“My ovens produced double batches of everything I put in,” Red said. “It’s not the quad we’re used to, but it’s progress.”
“When I take a tree from the forest, the saplings have started to grow back. It’s not the endless supply we had, but it’s something,” Hansel said.
“Something interesting happened to me! As you know, I grow coffee beans in my back yard. For every coffee bean I harvest, I’ve been gifted a cacao bean as well,” Bernadette said.
“Any negative responses?” Petunia asked.
A woman dressed in all black stood up. She had high cheekbones and thin lips, and was possessed of a cold kind of beauty. Her name was Ravenna, and once upon a time, she’d been an evil queen. Now, she was content to spend her days managing The First Bank of Ever After.
“The wells of magic in the bank vaults are up to three percent,” Ravenna said.
“Only three?” Phillip asked.
“What did you expect? We use magic for everything. It’s a miracle we’re up at all instead of barely breaking even as we had been for the last few years,” Ravenna replied.
“This is great news. So we only need a thousand more weddings?” Phillip said scornfully.
“Do you have a better idea?” Ravenna eyed him. “You know, it takes a lot of magic to maintain your curse.”
Petty could see where this was going. “That’s neither here nor there, Ravenna. Thank you for the report, and for taking such good care of the vaults.”
Petty wanted to be sure to remind everyone, including Ravenna, that she wasn’t wicked queening anymore. She was part of the town, she was a neighbor and a friend, just like everyone else.
Ravenna’s ruby-red lips curled into a sharp smile. “Thank you, Petunia.”
“Next on the agenda we have the blessing,” Bluebonnet said, reading from Petty’s notebook in an attempt to keep everyone on task.
“Thank goodness!” Grammy said. “We haven’t done that in some time and these old bones are tired.”
“Everyone, join hands,” Petunia said.
Everyone gathered in a circle and linked hands. When Petty could feel that everyone was connected, she began to whisper the words of the ancient prayer that kept them bound to one another, to magic, and to the gifts of Ever After.
It was a gift of rejuvenation and cleansing that worked from the inside out. Just as the spell reached its full glorious peak, all of the occupants in the room were levitated several feet off the floor as a whirlwind made of light spun them into euphoria.
It was something holy. Something beautiful.
Just as Petty and her sisters freed their wings and lifted up off the floor to join the bliss, Fortune cried out. Petty’s head spun all the way around on her shoulders like a demented owl and saw something she’d hoped never to see.
Lucky, standing in the doorway, her mouth hanging open and fear scrawled across her face.
“Damn,” Petty whispered.
Lucky ran.
Chapter 13
Lucky knew things were different in Ever After, but she hadn’t realized how different.
The godmothers had kept this secret about themselves for the whole of her life.
That was when she realized Ransom knew, too. She’d asked him if he knew something she didn’t and he’d said she’d find out.
This had to be what he’d been talking about.
Holy shitlords! Were they actually fairies? They’d been on and on about being fairy godmothers. She’d seen wings with her own eyes!
Lucky ran down the various twists and turns in the castle halls until she found her way to the kitchen.
She needed sugar. She’d read that sugar helped with the symptoms of shock.
And she was an emotional eater. Whenever she was upset, sweets were her comfort.
Lucky heard Petty call out her name, but she didn’t want to talk to her. Not yet. She needed to center herself. To stuff her face in silence.
Only she heard her mother’s voice, too. “Lucky, wait.”
Her mother knew, too.
Everyone knew but Lucky.
Assholes.
On the plus side, maybe . . . just maybe all of her problems really were a curse. If she was cursed, none of this was her fault. If it wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t unworthy.
“Please!” Fortune called out.
It was the please that got her.
She slowed her steps, which happened to be a boon, because suddenly, the hallway ended in galley stairs, and she hopped down them to find herself in a massive, industrial-size kitchen. Lucky found a box of pastries on one of the tables and sat down and promptly shoved one in her mouth.
Petty, Bluebonnet, Jonquil, and her mother all followed soon after.
“You sure can move fast for being a klutz,” Fortune wheezed.
“Nice, Mom.”
“Oh, hush. Come here.” Fortune wrapped an arm around her daughter. “This is all my fault. I asked them to wait until I was here.”
Around her strawberry pastry, she said, “That accounts for this week, but what about the rest of my life? Didn’t trust me?”
Petty looked like she’d been slapped.
Jonquil wilted.
Bluebonnet sniffed and wiped away a tear.
“No, my little lucky charm. I wanted you to have a normal life,” Fortune said softly.
“Well, I haven’t, have I? Everywhere I go, I’m a pariah. Now I find out all of the people I love most have been lying to me.”
Fortune pressed her lips together. “When you’re ready, we can talk.”
“I’m so mad at you right now, Ma. But if you all don’t tell me everything, I don’t know how I’ll ever not be mad. So just tell me.”
“Lucky,” Petty began, “you were born in Ever After.”
She looked up to meet her godmother’s eyes. This woman she’d known since birth. She could see the nostalgia, the pride, and even the love in her eyes.
That was no balm, it only made it worse. Her eyes teared up.
“Oh, sweetie. No, listen—”
“Petty. I need to tell this. There’s more to the story I’ve kept from you, too. I’m sorry, but I felt it was for the best,” Fortune said.
“Oh!” Bluebonnet gasped. Then she put her chin in her hands as she leaned on the table. “Then tell us your story, Fortune.”
“I was very young when I met Lucky’s father. He wasn’t at all suitable. My parents had allowed the friendship but told me it could never be anything more.”
“I thought Dad was just a ship in the night,” Lucky said. Then she shoved another pastry in her mouth.
Petty got her a glass of milk.
Bluebonnet handed her a napkin.
And Jonquil, bless her, handed her a cupcake.
“That’s what he ended up being, yes.” Fortune nodded, but she took Lucky’s hand, the one not holding the cupcake. “But for a brief period of time, we loved each other very much.”
“So where is it that you met?”
“Not too far from here. His parents had a summer house on the Lake of the Ozarks. My family lived deep in the woods, but me, I couldn’t stay away from the summer people. I loved the boats, the food, and I was especially intrigued by the boys. I was out exploring and your father was with his friends in some old tree house they’d built as kids. It was love at first sight. We began spending every minute together. We both started sneaking out and meeting in that treehouse. We would talk for hours about everything. He wanted to be an architect. I think what changed everything for me was when he asked me what I wanted to be.”
“What did you want to be, Ma?”
Lucky’s mother had never told her of her hopes and dreams before Lucky. She’d always acted as if she’d gotten everything she ever wanted. She didn’t know much about her grandparents, either. Only that the women in their family were named after virtues or gifts they wanted for their children.
“Human.” Fortune’s words fell on the group like a bomb.
“Wha
t?” Petty gasped.
“Excuse me? What . . . holy shit. Am I not human? Is that my problem?” Lucky took a long swallow of the milk. “I think I need a brandy.”
“No, honey. You’re completely and utterly human, and so am I. Now.”
“This is too much. I know there’s more, but I honestly don’t know if I can take it,” Lucky said.
“Another cupcake will calm your nerves, dear.” Jonquil whipped another one up from thin air and handed it to her.
Lucky inspected it and realized it was exactly what she’d been craving. Red velvet with cream cheese frosting. “Maybe this magic stuff isn’t so bad.”
Jonquil patted her shoulder.
“Your father and I fell in love, as I said. It was all very star-crossed and tragic. We made love and I became pregnant with you. My family made me choose. If I stayed with them, I couldn’t have you. If I had you, I couldn’t stay with them.”
“That’s awful!” Lucky cried.
“Wait, wait. It’s not their fault. It’s just the way of things. The physical world doesn’t do well in the spiritual, and vice versa. I was born a kitsune. Fox spirit. We’re allowed to take human form, but we cannot keep it and stay a fox spirit.”
“Oh, Fortune,” Bluebonnet said. “I can’t imagine being faced with that choice.”
“I couldn’t give you up, Lucky. So I said goodbye to my parents, my family, and my magic. I didn’t know what to do, or how to exist in the human world. When I went to tell your dad about you, he’d already gone home. I cried, and I walked and cried, and I walked until a kindly fox led me here to Ever After, and to the godmothers. Petunia was the first one to see your beautiful face.” Fortune squeezed her hand. “I stayed here for a year, and I tried to contact James, but he said he simply couldn’t be a father. He had college to worry about. So I did what I could and I was determined to give you a normal, human life. I thought I was protecting you.”
Lucky hadn’t realized how strong her mother was. Or what kinds of choices she’d had to make.
“Your mother, Ma. You haven’t seen her in all this time?”
“I haven’t set eyes on her since I chose to be your mother. I know she understood. Sometimes, even though I can’t see her, or speak to her, I feel her presence. I know she checks up on us every now and then. My father, too. They would’ve been the best grandparents. I’m so sorry you won’t get to know them.”
Lucky looked up at Petty. “That’s what I want. I want my grandparents to come to the wedding. I want to meet them. I want my mother to see her family.”
Fortune kissed the top of Lucky’s head. “If only it were so easy, we would’ve done it long ago.”
“I should’ve asked why it was so easy for you to accept the idea of magic. If only you’d told us years ago, we could’ve tried to help you,” Jonquil said. “Ever After is magic. Your kitsune family would be welcome here.”
“The kitsune have slipped so far away from the human world, I don’t know if I would be able to see them,” Fortune said.
“Is this why I’m like this?” Lucky asked.
“Like what?” Fortune asked.
“Cursed?”
“Whatever has happened with you, it’s not a curse. I was sure I used up all of your luck birthing you. Your delivery was hard because I was so young and you were determined to be born your own way. I named you Lucky in hopes of giving your luck back.”
“We thought that maybe because Lucky was born here, that living in the outside world was what put her out of alignment, but now, I’m not so sure,” Petty said.
“Can’t you fix this? You’re magic. You can break my curse!” Lucky cried. Only when she looked into Petty’s eyes, she knew the answer was no. All the hope that had flared inside of her was snuffed to ash. “Why not?”
“I think I understand now,” Petty said. “It’s part of you. It’s just who you are.”
Bluebonnet nodded. “Kitsune are forces of mischief and chaos. They are not bad or good, they just are. Since your mother gave up her magic to have you, these things that happen around you, they’re just part of your heritage.”
Those words tore Lucky’s heart in half.
“So, there’s no cure?”
“You don’t need a cure for being who you are. There is nothing wrong with you,” Fortune said. “The right person will love you anyway.”
“It’s not about if he loves me anyway. I know he does. It’s about whether or not I can deal with how loving me hurts him. Yesterday, we fell through the floor. What’s it going to be tomorrow, if we keep going down this path?”
“I know you may not believe me,” Fortune began. “But I do believe that will work itself out.”
“Yeah, after an escaped lion from the zoo eats him in some kind of freak accident,” Lucky said, and dropped her head into her arms on the table.
“This is Ever After,” Bluebonnet said. It’s simply a law of the universe that if you have a fairy godmother, and you’re not a shit, you get a Happily Ever After.”
Lucky slid back up into sitting position. “Well, he’s in the doghouse at the moment anyway. How long has he known about magic?”
“Well, always,” Petty confessed. “He was just a little orphan when he came to us with no one in the world. He didn’t trust us. Didn’t believe a word, so we had to prove it to him.”
“I’m really hurt he didn’t tell me. I understand he promised you not to, which I admire. I just . . .” She grit her teeth.
“It’s okay to have complicated feelings about all of this,” Petty said. “I was sure you hated us. Or worse, were scared of us. You ran away. That was the worst feeling in the world.”
She hugged Petty. “I’m sorry you thought I was scared of you. I love you and I know you love me, but I was in a bit of shock. It explains some things, though. I was sure I saw a family of mice checking on us in the attic. I saw animals sewing dresses, and that damned bird made fun of me. He said caw. And chirp. Next time I see him, he’s getting a ‘tweet tweet, motherfucker.’”
Lucky stopped and looked up with wide eyes. “Oh, oh no. Everyone here . . . all these fairy tales are real. Gwen is going to shit. I mean, you have to let me tell her if she’s going to live here.”
“Of course, we’ll take care of Gwen,” Bluebonnet reassured her. “In fact, I do believe that even though she doesn’t actually have a fairy godmother, we’ve decided to take on her case.”
“Even if she doesn’t want to be with Roderick?” Lucky asked.
“Roderick, Broderick, Schmoderick.” Petty waved her hand. “That will take care of itself.”
Lucky began to arch a brow, then another shocked thought crossed her mind. “Red. Grammy. Holy shit, I thought that was just the fairy-tale tourist thing you were trying to . . . wow. Is Grammy a werewolf?”
“What? There’s no such . . .” Fortune trailed off. “Are you serious? You have my child in a community with a werewolf?”
“These things happen. It bit her when she was saving Red. She goes out to the country during that time of the month. That’s why they want to move.” Jonquil said this last to Lucky. “So Gwen is doing them a favor.”
“This is so much to process. I can’t decide if I’m scared shitless or I think it’s really cool, or both. It’s kind of nice not being the only freak,” Lucky said.
“You’re not a freak. You’re unique,” Fortune said.
“You’re my mom. You’re supposed to say that,” Lucky replied. “You didn’t see how when Ransom kissed me, we made mutant fruit.”
“What?” Fortune did a double take.
“Oh no. Lucky, that was so good. That tree bloomed because of love. That wasn’t a bad thing at all,” Bluebonnet said. “It was a gift.”
“Uh-huh. Did it smash Ransom in the face because of love?”
“Totally,” Jonquil said.
“Lucky, it’s true I am your mother, but you know that I am absolutely not that kind of mom.” Fortune pursed her lips.
This was true. Th
at’s not who Fortune had ever been. Lucky remembered showing her mother her first attempts at drawing and painting and her mother had complimented her lines, but pointed out every flaw. Not with malice, but with suggestions on how to work on her craft . . . how to make it her craft. Lucky wouldn’t be the artist she was today without her mother’s honest critique.
Still, it would be nice if once in a while she got a “good job.” Although, she supposed that’s what the godmothers were for.
“I have another question,” Lucky said.
“I’m sure you have many.” Fortune squeezed her hand again.
“The frog in the fountain. Is he really a prince? And if so, who turned him into a frog and why? I need details. Fairy-tale drama might just be a drug, because I’m addicted.”
Both Jonquil and Bluebonnet looked at Petty.
Petty blushed. “Why are you looking at me?”
“Oh, you know very well why.” Bluebonnet eyed her, but then smiled. “You tell it.”
Petty adjusted her glasses. “Well, it is a rather famous story, so I suppose you should know all about it. Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a land right here, there was a prince. He was a very handsome prince. Everything they tell you a prince should be. Tall, strong, lovely manners, an educated mind, a well-honed body, and hair that looked as if it had been spun from gold.”
“She does have a way with words,” Jonquil said.
“This prince had taken to courting. It was rumored that he’d fallen in love with a young fairy who’d yet to leave for the fairy godmother training academy, although she’d been accepted.”
“Oh, Petty!” It was obvious Fortune could see where this was going.
Lucky had no clue and was dying to hear the rest of this sordid tale.
“The problem with this rumor, however, was that more than one young, pretty fairy fit these parameters.”
Jonquil snickered.
Lucky felt a surge of something that made her cringe. She didn’t know exactly how this was going to turn out, but she was sure it was going to be awful.
“As we came to discover, Bluebonnet and I, we realized he’d been courting us both. Kissing us both. And”—Petty coughed—“us both.”
A Hilarious and Charming Feel-Good Read Page 13