Beguiled

Beguiled is the first book of a series written for the young at heart. It deals with contemporary themes that affect us all and is suitable for young and old alike. The story is set in a mirror-reversed reality called Heart. Two wicked witches, with the aid of their pirate thugs, aim to take over all trade in tea, coffee, and chocolate from the magical world of Arcadia. They capture the crown princess, Princess Helen and lock her in the castle tower knowing that a handsome Prince Charming will come to her aid. She appears to Prince Garvan (from the Kingdom of Elysium) in a dream and asks for his help. The Prince promises to come and free her and in return, Helen promises to assist the Prince with his quest to find the Secret of Happiness. The King of Elysium finds out that all the chocolate imported into Elysium has been poisoned. Callistra, the wicked witch of Lotions and Potions, and her daughter, Queen Draconia, are immediately suspected. The citizens of Elysium are becoming sadder and sadder by the day and something has to be done about it. The King decides to send the crown prince and one of his Ministers to discover a cure. Their task is to find the recipe, and the ingredients needed to prepare an antidote. They are on a quest to find the elusive Secret of Happiness. To ensure her success, the Dark Queen also wants to influence the future of the Great Chan's trading empire. She does this by blackmailing Martin Chan-Liu and threatening his sister's safety. Martin is an apprentice magician in the court of King Cedric of Elysium. He is working on a secret new form of Magic Mirror. His sister, Yumie, also known as the Jade Princess, is the heir apparent to the ChanLiu trading empire. Martin is tricked into thinking his sister has been captured and mistakenly succumbs to the Dark Queen's demands. He hands over his newly developed Magic Mirror which allows the Dark Queen to spy on our heroes. The quality is so good that Martin is terrified by the sights and sounds of his own sister being tortured in the Dark Queen's dungeon. As the Prince and his companion plan their journey into the world of Darkness and Despair, they have separate encounters with the Fairy Godmother who appears to them in disguise. She gives them new names and grants them special powers to awaken their own inner magic and use it to reverse any spells used against them. Will our adventurers succumb to the trickery and powers of the two wicked witches? Will they find and use their own powers of inner magic and are they up to the almost impossible challenges before them? Read The Marshmallow and Chocolate Series to remind yourself of your own powers of inner magic.