Rules of a Fairytale

It was getting dark and we still had a couple of miles to go. Brooke wasn’t used to being adventurous or walking all day and I really didn’t think I could handle her whining any more. Admittedly, even I was getting tired of the endless walking. We stopped to camp for the night, but I wasn’t sure how that would work with our newest addition. Two tents went up with absolutely no help from Brooke or Ryder and Bo got a fire roaring in no time. The night was crisp and the dancing flames kept my toes from freezing off in my hiking boots.

“It’s so pretty here,” Brooke said in awe. “You can actually see the stars.” She leaned her back up against a tree trunk and warmed a piece of meat over the fire. I didn’t tell her it was from a deer Tate had caught.

“It is beautiful,” I agreed, looking up at the glittering sky. Miami was all artificial lights and the night sky in the Enchanted Kingdoms was more magnificent then anything the human realm could offer. “Our parents used to take Tate and me camping all over the kingdoms. Grandpa came whenever he could get away, but never my grandma’s sister Aunt Mallory, not that I’m complaining about her absence. I loved those trips because I didn’t have to worry about anything. No matter what stuff I was dealing with in our world, it didn’t matter here. I was… me.”

I closed my eyes and I could picture my parents cuddled around a fire, Dad chowing down on hot dogs while Mom roasted his endless food supply to perfection. Whenever Grandpa Andrew went with us, he would regale us with the story of how he’d fought the trolls when they tried to take over Sumpter. I missed those days. I stared off into the fire, remembering, and before I knew it, I started singing “Once Upon a Dream” under my breath. It was Mom’s favorite. She felt the song from the Disney Sleeping Beauty was made about her relationship with Dad.

I opened my eyes and away a few stray tears that had managed to escape during my reminiscence. “We have to find them.”

“We will,” Bo said with a comforting pat on my shoulder and I shot him a weak smile. I sank deeper into the touch. It was almost familiar and helped calm me.

Ryder’s eyes narrowed slightly at that, which honestly confused me. I ignored him and pulled my head from Bo’s shoulder. ”Some Alpha I am, crying for my Mommy and Daddy. You sure you want me to have the job?”

His answering grin was radiant. “You will grow into a fine, caring Alpha. For now, my queen, get some sleep.”

I woke up bright and early feeling at least a little better than the night before. I exited the tent I was sharing with Brooke and found Bo on the grass watching a pair of blue jays fly by. He looked perfectly happy on the ground and I took a second to admire the scene before me. He was definitely handsome. It was hard to believe we’d been afraid of Bo at the Pigs’ cottage. I plopped down next to him with my knees curled up to my chest. “Hey. Did the boys kick you out?” I guessed.

“I like being out in the open. It’s much more freeing than sleeping in that tent.”

I smiled. “I can imagine. I might have joined you, but I’m only part wolf and I get cold easily.” He smiled back at that. We shared a quiet, comfortable moment before I turned to face him head on. “Listen. I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for us. I don’t think we would have made it this far yesterday without you.”

He gave me a little bow, which would have looked awkward while he was sitting, but Bo made it smooth and natural. “It is a pleasure to serve you. But I cannot go into this town with you. I’m afraid that I must return to the rest of the pack. They do not like to obey me because I am but a Beta, but they respect me enough that things are not complete chaos when I’m around. Without me, all hell breaks loose and I can’t let that happen.”

My heart fell a little. I liked having Bo around. It was nice to be noticed every once in a while by a guy who respected me. “I understand.”

“If you ever need any help, just whistle. One of the pack will be there for you. Good luck, Tasha.”

He bent slightly and placed a soft, barely-there kiss on my lips before he stood and ran off into the forest. I brushed my fingers against my mouth and stared after him in shock. What the heck? My first kiss from a guy and it was just a little peck? Obviously I didn’t have any experience, but I didn’t think that was the spell breaking act that always saved the day in the old stories. My life definitely wasn’t the average fairytale.

“Hey, where’s Bo?” Brooke asked an hour later when everyone was up and camp was all packed. We were getting ready to leave out campsite and she was the only one to notice he was gone.

“He left this morning. He said he had to go to the other wolves.” I couldn’t help brushing my fingertips against my lips again.

“Well let’s get a move on, then,” Ryder said a little too cheerfully. I rolled my eyes and started toward the elves’ village.

It took over an hour to navigate through the thick forest and get to the small town and I was glad we’d stopped the night before to camp. It was still early with the sun low in the sky, but the place was already pretty crowded with elves and it looked like they were getting ready to have a pageant of some sort. The elves looked mostly like normal people except they were exceptionally gorgeous and had pointy ears poking through their long hair. Fairies intermingled, looking like Tinkerbell with their tiny, slender forms fluttering in the air on delicate, clear butterfly wings. Elves and fairies were closely related. Along with pixies, who were more troublemakers, they lived long, peaceful lives and perform magic that came from nature, but fairies used their wands and had more power.

I took a big sniff when we reached the center town square and my nose was met with the floral scent of fairies and elves and a banquet of treats being prepared for whatever party was about to happen. My mouth watered from the scent of fresh-baked goodies but I pushed past it. There, just barely detectable, was Mom’s warm, home-cooking scent and Dad’s wolf smell. I followed the trail to where it was strongest and we ended up at a simple stone cottage with a brightly painted sign that said: Fairy Godmother- where dreams come true.

“Fairy godmother? Like the fairy godmother?” Brooke gasped.

I shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe a descendent.”

Tate hitched his backpack on his shoulder and his nostrils flared with a big sniff. “Well the smell is strongest here so Mom and Dad must have stopped at this place for a while. Maybe the fairy godmother knows where they went.” He stepped up to the door and gave it a tug.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” a big, mean-looking elf snapped. He looked more like he belonged in Lord of the Rings rather than a happy-ever-after fairytale. Tall with lots of muscle mass, his lilac eyes seemed to glow purple fire and there was a prominent frown that brought out wrinkles that made it look like he had that sour expression a lot. He put a hand on the sword strapped at his hip.

“We just wanted to talk to the fairy godmother,” Ryder answered diplomatically. “We weren’t trying to do anything wrong.”

“No one sees her without an appointment,” the elf snapped. His voice was gruff, not like you’d expect for his kind.

My jaw locked and a growl built up in the back of my throat. Ryder put a restraining hand on my shoulder before I could do anything stupid. It calmed me down enough that I kept my mouth shut and let him speak. “And how would we get an appointment?”

“Next one’s in two months.”

“Two months?” I exploded. I knew my eyes were gold rather than brown and I had the desire to rip out the scary guy’s throat. “We don’t have that kind of time. There has to be another way to meet with the fairy godmother.”

The big elf dude thought about it for a second. He let go of the sword hilt and tugged at the lapels of his green vest over the plain brown shirt. “Well there is the contest today. The winner gets an immediate audience with Fairy Godmother.”

I sighed in defeat. “Fine. What kind of contest is it?”

“Today’s the annual singing pageant. Fairy Godmother has this idea that all pretty girls should be able to sing so they meet their princes. She says it’s a classic tactic.”

I growled slightly as he walked away. It sounded Fairy Godmother was stuck in a Disney movie. “Dang it. Can’t anything just be simple? It shouldn’t be this hard to get an audience. And why would any girl in her right mind want to sing to attract a prince?” I glanced over at the blonde that had tortured me in school for so long. Well, maybe she could be useful on this adventure after all. “Brooke? Do you think you could do it?”

She was already shaking her head before I was done talking. “Not if you want to win.” I stared at her because even I had to admit she was pretty good at all of the showcases I’d heard her in. She sighed sadly and slid to the grass, her slender hands in her lap. “I have a confession to make. In all of those talents shows that I sang in at school, I used pre-recorded stuff where my voice was altered. I cheated. The truth is that I can’t sing to save my life- or your family.”

I groaned. She was honestly our only hope to see the fairy today. There was no way we could wait two months to ask where Mom and Dad had gone, and the scent died at the cottage so we couldn’t even follow that. “So we’re stuck.”

“What about you?” I looked at Ryder like he had two heads, my eyes wide.

“M-me?” I choked out in a pathetic squeak.

“Yeah, Tasha,” my twin agreed. “You’re great. You could probably win this thing,”

“I thought you said I sound like a puppy caught in a snare. And that guy said pretty girls.”

“I lied. I’m a jerk, remember? You really do have a great voice. You could be on Broadway.” He was really laying it on thick, but I wasn’t buying it.

“You’re brother’s right. And who said you aren’t pretty?”

I blushed. I wasn’t used to my brother or Ryder being so kind to me. I used to love singing, but I usually kept it to myself because my confidence had been squashed long ago. Last night was the first time I’d sung in front of people in a while and that was more of a nervous habit than a real performance. I was hyperventilating just thinking about getting up on stage. “I don’t think I can. Besides, the only song I really know is Sara Bareilles’ ‘Fairytale’. It makes fun of all these stories, which is fine in our world where Cinderella is a myth. I doubt that’ll go over well in any of the kingdoms.”

“Please, Tasha,” Tate begged- actually begged. “If you don’t and we can’t see the fairy godmother we may never find Mom and Dad.”

“Fine,” I mumbled in defeat. This so wasn’t a good idea. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

My stomach was in knots when the contest started. There were twelve girls, including me. I stuck out in my jeans and long-sleeved Miami Dolphins tee while the other girls all had beautiful dresses in different shades of pink, green, and blue. They eyed me when I signed up and the fairy at the registration desk gave me a curious look as she set me to go last of the group. The first half of the contestants were amazing and I felt like I was going to puke just from watching them. I couldn’t do this. I turned and tried to sneak away.

“So, you’re giving up already?”

I jumped a mile high and spun on Ryder. “I can’t do it. I can’t compete with those girls. I mean, have you seen how gorgeous they all are? Of course you have, you’re a guy. Those girls are what you think of as a princess waiting for her prince. It’s pointless. There are so many people out there and I have massive stage fright. I-I just can’t. I’m going to be sick.” I was rambling, I know, and it was getting harder to breath, easily proving my point. I was only half a second from losing my breakfast.

I grabbed my shoulders to keep me from frantically pacing. “Hey, relax, Tasha. You can do it. I think you have a better chance of winning this thing than anyone else here. Just look at me. Focus on me while you’re up there. Ignore the rest of the crowd and you’ll be fine.”

I blushed. “Yeah. Like that’ll help.”

“Next up we have Tasha Wolfe,” the announcer yelled.

I yelped and the butterflies in my stomach went haywire. I couldn’t make my muscles move until Ryder’s warm hand on my shoulder gave a light squeeze. “You’ll do great. I believe in you.”

My knees shook as I went onto the stage and smiled shyly. Fairies and elves and a few humans milled around the town square, all buzzing from excitement caused by the last eleven contestants. I sure had the bar set high for me. I opened my mouth to sing my song.

But nothing came out.

Everyone was staring at me but I couldn’t breathe, let alone try to sing. I looked through the crowd until I saw my brother give me a thumbs up. Brooke had one arm latched to Tate’s and waved with her free hand. Then there was Ryder. He was leaning against a statue, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He stood away from the rest of the crowd with his blue eyes hooded over until he smiled encouragingly. I felt a little better and kept my eyes locked on his as I started slyly. The first verse I was a stuttering idiot, but I was gaining confidence as I got to the chorus. By the time I got to the second verse, I could almost picture myself alone in my room belting out with the radio. In my own head, I was a rockstar and I could forget for a second that I probably looked like a complete idiot.

“’But the story needs some mending and a better happy ending. ’Cause I don’t want the next best thing. No, no I don’t want the next best thing.”

My heart was slamming against my ribs when the crowd erupted in applause and I grinned widely. I’d done it. I’d actually sung in front of an audience. And what’s more was that I didn’t stink. If only my mom could see me I’m sure she’d have something proud to say that would make me blush and duck back into my shell.