Archive of Our Own

Once Upon a Time….

Our story begins in a castle bedroom. A pregnant woman lying in bed, while a man holds her hand with an anxious expression on his face.

This is the king and queen of a kingdom called Corona. The two rulers had been trying for a baby for many years and finally, their wish was granted. But the queen took ill very suddenly in her last month of pregnancy and the doctors are telling the king his wife and child will not survive the birth.

Rather than take this horrific news lying down, the king starts searching for a supposed myth. A flower grown from an angel's feather dropped to the earth. It is said to cure any ailment if discovered.

Unfortunately, the king isn't the only one who wants this flower.

An evil wizard named Caleb had searched for this flower for fifty years, wanting to use its healing power to keep him young and he found it. He knew that if he picked the flower it could only be used once, but, through years of researching, he discovered that if you sang a special song it could be used as many times as you wanted. So he left it where he discovered it and came back to it whenever he started aging again.

Caleb hid it well under a magic spell that made it completely invisible to anyone besides himself.

He had returned to its hiding spot while the king was searching for it and had just finished using its power when he heard the king's guards getting closer and closer. Caleb could not be found by these guards as there was a wanted poster with his face circulating around the kingdom for unlicensed magic use and the wrongful death of one of his audience members/volunteers. Caleb could not be caught. While the flower kept him young, after continuous usage it accelerated the aging process. If he spent just three months in a prison cell, he would die of old age.

Making a split-second decision, he opted to hide in the bushes without putting the protective barrier over the flower. Caleb assumed that the guards were searching for something other than the flower and would merely pass it by like it was a simple flower. His heart dropped into his stomach when the guard immediately stopped in his tracks and yelled that he found it to the other guards. He watched paralyzed in horror as the guards dug the flower and started moving it towards the castle.

Regaining his ability to move, Caleb stuck to the shadows as he followed the guards back to the castle.

Once the guards found the flower they brought it immediately back to the king and queen. The doctor started to brew a special tea using the flower. As soon as the tea was brewed it was given to the queen. Instantly the queen’s color improved greatly. Three days later, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Julie.

Meanwhile, Caleb was watching this all unfold. Plotting how to get some fragment of the flower, he then realized that both the queen and the princess must have some part of the flower residing inside them. Caleb figured that getting near the newborn baby would be easier than getting near the queen. A month after Julie was born, Caleb initiated his plan to break into the castle. With his magic, it was incredibly easy to get to the young princess’ bedroom.

Caleb crept to her crib slowly, not wanting to wake her, and began to sing the flower’s song softly. Julie’s curly hair started to glow silver, just like the flower did, once the first notes left his lips. Caleb’s hands were shaking as he reached for a single curl to snip. As soon as the scissors finished cutting through the hair, its color reverted to the original brown color of her hair. And no matter how many times he sang the song, it never glowed again. Caleb angrily threw the curl to the ground, cursing under his breath. He swiftly scooped Julie out of her crib and disappeared back into the shadows.

The next morning, the king and queen launched a search that traversed entire kingdoms, but they never saw their baby girl again. The guards, of course, never thought to look behind a seemingly solid cliff where a tower lay undisturbed.

In memory, and hoping it would somehow bring their baby girl back, the royal family and the entire kingdom of Corona released a sky full of lanterns on the day the princess was born.

Eighteen years later.

Julie has always wondered what the beautiful lights that light up the sky on her birthday meant. She’s asked her father time and time again about what they are, but he’s always dismissive of the question and merely says they’re stars. But they’re not, they couldn’t be. Every year, like clockwork, they show up on the same day, only one single day of the whole year. Julie had gazed up at the sky for as long as she can remember, and she had never seen anything like those “stars” anywhere. Not only that, the stars don’t just appear and disappear like magic, they’re constantly there. Her father was wrong, these lights are special. And deep in her heart, Julie knows, somehow, they’re for her.

~~~

“Father, isn’t there some way you can postpone your trip?” Julie asked, “My eighteenth birthday is in four days, and you know how important it is to me that you’re home just this one day of the year.”

Julie and Caleb were seated across from each other at the dinner table. Caleb had just returned from his previous trip two nights before and Julie had been so excited for this dinner, hoping the two of them could discuss her birthday plans. She had had an entire speech prepared about how she was turning eighteen and how mature she had grown. How she thought it was time for her to face the outside world, not full time, of course, but just a small trip to get her footing. Perhaps the nearest town and then maybe the two of them could make plans to visit the capital city for her next birthday. But then her father threw a huge wrench in her plan when he announced that he was leaving for his next trip. Tomorrow! “Julie, if I could reschedule you know I would, I never want to disappoint you, my lovely flower,” Caleb replied, “But I can’t disappoint the people who want to see my magic. I have a gift and I must share it with the world.”

“But-” Then suddenly Julie had a revelation. “You’re always saying, Father, that you need more help on your trips and in your shows. That someone who could cook would be a literal godsend, right?” Julie asked.

Caleb nodded his head slowly.

“And you always say that I help you regain your strength when I sing, right?” Caleb nodded his head again. “Well, you know I can cook very well and I’m very good at cleaning and I’m a fast learner, so anything you need I can learn and it would be incredibly helpful to have me around to regain your strength. So maybe I could come as a birthday present for myself and as a good worker for you?” Julie was out of breath by this time, arguing her case at a mile a minute.

“Completely out of the question,” Caleb said, getting up to put his dinner plate in the sink.

Taken aback, she asked, “But why?”

“You’re much too young and immature to be going out in the world, it’s too dangerous.” “But father, I’m turning eighteen, that’s officially an adult. And if I’m not mature enough now, how am I going to learn anything cooped up in here? I’ve learned everything I can here, wouldn’t it be prudent to take me with you so I can grow and mature outside of this boring place?”

“So now the roof I put over your head is boring? Not good enough for you? I suppose the food I buy for you isn’t sophisticated enough for you. Sorry, I can’t afford truffles and caviar for you, sorry the home I slaved over to make wonderful for you isn’t good enough. Is your bed not comfortable enough for you, as well? Is there anything else that isn’t good enough for you?”

Caleb threw his plate into the sink, shattering it, Julie flinched, then he stormed off towards his chair near the fireplace.

Julie followed after him, “Father, I’m sorry that’s not what I meant. I love this home and how I live and everything you do for me. I love you, father, the life you built for me is wonderful.” “I just don’t understand why you constantly ask me to leave. The world is dangerous and would like nothing more than to rob me of my precious flower. You have no idea what is waiting out in the world, I want to protect you from the dangers of the outside world for just a little longer,” Caleb said, stroking her hair.

Julie looked down at her feet, “I’m sorry, father, I had no idea my asking to leave the tower hurt you that much. I’ll stop asking until you say you’re ready.” “That would be perfect, my flower,” Caleb smiled, “Would you mind singing for me, our argument took so much strength out of me.”

“Of course, father.” Caleb departed the next day, promising Julie when he returned they would do something extra special to celebrate her birthday. Then he kissed the top of her head and said goodbye, and Julie was left alone….again. Feeling the tears rise in her throat, Julie did the one thing that always made her feel better, sing. ~~~

Nearby, a traveling band seemed to be on the run from guards from the kingdom of Corona. The three members of the band were out of breath and out of places to hide. They had managed to get a little ways ahead of the guards after losing them for a short time, but the band could hear their horses rapidly approaching. One of the band members stumbled a little and stopped to catch their breath.

“Reg! Come on, we have to keep going!” another member of the band yelled.

“I can’t! Luke, Alex, I just need to catch my breath for half a second,” the one called Reggie said.

Luke looked like he wanted to argue, but stopped when he noticed Alex next to him bent down with his hands on his knees breathing heavily.

Reggie reached his arm out to lean against a cliff he was standing next to with low hanging ivy growing on it. He let out a gasp when they fell through what he was expecting to be a solid cliff.

Both Alex and Luke let out a concerned “Reggie!” and rushed to his side.

“Are you okay, Reg?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just expected the rock to be solid,” Reggie laughed.

“I think this cave leads somewhere,” Luke said, “Maybe somewhere we can hide from the guards.”

Alex and Luke helped Reggie to his feet and the three of them followed the cave until they reached the other side of the cliff. On the other side was a beautiful meadow with a stream running through it and in the middle a tower only a little shorter than the cliff’s edge.

Suddenly, breaking the silence was the most beautiful voice the band had ever heard.

“Hey! Do you guys hear that?” Luke asked. Reggie nodded with an expression of awe on his face.

“Where-” Alex paused with an air of reverence for a moment. “Where do you think it’s coming from?”

Luke shrugged. “I can’t tell. You don’t think somebody lives in that tower, do you?” Alex thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No way.”

Luke paused for a few moments, then shouted, “Hey!”

The singing abruptly stopped.

“Well, now you just terrified whoever that voice belonged to,” Alex said.

“Hey guys,” Reggie said, “I think I see a door on the side of the tower. Maybe there’s a place we can crash tonight, so we can lose the guards.” “Good idea, Reg,” Luke replied, putting an arm around his shoulders, starting to walk towards the tower, “C’mon Alex.”

“But what if someone does live there, Luke?” Alex asked.

“Well, after all, Alex, you’re the one who assured us that no one lived here.”

Alex rolled his eyes and followed after them.

~~~

Caleb had been gone for three hours now and Julie still felt as horrible as she had when he left. She was mature enough. She deserved to leave this place, she had been a good girl for eighteen years of her life. It wasn’t like she was asking to go on a trip all by herself, she had asked to go on a trip with her father, whose sights she hadn’t planned leaving for the entirety of the trip.

Sighing to herself, Julie started singing again, but with how bad she felt, not even her favorite activity in the world could help her feel better.

All of the sudden in the middle of her song, Julie heard a voice she didn’t recognize shout “hey!” A scream stuck in her throat, Julie ran as far from the window as she could get.

This must be one of those dangerous people her father always told her about, she thought, after all, who else would be able to find her when she was so secluded in the woods. She would simply remain as quiet as she could and hopefully they would leave.

Julie didn’t hear anything for a few minutes and breathed a sigh of relief thinking that that person had left. Then, she heard something hit the lock on the door downstairs, that only her father had the key to, then she heard the door open and hit the wall.

Julie scrambled to her feet, her eyes darting around the room trying to find something she could use as a weapon. Her eyes landed on the frying pan she used this morning for breakfast sitting on the kitchen counter.

Julie heard several pairs of feet walking up the stairs that led up to the door that entered into the room that she was in. Hearing the knob start to turn, Julie raised the pan above and prepared to scream as loud as she possibly could.

The figures who walked through the door were absolutely not the kind of people she was expecting to see. The figures Julie was picturing in her mind were big, bulky, malicious, like the villains she used to read about in storybooks; Julie lowered the arm that held the frying pan. These people weren’t scary at all. They were just three boys who couldn’t be much older than her.

The four of them just stared at each other for a few moments, none of them sure of what their next move should be. Then, Julie remembered something her father had once said to her. That anyone who found this place was looking for her and meant to take her away and steal her hair.

Raising her frying pan again, Julie opened her mouth and let out an ear-splitting scream. The boys immediately started screaming back at her.

Surprised, Julie walked up to them and pointed the pan at the throat of one of them, and asked, “Who are you and how did you find me?”

The three of them stopped screaming as she came closer, the ones named Reggie and Alex fell slightly behind the one named Luke, who also backed away a few steps.

Tightening her grip, Julie asked again, “I said, who are you and how did you find me?” She brought the pan closer to the boy’s throat.

Raising his hands in the air, Luke replied, “Okay, okay, can you chill for like a minute? My buddies and I just stumbled on your place while we were running from the capital city guards. And we just assumed no one lived so secluded from the world, so we thought we could crash here for the night to lose the guards.” “So you’re criminals, after all. You must have some sort of nefarious deal with someone who wants to get their hands on my hair. Well, I’m not leaving here if I have to fight all three of you bare-handed, so if you thought this was going to be easy….” Julie trailed off, raising the pan to swing at one of them.

“Whoa, whoa, wait, please,” Luke begged and Julie paused, “We don’t even know who you are,” the other two nodded their heads. “We have no desire to get our hands on your hair, or whatever you think we’re here for. We’re just a band, trying to get to the capital city to play a gig we have there. And to avoid getting caught by the guards.” “We’re The Phantoms. Tell your friends,” Reggie piped in.

Luke grinned at him.

“Then why are you on the run on the capital city guards, if you’re not criminals?” Julie asked.

“A simple mistake on their part, they think we did something we didn’t do and we can’t get caught, because we have the most important gig of our lives in four days,” Luke replied.

“So you really have no interest in my hair?” she lowered the frying pan.

“I mean, you have lovely hair, but I don’t really see what someone else would do with it,” Alex replied.

“Wait a minute, was that you singing before?” Reggie asked.

“Yeah, it was,” Julie replied, a look of confusion on her face, “Why do you ask?”

“You’re kidding!” Luke exclaimed, “That was you?”

Julie nodded, her confusion becoming more apparent on her face.

“You’re, like, insanely talented! I’ve.... we’ve never heard a voice like yours before,” Luke said.

Reggie and Alex nodded their heads enthusiastically.

“Thanks,” Julie said, slightly bashful.

“If we had a voice like yours in our band, we’d absolutely crush our gig in the capital city,” Reggie said.

“Hey! What’s wrong with the voice we do have?” Luke asked, annoyed.

“Nothing!” Reggie said, throwing his hands up in mock defense, “But to be fair, Luke, you were the one who said we’ve never heard a voice like hers before, and it’s true. So if we haven’t heard a voice like hers before, then isn’t it fair to say that no one in the capital has heard a voice like hers either?”

Luke grumbled out an agreement.

“I think what the two of them are poorly trying to do is ask you if you want to sing with us one time,” Alex said.

“You want me to sing with you?”

“Well, yeah. Your voice is incredible and ever since we had a member quit on us, we’ve been struggling to refind our sound. I’m Luke, by the way,” he said, realizing there hadn’t been introductions yet.

“I’m Reggie,” he said with a smile.

“Alex.”

“You said your gig is in four days?” they nodded, “So you’ll be in the city when the mysterious lights light up the sky?”

“Are you talking about the lanterns that they light for the lost princess every year?” Alex asked.

“Lanterns?”

“Yeah, they light them every year on her birthday.”

“So one show with you guys, right? And then I can come back home?”

“Yeah. You can do whatever you want, we just have to make this gig as successful as possible,” Luke replied.

“Okay, you’ve got yourselves a deal,” she smiled. “I’m Julie.”

“Can we stay here for tonight though, to make sure we lose the guards?” Luke asked.

Julie nodded.

~~~

Julie was panicking. It was the morning now, and what on earth are you supposed to bring on the trip of a lifetime? She didn’t want to overpack and end up having to haul it to and from, but she also didn’t want to bring too little and end up wishing she had brought something incredibly important. Also, what if she was making a mistake. She didn’t know these boys and now all of the sudden she’s trusting them with her life. What if her father was right, what if these people were just fooling her and secretly taking her to someone terrible who was going to use her hair for evil?

Julie took a big deep breath. Okay, so maybe they were tricking her, but that’s why she was bringing her frying pan with her, just in case. She quickly stole a glance at them, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, waiting for her. They certainly didn’t look dangerous, after all, from the little she knew about boys, she thought they were even cute, to be perfectly honest. Blushing, Julie returned her attention to her bag, put a few more items inside, and resolutely snapped it closed.

“I’m ready.”

“Cool,” Luke said.

Julie was so nervous. She had never stepped a foot outside her tower for the entire eighteen years of her life. The only time she had felt sunlight on her skin was through the window on the tower. Never had she been able to feel the feel of grass on her skin or run her fingers through the babbling brook that ran through the meadow. It was overwhelming, all of the sudden she had a million opportunities to do all the things she had always dreamed of doing.

When Julie stepped outside the door for the first time and felt the breeze and sunlight on her skin, she felt tears rise in her throat. Asking the boys to stop for a moment, she knelt down on the ground and ran her fingers through the grass for a few moments, just taking in all the new sights and smells. She felt tears stream down her cheeks but made no move to wipe them away. Julie noticed Luke kneel down next to her.

“Have you never been outside before?” he asked, softly.

Julie shook her head. She thanked the three of them for stopping and told them they could keep going.

After they had been traveling for a short while, Julie asked, “How long should it take us to get to the capital?” “It should take us about two and a half days to reach the city, we should reach the city in plenty of time to see the lanterns,” Luke replied, “We can practice our song while on the road, but get in the bulk of the practicing the day before the performance.”

Julie nodded.

They traveled that day with no problems and made camp that night. The band helped Julie learn the song they were going to perform.

Every time Julie sang the boys were left in complete and utter awe. It was truly like she had the voice of an angel bestowed on her from heaven above.

Julie had never been happier. She felt in control, in her element, even where she was meant to be in life. Singing had always been a constant in her life, it was always the one thing that could lift her up, no matter what she was feeling. Julie had never dreamed that she could actually do something with her voice, she always assumed she would spend her entire life either stuck in that tower or stuck following her father around the world while he followed his dream. Before she had started singing with the band, she didn’t think that life was going to be so bad, after all, she loved her father. But now… everything seems different.

She’s sitting on the ground next to Luke, while he showed her the guitar chords when he asked, “Has anyone ever told you how insanely talented you are?”

Julie giggled, “Just you, five minutes ago.”

Luke paused his playing for a moment, thinking that even her laugh is ethereal and how he thought he wouldn’t mind hearing that sound for the rest of his life. He glanced over towards Reggie and Alex and saw them smiling smugly in his direction. He resumed playing, rolling his eyes in their direction, it was only the music making his head spin.

Julie reached her hand towards his guitar, running her fingers over the strings, her hand accidentally brushing her hand against his. She swiftly pulled her hand away, blushing.

“Do you mind if I try?” she asked, softly.

They looked into each other’s eyes for a short moment until he nodded his head and handed her the guitar. She fumbled with it for a moment until he showed her how to hold it and where to put her fingers to play the chords.

By the time Julie settled down to rest, she had managed to master the basics.

After Julie had gone to sleep, the three of the boys were still awake. Alex sat down next to Luke and bumped Luke’s shoulder with his own, “You usually don’t let anyone touch your guitar,” Alex said.

Reggie laughed.

“Why don’t the two of you just shut up,” Luke grumbled.

~~~

Earlier that same day.

A few hours after Julie and the band had left the tower, Caleb realized he had forgotten to pack a very important spellbook. One that he needed for his act and could not live without. So he reluctantly turned back around. Once he arrived back at the tower it was nearing nightfall and as soon as he walked into the meadow he sensed something was wrong. It was silent, completely silent. Usually, no matter what time of day Caleb returned he could hear Julie doing something, whether it be singing, cooking, or cleaning, but now the only sound he could hear was the babbling of the brook which broke the near-deafening silence. Caleb rushed to the side door and found the lock lying broken on the ground below it. He threw open the door and bounded up the stairs, bursting open the door which led inside. Nothing.

Caleb felt his blood boil, someone had stolen something which belonged to him. He scanned the room, looking for some kind of struggle, some clue that could tell him where they had taken his flower. But still found nothing.

Seething, Caleb ran to the bookshelf which held the spellbook he had returned for and flipped through it angrily. He stopped, finding exactly the curse he had been looking for. He concentrated, thinking of Julie and her captors, and recited the incantation. Slamming the book closed, he stuffed it into his bag and stormed back out of the tower.

~~~

The next morning Luke, Alex, and Reggie were awakened suddenly by what felt like electricity shooting through their veins. They each cried out, then looked at each other.

“Did you guys feel that too?” Reggie asked, rubbing his chest where the pain had been centered.

“Yeah,” Luke glanced up at the clear blue sky, “Maybe it’s going to rain.”

“Because that would explain the shock?” Alex asked.

“Well, I don’t know, it’s not like feeling electricity going through me is a common everyday occurrence, genius,” Luke replied, “Anyway, it’s probably nothing, just one of those things that happen and then never happen again.” Alex nodded, an anxious expression on his face.

“Hey man, we’re gonna be fine,” Luke said, putting his hand on Alex’s shoulder, “Just put it out of your mind, okay.”

Alex sighed, then nodded again.

Julie awoke a few moments later, “Good morning,” she said as she walked towards where they were sitting. The three of them smiled at her and said good morning back.

“Do you guys want an apple? I brought a few since I figured we would get hungry and I didn’t know what kind of food you all had,” Julie said.

“Thanks,” Reggie said, taking one from Julie’s outstretched hand.

Alex and Luke took one each as well, “Yeah, thank you, we brought enough food for dinner and stuff, but when we left the capital, we forgot to grab stuff for the morning,” Alex said.

“Oh, so the three of you are from the capital then?” Julie asked.

“Yeah, we have a friend there that has an awesome bakery, they let us take the food we brought when we left,” Luke said.

“So you left to avoid the guards until after your performance?”

The three of them nodded.

“And you’re running from the guards because of a misunderstanding. So what do they think you did?” “Well, actually-” Reggie started.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Luke interrupted. “Don’t you think it’s time we should get going?”

Luke got up and started packing up anything they had left scattered about the campsite. Julie packed her stuff up and ignored Luke for the rest of the morning. The three of the boys were dealt three more shocks of electricity. But they managed to play it off to not worry Julie.

After several hours of walking, they stopped for lunch and a rest. Julie forgave Luke when he showed her a few more complicated guitar chords.

They resumed traveling after lunch. Halfway through the day, they arrived at a hill, and Luke, Alex, And Reggie all stopped in their tracks.

“Julie, look,” Luke said as he pointed.

Julie followed the direction of his finger until her eyes landed on the beautiful sight of the palace, illuminated with the sun behind it.

Julie felt tears spring to her eyes as she beheld this wondrous sight, “It’s beautiful, I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.” The three boys smiled.

“It is a beautiful sight,” Luke said.

The sound of hooves hitting the ground suddenly burst through the reverent silence shared between the four of them.

“Hey, guys, what’s that sound?” Julie asked.

Luke, Reggie, and Alex shared a glance of horror. The only answer Julie got her question was a single word, “Run”

The four of them took off towards the trees. Julie had never ran in her entire life until this moment and if she hadn’t been completely and utterly terrified, she would have been exhilarated. Noticing Julie was slightly behind the three of them, Luke reached out his hand to her to help her keep up with them. Although hiding in the trees helped keep them more easily hidden from the guards, it had its own set of problems. Every few feet they had to push through tree branches and other low-hanging foliage out of the way of their face, sometimes accidentally tossing it back into the face of whoever was behind them. One of those times, as Alex and Reggie were running ahead of Luke and Julie, a branch was thrown back in Luke’s direction, brushing out of the way Luke cut his hand open on the sharp edge.

“Luke!” Alex called out, “Reggie and I can see a cave up ahead, we should be able to hide from the guards in there.”

“Got it,” Luke answered.

A few moments later the group arrived in the cave, out of breath, but having lost the guards.

The four of them leaned against the cave walls, catching their breath. A few moments of listening confirmed that the horses were moving further and further away. Julie felt her face grow warm when she felt her fingers intertwined with Luke’s.

“Are you all right, Julie?” Luke asked. She nodded her head.

Julie noticed Luke glancing at his other hand, flinching in pain.

“Luke, are you okay?” Julie asked, reaching for his other hand.

“It’s fine, just a scratch.” “Isn’t that your guitar playing hand? Come here, let’s sit down,” Julie said, tugging him to the ground.

“Julie, we didn’t bring any first aid or bandages or anything,” Reggie said, “Didn’t figure we’d need them, since it was only a few days.”

“Don’t worry about it, I don’t need it,” Julie replied, reaching up to untie her hair.

Running her fingers through it, the boys watched it fall down her back longer than they expected.

“You got something against haircuts?” Luke asked with a smile.

“Just give me your hand,” Julie chuckled.

Luke obliged and Julie grabbed it and wrapped it up with her curls.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked.

Julie glanced up at him but said nothing, just started singing.

The boys watched in awe as Julie’s hair started to glow an ethereal silver color. Luke didn’t even notice that by the time she was finished his hand had ceased hurting.

Reggie’s mouth hung open in complete disbelief. Alex simply stared, wide-eyed. Luke cleared his throat and said, “That was certainly something.” They watched Julie unwrap Luke’s hand and he gasped when he realized that his hand was completely healed.

Julie glanced around at the three of them, noticing their shock, she asked, “Did I freak you guys out? I’m sorry, I just wanted to help,” she looked down at the ground.

Luke cleared his throat again, “I do have to admit that was…” he scrambled for the correct word, “unique. But,” he noticed her downturned stare, “it was pretty awesome to see, right?”

Julie looked up at him.

“Yeah definitely,” Reggie quickly agreed, “Really, really cool! You’re like a superhero or something!”

Julie glanced at Alex, noticing he was still staring in complete disbelief, he noticed her look and seemed to think for a moment, “I do have to say I was a little freaked out, to be honest, not because it was bad or scary or anything like that, it was actually incredible to see. Now I see why you think people would come after you for your hair.”

“How’d you figure out you could do that? Have you always been able to do that? Do you know why you can do that?” Reggie asked frantically.

“I’ve just always been able to do it, there was never really a learning curve, it’s kind of like I was born knowing how to do it,” Julie replied, “And I don’t really know why I can do it, just that I can. For a while, I thought everyone could do it, that it was just part of being human until my father explained that I was the only one who was able to. He taught me that if anyone came to take my hair away, I had to fight them. I can’t even give away clips of my hair, because when it’s cut it loses its power.”

“So that’s why your hair is so long,” Alex said as Julie nodded.

Luke sighed next to her, “I think you deserve to know why we’re running from the guards now since you’ve had to deal with them yourself,” Luke replied.

Alex and Reggie excused themselves to go look for firewood.

Julie put her chin in her hands and listened.

“You know how I said we’re on the run from the guards because of a misunderstanding?” Julie nodded, “Well, that’s not exactly a lie but it’s also not exactly the truth either. The three of us first formed this band when we were seven-years-old with another friend of ours. My parents didn’t mind the band at first because they figured it was just a passing interest of mine, but it wasn’t. My parents always wanted me to make something of myself, something serious, they never saw music as an actual job, so they wanted me to quit when they noticed how serious I was becoming about pursuing music as my actual career. So we started fighting about it. A lot. I don’t want to give up music, it makes me feel alive, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life. So when I saw that my parents weren’t budging from their stance, I ran away and started staying at Alex’s place. I figured that if I stayed away long enough and didn’t let them find me, eventually they would give up and let me do what I wanted with my life, but then they declared me missing. They had my face put up all over town, and if the guards found me they would take me back home and I couldn’t play the life-changing gig we have set up.” “So you ran further,” Julie said.

“Exactly, I’m hoping that once they see us play, that they’ll change their minds and finally realize my dreams aren’t stupid and let me do what I want with my life.”

“You know, I understand, not just because ever since we’ve started practicing I’ve felt completely happy and in my element, but also because I’ve wanted to see the lanterns for as long as I can remember. But I never could, because my father was always saying that it was too dangerous out in the world, or I’m not old enough to leave the tower, or not mature enough, or not strong enough. He says the tower is the safest place for me and that I should be happy with what I have because he works hard to provide for me.” “You had never been outside the tower until we came,” Julie nodded her head, “That’s odd of your dad, I mean my parents never wanted me in the house that much.” “He says it’s because I’m different, that everyone will want to take advantage of me because of my hair.”

“To be honest, I don’t think anyone would really even be able to tell that you have magic hair unless they knew exactly who to look for. And if that’s the case they would be able to find you, no matter if you were out and about or cooped up in your tower. And in regards to your not being mature or strong enough, there has never been a time that you’ve slowed us down or been any kind of burden.”

Julie smiled, “Thank you, Luke.”

~~~

The four of them spent the rest of their night practicing and perfecting their performance. After Julie had gone to sleep the three boys stayed awake a little longer to discuss their mutual problem.

“What do you think is going on?” Alex asked, frantically pacing back and forth, “I mean this not normal. I could be persuaded into believing that a couple of these shocks is nothing or pure coincidence, but we’ve each had five today all at the same time. That is not normal.” “We’re way past that juncture, buddy, but maybe lower the volume a little so we don’t wake up Julie,” Luke said.

Alex huffed, “Sorry my complete and utter panic might be a little bit on the loud side, but I’m freaking out.” “How come Julie’s hair didn’t fix Luke?” Reggie asked.

“I don’t know, maybe it can only fix external injuries or one thing at a time or maybe she has to be aware of it to fix it or something,” Luke replied.

“Should we ask for her help?” Reggie asked.

“I don’t know, we don’t even know what it is, it’s still possible that it could be absolutely nothing, just a side effect of pre-show jitters or something. So maybe we shouldn’t worry her,” Luke said.

“There’s also the possibility that if we ask her to heal us with her hair, she might start to think that we were actually using her for her hair the whole time, and not because she’s super crazy talented and is just really nice to hang around with, y’know?” Alex said, still pacing around the cave. “But there’s also the possibility that we’re dying right now and we don’t even know it and Julie is our only chance of survival.”

“Okay buddy, maybe it’s time to put your frantic brain to rest,” Luke said, “We’re not gonna die like I said we’re probably just anxious or something.”

~~~

The next morning they set off and arrived at the capital city five hours before the lanterns were to be set off.

Julie became more and more awestruck the closer they got to the kingdom, she never imagined it would be so big. Once they arrived at the gates, Julie was taken aback at how busy and noisy it all was. She had never seen so many people, never heard so many voices at once. It was overwhelming, not really in a bad way, it was just so different, so exciting. Every few steps she asked one of the boys what something was, there was so much to take in, so much to see. She had to make sure she absorbed as much as she could because she would be going home the day after tomorrow. Julie felt a tightness in her chest whenever she thought about the fact that she would have to return to her tower after all of this incredible adventure, so she did her best to push those thoughts out of her head.

Julie saw something out of the corner of her eye, looking directly at it she saw it was a mural of a man, a woman, and a baby in the woman’s arms. Something about it was so familiar, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Julie tugged on Luke’s arm, pointed to the mural, and asked, “Who are those people?”

“That’s the king, the queen, and the lost princess. They started painting it immediately after the princess was born and finished it after she had been taken,” Luke replied.

Luke looked at the mural for a moment, then looked at Julie, then looked back at the mural again. “What is it?” Julie asked.

“Nothing, you just look a little similar, I guess.”

As they walked away, Julie couldn’t help glancing back at it. Something about that mural was so familiar, she wished she knew what it was.

The boys brought her through hidden corners of the city, avoiding every guard that they saw. Finally, they arrived at a small bakery.

“Come on, this is our friends’ place, we figured you could spend the night here,” Luke said.

They walked into the bakery and Julie was hit with such a vast variety of delicious smells, she didn’t even know where to begin. She had never smelled anything quite as delicious before. Sitting at the counter were two girls, one with black braided hair and the other with blonde hair.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in, three fugitives from the law,” the black-haired girl said with a chuckle.

“Looks like they committed a separate crime from running from the law. Did you guys kidnap this girl, boys?” the girl with the blonde hair asked.

“Very funny. Flynn, Carrie, this is Julie,” Luke introduced.

Julie gave a little wave.

“Still doesn’t explain if you kidnapped her,” Flynn said, “Blink twice, girl, if you need me to kick their ass. Be happy to oblige.” “No, they brought me here to see the lanterns and so I could perform with them,” Julie replied.

“Yeah, she’s amazing, she has a voice like no one we’ve ever heard before,” Reggie said.

“Really? Even better than me?” Carrie asked.

The boys nodded.

“Well, this I have to see, take me and Flynn to Alex’s place and show us your song,” Carrie said.

The six of them left the bakery and walked to Alex’s place where they usually practiced. After they finished playing the song, Flynn and Carrie gave them a standing ovation.

“Where’d you find this girl?” Flynn asked, “She’s incredible!”

“We just happened to stumble upon her,” Alex replied, “Just good luck on our part, I guess.”

Julie smiled.

“You mentioned something about wanting to see the lanterns too, right?” Flynn asked.

Julie nodded her head frantically, “Yes! I’ve wanted to see them up close for so long.”

“Well, if you want to see them up close,” Flynn replied, “My parents and I usually take a boat out to the lake, I’m sure I could convince them to lend it to you. After all, we weren’t even planning to go this year.”

“Really?” Julie asked.

“Yeah, of course. I could always convince them to let me invite the boys along, so I guarantee I can get them to loan it to one of them.”

“Thank you,” Julie said.

“No problem, any friend of theirs is a friend of mine,” Flynn said with a smile, “And I can tell that if you stick around, we’re gonna become great friends too.”

Julie smiled. She had friends now, that was a foreign concept to her. She felt the tightness in her chest again, she was going home the day after tomorrow. Why didn’t the tower feel like home anymore? Why didn’t her father feel like home anymore?

~~~

A few hours later Luke and her were in the boat together. Everyone else had said that they didn’t want to go. Alex had said he wanted to practice the song with his drums more, Flynn and Carrie both said they had a previous engagement together, and Reggie had seemed like he wanted to come along until Alex pulled him aside and reminded him he had something he needed to get done. So here they were on the boat, together, alone, and close together. Julie watched as Luke rowed the small boat to the center of the lake. It was…. distracting.

“It’s really happening, isn’t it?” Julie said, mostly to herself.

“What’s that?” Luke asked, putting the oars into their holders.

“Just all of it. Everything. I never thought I would actually make it here to this boat, waiting to finally see the thing I’ve dreamed of seeing for as long as I could possibly remember. The lanterns are going to light the skies in a few moments and I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life after I finally see them. It’s all I’ve ever dreamed about.” Luke thought for a moment, “You’ll find something new to dream about. People always do.”

“But what if it’s not the same?”

“It’s not supposed to be the same, that’s why it’s new. Whatever your next dream is going to be, it’s going to be fun, exciting, and special in its own way. Just like this one.”

Julie smiled. All of the sudden, out of the corner of her eye she caught a speck of light. It was the first lantern. She was really here, she was really seeing this. One lantern became two, two became four, and so it continued until there had to be hundreds in the sky. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

Luke had seen this sight, so many times before, he hadn’t even gone to see it the last couple years because every time it was the same, nothing ever changed. But now it was like he was seeing it for the first time, through Julie's eyes. It was beautiful.

Julie could feel tears rising in her throat again. It was everything she dreamed it would be and more. The glow of the lanterns in the water was ethereal, everything around her took on a golden hue. It was like the entire world was glowing. The tightness in her chest returned, she would probably never see this place again. She would never be sitting across from Luke like this again, they’ll probably take her back to her tower and forget she even existed. They’ll go on to be famous and she’ll be left behind, sitting alone in her tower constantly waiting for the time when her father tells her she’s mature enough to leave home. She felt the smile on her face disappear.

“So,” Luke cleared his throat, “are you excited to perform tomorrow?” Julie felt the smile return to her face, “So excited! I thought I would be absolutely terrified to go up on that stage, but I’m not. I don’t know if I’ll start to feel the fear tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter. When I play with you guys, I feel like I could do it forever.”

“Then, maybe you should,” Luke replied, softly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that maybe you should keep playing with us. You said you wanted to find a new dream, maybe becoming a part of The Phantoms is it.”

“And leave my father alone?”

“I’m not trying to be mean or anything, Julie, but if I’m being completely honest, your dad seems to be kind of suffocating you. I mean, before me and the boys came along, you had never been outside the tower before in your life. That’s not really normal, and I know you’re special, Julie, but I don’t really understand how you would be in danger when no can tell, unless you show them, that you have special powers.”

Julie was going to yell at him or get mad at him, but the more thought she put into it, the more she realized that he might be right. It’s true that her power is not easily seen, it can only be revealed if you know that it’s there. And if she was being completely and totally honest with herself, she had never been this happy when she was with her father.

“You might be right, Luke, but don’t I owe him something? I mean he raised me and provided me a home, doesn’t that mean I owe him something?”

“Yes, he did raise you, but you’re your own person, your own soul. Just because he raised you and fed you and housed you doesn’t mean you should let him control your life. Parents always say they worked hard to give you the life you had, but that doesn’t mean they always know what’s best for you. You can decide what you want in life, Julie, not your father, but you,” Luke said, taking her hand.

“Then…” Julie paused, “I think I want to stay with the band if it’s okay with Alex and Reggie.”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, “Well, I never actually asked them, but I think I’ve known them long enough to know what they’ll say and I think they’ll say yes.”

Julie smiled, then blushed when she realized that Luke was still holding her hand. She thinks about pulling it away in embarrassment but decides against it because his hand in hers feels nice. Almost like it was meant to be there, she thought to herself.

Suddenly, Luke yelled and jerked back in pain.

“Luke, are you okay?” Julie asked, moving to his side of the boat.

“I’m fine, I’ve just been feeling like I’ve been getting shocked with electricity the last few days,” he replied, trying to act nonchalant.

“Has the pain been centered in your chest?” Luke nodded, “You need to show me your wrist, I’ve read about a curse like this in my father’s magic books, and if I’m right the wizard’s mark should be imprinted on your wrist.”

Luke flipped his arm over to show his wrist to her, “Am I going to die from this?” Julie paused for a moment, “If I’m correct about what curse it is, I think so.” “Can you fix it, because Luke and Alex are also getting these shocks?” Julie looked up at him, wide-eyed, “All three of you have been cursed?” she looked back down at his arm and gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

“This mark… it’s my father’s! But why…why would he do this?”

“Could he have found out you left the tower and put the curse on us without even knowing who we are?”

“We have to go back to shore, I have to see if Alex and Reggie have the same mark.” Luke rowed the two of them back to shore and the two of them ran to Alex’s house. When they got there Julie immediately rushed to Alex and grabbed his wrist, after confirming the mark on his wrist, she ran over to Reggie to do the same thing.

“Do either of you want to explain what’s going on?” Alex asked while examining the mark on his wrist.

“I had another of those shocks while the two of us were on the boat and Julie told me that she thinks we’ve been cursed,” Luke explained.

“You have been cursed. All three of you. By my father,” Julie replied.

“Can your hair cure us?” Reggie asked.

“I wish I could say it could. My hair can’t break curses like this, it can only really cure human ailments like sickness, injuries, or old age.”

“You said you read about this curse before though, do you know how to fix it?” Luke asked.

“Most descriptions in magic books are vague, and the descriptions of the cures are even vaguer. My father also took those books away from me after a while, he said he didn’t want me reading them. But if I remember correctly I think the cure for this particular curse was… find the thing that you were always meant to do in life.”

“So basically find your destiny?” Alex asked.

“How long do we have?” Reggie asked.

“The duration of the curse is five days, I think,” Julie replied.

“And this is our third day. So, unless we find our destiny in two days we’re going to die?”

Julie nodded, then looked down at her feet sadly.

The room was silent for a few moments.

“Well, guys, we have the biggest gig of our lives tomorrow, so why are we worrying? We already know what we’re supposed to do with our lives,” Luke said.

“But what if we don’t, Luke?” Alex asked, “What if your parents were always right, we were wasting our time, what if we were meant for different things?”

“I don’t know about you and Reggie, but I’ve never felt happier than I am when I’m playing with you guys. I don’t think we have much time for extensive soul-searching anyway,” Luke said, “Besides, Julie said she wanted to keep playing with us after our gig, so we can’t just let her down like that.”

“Cool!” Reggie exclaimed.

Julie, Alex, and Luke chuckled.

“Does this mean we have to come up with a new band name?” Reggie asked.

“How about Julie and the Phantoms?” Luke asked.

“I like it,” Alex replied.

“Me too,” Reggie agreed.

Julie just smiled in answer.

~~~

The next day was a hectic slew of preparations for the band’s performance. Flynn and Carrie helped them get everything set up on their stage. It was now five minutes before showtime and the nerves were finally setting in for Julie. This could be the make or break performance for the boys in more ways than one, and if she messed it up, she could get them killed.

Luke noticed the heavy tension on Julie’s shoulders, so he walked over to take her hand. “You’re gonna kill it, Julie, just like you always do. Come on, guys, it’s time for our band circle.”

The four of them gathered together and held hands.

“It’s taken us a lot of time to get here and we’ve had quite a few troubles along the way, as well. But I don’t even have to wait for the performance to finish, I know that right here is exactly where I was always supposed to be,” Luke said.

“Me too,” chorused Reggie, Alex, and Julie.

“The four of us are gonna be legends,” Luke said, putting his hand in the center of the circle.

Alex, Reggie, and Julie each followed suit with their own hands. The four of them threw their hands into the air with a chorus of “Legends!”

Soon, the band was on the stage. Julie looked out at the crowd, there were some many people. She scanned the crowd, feeling herself grow frantic until she spotted Flynn and Carrie. Carrie smiled at her, while Flynn sent her a reassuring thumbs-up. Julie took a deep breath and felt herself relax. Then, the band started playing and she became lost in the music.

Halfway through the song, Julie was looking out into the crowd when she saw Caleb. He was looking at her in confusion, then she saw his face morph into one of anger. But the thing was, she knew that anger was directed not at her bandmates, but at her. Somehow she knew he wasn’t just angry that she left, but angry at her because in his mind she belonged to him.

Suddenly, there was a glow behind her. She turned around to look and saw that all three of the boys were glowing. She and the crowd watched in awe as the marks lifted off their wrists and disappeared into the air.

Finishing the song, the four of them took a bow as the audience cheered. The first ones to stand for the standing ovation were Flynn and Carrie.

The four of them wrapped their arms around each other, “We did it,” Luke whispered against Julie’s skin.

“My father’s in the crowd,” Julie murmured.

“Where?” Luke asked as he disentangled himself from the group hug.

Julie moved her head to discreetly point in his direction.

Alex, Reggie, and Luke all looked in his direction.

“I feel like I’ve seen that face before,” Alex thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers, “The wanted posters! I would always tear Luke’s down whenever I passed the board. I think he was wanted for several instances of unlicensed magic use and a few counts of wrongful deaths of his audience members.”

“Death?” Julie asked, quietly.

Alex nodded his head solemnly.

There was a faint singing coming from somewhere in the crowd, Julie strained her ears to hear it better. Once she could hear it more clearly, she realized it sounded so familiar. Like, something she heard in a dream… or a memory. She tried to recall where she could’ve heard it, her father had never sung that song to her. So where could she have heard it? Maybe her mother sang it to her before she died.

Julie suddenly felt herself grow faint, her knees buckled and she felt herself start to fall to the ground. The boys managed to catch her, she could faintly hear one of them asking her if she was all right, but the sound seemed so far away. Julie felt herself slipping completely into a memory.

The singing was closer now, still very soft, but not like it was far away in a crowd of people. It was a lullaby. Julie was in a crib, looking up at a mobile. The woman that was singing came into view, Julie knew her, this was her mother. She felt safe and content as her mother smiled down at her.

Julie bolted back to the present, the boys were looking down at her, concerned. They breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes opened. That woman in her memory, she had seen her before, not just in a memory but in real life. The mural!

“Luke!” Julie exclaimed, “I need to see that mural again.”

The worry and confusion grew more pronounced on Luke’s face.

“Please, this is important to me!”

The four of them ran through the crowd of congratulating audience members to the mural.

This was her, this was her mother! And the man standing next to her smiling proudly down at his daughter must be her father. Which means…

“I’m the lost princess,” Julie said, half to herself, half to the boys.

“What?” they all asked in unison.

“I’m the lost princess! I can remember it now. I remember my mother singing me lullabies, I remember my father and mother looking down at me in my crib with such affection in their eyes.”

The three of them looked at the mural, then back at Julie, then back at the mural again.

“I can definitely see the resemblance,” Alex said.

“So, somehow you managed to see it, somehow you managed to remember,” a voice said from behind them.

The four of them whipped their heads to look behind themselves. Standing there was Caleb.

“Father!” Julie exclaimed, “I suppose I shouldn’t call you that, should I? Do you prefer thief or just criminal?”

“You shouldn’t talk to me that way, after all, I raised you,” Caleb replied.

“After you stole me from real parents, you kept me like I was nothing more than a piece of property!”

“You do belong to me! Your father stole you from me first, when he uprooted my flower from the ground!”

“What are you talking about?” Julie asked.

“Your power! It came from a magical flower and your father stole it from me to heal your mother, so I stole his most precious thing as payback. And now I’m taking you back with me, but no more letting you roam free, from now on I’ll keep you chained to the wall if I have to!”

“You’re not taking Julie, you’ll have to kill us first,” Luke said, moving in front of her to shield her.

Alex and Reggie moved to shield her as well.

“You didn’t have to ask, I was going to kill all three of you anyway. I couldn’t have you roaming around with the knowledge you now possess.” Julie leaned close to Luke’s ear. “I need you to do exactly as I say, Luke,” he nodded his head, “When I count to three I need you to start running as fast as you can.”

“What? And leave you and the boys behind?” Luke asked.

“I assume you don’t want to be here when I call for a guard, correct?” Julie asked with a raise of her brow.

Luke smirked then nodded his head.

Julie started counting. One...two...three. “Now Luke!” she shouted.

Luke took off running as fast as he could.

“Ah, looks like you have a coward among you, no matter, I’ll find him,” Caleb said with a chuckle.

Julie said nothing, she just smirked at him. He grew confused. Then, as loud as Julie could shout, she screamed “Guard, help!”

Caleb jumped back and started to run, he couldn’t get captured. Unfortunately, for him, the direction that he took off in was the direction from which the guard came from.

Julie, Alex, and Reggie smiled at each other, then they walked back to Alex’s house to find Luke.

~~~

It was three days later. Julie was nervous again. The four of them had managed to get an audience with the king and queen. Julie knew she was the lost princess, but what if the king and queen didn’t believe her or recognize her.

Noticing the tension in her shoulders again, Luke reached for her hand and gave her a smile. Reggie grabbed her other hand and Alex put his hands reassuringly on her shoulders. Julie smiled at each of them and whispered a soft thank you.

The doors in front of them opened and out stepped the queen and the king. Julie took a deep breath as they walked up to her. Julie smiled and reached out one of her hands, “Hi, I’m Julie.”

The king and queen looked at her for a moment. Then, the queen reached out her hand to touch Julie’s cheek, the queen looked deeply into her eyes for a few moments. Julie watched the queen’s eyes fill with tears, then she wrapped her arms around Julie. The king followed suit engulfing the two of them into his arms. Julie felt tears fill her own eyes as she finally felt like she was almost home.

~~~

There was a party a week later to celebrate Julie’s safe return to her family. Julie had convinced her parents to let Julie and the Phantoms perform at it and she had invited two special guests that she didn’t tell Luke about.

The band performed a new song that all of them had written together. Luke’s parents watched from the crowd as the band seemed to make the entire world come alive with their playing. They finally understood.

Luke came up behind Julie half an hour after the performance, throwing his arms around her.

“My parents were here,” Luke said with a slight hitch in his voice, “They told me they understood why I chose the band. They told me they could see it was what I was made to do.”

“I’m so happy for you, Luke!” Julie exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

They hugged for a few minutes until they each pulled away. The two of them gazed into each other’s eyes for half a moment more, then Luke closed the gap between them by bringing his lips to hers. Julie was taken aback for the smallest part of a second. Then, she realized that with Luke in her arms, with the band, with her parents, she was finally home.