“The triplets will also be participating in their very first contest this year,” the queen chimed in. “My darling Darling girls are quite skilled with ponies, and there is an equestrian tournament for young children.”
“That sounds fun,” Divya said, speaking for our group. “We’ll be sure to stop by.”
“Wonderful!” The king clapped his hands together. “Well, have an excellent day, kids—broker peace, protect the realm, and whatnot. The queen and I have a war council meeting to attend. We must have a Plan B in case all heck breaks loose. Can’t have a commons rebellion and antagonist insurgence plotting slaughter at our gates. All right, cheers!”
With that, the royal couple left us. In a bit of a stupor, I might add. How someone could talk about that kind of stuff in such a merry tone was beyond me.
“And on that uncomfortably real note,” Gordon said, “I’m going to go find my takes-an-eternity-to-do-her-hair sister so she doesn’t make us late for the peace talks.”
Gordon started to stand. “Hold on a sec,” I said. “I need to tell you guys something about Mauvrey. She recovered her first Paige memory.”
Kai choked on her food. Daniel pivoted abruptly, concerned, but she held up her hand to him before he could react further. Then she took a sip of water. “I’m fine,” she said to Daniel. Then she looked at me. “Sorry. What was the memory?”
“Um, nothing important . . .” I responded. “But looks like Merlin’s advice about music triggering her buried memories is spot on. Now that Javier has helped her get the skill back, maybe the memories will flow out stronger each day like her music does.”
“I must inform Merlin,” SJ declared. “Perhaps he has some insight for speeding things along now that she has experienced the initial breakthrough.”
“And I’ll make sure she keeps practicing during the day when Javier wants to take a break,” Kai said assertively. “I used to teach some kids on my block piano for extra money.”
I looked at her, confused. “Why didn’t you say anything about that before? You could have been helping Javier this whole time.”
“That’s what I said a couple weeks ago,” Daniel commented. “I suggested it to her, but she asked me not to say anything.” He glanced at Kai.
“Because honestly I am just okay at it,” Kai explained, a bit embarrassed. “It’s been two years since I’ve given lessons and I didn’t want to do a bad job with Mauvrey since this is so important. But since Javier has gotten her started, I think I can handle jumping in here and there, especially since he’s been working hard and could use the occasional break.”
“It’s important that Mauvrey takes breaks too,” I said. “She’s not simply a tool we need to use. She’s a person and I think she could use a reminder of that from time to time.”
“I agree,” Daniel said, nodding. “Mauvrey has lost a lot. We need to make an effort to show we care about what happens to her beyond this whole memories thing. If we don’t, how long can her loyalties to us really last? Look at Alex. He was manipulated by the antagonists because they pretended to care about what he really wanted. I don’t think anyone is truly above that kind of persuasion. The circumstances just need to be right.”
“What are you saying?” Girtha asked. “That Mauvrey is vulnerable to being turned?”
“What I’m saying is, given the power of the genies that’s at stake, the antagonists are going to do everything they can to either get Paige’s memories themselves or keep us from getting them. No one has made a move on Mauvrey in the weeks since she’s woken up, but I think we all feel like something is coming. Even with Arian and Tara stuck in Dreamland, it’s been quiet for too long. Maybe the antagonists are planning a less conventional way to get to Mauvrey.”
He was right. I had felt this exact unease. I tried to push it away, but it lurked there. Worry was like air through the crack between a door and the floor; it always seeped through. One look at my friends’ faces and it was clear everyone held the same concern. When and how were the antagonists going to make a move on Mauvrey? It had to be coming. I felt it like old injuries throbbing when storms approached.
e have a winner!”
A large, jovial man wearing a red plaid shirt pointed at Blue. She’d just used a modified crossbow to shoot down three pyramids of milk bottles at a game booth housed within a white tent. This whole street was lined with tents as far as the eye could see.
Though the carnie had yelled loudly, none of the passersby paid us any mind. The area was abundant with the noise of frolicking civilians, rides, and other hullaballoo from the Summer Farewell Festival.
Our booth’s owner pulled a tiny bear from a loaded hammock of stuffed toys hanging from the back of the tent’s ceiling by a rope on either side. The bear was hardly bigger than my fist. He tried to hand it to Blue, but she was aghast.
“I want the large white cow.” Blue pointed at a stuffed animal so big it didn’t fit in the hammock. It dangled from the ceiling alone like a piñata.
She had good taste. I liked the cow. I get that as a guy I wasn’t supposed to admire a dumb plush toy, but it reminded me of a pet cow I had when I was really young. My dillweed brother Jack had sold it without asking me.
“You have to knock down all four pyramids to win that,” the carnie said.
“But your crossbow only had three rounds in it,” Blue argued. “Three shots per customer. Per ticket. Every time.” The man smiled at Blue. “Them’s the rules.”
She huffed in indignation and turned to me. “Can I borrow one of your tickets?”
“Blue, you shouldn’t have used all yours buying funnel cake.”
“I regret nothing. Come on, Jason. I’ll buy more tickets when we’re done here and pay you back.”
“I find that unlikely, but fine.” I pulled my remaining three tickets from my pocket and handed one to Blue. The ticket was the same vibrant orange as her shirt. It clashed with her powder blue cloak and the light sunburn she had on her cheeks from so much outdoor practice this week, but the whole look somehow worked and couldn’t be described as anything less than radiant.
Blue took the ticket and handed it to the carnie. He tried to offer her the plush toy she’d already won, but she waved it away. “Keep your pity bear.”
“Suit yourself.” The carnie shrugged then tossed the tiny bear back in the hammock. He quickly restacked the milk bottle pyramids, then took Blue’s crossbow and reloaded it with three shots. He grinned at her as he passed it back. “Good luck.”
“I don’t need luck,” Blue said. She took aim and launched an arrow at the pyramid on the far left. It went down. She fired her second arrow and obliterated the next pyramid in line. Then she took three steps back, pivoted, and released her final arrow at the top right inner corner of the tent. It sliced through one of the ropes holding up the large hammock of toys, sending an avalanche of stuffed animals onto the remaining two pyramids. They collapsed, and Blue set the crossbow on the table between us and the carnie. She stretched out her hand. “Cow. Now.”
The disgruntled carnie was about to protest, but Blue planted her hands down and gave him a coy look. “Them’s the rules, right?”
The carnie huffed and obliged, cutting down the stuffed animal and handing it to her. She smiled triumphantly as we walked away from the booth. Then she suddenly shoved the cow at my chest.
“Here.”
“You want me to carry it for you?” I asked, confused.
“No, dummy. I won it for you. Isn’t it like that white cow you had when you were little? What was its name? KAPOW! the Cow?”
I blinked at her, dumbstruck. “Yeah. It is.” I stared at the dopey eyes of the toy. It took me a second to formulate a further response. “I take back what I said before about you having too many funnel cakes. You’re nicer when you’re pumped on sugar.”
“Jason, I’m always nice.”
“If you say so,” I said. “But seriously, that was . . . unexpected. Thanks.” I tucked the cow under one arm as we made our way through the
crowded street fair.
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “And I understand if it never sees the light of day after this. A teenage boy can’t have a stuffed animal on display in his dorm room. What would the other heroes say?”
“The other heroes can suck it,” I said. “I don’t care what most people think, except for my friends. And you obviously.”
“Well then, you should be fine. Our friends are cool and I have exceptionally good taste.” Blue gave me a wicked smile and gestured toward the nearest funnel cake stand.
The delight in her face made me happy, but my gut churned a bit with confusion. Was she just pretending that Dreamland never happened? Did she ever spend time reconsidering her rejection, or was not acknowledging it her way of letting me down easy? It’d been over two weeks since I’d taken Daniel’s advice and backed off—giving Blue time, being her friend, and treating her with as much respect as possible. How long was I supposed to wait before I brought up the past? The cow under my arm suggested that she had feelings, right? Or was she simply being a good friend?
“I’m overthinking it,” Blue said suddenly.
“What?” My eyes darted toward her.
“The funnel cake menu,” Blue replied, pointing to the big sign next to the sweets booth. “This stand put the calorie content up and it’s throwing me off my game. You know what, forget it. I’m sticking with my original plan. Medium funnel cake with extra whipped cream.”
“Oh, okay,” I said. Then I tilted my head. “Wait. Hold on. I thought you were out of tickets?”
“But you have two left and that’s how much a funnel cake costs. You can lend me that and then go get us more tickets while I wait in line. I’ll pay you back later.”
“Blue,” I said.
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “I’m not used to carrying money. SJ and Crisa are royals. They always offer to pay.”
“In case the mediocre haircut and plain clothes didn’t clue you in, I’m not royal,” I said. “I’ll cover you this time, but that’s only as a thank you for the cow.” I gave her my remaining two tickets.
“My hero,” Blue said mockingly.
I gave her a snide smile and made my way through the crowds. I saw Divya, Chance, and Girtha at one of the booths and waved to them. Then I spotted Cereus with a posse of village fan girls following him, probably on their way to one of the tournaments he was competing in. Javier had his own smaller fan club fawning over him farther off. He was a lot better at talking to girls than a lot of the guys in our grade. I was glad he seemed to be having a good time. We’d all decided he deserved a full day off from piano training, so we were taking shifts with Mauvrey that way everyone could enjoy the festival at different intervals.
“One roll of tickets please,” I told a vendor at the designated booth.
“Hey, Jason.”
Ivy Lynn and Sammi Darling stood behind me. Sammi held a cone of cotton candy while Ivy Lynn smacked gum like a bored schoolgirl. Both of them wore several medals around their necks.
“Congratulations,” I said, gesturing to their medals after thanking the vendor for my tickets.
“Want to come watch my next event?” Ivy Lynn asked coyly in between smacks of gum, getting a little too close for comfort. “I am aiming to reclaim my title.”
Her hair shone in the carnival lantern light, yet somehow her eyes still looked dead and cold. She reminded me of the Siren renderings in one of my Lord Channing’s textbooks.
“What’s the event?” I asked, edging away from her.
“Swimsuit competition,” Ivy Lynn replied. “I compete in the young ingénue category.”
Ironic considering ingénues are supposed to be endearing and innocent. Ivy Lynn didn’t strike me as either.
“I’m busy right now,” I said nicely enough. “But good luck.” My compact started buzzing and I gratefully answered it as I walked away. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s time for you to clock in,” Daniel said.
Oh shoot. I looked at my watch. My shift with Mauvrey had started ten minutes ago. “Sorry I’m late. I’ll be right up.”
I jogged back to Blue, who was eating funnel cake with a self-satisfied smile on her face.
“Enjoying yourself?” I asked.
“Oh yeah, this is an excellent birthday present,” she replied between bites.
I stopped cold. “Is today your birthday?”
Blue seemed to realize what she’d said and the pleasure on her face melted. “Um, yeah. Don’t tell anyone though, okay? I don’t like celebrating my birthday.”
“Why don’t you like—”
“Jason,” she said harshly. “Leave it.”
She said it with such severity that I decided to listen. My interest was piqued though. If Blue’s birthday was in August, then before this summer none of us would’ve been with her for it, so it wasn’t crazy we didn’t know the date. But it was weird that she seemed so intense about keeping it a secret. Her telling me had clearly been a slip up. Why?
“I’ve got to go,” I said reluctantly. “I need to watch Mauvrey so Daniel and Kai can get some time down here.”
“Boo, what am I supposed to do without you?”
“Hang out with Daniel and Kai.”
“And be a third wheel? Pass.”
“Then how about Girtha, Chance, and Divya? I saw them at the ring toss booth.”
“Yeah, I’m not hanging out with Girtha or Chance.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Blue, you know that you’re going to have to talk to them about your feelings eventually.”
“Thank you, Jason,” Blue huffed and took the tickets from me. “But I didn’t ask for your psychoanalysis. Have a good time babysitting your favorite blonde pet.”
I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. I wanted to say something but changed my mind. I was running late and didn’t want to fight with her now or disrespect her, though I wished she’d stop making such self-destructive relationship choices.
I rode up the ominous orange-lit elevator to Darling Castle. When the doors popped open, and my ears popped from the elevation, I stepped out and the guards on either side of the elevator nodded to me. The twinkling lights of the long runway extending to my left caught my eye for a second until Daniel called to me.
“Hey!”
Daniel and Kai came out of the castle entrance to my right, holding hands. “How’s the festival?” Daniel asked.
“Pretty cool,” I responded. “Blue recommends the funnel cake. I recommend staying away from Blue or she’ll make you pay for everything.”
Daniel smirked. “Better watch it. Can’t set the expectations too high or they’ll never come back down. When this one and I started dating, she knew exactly what she was getting into.” He nodded toward Kai.
Kai smiled, giving him a wink and nudging his arm. “Sure did. Poor and handsome. He’s the total package.”
Daniel gave her a bemused look before readdressing me. “We left Mauvrey in the music room. Daphne is waiting with her until you get there.”
“Got it. Have fun.”
When I arrived at the music room, Daphne and Mauvrey were sitting on the couch. Mauvrey held a teacup that matched the floral design of the teapot on the coffee table. Daphne’s intense red hair starkly contrasted her pure white outfit. I gave a slight wave as I entered.
“You have to let Mauvrey get some rest,” Daphne said directly. I opened my mouth to respond, but Daphne wasn’t done. “Do not let her brave face and perfect posture fool you. Ladies are very good at hiding their fatigue; we are trained to not complain. But I know princess exhaustion when I see it. You may have an agenda, but you and your friends are pushing her too hard.”
“I actually agree with you,” I said. “I’ve been arguing the same thing to the others. I think it’s important she takes breaks and acts like a person, not a machine.”
“You may be the only one who feels that way,” Daphne replied, standing and smoothing out her dress before placing a protective hand on Mauvrey’s shoulder.
“Take care of her, Jason. I am off to judge the festival’s baking contest. My attendants are likely wondering where I am.”
“I saw Cereus a few minutes ago,” I commented, moving to sit in a chair opposite Mauvrey. “Is he judging that too?”
Daphne’s smile turned slightly devious. “No. Cereus and I have an ongoing bet. Whoever wins the most tournaments at the festival gets to judge the sweets-related contests the following year. The loser has to judge the fruit and vegetable contests. I already won two medals earlier for competitive ballroom dance and archery. I think I am off to a good start for retaining my victor title. But what else is new.” She winked at me and headed for the door. “Good night, you two. And Mauvrey, do not forget my advice.”
Mauvrey nodded and took a sip of tea. I looked at her curiously. “What did Daphne tell you?”
“Never live life like an apology,” Mauvrey said solemnly.
“That’s good advice,” I replied.
“And easy advice to give when you have not done much wrong.”
I paused. Being around Mauvrey was like being around a storm cloud that refused to produce rain; there was so much inside her, but she didn’t seem capable of letting it out. Instead she hovered there, marinating in darkness.
How could I help her feel better? I had to find a way. I could never sleep easy if I knew someone I cared about was in trouble. That’s definitely why I’d had so many nightmares recently with flashes of Crisa. Sadly, I couldn’t do anything about her situation now. But Mauvrey was right here. And thinking of Crisa had given me an idea for how to help the depressed princess.
“Mauvrey. Do you think that Crisa is a good person?”
The question startled her. She blinked like someone had shined a light in her face. “I believe so.”
“Do you remember when Tara-Mauvrey forced her to bring that dragon in Century City to life?”
She cocked her head at me. “When Kai and Daniel were here earlier, I actually recalled fragments of that memory. The others had already told me it happened, but it was horrible to relive it. Tara-me ordered Kai to be killed in the Portalscape, using it as motivation to make Crisa wake the dragon.”
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