by Ann T Bugg
Through the Mirror and Into Snow
Before Happily Ever After Series
Book 1
Ann T. Bugg
…
Through the Mirror and Into Snow
Before Happily Ever After Book One
By Ann T. Bugg
Copyright © Ann T. Bugg, 2015
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.
First published with Writers AMuse Me 2011
Published by Pau Hana Books, August 2015
Third edition July, 2016
ISBN: 978-1301755196
This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this book can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.
Published in the United States of America
Cover Art and Illustrations: Valerie Kramin
For Larrie & Sam.
Without you, the gray hair & wrinkles would
be no fun at all!!
Chapter 1
“Put that thing down, Valerie Danielle!”
Princess Valerie didn't let her mother's use of her middle name deter her.
“But it's cool, Mom. Look at its stripes. Can I keep it?”
Valerie wasn’t a real princess. Her parents weren’t actually a king and queen, although they liked to think they were. Her dad’s home was his castle and he certainly treated her Mom like a queen. Their castle was an old farmhouse in Minnesota.
“You let that snake go now, young lady, preferably deep into the woods.”
"Come on. We've got horses, dogs, cats, birds, a bunny, and a chinchilla -- all we need is a cute little snake!"
"It'll look a lot cuter in the woods, where I can't see it."
“You’re no fun.”
“I’m plenty of fun. Joke time: Which king felt only a fraction of himself?”
“Henry the Eighth. You told me that one.”
“Why is Cinderella no good at soccer?”
“’Cause she always runs away from the ball. How about I go put the snake down in the forest?”
“Good idea.”
As Valerie walked away, her mother winked at one of their dogs, who also seemed happy that the intruder was leaving the house. “Worked like a charm.” Sometimes she had good jokes and they laughed together. Sometimes the jokes were not good at all and it would get her daughter back on the task at hand, trying to escape the torture. It didn’t just stop at jokes, either. Val’s mom was full of fun facts and useless knowledge, always putting her to the test. Her question: “Do you know what Donald Duck’s middle name is?” sent Val to her computer for the answer.
While Val was off returning her slithery friend to the forest, her mom glanced at the clock. “Time to release Leroy from isolation,” she told the dogs.
One of Val’s pets was a small Shetland pony named Leroy. Ponies love to eat; Leroy was certainly no exception. He was almost as wide as he was tall. If you didn’t take him away from grazing, he never stopped eating. In attempts to help him lose weight, he was penned up for part of the day in a separate, smaller area to give his belly a rest. His pen had a small grassy area and shelter from the barn through a smaller side door. He, of course, had the grass nibbled down to nothing, but at least he had something to do while he was in there.
Val’s mom poked her head outside and found tiny drops of rain starting to fall.
“Hello, little man,” she called to the pony. “I’ll be there in a jiffy. Just let me grab my raincoat.”
Leroy talked back to her in his own way -- an impatient whinny meaning, “Hurry up, lady, I'm starving over here.”
She came out the side door and hollered to him as she made her way over. “I was going to say hold your horses, but they are at the side pasture.” She laughed. “I crack myself up.”
He whinnied again.
“Do you have laryngitis or are you just a little horse?” Unfortunately for Leroy, that joke never got old.
He whinnied yet again.
“All right, I’ll quit it with that one. You’d be wise to mind your temper or I’ll see if that new twenty-four hour gym accepts ponies.”
As she walked in the barn, he ran to greet her at his little gate. She gave him a quick pat on the nose. “I have to feed the kitties first, then I’ll let you go, buddy.” Her other hand held a plastic container of cat food. Giving it a little rattle, she proved she wasn’t lying.
She turned around to feed the cats. They took their turns rubbing against her and weaving themselves between her legs in anticipation of their meal. She took a few steps toward the bowls on the far wall, but stopped. Something didn’t look right at all. A few cats at her feet jumped onto the table, blocking the view of whatever it was. After taking a step to the left, she could see it once again. It didn’t seem to know or care that she was there. The cats ignored the intruder and simply paced around it. Fear finally won over curiosity. She could no longer force herself to move any closer, no matter how intrigued she was. Then it scurried forward a few inches, burying itself into the hay bale that the table was pushed against, leaving only its back end and tail showing. It was a large gray beast, at least the size of Sir Lexington, Val’s favorite barn cat, but had a long bald tail. She stifled a scream.
“Is that a rat?” she said softly to herself. “A rat couldn’t possibly be this big.” She leaned in, just a little, for a closer look. A few cats were sitting next to it, as if it were one of them. “Surely the cats wouldn’t keep company with a rat, even if there are special ‘food chain’ rules around here. Maybe Lex has a new friend with mange and the poor thing lost all the hair on its tail. That has to be the answer.” She went in even closer, took another good look, then jumped back. “No way. If it were a cat, it would be begging for food with the others.” After dropping the food, she called for the dogs and ran for the house.
At the sound of the slamming door and Val's mom's pacing, Val ran down the stairs, wondering what the commotion was about. Her best friend, Samantha, was at her heels.
Every summer for the last four years, Samantha stayed for a week at Valerie’s house. She’d moved away a few years ago, but their families traveled the few hours to each other’s homes as often as they could. Val and Sam were now eight and nine years old, but had been friends since Samantha had just turned one and Valerie was about to turn two. Although angels to their parents separately, the two always managed to be double-trouble when they were together. For the girls, that was never often enough.
“Why do these things always happen when your father is away?” she said to Val.
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“There’s a critter the size of a large cat on the counter where I feed them. It was ugly. It had a fat, bald tail. I thought it was a rat, but it can’t be. It’s too big.”
Always the voice of reason, Val said, “Mom, it’s probably a possum.”
“A possum? Have you seen one here before?”
“No, but Dad told me he has.”
“We have possums here?”
Val laughed. “W
e have everything here. I’m sure that’s what it is. Can we go see?”
“No, you are not going out there! Who knows if it has rabies or some other disease? Wild animals like that don’t usually go where there are people nearby. You two stay put.”
“It was probably just after the cat food.”
“Then it’s hungry. Even more of a reason to leave it alone. I’ll have your dad set a live trap or something when he gets back.”
“My dad tried that with a raccoon,” Sam said. “More just show up.”
“Well…he’ll figure something out. Don’t you two dare go out there. You hear me?”
“We won’t, Mom,” Val promised…with her fingers crossed behind her back.
It should have been obvious to Val’s mom that they were’t about to let an adventure go unattended. Should have, but wasn’t. They were plotting to go out as soon as she went to bed.
Chapter 2