Fairest 02 - The Frog Prince

by Adrianne Brooks

  ***

  Daylight seemed to come all too soon.

  Rachel noted with amusement that she and Chris weren’t the only ones going about their morning routine with heavy lidded eyes and barely stifled yawns. She was sitting at the kitchen table, talking to Alex, when there was a knock on front door. Sam hopped up from the living room floor to go answer it. Rachel didn’t think much of the fact that there was a visitor until Sam opened the door and then slammed it back shut again almost immediately.

  Alex frowned.

  “Babe? What’s wrong?”

  He looked at her and the expression on his face was reminiscent of a little boy who’d just been horribly betrayed.

  “Who is it?” Chris asked curiously.

  “Danielle.”

  Both of the Greyson siblings stiffened at the same time while Rachel surged to her feet, her face a mask of rage.

  “Well, let that bitch in,” she snarled, rolling up the sleeves of her borrowed blouse and striding from the kitchen. “We have some unfinished business to take care of.”

  Rachel pushed her way past Sam to pull open the door herself, but as soon as she saw the two women standing in the hallway, her mind went blank. Danielle Greyson smiled, smug in the knowledge that she was untouchable for the moment as she squeezed the hand of the weeping woman at her side.

  “Didn’t I tell you, Lillian? She’s alive. Rachel is alive.”

  Rachel’s lips curved in a parody of a smile. She felt sick.

  “Hey momma,” she said, for lack of anything better. As Lillian Dupree threw her arms around the neck of her “resurrected” daughter, Rachel glared at the woman who had brought her there and imagined all of the ways she would kill Danielle, should she ever get the chance.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “I. Can’t. Believe. You. Let. Me. Think. You. Were. Dead.”

  Lillian gasped and sobbed with each word she spoke and Rachel pressed her cheek into her open palm and rolled her eyes.

  “Momma,” she began, “you’re going to hyperventilate again. Breathe into your bag.”

  Lillian complied with one last sob and a shake of her head.

  Alex leaned towards Rachel and whispered softly, “Your momma’s still bat-shit crazy. It’s nice to know that some things don’t change.”

  “Are we forgetting the fact that your mother is an evil snake-monster?” Rachel hissed back.

  “Please,” she retorted. “Your mother is lactose intolerant and yet she still consumed an entire carton of ice cream during the road trip of ’97. Who’s really evil here?”

  “Hmph.”

  Rachel straightened, but couldn’t help but mentally acknowledge the dig.

  “I prayed for your soul, baby girl,” her mother picked up right where she’d left off, though thanks to Rachel’s suggestion, there was no longer any chance that she would pass out from lack of oxygen. “Every day and night I prayed for you. I told God that even though you had a nasty temper, loose morals, no taste in men, and not a single pious bone in your body, that you were still a good girl.”

  “Thanks ma,” Rachel said dryly.

  Lillian reached forward with the hand she was clutching a wrinkled handkerchief with to pat Rachel’s arm.

  “It’s my job to talk to the Lord on your behalf.” She shook her head. “I must have done well since he gave you back to me.” Blowing her nose, she sent Rachel a significant look. “I just wish I had done as good a job raising you as I did pointing out your virtues. Maybe then you would have had the decency to tell your poor aging momma that her one and only child wasn’t rotting in a dungeon somewhere.”

  “I’m sorry,” Rachel exclaimed. “Jesus. How many times do I have to say it?”

  “Until you tell me the truth about where you’ve been this whole time.” She gasped suddenly and pressed a hand to her lips. “Are you a lesbian?” she whispered, lashes wet with tears. “Is that where you’ve been? What you’ve been doing? Homo-hopping across the United States?”

  Alex choked and dropped her head into her folded arms on the table. Rachel intertwined her fingers and bowed her head.

  “Dear God,” she began. “Please grant me the patience not to string my mother up from the nearest tree. I realize that she sacrificed the sanctity of her uterus to bring me into this world, but if you have any hatred in your heart for her at all, you’ll do whatever it is you can to keep me from sending her crazy ass back home to you.”

  “Rachel Constance Dupree!” Lillian snapped.

  “Yes ma’am?” Rachel asked sweetly.

  Lillian opened her mouth to bark something, but Chris spoke up before she could. Sam was hiding out in the bathroom. Apparently being near Danielle set off his hunting instincts and he hadn’t wanted to make a bad impression on Rachel’s mother. He probably shouldn’t have bothered. Things were going badly enough that a little cannibalism would have probably been the highlight of the day.

  “She was with me,” Chris said, pretty much putting the icing on the cake as far as a Rachel was concerned.

  “Excuse me?” Lillian said, sounding stiff. “But who are you?”

  “My name is Christopher Greyson,” he said kindly, holding out his hand for her to shake. He had to reach past Danielle to do so and for a millisecond their gazes met and held. Rachel could practically taste the hatred that arched between them before Danielle managed to pull herself under control. Surprised, Lillian looked between Alex, Chris, and Danielle.

  “Oh,” Lillian said. “What a lovely surprise.” A lot of her antagonism disappeared once she realized that Chris was a Greyson. “You say that Rachel has been with you?”

  “Yes ma’am. I’m a detective. Rachel here has been helping me with an investigation. She would have contacted you sooner, but given the seriousness of the situation….” He shrugged, allowing Lillian to fill in the blanks for herself. Rachel glared at him. There was no way in hell her mother was going to fall for-

  “That…makes perfect sense,” Lillian breathed, eyes lighting with excitement.

  Danielle’s eyebrows rose in shock and Alex bit back a smile.

  “Are you serious?” Rachel could feel her blood pressure rising, but before she could snap, Danielle cleared her throat.

  “I know you’re still upset by all that’s happened.” At first Rachel thought that Danielle was talking to her mother, but the woman was looking directly at her. “Why don’t we go somewhere for a while so that Chris can fill Lilly in?”

  Rachel would have protested, but her mother waved her on.

  “It’s fine. Reliving this mess must be stressful, but I’d…I’d like to know what happened to you while I was wracked with grief.”

  It was with a mix of guilt and irritation that Rachel rose to her feet to follow Danielle from the kitchen. Alex was halfway out of her seat before Rachel managed to motion her to stillness. Her friend’s eyes narrowed as Rachel and Danielle made their way onto the balcony. Danielle leaned on the rails while Rachel stayed next to the sliding door. She wondered if she’d have the wherewithal to shove Danielle over. It would certainly solve a lot of problems. The only thing that kept her from attempting it was that she wasn’t sure whether Alex would rejoice or grieve. Next time she’d ask beforehand.

  “I’m impressed,” Danielle began. “Usually when Maleficent adds someone to her little collection, they’re never seen or heard from again. How’d you manage to get loose?”

  Something told her not to mention Zaran, and so she shrugged and affected an air of confusion.

  “I was just lucky, I suppose.”

  “Cut the bullshit, Rachel,” Danielle said shortly. “I know Max had something to do with it.”

  “Why are you here?” Rachel asked, fists clenching as anger made her body tremble. If Danielle could act offended, then she could too. “Why the hell are you using my mother like some sort of shield? Are you really that afraid of us?”

  “I’m not afraid,” Danielle snorted, making it clear what she thought of the four of them. “
I’m simply cautious. I’d be stupid not to be. Lilly is my assurance that you’ll behave yourselves long enough to listen to reason.”

  “What are you up to?”

  “I’m not up to anything.” She hesitated. “I actually need your help.”

  Rachel burst out laughing, only to sober when she realized that Danielle remained unimpressed.

  “You’re joking,” she said. Then winced. “Aren’t you?”

  “I wish I were,” Danielle sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and shivering as if cold. “The truth is that I’ve gotten in over my head. You see, Max is trying to awaken something. Something dark and powerful. I need your help to make sure that he fails.”

  “Why me?”

  “There is a Sultan who lives in the heart of the maze-”

  “I’m not going back in there,” she interrupted.

  “Calm down, child. Alex and I will transport you there via portal and hold it open for your return. Once you’re inside the Sultan’s palace, go to his charm room. There you’ll find a vial without a label. If you break it, you’ll break the spell it holds and Max will never be able to use it for his own gain.”

  Rachel was reminded of the dream she’d had the other day of the shelves filled to sagging with spells and charms. She remembered one vial in particular.

  “What’s in it for me?” she asked, just to be sure.

  Danielle blew out a breath.

  “You’ll have the chance to break Sleeping Beauty’s curse.”

  That’s exactly what she wanted to hear.

  “How am I supposed to get to the charm room without getting caught?”

  Danielle smiled slightly, her features relaxing when she realized that Rachel would cooperate. For an eerie moment, Rachel could almost see why Alex was so attached to her, despite her numerous sins against humanity.

  “That’s the best part,” Danielle said. “Once you get close enough you’ll start putting the castles residents to sleep. Once you break the curse, their sleep will no longer be magic induced however, so you’ll need help making it back to the portal.”

  “If this is so important to you, then why aren’t you doing it yourself?”

  “Because, the Sultan and I don’t exactly get along. He’s immune to my magic and after the last time I’d rather not get caught again.”

  Well. That was alarming.

  “Who is this guy?”

  “That isn’t important.”

  “It will be if I get caught before I can get back home.”

  “Then don’t get caught.”

  Rachel scowled. “Either you tell me or I don’t go.” She needed to know what she was getting herself into. Exactly what she was going to face.

  Danielle looked away, gazing out over the city.

  “The Sultan is a Story Collector.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a type of witch,” she said impatiently. “He collects stories. Feeds off of them. Like most of the residents in the maze, he’s the product of a corrupted fairytale. Imprisoned there for safe-keeping.” She shrugged. “Usually you’re safe from him as long as you don’t stray too close, but for those who do…” She shivered. “I was lucky. Since I’m a Widow and not some urban legend, he couldn’t eat me like he did the others. Instead I was simply trapped there for years, telling him stories every night until he’d eaten his fill.” She spared a glance for Rachel. “You won’t have to worry about that though.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, until the curse is broken, you’re the sleeping beauty. You’ve filled that role, and therefore taken on the magic of the story. If the Collector gets his hands on you, he’ll drink you down faster than you can draw enough breath to scream.” Danielle grinned, obviously pleased by the mental image and Rachel groaned.

  “We really need to work on your sales pitch.”

  “Are you going to do it or not?”

  Rachel bit her lip, fingers twisting the material of her shirt as she weighed her options. While there may have been another way to cure herself, she couldn’t risk the possibility of this being her one and only chance. Just this morning, she almost hadn’t woken up at all. Her body had fought her as she tried to rise to consciousness. Soon, the fairy dust would wear off completely. Plus, if she did do this, she may be able to find a vial holding Chris’s curse as well. She could cure them both, for good.

  The temptation was too much to pass up.

  “Yeah. I’ll do it.”

  Danielle smiled at her, the vines beneath her skin pulsing hungrily. Rachel turned away as nausea rose.

  “Excellent,” Danielle breathed. “Now sit down. There are a few more things you’ll need to know going in.”

  ***

  Chris didn’t like how chummy Rachel and Danielle had become.

  If he hadn’t been busy lying outrageously to Lillian Dupree, he would have felt left out.

  As it was, he and Alex kept Rachel’s mother busy while the other two conspired. Sam had come out of the bedroom as soon as Danielle had gone outside, as if he could feel her position change through the closed door. Chris watched him stalk towards the kitchen only to jerk to a halt midway across the living room. He turned his head slowly, and once he caught sight of Danielle talking to Rachel through the glass door leading to the balcony, his teeth bared in a silent snarl. He stalked forward, pressed his nose flush against the glass and glared daggers at the Widow until his angry exhalations had fogged up the glass.

  “Excuse me,” Alex said with a smile, then got up to hurry to her fiancé’s side. Lillian would have turned to watch her go, but Chris gripped her hands in his and stared into her eyes.

  “Miss Lilly. There’s something I have to ask you,” he began. She’d insisted early on in the conversation that he call her Lillian instead of Mrs. Dupree, but that wasn’t how things worked in the south. In the south, no one was simply Susan, or Tommy, or Angela. They were Miss Susan, Mr. Tom, and Miss Angela. Dropping the Mister or the Miss, especially when speaking to an elder, could result in bodily harm. He’d never questioned it before. It was just the way he’d been raised. It was sort of how he always referred to any caffeinated drinks as “cokes,” no matter their actual brand name. It was just the way things were. So, at his words, rather than insist once again that he call her “Lillian,” she simply smiled in pleasure and patted his cheek.

  “What is it, handsome?”

  “I’d like to ask your daughter to marry me,” he said calmly. From over her shoulder, he saw Alex and Sam turn to stare.

  Lillian examined him closely. “Do you love her?”

  He didn’t really know what to say, but she must have correctly read his expression because her chest puffed up and her face flushed. He would have thought that her body had gone into defense mode, but her eyes were sparkling with obvious pleasure.

  “Well, I suppose it would be alright,” she said, trying to appear casual. “Though you will have to speak to her father first.”

  He inclined his head in agreement.

  “Yes ma’am, I know.” He winked at her. “I just couldn’t let you leave today without knowing my intentions.”

  “You haven’t mentioned this to her yet, have you?” she asked, looking mildly panicked.

  He shook his head and she slumped in relief.

  “Good. I’ll help you convince her. She responds best to guilt and blackmail.”

  “Noted.”

  The next hour passed quickly. Rachel and Danielle both came back in looking determined and pleased, respectively. Rachel caught up with her mother and made plans to move into their guest house until she could find another apartment and job. Finally, Lillian looked at the clock on her cell phone and stood.

  “I have to go pick your father up for the airport,” she said, hugging Rachel hard enough to crush something. “When will I see you again?”

  Her mother sounded so emotional that Rachel couldn’t help but be earnest in her reply.

  “I’ll be at the house tomorrow.”

&
nbsp; “Good.”

  They finished their goodbyes, and as Danielle was leaving, she paused and eyed all four of them.

  “I’ll be back by eight.” Her eyes met Rachel’s and she added, “Be ready.”

  Rachel nodded, jaw tight, and shut the door in her face.

  “What was that about?”

  She looked at them all and smiled apologetically. “You might want to sit down for this.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  She glanced up at Chris before reaching for his hand and shaking her head.

  “I’m not really sure about anything at this point.”

  “Ok, boys and girls,” Alex called, shooing them towards the center of the roof. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  They’d decided to open the portal on the roof of Alex’s apartment building. Alex had explained that when they’d escaped the Goblin Market, Sam had brought them through there.

  “The veil is a little thinner here,” she’d explained. “It’ll allow us to make our own portal instead of having to use the one in Pirate’s Cove.”

  Since Rachel was pretty sure that some sort of APB had been put out for her and Chris after they’d essentially escaped custody, she had no intention of traveling any further than she needed to. Opening a portal on the roof not only meant that she avoided jail time and awkward questions, it also meant that she wouldn’t accidentally put anyone else in a magical sleep. When she’d asked Danielle about it earlier, the Widow had explained that once her spell was broken, everyone else that she’d affected would be cured as well. That had been reason enough to make the trip.

  “You don’t have to come with me, you know.” She stared straight ahead as she spoke. “I wouldn’t come back unless I’d broken your spell too.” She could hear the other talking softly amongst themselves as they gathered around her and Chris.

  “I know I don’t have to come. But I want to, so it’s sort of a moot point,” he said, sounding amused. She glanced up into his eyes and her breath caught at the almost carefree smile on his face.