Once Upon the End (Half Upon a Time)

by James Riley

  The whole thing made her sick. But she would play pretend, she would play at Cinderella again, dress up in this costume and play the good guy for the Wicked Queen’s villain, if that’s what it took. She would live out the story, no matter what the story was, as long as Phillip and Penelope were safe. The Queen didn’t want them, just May.

  So whatever it took. And then she’d be free to find some way out, to fight back somehow . . . assuming it wasn’t too late.

  She smoothed her dress, knowing that the Queen could see any potential wrinkle as an insult, then carefully brushed her hair, her stomach turning over and over for far too many reasons.

  Penelope stepped out of an adjoining room wearing a pink dress that almost hurt May’s eyes to look at, it was so impossibly beautiful. Penelope, though, didn’t seem to even notice, and instead was carefully trying to find places for her few remaining spindle splinters.

  “Why can’t there be any pockets?” she said eventually, dropping her hands to her side in defeat.

  “They really weren’t very considerate of us taking weapons in, were they?” May said, smiling slightly. “I wouldn’t bother. She’ll know.”

  The glass ball at the small of her back behind the dress’s sash said differently, but Penelope didn’t need to know that. This had to be a surprise, or the Queen would stop it.

  Penelope bit her lip. “Maybe. But I don’t especially like the idea of going in without anything to help us out if things get rough.”

  “Things aren’t going to get rough,” May said. “I’m going to make sure they don’t. You and Phillip are going to go home, no matter what. Trust me. And trust me in there. Do what I say, and follow my lead, okay? I can’t have you both . . . I can’t have anything happen. Especially not given what the Queen said about Phillip and Ja . . . Phillip and the other one.”

  “Jack?” Penelope asked, and May winced. “I wonder how he’s doing. It’d be nice to see him and say hi, if he’s here.”

  May just glared at the girl, but a knock at the door interrupted her before she could think of something suitably clever to say. A goblin opened the door and gestured politely for them to leave.

  “You ready for this?” May asked Penelope.

  “Every day I’m awake is a good day,” Penelope told her with a smile.

  Fair enough.

  The goblin led them down a corridor made of black stone, while four other goblins fell in behind them, each one holding an axe as tall as they were. May tried to follow their path, just in case she needed to make a quick getaway at any point, but there were so many hallways and stairs and twisting paths that she couldn’t remember which way left or right was half the time and eventually just gave up.

  Which, of course, was when they reached the throne room.

  Large columns of stone rose all the way to the ceiling, or descended all the way to the floor . . . it was hard to be sure. Between the columns, red eyes appeared and disappeared, shadows flitting in and out of the darkness. Even the goblins behind May were nervous, though the one leading them seemed to be at least faking confidence. He probably didn’t want to get in trouble with the Queen for disrespecting her either.

  The Queen herself sat at the very far end of the throne room, on an elaborate bone chair twice her height, rising like a living thing over her, as if it were about to attack anyone standing before the throne. Maybe it was.

  To her right was a coffin made of ice, just like the one May had seen in the Palace of the Snow Queen, right before everything stopped making sense.

  Snow White.

  The Queen stood up as the two girls approached. Behind them, Phillip entered with another group of guards and quickly caught up to them.

  “Be prepared to run as soon as I attack,” the prince whispered as he reached them. “And do not look back, no matter what you hear.”

  May looked at him, then cleared her throat. “Your Majesty?” she said, stopping in place.

  The Queen tilted her head in response, and May continued. “The prince here is planning on attacking you to help us escape. If I might suggest to Your Majesty that she have his guards hold his arms and legs to keep anything . . . unpleasant from happening?”

  Phillip looked at her with his mouth wide open, but Penelope shook her head. “She’s got a plan,” the princess whispered to him.

  The Queen slowly smiled. “Since you ask so nicely, May, I cannot help but grant your request.” She gestured, and the goblin guards grabbed both of Phillip’s arms, and two others moved in close to catch him if he escaped the first two.

  “Of course, you know why you are here?” the Queen continued.

  “For sentencing, Your Majesty,” May said. “And I am fully prepared to declare my loyalty to you if you wish, whatever you say . . . if you might find it within your heart to release my two friends here.”

  The Queen’s smile grew. “That is an interesting thought. But what use do I have for you to give me your loyalty, when I might have it whenever I desire?” She gestured, and May fell to her knees, exactly as Phillip had.

  “Because . . .” May said, gritting her teeth as she fought to raise her head. “Because, Your . . . Majesty, you will . . . never know . . . if I might escape. Or disobey. You cannot . . . watch me at . . . all times.”

  “Let her go!” Phillip shouted, and the Queen turned her attention to the prince. Abruptly, May could stand, and she leapt to her feet.

  “NO!” she shouted. “Ignore him! I’ll do whatever you want, just let those two go!”

  The Queen slowly turned her gaze back to May, and she shook her head. “You were doing so well with the respect, May. But one can only keep up an act for so long, I suppose. You come before me with no power yet offer me the only thing you have left, your will, in order to save your friends?”

  This was it: She had no more time. May stood back up, and put both her arms behind her back, keeping her mind as empty as possible. “So if I do, will you let them go, then?”

  The Queen smiled. “Oh, May. Of course not.”

  May nodded, then tore the glass ball out of her sash and whipped it as hard as she could right at the Queen.

  The Wolf King’s hand closed around it before it had even gone two feet.

  The wolf opened his hand and looked at the glass ball, his eyes widening.

  “My dear,” the Queen said, shaking her head. “You choose a poor time to rebel. What is it, my servant?”

  The Wolf King looked May right in the eye, his eyes disbelieving, his hand closing around the Fairest. “It is . . . nothing,” he said, his eyes locked on May’s. “Some . . . pathetic attempt to hurt you, your Majesty. I will destroy it.”

  Did he know what it was? Not that May did exactly, but the wolf seemed to recognize the Fairest somehow. But why wouldn’t he just tell the Queen what it was?

  The Queen’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded. “Your loyalty is an example to us all, my friend.”

  The wolf bowed, then exited quickly, throwing one last look at May before he left, taking their only hope with him.

  “Now,” the Queen said, “such an attempt deserves a punishment, doesn’t it?”

  The Queen beckoned, and two goblins carried in a silver tray, stopping before Phillip and Penelope. The Queen raised a hand, and the tray’s lid lifted off and into the air, revealing two beautifully red apples.

  “Sometimes it’s nice to stay in theme, don’t you agree, May?” the Queen said.

  “Don’t do this,” May whispered.

  “I won’t do anything,” the Queen responded. “They just look hungry, don’t they?”

  Phillip and Penelope both straightened, then reached with shaking hands to the apples. They each grabbed one, then slowly brought them to their lips, struggling against the Queen’s magic.

  “Don’t do this!” May repeated, shouting this time. “Don’t hurt them!”

  “Lessons must be learned!” the Queen said. “Besides, if a poisoned apple is good enough for Snow White, why not these two? Now, my two del
ightful royals . . . please start eating. There’s no need to wait for the rest of us.”

  Phillip glanced at May, then put the apple to his lips and opened his mouth.

  CHAPTER 21

  As Jack fell toward the boiling stew, he concentrated, closing his eyes, flipping around so he was looking back up at the giant and pulling his sword off his back. Fortunately, the giant hadn’t bothered taking it, not really worrying about it any more than a human would have worried over a bee’s stinger.

  Let’s hope the giant had a Jack allergy.

  Time slowed as he gently fell, almost like a leaf in the wind. He pulled the end of the rope down to him, yanking Gwentell along with it. The fairy opened her mouth to shout in surprise but didn’t get a word out before he grabbed her and tossed her into his hood, then tied the end of the rope to his sword’s hilt.

  Then he threw his sword at the passing giant’s belt as hard as he could.

  The sword sunk in, and Jack wrapped the rope around his arm as he continued to fall for a moment, everything still slow. Finally, he let time resume and jerked into a swing straight at the giant.

  His momentum slammed him into the giant’s pants hard, but he managed to hold on to a large handful of cloth. Climbing up the giant’s pants, Jack reached the belt and yanked his sword out as the giant turned back to the table below, reaching for the ladle.

  The giant sniffed in loudly. “You already smell so good, little thief-son!”

  The fairy snorted in his hood, and he tapped her to be quiet. The giant dropped the ladle into the stew, stirred it for a moment, then brought the ladle to his lips, full of steaming-hot non-Jack stew.

  A moment later, the monster spit stew everywhere.

  It was a compliment, really. Humans must really have an impressively powerful taste!

  The ladle slammed into the table hard enough to throw the dishes a foot in the air, steaming hot stew flying everywhere. “WHERE ARE YOU!” the giant screamed, his fist following the ladle, and again the dishes left the table.

  “He looks mad,” the fairy said, poking her head out of the hood as Jack inched around the belt towards the giant’s front.

  “I can smell you! If you run, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth or the beginnings of the sky!”

  “He looks really mad,” Gwentell said. “I wouldn’t want to be you, man-child.”

  “If he eats me, he’s getting you, too,” he whispered to her.

  She stuck out her tongue at him.

  The harp was so close, right there on the table. All he had to do was make his way across a raging giant, find some way up to the table, and take it. How hard could that be?

  “I WILL CRUSH YOUR BONES ONE BY ONE!” the giant shouted, turning around and around as he searched for Jack, then began to move away from the table.

  That wouldn’t work. Every step took him hundreds of feet from where he needed to be. He had to slow the giant down somehow.

  Jack pulled out his sword and stabbed the giant as hard as he could right in the creature’s back.

  “Uh?” the giant said, his foot stopping in midair a good twenty feet off the ground.

  Oddly, the spot where Jack had stabbed the giant had already stopped bleeding. Or . . . not so oddly. Apparently Jill’s potion had done the trick. But now was not the time to worry about it, as the giant’s hand came flying in to slap the spot Jack had just attacked.

  Jack leapt to the right, then grabbed the giant’s pant leg and stabbed him again, using the sword to slow his momentum by cutting the monster’s pants as he fell.

  The giant slapped his leg, then yanked it up by his pants to drop the leg on a wooden chair, bending down to look for Jack.

  Jack looked back up and waved. “Thanks for the ride!” he shouted. The giant shouted back, only using his hand instead of his voice, smacking his own leg as hard as he could, forcing Jack to jump for it.

  He landed hard on the chair, rolling to get as far away as he could. A second slap hit just behind him, and the force sent a hurricane force wind straight into Jack, sending him up and off the chair.

  He flung his arms out, reaching desperately for the chair’s edge and barely catching it with his fingers, only to have the giant bend down to look at him hanging there off the chair, his breath sending Jack swaying backward and forward with each inhale and exhale.

  “You. Are. Mine.” The giant pushed a hand up from under Jack, and he fell into the giant’s palm, rolling to the center of it. The giant slowly raised his hand toward his face.

  Conveniently, it also carried Jack right past something very much harpish.

  “Which bone should I break first?” the giant growled, raising his free thumb right above Jack’s head. “Or shall I just go with all of them? You’ll taste just as good as a paste, I’m sure.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you to say,” Jack said. “But I really can’t stay for dinner.” And with that, he stabbed the giant’s palm and leapt off the hand to the table. He quickly stood up, only to get knocked off his feet by a fairy slapping him in the face.

  “You almost got us eaten!” she shouted.

  Jack shook his head to clear it as the giant screamed in rage far too close. Had the fairy always been so strong?! She really packed a punch!

  The giant’s screams shifted from anger to satisfaction, and both hands raised in fists above the table.

  That wasn’t good.

  “The harp!” Jack yelled.

  “Okay?” the fairy said with a shrug. “And what do you want me to do about it?”

  Jack glared at her, then dove for the golden, glinting statue just out of reach, just as the giant’s fists came down, collapsing the table out from under Jack, the harp, and the conveniently flying fairy.

  Jack and the harp, at least, tumbled into nothingness, the floor coming up far too fast.

  What was that song again?

  He quickly strummed the harp’s strings as he fell, but despite it sounding extremely pretty, he had no idea how to make individual notes.

  “Oh, just let me do it,” said the fairy from above him, diving down to meet them. As the floor drew closer and closer, and the giant’s hand came rushing down at them from above, the tiny fairy climbed over Jack’s hands and pulled one, then two, then three strings, only to lose her hold on his hand and fall off.

  Abruptly, the moonlight wasn’t the only thing making the harp glow, and Jack realized for the first time that the side of it was a statue of a woman. Mostly because the statue turned to look at him with a questioning look.

  “Don’t you dare leave me here!” the fairy yelled, but the giant’s dusty room turned like a page, and Jack found himself falling into a throne room filled with columns and black stone, along with quite a few people.

  Jack slammed into the floor far too hard, the harp hitting right beside him. The wind went rushing out of him, and it took him a moment to remember how to breathe before he managed to push himself to a standing position, his sword out and ready for whatever he might be facing.

  As it turned out, he was facing the Wicked Queen, standing before her throne. And she didn’t look surprised in the least.

  “Your harp, Your Majesty,” Jack told her, breathing heavily. “As promised.”

  “Jack?” whispered a voice behind him.

  Jack turned around to find May, Phillip, and Penelope all staring at him, the two girls dressed in sparkling gowns, Phillip . . . not as much, all bound in iron chains and being held by goblins. Oddly, Phillip and Penelope both seemed about to take a bite out of an apple, but as soon as he appeared, their hands dropped to their sides as if something had just let go.

  This was it, the same scene that the man in the final Eye challenge had shown him. The scene where he had fought Phillip, then—

  “And here we all are,” the Wicked Queen said with the hint of a smile. “And now, one shall betray my granddaughter, and the other shall die. Which shall be which, I wonder?”

  CHAPTER 22

  I am ready to
face my death,” Phillip said, stepping forward. “Let me lay down my life that these two princesses shall be free.”

  “Shut up, Phillip,” Jack said quietly, pulling out his sword. This was it. Everything he planned for all came down to this, and one mistake would make it all pointless.

  “I am done listening to you,” Phillip practically spat at him as the prince pulled against his chains. “You joined the Wicked Queen, Jack. You betrayed us!”

  Jack nodded. “Eventually, everyone gets tired of losing. You’ll figure it out someday.”

  “I’ll kill the prince if you’d like, my Queen,” said a familiar voice, and Jill stepped out of the shadows from the Queen’s side. She grinned cruelly at Phillip. “I’d do it even if you didn’t ask me to, honestly.”

  “We’re not quite there yet, my dear,” the Queen said, her eyes on Jack. “You have delivered me what I asked for, my newest Eye. And for that, I will grant a request. But what will you choose? Leaving all of this behind, leaving your friends in my care . . . or would you have me free them?”

  “They’re no friends of mine, Your Majesty,” Jack said, gritting his teeth and deliberately ignoring the feeling of May staring right at him.

  “Don’t do this,” she said quietly, so quietly that maybe no one else even heard her. But Jack heard her, and it made his chest ache.

  “No?” the Queen asked. “You trained to be an Eye, true. You left them, and you say you want to leave this world behind as well. But I see into your heart, Jack. You would choose them, if I gave you the opportunity.” She smiled. “So I shall ask you once again—”

  “You have already given him the opportunity!” Phillip shouted, struggling to free himself while the goblins laughed. “And he chose evil! Face me, Jack, for our freedom! Give me a sword, and we shall see once and for all which of us is the better man!”

  Before Phillip could say another word, Jack concentrated, disappearing only to reappear at Phillip’s side. The prince didn’t even have time to move before Jack punched the royal boy right in the face. The goblins howled with laughter, dropping their chains, but the prince just smiled.