“I did not,” said the woman calmly. “I came only to tell her that it was her time to go, just as I tell the tides each day and night. Just as I must tell all things eventually. I came to tell her that all would be well, that I would watch over you in her absence.”

“Then who was the witch who put a curse on me?” Ivy asked, still uncertain.

“I think perhaps you can answer that for yourself,” said the woman in white.

“It was me,” Ivy said quietly, remembering the face she had seen in the flash of light, just before the witch disappeared. It had been the mirror image of her own. “I am the witch.”

“In a manner of speaking,” said the woman kindly. “Your fear created the witch. Fear that without your grandmother to love you, you would not be worthy of love any longer. That without her to see you, you would simply disappear.”

“Was the witch ever real, then?” Ivy asked. “Or have I only imagined her?”

“Certainly, your fear made her real. But because of that, all you needed to do to vanquish her was to be brave. You have proved yourself a worthy guardian for this forest tonight. You came on your own and risked your life to save the forest and all its magic. You are its true Keeper.”

The woman in white bowed her head to Ivy, who bowed her own head in return. Then the woman turned to go.

“Wait,” Ivy said. “Please—can you take a message to my gran for me?”

The woman smiled, and Ivy could feel its warmth upon her face. “Tell her yourself,” she said. “For she is all around you.”

Then the air shimmered, and the woman in white was gone.

By the time Ivy and Shilling made their way back to the fauns’ den, daylight had broken and the forest creatures had all awakened. When she told them that the witch had been vanquished, they gave a great cheer that echoed all through the forest. They began to sing and dance, and preparations were made for a great party to celebrate the defeat of the witch and the coming of the new Keeper.

And while Ivy slept that morning, the creatures built her a cottage of her own. They crept to Poppy Cottage and brought back Ivy’s bed, Gran’s books, the pots and pans and remedy jars. And when Ivy woke up, she found she had a new home in the middle of the forest, where the creatures could visit her often. She would never again be alone.

As the cold of winter left and the color of spring returned, the forest creatures quite forgot about the witch.

Ivy did not forget.

Ivy knew that, as sure as summer would follow the spring, trouble would find the forest again one day. And when that time came, she would stand and fight.