I’m the only one still on the rope. Two more steps … almost there … why does this fairy tale involve so much climbing anyway? I’d expect that if we were in Rapunzel, but Sleeping Beauty? Shouldn’t we be doing more resting and napping?
Anyway.
“We can send them to another yard sale,” I suggest, as I reach the bottom of the ladder and finally feel the ground beneath my feet. And by feet I mean my very, very dirty socks. My heart rate returns to normal.
“What if there isn’t another yard sale today?” Bri asks.
“We can make one up,” Jonah says.
“Jonah, when did you get so sneaky?” I wonder. “You want to send Bri’s parents on a wild-goose chase?”
My brother smirks. “Exactly.”
Bri nods. “It would have to be somewhere far away. So they’re not back too quickly.”
“We better get a move on,” Tom calls out. “It’s going to start raining soon.” He and Felix are already back on their horses waiting for us. Felix is actually sitting on his sideways, which can’t be safe.
A drop of water lands on my head. Again.
Too bad Sleeping Beauty doesn’t know Mary Poppins. I could use an umbrella.
By four o’clock — four P.M. in the Kingdom of Rose, four A.M. in Smithville — our party prep is in full swing.
We’re all very busy. The fairies will be here in two hours.
Luckily, the rain never came so our clothes are still dry. Also luckily, we didn’t have to buy any supplies. Thanks to the king and queen, the court is stocked with stuff. Decorations, paper supplies, food … everything we want — they have. The pantries are like a Costco.
Not having to shop has given us time to do other things. So far we’ve:
Made the king and queen a flyer telling them about an EVERYTHING MUST GO yard sale on the other end of the kingdom and then slipped it under their bedroom door.
Made thirteen birthday party invites for Jonah’s, ahem, tenth birthday.
Sent Tom to deliver the party invitations to all the fairies.
Decided to have the party on the ground floor of the west tower where we came through the mirror. This way all the royal servants won’t see what we’re up to.
Blown up fifty blue and green balloons.
Located another fifty balloons after Felix popped the first fifty.
Picked chairs, tables, tablecloths, napkins, plates, teacups, cutlery, and vases out of the piles around us.
Moved the extra tables, chairs, vases, pots, and other STUFF into the north tower.
Swept the floor.
Plucked different colored roses from the garden and arranged them in vases around the room.
Sneaked tea, milk, sugar, bread, tuna, mayo, cheese, cucumbers (we’re making tea sandwiches, of course), celery, carrots, dip, a chocolate cake, and some of those yummy raspberry pastries out of the kitchen and into the tower without being detected.
While Bri and I prepare everything and Tom delivers the invites, Felix does somersaults, Robin continues to sleep upstairs, and Jonah sits on a stair and works on his wigistry.
He twirls a pencil between his fingers. “I can’t believe I get to ask for thirteen magical things! This is the best day ever!”
“Not so fast,” I say, tying the balloon I’ve just blown up. “We need some of those wifticals. You have to wish for the three things we need. You get only nine extras.”
“Still! Nine wifticals is more wifticals than I had this morning. Or ever.”
Hmm. Maybe letting him make his own wigistry is risky. Maybe I should write his list for him. Just to make sure he doesn’t wish for anything crazy. Like a crocodile that does karate. Maybe he should wish for a cell phone.
He scribbles away.
“What are you writing, exactly?” I peek over his shoulder.
Number 1: Wake up Robin.
Number 2: Put Bri to sleep for 100 years until she’s woken up by a prince.
Number 3: Make a magical portal so we can go back to Smithville.
Number 4: Make a crocodile that does karate.
I knew it! I try to grab the paper from him. “Jonah, you can’t have a crocodile that does karate. Where is it going to live?”
“With us!”
“You’re going to bring a crocodile back to our house in Smithville? Will it sleep in the bathtub?”
“It wouldn’t fit in the bathtub.” He scratches his head with the pencil. “Maybe I’ll also wish for a swimming pool.”
“Jonah, please be realistic. Write down things that won’t eat us.”
“Like a marker that squirts ketchup?”
“Um … okay. That could work. I’m not sure why you would want that, though.”
“Who wouldn’t want that? Oh! What about a puppy?”
Oooooooh. I have always wanted a puppy. If I had a puppy I’d let him — or her — snuggle on my pillow every night. But my parents have always said no whenever I’ve asked for a pet. Too much work involved, they claim.
“Mom and Dad would never let us keep a puppy,” I argue.
“They would if the puppy was adorable,” Jonah says. “And magical. What should he be able to do?”
“Go grocery shopping?” I suggest. That might win over my parents.
“Babysit younger brothers?” offers Bri, while tying a balloon.
“Fly!” says Felix. He’s hopping from chair to chair around the room.
“Yes!” Jonah exclaims. “Fly!”
“It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superpuppy,” I say.
Jonah squeals with laughter. “Superpuppy! That’s awesome! I could get him a little doggy outfit with an S on it.” His jaw drops, and then he scribbles on his paper. “I’m going to wish that I can fly, too!”
“SuperJonah?” I ask.
“Exactly! SuperJonah.” He steps upon his chair, throws his arms out, and jumps. He lands with a thud.
Could this actually happen? What am I going to do if Jonah starts flying around the house? He’ll always be able to watch what he wants on TV — he’ll get to the remote faster. I’m starting to feel a little jealous. I want to be able to fly, too.
“Also,” Jonah says, “I want to be taller.”
“How tall?” Felix asks.
“A giant!” He reconsiders. “Maybe not. I have to be able to live in my house. I just want to be taller than Abby.”
I flick him on the shoulder. “First we’re the same age and now you’re taller? Why don’t you just wish you were born first and be done with it?”
His eyes widen. “That’s a great idea!”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT.” That is where I draw the line. Sure it would be cool to have an older sibling. But that older sibling should NOT be Jonah.
“I want to be taller!” Felix cries, stomping on a chair. “I want a flying puppy! I want a crocodile that does karate! I want to be SuperFelix!”
“Tough luck,” Jonah tells him. “It’s not your party. You don’t get any wifticals.”
“No fair!” he whines. “I want a wiftical! If I can’t have one, I’m telling Mom and Dad!”
“You sure you don’t want to add ‘get a little brother’ to your wigistry?” I ask Jonah.
He shakes his head. “No way. Little brothers are so annoying.”
I giggle and ruffle Jonah’s hair. Hah. I rest my case.
“I WANT A WIFTICAL!” Felix repeats.
“Okay,” Jonah says. “You can add one thing to my wigistry. But that’s it.”
Felix smiles. “I want you to stay here. You’re fun.”
Jonah coughs. “Except that.”
“Then I want a crocodile that can do karate.”
“Fine,” Bri says. “We can keep him in the moat.”
I watch Jonah write down, A crocodile that does karate for Felix. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s jealous, but he doesn’t change his wigistry.
The door opens and I hold my breath. What if it’s the king or queen? Will they stop us?
But no.
It’s Tom.
“All delivered,” he says. He’s smiling but his eyes look a little sad.
“Great,” I say. “I think we’re almost done here, too. I’m just going upstairs to check on Robin.”
I walk all the way up the stairs and open the door.
That’s when I notice the problem.
Robin is gone.
She’s missing!” I scream as I bolt down the stairs. My heart is beating a million miles a minute. I should never have left her by herself! This is all my fault!
“But where could she have gone?” Tom asks.
“Maybe she woke up,” Jonah says.
I take a deep breath. “We have to find her. Now.”
Either Robin woke up while we were gone and freaked out or she sleepwalked right on out of here. Either way she could be anywhere. My heart continues to hammer.
“What if something bad happened to her?” I moan. “What if she’s on the road and runs into a horse? Or what if she wandered into the moat and drowned? Someone come look with me!”
Bri rubs my arm, looking sympathetic. “We’ll find her; I promise. And we call it a moat, but it’s really just a shallow pond behind the east tower. The gate should keep her on palace grounds. We’ll all go look,” Bri says.
Phewf. Robin couldn’t have gotten that far, then.
We split up: Tom and the boys will start at the stables, then check the north and south towers, while Brianna and I will check the moat, the east tower, and then the palace.
As soon as we step out the tower door, I breathe in the scent of the roses. “You really can’t smell them?” I ask Bri.
She shakes her head. “Not at all.”
“That’s so sad,” I say. “They’re amazing. Can we check the moat first?”
“Of course,” she says.
The moat really is less of a pond and more of a puddle. “I’m not sure a crocodile that does karate will fit in there,” I tell her, careful not to sound judge-y.
Get it? Judge-y?
“You’re probably right,” Bri agrees. “I’ll ask Jonah to change it to a mini-crocodile. Or a teacup crocodile.”
“Let’s check the east tower next,” I say.
“Let’s go up,” Bri says. “Instead of an attic, this tower has a roof deck. Maybe we’ll be able to see her in the garden.”
I guess that meant another fifteen flights of stairs. Hurrah. Not. But when we eventually make it to the deck, the view takes my breath away. The rose gardens look like a multicolored quilt spread out around us. In the distance are snowcapped mountains.
“Do you ever come up here just to take it in?” I ask Bri.
“No,” she says with a shrug. “But maybe I should. It’s nice.”
“Nice? This isn’t just nice. This is gorgeous.” Bri is so strange. It’s like she’s immune to happy-making things. I wish they sold postcards of the mountain view so I could show Mom and Dad. Although then I’d probably have to explain where I was.
“I guess you’re right,” she says. “I should come up here more often.” She doesn’t sound like she totally believes it, though.
“We should keep looking,” I say.
Next, we search the palace. Even though we were just in the kitchen and the pantries getting supplies we check them again since Robin could be on the move. Then we check in the library among the stacks of books, and in the ballroom, which is also home to a harp and a drum set and other musical instruments. No Robin.
“Your palace is really cool,” I say. I’m pretty well-traveled in magical lands. At this point, I’ve seen a lot of palaces. The kingdoms of Zamel, Floom, and Mustard all had palaces, but I like this one the best. Sure, there are books and vases and candles and pictures everywhere, but the clutter and mishmash make Rose Abbey feel unique and homey. Like the stuff is supposed to be there. Also, even though it’s cluttered, the floors are still sparkling and the windows shine because they’re so clean. And it smells SO good.
Bri shrugs again. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not just okay!” I tell her. “You should appreciate what you have now. Who knows what it will look like after no one takes care of it for a hundred years? I’m guessing it won’t be so nice then.”
She looks confused. “Why would no one take care of it?”
“Didn’t I tell you? As soon as you fall asleep everyone else in the palace falls asleep, too. Your parents. The cooks. The maids. Everyone who works at court. The palace is pretty much deserted after that. It’s in shambles by the time the prince gets here.”
“Oh, right.” She bites her lip. “I hope we can clean it up.”
“Maybe. I don’t remember what the story says happens to it.”
“We should check the bedrooms,” she says, and leads me up the stairs. She hesitates on a step. “Does Tom fall asleep, too?”
“The story doesn’t mention him specifically. It just says your family and the people who work in the palace. It doesn’t say anything about friends.”
She frowns. “That’s too bad.”
“But maybe there’s no reason to worry about the palace,” I say. “The spell was activated when Robin pricked her elbow, right? And none of us fell asleep. So maybe it’ll be just you.”
Bri pales. “Then what happens to my family?”
Isn’t it obvious? “They stay awake.”
“They never see me again?”
“They see you. You’ll be asleep. But you never see them again, I guess.”
She sniffs. Her brow crinkles. “That’s so sad.”
It is so sad. My heart hurts at the thought of it. I can’t imagine never seeing my family again. It’s too awful.
Suddenly, I wonder if maybe going to sleep for a hundred years isn’t the best plan for Bri.
Maybe it’s a good thing that we messed up her story.
“You don’t have to do it, Bri,” I say. “You don’t have to go to sleep. You can just stay awake. And live now.”
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
There’s the sound of a clock striking the hour from somewhere downstairs, and she opens her eyes. “No. I’ll miss my family and my friends, but the prince is my destiny. He’s going to make me the happiest girl in the world. We’re going to get married. You said so yourself. The future will make me happy.” She points down the hallway. “Let’s check my room.”
She opens the door to the most perfect princess room I’ve ever seen. The walls are a pale yellow, and the carpet is white and speckled with gold. To the right is what appears to be a massive walk-in closet. Directly ahead is a bay window. In front of the bay window is a canopy bed. A vase of yellow roses sits on a vanity table.
On the bed, fast asleep, is Robin.
Hurray! I run over to my sleeping friend and give her a hug. “I guess she did sleepwalk.”
Bri’s eyes widen in amazement. “She’s even under the covers! She can do that in her sleep?”
I nod, feeling an odd sense of pride. “She walked down all the tower stairs, too, and those are seriously slippery. She’s very talented.”
Bri approaches us. “Shall we just leave her here until we get a fairy to reverse the spell?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t want her wandering off again. Do you have a wheelbarrow or something? But first …” I motion to my outfit. “Can I borrow a dress and some shoes to wear to the party? All I have with me are these pajamas and socks.”
Bri leads me to her walk-in closet. “Of course. Take whatever you want.”
There are at least a hundred dresses hanging there. Satin, lace, velvet, red, blue, black … sashes and frills and ruffles. Any kind of dress you want, it’s here. They’re organized by color. It looks like I’m standing inside a new box of colored pencils. “This is incredible,” I breathe.
“What is?” Bri asks, searching through the outfits for something that might fit me.
“Your closet!”
“It’s okay,” she says with a shrug.
I can’t take i
t anymore. “No! It’s not okay! This is a dream closet. Don’t you realize how lucky you are? I’m not saying that dresses are the most important thing in the world, but you have to at least admit that the things you have are pretty great! Wait a sec — is that an entire wall of tiaras?”
She nods. “Yeah. You can have one if you want. I barely even wear them.”
“How could you not wear them? They’re all so sparkly!”
She shrugs again. “I don’t know.”
“You’re crazy, you know that?” I ask. She has all this amazing stuff, but she doesn’t appreciate any of it.
“This should fit,” Bri says, and hands me a knee-length blue dress with a corset top. I slip it on and tie it extra tight so it’s not too baggy. The white sandals she lends me are too big but they’ll do. Meanwhile, Bri puts on a beautiful pink ball gown and matching heels.
Suddenly, we hear voices outside the door.
“I think I’m just too tired to go out to another yard sale,” the king says.
“Me too,” says the queen. “Let’s stay home tonight and relax.”
Oh, no! “How are we supposed to have a party if they’re home? The tower is only a few steps away from Rose Abbey,” I say. “Do we have to cancel?”
“Too late now,” Bri says. “It’s almost six. We’ll just have to keep the noise down and hope they don’t pop by. Let’s get moving.” Bri picks up Robin, throws her over her shoulder, and hurries down the stairs.
“Wow. You’re strong,” I say.
“I know,” she says. “Strength was one of my wifticals.”
Bri, Jonah, Felix, Tom, and I are standing around the ground floor of the tower (now the party room). We’re waiting.
Well, Felix is doing somersaults, but the rest of us are standing around.
The decorations are up. The food is out. Robin is back on her cot. We are ready.
I glance at the clock. “It’s one minute to six! When do you think the fairies will start showing up?”
“Fairies are pretty punctual,” Tom says. “They don’t have a long commute.”
At the same second the clock says six, sparkling puffs begin to pop up throughout the room. Puff! Puff! Puff!
Each one is incredibly loud. All together they sound like fireworks.
Whatever After #4: Dream On Page 6