Fairest of All (Whatever After #1) (10 page)

g
oooong! Goooong! Goooong!

“Someone must have heard us!” Snow shrieks. “We have to get out of here!”

I don’t care how sound a sleeper Evil Evelyn is. There’s no way she’s sleeping through this racket.

“We have to get out of here. Now!” Prince Trevor declares.

Plan, plan, what’s the plan? “To the moat!” I call. “We’ll swim!”

Jonah pulls my arm. “That might not be a good idea. We’re out of sandwiches.”

Crumbs. New plan, new plan! Oh! I know! “Snow, can we lower the drawbridge?”

“Yes!” Snow says, and runs to the entranceway. “I need help!”

Prince Trevor hurries to her side. “What should I do?”

“Pull!” She points to the lever.

He pulls; she pulls. The twenty-five-foot bridge comes crashing down with a loud
KABLAM
.

If Evil Evelyn wasn’t awake before, she is now.

“Go!” I yell, grabbing Jonah’s hand. The five of us all make a run for it. Jonah and I are in the lead, Xavier is behind us, and Prince Trevor and Snow are in the back.

“Stop!” I hear.

Arnaldo and two of his fellow guards are blocking the drawbridge. They are all large. Very large. I think they even have tattoos. Snake tattoos. Or maybe they’re wearing snakes. Not sure. Either way, they’re scary. And their arrows are aimed at us.

We stop short. I guess there were guards roaming the grounds after all. Oops.

“Let’s go back the other way,” Xavier says.

New plan! We turn around. Except Evil Evelyn has taken over the entranceway. Plus, she has a beefy guard on either side. With more snake tattoos. More arrows are pointed at us.

Now what? I look down to my right. Mama Croc has her jaw wide open and a hungry glint in her eyes. Baby Croc is on our left, looking equally hungry.

We are officially surrounded.

I am officially out of plans.

“Well, well, well,” Evil Evelyn snarls. “Look who we have here. Guards! Put the prince and the huntsman in dungeon number one. Put the brother and sister in dungeon number two.”

Oh, no! We can’t go to the dungeon! How are we going to get home if we’re in the dungeon?

We’re not. If we’re in the dungeon, we’re not going home. Never ever.

“Dungeon number two is the better dungeon,” Jonah whispers. “I think I saw a ball.”

“That was a rat,” I tell him. “And I don’t want to be in either dungeon.”

Evil Evelyn cackles. “As for Snow …”

“That’s Snow? I thought Snow was in hiding!” one of the guards exclaims.

“I thought she was dead,” Arnaldo murmurs.

“You’re both right,” Evil Evelyn says. “She was in hiding. And soon she will be dead.”

And with that, something inside Snow appears to crack. “NO!” she yells at the top of her lungs. “NO, NO, NO! You are done trying to kill me. Do you hear me? DONE, DONE, DONE!!!” She points to the guards. “I command you to put down your weapons!”

The queen laughs. “You command them? You can’t command them. I command them. You are nothing. You clean the house of dwarfs.”

The dwarfs! Maybe they’ll show up and save us! Isn’t that how it always happens in the movies? The heroine thinks she’s about to become cat food, and then her friends swing in from the branches and save her. The dwarfs have saved Snow in the past. They’re going to do it again, right?

But how will they know to save us? Hmm. Yopopa’s supposedly a genius. That’s probably why he rode off earlier — to get the dwarfs! And now they’re going to show up in the nick of time.

Any second now.

Now.

Jonah pokes me in the ribs. “Abby!”

“Not now, Jonah.”

“But, Abby.”

“I’m a little busy here, Jonah.” Actually, not true. But I will be, any second now. As soon as the dwarfs show up.

“Abby!” he shouts. He takes off his satchel-backpack, opens it, and shoves some papers at me. “The will!”

The will? Oh! The will!

“We found the king’s will!” I shout.

“You did?” Snow turns back to us, a look of surprise on her face.

I look at the first page, and then the second, and then the third. Please let there be something in here that helps Snow. Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Pretty please with a hundred cherries on top?

“Are you done yet?” Evil Evelyn asks as she admires her black fingernails. “You’re boring me.”

I frantically flip through the pages. Nothing here, nothing here … Oh! Here! I found it! Page eleven, clause two! I found it! I clear my throat dramatically.

“ ‘In case of my demise, the kingdom of Zamel will become the property of my one child, Snow White, the princess of Zamel. Queen Evelyn will remain her guardian until she is sixteen, and then Snow White will become queen.’ ”

Everyone gasps.

“I AM sixteen!” Snow exclaims.

“I don’t care if you’re thirty,” Evil Evelyn snaps. “Zamel is mine.”

“Apparently it isn’t,” Arnaldo murmurs. “You’re an imposter. Snow’s the queen! Get the imposter queen, boys!”

All the tattooed guards charge toward Evil Evelyn.

Yes!

“You haven’t won yet!” Evil Evelyn shrieks back. “Snow can’t be queen if she’s dead.”

She aims an arrow at Snow and pulls the bowstring.

“No!” I yell.

“No!” the guards yell. They jump on top of Evil Evelyn.

But it’s too late. The arrow is already flying through the air.

“No!” Prince Trevor yells. In what seems like slow motion, he jumps in front of Snow.

Snow is saved! Yes!

But the arrow hits Prince Trevor square in the chest.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” There is screaming everywhere. A lot of it is coming from me.

Prince Trevor is still standing, but his knees are shaking. After a few dramatic seconds, they buckle and he falls right over the bridge and into the water.
Splash!

“Oh, no!” Snow cries as she jumps into the water after him.
Splash!

“Snow!” I call out before I jump in after her.
Splash!

“Me too!” hollers Jonah as he cannonballs into the moat.

“Jonah, NO,” I command, but —
splash!
— it’s too late. Why does he never listen to me? So annoying.

Splash!
Xavier jumps in, too.

Now we’re all in the moat.

Unfortunately, so are the crocs.

Snap.

Snap, snap.

Snow is struggling to hold up the bleeding Prince Trevor’s shoulders while she treads water. Xavier is keeping afloat, too, while holding Prince Trevor’s feet. I am holding Jonah. Mama and Baby Croc are coming toward us.

Their jaws are open.

They are growling.

They are hungry.

My mouth is dry. My heart is thumping hard against my chest.

This is it. This is really it. We will never go home again. We will never see our parents again.

I hug my shivering brother tight, close my eyes, and wait to become croc food.

s
omething hits me in the face.

Croc teeth? No. It’s smushy. Croc tongue?

I’m hit a second time.

“More stew sandwiches!” Jonah cheers.

My eyes pop open. Stew sandwiches are flying over the water. The crocs are happily chomping on them. Huh?

“I thought you were out of them,” I say.

“I am!” Jonah cries.

“But how…?”

Jonah points to the shore, where I see all seven dwarfs tossing sandwiches into the water.

They came! Yay! Yopopa preens beside them. He must have gone to get them after all. I guess he really
is
a genius.

While the crocs are busy stuffing their faces, we carry Prince Trevor out of the water and onto the shore.

Xavier removes the arrow. But it does no good.

Prince Trevor’s eyes are closed. He’s not breathing.

“Oh, no,” Jonah says. I hug him against me. I don’t want him to see.

“He’s gone,” I say. I can’t believe it. He’s really gone. And it’s my fault. If we hadn’t written him that letter, he wouldn’t have come to the palace in the first place.

He’s never going to be king.

He’s never going to fall in love with Snow.

He’s never going to do anything ever again.

Tears roll down my cheeks. Poor, poor Prince Trevor.

“No,” a soft voice says beside me. “No, no, no.”

I turn around and see Snow. She’s kneeling beside the prince, tears streaming down her face. “No,” she says again, her voice hardening. “No, no, no! You call this a happy ending? This is NOT a happy ending!”

“Snow,” I say quietly, “there’s nothing we can do.”

“But in the story, I came back to life! So why can’t my prince come back to life?”

“I … I …” I have no answer. Even if I did, I feel too choked up to speak.

But then she gets a determined look on her face. She kneels down beside the prince and presses her lips against his. And then it happens.

One eyelid flutters.

Then the other one flutters.

Then both his eyes fly open.

He’s alive! He’s alive?

“You,” Prince Trevor says, looking at Snow. “You kissed me. I was dead, but your kiss woke me up.”

Snow nods and smiles. “It wasn’t a kiss, exactly. It was mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

“You know mouth-to-mouth?” Jonah asks. “That is so cool!”

“Of course she does,” Frances says. “With Evil Evelyn after her, we all had to learn some lifesaving measures.”

Prince Trevor sits up and beams. “Whatever it was, you saved my life.”

“You saved my life first!” Snow says, smiling brightly. “You jumped in front of the arrow!”

“You saved me from the dungeon first! You’re amazing!”

“No, you’re amazing!”

The two of them are staring dreamily into each other’s eyes.

She really did save his life. And he saved hers. They saved each other.

We should have a parade!

Except this is definitely not the way the story goes. It’s kind of the opposite of the way the story goes. Or at the very least, it’s the story all tangled up.

Hmm. This version is different from the one in my book, but so what? Snow got a happy ending, didn’t she?

Maybe sometimes different can be good?

Prince Trevor kneels on one knee. “Snow White,” he says, “will you marry me?”

Yay!

“Seriously?” Snow asks, raising an eyebrow. “We just met five minutes ago.”

The girl has a point. Also, she’s only sixteen. That’s crazy young to get married, at least in my world.

“And I don’t know you that well,” Snow continues. “I mean, did you really used to throw rocks at people?”

“What? No!” He blushes. “All right, maybe I did. But I was two. Can you ever forgive me?”

Snow tilts her head to the left. “Oh, all right. I did some silly things when I was young, too. I once poured glue all over my stepmother’s hairbrush.”

“She deserved it,” I say.

Speaking of Evil Evelyn, in the distance I see Xavier carrying her, kicking and screaming, into the palace. “Let’s see how
you
like the dungeon,” Xavier sneers.

“Listen, Trevor,” Snow says. “I’m not looking for a serious relationship right now. I need to focus on my duties here, now that I’m queen.”

“I get it,” the prince says, nodding. “Look, why don’t we take it a little slower? How about dinner?”

That’s perfect! Maybe it’ll take them longer to get there, but Snow and Prince Trevor will get married one day. I just know it.

Snow’s eyes light up. “I’ll cook!”

“You don’t have to cook anymore, Snow,” I tell her. “You’re the queen.”

“I know,” she says. “But I like cooking.”

I hope Prince Trevor likes stew.

t
his place is awesome,” Tara says, stepping into the foyer. “You are so lucky, Snow. You have a castle and a date with a prince.” She glances wistfully at Jon.

Snow gives Tara a hug. “I’m glad you like it, since you’ll be living here with me, too.”

“We will?” Alan asks.

“Of course! I can’t thank you enough for giving me a home when I needed one.”

“We’re going to have to get rid of the stripes,” Frances grumbles. “They’re giving me a headache.”

Madeline the maid pops up behind them and clucks her tongue. “More redecorating?”

“Oh, yes,” Enid says. “We’re going to need some smaller furniture. And can we paint it pink?”

I get nervous as we climb back up the staircase. The mirror is going to be able to take us home, right? “This isn’t going to be a
Wizard of Oz
situation, is it? There’s not some guy hiding behind the mirror pretending to be all-powerful?”

Snow shakes her head. “No. It’s real. Where’s Oz? Near Smithville?”

“Not exactly,” I say. I open the door to Evil Evelyn’s room and walk straight to the mirror.

“Hi, Gabby, Gabby!” Jonah says.

“We’re back. Gabrielle, Gabrielle, can we go home now?” I ask.

“You sure can,” she says.

“I’m so happy for you,” I tell Snow. “Everything worked out. Better than I could have hoped.” I turn to the mirror. “Can Snow set you free now that she’s queen?”

“I’m afraid not,” Gabrielle says, and blinks away tears. “But thank you for asking. I appreciate it. Now it’s time to say your good-byes.”

I’m happy and sad at the same time. I hug Alan first. “Thanks for everything.”

Then I hug Bob and Stan.

Then Enid. “Stay pink,” I say.

Then Jon. “Stay handsome.”

When I hug Tara, I can’t help whispering, “Tell Jon how you feel.” She blushes.

“You’re not bad, kid,” Frances says, hugging me next.

I shake the prince’s hand. “Be good to our Snow,” I say, swallowing hard to hold back tears.

“Good-bye, little man,” Prince Trevor says to Jonah.

Finally, I hug Snow. “Will I ever see you again?” she asks.

My chest feels heavy. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

We hug tightly.

“Thank you for not letting Evil Evelyn poison me,” she says to Jonah as she ruffles his hair.

He puffs out his chest. “No problem.”

“All right already!” Gabrielle grumbles. “I have other things to do, you know.”

“Ready?” I ask Jonah.

“Ready,” he says.

I take his hand.

“The rest of you better get out of here or you might end up going, too.”

“No thanks,” Frances says. “Horseless carriages? How does that even work?”

“Good luck,” Snow says.

I spot Tara take Jon’s hand. Yay! We wave good-bye as they all leave the room.

“Hey, Gabrielle, Gabrielle, do you happen to know why the mirror in our basement brought us here in the first place?” I ask.

“You’ll have to ask Maryrose,” she says.

“Who’s Maryrose?” Jonah asks. “Is Maryrose inside the mirror in our basement?”

“Maryrose will introduce herself when she’s ready,” Gabrielle says simply. “Now it’s time to go.”

I sigh. I want to know more. I need to understand what happened! But right now, I really, really, really just want to go home. “Are we going to take the furniture with us?” I ask. “Mom would love that four-poster bed.”

“Snow would love it, too,” Gabrielle says. “So hopefully not. But speaking of your parents, it’s very important that you don’t tell them anything about this.”

“But why? We tell our parents everything.” Mostly.

“It’s too dangerous,” she says solemnly.

“For who?” I ask. “Us? Them? You? Maryrose?”

“I’ve said too much,” Gabrielle says.

The reflection in the mirror starts to spin around and around and around. I start to see images in the swirl: A desk. Boxes. It’s our basement!

“Here we go,” I say.

“What are you waiting for?” Gabrielle asks. “I’m an open door. Come on in!”

I take a deep breath and grab Jonah’s hand. Then we step through the mirror.

Zoom.

We step right onto our basement floor.

I spin around to look at the mirror. It’s calm. Normal. A regular mirror.

Like nothing happened. Like nothing’s weird at all.

“Hello?” I ask. “Is anyone there?”

No one answers.

It’s over. It’s really over.

Well, kind of over. The basement is a mess. And all the law books are gone. So is the swivel chair. Oops.

“I wonder what happens if I knock on it again,” Jonah says, reaching out his arm.

I stop his hand mid-motion. “Don’t you dare!”

“We’re home!” he cheers, running upstairs. “Let’s go tell Mom and Dad!”

“Wait,” I call behind him.

I follow my brother up the stairs. At the top of the staircase, I gently close the door behind me. The next level is awash in the morning light. I sneak into the kitchen to look at the clock on the microwave. It says 6:30
A
.
M
. The same time my watch says. So I was right after all. Time passed slower here. Unless many days have passed?

I check my mom’s iPhone. According to the date, it’s the morning after we left! Perfect!

“Let’s go see Mom and Dad!” Jonah exclaims.

I nod but press my finger against my lips. We creep up the last flight of stairs. I gently open their door.

“I want to get into bed with them,” Jonah whispers.

“Me too,” I whisper back. “But we’re smelly and wearing other people’s clothes.” And sandals. Oops, I left my slippers at Snow’s. Good-bye, slippers. I will miss you.

Jonah looks down at his too-tight outfit. “Oh, right.”

“And I think getting into bed with Mom and Dad might freak them out.” I close their door and head toward my room.

“Good night,” Jonah says, following behind.

“Good morning,” I say back, and give him a hug. “I’m going to miss your feet in my face.”

He laughs, and I shush him again.

Once inside my room, I strip off my grungy clothes and toss them into the hamper. I kick off Snow’s shoes. I pull on a clean pair of pajamas and get into bed. I have thirty minutes before my parents wake me up, and I’m going to use them.