The Bitches of Everafter: A fairy tale (The Everafter Trilogy Book 1)

by Barbra Annino

  DEDICATION

  For all the bitches out there. Because bitches get stuff done.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Huge thanks to my fabulous beta readers: George Annino, Selena Jones (a.k.a. Miss Disney), Jeffrey Deitering and Dawn Pietruk. Also to Bridget McKenna, for her very skilled, yet gentle editorial hand.

  Editing By: http://www.bridgetmckenna.com/

  Cover Design By: Dane House, LLC

  *Warning*

  Contains language not suitable for most princesses. May also incite belly laughs. Read in public at your own risk.

  DESCRIPTION

  From the author of the #1 bestselling book, OPAL FIRE, comes a brand new spellbinding trilogy inspired by the characters of fairy tales.

  These are not the mild-mannered maidens of your childhood. These are fallen princesses and fierce women with no recollection of who they are, where they came from, or how they arrived in a mysterious town called Everafter. All they know is that they've been sentenced to a stretch in a half-way house by a malicious judge with an ax to grind. They've been stripped of their freedom, their kingdoms, and their true loves. Now, they have nothing left to lose.

  Snow White is the newest parolee to arrive at Granny's House for Girls. It isn't long before she learns that her housemates harbor secrets, and that the mansion itself is a meandering enigma. She stumbles upon forbidden doorways, ghostly passages, and walls that seem to breathe. Determined to find out what’s really happening inside those old walls, Snow embarks on a dangerous discovery mission. Not everyone is thrilled about her nosing around. In fact, there are some who would kill to keep the secrets that the house—and its occupants—hold.

  Prologue

  You think you know these women, but you don’t. They are nothing like the gentle, fearful maidens in the fairytales you have read. The faces they show to the world—bright eyes, fresh skin, cherubic cheeks—reflect not what is deep inside their hearts. Their hearts are darker than their skin, heavier than their laughter, even sharper than their tongues, and I can attest that all of them possess tongues chiseled into dagger points—one lashing by which would have a man checking that his genitals were still intact.

  But it takes more than words to lead a kingdom.

  Should a ruler grow too trusting or complacent in her role as princess, she just might wake up one day to discover that her story has been altered, without a trace of the original in her memoryscape. She could find herself living another life in a place that seems vaguely familiar, but isn’t exactly where she belongs. Her days may seem...shadowed somehow. Her mind fragmented, as if she were trapped in a nightmare from which she will never awaken. Although the princess may not be able to put her finger directly on the mark, she knows deep inside that something is askew.

  You might be wondering how I know all this. It’s simple, really. I’m the one who wrote their stories. Every word, from the very first drop of ink to the last—every line, every bit of dialogue—spilled from my quill.

  It might surprise you to know that I was also the one who changed their stories. Not of my own accord, of course. A scribe has not the power to alter the path of a princess, nor would I ever want to. I loathe editing. I say tell the tale once and be done with it. That’s how the best work emerges. But, alas, these orders came from above my head.

  The messenger who stood before my cottage door smelled of onions and rain clouds, with a pumpkin shaped head too large for his neck. He handed me a scroll which I unrolled and read. My orders were to change only one thing in each of the original five manuscripts I wrote. One word, really. I was to add the word “in” to the very last line—the line that concluded each of the princesses’ stories. I wouldn’t have to revise any other part of the books, nor would I have to add the dreaded epilogue. I loathe epilogues even more than editing. I say if you need to add to the story, then pen a sequel.

  But for the purposes of our story, all you need to know is that once upon a time five beautiful princesses ruled the United Kingdoms of Enchantment. Five princesses who presently have no recollection of the royalty they once were, nor the harshness the world imposed on them when they were so very young.

  Now, they live far, far away. In a town called Everafter.

  1

  Once Upon a Crime

  “You took a wrong turn back there, Aura,” Cindy said, snapping open a map that momentarily obstructed Aura’s view.

  The car swerved on the rocky road as Aura slapped the map away. She aimed a green-eyed glare at Cindy who smirked back, batting her long lashes.

  “Well, I wasn’t the one holding the map, now was I, Cindy?” Aura snapped. She blew out an impatient sigh.

  The two women in the front seat of the electric silver automobile glared at each other for another brief moment. Cindy made an obscene hand gesture before reaching inside her pocket for a flask. She unscrewed the top and took a swig. Aura got a whiff of tequila.

  From the back seat, a sing-song voice said, “Come on, ladies don’t fight.”

  The honey-haired tequila drinker and the green-eyed driver both spat, “Shut up, Snow!”

  Snow balled her fists in her jacket pocket.

  Next to Snow, Punzie said, “I think we should have gone to the river. I hate the canyon. It gives me the creeps. It’s like an endless pit of...nothingness.” She picked up her platinum braid off the floorboard and twisted it around her fingers. Punzie’s security blanket (and ultimate weapon) was her hair.

  Cindy moaned. “Not the fear of heights thing again.” She hiccupped and downed another shot of tequila. “You swing from a pole for god’s sake.”

  Snow said, “Doc said we aren’t supposed to use the word ‘fear’. It gives power to our weaknesses.” Snow had been weakened long enough, for reasons she still didn’t understand.

  Punzie ignored Snow. “Have another drink, Cindy. Maybe you’ll find a personality in the bottom of that flask.” She kicked the back of Cindy’s seat.

  Cindy turned around to grab Punzie’s braid, but the lighter-haired woman was too fast. She ducked into Snow’s lap.

  “Hey, maybe a personality would dry her out.” Aura turned the wheel of the car she had stolen and pointed it north down Briar Patch Road toward Forest Canyon Lane.

  “Up yours, Aura,” Cindy said. “Don’t judge me until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes.”

  “How could I do that? Didn’t your ex get the shoe store in the divorce?”

  Cindy huffed and turned toward her window.

  Aura picked up speed, guiding the car deeper into the canyon. She flicked a look to Cindy who was still pouting. “Oh please, so your husband is gay. It happens. Get over it.”

  Cindy said nothing.

  “Don’t antagonize her, Aura,” Snow said. She didn’t get angry often, but this entire situation made her want to collect every animal within a sixty mile radius and take them all home for a group hug. Animals were never cruel to her—only people. She wished she could live in the forest forever just to get away from the damned human race.

  “Mind your own business, Snow, and stop with the psycho-babble. We get enough of that bullshit from Doc.” Punzie looked out the window at the evening sun. It was slowly slipping behind the mountain that anchored the slate colored rocks.

  “Thank you, Snow,” Cindy said. “At least you understand.” She swigged some more tequila.

  Aura snorted. “Of course she understands. She’s...” She looked in the review mirror at the raven-haired beauty, who met her gaze with a glare. She cut her words short.

  Punzie caught the exchange. “Oh, so now y
ou’re going to shut your trap? Because Snow frowned at you? Wow, Aura, you’re getting soft.”

  Snow’s pale skin grew even paler. She bit her tongue, but she wanted to take Punzie’s braid and wrap it around her neck.

  Punzie flicked Snow’s cheek.

  “Ouch!” Snow took her hand out of her pocket to rub the sore spot. “Don’t do that again.”

  Punzie snorted. “Oh what are you going to do, Snow?” She gathered her hair up tighter and twisted it into a fresh knot.

  Cindy said, “Well she could cut your braid off while you sleep—that’s always an option. She’d probably get a medal for it, too.” Cindy twisted her head to look at Punzie. “How many guys have you tried to strangle with that noose?”

  “At least I wasn’t dumb enough to punch a cop,” Punzie said.

  Cindy’s face reddened with rage. “For the umpteenth time, I was aiming for my ex-husband!”

  “Shut up, all of you, or I swear to God I’ll pull a Thelma and Louise and drive us all into the fucking canyon!” Aura shouted.

  Silence. Doctor Jack Bean had made them all watch the movie together in a feeble attempt to force them to bond during one of their sessions. The real strength you all have lies within you. And if you would open yourselves up to the nurturing love of female friendship, you might find that you have more in common than you think.

  The car bumped along the rocky road for a while, edging up the side of the steep cliffs, the women inside unusually quiet for a change. A lot had transpired to bring them to this moment. To bring them together. It wasn’t every day a woman found herself in such dire straits. But these were no ordinary women. These were fallen women, all of whom were now inextricably bound together by one horrific thread.

  None of them were happy about that.

  Aura swung the car around the final curve and crested the hill. The car sputtered and struggled, so she switched it into second gear until they reached the top of the canyon where it met the evening sky. A slender woman with wavy walnut hair leaned against a large boulder tapping her foot. She was wearing faded jeans, boots, and large sunglasses despite the darkening sky.

  Aura stopped the car, and the foursome stepped out.

  The brunette spit out a wad of gum and said, “It’s about time. Where have you bitches been?”

  Aura ran her hands through her long locks. “Bella, I’ve had a nightmare day, so just back off, all right?”

  Bella looked around at the dusty road. “You’d better not have been followed.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Punzie said. “No one saw us. No one knows.”

  Bella relaxed her shoulders. “Good.” She approached the group. “Let’s get this over with then.”

  Aura walked around to the back of the car and stuck a key in the trunk. She pointed her chin at Snow. “Ready?”

  Cindy parked a hand on her hip, swaying a bit. “Yeah, Princess.” She waved her arm over her head in an exaggerated motion. “You ready?”

  Snow sighed. This had gone too far. Of course if they had cooperated with her in the first place, they may have found a solution to their dilemma before it got to this point. No one had to get hurt. Instead they fought her right from the get-go.

  “It’s not my fault we’re in this mess,” she said.

  The other three began arguing about exactly who was to blame for the tangled web they found themselves in now. Aura left the trunk, heading toward the front of the car to settle the others down. With each woman trying to outdo the other by raising her voice an octave, Snow fought the urge to leave them all behind. She’d find her own way home. She could be free of them. All of them. Forever. All she had to do was run.

  Except running away wasn’t her style. Besides, what good would it do to leave? They were all in this together, and one way or another, they had to finish it. There was no turning back.

  Finally, tired of listening to the squawking, Snow tossed up her arms. The other women were still flapping their jaws as she turned the key in the lock and the trunk popped up without a sound. Snow gasped and jumped back as if she had been burned.

  It couldn’t be.

  And yet, it was.

  She called to the others whose voices were growing louder, angrier. “Ladies?”

  When no one answered she raised her voice. “Hey, guys?”

  Nothing.

  The thing about Snow was that she was, at heart, a gentle soul. There was a calmness in her speech, a softness to her touch, a simple grace to her movements. Her very essence was a silky wave of comfort, like snuggling beneath a blanket with a favorite book in front of a glowing fire. But after spending time with these other women in court-mandated housing, a tiny nugget of her being had hardened.

  She stuck two fingers in her mouth and blew out a whistle that echoed across the canyon. “I’m talking to you, bitches!”

  Bella, Aura, Cindy, and Punzie all turned toward Snow, mouths agape.

  They had never heard her shout, let alone swear. She took some sweet satisfaction in shocking them.

  “You need to see this.” She motioned for them to join her at the back of the car.

  The four begrudgingly shuffled across the rocky unpaved road and toward the trunk of the car. They peered inside.

  Cindy pulled out her flask and took a swig, her hand shaking. A bead of sweat formed on Aura’s brow as she stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the contents of the trunk. Punzie grabbed the tequila from Cindy’s quivering hand, sucked some down, and passed it to Aura who took a long pull.

  Bella sighed and marched off toward her own car.

  Snow stared at the person in the trunk wrapped in a rug tied with rope. Wide, flitting eyes stared back.

  “Goddamnit, didn’t anyone check for a pulse?” Aura muttered.

  “Let’s not point fingers now. It won’t do any good.” Snow said.

  Cindy said, “The judge will add kidnapping to our crimes for sure.”

  “And assault. I’ll have three strikes. There’s no walking away from that,” said Punzie.

  “It’s not like we can commit murder and make it all go away.” Cindy hiccupped.

  Bella returned with a large double-edged blade, which she flashed at the others. “Sure we can.”

  She leaned into the trunk.

  2

  Hickory Dickory Doc

  Earlier that week...

  Doctor Jack Bean was reviewing his notes from the last anger management group session he had hosted when he heard a soft rapping on the door of his office at the Everafter Community Center. Doctor Bean didn’t like receiving patients who didn’t have an appointment, nor did he particularly enjoy any unannounced visitors. It made him nervous when people just showed up to talk to him, and it didn’t matter if it was at his office, at a coffee shop, at his home (that particular offense had resulted in more than one change of address), or, like now, at the community center where he volunteered his services. In fact, the good doctor’s own mother wasn’t quite sure where he presently resided, and that was just fine with him. Although, if he were candid with himself, he did wonder if perhaps he should examine this quirk (he refused to call it a phobia—more of a coping mechanism. Phobias were fear and Jack Bean feared nothing.) Maybe he’d take it up with a colleague.

  Jack cleared his throat and checked his reflection in the computer screen. He had indulged in a delicious blueberry pie and coffee with cream, no sugar, at Gretel’s Cafe on Candy Lane. There was the slightest smidge of blue tucked into the dimple on his right cheek. He wiped it away, brushed his dark hair back, pasted on a smile, and opened the door.

  The smile Jack usually reserved for drop-ins was tight with an air of curtness just so the person on the other side of the door was under no illusion that the intrusion was welcome. He couldn’t have people thinking they could accost him at all hours of the night and day. He was a professional—he deserved respect.

  However, when Dr. Bean laid his bespectacled eyes on the magnificent creature that stood before him on this warm August
day, the pinched smile he had practiced so hard in the mirror fell off his face. His jawline melted, his eyes widened, and there was the tiniest flutter in his stomach.

  She was several inches shorter than him, with black silky hair, skin like the cream he loved in his coffee, and lips the color of Red Delicious apples. Her scent was woodsy, yet laced with a feminine quality he couldn’t pinpoint. Her eyes were bright—the brightest blue he had ever seen, like the sky just after dawn before the clouds skipped across it. A sadness etched its way around them too, and Jack resisted the urge to gather her in his arms and whisper words of reassurance. He had the uncomfortable sense that in the unlikely event a sword should appear at that moment, he would hoist it in the air and declare war against any dragon who would dare harm this exquisite woman.

  Her words broke the spell. “I’m so terribly sorry to bother you, Doctor. I was instructed to come here and speak with you.”

  Jack shook his head. He wanted to douse himself with cold water or deliver a slap to his own cheek. What was that nonsense? What had overcome him? He was a professional for goodness’ sake. Not a schoolboy on his first date.

  The curt smile returned. “I understand. Please come in.” He stepped aside and the woman walked into his office.

  Berries. That was the feminine scent. He leaned in to sniff her hair. She turned around and suddenly their faces were inches apart despite the height difference.

  “Oh,” she said, visibly startled.

  Jack stepped back. “My apologies, Miss. My quarters here are rather cramped. Do sit down.” He motioned to a seat across from his desk.

  Her shoulders relaxed and Jack was relieved that she accepted that excuse. Better than her thinking he was a pervert. Because he wasn’t.

  Get it together, Jack, he chastised himself, or it’ll be you standing in front of Judge Redhood.