My name is Robine and I live in Montana. I know that is not a great place to live but that is where my stepmother sent me. My family all live in Quebec and know that I was sent here by my evil stepmother, but they do not think she is evil. I only think that. You see my mother died when I was a baby and then my father felt it was necessary to marry someone so I would have a mother and Quebec would have a ruler.

While I may be young, I am only 17, I know that there must be something wrong with my stepmother. She does not address me and will not look me in the eye. She says that my bright green eyes and red hair remind her too much of my mother. She says she had never meet my mother but has seen paintings of my mother. I wish I knew what was going on in her mind.

I want to be able to understand Margarette a little better than I do now. She does not let me in and I do not have the mother daughter relationship I need. I think she hates me. I think that is why I was sent to live in this God forsaken place. I keep writing to my father to get some help in this matter. I thought maybe he would be able to step in and get his only child out of this exile. I have not heard anything for him.

I know it is not right to think about my stepmother in this way, but I think she is evil. That has to be the reason why she hates me. I would never hurt anyone in my life. It seems that all my she wants to do is cause me pain. I never get to see my father anyone. I never see my brother. I sometimes wish that they would come and save me from this place. I want to be back home but I do not know how to get there. Maybe in the morning I will be able to think of a plan to escape this horrible place.

…….

I woke up this morning to the cries of the family who are taking care of me. They were not suppose to take me in, but they did so because they did not want me to die in the harsh winter that this land has. I head downstairs to see the whole family in horror. Their only son has returned from a meeting with my uncle. He looks at me in pain. I do not know what to do and stand there in horror.

I look at Marcus and see the scar that is now on his face. My uncle is not a nice man, he would get along with my stepmother rather nicely. Marcus tells us of his tales and how he ended up with the most painful scar. “She wanted me to kill her.” We all look at Marcus and we know who he is speaking of and I am in shock. The whole family is in shock. “She says that once her step-daughter is dead, she will kill the boy herself.” I could not believe what I was hearing.

I sit down next to Marcus and do not have the words that will help this young man. What do you say to a man who risked his own life, not once but numerous times, to save yours? “We must go fight her.” Those are the only words that I can muster. No one disagrees with me and knows that I am right. We all start packing for the long trip to Quebec. I go to pack and bring Marcus with me. “Why did you do that? I mean, Why would you not kill me?” I ask him without really looking at him. “You are too young and should rule. She just wants to rule for the power.”

I think to myself. “Power” Yes! That is how we defeat her. We take away her power. Marcus knows when I get an idea, it is like he can read my mind, but I think it is mostly that he can see it in my eyes. “If we take away her power, we will defeat her.” Marcus smiled, “But, where is her power? I mean, I know she is the queen but how do we take away her power?” This is something that I knew I would have to think about on the road home.

As I was ready to leave, Marcus joined me. “You will need someone who can guide you back home and make sure you can get home in one piece. Besides, she is expecting me.” I look at him, “With my heart on a plate?” He smiled, “No, she wanted your hair.” This confused me. I knew that my stepmother was a very vain person throughout her life. I did not know why she wanted my hair. Marcus and I rode on for a few days, not speaking about the whole hair issue.  One night we were under the stars when we heard noises.

I turned around to see a Native American woman coming toward us. “Do you need help?” She asked in a very polite manner. I did not know what to say. Marcus just smiled at the woman. “Yes we are trying to get to Quebec. Do you know a faster way?” I looked at Marcus as he was saying it. I thought he knew how to get back. “Do you not know how to get back?” He looked at me and said, “We have to get there faster. She needs to get out of power.” The Native American looked at me, “Are you Robine? The Princess?”

I looked in disbelief. “Yes I am.” She smiled, “I am Iluak. I am of the Inuit tribe. I will take you home. I cannot help you with your task but I will be able to get you home safely.” I told Iluka she could sleep with us and thanked her for the help she will be giving us. Now that I could sleep sound, I did just that. Hoping I would be able to remember why my stepmother wanted my hair.”

…….

“You will never be the queen! You will never be the ruler! Not at long as I live!!!”

“But stepmother, why do you hate me so?”

“Do you not know child? I do not hate you. I hated your mother. She was my sister.”

“You’re also my aunt?”

“Oh yes! But you do not have to worry about that. You see I never received the gift your mother did, but I think you must have. My sister was a very powerful woman and I do not know if you are or will be someday. I cannot take that chance. You must be sent away.”

“But please! My father will miss me.”

“He cannot help you now.”

…….

I wake up in a sweat. I could not believe what I was dreaming. Iluka was already up and watching the sun rise. “Oh you are up.” I went and sat beside her. “Did you hear me yelling while I was dreaming?” I ask Iluka who just shook her head no. I went on to explain my dream to her. She listened for a long time and did not say anything as I explained what I saw. When I was done she stated, “You were remembering something that you placed in the back of your mind. Something you did not want to remember. Your aunt...she is not a nice woman. She is ruling the kingdom in place of your father. I was in Quebec last week and did not see your father.”

“You have some power within you that scares her. You have to figure out what your power is and then use it against her.” I did not know how to thank Iluak for listening to me or for even helping me to understand what I had just saw. “We should get Marcus up. She snores.” She smiled as she said it. “Marcus it is time to go. I do not think Marcus suits him. I will have to find a new name for him.” I just smiled knowing Marcus would never understand Iluak the way I do now.

We rode all day. Talking about the scenery and what we thought would defeat my aunt. We never talked about my dream but I knew Iluak was thinking about it the whole time we rode. I think she was secretly hoping that I would have another dream. One that would allow me to connect the dots and know how to defeat the evil queen. Maybe when we stopped I would be able to rest.

When we got to Massachusetts, Iluak stopped at a village just outside of Boston. I saw someone come to us on a horse. She talked a great deal to this man and then turned back to us. “My uncle says we can stay here tonight. He has three cots for us in the house there.” She pointed to a freestanding house that was big enough for all of us to sleep and for our horses to eat at. “He will bring us food and drink later, after we had had time to settle in for the night.” We all got off the horses and started unpacking. All of the sudden I felt very tired and had to sleep.

…….

“You do not have a daughter!”

“What have you done to her? She should be here with us Margarette. She is the rightful  heir to the throne. Not him! Not your son.”

“Oh but sweetie, he is your son.”

“No I was still married to your sister when you had him.”

“You stupid old man. I have powers you would never think of. You feared losing your precious wife. So while she was dying, I changed into her.”

“But how could you be able to do that?”

“I can do lots of things.”

“You’re a witch? That is why you sent my daughter away because you know she has the good powers inside of her. The ones that…”

…….

“Robine wake up. You need to eat something.” I look up to see Marcus and Iluak looking down at me. “Did you have another dream?” Iluak asked me as Marcus left the room to get the food. I went on to explain my dream to Iluak. She shook her head, “There is something inside of you that will defeat your aunt. I do not know what it is, but if we can get you to the castle before your father is…” She let her thought trail off. She knew something, something I did not want to know. “Is she going to kill him?” I asked. Iluak only shook her head yes.

“We must get there before she has a chance to.” We all ate dinner and tried to figure out what the best way to defeat the Queen was. I sat there and tried to remember the ways my aunt would act around me. I keep thinking, trying to remember every little thing. I looked at Marcus as he was talking about fear. “What do you fear Marcus?” I asked him, interrupting his train of thought. “I fear dying.” He looks at me as he says it. “Everyone is afraid of dying. What are you trying afraid of?” I watch Marcus as he thinks about it.

“Your Uncle. He is a fearless man and does anything he wants to you when you least expect it. I also fear dogs.” I stand up, “My aunt...she sent my uncle and dogs after you? When you said you would not kill me?” He stood up, “How did you know that?” I look at my friends and smile. “She smells fear. She is a witch and will charm anyone to do anything and if they will not, she will kill them and assume their form. I just do not know what power I have.” I sit down and try to think about the power I know I must have.

Iluak looks at me. “Have you ever done something that you did not know how it was done? It was just done for you?” I think about it and explain to Iluak and Marcus the time I wanted cookies and was alone in my home. No one was in the castle with me. Suddenly they were in my room. “I was five. I just thought someone was home and I did not know it.” I say to my friends. Iluak looked at me and said, “Have you ever caused someone pain? Shielded anyone from pain?” I shake my head no and go to my bed. “Maybe something will come in my sleep tonight.

…….

“She will be able to defend herself Margarette. She can shield herself for anything you  send her way. She is like her mother. She has powers. Powers that you do not possess. No one can hurt her or anyone that is with her. You will not be able to read their minds and find their fears.”

“Then what should I do? I cannot have her around Louis. She will know what I am doing. I know she can read my mind if she is in the house with me.”

“You might have to send her away...away to America and then you can do what you need to do. You want to be Queen? This is how you do it.”

“Do you know where her power lies?”

“Her hair. Her hair changes from brown to red and when it is red her power is at its peak.”

“Then we must make sure she goes some place where the sun never shines. He hair changes during the summer.”

…….

I woke up the next morning and go sit in the sun. Leaving my hat on my bed, the one I was always told to wear because of my complexion. I now know why my aunt wanted me to die. I was the one, always the one who would be able to defeat her. When Marcus and Iluak got up I explained to them what I dreamed and how we must defeat her. “Her weakness...is me. That is why she sent me away. She knew I was the one who could and would defeat her someday. I can protect you but I must get my power up.”

We took off that morning and kept going throughout the night. We all knew that we had to get to the castle as soon as possible. As we rode on, my hair became more red and I could feel something grow inside me that I never had felt before. A power that I needed to have in order to defeat my aunt. When we reached the castle, I saw guards waiting for us. I rode up and demanded to be let into the castle to see my father. The guards did not recognize me at first but I used a power that I did not know I had. I opened the gates myself.

We all rode in, looking for my parents. We found them waiting for us in the courtyard. My aunt had my father tied to a chair and was torturing him. Asking him where the jewels were. Using the one thing he feared the most against him. “Your daughter is dead. I had Marcus kill her. Now tell me where it is!” I rode to the center of the courtyard and jumped off my horse. “Do I look dead Margarette? I did not get killed by the man you sent. You wanted me to die. You wanted my power to die. I am the one person who can defeat you and I am the one thing you fear.”

She looked at me in disbelief. She did not know where I had come from. She looked at Marcus and tried to use her power against him. I shielded him from the power she yielded. She looked at me in disbelief. “You could have just died. That would have been easier than this.” She tried to see what I feared. She could not find anything. I watched as she tried to locate the one thing I feared. “I fear no one. I fear nothing. I do not even fear you Aunt Margarette. I want you to die.” As I said it I thought about it.

Margarette then was able to locate the one thing I feared. As she found it she became incredibly frail and started to shrivel up. “Why did you say you did not fear anything? You fear me dying.” I smile “I used my power against you. I found your fear and projected it as my own.” She died slowly and then looked at me with her eyes and with her last breathe she said, “You win.” I looked over at my father and he was free, Marcus had no scars and Iluka was smiling. I had won and would be queen of the kingdom some day, but for today...today I will be unexiled by an evil queen.