Rules of a Fairytale

Ryder’s kingdom was only one over from Steven’s. It was a half-day’s ride in a horse-drawn carriage to get there. Brooke was totally amazed at every aspect of Sumpter and Redgrove, like a child at Disneyland for the first time. She was getting annoying with all her ooh’s and ahh’s, but I was trying to be patient after her confession to me back at Steven’s. But even if I was trying to be nice to her, that didn’t stop me from jumping out of the carriage to get away from her the second it pulled to a stop in front of one of the most spectacular palaces I’d ever seen. It looked a little like Glamis Castle in Scotland with all of its pointed towers. The difference was that the towers were reel-capped instead of pale blue, scarlet flags hung all over the place, and it was more spread out on its massive expanse of green land.

Ryder started leading us toward the castle, chatting with Brooke about his kingdom’s history as she clung to his arm. Tate had a sour expression on his face as he trailed behind and I brought up the rear, practically ignored as always. I was climbing up the steps, not looking forward to spending time in Little Red Riding Hood’s castle where wolves were the ultimate enemy, when I stopped dead. My head snapped to the left toward the eastern forest. I took off running in that direction, ignoring everyone shouting my name and I didn’t stop until I reached a fork in the road about two-and-a-half miles from the castle. I only stopped because I couldn’t place which side was the one I needed.

“What the heck is the matter with you?” Ryder hissed, grabbing my arm in a bruising grip. He and Brooke were panting, but Tate was breathing just fine. “It’s dangerous in the woods.”

I ignored him and turned excitedly to my brother. “Don’t you smell that? Mom and Dad came through here. The scent is pretty strong so that means they had to have been on foot to have lasted this long. It’s faint, fading away, but I can smell them.”

Tate looked at me in confusion. “Tasha, what are you talking about? I only smell wet dog.”

I rolled my eyes. “That would be a wolf you smell- Dad. Try harder and you’ll get the smell of the restaurant and Dove soap. That’s Mom.”

He closed his eyes and sniffed again. The way his eyes lit up I knew that he was picking up the same familiar scent that I was. “Hey, you’re right. But then why is the smell going in both directions? They couldn’t have gone both ways.”

“Maybe they started down one path but backtracked and took the other,” Brooke suggested.

I took another deep breath and shook my head. They were both equally strong, almost as if Mom and Dad had gone in both directions, been in two places at once. “The scents are about the same age. My parents took one path and someone with a similar smell took the other at around the same time.”

“So how do you pick?”

“I guess we could split up. You three can go that way and I’ll take this path.” It seemed like a viable solution to me. I mean, yeah, we didn’t have cell phones to call if anyone found anything, but I could probably find a way around that.

“No,” Ryder said quickly. “We can’t split up. Your father isn’t the only wolf in these woods.”

Brooke gasped and instantly grabbed his arm again. I guess she wasn’t used to the dark side of the stories. “I’m with Ryder. We need to stay together.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out the mirror. “Fine. Let’s see if this helps. Steven gave this to me. It’s serious old-school magic.” I stared at my reflection for a moment trying to think of a rhyme, the annoying part of using mirrors. “Mirror, mirror in my hand. Who’s the fairest in the land?” I was hoping it would show my Mom but nothing happened and I only saw my refection continuing to stare back. I groaned and put it in my bag. It didn’t work.

I looked toward my brother. He sniffed the air again and started down the right trail. “I smell food, something fresh. Dad would have followed his nose for something to eat.”

It was pretty good logic so we followed him down the trail. The further into the woods we got, the more I smelled ham. We’d walked for a couple of hours and it was starting to get dark when the thick forest of towering trees opened up just the tiniest bit. Just off the road was a little brick house with twigs and straw strewn around the small enclosed yard, like they’d blown in on a storm, although I don’t know where they would’ve come from to begin with. The cooked pig smell, bacon and ham, was so strong that my mouth was watering. The tiny house seemed empty so my brother decided to take peek inside. I watched the surrounding area warily while we waited.

“There’s no one here and there’s no food,” Tate complained ducking out of the brick house. The top of the door was at eyelevel with him, not even tall enough for my head to clear cleanly. “That’s not fair. I can smell sausage.”

My eyes darted between the sticks and straw scattered around and back to the house itself. The little two-story seemed old and unlived in, other than the scent like a pig roast. “Oh my god. I think this is where the Three Little Pigs lived. I doubt anyone’s been here for a while.”

Tate groaned. “I think you’re right. Darn, I really wanted some sausage.”

My eyes rolled skyward and I started into the house. “It’s getting dark so we might as well stay here tonight. We’ll just eat what we brought.”

Brooke shot me a confused look when she got inside. She was the only one that didn’t have to duck down. “The Three Little Pigs? As in with the Big Bad Wolf?”

“Yep,” I answered while I dug through my bag for something to eat. “Where do you think the Grimm Brothers got all of their stories? Everything they wrote actually happened here at one point or another.”

“Oh,” she said simply. This wasn’t turning out how she imagined. I would’ve felt sorry for her, for ruining her childhood illusions, if she hadn’t insisted on coming without an invitation.

The others fell asleep shortly after a small dinner of peanut butter sandwiches. I stayed awake much longer just staring at the stupid mirror. Why wasn’t it working? I was supposed to see whatever I asked for, but all it kept showing me was my own reflection and Steven’s mirror room a couple times, which just made me dizzy. I was frustrated by the time a nearby clock chimed midnight and nothing significant happened. I chucked the mirror across the room as the clock struck 12.

“You’d better hope that didn’t break.”

I spun around and found Ryder staring at me from his sleeping bag. His green-blue eyes seemed almost concerned in the dark. I shrugged easily. “Whatever. It didn’t work anyway.”

“What about seven years’ bad luck?”

I shrugged again. This almost nice guy talking to me didn’t mesh with my assumptions of him and I didn’t like it. “I don’t really believe in that. I think people make their own luck. It’s all about the choices you make, not getting lucky.”

He studied me until I felt myself blush. “What?” I snapped harshly when I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Nothing. You’re just really different from other girls.”

I rolled my deep brown eyes. “Yeah, I know. I’m no Brooke Cast but I honestly couldn’t care less. Sometimes I like who I am just fine.” Okay, I didn’t mean to get all defensive, but I was tired of people pointing out how much of a freak I was. I was the odd wolf in the Enchanted Kingdoms and I was the invisible girl in the mortal realm.

He held up his hands defensively. “I really didn’t mean it in a bad way. Different’s good”

I blushed bright red. “Oh,” I muttered stupidly. “Sorry then. I’m, um, I’m gonna try to get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I snuggled into my sleeping bag near the window with no blinds and turned away from the prince on the opposite end of the room. I was restless and uncomfortable and it took me a while to fall asleep. When I did, I felt like Alice in Wonderland because my dreams were totally whacky. I felt lost and couldn’t understand what was going on. How was it possible to be so tired and still not get a good sleep?

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when I woke up. Tate was just rolling out of his sleeping bag and the other two were still snoring away. I wasted no time in digging through my backpack and putting on some khaki shorts and a blue short-sleeve flannel and my hiking boots. I ducked out of the little brick house to scout ahead and let my brother take care of the others.

The smell of baking and wolf was thick in the air and I was really hoping I’d get a good lead. I followed my nose, going as far as a mile away from the house. I spent 20 minutes going in circles trying to pinpoint the source of that familiar scent with no luck. I finally gave up, hating to admit defeat, and slowly started back to the pig house. When I got back, everyone was up, but we weren’t the only ones in the woods.

A fierce looking man about 18 had them backed into the side of the house. He was leaning toward seven feet tall, dwarfing Tate who stood at six foot, with lanky black hair to his shoulders and was in desperate need of a shower. He was growling and I could instantly tell he was a wolf. The smell confirmed it. My eyes narrowed and I chucked a large rock at him. He turned, his glowing gold gaze and dilated pupils focused solely on me with his teeth bared dangerously. My knees wanted to shake, but I forced myself to stay steady. “Leave us alone.”

He stepped toward me and I felt my body tense. It took everything I had to stay relaxed and not whimper like a puppy when the wolf grabbed me in his steel grip. From this close I could see the dark stubble along a strong jaw. He leaned down with his hair rubbing against my cheek and took a long sniff of my neck. His eyes slowly faded and became human, turning a pretty hazel without the familiar wolf glow. A small smile softened is features and his voice was a low rumble. “You’re the queen I heard about. We’re counting on you, Alpha. Don’t let us down.”

I opened my mouth to ask what the heck he was talking about when there was a howl in the distance. The urgent call pulled my attention from the wolf in front of me even though I knew it was stupid to turn my gaze from an assailant, but something said he wouldn’t hunt me. By the time I looked back, the big wolf was gone.

I let out a huge breath I hadn’t noticed I was holding. A choked sob escaped my lips and I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes as the adrenaline faded and fear took its place. A hand shot out and grabbed my arm. I sucked in a ragged gasp.

“Tasha, it’s me,” Ryder said softly, his blue eyes boring into mine. “Relax. Breathe.”

I took a few shaky breaths but I felt like I wasn’t getting any air into my deflated lungs. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute,” I croaked through the lump in my throat. Ryder quickly let go of me and stepped back. I couldn’t help the little pang of disappointment that shot through me. My nerves were so shot I just needed someone to give me a little reassurance.

“What was that?” Brooke breathed out. She looked a little shaken up, too.

“That, milady, was a wolf. Some are good but others will eat a human without a second thought,” the prince explained. A shiver wracked over her and Ryder grabbed her hand to give it a little squeeze. Tate stood close to her other side with one hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, whatever. If that was a people-eater then why did it leave and what was that thing with my sister?” Tate growled. He was getting jealous at the Brooke basking in Ryder’s attention, but he did care about me enough to be worried about the wolf singling me out.

Three pairs of eyes turned toward me. My heart rate was finally normal, but I was still pretty freaked. I took a few more seconds before I answered. “H-he called me queen. Alpha.”

Emerald green eyes widened in absolute shock that reflected what I was feeling. “No way. Dad said there hasn’t been an actual Alpha for centuries.”

Brooke’s face was complete confusion, a look I had to admit I liked on little miss perfect, so Ryder went into further detail while Tate’s mind went into overdrive to figure out what that could possible mean for me. “Back when the Grimm stories that you know were written, there was only one wolf pack with a single leader. The Alpha controlled the whole pack, every wolf in the Enchanted Kingdoms. After my grandmother’s woodsman killed the Alpha, the pack dissolved. There was only family loyalty amongst wolves rather than to a pack. There is no Alpha anymore. Plus, there’s never been a female Alpha so why would it call you that? Tasha, what else did it say?”

“He said that they- whoever they are- are depending on me.” I sighed deeply. That was probably what freaked me out the most. I wasn’t a leader and I didn’t need anyone counting on me to fix their problems when I had my own to deal with. “Why would anyone need my help? What did he mean?”

I didn’t know what was going on, who would be desperate enough to think I was anything special, but I put it out of my mind as we left the crazy morning behind us and ventured deeper into the woods.