“Where are the others? I mean, who else came with you through the magic door?”
“Everybody.”
“What do you mean everybody?”
“I mean everybody.” Nate chuckled. “The three fairies, Jack, Hank, Abby—”
“Really? Abby’s here?”
Nate nodded. “Her mom didn’t have a lot of time to explain, and Abby was determined to help find you even though she didn’t really know what was going on. All she cared about was making sure you were okay.”
“She’s a great friend.” I paused. “Did you see your stepdad and Troy when you came through the magic door?”
“No, I haven’t seen anybody else. I went straight outside to look for you.”
I started to sit up. “We have to warn them. Cathy is Matthew’s wife.”
Still a little sleepy, I let Nate help me the rest of the way up.
“Who is Matthew?” he asked.
“Mr. Haney’s son.”
“What?”
“I know, it gets even crazier,” I said.
Nate helped me stand. Once I felt pretty stable holding onto his arm, I continued. “Your stepdad killed your mom, Nate.” I brought my hand up to caress his cheek. “Your mom was very wealthy, and Mr. Haney has been using her inheritance to support his family here in Fenmore Falls.”
Nate gasped. “He killed my mom?”
“I am so sorry, Nate.”
Tears sprang to my boyfriend’s eyes, and I wished I could take away some of his pain.
His arm grew stiff under my grip. “I will not let him hurt another person,” Nate said through gritted teeth.
“We need to warn everybody,” I said. “Cathy has given potions to the other servants, and they are all asleep. I’m afraid she will do that to everybody else if we don’t warn them.”
“You’re right. Here, let me carry you.”
As if I weighed nothing at all, Nate gathered me up in his arms with ease. I rested my head on his shoulder. “I’m so glad you found me,” I said as he started toward the manor.
He kissed the top of my head. “Me too.”
I must have dozed off a little on our walk back, because the next thing I knew, we were almost to the manor and Nate was asking, “Where did you last see Troy?”
I raised my head and pointed. “In the stables.”
Nate walked to the stables, where the only person we saw was the young man lying on the floor.
Nate gently lowered me until my feet rested on the ground. I looped my arm around his neck and used him as support as we walked to the manor. As we got closer, the back door was open and I could see someone on a chair in the kitchen.
Excitedly, I quickened my step. As we crossed the threshold, I exclaimed, “Dorothy!” If I could’ve run, I would have.
She didn’t respond at all. Her body lay limp in the chair.
“Oh no,” I cried out. “We’re too late.”
Chapter 26
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
—Sun Tzu
The Fight
Nate pressed two fingers to Dorothy’s neck and nodded to me that she was still alive.
“What are we going to do?” I asked. “Cathy has probably poisoned everybody else, too. Should we go back to Idaho and hide?” Upon further thought, I admitted, “There’s no way I can run away from what they’re planning to do. They’re going to destroy the kingdom, Nate.”
He moved in front of me to grasp both of my upper arms. “I’m not going to let that happen.” He pulled me toward the hallway and gently hid me behind him before he peered out of the kitchen. “I think somebody is coming,” he whispered.
I gasped silently. Nate helped me rush back into the room and outside through the kitchen, leaving the door open. We moved around the corner, out of sight. My fingers dug into his back as we crouched down and waited to see who else was in the house.
“Abby, it’s going to be okay,” said Jack’s voice. “Your mom will wake up in a few hours.”
“Jack!” I breathed.
Nate and I hurried into the room, where my best friend was holding Abby’s hand.
“Dani!” Jack’s wide eyes examined the length of me, taking in my blood-spattered clothing. “What happened?”
“I’m fine, I promise. The blood’s not mine.”
“Whose is it?” Abby wondered.
“Troy’s,” Nate replied. “Have you seen him or my stepdad?”
Jack shook his head. “We’ve only seen Cathy, and she ran off when we found out she was trying to poison all of us.”
“Who else did she poison?” I asked.
“She got to my mom and Wendy and Miss Alice,” Abby said. “When we arrived, Cathy told them you were resting upstairs and offered them some biscuits while they waited.”
Darn, those biscuits.
“Then my dad bit into one and noticed a rancid taste,” Abby continued. “He said he recognized the flavor, because a witch in this kingdom had poisoned him and his friend with a sleeping potion when they were young. Since the three fairies and my dad had already bitten into the biscuits, it was too late for them, but it prevented Jack and me from eating one. Before the poison completely took over her mind, my mom tried to pursue Cathy, but she collapsed into this chair before she could catch her. Cathy ran away in a panic, and we haven’t seen her or anyone—”
“Wait a minute,” Nate interrupted. “Are you saying your dad is also from Fenmore Falls?”
“Yes. He is Hansel, and Jack’s mom is Gretel—you know, from the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel,” Abby answered. “But they’re not brother and sister like in the story. They were neighbor friends when they were little. Jack’s mom owns this manor, and his aunt has been living here and taking care of it.”
With her casual reply, no one would guess Abby had just learned her family came from a magic kingdom.
A smile crept onto Jack’s face and he pulled Abby closer with their linked hands. “Thank goodness we’re not cousins. That would be awkward.”
“This place just gets crazier and crazier,” Nate muttered. He looked at me. “Next, are you going to tell me Dorothy is the girl from The Wizard of Oz and your grandmother is Snow White?”
“Actually, Snow White is my mom’s cousin,” I said. “I’m not sure about Dorothy. I’ve never heard of The Wizard of Oz.”
“Never mind,” Nate replied with a chuckle. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
I tugged on the sleeve of his shirt, and when he met my eyes, I said quietly, “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”
He put his finger under my chin. “Don’t worry. I can handle any fairy tale that gets thrown at me. Bring me a haunted gingerbread house or a sleeping curse any day. Heck, bring me the giant at the top of the beanstalk—I’ll squash him down to size.”
“Speaking of that,” Jack interjected, “we should find your stepdad, Rumpelstiltskin, and stop him.”
“Wait a minute,” Nate said. “Are you saying my stepdad is also the giant in your story, Jack?”
Jack pondered for a brief second. “Yes, I guess you’re right.” He looked at me and said, “That would make sense why he took the gold, the brooch with the engraving of a hen, and your music box.”
“Just like the fairy tale,” I said, thinking about the other stories Dorothy had shown me after I got over the shock of reading my own fairy tale. It was also like the Rumpelstiltskin story where the magic man tries to steal the queen’s baby.
It seemed everyone’s story was intertwining in this magic kingdom of Fenmore Falls. No wonder I’d dreamed of a man chasing Jack with an ax—that’s what had happened in Jack and the Beanstalk after Jack took the giant’s stuff.
Jack looked at Abby and back at me. “It just gives me one more reason to slay my giant.”
“Are you guys ready?” he asked us. After we nodded, he said, “All right, grab something you can use as a weapon.” He went to the table and fumbled through a bunch of utensils until
he found a meat cleaver. “I’ve got mine.”
Nate eyed the tool. “That’ll work.”
Everyone but me grabbed something from the table. Nate found a large kitchen knife, and Abby chose an iron pan. I went to the fireplace and picked up the poker.
Jack and Nate led Abby and me into the hallway. Even though the danger of our situation heightened my adrenaline, my sleepiness hadn’t completely worn off, so I held tight to Abby.
“So, you’re a princess, huh?” she whispered.
“Um, yeah. About that . . . I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Your mom thought it would be better not to.”
“I’ll forgive you, only if I don’t have to start calling you Your Highness.” She nudged me with her shoulder.
I looked up to see her smile. “Never.” I grinned in return.
We all walked in guarded silence as we came into the main part of the manor. Suddenly I heard a rustling sound nearby. “Did you hear that?” I whispered.
My three companions nodded.
Abby glanced around. “Where did the noise come from? I don’t see anything in here.”
“There are a lot of hidden rooms in this house,” I said. “One goes to the tower where Cathy makes her potions, and I found another one earlier when I escaped.”
“How are we ever going to find him?” Abby said.
“Follow me.” Jack walked in the direction of the sound.
I brought up the tail end of our group, nervously turning my head every few seconds to make sure we weren’t being followed.
“Stay close,” Nate said to Abby and me.
You don’t have to tell me twice. I squished closer to Abby.
We reached the side of the room where it seemed the noise had come from, and Jack and Nate examined the wall with their hands. Soon, they found a crack.
Jack looked back at us girls. “Get ready—I’m going to open the door.”
I gripped onto my fire poker and moved even closer to Abby, if that was possible.
Jack shoved on the wall next to the crack. Rather than opening inward to reveal a passageway, the hidden door opened toward us, and Rumpelstiltskin came bounding into the room.
Abby and I screamed. Jack was knocked back from the force of the opening door, and his cleaver flew across the floor.
Nate jumped in front of the towering Rumpelstiltskin, holding up his own knife. “You’re not going anywhere, Dad,” he shouted, giving the word Dad a sarcastic twist. “I think you owe me a stolen inheritance.”
Rumpelstiltskin looked down and eyed Nate’s shiny weapon. He sneered and took a step closer to his stepson.
Jack jumped up from the ground and stood by Nate, who raised his knife a little higher to the giant and said, “Why did you do it? Why did you kill my mom?”
“Don’t worry, Son, she died in peace,” Rumpelstiltskin scoffed. “Your mother never caused me any trouble. Her only offense was that she was lonely and married me.”
Rumpelstiltskin looked in my direction. “As for you, you’ve been a little more trouble.” He started to take a step toward me, but Nate moved his knife higher.
The giant stopped and glared at the weapon. “I don’t have time for this.”
“You’re going to have to make time,” said a female voice from behind us.
We all turned to see Ms. White, our French teacher, along with a man with graying dark hair. They had just emerged from the hallway with Rumpelstiltskin’s sons. Ms. White held onto Matthew, while the man with her restrained Troy. I took a little pride in seeing Troy’s broken nose swelling in between bruised eyes.
As my friends and I stared at the newcomers, Rumpelstiltskin reached out and grabbed me around the waist. I kicked and clawed, but he held me tight and lifted me up high against his chest so my feet were dangling in the air.
“I’ve waited too long for this,” he yelled across the room.
“You’re right,” Ms. White shouted back. “This quarrel goes way back before these kids were even born. They have nothing to do with this. Let them go.”
“They have everything to do with this. The princess represents everything bad that has happened to my family. She is the end of a long line of unfairness and injustice.” I could feel Rumpelstiltskin’s chest vibrate against my back with each word he shouted back to my French teacher.
“What are you going to do?” Ms White taunted. “I have both of your sons. If you harm Danielle, you’re risking the freedom of your sons.”
Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. “I’m willing to risk it.”
Troy’s eyes went wide at his father’s sad declaration. In an odd way, I felt a little sorry for Troy.
“You can’t still seriously believe your family was robbed of their right to the throne almost a century ago,” Ms. White said.
So that’s what this is all about! I thought with a gasp.
“You won’t win the kingdom by killing the princess.” My French teacher’s words cut me to the heart.
“That’s why I’m marrying her first.” Rumpelstiltskin cackled. “After her death, I will be next in line for the throne.”
My stomach wrenched. This guy really means to kill me!
“My plan will come to fruition in the morning,” Rumpelstiltskin declared, inching back toward the hidden door.
Frantically, my gaze darted around the room, looking to anyone for help. With each of this evil man’s steps,I wanted to scream, “Please, stop him! Please!”
Then it hit me. This is not how my story ends, and I won’t let him determine my destiny. With that thought, my panic was replaced by outrage, which fueled my courage to do what I did next. With all the strength I could muster, I swung my head back, smacking Rumpelstiltskin hard in the chin.
“Ouch!” he shouted, and just as I hoped, he slackened his grip and my feet touched the floor.
I tried to run to Nate, but Rumpelstiltskin still had a hand on my arm and quickly halted my retreat. He picked me up and held me tight. “I’m going to enjoy killing you after our wedding.”
My eyes sought out Nate’s. At the assurance in his expression, I raised my eyebrows in question.
“Trust me,” he mouthed.
Now standing against the door, Rumpelstiltskin reached a hand back to open it. “Tomorrow is a new beginning,” he bellowed.
I kept my focus on Nate, waiting for a signal or something.
He and Jack nodded at each other. Then, Nate looked back at me and mouthed, “Get down.”
I closed my eyes and lowered my head as much as I could. As soon as I ducked, I felt something slam into Rumpelstiltskin’s chest. He loosened his grip and I quickly dropped to the floor and crawled away. Nate grabbed me and pulled me to safety.
When I was safe in my boyfriend’s arms, I dared to look back at the giant, who held onto a meat cleaver protruding from his chest. He wobbled a little, staring at the foreign object, and then suddenly went still before collapsing forward onto the knife.
Jack stood only a few feet in front of the fallen man, and I finally understood that it was he who had slain the giant. He must have grabbed his weapon from the ground and launched it at Rumpelstiltskin. I would be forever grateful for our bow-and-arrow practice when we were kids. Jack was always the better archer.
“How dare you!” Matthew yelled from the other side of the room. I turned to see him pull away from Ms. White’s grip and march forward in a rage.
Nate pushed me behind him and tossed his knife to Jack, who was closer to the charging lunatic. Jack easily caught the weapon. A few seconds later Matthew lay on the floor, moaning and holding his wounded side.
Jack motioned to Troy, who was still held by the man standing next to Ms. White. “Are you going to be next?” he asked him.
Troy remained silent and didn’t even glance at his brother who wailed in pain on the floor.
“We’ll take this one to the castle where they can lock him up for trial,” Ms. White said.
“What about this one?” Jack nudged Matthew with his foot.
“We’ll take him too. They can mend his wounds and then figure out what to do with him.”
“I don’t understand why you’re here, Ms. White,” Abby said, grabbing onto Jack. He pulled her close.
“Dorothy sent me a message that you might need help.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
She looked at me kindly. “I’m Snow White, sweetheart.”
“You’re my mom’s cousin?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But you teach French.”
“Yes. Just like you, I learned the language when I was very young.”
“You live in Idaho?” I asked.
She smiled at the man who stood by her side. “That’s what happens when you marry someone who lives there.”
I grinned. Yeah, you never know who you might fall in love with.
As I looked at Nate and my other friends, I realized the curse was finally gone. It could never haunt me again!
For the first time in my life, I truly felt free.
Chapter 27
A Father’s Love
Ever since I could remember, when my father held my hand he gave it a gentle double squeeze. If I didn’t return the gesture, he’d repeat it until I squeezed his hand back twice. Once I became a teenager, my rebellious mind found the game childish. My attitude changed the day he explained that every time he double squeezed my hand, he was saying “I love you.” Of course, after that, I always double squeezed his hand back.
Seeing My Dad
During the ride to the castle, I begged my mind to distract me with a melody, but my heart was too filled with worry. I wanted to yell at the horses pulling the carriage to run faster, but Jack was already pushing the animals as hard as he could.
Nate sat next to me, while Abby perched on the bench in front of us. Nate periodically squeezed my shoulder and kissed my cheek, and Abby told me things would be okay, but nothing would calm me until I saw my dad.
In a carriage behind us rode Ms. White and her husband, along with both prisoners, Matthew and Troy. Rumpelstiltskin’s dead body was also in tow.
Questions raced through my mind—What if we’re too late? What if I never get to talk to my dad again? The emptiness inside me was almost unbearable.
Finding Sleeping Beauty Page 18