The Magic Well

"This is the only dress I have for you, young lady." Frau Holle said handing Annika what looked like a burlap sack with holes cut out of it.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Overjoyed to cover her nudity Annika put the modest dress on.

"Who are you, where am I?" Annika asked.

"Frau Holle, but most just call me Mother Winter. I decide when it snows."

"Oh, sweet Mother Winter, thank you for saving my life!" Annika knew of Mother Winter, in fact, the town had a unique way of celebrating her. At the first glimpse of snow, the children would run out and fight with the pillows. They did this because legend had it that Mother Winter caused snow to fall by shaking out her feather pillow until the feathers fell out.

"Is it true that it snows when you shake the feathers out of your pillow."

"Yes, my dear it is, but I've been too weak this year to do much of anything, I haven't had to time to rest, it's too much for an old woman like me to take care of my house all by myself, I've been working myself ragged."

Before Mother Winter stopped speaking Annika was already cleaning. Annika put things in their right place, dusted and scrubbed, it took a few hours until the house was spotless. All the while Mother Winter prepared a meal in her kitchen. Annika even split firewood in the back of the house.

Finally, when the evening came Mother Winter and Annika sat down to eat.

"So, Mother Winter, I have noticed that it is Spring here, even though it is not Spring where I come from," Annika asked as she ate a delicious pot pie prepared by mother winter.

"It is always Spring here my dear."

"That's the best time of year. This food is delicious by the way!" Annika spoke back.

"Oh...it is...nice...just lonely. I don't get many visitors."

"Well, I am here now." Annika suddenly stopped eating and dropped her fork. She realized at this moment that she was also stuck in the world of Mother Winter.

"Don't worry dear, you are not stuck, I can send you back to your world, so you can be with the nice baker boy." Mother Winter smiled and took a bite of her own meal.

"How do you know I fancy the baker boy? I've told no one!" Annika replied stunned.

"Mother winter knows all!" Mother winter responded, almost breaking out into a laugh.

"I can come and visit you, Mother Winter, if you let me back I will promise to visit you."

"No...no...you are wonderful, you have been very helpful, you've passed every test, but you best not come around here anymore, it's too dangerous. In fact, I say you seal up the well, make sure no one can come to visit me." With this statement, Mother Winter stood up and started to walk up the stairs of her dwelling. Annika followed closely behind.

"Mother Winter! Where are you going? I don't care how dangerous it is if you want company I will gladly oblige that request" Annika followed the old woman.

"Your a good girl, dear, but you know not of this realm. Who knows where you would be if it were not for my faeries disguising themselves to test your virtue?"

"The apples, the bread, are those your faeries?" Annika replied, now at the top of the stairs with Mother Winter.

Mother Winter turned around and looked at Annika intensely. "In this world, everything you do is judged fully good, or fully bad, there is only this duality. Light and dark, evil and virtuous. This isn't a world humans can stay in for very long, because humans are never fully good or fully bad. Now come my dear, before you go let me show you some magic."

With that Mother, Winter led Annika into her room, and she picked up her pillow.

"Shake it, bring in the first snow!" Mother Winter said with a smile.

Annika grasped onto the pillow to shake it.

"Shake it harder!" Mother Winter ordered.

And with that Annika shook the pillow with great gusto causing the pillow feathers to shoot out of the pillow and cascade throughout the room, after time it looked just like a gently falling snow. Both Mother Winter and Annika couldn't help but laugh as the feathers fell at their feet.

Mother Winter left the room again when Annika left she took note that the pillow never seemed to lose feathers and looking back Annika also noticed that the room was still seemingly magically swirling with feathers.

Annika followed Mother Winter down the stairs, and out the back door of Mother Winter's country home. There Annika noticed an arch she had not seen before, it was identical the one in town. Suddenly Mother Winter tapped Annika on the shoulder to draw her attention.

"I think you dropped this." Mother Winter held up the dropped spindle

"Thank you, I nearly forgot about why I came here, to begin with." Annika pressed the spindle against her chest.

"Now dear, you must trust me cast off your rags and stand under the arch, there you will receive exactly what you deserve." Mother Winter spoke with a warm smile.

Completely trusting the old woman Annika took a deep breath and pulled her ragged dress above her head and tossed it aside, she stood under the arch, naked as the day she was born. Suddenly she felt an intense wind rush directly into her face, forcing her to close her eyes. When the wind subsided, she was met with a robust scene, boys and girls pillow fighting in the town square. Immediately Annika went to cover herself, only to realize that she was now clothed, not only in a fine dress complete with golden tassels but also warm soft boots, she was also holding the lost spindle.

Overjoyed Annika walked forward twirling her brand new dress, through the commotion of the town children's pillow fight. Snow fell gently through the evening air. She heard a familiar voice.

"Mother Winter has finally brought us snow!" It was the baker's apprentice, who had come out of his shop to see the event. Feeling joyous Annika ran up to the baker and gave him a big hug, holding her by her hips the young baker, spun Annika around.

"You look beautiful!" The young baker shouted before delicately resting Annika on her feet. Then as spontaneous as the meeting itself the two kissed. To Annika this was like a dream, in one instance everything in her life seemed to come together perfectly. The two lover's gazes met and they looked deep into each other's eyes, a romantic pause, that would have lead to another kiss if it wasn't for an abrasive tug on Annika's wrist.

It was Zuela, literally pulling Annika away from her dream.

"Where have you been all day!" Zuela screeched out with rage in her voice.

Annika was speechless "Addison, hasn't been attended to at all today, she's furious! I am too!" Zuela spoke as she harshly pulled Annika towards her own manor estate.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?!" The young handsome baker interjected.

"Annika is my servant, I will do what I wish, go away you brutish pig!" Zuela snapped back.

"Go! I will deal with this, I will see you again!" Annika implored to her would-be lover as she was taken away from the whimsical scene of the first snow, tears now streaming down her face.

Annika was literally tossed into Zuela's manor estate, a large ornate chandelier lit the room up well, even in the dusk of the evening.

Annika could hear footsteps rushing down the stairs, and before she knew it she was confronted by an incensed Addison.

"STAND UP!" Addison stomped her right foot onto the marble floor of the manor home, Annika stood up and looked sad-eyed at Addison, who loomed over her. Annika felt a sudden sharp sting to her face, and her head involuntarily swirled to the left. Addison had harshly slapped her.

"Where were you?! I had to dress, I had to make my own meals! Addison stamped her foot again, this time much harder, indicating that she was utterly incensed.

Zuela interjected "I had to fetch my own fresh bread, and then out of nowhere it snows! That's when I saw you galavanting around with that baker boy in a finer dress than I have ever seen!"

Addison suddenly noticing the dress, "Look at that dress! Where did you get it? I demand to know!"

"Mother Winter," Annika said weakly holding back tears.

"Don't give me that sass, that's an old myth used to teach children!" Zuela snapped back.

"Well, mother, if she won't tell the truth about her dress, I guess I'll just have to take it!" Addison said looking down her nose at Annika who was now cowering.

"Don't be silly Addison, your tall and dignified, with the body of a storybook princess, Annika is short and stout like a servant should be." Zuela reached her hand out and felt the gold tassels with her fingers, "Real gold though, Addison my dear fetch me a kitchen knife!"

"But mother, I don't know where the kitchen knives are?" Addison complained.

"In the kitchen," Zuela replied with barely hidden frustration and Addison huffed off to the kitchen to retrieve a knife.

Zuela put her hand on Annika's cheek and forced her to look into her eyes, "You skipped out on a days work, and will repay us with those gold tassels."

Addison pushed her mother away and grabbed Annika by the arm and immediately began sawing away around the gold tassels herself, clearly enjoying the endeavor with sadistic glee.

Tears rolled down Annika's face as her new dress was mutilated by Addison's inexact and rough cutting.

As Addison finished her sadistic acquisition of Annika's gold tassels Zuela spoke again "Truly though, my dear, tell me how you acquired such a fine dress? If you don't, I will dismiss you and have you publicly whipped for your insolence!"

Annika knew that dismissal would make her unhireable as a servant, and a public whipping would scar her back for life, she had no choice but, to tell the truth. "I swear, it was Frau Holle, Mother Winter, I dropped a spindle down the old dry well in the back, and I went down the well to get it, I slipped and fell into another world, I met Mother Winter and she gave me the dress, I appeared under the arch in the center of town."

Addison shook her head and let out a condescending laugh, before accentuating her laugh by calling Annika a "Pathetic fool!"

Zuela now looking stern somewhat shocked raised her hand, clearly she had a change of heart about Annika's story. "No, no! Addison, I believe she is telling the truth. When I was a little girl, I remember stories of the well and the arch being entrances and exits to the world of Mother Winter. Now Annika, tell us everything...in detail."

Annika was led to the dining room table, Zuela sat at the edge of their seat listening to Annika tell the fantastical tale. Addison was more of less uninterested. Annika told the mother and daughter duo about the bread and the apples, about the black void that slowly encroached from behind her, the chores she did for Mother Winter, the pillow feathers becoming snow, Mother Winter's plight. The request to have the well sealed. All was revealed. Although Zuela listened intently, Addison seemed to lose interest and began twirling her hair with her index finger.

Zuela grabbed her daughter by the wrist and rushed her into the kitchen, she spoke in hushed tones, but Annika could hear nonetheless.

"Listen, the nobleman suitor is coming tomorrow, don't you think it would be impressive if you showed up through those arches wearing a splendid dress, the town looking at you with wonder and awe?"

"But mother, you said that dress wouldn't fit m.," Addison said confused.

"No! What about you go down that well yourself, do exactly what that servant girl did and come out the other side appearing for the nobleman in glorious triumph, the crowd cheering at your radiant beauty, the nobleman fully impressed, in an instance we will both be swept away into a life of attention and opulence!" Zuela said this clearly fantasizing about living vicariously through her daughter, believing that Annika had gone down the well to help illuminate Addison and her "destiny."

"But mother! I don't want to go down the well! It seems dangerous, and hard! Just have the servant girl sew the tassels on one of my dresses." Addison said in a petulant voice.

"There is no time for this, the young nobleman is arriving tomorrow afternoon! You are waking up tomorrow and going down that well! This is final!" Zuela stated in a domineering and motherly tone. Despite the fact that Addison was in her mid-twenties she had never lived independently or away from her mother, so she seemed to accept her mother's demands.

Before leaving the room Zuela barked a quick order at Annika. "Servant girl, instead of your usual nightly duties, write a detailed account of your experiences in the well and give it to Addison for her to study. With haste!"

Annika sat on the kitchen table and wrote with painstaking detail the nature of her adventure in the world of Mother Winter. Upon completion, she took the parchment paper to Addison's quarters. Addison advised Annika to come in, and upon opening Addison's door, she saw Addison sitting on her dressing table, admiring her own reflection.

"Just set it down on my nightstand, I'll read it later. I am too exhausted to receive my foot rub, would you just brush my hair."

So before retiring to her own straw bed Annika calmly brushed Addison's hair. Annika again could not help but admire Addison's hair and general beauty as Addison herself did the same, see In fact as her hair was being brushed Addison's own reflection entranced her, she staring almost lustfully at her own reflection, while Annika repeatedly brushed her hair.

***

To Annika's surprise, she was awakened by Zuela prodding her with a cane. "Wake up lazy one! I can't get Addison to rise, you need to wake her up!"

Springing into action Annika quickly dressed as Zuela impatiently watched and walked into Addison's room. Addison was ingloriously splayed out on her ornate bed, partially covered in various silk sheets, the statuesque woman looked disheveled and awkward in her sleep, a small pool of drool puddled onto her satin pillow. Annika noticed that the written detailed account of her adventures in the land of Mother Winter was left untouched on Addison's nightstand.

Addison mumbled something seemingly incoherent in her slumber, "I am best most beautiful, look at me."

Annika gently shook Addison, only for Addison to swipe at her half asleep. "It's too early!" Annika gently shook Addison's shoulder. "NO! GO! AWAY!" Addison cried out, now waking from her slumber.

"WAKE UP AND GET READY!" Zuela interjected with a shout, jarring Addison awake.

Addison rubbed her eyes and saw that Zuela and Annika were in the room, slowly she pulled herself out of her bed and sat next to her dressing table, still groggy she handed Annika her brush.

"Quickly servant girl brush her hair!" Zuela ordered,

Annika began to comb Addison's hair in her normal slow pace as to not hit a tangle and cause Addison to react in a volatile way. This was not fast enough for Zuela who implored Annika to "brush faster." Torn between two contradicting options Annika broke out into a sweat and began listening to Zuela, causing her to hit a snag in Addison's hair.

"AAAAAH You'll pull out my beautiful hair." Addison immediately purged of all morning grogginess stood up and slapped Annika hard in the face, causing Annika to double over. In a huff, Addison sat back down and sat waiting for Annika to resume her task.

"You incompetent, buffoon! Hurting my precious daughter! Continue brushing!" Zuela blurted out.

With her bottom lip quivering and tears forming in her eyes Annika continued to brush Addison's hair, being careful to not hit another snag. Zuela continued to berate Annika for her meticulousness.

When Annika finally finished the laborious and intense process of brushing Addison's hair while being supervised by Zuela, Zuela impatiently grabbed Addison by the wrist and whisked out of the room, Annika following close behind, "But mother I am in my nightgown!" Addison complained.

"There is no time! You will lose your gown in your fall from the well anyway!" Zuela replied harshly.

"Mother! I don't want to go down the well!" Addison spoke as she walked very gingerly outside of the manor into the garden.

Zuela tugged at the now resisting Addison and cried out "Think of the glory! The certain riches!"

Addison taking her mother's statements to heart began gingerly walking on the dirt path through the garden.

"Ewww, I am walking in dirt, it hurts!" Addison complained, not used to walking on even soft ground with her bare feet, and disturbed by the sensation of dirt on her flesh.

When the trio reached the well all three stopped, seemingly all aware of the well's magical aura.

"Do you feel that? It beckons you!" Zuela called out.

Addison immediately seemed concerned, "I am scared." Yet despite her trepidation, she inched forwards towards the well and looked into its void.

"Lower yourself in dear." Zuela gently commanded.

Spinning around and sitting on the edge of the well Addison crossed her arms and shook her head. Zuela nudged Annika, and in a hushed tone uttered, "Push her." Annika pretended not to listen. Causing Zuella to shake with anger in one moment and then in the next to rush over to Addison and with all her might push her into the well. Addison's eyes opened wide as she realized what her mother was doing, her shrill scream of horror reduced in sound as she tumbled down the magical well.

***

Addison's nightgown was quickly jettisoned from her body as she descended at a breakneck speed and the gown was swallowed in the darkness that surrounded her. Her starkly naked tall statuesque body flailed in an undignified tangle as she fell at near terminal velocity. Yet eventually, just as Annika's body slowed as it approached an ever-growing distant light so did Addison's. Just as Addison regained control of her body she began to dart her hands over her pert breasts and shapely derriere, most shamefully however was Addison's recently clean-shaven pubic area, she was after all set to meet a handsome nobleman, and she wanted to be prepared.

Addison's shame grew still more intense as she slowly descended into the light and found herself being lowered through the sky, as the air hit her lower extremities and then hardened her nipples Addison cried out, red in the face and kicked her legs furiously as to struggle against her own embarrassing predicament.

"Help! Help!" Addison cried as she was slowly lowered towards the grassy fields below, her helpless state was heightened when Addison looked behind her to see the ever-encroaching black void.

With her feet firmly, yet uncomfortably planted on the grassy field Addison clutched her thighs and let out a primal scream that echoed through the strange land. Addison wished she had listened more intently to Annika, she wished that she had read her notes at least once before retiring to bed. She felt dreadfully unprepared.

Then Addison saw the distant smoke from the humble country home, it would be her beacon. This part of Annika's story Addison remembered and she knew that running in the direction of the smoke would bring her to Mother Winter, and safety. So while trying to cover as much of her exposed flesh as she could Addison started to jog away from the void, and towards the smokestack.

As Addison jogged she saw a peculiar sight, an oven and from it, a voice emanated.

"Help me! Help me! I am burning!"

Addison saw that there was something cooking in the oven, yet she didn't stop to help, she simply kept on running ignoring the ever more desperate cries for help coming from the oven.

Now heaving and almost out of breath Addison heard a unison of three voices, "Pick me! Pick me!"

Addison noticed the voices seemed to be coming from an apple tree, and in particular three green apples. Taking into account that holding the apples would limit her ability to cover herself, Addison decided against helping the pleading fruit.