Part 3 (1/2)
aWhat up, Apple!a said the emperor, lifting two fingers in the peace sign. The empress closed her eyes briefly and sighed.
aIt is a pleasure to have you among us, Princess Apple, daughter of Snow White,a the empress said. She dismissed the servant.
aGood-bye, Pear! It was nice to meet you!a Apple called after him.
The empress frowned. aWhy did you just call my servant a fruit?a aOh, he told me that was his name.a aHis name is Pear?a the emperor asked. aThatas pretty cool.a They didnat know his name? Apple knew all one hundred and twenty-four workers in her castle by name.
aYour Majesties, thank you for seeing me. Iave come with a lot of questions,a said Apple. aI am co-president of the Royal Student Councila”a aAh, I was president myself,a said the empress.
aWonderful!a Apple said. aIam in a situation that Iave never encountered before.a Apple told the empress about Raven, Legacy Day, and the food fight. The empressas eyes widened, her jaw clenched, her lips pursed together harder and harder.
The empress stood in a flourish of petticoats and capes. aBy all that is golden, girl, how could you let it get to this point?a aI, well, Ia itaa Apple stammered.
aOrder is the cornerstone of authority,a the empress said, raising her arms up as if to catch and hold the entire world. She looked at Apple with piercing green eyes and put a heavy hand on her shoulder. aOnce you lose control, you cease to be a leader.a Apple gulped.
Through an open window, Apple heard someone yelling far away. The queen turned her head, like a dog listening for prey. She smiled.
aPerfect. Come, take my hand. You will practice being a queen.a They marched out hand in hand, but Apple felt as if she were on a leash.
aIall just stay here,a the emperor called after them. aMaybe slip into something more comfortable.a The empress pulled Apple through several corridors and into an enormous pantry. In the courtyard beyond the kitchen door, several servants were trying to shush two yelling men.
aWhat are they arguing about?a Apple asked.
aIt doesnat matter,a the empress said. aIf you appear to care, you risk getting dragged into their mess. Now, march out there and take control.a aButa”a Apple started.
aDo it! Be the queen now that you will one day become. Show no weakness. Show no mercy. Make them do exactly as you say. You must master absolute control!a The empress gave Apple a small push.
Apple walked forward, practicing angry faces and stomping her foot. She had to succeed. She had to. The happiness of all her friends at Ever After High was at stake.
aStop it!a she yelled. aNow!a The arguing did stop. Could it be this easy?
aThatas Apple White,a someone said. aSnow Whiteas daughter.a aYes,a said Apple White. aEmpress Buff sent me here to stop all thisa thisa arguing! At once!a Pear turned to the two men, two farmers, each standing before his own wagonload of produce.
aYouare lucky!a Pear whispered. aI was trying to warn you. You do not want the empress to hear any arguing. At least she sent this kind, generous princess in her place.a Apple flushed. Kind and generous princesses donat usually yell and stomp their feet. She cleared her throat. aSoa whoever is making the ruckus had better just leavea now, uma if youad be so kind.a One of the farmers bowed his head, his chin quivering. He was short with a nearly square face and large ears. aI just wanted a chance to sell my crop to the pretty castle.a aOh, youave never sold here before?a Apple asked.
The farmer shook his head. aMy wifeas been sick, so I darenat leave her for as long as it takes to walk all the way to market. I was hopinga”a aWell, Buff Castle is my customer,a said the other farmer. aYou canat go stealing other farmersa customers!a aDonat you shout at me!a shouted the first farmer, and it started all over again.
aPlease,a Apple tried to say. aPlease, if youad justa I have an idea if youad calma”a aEnough!a said the empress, appearing in the threshold. aYou!a She pointed at the farmers. aLeave. Now. And you!a She turned her pointy finger on the servants. aGet back to work.a Everyone scurried away like blind mice faced with a carving knife.
aThat, Apple White, is how you maintain control,a said the empress with a pleasant smile.
The empress glided back into the castle. From down the corridor, Apple could hear her shout, aJason! Vest on! Now!a And Apple was left alone in the kitchen courtyard. She stomped her feet. She tried shouting, aBehave! Right now!a She imitated the empressas intimidating scowl.
aApple?a Apple whirled around. There stood Holly OaHair. Her thick, long hair was done up in dozens of braids and hung in loops so it wouldnat drag on the ground. Apple scowled, feeling embarra.s.sed, but Holly must have mistaken her expression for annoyance.
aOh, Iam sorry, should I call you Miss White?a said Holly. aOr Your Majesty, oraa aNo, no, Holly, of course you can call me Apple.a aOh, okay. Itas still just so amazing to me that the actual daughter of Snow White is my actual friend! So what were you doing just now? Practicing a dance or something?a aUm, well, er, hey, what are you doing here?a she deflected.
aResearching fas.h.i.+on,a Holly said, gesturing. Across the courtyard stood a cottage, and through the window Apple could see mannequins and sewing machines and tailors busy at work. aI never thought about fas.h.i.+on when I was homeschooled, but so many people at Ever After High are interested in it, so I thought Iad add a fas.h.i.+on column to the school newspaper Iam starting. Since I already interviewed all the tower fairytale characters for Yester Day, Iam using the rest of my time talking to experts in fas.h.i.+onable and edgy clothing designs. I thought Emperor Buffas tailors would be good, since they made the most famous clothes in all of fairytales.a aOr they didnataa aRight.a Holly pushed a stubborn lock of hair out of her face and took a step closer. aHey, are you okay?a The honesty of the question startled Apple. She shrugged. aIa Iam not sure I know how to be a good queen.a Holly gasped and grabbed Appleas hands. aApple, donat think that! Youare perfect!a aNo,a Apple said softly. aEmpress Buff tried to show me how to lead through control and intimidation buta I failed. And I just felt so bad for those farmers. After all, Buff Castle must go through a great deal of produce.a Apple started pacing. aPerhaps they could temporarily reduce the original order by twenty percent and purchase that amount from the new farmer, thereby allowing him enough steady income to risk staying home from the market and selling locally so he can be nearby while his wife is recovering. But maybe Iam wrong and a queen canat buy from both farmers, and a co-president of the Royal Student Council canat please both Royals and Rebels, and everything isa is a poisonous mess.a aUma what?a said Holly.
aNever mind,a said Apple. aSee you back at school?a Apple hurried away to the wis.h.i.+ng well, feeling the entire weight of Ever After pressed down on her shoulders.
THE MORNING WAS DIM, WOLF-GRAY CLOUDS pouncing on the sun. Raven tugged on a black wool sweater as she and Cerise waited in line for the schoolas wis.h.i.+ng well. Holding her MirrorPhone inside her sleeve, she practiced hexting without looking.
Cerise looked at her phone and laughed. aWhy did you just tell me aThus kind is slura?a aOops. I meant to type aThis line is slow,a a said Raven.
She kept practicing while the line inched forward. Ashlynn and Hunter were whispering behind her. Taking a cue from Jack, Raven listened without looking.
aWho are you visiting?a Hunter asked.
aOh, you know, some princesses and queens,a said Ashlynn.
aRight. So you can learn how to follow your destiny. And marry a handsome prince. And live in a castle. And be happy forever after.a aHunter, stop, please. I donat know what else I can do.a Hunteras sigh was full of pain. aNeither do I.a Cerise was bouncing nervously on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet. She leaned close to Raven and whispered, aMy mom might be afraid to talk abouta the situation. Such a marriage is forbidden in our village. Both sides would freak out if they knew.a aBoth sides?a aThe Wolfs and the Hoods. Youall see.a Cerise pulled out her phone and selected Red Riding Hood from the Yester Day app. She leaped easily over the edge of the well and directly in, holding her hood on with one hand and winking at Raven as she dropped into the water.
Raven followed right after, the dry rush through water pus.h.i.+ng her hair out of her face. She rose up and out of another well, landing on her feet.
Around her the Dark Forest was thick and sticky with evergreens. Sunlight sliced through the canopy in slim, cathedral-lighting shafts, lending just enough light for ferns and a few wildflowers to creep out of the dark soil. Ahead was a cottage, and beyond that, a village in a clearing.
aMy parents built their house here so theyad be close to the wis.h.i.+ng well,a Cerise said as they walked to the cottage. aDad can come for visits anytime, sneak in the back door, and no one sees.a aSo who does everyone think your dad really is?a Raven asked.
aOh, Hoods donat ask questions,a Cerise said. aWeare a very private people. I think most people a.s.sume the Huntsman was my dad. That would make more sense to them than the truth.a aBut that would make you Hunteras sister!a said Raven. aBesides, youare not Cerise Huntsmana”youare Cerise Hood. Hey, are you related to Robin and Sparrow Hood?a aDistantly,a said Cerise. aAnd let me emphasizea”distantly.a The cottage was built of warm-colored wood, with green-painted windowsills and a thatch roof. Cerise opened the back door smoothly and silently, without a squeak in the hinges. They were kept well-oiled, Raven realized, for Ceriseas dadas visits. Even the door hinges helped keep the Hood family secret.
Inside was a cozy family room, wooden furniture fit with comfy cus.h.i.+ons. It would have been lovely, if Raven could have seen very well. But the windows were dark, with all the curtains closed, just low flames from a few fairy lamps to light the room. She peered at the framed photos on the walls. Every one was of Cerise: Baby Cerise, gnawing on a chew toy that looked remarkably like a bone; Toddler Cerise, chasing a chicken; Little Girl Cerise, climbing a high tree; Teenage Cerise, posing with her mother in front of Ever After High on the first day of school.
Nowhere in sight was a family photo of Cerise with both of her parents.
aMom?a Cerise called out.
Red Riding Hood emerged from the kitchen wearing a floured ap.r.o.n. She was tall and lean, not as broad-shouldered as her daughter. She and Cerise shared the same straight dark brown hair, but Ceriseas had a shock of white at the forehead, and Red didnat cover hers with a hood.
aCerise!a Red ran forward and swept her daughter up in a hug. aYouare here! Iave missed you so much. And what perfect timing, because I just finished a batch of mini pecan pies.a aMom has a business selling pastries,a Cerise said to Raven.
aOh, itas just a hobby, really,a said Red.
aA hobby? She s.h.i.+pped twenty thousand fairyberry scones last year alone!a Red laughed. aYouare my biggest fan. Are you here for Yester Day? When I got the hext from Headmaster Grimm, I didnat imagine Iad be treated to a visit from my own daughter.a aMom, this is my friend Raven. She wanted to meet with you especially. You seea she knows.a Redas eyes widened. aShe knows?a aShe knows,a said Cerise.
Red ran to lock the back door, checked the lock on the front door, and then went from window to window, pulling the drapes shut even tighter.
aI knew this day would come, but Iam not ready.a aItas okay, really, Ravenas great at keeping secrets.a aIf they knew,a Red was saying as she collapsed onto the couch, aif any of them knew, the Hoods or the Wolfs, Cerise would not be welcome home. The ignorant, stubborn fools.a aI donat understand,a said Raven. aCerise didnat do anything wrong.a aIt doesnat matter,a said Red. aHer father and I went off script. The story says that weare enemies. The Hood and Wolf clans remember that every hour of every day. How Baddy and I forgot long enough to fall in loveaa aWill you tell me the story?a Raven asked, sitting beside her. aI need to know if thereas any hope when someone rebels against their destiny.a aHope?a Red shook her head. aListen, the very day after I graduated from Ever After High, I made my way to Grandmaas house with my basket of treats, ready to face my destiny. Baddya”sorry, Badwolfa”he approached me in the forest like he was supposed to, tried to get me to go off the path, you know, so he could get to Grandmaas house first. Just like the story goes. Only, I realized I wasnat scared of him. He made me laugh!
aHe started making up all kinds of excuses to make me leave the path.a Red lowered her voice to imitate her husband. a aThereas, uh, a scorpion on the path up there, so you should probably go another way. Or it could have been a piece of wood that looked like a scorpion. Also, uh, the dirt on this path is enchanted, and when it gets wet it develops a ravenous hunger for boots. And slippers. Any footwear, really. So if you take the path, it will eat your shoes. And did I mention the scorpion?a a aHeas never been very subtle,a Cerise said with a fond laugh.
aBaddy was in his human form, and, I admit, I thought him very handsome.a Red blushed the color of her name. Raven raised her eyebrows in a question.
aThe Wolfs are wolves,a Cerise explained. aBut many, like my dad, can transform between wolf and human form.a aOh, okay. I wondered,a said Raven.
aWhen I got to the cottage and Baddy was there in my grandmotheras hat and nightgown, pretending to be heraa Red snickered. aCan you imagine? And I was supposed to not notice itas him, but I was dying, and I could tell he was dying, too, both of us trying so hard not to laugh, because this was our destiny! This was the story we were born to tell, and how could we not take it seriously? Poor Grandma sat forever in the closet waiting to be rescued, but Baddy and I didnat want the moment to end, so we made up more and more things to say. aMy, what big, uh, nostrils you have.a aAll the better to sneeze with.a aMy, what big fingernails you have.a aAll the better to paint a lovely shade of red.a Eventually, he was supposed to attack me, and I could tell he didnat want to. So I ran and screamed, and he snarled, but neither of us could take it seriously untilaa Red paused, and her chin trembled.
aThe Huntsman came,a said Raven.
Red nodded. aWith his ax. And he was supposed to kill Baddy, just kill him right there. But Ia well, Iad learned a few things at Ever After High, and I, er, dropped a smoke bomb. And yelled aFire.a a aA smoke bomb?a Raven asked.