Ever After High: 5-Minute Fairytale Stories
Page 5
They told Farrah that
if Ashlynn did not fall
in love with a Prince
Charming, there would
be no Cinderella, and
Farrah would disappear.
Now it was up to Farrah to fix her fairytale.
Back in her room, the Three Fairies’ words
echoed in Farrah’s head. “What am I going to
do?” she said. Her head dropped on her desk.
Farrah wanted to tell Ashlynn that if she chose
Hunter instead of a Prince Charming, they might
both disappear. But she couldn’t ask a friend to
make a choice like that. This was something she
had to figure out on her own.
It was hard for Farrah
to hocus focus with
the possibility of
disappearing hanging
over her wings. But
she had to. The final
outfit for her hexam
was finally finished and
ready to be photographed
for her MirrorBlog.
The centerpiece of Farrah’s design was a twist
on Cinderella’s classic glass slippers. Cedar had
hand-painted the entire Cinderella story on the
slippers, making them hextra special.
“Oh, Cedar!” Farrah
exclaimed when Cedar
arrived with the shoes.
“They’re perfect!” Fairy
gently, Farrah picked up
the shoes.
Just as Farrah went to place the glass slippers
next to the gown she’d designed, Lizzie came
into the room, slamming the door a little too
hard behind her. Farrah dropped the shoes in
surprise and they fell to the floor, shattering.
Cedar, Lizzie, and Farrah stood frozen in
shock. They were speechless.
“Aces and jacks, no!”
Lizzie said. “I’m so sorry,
Farrah.”
“It’s okay, Lizzie,”
Farrah replied. “These
things happen.” Farrah
tapped the shattered
slippers with her wand, and they
came back together. But the hand-
painted art was gone. The spell
could not restore that.
“What are we going to do?”
cried Cedar. There isn’t enough
time to start over!”
Farrah sighed. “I think I need to
clear my head. I’ll talk to you guys later.” She
left the room just as the Hickory-Dickory-Dock-
Clock struck midnight.
Flying through the Enchanted Forest helped
Farrah think. She thought maybe she could just
conjure a plain pair
of glass slippers.
If Ashlynn and
Hunter were still
a couple, she’d
disappear and none of
this would matter anyway. The
next thing Farrah knew, the sun
peeked through the trees. She’d
completely lost track of time!
Farrah flew back to school
as fast as her wings would
carry her, darting over
bushes, around
trees, and under logs.
Suddenly, she slammed
into something.
Or rather, someone.
Farrah had flown
right into Hunter.
She apologized: “I
should watch where
I’m flying. Are you
okay, Hunter?”
Hunter Huntsman
stood up gingerly and
swayed dizzily. “I’m
fine,” he assured her. “It’s
nothing compared to the
catapults in Hero Training. Where are you off to?”
“Oh, I’ve got to finish my fairy godmother
project,” she hexplained.
“Oh, Ashlynn’s story,” he said, looking down
at his feet. “She’s kind of been acting weird
lately. I keep telling her, I might not be royalty,
but we’re destined to be together.”
He kicked a rock with his raggedy boot.
Looking at his boot, Farrah finally had an idea
that would fix the whole fairytale mess!
“Hunter, you’re a genius! Follow me!” she said,
flying as fast as she could toward the school.
Like true friends forever, Cedar and Lizzie
helped Farrah until the stroke of midnight
before the presentation. They wished her luck
as she made her way toward the Charmitorium
stage and the waiting Three Fairy Council.
When it was Farrah’s turn, Ashlynn stepped
from behind the curtain, wearing ash-covered
clothes, just like from the beginning of their
story. The Council hexpected Farrah to tap
Ashlynn with her wand and magically change her
clothes into Farrah’s spellbinding design. But
Farrah had a different idea in mind.
Hunter walked onto the stage and stood
next to Ashlynn. The Three Fairies murmured
nervously to one another, unsure of what to
hexpect. Farrah waved her wand and tapped
Hunter on the head.
Hunter’s woodsman outfit changed into a
classic royal suit, complete with a noble coat-of-
arms and a pair of black, glass boots. He looked
just like a prince.
Farrah told the Three Fairy Council that this
was her solution to Ashlynn falling in love with
Hunter instead of a Prince Charming.
“Cinderella is about two people who live
Happily Ever After, even though they aren’t
supposed to be together,” Farrah said. “I’m just
making a few alterations. This story isn’t going
anywhere.”
One of the fairies held up her hand. She
cracked a small smile. “Well done,” she said
at last.
Farrah had passed the Fairy Godmother test!
Farrah’s wings lifted her off the ground!
Ashlynn and Hunter still could have a Happily
Ever After, and Farrah was there
to stay, no matter what.
Duchess Swan
Before Princessology class began, all the
other girls flocked together to chitchat about
boys and parties while Duchess
Swan pored over her notes. The
midterm hexams were only a few
weeks away, and Duchess knew
it took a lot of hocus focus to
be the top princess in school.
After the bell rang, their
teacher, Mrs. Her Majesty
the White Queen, glided
into the room and began
class. She hexplained that for
their midterm hexams, the
students would be graded on
their ability to inspire people
with their Happily Ever Afters.
Duchess grew worried. Her fairytale, Swan
Lake, didn’t have a Happily Ever After. In fact,
when it was Duchess’s turn to be the White
Swan, her story was destined to have a tragic
ending in which she would be cursed into the
body of a swan.
After class, Duchess asked her teacher how
she could inspire others with her Happily Ever
After if she didn’t have one. She recounted her
fairytale for Mrs. Her Majesty the White Queen,
explaining that it was actually a ballet called Swan
Lake. In
the story, Duchess was a princess who
was cursed into a swan’s body by an evil wizard.
Her Prince Charming would fall in love with her
and promise to break the spell. But, instead of
having a Happily Ever After, the prince would
be tricked into falling in love with the wizard’s
daughter, the Black Swan.
Tears began rolling down Duchess’s cheeks as
she thought of her tragic ending.
“Oh, I see,” Mrs. Her Majesty the White
Queen said, laying her hand over her heart. “But
no matter how your story ends, the assignment
is still to inspire your audience. Inspiration is the
key to a Happily Ever After.”
Duchess thought that inspiring her audience
was the least of her worries. She was sure
everyone loved her! But she also knew it would
take some work. Duchess’s story wasn’t as
popular as Apple White’s or Ashlynn Ella’s. But
still, Duchess thought she was the most graceful,
most talented princess in Ever After High! She
was sure it was only a matter of time before
everyone flocked to her.
But Duchess couldn’t find fans anywhere in
the Village of Book End. “Hey, you!” she called
out. “I’m performing my ballet, the story of the
Swan Queen! You and your son should come.”
“You mean my daughter?” the ogre lady
said, upset Duchess had assumed her daughter
was a boy. She grabbed her daughter’s arm and
stomped away.
“Like it matters,” Duchess grumbled under
her breath. She was too annoyed to be polite.
“What about you, sir?” she said to a man
sitting near her, reading a book. “Come see
my fairytale, Swan Lake! It’s not like you have
anything better to do.”
The man looked just as upset as the ogre lady.
“You’re very rude, young lady! This isn’t how
to get fans,” he said to Duchess as he stormed
away. But instead of listening, Duchess just
became more annoyed.
Hmmph! she thought. Duchess couldn’t believe
no one wanted to come to her show, or that
a stranger thought she was rude. But after a
moment, Duchess started to think. She’d upset
the ogre lady and the man with the book. Then
she remembered how in Princessology, all the
other girls would chat before class, and never
included Duchess.
Duchess knew that the White Swan wasn’t
supposed to be rude. But maybe everyone was
right. . .and Duchess hadn’t been fairy nice.
Luckily, there was one person
Duchess could go to for honesty:
Faybelle Thorn, daughter of the
Dark Fairy. Faybelle’s destiny
was to be a villain, and she
royally embraced the role.
When Duchess arrived at
Faybelle’s room, she asked
her for the truth. “Faybelle,
am I an awful person?” she
asked.
“Oh godmother, no,”
Faybelle responded. “Why would
you ever think that?”
“Nobody wants to see my midterm hexam
performance,” Duchess explained. “People think
I say rude things. But that doesn’t make any
sense. I’m the next White Swan.”
Faybelle thought for a moment before
answering. “Duchess, maybe really you’re the
next Black Swan.”
Duchess was upset. She was the princess in
her story—not the villain!
Faybelle hexplained that the
White Swan was supposed
to be humble, modest,
and vulnerable.
The Black Swan
wasn’t.
Duchess worried that Faybelle was right—
perhaps she was a villain at heart. But then,
she realized she could take back control of this
fairytale. It was time to set the story straight.
Duchess had to rediscover her White Swan side.
The White Swan is humble. Duchess had to
swallow her pride and admit her mistakes. So
Duchess went back into the Village of Book
End to find the ogre lady and the man with
the book. She apologized to both of them and
offered them front-row seats to her performance
if they were interested in coming.
The White Swan is modest. Duchess had to earn
her fans if she wanted anyone to come to her
performance, so it was time for her to be nice
and polite to everyone. So, as she walked around
Book End, she spoke about her story modestly.
“Hexcuse me, I’m performing my fairytale for
my midterm hexam,” she said politely as people
passed by. “Though you might not know my
story fairy well, I think you will find it moving.”
People seemed a lot more interested than last
time.
The White Swan is vulnerable. On the night of
midterm hexams, Duchess danced her true heart
out. During the tragic ending, there wasn’t a
dry eye in the house. The crowd erupted in a
standing ovation! The stage flooded with flower
bouquets! Duchess had done it! She inspired
her fans. They loved her. Duchess’s tragedy had
become a Happily Ever After.
Darling Charming
The “Charming” family
name came with a lot of
hexpectations. Many
fairytales had a
Prince Charming
who saved the
day, and one
day Daring and
Dexter Charming
would be heroes
in their own fairytales.
But their little sister,
Darling Charming,
didn’t know of any story
for the daughter of King
Charming.
Since Darling was a Charming,
Headmaster Grimm “just happened”
to discover a nearly forgotten fairytale called
“Princess Charming” and declared it Darling’s
destiny. Darling was pretty sure he made it up.
There was only one problem: The story required
her to be a damsel-in-distress. But Darling
wanted to be a hero!
One day, Darling was out with her brother,
Daring, trying on a glamorous ball gown she
would wear for Spring Fairest. While she was
being fitted in the dress shop, Darling looked
at the gown her mother had picked out. It was
spellbinding, but Darling wondered how she
was going to be able to play the Fairest Games.
Still, she’d wear it to make her family happy.
Darling thanked the seamstress for helping
with her dress and followed Daring out of the
shop. Suddenly, a flier with a picture of a sad-
looking ogre was put in her hands.
“Bring back Rugsy!” shouted Rosabella
Beauty, daughter of Beauty and the Beast, as she
handed a flier to everyone who passed by. “He
was unjustly kicked out of school. Being an ogre
is not a crime!”
“Rescue an ogre?” Daring said as he doubled
over with laughter. Darling’s heart broke for
Rugsy. Some Charming needed to help, and it
obviously wasn’t going to be Daring.
Darling had a feeling her other brother,
Dexter, might want to help the ogre. They had
always understood each other, and she was sure
he’d join this just cause.
Darling found Dexter slumping against his
locker. He had a quill and paper in one hand,
and a picture of Raven Queen, the good-hearted
daughter of the Evil Queen, in the other. He’d
had a crush on her for a while.
Darling sat down next to him. “You okay?”
she asked.
Dexter sighed. “I can’t find the right words to
tell Raven how I feel.” He buried his face into
the paper as he crossed out and rewrote a poem
a few times over.
Darling could tell he was
too distracted to help. It
was time for Plan B. If
Dexter couldn’t help
her, she hoped that
Raven could.
Darling found
Ravenin her room and
hexplained that she wanted
to help Rugsy the ogre. She
wanted Raven to teleport her
to the ogre so she could help bring
him back to school.
Raven tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I’ve got
to warn you,” she said at last. “My magic can
backfire when I use it to help people. You still
want to go through with this?”
Without any hesitation, Darling nodded. She