by Perdita Finn
Daring winced. His whole body was glowing with magic. He dropped to his knees. The magic was glowing brighter and brighter. Suddenly, there was a huge flash of light—and Daring the Beast disappeared! Daring the Prince was back, and he was his old handsome self again.
“What happened?” he spluttered.
Rosabella was beaming at him. “You finally started acting like a real prince.”
Daring had finally realized that the most powerful magic of all was thinking of others—and it was Rosabella who had helped him learn this lesson. He took her in his arms and gave her a great big hug. Everybody cheered.
Rosabella had finally found her prince.
CHAPTER 35
A Change in the Weather
A sleighride later, Crystal was back home. She brought the bouquet into the throne room and placed it before the Snow King and the Snow Queen. It shimmered. An enchanting fragrance filled the room. Wisps of sparkling magic encircled Crystal’s parents. The ice began to thaw. The curse lifted from their eyes. They blinked, disoriented. The looked around the room sleepily.
Crystal rushed over and wrapped them both in a hug.
The Snow King rubbed his eyes sleepily. “It’s like I was in a bad dream.”
“But now?” asked the queen.
“But now it’s over,” said Crystal. She handed the staff of winter back to her father. “Dad,” she told him, “we need you to stop this storm.”
But the Snow King shook his head. “I’ve done quite enough already. Crystal, you’ve proven that you are ready to rule. You were always ready, but I was too snow-blind to see.” He gave the scepter to Crystal.
Tears welled up in her eyes. Her father was back—and he was proud of her. She skated out to the balcony and prepared to release the wicked winter.
Blondie was broadcasting. “This just in, Ever After! Prepare yourself for a change in the weather!”
Crystal took a breath. This was big magic. She aimed the staff, and glittering ripples of pastel-colored light flowed across the land. The clouds cleared. The sun shone. The snow began to melt. Winter was over—for a little while, anyway. Crystal had saved Ever After.
Later, after all the courtiers and servants were no longer penguins and seals (except for the few who enjoyed their new forms), Crystal’s parents decided it was time for a trip to the tropics. They needed a vacation. Besides, the kingdom would be just fine with Crystal in charge.
As their sleigh pulled out of the long driveway, they passed Northwind and Jackie. The two frost elves were busy shoveling snow. Lots of snow.
“Is this part of the plan, too?” Northwind asked Jackie.
“Yeah, Northwind,” she said sarcastically. “Everything we did was so that we could get to do this. Fun, fun, fun.”
But maybe they’d suffered enough.
Crystal raised the staff in one hand and her wand in the other. Glittering sparkles filled the air. “I declare this a day of celebration, a day of fun…”
“A snow day!” shouted her friends happily.
“I was going to say… an epic winter!”
But it didn’t really matter what she said. It was time to go sledding!
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Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
© 2016 Mattel. All rights reserved. EVER AFTER HIGH and associated trademarks are owned by and used under license from Mattel, Inc.
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First ebook edition: November 2016
ISBN 978-0-316-39455-0
E3-20161011-JV-PC
