The Forgotten Fairytales

by Angela Parkhurst

  “Oh, and you can forget being rescued by your pathetic creature of a boyfriend. By time the sun rises everyone will believe you’ve run off,” Desiree said.

  My hands clamped on the cool, steel bars. “Wolf would never fall for that.” He was too smart to believe Danielle and Desire’s tricks.

  “With this lovely note from you he will.” Danielle flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, no trace of the black eye she should’ve had, and held a note to the bars. The script matched mine to a T.

  Wolf, I’m sorry I had to leave, but I’m safe now. I promise. Don’t bother looking for me. You were right all along. You and I, we were a mistake.

  The air rushed from my lungs. No. We were never a mistake. He wouldn’t believe the letter, despite the perfectly forged handwriting, there was no way. Except, what if he did? Tears brimmed my eyes, but I willed them away, no matter how weak and crippled I felt.

  “He’ll never believe this,” I said through clenched teeth. “Unlike you, Wolf has a heart.”

  A deep, hollow laugh filled the air in the room. Desiree reached through the bar and ran a finger through a loose strand of my hair. “It’s sweet really, but take it from me, while your love makes you stronger, Wolf’s love makes him weak.” The smile faded from her lips and both of her irises burned crimson. “And the weak are easy to destroy.”

  Fire grew within me and I focused my energy on forming a ball of fire in my hand. Nothing happened.

  “The jail is spelled.” Danielle smirked. “Your magic doesn’t work here.”

  Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs and seconds later, Madrina appeared in a flowy pink cape. Her silver hair twisted in a loose bun on top her head. She had a knowing smile when she spotted me.

  “I hope you haven’t said too much,” Madrina said to Danielle and Desire.

  “No ma’am.” Desiree flashed Madrina a look of admiration. An expression I’d never seen on Desiree’s face before.

  Something inside me snapped. I clutched the iron bars, wishing I could reach through and strangle them all. “Let me out of here. If my dad finds out about this…”

  “Jonathan Grimm has no power here.” Madrina’s double chin jiggled. “The council owns you now, girl. You’ll be dealt with properly, saving everyone from the destruction you’re fated to cause.”

  Madrina’s mouth twisted into a sneer, her shoulders tense and rigid as she stared at me with the upmost hatred. Bile twisted up my throat. I never intended to hurt people, only save them. Help them.

  “Why do you hate me so much?” I asked. “What did I ever do to you?”

  In the blink of an eye, Madrina grabbed hold of my arm, and wrenched it through the bars. My face slammed against the iron rods, and I winced at the pain. Danielle and Desiree backed away, staring at Madrina with a moment of confusion. So much for nice fairy godmothers.

  “Your selfish bitch of a mother ruined my life.” Her fingernails dug into my flesh, almost drawing blood. “What better way for revenge than destroying the one person on earth she loves more than herself?”

  “What she did has nothing to do with me,” I said, the words barely able to escape. “We are nothing alike.”

  “You are exactly alike,” Madrina said.

  Danielle stepped forward, placing her hand on Madrina’s shoulder. “Shh…it’s okay. I promise we’ll take care of her. Come, the ball is tomorrow and we still have so much to do.”

  Madrina released her death hold and smoothed her frizzy hair. “You’re right. The wicked will be punished.”

  The three of them strode out of the dungeon. Their shadows were lost somewhere up the stairs. I was going to be sick. My nightmare played out in front of me. Plus the irony of Cinderella locking me away in a cell, when she was locked away in one once... Did she even know how ridiculous she was acting? How ridiculous they all were?

  After racking my brain, I still couldn’t figure out what my mom could have done to Madrina for her to want me dead. Though I guessed the options were endless. My hatred for Danielle did nothing but spiral out of control. Somehow I doubted my fate would’ve been any different if I’d obliged and been friends with Danielle as planned. If I had, they would’ve found a different way to destroy me.

  I ran my hands through my hair, backed into the wall and slid down till my butt hit the cold, damp cement. This can’t be happening. After a while my eyes grew used to the dark stillness of the cell. Throughout the night and into the morning, guards came, their footsteps echoing down the walkway as the shifts changed. The smell of decay and briny water made me want to vomit. I tugged off my sweater and found a dry patch of cement to rest my head on.

  I closed my eyes and traced circles in a small puddle beside me, pretending I was somewhere else, anywhere else. I should have run away, convinced Wolf to leave, and together we’d find safety. I didn’t know much about the people who ran the school or the council. He said they knew everyone, that running was not an option. My mother seemed to believe the same. That’s why she hid me before they knew I existed. Koyte was proof that running away was impossible.

  I rolled on my other side and something poked me. I stuck my hand in my back pocket. The dark blue compact from Beth lay flat in my palm. I fumbled opening it and looked in the mirror. All it showed was my tired eyes and dirt smudged cheek.

  The mirror came with no instructions, only that it had the power to show my desires. But how? I flipped through my mental little black book of fairy tales till I found hers. Beauty and the Beast.

  Was there a mirror in her story? Damn, why did I have a dad who rarely let us watch movies? If I was a movie buff, I’d know this already. Think, Norah, think. I wanted to see Wolf, to see if he believed the note or not.

  The mirror flickered, hazing over like after a rainstorm and then, in seconds, the fog cleared, exposing Wolf in his room. He was shirtless as he towel dried his hair and walked to his bed where an envelope sat with his name on the front. God, he was gorgeous. A small patch of hair ran down his navel to his hip bone.

  His brows knotted together when he opened the letter and read. The muscles in his jaw jumped, his eyes flickering with more crimson than gold. His hand rested over his tensed face, rubbing his eyebrows as if he were trying to make sense of it all.

  Please don’t believe it. Don’t believe any of it.

  A growl rumbled the room and he ripped the letter in half. With speed as fast as lightning, he slammed his fist through the wall. The stone wall. Holy crap.

  My throat tightened to the point I could hardly breathe. Tears spilled from my batting lashes, down my face and into my mouth. He believed it. He believed I didn’t love him. No matter how many times I told him differently.

  With one single note, my existence washed away like words in the sand. The chance of somebody rescuing me dwindled to zero. Earlier, if Wolf found out they had me down here, I knew he’d come running to me like a rabid animal threatening to tear each person limb from limb. Not anymore. Not now. Not ever.

  “What did you do to her?” Wolf’s low growl resonated in the cold cell. I jerked up. The mirror rippled like waves in the water and cleared. Wolf had Danielle cornered in an empty classroom. Every part of him exploded with anger. His eyes were dark, nearly black, and crimson streaked through his irises. Crimson streaked through his pupils. “You took her, didn’t you?”

  “Who?” Danielle’s eyes were wide and innocent, like a girl who possessed no evil.

  Wolf slammed his fist into the wall beside her head, but she didn’t flinch. Not one bit. Evil bitch. “You know who. Now tell me where she went.”

  “Oh, you mean, Norah?” Danielle placed a finger to her pink lips. “She didn’t say goodbye? Her dad came and got her. She said they were going back to the states where she could forget this place ever existed. Sad too. I wish she could’ve fit in.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “No, I’m not. Guess you weren’t worth her time.” Danielle shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a ball to prepare f
or.”

  Danielle ducked under Wolf’s arm and strutted away, but not before she peeked over her shoulder and shot Wolf a sly smile. A smile confirming her lies.

  The mirror cleared, showing me myself again. Son. Of. A. Bitch. I seriously wished someone would strangle her. But he didn’t believe the note. That’s all that mattered. I still had hope.

  Heavy, deliberate footsteps dragged my attention to the giant man walking toward me. I stuck the compact in my back pocket and rose to my feet as he came jangling keys. Behind him was another person, a black hood covering their face. A horror movie scene flashed in my head. One where the girl died. Because the girl always died.

  They stopped in front of my cell and the person pushed the hood back. My jaw tensed. Finn. This couldn’t be good.

  “Open it.” Finn said to the burly man.

  The keys jingled as the cell unlocked. I stepped forward and he twisted my arm behind my back and slammed me against the sticky cell.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”And why did everyone insist on throwing me around like a fucking doll!

  “You didn’t choose me. You could have had me and instead you wanted him.” The stale, cold smell of whisky enveloped my senses. Great. He’d been drinking. My life was in the hands of a drunken prince who couldn’t get his hormones in check.

  “That’s what this is? Poor, jealous Finn gets revenge because I don’t love him? Get over yourself!”

  Finn spun me around to face him, pressing his hips against mine until we were mashed against one another. His warm, sticky fingers latched onto my chin. “My entire life, I searched for you. I waited for you, so I could change my fate. And now you’re here, refusing the truth.”

  “How the hell have you been waiting for me?” Sweet mother of God, the poor dude was insane. Maybe Desiree worked her voodoo magic on him too.

  “Because you and I, we were destined to be together from the beginning, but the story was lost. You were lost.” He exhaled, loosening his grip on my face. “The quill may not have placed you, but I did the second you saved me. Just like in the book. The princess from the temple. You’re her. And in that story, I love you, not the mermaid. You’re supposed to love me back.”

  The princess from the temple. The story I feared the second I read it. But Finn, he didn’t know the real story. Maybe I was her, maybe I wasn’t. Either way, I didn’t love Finn. I couldn’t. His hand rested on my cheek, panic filled his gaze, pleading for my love.

  “I need you to love me back.”

  Tears swelled in my eyes. “I’m sorry, Finn, I am. But you don’t know the real story. I can’t love you.”

  “Then I’m sorry, too.” Pushing me against the back wall, he exited the cell and waved his hand. The guard slammed the door, locking me inside. “Lucky for me, I mastered failure at a young age.” A window on the very end opened, and water poured inside the basement like a rushing waterfall.

  “Finn, please don’t do this!” I stretched my arm through the bar to grab him. “Please don’t let me drown!”

  “You’re wrong about one thing, Norah. I do know the story. And today you’ll die. Just like she did, and Wolf will live a long, miserable life knowing he couldn’t save you.” Finn walked back up the stairs with the guard.

  I screamed his name, over and over again until the door sealed shut. I kept screaming until my throat was raw and my voice gone. This is not happening.

  The water rose fast, jumping from my ankles to my thighs in record time. My hands vibrated and I hyperventilated, unable to breathe or think as the icy liquid numbed me. Tears seared my cheeks, my heartbeat thrashing in my ears. I ran to the corner of the cell and clutched the bars, sucking in air as the water spilled over my head.

  My hands dug at the walls, yanked at the bars, trying to find some escape, but I couldn’t. I swam upward, only an inch between the water and the ceiling, and sucked in great gulps of air until there was nothing left but freezing water encasing me.

  Blood trickled from my fingers as I clawed at the wall, my body numbing from the cold. I was never a great swimmer. In fact, Dad and I always had contests where we held our breaths underwater and I always lost, like I had now. The strength in my body dwindled. Against all rational thought, I opened my mouth for air and water filled the caverns of my lungs, choking me, strangling me, until I gave up.

  Inside Danielle was dancing with James, celebrating her victory and her happy ending, while I…I was slipping fast. A silver light shimmered in front of me. I must have been delusional, because there was a man floating in front of me, or rather, a merman.

  Gripping the bars, I begged for a miracle and pleaded for the bars to dissolve. Heat flooded my palms and a smooth black liquid seeped from my skin. Beneath my touch the bars melted away. So did whatever strength I had. My heart slowed and every part of me turned into jelly. Closing my eyes, I saw everyone I loved—Dad, Wolf, April, Kate, even the mom I never knew.

  “Fight it,” Wolf’s voice called to me. A lazy arm raised and grabbed at the empty sea to find him. Hands cupped my cheeks and lips pressed against mine, blowing oxygen into my mouth. It wasn’t much, but it definitely was enough to wake me up.

  I clawed at the water, swimming upward as fast as I could. My ears popped and the cool liquid pressed against my skin like a tidal wave until I broke the surface. Soon the ground formed beneath me, sand and leaves stuck to my skin.

  Lips captured mine, blowing in air. My chest felt like it was going to snap under the weight of the stranger I couldn’t see. Whoever it was did CPR five times before I choked up water and opened my eyes.

  Silver scales flashed against the water. Both his legs were covered in scales and his feet were webbed. Drawing my attention up, I gasped and diverted my eyes. He was naked. Like butt ass naked and everything waist down except that was covered in silvery flesh.

  I sat up and took a deep, painful breath. Everything hurt.

  “Are you alright?” His voice was deep and smooth, like a rippling tide. Jerking my attention to his face, his skin was so pale it sparkled. Sapphire hair hit below his chin, making his silver eyes more prominent. Despite the strange appearance, he was kind of stunning and looked a few years older than me?

  “I…” I clutched at my bare throat, surprised at how painful speaking was, like someone had scraped my vocal chords.

  He reached forward and placed his ice cold hands on my throat. They were wet and slimy and made me wince. The sound of his laughter echoed in the bleak, icy night.

  “I bring no harm.” Sapphire lights jumped from his hand and warmth spread through me, tickling my throat until every muscle relaxed, like someone dipped me in a bubbly Jacuzzi. “Better?”

  I cleared my throat. No pain. Breathe in. No pain. “Thank you.” I ran my hands through my sopping wet hair. “For saving and healing me. I owe you.”

  He nodded. “You do. And I shall seek the favor in the future. For now, I am pleased to have saved you, princess.”

  “I’m not a princess.” Did they have a built in radar or something? “Just a girl.”

  The man stared at me, confusion riddled over his face. “You are far from ordinary. You are the hybrid, are you not? Our land has many stories of you.”

  “What do the stories say?” I asked through chattering teeth.

  He stared at me bewildered. Did he not know I knew little about myself and even less about the sea world? After a moment passed, he grinned widely, exposing sharp, needle-like teeth and said, “One day, I will call you queen.”

  Moist dirt pushed under my nails as I dug my fingers into the ground. Queen. You have got to be shitting me. I would never be a queen. Hell, I wasn’t even old enough to vote or buy cigarettes.

  Above the treetops, fireworks shot up, illuminating the sky with an explosion of color. Purples, reds, and golds danced across the dark forest and glittered overtop the lake. Despite the lightshow, fear built inside ma and a chill drifted across my neck.

  “Who are you?”

 
; He tilted his head. “Aries. And you?”

  “I thought you knew who I was?”

  “I do.” He nodded gently. “But your name is retracted from our books. The only pleasure I am granted, is knowing your beauty.”

  A strange sensation bubbled over my stomach, almost warning me not to tell him. Pushing the feeling aside, I took a deep, shaky breath. Mermaids weren’t all bad, after all, I saw The Little Mermaid.

  “Norah Har—” I paused. “Norah Grimm.” Or was it Petrovich-Grimm? Dad said the Petrovich name held power. Already I missed the beauty of my ‘fake’ last name.

  “Ah, a name as lovely as the girl it belongs to.”

  Music danced through the air from the castle. Aries stared upward, his eyes shut, soaking in the pleasing music. When they opened again, he stared right at me. The silver in his eyes fierce and renewed.

  “You’d better go,” he said.

  “Wait,” I said. “How did you get to me? I was in a basement cell.”

  A toothy grin spread his thin lips. “Magic, dear. Very strong magic.”

  I blinked as he slipped into the water, leaving me alone on the shore, soaking wet. A replica of how I began here.

  The grand ballroom was on the third level, above the lavish cherry wood staircase. Crystal chandeliers dripped down from the ceiling, illuminating the stairs I feared to walk up. Guards patrolled the landing, leaving no room for error.

  The details I remembered about the ball were minuscule. With the wicked princesses planning every second of the day, I gave no attention to anything Danielle cherished, though now seemed like a good time to know something beyond the fact that Finn planned to spike the punch fountain.

  Water squished out of my sneakers as I rolled on the balls of my feet. These wet clothes had to go.

  “Norah!” a small voice hissed from behind. I jerked to see Kate running toward me, the biggest smile spread over her lips. She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tighter than I’d ever been hugged in my life. Relief smoothed the tension in my shoulders.