Rules of a Fairytale

It was freezing when I got outside so I quickly slipped on my boots and pulled a long cloak from my pack. My cold hands felt stiff as I pulled the mirror out. I had to find my parents, but I didn’t want my friends to find me and Tate’s wolf senses made him too skilled of a tracker. “Okay, um... Mirror, mirror let’s be quick, to The Empress without leaving a scent.”

I was still really bad at this rhyming thing, but it seemed to work because the green go light glowed on the mirror’s edges. I followed it into the lonely forest and quickly saw a wide stream. My boots kept my feet from getting soaked as I stepped in and followed the water towards whatever waited for me.

The sun was starting to peek over the trees when the mirror lit up like a strobe light. It stopped me at a single mansion in the middle of nowhere. I’d seen enough Halloween specials on TV to be scared, but the lack of lightning like in those movies had to be a good sign.

The big house was intimidating and fear nearly paralyzed me. “Almost there,” I mumbled to myself as I forced my feet up the stairs and to the giant double doors.

I had no clue about what to do next. Was I supposed to knock? The Empress was expecting me, but if I was careful then maybe I could sneak in and find my parents and we could get out before she even knew it. I hadn’t been raised to break into someone’s house, but giving into her demands felt like giving up.

The door creaked open before I made up my mind. “Well don’t dawdle,” The Empress said. I still couldn’t see her but her voice filled the entire entryway. “Follow the corridor all the way until you get to the stairs. Go down to the basement and that is where you shall find Lisette and Cale.”

I did what she said. The massive door slammed behind me and the whole house felt like a giant bear trap ready to snap closed on me. I picked up the smell of old mothballs and wet laundry, but I could also smell fresh baked cookies and the familiar scent of fresh air that only a wolf carried. That scent had me running down the hall and practically flying down the stairs until I reached a steel door in the basement. Despite the human myths back home, silver wasn’t a big deal to wolves. But steel was formidable to wolves and pretty much anything else.

I banged on the door. “Mom! Dad! I’m gonna get you out!”

Using just strength wasn’t working so I took a step back to try to find another option. There wasn’t a handle on the door or any type of lock. It looked like it should just slide into the wall, but it was stuck. There had to be a trigger or something in the brick wall surrounding the heavy metal door. My fingertips brushed against the rough bricks and came away with nothing but scrapes. “Come on! You wanted me down here so the least you could do is open the door.”

There was no answer for another minute and I was getting more and more frustrated. This was the closest I’d been in a month and I was stuck at a stupid door. After everything, a locked door was the one thing I couldn’t beat? No. There had to be some way.

I wanted to kick the unyielding metal, but before I could even lift my foot, the door moved. It slid to the right, making a groaning noise as it scratched along the wall. I hesitated for just a moment. This was so obviously a trap, and I knew the door was probably going to lock me in as soon as I walked through. But I couldn’t give up when I was this close. Taking a breath, I forced my feet to move into the dark room.

Like I predicted, the for slammed shut behind me. Bright lights burst on over my head and I had to snap my eyes shut to avoid going blind. Slowly, I got used to the brightness enough to look around. My parents weren’t in there, but glass display cases made neat little rows along the floor. The tallest one stood at the head of the main aisle with the white frame making its scarlet prize stand out. I felt like I was at a museum because the cloak hanging proudly was well over 200 years old.

“Well I guess I found out what happened to you. But why would she want Little Red Riding Hood’s cloak?”

“The better to get you here, my dear.”

I jumped and instinctively turned to look for whoever was talking. I figured that I would be met with an empty room again, so I absolutely froze when I saw the elegant marble throne and the woman sitting upon it.

She was bigger than the last time I saw her. Her blonde hair was elegantly curled with a few long wisps in front. I noticed that her eyes were a deep hazel with a thick fringe of eyelashes. She still looked young and beautiful, but there was something menacing about her, though that could’ve been the black, gothic dress she wore.

“You? You’re The Empress?”

She smiled at me and the gauzy wings at her back fluttered. “Of course. Who else would have as much power as I do to unite the kingdoms?”

“You’re not talking about unifying some fairytale kingdoms. You’re talking about a hostile takeover.”

She stood up from the throne and towered over me. When had she gotten that big? “Perhaps. But I’ve spent centuries granting wishes of whiny humans and fixing everyone else’s problems. All these selfish people want a happily ever after but where’s mine? When do I get what I want? Well I’m taking it right now.”

My hand balled into a fist. “You’re the fairy godmother. What do you need with me? And why wait? You had us at your cottage in the fairy village.”

She frowned. “I was very tempting to just finish you off then, but that wouldn’t have helped me. See, I’m powerful, but I needed a little more in order to pull this off. You’ve come a long way since my contest so now I can take your magic and your leadership over the wolves and I’ll officially be unstoppable.”

I lifted my chin stubbornly. My magic from being a granddaughter of Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty, I didn’t care about. But even if I was willing to let her get strong enough to take over, which I wasn’t, there was no way I’d give up the wolf pack. They looked to me and I was protective of them. The fact she wanted to be Alpha wasn’t good. “Not a chance.”

“I didn’t think it would be that easy. That is why I have a few tricks up my sleeves. What is it the humans think I used to say? Oh, bibbidi, bobbidi, boo.”

She didn’t have a wand like in the movie, but her magic worked just fine without it. Sparkling fairy dust floated in the air until it reached me. Nothing happened for the first few seconds and just when I thought maybe she was bluffing, my skin started to burn. Every inch felt like it was on fine, like a million fire ants kept biting me. I yelped and tried brushing off whatever kept stinging me, but it was magic that wouldn’t go away that easily. Wait. Magic. The fairy had said that my magic had grown from even a few days ago and her little dust motes weren’t physical so there was only one way to fight back.

I kept rubbing at my raw arms as I thought about my computer. Whenever there was a virus or something I had to troubleshoot it and fix the firewalls, which was what I did now. I imagined that the security on my computer was made of actual fire and surrounded me instead of my laptop. A relaxing warmth spread to my limbs, burning away the torturous bites. My skin still stung, but it was more like a bad sunburn than lava.

“Impressive, but I still have ways of making you cave.”

The evil fairy flicked her fingers in my direction and I gasped. All of the air was sucked from my chest. I couldn’t breathe. It was like a scene from Star Wars, only I was the one facing Darth Vader’s wrath. My throat constricted and my head started pounding. Black spots filled my vision. At this point I was at least hoping I’d pass out so I didn’t feel myself die. I had to be a little lucky, right?

The pressure on my chest stopped and I sucked in air like a drowning victim that had finally made it to shore. The sound of air filling my empty lungs was a loud series of gasps as I tried to get my breathing under control. My head still felt fuzzy, even after a few quick gulps.

“I’m not done with you, little wolf. I’m not ready to kill you. Yet.”

She smacked the wall next to her throne and that section slid open noisily. Before I could react, she waved get hand and I went flying. I tumbled into the next chamber and the stone door slammed shut before my head even stopped spinning.

“Tasha!” a woman screamed.

I forced my eyes open to see who called me. The room was illuminated by the soft glow of fire crystals, which were lit from within. It was about the size of our living room at home but furnished with only a few mats, a sink, and a curtain in the corner that I was sure made up the bathroom. Ugh.

Someone sat next to me and I turned my attention back to the voice. A pair of worried brown eyes took up most of my vision. I blinked so I could take in their whole face and my heart stuttered. Mom. Her normally smooth face was lined with stress and her light brown hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in a while.

“Baby, what are you doing here?” she demanded.

I didn’t answer. After not seeing her in over a month, I was stunned. I missed her more than I ever thought possible. I threw my arms around her neck and pulled her close. Tears welled up in my eyes and I breathed in her scent. She was like sunshine and cookies.

My mom pulled away and gently cupped my jaw while her caring eyes searched me. She tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear at the same time my dad took up residence on the other side. His warm hand landed on my shoulder. “Honey, you hit your head when you came flying in. You may have a concussion so it’s important you stay awake. Tell us how you got here.”

I nodded. I wasn’t sporty like Tate, but I’d seen my brother get a concussion from football and I knew the dizziness I was feeling was probably a sign of one. Taking a deep breath I tried to decide where to stay from. “When you never came home, Prince Ryder went to Miami and told us you were missing. We came through the mirror and it’s been one thing after another to get here. Last night, the fairy godmother visited my dream and told me the way. So here I am. I left the others back at the inn.”

“What do you mean, ‘one thing after another’?” Mom snapped at the same time dad asked, “What others?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek and sat up a little more so I wasn’t as tempted to fall asleep.

“Ryder went through to get us while Tate was talking to Brooke Cast. She’s not as dumb as I thought and figured out about magic and everything while we were all talking and insisted on coming along. Ryder’s been helping us, too. We got caught at the gingerbread house with the witch that fattens kids up to eat. We met the godmother while she was still pretending to be good, or whatever her persona was granting wishes. She told us where Grandpa was and we found him. He’s safe, Mom, back home in Sumpter. Anyway, after we got away from the trolls, we spent a few days with the wolf pack, which is its own story. Once we left the wolves, we started following a magic mirror here and ran into Malika who put Brooke under a sleeping curse. I left everyone when Fairy Godmother crashed my sleep.”

Mom huffed. “You two shouldn’t have come. And to involve someone from home? That’s dangerous for all of you.”

“Hey, bringing Brooke was not my idea, though she’s actually not all that bad. But I’m surprised you think Tate and I would have stayed behind.”

“She doesn’t,” Dad grumbled. “It’s just wishful thinking for a parent that your kids stay safe. This is the last thing we’d want for you or your brother. But we didn’t raise you to hide, did we?”

I grinned at him despite my headache. “No you did not.”

I must have fallen asleep at some point because my next thought was of my contentedly closed eyes as someone played with my hair. The pillow under my head twitched a little and the warm sugary smell told me I was laying on my mom’s lap. They must have figured the worst of the concussion had passed and decided to let me rest. My back was a little sore from sleeping on the hard ground, but I really didn’t want to get up. I yawned and pressed my cheek more firmly against the denim of my mom’s worn jeans.

“Tasha, get up. She’s coming back,” Dad warned.

My eyes snapped open and I took a breath. I could smell the fairy getting closer until the door slid open and she floated in the gaping void left over. She was wearing a maroon gown when a laced bodice and puffy skirts. The velvety sleeves ended at two bits of elastic that pulled over her thumbs. Her blonde hair was curly and pinned up to complete the evil Empress look.

“Glad to see you’re doing better. Ready for round two?”

Mom stepped in front of me. “Don’t even think about touching her.” She had as much bite as any wolf.

“Oh, Lisette, you’re not very threatening. There’s not enough magic in you to stop me.”

She flexed her hand and sent my mom across the room. Dad was torn between shielding me and checking on his mate. I planted my feet firmly and nodded at my mom, who groaned as she tried to move. My dad got the picture and went to her side. I narrowed my brown eyes at the fairy. “I’m not scared of you.”

“Oh, but you will be.”

She widened her eyes slightly so that her thick, long eyelashes almost touched her eyebrows. The green orbs seemed to glow as she stared at me until my stomach twisted. My insides pinched and I felt nauseated. I wanted to throw up but all I could do was grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut from the pain coming from my belly.

“We are going to play this game until you give up. Then I’m going to take your power and the first thing I’m going to do with it is take control of your wolves. I think I’ll move on to Sumpter after that.”

I gagged and rolled myself up into a tight ball as I waited for the aches and pains to go away. I concentrated on making my breathing even and tried to force myself asleep. I was vaguely aware of when the fairy walked out of the dungeon, laughing. Mom and Dad rushed to my side. Someone pulled my hair back while the other wiped at my sweaty face with a rough cloth. Shivers quaked my body and my stomach continued to boil from the inside until an uneasy sleep finally took me.

Acid moved up my throat and my eyes snapped open. I ran to the single toilet behind the curtain just in time to empty my stomach. I wasn’t sure how long I slept or how long I’d been trapped in this room for that matter. All I knew was that I didn’t have anything left to throw up and still continued to cough into the toilet.