A Farewell to Charms (20 page)

“I was so secretive!” Gina cried. “I don’t know where the leak could be.”

Floressa shrugged. “Probably the maid. Or the butler. Yeah, blame the butler.”

The king rushed into the room and folded Gina into a hug. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t…I don’t know. Everything is ruined.”

Floressa played with the sleeve of her dress. She finally looked up at me and made eye contact. “Oh, fine.” She stood up, casting a guilty glance at her parents. “So, I told the press.”

The king’s face hardened. Gina gasped. “Flossie, no! How could you?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Floressa threw up her hands. “Well, I meant to, but I didn’t really
really
mean to. I just wanted things to stay how they were. I thought if you got married, my life would be over.”

“Don’t you want us to be together?” King Aung asked gently. “Finally?”

“I do. I mean, I sort of do.” Floressa wiped at a tear. “Look, I don’t care if we live here or in Tharma or Timbuktu. I don’t want to lose my mom.”

“Honey, you don’t really think that, do you?” Gina stood and gave Floressa a hug. “I love you very much. Even when you sabotage my wedding.”

“Fourth wedding,” Floressa grumbled.

Gina laughed and smoothed out her daughter’s hair. King Aung joined them in the hug, and they just stood there, crying. My heart went out to the king and Gina. Even to Floressa. She wasn’t being a spoiled brat. She was a scared brat, and that at least made her more sympathetic. And made me
empathetic
.

“I promise I didn’t want this to happen. I’m so sorry,” Floressa said. “I let it go too far. But I did write a toast.” Floressa shot a look at me. “I didn’t even read the one you gave me, Elsa. I wrote one all on my own.”

My fingers and toes tingled. I wanted to create a force field around the ranch to keep the helicopters away, to use superhero strength or to magically, MAGICALLY, make everything better.

But I couldn’t. Why did it take me so long to realize that? Nothing had changed since the last time I’d subbed for Floressa. My magic wasn’t about pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Yes, magic made floating bubbles possible, and physical transformation, and even time travel. But that was combined magic, taken from former subs and the earth and animals and…everywhere. My MP, my magic, was an emotion. A talent. That’s why I hadn’t been able to zap Kylee with a love potion—sometimes the most important thing you can do, the most magical thing, is to show someone you understand. That you care. And my ability was not only to understand others, but to help them. My magic really was to make an impact. And right now all that entailed was getting a family together. Literally. And figuratively.

The words felt so right when they came out. “You can still get married,” I said.

Everyone turned around and stared at me.

“Right here. In this hallway if you want. The helicopters can’t get in the house. And this glass skylight could be your canopy. And Isla can be the flower girl and Floressa can read her toast and…just you. Just your family.”

“Just our family,” the king repeated.

“She’s right!” Floressa raced over to me. “I could bring in Isla and the rabbi.”

The king and Gina exchanged a look. “It’d still be nicer than our first wedding,” the king said with a chuckle.

“But what about the people?” Gina asked. “And my family, and the celebrities, and the dignitaries? What do we tell them?”

“They’ll be fine,” Floressa said. “They came for a party; we can still give them a party. There’s food and music. They can eat cake.”

“Visit with them afterward. You just don’t want pictures of your ceremony, right?” I asked.

“True.” The king shook his head. “I’m sorry, but what are you doing in here?”

“She’s my friend,” Floressa said. “Sort of.”

King Aung shrugged and squeezed Gina’s waist. “What do you think?”

“I think…” Gina smiled at her daughter and her ex/ soon-to-be husband. “Let’s do the ceremony right here. Right now.”

T
he rabbi and Isla were brought in quickly. Meanwhile, Ryder and the wedding planner took over removing the folding chairs and decorations. And the guests did just what Floressa had suggested. Ate cake. Gluten-free, low-fat cake.

It actually worked out to my advantage. Now I had time to grab Reed and hunt down this sub. But not too much time. Floressa and company would be out soon, and she would want Barrett by her side.

Reed and Karl were near the five-foot snowflake ice sculpture. Karl’s eyes lit up when he saw me, but clouded over when he remembered I wasn’t really his girlfriend. “Elsa. Where’s Floressa?” Karl asked.

“They’re doing the ceremony inside; just them,” I said.

“Should I go in there?” Reed asked.

“No, stay out here with the evergreen trees,” I said.

Reed and Karl gave me a weird look. “What would he care about trees right now?” Karl asked.

“Are they coming out after?” Reed asked.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you come with me, though, and we can talk more about those EVERGREEN trees.”

Reed looked at Karl. “Uh, brude. Why is your girlfriend trying to show me trees? Is this some weird Metzahg pickup line?” He winked at me. “Not that I’m complaining, but Floressa might get a little hostile.”

Karl shook his head. “This isn’t my girlfriend.”

“You two broke up? Elsa, did you look at yourself in that dress and realize you’re too good for my brother?”

I tried to smile, but I wanted to cry. This wasn’t Reed. Barrett—the real Barrett—was back, along with Prince Karl. Elsa would surely be returning soon, too. We were SO close to finding that sub, and now I’d have to do it alone.

I couldn’t do this alone. Not without Reed. Reed was the one who was so confident, who made this whole thing happen. He also was the one who knew more about magic, so he could figure out what to do with this vial and Caprice.

But if I didn’t try, we might never get another chance like this. No, this was our
only
chance. Reed had risked so much to help me that I couldn’t let his absence slow me down. I needed to be as brave as he thought I was.

“I’m, uh, helping Floressa,” I said to Barrett. “How long have you been at the party?”

“All day.”

“She’s a substitute.” Karl rolled his eyes. “And she knows you were using a sub too, right when your girlfriend was in crisis, nonetheless.”

“Hey! I’m not heartless. I came back, right? I’ve been here for oh, five minutes now.” Barrett slapped his brother on the back. “Hey, so if she’s a sub, can you still kiss her?”

“I have to go,” I said. “Prince Karl, any idea when Elsa is coming back?”

“She said she’d stay to give you a chance to work things out for Floressa. Looks like you did, so I’d imagine soon.”

“Great. Thanks.” This was where my training with Vanna came into play again. All my worry about Reed being gone had to be forgotten. We had a plan. Feelings were pushed away so I could accomplish our goal.

I hurried toward the entrance and the bouncer. He checked off people when they entered the party, so I could see if the other Caprice ever showed. If I still had time. Once Floressa’s family walked out of the house, Elsa would want to come back and be with Karl for the party. I was rounding the corner of the house when I ran into a woman in a short brown dress.

“Oof!” I slammed into the wall, scratching my shoulder, but thankfully did not rip Ryder’s dress. “Sorry!”

“No, I’m sorry!” The woman held on to me so she wouldn’t topple on her peep-toe heels. “I’m so sorry! I was rushing in, and—”

I noticed the slightest tinge of an accent. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, uh, Caprice. Are you okay? I’m so clumsy sometimes, and you look so beautiful.”

How NICE of her to notice. “I’m fine. Where are you from, by the way?”

“What? Oh. Milan originally, but I’ve been in L.A. since I was fifteen.” She fixed the strap on her dress and looked longingly at my outfit. “I love your dress. Who designed it?”

“Ryder Sullivan original. But that’s not important—”

“Not important! I would die for a Ryder Sullivan.” She lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anyone, but I got this off the rack. My agent hasn’t booked me a gig in months, and then I get this out-of-the-blue invitation to the biggest party of the year.”

“Wedding. It’s a wedding, actually.”

Her eyes widened. “Gina Chase invited me to her wedding? How sweet of her. I always thought she was nice.”

Nice and sweet. This was my girl. “Actually, no. I invited you.”

She furrowed her brow. “And, I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Well, right now, I’m Princess Elsa of the House of Holdenzastein. But other times…Look. I know I’m asking you weird questions, but…can you tell me what your life was like before you moved to L.A.? In Italy?”

“I was fifteen.” She looked at me strangely. “I did what most teenagers do. Shopped, went to school. But then, for some reason, I decided more than anything I wanted to be an actress. So I auditioned—”

“What made you decide that? How did you know you wanted to act?”

“I’m sorry, Princess Elsa, but I’m still confused why you’re asking me these questions.”

“I promise I’ll explain after.”

“Then…well, I don’t know. It’s like I woke up one morning and everything changed—the way I viewed the whole world, but I didn’t really know why, and I wanted to be someone else and…I don’t know. No one has ever asked me this before.”

This was her. This was Meredith’s Caprice. There wasn’t time for me to explain everything about Façade. I whisked out my manual and ran a scan over Caprice. The bar only went up three notches, but that was enough to confirm that she still had traces of her magic. I pulled the vial out of my purse. My heart pounded—the moment I’d been building to was here. “So, the reason I got you on the guest list today was because of this.”

“What is that?” Caprice squinted. “Makeup?”

Holy cosmetics. That’s it! MAKEUP. No drinking, shaking, or sprinkling the liquid. That’s not how Façade worked. When they sanitized, they had the sub put on powder from a compact. When we changed identities, subs used Royal Rouge. If makeup was how they took the magic away, surely that was how they put the magic back too! “Yes. And it’s created just for you. See, it has your name and everything.”

Caprice took the vial and analyzed the label. “This reminds me of something. From when I was younger. Is it a vintage brand?”

“It’s, like, especially designed for each wearer.” Awesome, a spark of memory! “It’s a moisturizing…gel. You just rub some on each cheek, and it’s supposed to be the greatest thing for your skin ever.”

“So, you’re a princess and you want me to rub some weird goo on my cheek?”

Caprice stuck a finger in the gooey magic and sniffed. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe all the training, all the planning and plotting and road bumps, and this was finally the moment I’d been working up to since I found that sub-sanitation room. And as excited as I was, it also felt like that moment right before a car wreck—all adrenaline and tension and suspense. Everything I knew about returning magic was from Meredith, and she hadn’t told me anything. Caprice could break out in hives or explode from, I don’t know, magical overkill. Logically, this was a stupid, ridiculous, misguided risk.

But now that I was in the moment, my emotions were taking over. Every magical fiber in my body told me that Caprice would be fine, that I was doing the right thing. I pictured the instant when she reconnected with her magic like
Beauty and the Beast
or another epic fantasy cartoon. Right when you think Caprice is doomed, there is a twinkle of magic, then a glittering explosion…and Caprice would be whole, and we’d go run through a meadow of…of blossoms and unicorns! The land of magical freedom. Reed would meet us there, I’d jump on a unicorn with him, and we’d ride into the brilliant sunset.

“Princess Elsa?” Caprice held her finger in the air. “So you just want me to rub this stuff on? Then can I go in?”

“Yes! Sorry. I’m not usually so pushy with this stuff, but you know when you love a product, you just want to share it with everyone. Plus, I got you into the biggest event of your life, so you can trust me. Right?”

Caprice shrugged. “Whatever. I hope this doesn’t stain.” She patted a dot on each cheek. “Ooh, it tingles. Does that mean it’s working?”

“Yes.” I breathed out. And waited. She still looked like the same woman, now just with two spots of blue on each cheek. No unicorns were popping in to welcome her to the Land of Magical Freedom just yet. In fact, it seemed nothing was happening. I mean, a tingle? Woo-hoo, my mom’s plumping lip gloss does that.

“Okay. Well, it’s on.” Caprice plucked a tissue from her purse and wiped her fingers. “Can I go into the wedding now?”

A cheer went up behind us. The king and Gina must have joined their guests. Elsa was going to be back any minute. And then I heard my manual beep with a one-word message from Meredith. coming.

I grabbed Caprice by her elbow. She wasn’t being lifted into the air with magical power; she wasn’t even glowing. Seriously, something better happen soon. This was supposed to be her big moment. Heck, this was
my
big moment—I’d sacrificed everything to give Caprice back her magic, and now…

WHY WASN’T ANYTHING HAPPENING?

“My brain hurts.” Caprice leaned against the wall. “And my skin feels like it’s dancing. What was in that stuff?”

The air filled with the sound of whirring, but I knew this time it wasn’t a helicopter. It was Meredith and her bubble, and I was officially out of time.

“Darling.” Meredith marched out and pointed a finger at me. “The amount of trouble you have produced makes my head spin.”

“The trouble
I
produced?” I fumed. “What about you shipping Reed off to Africa?”

“You’re mad at me for that? That’s supposed to help you with—” She noticed Caprice and sucked in her breath. “Is this her?”

“Yes.”

“You really found her.” Meredith tilted her head to the side. “Unbelievable.”

“Did you…Did you just step out of a BUBBLE?” Caprice’s eyes widened. “Am I hallucinating now?”

So she saw the bubble. That was something, right? Meredith said only people with MP can see the bubble, and if Caprice’s magic was fully stripped, then now…now her magic was back? But why wasn’t more happening?

“This is Meredith, Caprice. Do you remember her? She watched you when you did the trial audition for Façade.”

“Was that a TV pilot? I don’t know what you’re talking about. My skin is really going bananas—I’m going to wash my face.”

“She won’t remember,” Meredith said. “The magic can come back, but not the memories. It’s an entirely different process.”

“Magic?” Caprice asked. “I know I’m feeling strange, what with the bubble and…this feeling that’s happening, but…did you say magic?”

Meredith’s expression softened. “That was your magic you just put on, Caprice. It’s going to make you feel strong, it’s going to make you feel powerful, it’s going to make everything in your life feel big. I wish I could tell you more now, but I can’t.” She grabbed my arm. “I have this magical misfit to take care of.”

“Wait, but, Meredith, so she has magic, but she doesn’t remember anything from before? I can’t just leave her, then—doesn’t she need to be trained again so she can sub and show Façade what she can really do?”

Meredith dragged me over to her bubble. “Desi, she was never cut out to be a sub. I was her Watcher, and truly, she was awful. Were you really trying to return her magic just so she could go back to Façade?”

“Yes! So I could prove to Façade that they were wrong—that they shouldn’t take magic away. And then, if they see her doing better, they’ll realize that subs should…should…”

“Façade was never going to listen to you. This wasn’t about proving anything to them. You were proving something to yourself,” Meredith said.

“Wait, so are you leaving?” Caprice called. “In that…in that bubble!”

“I’ll find you again, Caprice!” I said. Meredith tried to push me into the bubble, but I ducked my head. I reached my arm out to Caprice. “I promise I’ll find you. Only, I won’t look like this anymore. My name will be Desi. And if you see a girl who looks like me, um, it’s not me. I mean, I’m not her.…She’s the real princess is what I mean, because I’m just a sub.”

“Wait, you’re not a princess, I have magic, and…” Caprice gingerly touched her cheek. “What did this makeup just do to my face?”

Meredith gave me one more shove, and we both slammed into her office’s hardwood floors. We lay there, gasping and panting. Meredith rolled to her side. “We had to leave. Before Genevieve’s assistant, Dominick, showed up. I didn’t want him to be the one to deliver you.”

I pressed my cheek against the cool floor and closed my eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters now. I did what I had to do.”

“I can’t believe you actually went through with it.”

“What did you think was going to happen?” I opened my eyes. “You gave me the magic.”

“I’ve had that magic in my purse for almost twenty years. I just mean…I can’t believe you had the guts to give her back the magic.”

“Lot of good it did.” I pushed myself up into a sitting position. “She doesn’t remember Façade.”