needed him most.

In Elysia a fine gray mist fell from the sky like fine tears. The minute it started the Good Witch feared that Mirabeth had been captured by the Black Queen. She waited patiently for news so she would know how to proceed, knowing that it would take the help of the White Wizard to save Elysia's protector.

Fergie flew through the air faster than he'd ever traveled before and Simon kept pace. Luckily, they didn't have far to go. The White Wizard had begun traversing the blue road as soon as the mist began falling. He was on his way to see the Good Witch to join forces to save Mirabeth.

"The Black Queen paralyzed her," Fergie explain. "We fear she has taken her to the Tower of Tears. We have friends checking in to find out exactly where she is. Hopefully they will get word to us shortly."

Exhausted from running, Fergie collapsed on the ground. Simon laid down beside him, also spent. The Wizard took out his water pouch and poured liquid into his wizard's hat so that the animals could drink.

"Don't worry, my friends. We'll figure this out together. I suspect the Good Witch has already formulated a plan.

"Will the Black Queen harm Mirabeth?" The question came from Simon, who suddenly looked anything but ferocious.

"No, she cannot harm her physically. However, the Tower of Tears can capture the child's mind and hold it captive forever unless we are able to set her free."

Buzzers and bells went off in the equipment attached to the sleeping child in the hospital bed. Chloe jumped in abject fear, afraid it was too late to save her daughter.