Chapter 25: Chapter 26: The Soldier and the Tinderbox

Tinderbox!

The familiar word instantly jolted Rhine’s memory.

“This is bad—get her back here, immediately!”

Rhine recalled the classic Andersen fairy tale, The Tinderbox, sometimes known as The Soldier and the Tinderbox.

In the story, an ordinary soldier, with the help of a witch, retrieves gold and a magical tinderbox from a tree hollow. However, instead of handing over the tinderbox as promised, the soldier kills the witch who revealed its secret and keeps the tinderbox for himself.

With the tinderbox’s power, the soldier gains wealth, kills the old king, becomes the new king, and marries the old king’s daughter—a beautiful princess locked in the deepest part of the palace.

The story’s progression is a quintessential "lucky break leading to an underdog’s rise" narrative, and its ending was predictable.

And now, the one searching for the tinderbox was none other than Grandma Rosa!

In the story’s first act, the soldier kills the witch to seize the tinderbox. Rhine had never imagined this tale could take place in the Rose Kingdom, the “Sleeping Beauty’s Kingdom.” He had assumed that if The Tinderbox came to life in this world, it would occur in another kingdom.

It seems this world’s integration of stories is far more intricate and subtle than I thought. Even as an outsider to this world, it’s difficult to predict... Rhine’s thoughts churned.

“Lord Rhine, what’s wrong?” The Violet Fairy noticed his sudden change in expression and immediately grew anxious.

“I saw it—a dangerous future,” Rhine said solemnly. “Grandma Rosa might be in danger! Quickly, we must notify her!”

“But she’s been gone for a while now… It might be too late to catch her… And we don’t even know where she is,” the Violet Fairy said, her face clouded with worry.

Earlier that day, along a remote road near the kingdom’s border.

An elderly, hunched witch with snow-white hair stood before a tree hollow by the roadside and shouted:

“Did you get the tinderbox?”

This frail old witch was none other than Grandma Rosa.

At 173 years old, Grandma Rosa had lived deep in the forest for many years, rarely appearing in public. Only the other witches and the kingdom’s nobility knew of her existence. R̃𝓪ΝՕΒÊ𐌔

Among the 13 witches of the kingdom—now 12 after the departure of the Black Witch Maleficent—Rosa was the least skilled in combat magic.

However, she had her own strengths—she could occasionally hear strange whispers containing valuable knowledge. These whispers had taught her the magic to prolong her life, allowing her to live to her current age.

Not long ago, the whispers had revealed a secret to Grandma Rosa about an ancient hidden chamber created by a legendary magician. Inside the chamber lay a powerful magical artifact—the tinderbox.

This chamber was guarded by three magical creatures, both terrifying and wondrous. The tinderbox, which could control these creatures, was worth far more than all the gold and silver in the chamber—truly priceless!

“Princess Aurora is destined to become a heroic rider. Ordinary warhorses won’t be able to withstand her in battle. The magical creatures summoned by the tinderbox would be perfect as her mounts!

“Hahaha, who would’ve thought that even an old nobody like me, who’s lived for over a century, could contribute to defeating the Black Witch Maleficent.

“When I get the tinderbox, I’ll give it to Aurora as her 10th birthday gift. Oh, I can’t wait to see how happy she’ll be when she receives it.”

Grandma Rosa chuckled at the thought of presenting the tinderbox to Aurora. Her wrinkled face scrunched up into an even deeper map of creases, etched by the passage of time.

In her mind’s eye, she envisioned Aurora’s lovely face and the girl’s voice, as beautiful as the sound of heaven itself.

Aurora’s enchanting voice, which could captivate anyone, was, in fact, a gift Grandma Rosa had personally bestowed upon the young princess during her baptism ten years ago.

The whispers had also told Grandma Rosa how to “clear” the hidden chamber’s challenges. It required a peculiar magical ritual—on the correct astrological day, the first soldier she encountered on this road had to be given an enchanted blue-checkered apron. With the spell activated, the magical creatures guarding the chamber would remain docile, allowing access to the gold and the tinderbox without any obstacles.

Of course, Grandma Rosa didn’t expect the soldier to help her for free.

As long as she could retrieve the tinderbox, she didn’t care if all the gold in the tree hollow went to the soldier.

“The gold in the tree hollow would be a windfall for an ordinary soldier!

“He could live a good life, eat the best food, sleep in a fine house, and use the remaining money to marry a woman he loves, start a family, and live happily ever after.”

Beneath the tree hollow, faint rustling and occasional exclamations could be heard, along with bursts of laughter.

The exclamations came from the soldier’s shock at seeing the massive guardian dogs, while the laughter was his joy at discovering the treasure.

It seemed everything was progressing smoothly… or so Grandma Rosa thought.

At that moment, a voice came from the bottom of the tree hollow:

“Pull me up, old witch!”

“Did you get the tinderbox?” Grandma Rosa hurriedly asked again.

“Oh no! I completely forgot about it.” The soldier’s voice echoed up, filled with regret.

After a brief pause, the soldier’s voice returned:

“I’ve got the tinderbox now. Pull me up!”

Grandma Rosa pulled the soldier out of the hollow.

The soldier’s pockets, boots, satchel, and even his hat were stuffed to the brim with gold and silver coins.

“Well then, thank you, handsome and strong soldier. All this gold is yours now. Hand over the tinderbox to me,” Grandma Rosa said with a beaming smile.

The soldier didn’t hand over the tinderbox. Instead, he looked at Grandma Rosa with suspicion and asked,

“What do you need this tinderbox for?

“If you value it so much, it must be a priceless treasure!”

Grandma Rosa hesitated, lowering her head and stopping herself from speaking further. She saw the greed in the soldier’s eyes and knew that revealing the tinderbox’s purpose would lead to no good.

The next moment, Grandma Rosa’s eyes widened in shock.

The soldier’s sword pierced through her chest.

At 173 years old, Rosa was far too slow to react. She didn’t even have time to defend herself.

As the weakest in combat magic among the twelve witches, Rosa’s frail body lacked any protective enchantments to ward off weapons.

With a forceful pull, the soldier yanked his sword out.

Crimson blood gushed out like a fountain, scalding and fiery.

“If this old witch cared so much about the tinderbox, it must be something amazing! Now it’s mine!” The soldier laughed heartily.

He then walked away with the tinderbox and gold, humming a cheerful tune as he made his way toward the city.

Lying in a pool of blood, the 173-year-old witch stared blankly, still in shock from the sudden attack.

Her bulging eyes were open wider than on any other day in her long life.

In her pupils, the soldier’s silhouette grew smaller and smaller as he walked away with the tinderbox. Her vision blurred as he disappeared into the distance.

She could hardly believe the soldier’s insatiable greed.

Even though he could already live a life of luxury with the gold from the tree hollow, he still coveted the tinderbox—a mysterious artifact whose purpose he didn’t even know—and went so far as to kill her for it!

Grandma Rosa closed her eyes.

As the soldier walked further away, he muttered under his breath,

“If what that captured envoy from Enderland said is true, and the kingdom really has been cursed, with disaster set to descend in a few years, I’ll only get to enjoy my life for a year or two before I have to start planning my escape from this doomed land…”

Ten minutes later.

After confirming that the soldier was far away, the old witch, who should have been dead in the blood-soaked ground, suddenly opened her eyes again.