The Unexplainable Fairy Godmother (The Inscrutable Paris Beaufont Book 1)

by Sarah Noffke

  “So we have people come in jeans and T-shirts or whatever.” That earned Paris a rude cough from Professor Butcher, but she ignored it. “Then we give them time to get to know each other in a casual setting. Nothing that makes them nervous, so that way, they’re really themselves.”

  “What if we give them something that ensures they’re really themselves?” Chef Ash asked. “Like no pretenses.”

  “Like whiskey shots?” Paris offered with a laugh.

  “Sort of,” he affirmed. “Maybe a magical elixir that makes them relaxed and natural.”

  “I think there are some herbs in the Bewilder Forest that have those properties,” Hemingway offered.

  “I can make them into a punch,” Chef Ash affirmed.

  “I like this idea.” Willow smiled.

  “For decorations,” Wilfred began, “I like the idea of keeping it simple, but I think a romantic aspect is still important. It is Valentine’s Day, after all.”

  “I agree,” Willow declared. “Some music and dancing are always nice. Lighting is important and shouldn’t be discounted. And something else that is simple yet sets a nice mood without forcing it.”

  “I have some doves down by the lake that are very tame,” Hemingway offered. “They could be part of the decorations rather than some grand explosion like they do at weddings when they let them out.”

  “I like that idea!” Willow exclaimed. “Yes, elegant doves sitting around the ballroom and cooing will be nice.” The headmistress looked around the table, a satisfied expression on her face. “Well, we all have our jobs. In one week, we’ll come together in Los Angeles for this event. I have every hope that we’ll make this the best Valentine’s Day celebration we’ve had in a long time. Let’s do everything we can to make that happen. A lot depends on this.”

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Zhuang Lane's area wasn’t a place that fairy godmothers ever found themselves, but Shannon Butcher had had enough. The narrow lane was full of both hidden and exposed dangers. The creatures that lurked in the cold shadows spread disease and feasted on the weak. Criminals ran the shops, selling things the House of Fourteen would no doubt deem illegal.

  Shannon had been at Happily Ever College for decades, teaching the students etiquette and other important subjects. Yes, true love was dwindling in the world, but changing the curriculum wasn’t the way. Willow Starr was irrational. There wasn’t any evidence that Happily Ever After College was to blame for matches not being made. It could very well be blamed on the modern world, Shannon Butcher reasoned.

  How were people supposed to fall in love when they couldn’t pull their attention off their devices long enough? Or maybe Facebook was the problem, creating insecurities in relationships. But fairy godmothers weren’t the problem. They simply taught charges how to be poised and pretty and perfect so they could find love. That’s how it worked. That’s how it had always worked.

  Happily Ever After College wasn’t what needed to change. It was the world that needed to. However, no one was listening to Shannon anymore.

  Against her reason, Willow had allowed a reject into the school. Now Paris Westbridge was changing things. The horror of it all was that the college was adapting to these gross standards. Already Shannon’s class numbers were dwindling, many students arguing that it was irrelevant. More and more, Paris was lobbying that love needed to be about intrinsic factors rather than polished appearances.

  If Paris was going to affect the future of love on the planet, Shannon knew they were all in trouble. She realized that Willow was scared. Mae Ling had checked out long ago. No one knew what to do. It was up to Shannon to fix things. That’s why she’d risked entering Zhuang Lane, a place filled with dark and illegal magic. The fairy godmother didn’t like the idea of employing such things. Still, she was willing to do whatever it took to save Happily Ever After College before the modern world—and Paris Westbridge—sent it to the depths of Hell where it wouldn’t be recoverable.

  At the seer’s shop, Shannon knocked six times, as she’d been instructed to do. The door creaked and opened by itself to reveal a dark sitting room. In the middle of it was an old blind woman who looked up from a round table. Deep wrinkles lined her face, and black bags hung under her white eyes. Worse than the sight of the seer was the rattlesnake on the floor next to her, shaking its tail and flicking its tongue at the fairy godmother.

  “You are willing to pay a lot of money for information on this girl,” the old woman said without greeting Shannon. Some people had lost sight of all proprieties. This was where the world was going without Happily Ever After College if it didn’t maintain its curriculum.

  “I simply want to know the truth.” Shannon had spoken to the woman on the phone and sent her the huge amount of money she’d asked for as an advance. “You have proof that what you share with me today is both useful and also true?”

  “That was the agreement.” The seer’s rattlesnake slithered up the leg of her chair. “I found something that I think will be very useful, which is why I took your money.”

  Shannon stepped into the dark room, nearly needing to hold her breath due to the smell. She dared to close the door, knowing they’d need privacy for the next part. “What can you tell me about Paris Westbridge?”

  “As you suspected, she isn’t who she says she is.” The seer swayed back and forth, snapping her fingers beside her as though dancing to music in her head, but the sound of the snake’s rattle was all there was.

  “Tell me everything,” Shannon urged.

  “I don’t have to. What I’ve seen about the girl is all there in that envelope.”

  Greedily, Shannon darted forward but paused before yanking the envelope off the table, her eyes cautiously watching the snake. She jerked open the envelope and pulled out the documents, her mouth popping open as she read the birth records.

  “This is all true?” Shannon asked in disbelief.

  “It is,” the woman croaked. “Once I saw who she was, finding proof wasn’t hard. It was all hidden in plain sight for those who knew where to look to find it.” The seer cackled loudly, throwing her head back.

  Shannon shook her head at the woman, repulsed by her lack of decorum. Still, this was what she needed. There was no way that Paris could stay at Happily Ever After College after this. However, getting rid of the girl wasn’t the only part of her plan.

  “The creatures that I asked for. Did you find them?” she asked the woman, stepping back as the rattlesnake traversed the distance and arrived on the table’s surface.

  “Of course,” the woman cooed. “They’re out back. Will you need help transporting them?”

  Shannon shook her head. “No, the fewer people involved, the better.”

  “Very well then, my dear,” the woman hissed. “I trust you can see your way out.”

  A shiver ran down Shannon’s back as she started for the door opposite the entrance. She’d be glad to be out of the shop, although her reason for coming here had already rewarded her. Very soon everyone would know the truth about Paris, and she’d no longer be able to pollute Happily Ever After College with her rebellious ideas.

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  “Everything is perfect,” Headmistress Willow Starr proudly said while standing at the front of the banquet hall in the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. She wore her usual blue gown with a pink bow and had braided her thick hair down her back—and had a sincere smile on her face.

  “Oh, why did you have to do that?” Paris joked. She wore her usual black leather jacket and jeans and boots, although she’d gone fancy for the event and brushed her hair.

  “Do what?” the headmistress asked Paris, gaining the attention of the fairy godmothers, other professors, and nearby students.

  “You jinxed us,” she replied. “Next, are you going to say that nothing can go wrong?”

  Willow waved her off. “Oh, everything is all set. We open the doors in one minute. Is everyone ready?”

  Chef Ash strode forward, wearing his usu
al white chef’s uniform and a tall hat for the occasion. “The buffet is ready.”

  “All the tables are set,” Wilfred stated, looking distinguished as always.

  Paris had to admit the two thousand and eight hundred square foot banquet hall was quite impressive. The walls were all pink with gold designs and lit from various angles. The round eight-person tables were elegantly set with white and gold plates and simple rose centerpieces. The entire space was tasteful yet understated. No one should walk in there and think they were underdressed. That’s what the invites sent to the one hundred and twenty guests explicitly said: “Come as you are and be yourself.”

  Paris hoped the guests waiting to mingle and dine did just that. In case any of them planned to be anything but their authentic selves, all they had to do was sip the punch, and they’d be who they truly were. It wasn’t dishonest since the elixir was safe and only ensured no one put up any pretenses. This wasn’t going to be a night of showing off and trying to impress someone so they fell for the other one. This was about finding real love because people were their authentic selves.

  “And the doves?” Willow asked Hemingway.

  He pointed up at a perch along the side of the dance floor. “They’re all cooing and being love doves to set the mood. I even trained them not to have any accidents on the guests.”

  Willow giggled. “Very good. So we open the doors, and all the guests know where to go. They meet with a potential date, and after five minutes, rotate. It’s unorthodox, but it gives everyone a chance to mingle. Then we have dinner and dancing, and hopefully, make a match or two.”

  “Or ten,” Paris chirped.

  “Or twenty,” Christine added.

  “Could be thirty,” Penny dared to say, then covered her mouth as if she shouldn’t have been so bold.

  “I think it’s time that we open the doors already,” Professor Butcher urged. “The guests are getting restless, and that’s not good for matchmaking.”

  “I contend that it’s not about circumstances that dictate whether two people will fall in love,” Paris argued. “Maybe it’s the very act of waiting in line or being inconvenienced that gives them the opportunity to fall for each other.”

  “We will see, Ms. Westbridge,” Professor Butcher said, a bite to her words. “This was all your idea, so if it’s a success, we know who to thank. If it’s not, well…”

  Paris would have thought that Shannon Butcher was extra vindictive that night if she hadn’t gotten accustomed to the professor’s sour mood. Deciding that she’d focus on the good of the Valentine’s Day event, Paris turned her attention to the double doors as Headmistress Starr pulled them open, welcoming all the eager guests into the event.

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Paris thought that things would start slow with awkward exchanges and lots of nervous glances. Instead, for whatever reason, things were natural and easy from the beginning between the invitees.

  People sat next to each other, asking various questions and giggling about how fast the time went. The conversation seemed to flow and was uninhibited by the light orchestra music that Wilfred had chosen.

  The fairy godmothers and students were circulating, greeting guests and making them feel welcomed. There was no polite small talk or frivolities on that night—only genuine smiles and warm gestures that hopefully created the right environment for the inevitable to happen.

  Paris believed that’s what it all was. If two people were right for each other, they didn’t need shiny suits and sequins. They didn’t need horse-drawn carriages and chauffeurs. Those were nice and maybe for later when they were indulging. Initially, two people should have a chance to fall for each other and not for the circumstances around them.

  Which begged the question for Paris, would Cinderella have fallen for Prince Charming if they hadn’t met at a ball? What if they met at a gas station and she’d been cleaning the bathrooms, and he was a trucker named Larry with mustard stains on his sleeves? Paris believed that Cindy and Larry deserved to fall in love as much as the polished Cinderella and Prince Charming. She hoped that this rare opportunity she’d received to take this risk showed the fairy godmothers that too.

  Paris looked around the banquet hall, infected by all the positive energy around her.

  “I knew you could do it,” Mae Ling said at her shoulder. She’d seemingly materialized out of nowhere.

  Paris glanced down at the little woman. “What? I mean, why? Actually, how?” She shook her head. “It’s so strange that all of you gave me this type of chance to do something when I’ve been with the college for such a short time.”

  Mae Ling shrugged nonchalantly. “A Head Professor can pull strings when she wants to.”

  “But why?” Paris asked.

  “You failing and returning to complete your exam the way you did, well, it did you favors,” Mae Ling explained. “Much better than if you had passed the first time through. It showed grit, and Willow saw that. I knew you had it in you.”

  “That’s the thing.” Paris watched the various couples interact. All seemed to be having a nice time, even if they didn’t hit it off entirely. Maybe they achieved friendship, if not true love. There were hopefully many benefits to the night, although love was the desired goal. “Why are you instigating things? What do you know about me that I sense you’re not saying?”

  “I’ve been with Happily Ever After College for a very long time,” Mae Ling explained. “We’ve done many great things. But we’ve failed to change with the world. I simply knew that we’d need something new to push us ahead.”

  “I feel like you’re avoiding my question though,” Paris argued, not wanting the fairy godmother to finagle her way out of this. “Do you know something about me?”

  “Yes, Paris. I get glimpses of things in the past, present, and future. Not like a seer, more like potential realities. Things that could happen, people who can make a difference, paths that can be taken. Nothing is guaranteed though. To specifically answer your question, I know you have greatness in you. I know you have much to learn about yourself. And I know that you will get your heart broken many, many times. If I explain to you how I know one of those things, I must explain to you how I know all of them. Is that something you want? Do you want to know how your heart potentially gets broken? Because I warn you, it won’t stop it from happening.”

  Paris gulped, feeling her insides suddenly start to churn. She shook her head. “No, I don’t think I want to know. That sounds worse, waiting for the inevitable to happen.”

  Mae Ling nodded proudly. “I agree. If it helps…” She pointed around the room at various people. “Every single person in this room will have their heart broken at some point. You can’t live a full life without it happening. So we must simply embrace it as part of life.”

  Paris thought about that for a moment, noting how similar it was to Wilfred’s words from Kahlil Gibran. He’d said the poet had written something about how one could not laugh all their laughter unless they wept all their tears. There was no joy without pain in this world, Paris reasoned, intrigued by the idea. She’d spent so much of her life protecting herself that this whole notion of opening herself up to be vulnerable so she could experience the full spectrum of emotions was scary and also becoming more digestible.

  She recounted what King Rudolf had said to her in the bar: “You have to put your heart out there to have it broken.”

  “Thanks for—” Paris turned to thank the fairy godmother, only to find that Mae Ling had disappeared suddenly. She shook her head, realizing that she might never understand the woman’s enigmatic nature.

  “There’s something to be said about being casual, wouldn’t you say?” Hemingway asked at Paris’ shoulder.

  She glanced at him, noticing that he was wearing his usual, a button-up fleece plaid and jeans with boots. “I’m the queen of casual.”

  “Well, it does seem to be having a nice overall effect on our guests. Last year, this was a black-tie event, and all the women had o
n huge ball gowns. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone was beautiful. But people were so stiff and full of etiquette that I don’t think anyone laughed or truly enjoyed themselves.”

  “Well, how can you when you can’t breathe because a corset is cutting off your air supply?” Paris questioned.

  He nodded and looked around. “And now, look at this. It’s exactly the opposite as far as the vibe.”

  Paris did like to hear the various couples laughing and talking loudly. That reminded her of what Faraday had said what people did when they were excited. They spoke loudly—like many of the couples in the room. And excitement was indicative of other, budding feelings. Hopefully, that meant love was in the air.

  “Well, I’m glad things are going well.” Paris sighed, and for the first time since starting on this project, allowed herself to feel victorious.

  “That’s strange.” Hemingway was studying the perch where the various doves were stationed, cooing.

  “What’s strange?” Paris suddenly tensed.

  He pointed up at the perch. “Those doves…they aren’t mine.”

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  “What does that mean?” Paris raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”

  He scrutinized the birds, still staring up at them. “My doves are all white. Those…”

  Paris saw what he meant. The doves perched beside the dance floor had a black tip on their tails and around their necks. “If those aren’t your doves, whose are they? Also, where are yours?”

  Those were the first two questions Paris had. Others quickly followed, like why would someone replace Hemingway’s doves? If these weren’t trained, what did that mean?

  Paris didn’t get a chance to mentally cycle through other questions because Hemingway grabbed her arm with such alarm it made her suck in a breath.

  “Those doves aren’t right,” he said with urgency.