“You’re very observant, James. This used to be a dreary place, full of sorrow, never touched by the sun. It is still where the dead dwell, but it needn’t be shrouded in shadow and fear. It needn’t be a dead place,” said Circe, leading him to the large mansion, where two women were waiting to greet him.

“Are you a mind reader as well as a witch?” asked James, taking in the majesty of the women before him. “It seems to me much has changed since Blackbeard visited this place. It’s not at all what I expected.”

Circe smiled. “Indeed much has changed since he was here.” Just then the two other women joined them. As he stood there looking at the three women before him, he didn’t understand why Blackbeard was so fearful of them, why anyone was for that matter. These witches, if that’s what they truly were, were not hideous; they didn’t even look alike as Blackbeard had described.

“These are my aunts, Primrose and Hazel. They rule by my side here in the Dead Woods, and they also read minds.” She winked at James, disarming him completely. Hazel had gray eyes, silver hair, and alabaster skin, and Primrose had plump apple cheeks with a smattering of freckles, and ginger hair. These women were truly enchanting. James was no stranger to royalty. His father was a duke, his mother a duchess, and he was heir to his father’s title and ancestral home. He had even dined in the palace, and he was never overawed by any of it growing up, but being in the presence of these women, these queens, was something else entirely. For the first time he was unable to come up with the right words, and found himself fumbling.

“I was made to understand that you were three identical sisters, with raven hair, and stark-white frightful faces.” He was surprised he was so forthright, but he was relieved when the ladies laughed.

“You mistake us for my mothers,” said Circe. She had the most serene smile, and James could detect no malice within her. He was usually quite sharp at taking the measure of the people he met, and he could always tell their true nature even behind their sweet smiles and polite words, and with this woman he saw only goodness.

“My apologies, Queen Circe, I had no idea,” said James. He felt more nervous than he had ever been in royal company back at home.

“No need to apologize, James. My mothers have been described in far worse terms than those,” Circe said with the most gracious smile. James was enchanted by these women, and for the first time he understood the true meaning of being bewitched. He was under their spell.

“Please, James. We have been expecting you. Let’s go inside,” said Hazel.