by Perdita Finn
But Jackie was ready. She morphed into her elf self, her hand already on the pouch of sleeping crystals she’d collected from the broken spindle. She blew them through a straw—right at the king’s face.
The Snow King staggered backward, swinging his scepter wildly. The penguins and the seals slid to safety across the ice-covered floor.
The Snow King teetered. He tottered. He yawned. He leaned against his scepter and fell asleep on his feet.
“Nighty-night, Your Highness,” mocked Jackie triumphantly.
“How dare you…” the king muttered in his sleep.
“Northwind! Grab his staff!” Jackie ordered.
But Northwind could not pry the scepter clutched in the king’s hands free. It was as if they were frozen together.
“It’s always something” fretted Jackie. Without the scepter, she could not rule winter. She had to find some way to get it!
Crystal and all her friends were lost in a deep, enchanted slumber.
Snow fell on them and they didn’t notice. Their lips turned blue, but they didn’t feel it. Each of them was somewhere else, in their very own dreamland.
Briar dreamed that she was in the Spindle Room—only it was summer, and the air was warm. She was about to touch the spindle, but Faybelle stopped her and turned it into a butterfly that flew away.
Ashlynn dreamed she was at the top of the stairs at her mother’s castle. Ashlynn ran down the stairs and lost her slipper along the way—but she just floated down to Hunter Huntsman in a sparkling ball gown.
Blondie Lockes dreamed she was at the Three Bears’ cottage deep in the woods. Momma Bear had cooked up a banquet of delicious desserts and invited Blondie to sit at the family table and taste each sugary sweet.
Rosabella dreamed that Daring was lost in the woods, surrounded by wolves. But she leaped into action. Rosabella understood the wolves weren’t evil and calmed them. Daring was inspired by how selfless Rosabella was, and he turned into the handsome prince he once was—and they kissed.
Crystal dreamed she was home at the Winter Palace and her parents were themselves again. Her smiling mother and her happy father led her to the throne. The Snow Queen placed a crown on her head. The Snow King handed her the Winter Rose. She stared and stared at the rose. Something was the matter. What was it?
In her dream, Crystal remembered that the Snow King was being controlled by Jackie and Northwind. “Dad,” she screamed.
“Crystal,” shouted her father. “You have to wake up!”
In the Spindle Room, Crystal tossed and turned. She couldn’t wake up. She was under a spell! But she had to. She willed herself to. Her eyes blinked open.
Daring the Beast was curled up asleep in a basket. All the other girls were lost in dreamland still. Struggling to keep her eyes open, Crystal crawled to the spindle. She took the broken pieces and bound them together with golden wool. The sleeping dust was no longer spilling into the room.
Crystal shouted, “Wake up, Briar! Faybelle! Blondie! Everyone!”
They yawned and stretched. They opened their eyes.
“I know where the Rose of Winter is!” Crystal announced when they were all awake.
But they had to act fast.
CHAPTER 28
Twister!
Even in his slumber, the dreams of the Snow King were controlling the wicked winter weather. As the Snow King snored and grumbled, he clutched his magical staff protectively. Snow fell in the throne room—and in his bad dreams, blizzards whirled.
The wicked winter was becoming wilder and wilder.
Huge snowballs landed like bombs all around Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The winds twisted into tornadoes. The sleigh was still parked at the entrance—but how would they get to it?
“We are doomed!” worried Ashlynn. “Is this The End?”
“This is news! My chance to be a real field reporter!” Blondie said, setting up for her MirrorCast. “Hello, Ever After! This is Blondie Lockes, reporting live. You’ve probably noticed we are facing some fairy twisted weather.”
“I have to get up to the top of the world fast,” said Crystal. “I have an idea how, but you have to trust me. Everyone, get on the sleigh. Daring, we need a push.”
The others were a little nervous, but they climbed aboard.
“Won’t we get swept up by the tornados if we try sledding now?” Daring the Beast asked.
“I’m counting on it,” explained Crystal. “Everybody, hang on. Now, Daring, now! Hang on, friends!”
Daring gathered his strength and pushed the sleigh into the whirling tornado. He leaped onto the back at the last minute. The sleigh was spinning up, up, up in the air!
“Whooooooah!”
“Hang on tight!”
“This is not just right!”
“My hair!”
They rocketed skyward. Daring lost his grip and flew off, only his ankle attached to the sleigh by a loose rope. The girls hauled him back in.
“We haven’t faced our biggest challenge yet,” shouted Crystal into the wind. “It’s time to storm the castle!”
The twister spun them round and round. They were headed to the top of the world!
CHAPTER 29
Back to the Winter Palace
The blizzard brought its frostbitten fury to the farthest reaches of the land of fairytales. Would the world be buried under snow forever?
At Ever After, shivering trolls huddled under bridges. The geese could no longer make their deliveries. Fairy folk sought out any warmth they could find—from the sputtering lights of candles to the tiny glows of lamps. Townspeople fled to the castle school seeking refuge. They huddled under blankets in the hallways. They were all freezing.
Baba Yaga brewed up mug after mug of hot cocoa, and Headmaster Grimm served them in the auditorium. The screen above the stage displayed Blondie’s MirrorCast. Everyone was following the girls’ quest for the curse cure. Their only hope for relief from the winter was the Snow Princess and her friends struggling to the top of the world.
The sleigh corkscrewed inside the snow twister—up, up, up, and round, round, round. The girls hung on for dear life.
“Not much longer!” gasped Crystal.
“Yeah, not much longer till I’m sick!” Faybelle moaned.
The sleigh shot out the top of the tornado above the storm clouds. The stars were shining. The sky was clear. The green and gold lights of the aurora borealis twinkled over the Snow King’s castle. No longer held up by the wild winds, the sleigh careened through the air—and crash-landed in a snowbank.
“Don’t worry! I’m fine,” said Daring, staggering dizzily to his feet.
“The Winter Palace!” Crystal exclaimed. “I’m home again.”
“Now all we have to do is get there,” added Daring. The castle was still far away across a snow-white plain, and the sleigh was smashed to smithereens.
“And we have to stop Jackie Frost and her brother, Northwind.” Rosabella shook the snow out of her hair.
“And find the Rose of Winter,” Ashlynn reminded them.
Briar nodded. “And remove the curse from Crystal’s parents.”
“Then save the world of Ever After from eternal winter!” Crystal was not going to let herself feel defeated. “That’s everything, right? So what are we waiting for?”
“How about a ride?” Faybelle suggested. She pointed out the broken sleigh.
But Crystal was examining the splintered wood. She had an idea! A powerful idea.
Northwind was still trying to figure out how to get the scepter out of the sleeping Snow King’s clutches. He noticed Crystal and her friends approaching the Winter Palace through the king’s sceptor.
“Uh, Jackie.” Northwind coughed nervously, trying to get his sister’s attention. “’Member how you said Crystal would sleep for a hundred years and we would never see her again?”
Jackie looked up, irritated. “Yes, Northwind.” The tiny elf was lounging on the throne.
“Well,” Northwind continued, “
either you were wrong or a hundred years goes by really fast. She’s here, at the top of the world.”
Jackie leaped up and scurried out to the balcony to see for herself. “Huh! I didn’t think she had it in her. She’s still just an overprivileged princess. She can’t actually do anything. You know why? Because we got the palace, and who has the power? We’ve got the power! We won! And if the pampered princess can actually make it to the palace, we’ll deal with her then.”
Northwind was still tugging at the scepter. At last, he asked his sister something that had been troubling him. “What exactly will we rule if the world gets destroyed by winter?”
Jackie glared at him, and he put the thought out of his mind. “You’re so smart,” he complimented her. “I guess you’ve got it all figured out.”
But Crystal was the one who had a real plan. She had turned the remains of the sleigh into cross-country skis for all of them!
“A powerful plan, Princess!” Rosabella praised Crystal. “We’ll fly across the snow!”
“Nice idea,” said Faybelle with a flutter of her wings. “I’ll just fly.”
“Could someone help me with this knot?” Crystal asked, tying her bootlaces again. “I promise, I almost have it.”
Ashlynn leaned in to lend a hand. As soon as she was done, they were off!
Back at the castle, Jackie had no time to lose. She had to get the Snow King’s scepter!
“C’mon! Ugh!” She struggled, pulling at it.
Northwind added his hands to hers. They pushed, they shoved, they pulled—and finally they did it! With a crack, the staff skittered across the icy floor!
“Oh yeah!” shouted Jackie. “I am awesome!”
“Nothing can stop us now!” Northwind clapped his hands happily. He skidded across the ice toward the scepter—and bonked his head on a column.
No longer supported by his scepter, the king toppled over and landed at the feet of the frozen queen. He snored even louder. Jackie stuck the king’s thumb in his mouth to silence him and then grabbed the scepter.
“At last!” she exclaimed. “The power of winter!”
Northwind rubbed the side of his aching head. “Well, you’d better use it quick to turn off the wicked weather down below. ’Cause if the world gets buried, who do we get to boss around?”
Jackie strode out to the balcony. She was just barely tall enough to see over the railing. She aimed the scepter at the giant blizzard’s swirling clouds. “Begone!”
A huge blast shot out of the scepter—and boomeranged right back at her, knocking her off her feet. Something was wrong!
Northwind looked through the telescope. “Whoa! You just, like, doubled it! Snowflakes the size of houses! That was your plan, right? I’m confused.”
“Yeah, of course I meant to do that,” said Jackie sarcastically.
But Northwind didn’t catch her tone. “You are so smart!” he told his sister. “This plan is so tricky I can’t even tell how it will work at all!”
Jackie studied the staff in her hands. It had powers she didn’t understand. Would she be able to figure out how to control it before Crystal arrived at the Winter Palace? She’d better.…
CHAPTER 30
The Blizzard of the Century
No one at Ever After High could believe it! The blizzard was worse! A single giant snowflake that looked like a circular saw sliced off the top of one of the towers. Kids were panicking. The castle was shaking.
Back at the Winter Palace, Jackie was fiddling with the scepter to see if she could figure out how to work it. “Let me adjust a few settings,” she muttered to herself.
She clicked a button, and a blast of magic ice shot out of the top of the staff. Northwind ducked just in time. The column behind him was shattered.
“Just testing the range,” said Jackie, trying to hide her worried expression. “By the time Crystal walks up to the gates, I’ll be ready.”
Faybelle was leading everyone, flying just ahead to scout out the path. Her phone began buzzing, and she rolled her eyes, furious. “Hello?” she answered, trying to come up with a quick cover. “People for the Ethical Treatment of Unicorns?” She turned to the skier behind her. “I’ve got to take this call.”
Faybelle flew ahead and darted behind a snowbank for privacy.
“The Fairy Mobfather is thinking you are avoiding your commitment to two hundred years of hard labor,” growled the mobster on the phone.
“No, no, no!” Faybelle protested. “I just need a bit more time. What I have to trade is ancient magic!”
“You have this wit you now?”
Faybelle cleared her throat. “Not exactly, but I will!”
“Yeah, you will,” chuckled the mobster. “By five o’clock today, or else we double the years of service!”
The mob fairies hung up. Faybelle was outraged. “Double?” she fumed.
The others came around the corner. “Double, uh, my donation,” she covered. “Nothing is too good for those sweet, lovely unicorns. Thanks! Bye!”
Ashlynn smiled at her. “I didn’t know you liked unicorns so much.”
“Oh, you know me!” Faybelle laughed lightly. “I am so full of surprises.”
Rosabella stopped in her tracks. “You guys go ahead,” she said. “My ski is falling apart.”
“I could carry you,” offered Daring the Beast. He held out a paw.
Rosabella couldn’t believe it. “Are you finally thinking of something other than yourself?”
“Why, no!” Daring was confused. “I was thinking that you might enjoy hearing some stories of my greatest exploits…”
She sighed. “When will you ever change?” But she climbed onto his back and they loped off together.
Before long the group was at the gates to the Winter Palace.
Jackie was watching. “The princess returns. Well, we have a little welcome planned for her!”
She aimed the staff, but when she tried to fire it, it blasted her in the face with a snowball.
“Awesome!” Northwind complimented her. “Welcome her with a snowball!”
“No, Northwind!” shouted Jackie, irritated. “You are the welcoming committee. Go down to the main hall and stop them. I will be sitting on the throne. Someone has to.”
“Cool! All part of the plan! Wait. How do I stop them?”
“You are a shapeshifter!” Jackie’s face was red with fury. “Use your power!”
Northwind looked scared. “All by myself? I’m afraid. There’s a lot of them, and they have a beast!”
Jackie looked at her staff. It was glowing. “And you have the power of ice!” She pointed the scepter at her brother. She blasted him with the staff.
“Awesome!” said Northwind, sounding relieved.
“Show our princess what epic power looks like!” said Jackie with a smile.
But while they were talking, Jackie and Northwind didn’t see two winter pixies sneaking behind the thrones! Crystal’s wand was glowing under her throne.
CHAPTER 31
Snowball Fight
Daring the Beast opened the palace doors. He and the girls entered cautiously.
“Great work, Daring,” said Crystal courageously. “Now let’s get to the throne room and find that Rose of Winter. But watch out for—”
“For me!” Northwind leaped in front of Daring the Beast. “That’s right. Turn back, by order of the new queen of winter, my sister, Jackie.”
Daring the Beast chuckled. “Okay. I got this.”
He roared as loudly as he could. He looked over his shoulder to grin at the girls—and didn’t see what happened next. Northwind transformed himself into a fifty-foot-tall ice giant!
“Run!” screamed Crystal.
The girls raced for cover behind huge pillars of ice. The ice giant grabbed Daring and lifted him up in the air.
“Not the face! Not the face!” cried Daring, covering his head with his paws.
“Ho! Ho! Ho!” Northwind laughed, delighted. “Behold the power of winte
r!”
Crystal stepped forward. “Northwind! Nobody should get hurt for my sake! We’re only here to save my parents! Please! Put him down!”
“My sister says you just give orders!” Northwind mocked her. “Pampered princess.”
A snowball flew through the air—and hit Northwind on the nose!
“The princess said put him down!” It was Rosabella. “That wasn’t an order! But call it a strong suggestion!”
She flung another snowball at Northwind, and he batted at her. Daring struggled free until only his tail was in Northwind’s fist. He wriggled until he dropped to ground—and raced over to Rosabella.
“Hey, Northwind,” shouted Crystal. “You like frozen fireworks?” She told the girls to split up so he couldn’t go after them all at once.
“Fee, fie, fo, fum!” Northwind bellowed, trying to sound like a real giant. “Always wanted to say that! I’m gonna getcha!”
From behind a pillar, Blondie pulled out her MirrorPad and began broadcasting an update. “Will Crystal Winter be able to get to the throne room to find the final rose? Will she get her destiny back from the villainous Jackie Frost? Will—” In midsentence she suddenly screamed!
Back at Ever After High, everyone was watching the MirrorCast on the big screen in the auditorium. What was happening?
Northwind was stomping toward Ashlynn and Briar.
“Over here!” called Crystal, trying to distract him. “I’m the one you want.”
Northwind spun around. He charged toward Crystal, who started to run—but tripped over her untied laces!
“Daring, we have to do something!” said Rosabella. “Let’s go!”
Together, Daring and Rosabella raced in front of Northwind to block his path.
“That’s far enough!” announced Rosabella bravely.
