The king stayed quiet, nodding and listening to his daughter.
“Dad, how do I get Glimmer back to normal?”
The king smiled. “You might want to start with talking to Violet.”
Bella wrapped her arms around her dad. The king hugged her back. “I love you, sweetheart,” her dad said. “I know you’ll have Glimmer back to purple in no time.”
Bella scrambled to her feet. “I’ve got to find Violet right now!”
7
Let’s Talk
Almost an hour had passed since Bella had talked to her dad. She still hadn’t found Violet. The princess had looked everywhere and asked everyone, but no one had seen her cousin.
Bella finally went back to the castle, deciding to look for Violet inside.
She entered through a side door in the kitchen and almost smacked right into Violet.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Bella said. She looked at her cousin. Violet’s eyes were pink and her nose was red. “Have you been crying? What’s wrong?”
Bella reached out a hand toward Violet, but her cousin yanked her arm away from Bella. “You don’t have to be nice,” Violet said softly, her chin wobbly as she talked. “I heard you talking to Ivy and Clara. I’m sorry I ruined your entire week. I’m going upstairs to pack and am going home tonight.”
Violet turned away from Bella and darted out of the kitchen.
“Violet! Wait!” Bella called after her. But Violet didn’t stop. Bella followed her to the guest bedroom and watched as Violet yanked her suitcase on top of the bed and began pulling clothes off hangers and tossing them into the suitcase.
“Violet, please,” Bella said. “Please just let me explain. Give me ten minutes, and if you still want to leave after, then I’ll help you pack. Okay?”
Violet swiped at her nose with her hand. She plopped on the bed, hanger in hand. “Ten minutes. Go.”
“I am so sorry you heard me talking to Ivy and Clara,” Bella apologized. “I should have talked to you first. Have you seen Glimmer this afternoon?”
Violet glared at her. “No. I didn’t go anywhere near the stable, since I’m trying to steal your unicorn, apparently.”
“I’m sorry that I said that, too,” Bella said. “But if you had seen Glimmer, you would have been pretty surprised. Because of me being so jealous of you, Glimmer turned green!”
Violet blinked. “She’s green?”
Bella nodded. “It’s all my fault. Glimmer won’t go back to normal until I stop feeling so jealous of you.”
“Jealous of what?” Violet asked.
So Violet hadn’t heard that part of the conversation with Ivy and Clara.
“I’m . . .” Bella paused, taking a deep breath. “I’m jealous that you got here and everyone instantly wanted to be your friend. Ivy and Clara never make a new friend this fast. You and Ben can talk about Foris all the time. Even Glimmer loves you like crazy!”
Bella took a breath.
“There’s just one more thing,” the princess said. “I’m not sure why, but you don’t want to talk about the Pairing Ceremony. Ever. I’ve tried to talk to you about it, and you always stop me. Vi, I was so scared before my ceremony. If you had already done yours, I would have asked you a million questions. You haven’t asked me any. It hurt my feelings, too, because my ceremony was the biggest night of my life, and you don’t want to hear about it in person.”
Bella watched as Violet dropped her head.
“I haven’t asked you because it reminds me too much of home,” Violet said in a whisper. “Once I go back, it’s all that I’ll hear about or have to think about. I’ve been having so much fun with you, Ben, Ivy, and Clara. I don’t have one friend at home.”
“Oh, Violet,” Bella said. Her cousin’s lower lip trembled.
“It’s so amazing being around friends! On the train ride here I was so scared that I wouldn’t fit in and that your friends would think I was weird or something. But they’ve been so nice. Friday’s party is coming up so fast—I don’t want this visit to end.”
“My friends are the best,” Bella agreed. “And there’s nothing ‘weird’ about you, Violet. You’ll have to come over more often to be around us. Maybe your parents would consider letting kids of castle employees go to school with you or something.”
Violet gave Bella a tiny smile. “That sounds cool and scary at the same time. I feel so lucky to already have made friends here with your help. I’d be really scared to have kids I don’t know in a room at my castle.”
“They would love you,” Bella promised. “Really, Vi. You’d make friends at home just as fast as you did here.”
“I’m sorry, Bella,” Violet said. “I came here to be on vacation with you. I was so excited to have your friends like me. You kind of have to like me because we’re family.”
“I was jealous because it seemed like all of my friends liked you better than me,” Bella replied. “And I didn’t feel like we were spending enough cousin time together. I’ve missed you!”
“I missed you, too!”
Bella pointed at Violet’s suitcase. “Ten minutes are probably up. Do you want help packing?”
Violet nodded. “Yes.”
Bella felt as though her heart plummeted to her feet.
“With unpacking,” Violet said, smiling.
“Ahhh! You totally scared me!” Bella said with a laugh. “Are we okay?”
“More than okay,” Violet said. “I know that you, Ivy, and Clara will be at the party. It’s not going to be as scary as I thought.”
“It’s going to be way more fun than you can imagine,” Bella said. “Trust me.”
“Bella, I would really love to hear about your ceremony, if you still want to tell me about it,” Violet said. “Being scared of my own ceremony was the reason I spent so much time with Glimmer. I thought if I spent time with a happily matched unicorn that it would help me somehow at my ceremony. I’m sorry that I kind of treated Glimmer like my own unicorn.”
“It’s okay,” Bella said. “I understand now. Of course I’ll tell you about my ceremony. There’s so much you don’t know. And after that, maybe we can pick outfits for the party?”
Violet nodded. “I’d like that. I definitely need help choosing the perfect outfit.”
“Me too. That’s why I’m glad you’re here. Sparkling grape juice toast please,” Bella declared. “Hold your hand like mine,” she told Violet.
A glass appeared in each of their hands. Bubbly grape juice filled each of their glasses.
“Too cool,” Violet said, grinning. “So remembering that trick at home.”
Bella raised her glass. “Here’s to starting over, to being good best friends, and being the best cousins ever!”
“Yay to that!” Ivy grinned.
The girls clinked their glasses together, then took a sip of their juice. They finished their small glasses quickly.
After a final squeeze, they left the guest room and headed for the stables.
Crossing her fingers for luck, Bella peered into Glimmer’s stall.
Purple!
Glimmer let out a soft whine and walked up to the stall door. She nuzzled Bella and Violet.
“Oh, Glimmer!” Bella exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re purple again! I promise never to let that happen again.”
“Let’s talk inside her stall,” Bella said to Violet. The girls went into the stall and sat down on clean straw. Glimmer circled once, then lowered herself onto the straw next to the girls.
“So,” Bella started, “there’s a lot that happened at my ceremony. Some of it is amazing and some of it not so much.”
“I want to hear all of it,” Violet said.
And so Bella told Violet all about her ceremony, red auras, Queen Fire’s scary appearance on Bella’s birthday, and details about the
nasty, evil queen of the Blacklands.
The cousins talked for hours—so long that Glimmer fell asleep. By the end of the conversation, Violet was super excited for her own ceremony—exactly what Bella had hoped for. The girls decided not to spend another second talking about Queen Fire, and instead they left a sleeping Glimmer in her stall and headed up to the castle. Lightning bugs flashed across the castle property—the girls had talked until the sun had started to set.
That night Bella went to bed in a better mood than she had been in all week. The girls stayed up talking and giggling, just like Bella had always wanted for the visit. Bella drifted off to sleep, glad to have her cousin by her side, and vowing to make sure the rest of Violet’s visit was magical.
8
Lyssa to the Rescue
Bella blinked, staring up at her ceiling. An excited tingle ran through her body. She looked at her clock. Just after nine in the morning.
“Violet,” Bella whispered. Her cousin was sound asleep next to her, clutching one of Bella’s stuffed unicorns.
“Violet!” Bella said, louder this time. “It’s party day!”
Violet turned on her side, facing Bella. Strands of red hair had escaped from the French braid she had done last night.
“Oh! It’s Friday!” Violet sat up, hugging the unicorn. “Omigosh! I’m so nervous and excited at the same time!”
Bella grinned. “No nerves necessary! You know four people already—Ben, Ivy, Clara, and me. You won’t be alone for a second. Let’s go have breakfast!”
They both climbed out of Bella’s bed and put on matching fluffy light-blue cotton robes. Thursday had passed in a blur. Ivy and Clara had come over, and everyone had done mani pedis. The girls pooled their collections of Sunray Sweets nail polishes.
“You said Lyssa is coming today, right?” Violet asked as the cousins walked down the hallway together.
“Yes. She might even be here now. I asked her to help get our outfits ready.”
“Ooh, I can’t wait to meet her,” Violet said.
The girls reached the breakfast table, and Bella’s parents stood to hug each of the girls.
“How did you sleep?” Queen Katherine asked. She raised an eyebrow at Bella. “You did sleep a little, right?”
“We did, Aunt Katherine,” Violet said. “I fell asleep instantly.”
“Me too,” Bella added. “I thought I’d be awake all night thinking about the party, but I think my body knew I needed to rest up for today.”
Queen Katherine smiled. “Good girls,” she said. She and King Phillip remained standing as Bella and Violet sat in front of empty plates.
“We have a few last-minute details to attend to,” Queen Katherine said. “Enjoy your breakfast.”
Violet and Bella smiled as the king and queen left the dining room. Silver trays reached from one end of the table to another. The clear lids revealed eggs, pancakes, sausages, bacon—so many yummy options!
Bella and Violet filled their plates, and Bella was on her last chocolate chip pancake when she heard footsteps behind her.
“Morning!” a cheery voice called.
“Lyssa!” Bella said. “I’m so happy you’re here! Thank you for coming. Violet, this is Lyssa.”
“I’ve heard so much about you from Bella,” Lyssa said, smiling at Violet. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
“Me too,” Violet said. “Bella said you can put together perfect party outfits. I so need your help!”
Lyssa grinned. “Aw, I’m glad Bella says nice things about me. She usually tells everyone how I mismatch her socks and try to dress her in stripes and polka dots at the same time.”
Bella dropped her jaw. “I do not!”
Lyssa winked at her, and all three girls burst into laughter. Bella said a silent thank you for Lyssa being there. The older girl was sure to help Bella and Violet look amazing and help with Violet’s nerves, too.
“It’s my pleasure to come over,” Lyssa said cheerfully. “I stopped by yesterday, too.”
“You did?” Bella asked. “I didn’t even see you.”
Lyssa smiled. “I peeked in on you two and Ivy and Clara. You were very serious about the right nail polish.” Everyone laughed.
“I’m finished with breakfast if you are,” Bella said to Violet. Her cousin nodded.
“Then let the party makeovers begin, ladies!” Lyssa said.
Bella and Violet clapped. Giggling, the three of them headed upstairs.
“Even though the party is, like, eight hours away, I feel like I won’t be ready in time,” Bella said.
“We have plenty of time,” Lyssa assured her. “We’re going to do hair and face masks and a little spa time before we really start getting ready.”
In Bella’s room, Lyssa pulled the dresses she had selected the day before. She spread the four choices across the bed.
“Did you bring dresses for tonight?” Lyssa asked Violet.
“They’re in the guest room,” Violet said. “I brought a few and went shopping here. It would be so great if you helped me choose.”
“Of course,” Lyssa said. “All right. Bella, hop in the shower and wash your hair. While you’re showering, I’m going to help Violet settle on a dress. Then Violet, you’ll shower while I help Bella. Then I’ll do hair masks for deep conditioning, okay?”
“Yes!” Bella and Violet chorused.
Violet grinned at Bella. Seeing her cousin smile like that made Bella even more excited for tonight. It was going to be the best party ever!
9
Social Butterfly
Lyssa had just finished curling Bella’s hair when Ivy and Clara, both in Crystal Castle carriages, arrived. Each classmate of theirs was being picked up by a carriage.
“Wow!” Clara said, stepping back to look at Bella and Violet. “You both look amazing!”
Bella blushed and saw color flushing Violet’s cheeks too.
“Lyssa helped us pick out the outfits,” Bella said. “She was with us all morning and afternoon.”
Bella wore a teal scoop-neck dress with a tulle skirt covered in petal appliqués. The dress had a bow at her right hip, and it zipped up the back. Bella’s feet were comfy in black peep-toe ballet flats. Lyssa had curled Bella’s naturally straight brown hair, and it fell in waves around her shoulders.
Violet sparkled in a hunter-green dress. The color made her red hair pop. The dress had three layers of ruffles along the bottom, and it was dotted with light-catching green sequins. Violet wore a pair of Bella’s rhinestone-dotted black velvet ballet flats. Lyssa had flat-ironed Violet’s curls into straight, shiny curtains of red hair.
Violet and Bella had hugged Lyssa and thanked her over and over as they left Bella’s room. Once outside, the girls followed a smooth path that had been placed over the grass and led to the stage. Each time Bella put a foot on the path, it changed colors.
A carriage came to a smooth stop in the driveway and Todd, a boy in Bella’s class, jumped out of the carriage. Todd followed the light-path and climbed the stairs to the platform.
“Hey,” he said to the girls. He had bright-green eyes and freckles sprinkled across his nose.
“Hey, Todd,” Bella said. “This is my cousin, Violet.”
Todd smiled. “Hi.”
Bella leaned close to Violet. “See? It’s not so bad, right?”
Violet nodded. “I think this is going to be fun!”
Upbeat music played through big music crystals that rotated around the platform. The sun was just about to set, and rainbow-colored spotlights flickered on and off.
More carriages arrived, and each time, Bella made sure to introduce Violet until she had met each person in Bella’s class.
“Ben!” Bella stuck her arm in the air and waved at the dark-haired boy who stood on the platform’s edge. Clara, next to Bella,
waved at Ben too.
Smiling, Ben nodded at the other people, who were in groups chatting and swaying to the music.
“You look nice,” Bella said to Ben. Ben had on a black shirt with black pants instead of his usual stable uniform.
“Thanks. You all look nice too,” Ben said. “This is going to be fun! It was so nice of your parents to do this.”
“I know. We all see each other every day, but really never get a chance to hang out,” Bella said. “Tonight we can!”
“May I have your attention, everyone?”
All the kids turned their heads in the direction of the front of the stage. Queen Katherine, in a sunny yellow dress, smiled at them from atop a small podium.
“I’m so excited to have all of Bella’s classmates here tonight,” Queen Katherine said. “A party was long overdue! I read progress reports for each of you and know how hard you work at school. I’m so proud to have you as students at Crystal Castle.”
Everyone started clapping.
“There are some yummy treats under the red tent,” Queen Katherine said once the applause died down. “The party ends at nine, but if you would like to go home sooner, come find me or King Phillip and we’ll get a carriage ready. This isn’t the last party, by the way. I am already planning an end-of-spring party, and I hope you’ll all come!”
Cheers rang out across the platform.
“Thank you, Queen Katherine!” Todd shouted from his spot next to Bella.
“Thank you!” the rest of the class added.
“You’re welcome, and have fun!” the queen said.
Music began flowing through the speakers again. Bella almost hopped up and down when she glanced around and spotted Violet chatting away with a few kids from the class.
Bella, Ivy, Clara, and Ben started dancing and talking as they moved around the floor. The platform lit up under their feet just as the walkway had done.
No one was on the sidelines—every person in Bella’s class was dancing on the floor. “Are you having fun?” Bella asked Violet as she sidled up next to her cousin.
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