Ms. Bea smiled and gave Molly’s arms an extra squeeze. “I’m sure you won’t. She will leave tomorrow evening after dinner. I already have a place prepared. It’s fully furnished and stocked with food.”
“That sounds great,” Molly said. “I’ll go see if there’s anything I can do to help Jolie get ready.”
Molly left the Great Study, pulling the door behind her. Ms. Bea and Ms. Halifax started a conversation in hushed voices.
27
MOLLY
ON THE WAY TO Jolie’s room, Molly ran into Owen carrying a bright red toolbox. “Hey, Molly. I was just on my way to tinker with something in the basement. Glad to see you made it back safely.”
She said nothing, but before she knew it, she was wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close to her. She pulled away suddenly, embarrassed.
Owen was bright red, and his green eyes sparkled with amusement. Molly didn't know how he managed to smell so good when she had just seen him doing manual labor outside. He cleared his throat. "Wow. I'm happy to see you too."
Molly wanted to hug him again, but she refrained. “When can I see you again? I mean, not just in passing but when can we sit to have a real conversation?”
Owen looked at the ceiling. “We have all the time in the world, Ms. Dillinger. How about a picnic lunch in the backyard tomorrow afternoon?”
"That sounds great," Molly said, her mind reeling. She thought about all the things they could actually be doing if they were free. Bowling, in-door skydiving, road trips, apple picking, so many things. There was so much she wanted to speak to Owen about. She felt like she could have real conversations with him about anything. "Jolie's going to be leaving us tomorrow, so I'm going to help her get prepared."
Owen nodded. “Good for her. She’s going to be missed though. She does a hell of a job keeping up that garden.”
“Yes, she is,” Molly said, “and yes she does.”
There was a long pause between them before Owen went in for a kiss. His lips were a much needed welcome-home gift. The kiss felt magical and lingered for a few moments, but not long enough for Molly's taste. Owen pulled away and looked over Molly's shoulder. Molly turned to see Ms. Bea standing there. She couldn't quite read the expression on her face.
Owen ran his fingers through his hair. "I better get going. I'll see you." He started moving, but in the opposite direction of the basement.
“Wait,” Molly called. “The basement’s that way.”
Owen smirked. “I don’t really need to do anything in the basement. I was just looking for a reason to see you.”
Molly's face warmed and then she remembered that Ms. Bea was still standing there watching. She suppressed her smile and looked down at the ground until Owen was gone.
Once he was, she approached Ms. Bea. “I know. I know what you’re going to say.”
Bea cocked her head to the side. “What am I going to say?”
“You’re going to say that it’s totally unprofessional for me to get involved with another staff member, especially one that Isleen has a crush on.”
Bea looked at her quizzically. "Was I going to say that?" Molly went on. "Yes. But I think it's fair to say that this is no ordinary situation. I mean we were covered in beanstalks, and I just answered riddles from a giant crocodile, so maybe since this is no ordinary job, I don't have to follow ordinary rules."
Ms. Bea broke into chuckles and patted Molly's arm. "Ms, Dillinger, I would never suggest that someone should fashion their life based on the emotions of that unbalanced girl and I know all too well that love happens when it happens and that there's no sense is stopping it or trying to come in between it."
Molly thought about those words. “I don’t know about love but—”
Ms. Bea cut her off. "Ms. Dillinger, Ms. Halifax and I have been having long conversations about these pens and the process that it takes to find them and then to decide which girl gets an elixir."
“Yeah?” Molly said.
Ms. Bea's shoulders drooped. "I can't do this anymore. I can't hand the elixir to one girl and tell her that freedom is finally hers while watching the others be crushed. No matter how happy they are for Jolie, they were crushed. I just won't do it anymore. I also won't sit around waiting to find all the pens and earning the extra elixirs only to have three girls left in the end without one. Leaving them to die. I can’t do that. I promised them all that I would take care of that.”
Molly didn't know where Bea was going. "You're doing a wonderful job taking care of them. They've been safe for hundreds of years. The witches haven't found this place, and two girls are free. I'm not sure what you're saying."
Ms. Bea looked around the hallway to make sure it was empty. “We’re not looking for pens and earning elixirs anymore. We’re going to break all the curses. We’re going after the Moonhaven Coven ourselves.”
Molly wasn't sure how she felt about that. She'd faced some pretty fierce creatures over the past month, but she had no idea what to expect from a Coven of witches who had caused so much damage and destruction. Bea's powers were waning, and they now had two fewer girls than they started with, Would they be able to defeat the witches? How were they even going to find them?
Molly agreed that it was the only way to free all the girls and she wouldn't be able to take it if any of them were doomed. None of them deserved that—not even Isleen. "Okay," Molly said. "Just tell me what to do, and you can consider it done."
She meant every word of that. She was ready to leave Everly and have her life back.
28
ISLEEN
ISLEEN LAY ON HER bed with her ankles crossed staring at the ceiling. She held the magical stone between her thumb and forefinger. Isleen had no idea how to use it or what it would do for her. It hadn't certainly helped her get the latest elixir.
A swell of anger rose in her. It seemed to come from nowhere, and it was so fiery that it threatened to tear through her chest. The girls wouldn't even give her a chance, no matter what she did. She knew that she'd only received one vote and that had been from Tress. Not even the other girls in her alliance had given her their vote. She had been very instrumental on the journey. Hell, if it weren't for her, they would have had no idea where to even go. She was the one who got them through each part, and that was how they repaid her.
Isleen was well aware that she wasn't the nicest person. She didn't candy-coat things and tell people what they wanted to hear. She was sarcastic and abrasive, but most of the time people deserved that. None of them were perfect, but for some reason, none of the girls seemed to be able to look past her flaws. She could add Ms. Dillinger to that list, and of course, Ms. Bea hated her the most. The feeling was mutual. She hated the old fairy too. She was the reason they were all trapped there. Isleen always wished that Ms. Bea had just left her in the hands of fate years ago instead of promising her father that she would protect her. She would rather be dead than to spend hundreds of years cooped up at Everly only to die at the hands of witches.
There had been one thing that kept her going and hopeful aside from her friendship with Tress. Owen. He had been the thing that kept her mind occupied during all those sleepless nights. He was the reason she got all dolled up every day and made sure she looked her best. He was the reason she had never hurled herself from the roof.
Just before the journey, she'd spotted him kissing Ms. Dillinger, and it had felt like the ultimate betrayal by both of them. Isleen had been trying to get noticed by Owen for five years while it had only taken Molly a few days to get his attention. Isleen didn't understand it. What did she have that Isleen didn't? Was it because she was a little older than her? Isleen couldn't imagine that being the answer because to her, age was nothing but a number and she was very mature for her age. She came from a time where a girl her age would have already been married with children.
Since Owen seemed determined to throw their love away, Isleen decided that nothing else at Everly mattered. Yes, she would miss Tress dearly, she was pro
bably the only true friend Tress ever had in this life and her old one, but she couldn't stay in that house a second longer, and Tress would be just fine without her. She was going to have to take matters into her own hands and rescue herself. Three girls were going to be left without elixirs and the way things were going she was bound to be one of them. She was not about to let that happen. She was more deserving than the rest of them, aside from how useful she was to them, she was a princess. Her needs and desires should come before all others, no matter what Ms. Bea had to say about it.
The ivory jewel was the size of a quarter. Isleen thumped it with her finger. "What do you do?"
The jewel just stared back at her and did nothing. Sighing she rolled over and tossed it into the top drawer of her nightstand. She had to believe that worked or did something, she just had to wait until the right time, or maybe she just needed to figure out how to activate it.
It was almost midnight. I had been a busy day. There had been a huge dinner in Jolie's honor, and all her favorite things had been served. There were plenty of tears and lots of speeches about how Jolie would be missed. Lily promised to take care of the garden for her.
Isleen knew the right thing to do was to be happy for Jolie, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She was so jealous that she wanted to run out and rip all the flowers from Jolie's stupid garden. It wouldn't have solved anything, but it would have helped relieve some of her anger.
Isleen realized her mistake. She had played her hand too early the night she'd gone after Lily with the knife. She didn't know why the girls hadn't told Ms. Bea about what she'd done, but she was glad they hadn't.
She stepped out of bed and padded softly to the kitchen. It was well past midnight, and there was a good chance Gretchen would be in there stuffing her face, but it was a chance Isleen was willing to take.
Surprisingly, the kitchen was dark and empty. Isleen flipped on the lights and grabbed the biggest knife from the cutlery set. It was bigger than the other one she had.
On her way back to the other part of the house, Isleen noticed someone in the sitting room. The person had their back toward her and didn't seem to know she was there. They were probably sleeping since they hadn't stirred. A tea cup with a spoon in it rested on the table beside the sofa couch.
Isleen approached the person slowly. She could make out a head of lustrous, black hair in the moonlight that seeped in through the glass double doors. She couldn't believe her luck. It was Lily, resting there like a sitting duck. Maybe the magic rock was working after all.
She imagined that she would feel bad about doing this, but she didn't at all. This was Lily—the one she hated most of all. Lily was the one who everyone loved and followed and the one who had turned everyone against her.
Besides, Isleen figured, it wasn't her fault. It was the witches' fault. They said that any girl who killed another cursed girl would automatically get an elixir. Isleen wanted to relish the moment a little more, but she had to do what she was going to do before Lily woke up or before something else stopped her.
She took several deep breaths and then still standing behind Lily, and sliced her throat. There was more blood than she thought there would be though it was hard to see it. Lily leaned forward in the chair, her black hair falling all around her like a blanket. She reached out, making a gurgling sound.
Isleen dropped the knife and headed upstairs. There were still a few hours before daylight. She felt a rush of adrenaline. She had finally done what she’d wanted to do for so long. She’d taken matters into her own hands and earned her own elixir. For so long Ms. Bea had discouraged them from doing that. She’d even made them promise that they wouldn’t. If she had just gone with her gut from the beginning, she could have earned an elixir years ago.
Isleen waltzed through the dark hallways imagining what her life was going to be like once she got out. She'd leave Owen behind in this miserable place, and he'd be sorry for choosing Ms. Dillinger over her once he realized how much he missed her.
She had no idea what she would do for money, but she'd figure it out. Surely people would love to come to the aid of a real live princess. If anything, she was beautiful, and that had to count for something.
Isleen wondered how it would work. How would the witches deliver her elixir? How long would it take them to learn that Isleen had taken out another cursed girl? She had so many questions, but she was sure they would work themselves out.
When the sun rose, Isleen was still in the hallway laying in a chaise lounge chair. Her long slender legs dangled over the sides. She listened to the girls moving around in their bedrooms. The kitchen staff had to be up already preparing breakfast. It would only be a matter of time before someone would discover the surprise she'd left in the sitting room.
Isleen steadied herself for their reaction. They would be angry and shocked, but really, what could they do to her? She was as good as out of there.
Moments later, right on cue, ear-splitting screams came from downstairs. The doors flew open as several girls stepped into the hallway. Isleen sat up, her lips curved into a sly smile.
“What’s going on?” Gretchen asked.
Tress looked more confused than usual. "Who's screaming?" She was going to be very disappointed in Isleen, but that was something she was going to have to deal with.
Ms. Dillinger emerged from her room rubbing her eyes as more screams rose from the first floor. "What in the world?"
It seemed like all of their gazes landed on Isleen at the same time.
"Izzy," Gretchen said, her voice creaking, "why is there blood on your gown?"
Isleen looked down on herself. There was blood. She hadn't noticed it before. It had dried and turned a brownish-maroon color.
Ms. Dillinger stepped toward her as someone wailed from downstairs. Footsteps pounded up the staircase. Someone was calling for Ms. Bea. "Isleen," Ms. Dillinger said. "What have you done?"
Isleen stood looking very proud of herself as Ms. Bea and Ms. Halifax rounded the corner, still wearing their nightgowns, looking frantic. Isleen was glad they were there to witness the announcement. She smiled broadly. “I’ve earned myself an elixir. I’m finally getting out of here.”
THE END
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