The Forgotten Fairytales

by Angela Parkhurst

  I left soon after and found myself staggering through the dark, cold forest. I shivered as I shouldered through branches, leaves crunching under every step I took. Somewhere along the way, between the cold and the fact I was slipping deeper and deeper into the woods, I debated leaving a trail to find my way back.

  The thought of leaving a breadcrumb trail evoked an image of Hansel and Gretel lost in the forest. Their little trail didn’t help them. I guess I’d have to take my chances. Not that I wanted to go back. Hope of mending my relationship with April was quickly crushed. For a girl who she assumed had everything, I sure felt like a piece of shit who had no one. No friends, no sister, nadda.

  “Norah?” I swirled and tripped over a tree trunk. Finn’s hands broke my fall. Damn him and his quick reflexes. “What are you doing?”

  “Um, you know, just walking around.” I shrugged.

  “At eleven o’clock at night?”

  “Yep.” Be casual, Norah. He doesn’t have to know I’m sneaking through the woods to find some party of villains. Hopefully they had drinks. If not, I knew Finn would be good for a shot.

  He narrowed his eyes. Somewhere in the distance music drifted into the air. The beat hit my hips but I stayed still, unwilling to dance no matter how bad I wanted to. Wolf was right, I did need to let loose. Damn him.

  “Come on.” He motioned for me to follow him. “This way.”

  Was Mr. Prince Charming going to the anti-royal party? That would make for an interesting night.

  We followed a thin trail until a veil of moss stopped us. He pulled it back and that’s when I saw the people, the drinking, and the dancing. Smoke billowed into the air and sucked me in. The flames of the bonfire stretched into the sky like arms reaching for the stars.

  An ember sparked and a group of girls laughed. A part of me wished I knew these people better. I was a stranger in a strange place, a place I still didn’t want to be, yet I longed for a friend and acceptance.

  Finn handed me a red plastic cup filled to the brim with golden liquid. One sniff burned nose hairs, telling me this was not beer. Not even close. But didn’t smell like any liquor I ever had. Relax. Forget about April. Forget about Dad. Forget about everything. Letting out a heavy breath, I rolled my shoulders back, the tension slowly slipping away.

  “How fast can you chug?” I asked Finn. “I have a record of ten seconds.”

  “Seriously?”

  I nodded. He had no idea of what I was capable of.

  Finn raised his glass to mine. “Alright, let’s see it.”

  The cup touched my lips and excitement coursed through my veins. The liquid burned like the flames of hell as I lost feeling in my throat and chugged. The trick was not to think about it, or taste anything. Just let it flow like water. A burp came out as I finished. I covered my mouth and Finn stared, wide-eyed, laughing.

  “Ten seconds, like a champion,” he said. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

  Almost immediately, the beginning of a buzz washed over me, spreading warmth through my body. Head to toe. Whoa. Whatever I drank was super strong. I never got buzzed after one drink.

  “I suck at so much.” My shoulder knocked into his. Finn’s strong hands steadied me. His fingertips were lightly callused, yet they still sent waves of excitement through me as he held on. I closed my eyes, wishing I could slip into a different world with him.

  “Doubtful.”

  “So, you’re Norah.” A girl in red skinny jeans and tank top with a glittery heart—appeared at our side, paying little attention to Finn. Shoulder length dark hair framed her face, the edges layered and flipped out. “Wolf told me all about you—the non-princess.” Heart Girl grinned, eying the closeness between Finn and I. “He’s right. You are daring.”

  “No more daring than drinking whatever this is.” I tipped my cup over to show the empty contents. “Speaking of which, where can I get more?”

  “This way,” Heart said, winking at Finn before dragging me away. I didn’t look back to see his expression, I only moved forward, filling my cup with whatever was in the round barrel she brought me to. “I’m Desiree. You dance?”

  I nodded and chugged half of the contents of my drink down. The cool liquid coated my throat. The stress and worry melted away as Desiree and I maneuvered to the makeshift dance floor, which was really only a circle of dirt and dead grass.

  While Finn chatted with a guy dressed in a long cape, his eyes kept coming back to mine. A crooked smile washed over his lips. My heart fluttered as I hurried through the crowd—I didn’t trip, go me!—and toward him. I latched onto his wrists and started laughing.

  “How much have you had to drink?”

  I shrugged. “Juss a few. Come dance with me.”

  “I don’t dance.”

  “That’s such a cop-out,” I said. “Please, pretty, pretty please.” I batted my eyelashes and pouted my bottom lip. Still he didn’t cave. Without thinking, I tossed my arms around his neck and pushed up on my tip toes, our lips colliding together. It was a simple kiss, yet when I pulled away his jade eyes glittered back at me.

  “Now will you dance with me?”

  “I’ll, um, grab a drink and meet you there.”

  Finn never came to the dance floor, but that didn’t stop me.

  The music thrummed along my skin, so did a nice layer of sweat, but I didn’t mind. A new song came on, one I knew. Throwing my hands in the air I sang along, lost in my own world of music and dancing and freedom. God, I felt so free. So carefree, after months and months of stressing over April and Dad, and then this school. Nothing mattered now. Nothing at all.

  Somebody bumped into me and I toppled forward, knocking into Desiree, at least, I thought it was Desiree. Who knew anymore.

  “Keep steady, little princess.” Is it possible to love and hate a nickname at the same time? A thick arm laced around my waist, but I didn’t push him away. Wolf took my hand, his mouth close to my ear as he brought my hand up and waved it in the air. Dazzling pink lights trailed along my fingertips like sparklers. I gasped, mesmerized by the beauty.

  “How?”

  “Magic. It’s a side effect of the drink. Watch.”

  Together we drew in the night sky, spelling out his name then mine. As we danced, his hips pressed against me, our bodies so tight I wondered if there was any place better in the entire world. God, he smelled so good, like pine and fire. A scent so intoxicating I couldn’t help but sink into him.

  His strong hands slid up and down my sides, bunching the material of my dress between his fingers. Fingers I wanted all over me. The warmth of his breath trailed over my damp skin, and I shivered in his arms, wanting more and more of him. Draping one arm over his neck, I traced the lines of his face, feeling the scratchiness of his stubble against my fingertips. I needed to see him, to know he was real and not a dream. That this was real.

  I swirled into him, face-to-face, our bodies wrapped together in a way that would have embarrassed me if I wasn’t so out of it. I touched his face again, my hands crawling over it, memorizing the lines, the eased tension in his brows, the smoothness of his big nose and how fiery red his eyes were, with just a touch of gold.

  Those full lips of his were eye level. All I wanted was to feel them, to kiss them, to have them all over me. And a second later, they were. Everyone washed away the moment Wolf’s hot lips pressed against my neck. I gasped, looping my fingers around his belt. His tongue slid over my skin, sucking on one spot until I quivered under his touch, pleading for more. And then we stopped and I almost collapsed in the dirt.

  His fingers laced in mine, we wandered through the crowd. I wasn’t sure how the hell I danced let alone walked over tree roots and branches. Somehow I still held onto the cup, the magic liquid sloshed over the edge, wetting my dress. I frowned, staggering forward, bumping into people, muttering apologies until we reached the trees leading to the forest.

  Wolf stopped, the music behind us, as was the laughter of our schoolmates. His mouth slammed into
mine, pressing me back against a tree. Without complaint, I sank into his strong arms. There was nothing but hot breath, exploring tongues, and the fiery sensation of him touching me. I wanted him to touch me in places that hadn’t been touched. He lifted me and my legs reflexively wrapped around his hips, balancing between him and the tree. We fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

  His fingers dug into my thighs, running up and down my bare skin. I imagined Wolf kissed a lot of girls, but at the same time, he kissed me as if I was the only girl he ever wanted to kiss. As if our lips were meant to always touch.

  “You want me.”

  I nodded, kissing him hard to tell him yes, yes I wanted him. God, I wanted him more than I ever wanted a guy in my life. He growled low, pinning me harder, kissing me harder than he had all night.

  Breaking my lips from his, I noticed his shirt was unbuttoned, exposing an unusual slash-like scar on his chest. Cupping my face, he brought us back together again. When Wolf kissed me I wasn’t in some weird school with storybook characters. I wasn’t a lousy sister or someone’s second best. For those minutes I was desired, lusted for. It didn’t matter that I barely knew him, because he wanted me and I wanted to be wanted. So, so badly.

  His lips trailed down my neck and onto my chest. His hands toyed with the hem of my underwear and then his hands were gone and I was on the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Finn’s voice penetrated my clouded mind. He sounded so far away.

  “Fuck off.”

  “Out of all girls you had to go after her?”

  Wolf let out a heavy laugh. “I didn’t realize she was off limits, considering you already have a girl.”

  I wished I could see their faces instead of blurred images. I blinked several times and tried to stand, but tripped over my feet and landed in the dirt. Twigs scratched my palms, though I barely felt a thing.

  “She’s different and you know it. Anyone else. Anyone but her, got it?”

  Wolf shoved him and Finn stumbled backward. “Don’t ever tell me what to do. I’d hate to ruin that pretty face of yours.” He laughed again. “What am I talking about? I’d love nothing more than to fuck you up.”

  When I opened my mouth, words didn’t come out, only sounds. God, what was wrong with me? How much did I drink that I couldn’t speak? My legs were like jelly. I wasn’t sure what else happened, what was said between them, but before I knew it, I was puking in the dead grass.

  Finn knelt beside me and trailed his cool hand over my back. “Just breathe, you’ll be okay. I promise.”

  If elephants could play street hockey, they were doing so on my head, and the biggest one just scored a goal. The pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Nausea coiled in my stomach like a snake wishing to kill me. I wished it would kill me.

  Finn passed me a tall glass of water and a few aspirin. Despite Finn’s good intentions, I was not going to drink the water. No matter how hellish I felt. What did I drink anyway, a magical elixir that made you drunk super fast?

  He shrugged off his coat, draping it over my bare shoulders.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, rubbing my temples. “I’m sorry I ruined your night.”

  “You didn’t,” he said. “I had fun. I should have warned you about the drinks.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  He grinned. “Would you have listened?”

  My smile matched his. “Probably not.”

  “Exactly.” There was a little too much enjoyment in his voice. “Plus, getting smashed is like an initiation.”

  Great, now they’d accepted me. Here. Into the home of the criminally insane.

  Owls cooed in the distance, the night rustled around us, preparing for dawn. Beside me, Finn picked up the small flute sitting on the table between us. Closing his eyes, he brought it to his lips and the most enchanting melody filled the air. A song so familiar I felt as if I should know the words, yet I didn’t. Instead, I hummed along and soon the hum turned into an Ah. Surprisingly, the music weakened my headache.

  A few measures in after I joined, Finn stopped. I looked over to find him staring back at me with wide jade eyes.

  “You sing.” It wasn’t so much a questions as an observation.

  “I do.” Not much though. In fact, ever since Dad heard me sing and told me I sang like my mother, I decided to stop. I didn’t want to be like her. She was a quitter and nobody liked a quitter.

  “How come you aren’t in choir?”

  I grinned. “Just because I can sing doesn’t mean I like to sing.”

  Finn sat back, his bows pulled inward, his shoulders tense. Did my singing stress him out? So weird.

  The events played over in my mind and somehow I found myself in the woods again. The fog lifted and I remembered the fierceness in Finn’s eyes as he tore Wolf off me. I shivered at the thought of how far things had escalated between Wolf and I. If Finn hadn’t come, I knew I would have done something regretful.

  “Why were you there?” I blurted out, thankful my voice matched the cool atmosphere and not my racing heart. “I didn’t think royals socialized under their class.” Gosh, I sounded like Danielle and Wolf and everyone else in the damn school.

  “They don’t,” he replied. “But labels aren’t my thing.”

  The dim moonlight streaked across his tired eyes. Norah covered her mouth, stifling a yawn. “For the record, I don’t believe this is true. I mean—no offense—but fairy tales belong in books, not in real life. You can’t classify a person solely based on one story.”

  A few years back, my dad took me to see Wicked on Broadway. I fell in love with the concept of how Elphaba became “wicked”; losing her sister, betrayed by her best friend, the so-called “good” one, losing the one you loved, being hated.

  Couldn’t that be the same with any story? Couldn’t the villains just be misunderstood? No one knew their back-story, just what had been said in books, but not in truth. And what really made a person evil to begin with? Perhaps their actions were justified. The wicked witch certainly was. Hell, I would’ve flipped if I was her.

  “I agree.” Finn’s voice snapped me from my thoughts.

  “You do?”

  “I mean, I know why people are classified. It makes sense, but a title doesn’t make them any less human.”

  I smiled and nestled my head in the pillow. My stomach tightened as Finn smiled back at me—a real smile, not a smart-ass grin like Wolf but a real genuine smile. Despite the rough beginning, at least I met a decent person. A little weird and out of it sometimes, but decent nevertheless.

  “There is one story, one my mom used to tell me at night that I liked a lot.” His voice was a whisper, soothing my aching mind, weakening my eyes so keeping them open was a chore. “About the princess from the temple.”

  “What about her?” I yawned.

  “Well, the story says a prince was drowning in the sea and woke up on the shore, saved by this beautiful princess. But he passed out from the trauma and when he woke up again, the princess was gone. He searched for her but only found one other girl, one just as beautiful, but she didn’t enchant him the way the other princess had. Nevertheless, his father decided it was time for the prince to marry. If he had to take a bride other than the one who saved him, then he said he’d marry the one he befriended, even though he only loved her as a friend and nothing more.”

  I yawned again, barely hearing as Finn’s voice trailed off into the night. “On the day he and the girl were to marry, he ran off to a temple to pray and there he found the princess, the one who saved him, the one he loved. That same day, they were married.”

  “Let me guess, they lived happily ever after?”

  Finn shrugged. “Who knows, but at least they were together, right?”

  The longest we stayed in one place was when I was twelve and we lived in West Palm Beach. Dad loved the Florida beaches and I loved the palm trees. Dad signed a two-year contract at a local academy and enrolled us into private school. Back then, I ha
d braces and glasses and even though I knew self-defense, I never stood up for myself.

  The back of the classroom and the corner of the cafeteria were my only friends. From day one, I was a joke. Not pretty enough, pear-shaped hips and no chest. They called me a boy and spread rumors I was half-and-half. Desperate to be popular, I tried out for cheerleading and got laughed off the field. Guys tripped me in the halls, scattered my books, and even poured chocolate milk on my white shorts.

  The summer after my first school year, the braces came off and I met Remy. Life changed. Remy introduced me to highlights and we spent the summer tanning on the beach and talking to boys. That summer was the summer I turned pretty, the summer I found confidence, the summer my boobs finally came, and the summer I had my first kiss. The old, nerdy Norah went away and I found myself.

  I’d forgotten what it felt like to be that girl—until I saw Kate on the first day of school.

  Now, Kate sat at a table near the entrance of the cafeteria, her head in the book used for our potions class. Her blonde hair draped over her face, hiding the scar and masking the nervous twitch in her brows I knew was there. I saw through the façade better than anyone.

  “Norah!”

  I peered over my shoulder and saw Desiree strutting toward me in a pair of skinny red jeans and a matching red leather jacket. Underneath was a plain black tank. Her high crimson stilettos muffled against the wood floors. Up close I realized she had two different eye colors—the left green, the right brown.

  “You look beat.” She tucked her hands in the pocket of her tight red jeans. “Rumor has it you and Mr. Prince left the party together.” Just as I was about to open my mouth to reply Finn and James rounded the corner.

  “We’re just friends,” I muttered, my attention torn between him, Desiree, and Kate.

  “That’s what they all say.” She sighed. “Too bad his destiny is already written in the stars.”

  “Uh?” Like that I gave her my undivided attention. “How does that work?”