Once Upon the End (Half Upon a Time)

by James Riley

  The Queen gasped, dropping May to the ground. Jack threw his sword to May, who caught it.

  “Good-bye, Grandma,” May said, then drove Jack’s sword right into the Wicked Queen’s heart.

  And with that, the shadows began screaming, exploding out of the Wicked Queen with the force of a volcano. The castle began to shake, windows exploded, and even dragons began screaming outside.

  In all the chaos, May almost missed that the Wicked Queen’s heart beat once more, then finally, mercifully, stopped for good.

  CHAPTER 46

  May dropped the sword and caught her grandmoth— great-aunt as she gasped for breath, shadows pouring out of her chest. Jack helped May, and together the two gently laid the woman on the floor.

  “Oh, May,” Eudora said, and May could barely hear her voice. “I can feel them . . . they’re leaving. The shadows. They were so weak . . . in the other world. They let me—”

  May didn’t say anything, just stared at her, a thousand feelings going through her head.

  “I didn’t . . . I didn’t want to come back,” Eudora said. “I didn’t want to leave. I was happy there . . . with just us.”

  “The things you did . . .” May said, then stopped, unable to speak.

  Her grand-aunt nodded and closed her eyes. “You . . . you are my only family, May. You are all that’s left.”

  “Grandma,” May said, her voice cracking, and her face felt wet for some reason.

  “My beautiful month of May,” Eudora said.

  And then May’s grand-aunt died.

  May silently stared at her for a moment, then looked up at the boy sitting next to her. He looked . . . older somehow. More serious than she’d ever seen him, and worried, too. Worried for her.

  He put his arm around her and hugged her tightly, and she hugged back just as hard, not wanting to let go.

  He dropped his arms and nodded at Snow White. “We should make sure she’s okay. Her and Jill.”

  May paused, then nodded and went to check on Snow White as Jack ran over to Lian.

  The woman was stirring as May approached, and opened her eyes as May touched her arm. “Are you alright?” May asked.

  “I have no idea,” Snow White said, and tried to sit up only to wince. “The Queen—”

  “She’s gone,” May told her, nodding behind her.

  Snow White looked over her shoulder, then let out an enormous breath. “I can’t tell you how many years I’ve waited to see that. But where’s my husband?”

  “Um, let me cover this,” Jack said, and spoke quietly to Snow White, who shook her head over and over, tears falling as Jack went on.

  Lian limped over to May and nodded. May nodded back, then said, “I still don’t like you.”

  “Oh, me either. Like you, I mean. I like me just fine. Just . . . just don’t hurt my brother again.”

  “Oh, I won’t,” May said, then paused. “Who’s your brother?”

  Lian laughed, looked at her, then laughed again. “Eh, you’ll figure it out.”

  “Again, I still don’t like you.”

  Jack, meanwhile, held out his sword to Snow White, handing her the hilt. She took it and looked at him curiously. “The Charmed One that you saw was a memory in the sword,” he told her. “And in here.” He tapped his head.

  She looked at the sword. “So . . . that was him, though.”

  “A memory of him, yes. He’s gone now, but that’s his sword, if you would like it.”

  She smiled, then shook her head. “I’d rather see him when my time here is done.” She handed Jack back the sword and nodded at Lian. “You two have really grown up, by the way.”

  “You . . . know who we are?” Lian said, smiling nervously.

  “You’re his niece and nephew,” she said. “Of course I know who you are. You were barely walking when I last saw you . . . and you had just been born,” she said, pointing at Jack. “I guess it’s been a few years.”

  “I’m . . . sorry?” Jack said, giving her a confused look.

  “Jack’s your brother?!” May shouted at Lian.

  “The Charmed One is my uncle?!” Jack shouted at Snow White.

  She laughed. “He always did like his secrets. . . .”

  “Did you know that?” Jack said to Lian.

  She shook her head, faking innocence, then sighed. “Okay, fine, yes. But I couldn’t tell you. Father kept telling me not to say anything. He figured you wouldn’t do what you had to if you thought you were royalty.”

  “What?” May said.

  “The Charmed One was the prince of Charm,” Lian said. “And my mother was the princess. Though I guess when our grandparents died, he became king, but she had . . . passed on at that point. So that makes us—”

  “A prince,” May said, staring at Jack.

  “. . . and a princess,” Lian finished, glaring at her. “Not that the kingdom really exists anymore. The Queen took it over years and years ago.”

  “The castle’s still there,” May said quietly.

  Jack glanced up at her questioningly, then quickly looked away. “None of that matters,” he said.

  “You are the heirs to Charm,” Snow White said, putting a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “In honor of your uncle and your mother both, I would say it matters quite a bit. There’s much you could do to restore your kingdom.”

  “Snow White knows who we are!” Lian whispered to Jack, glancing sideways at the woman.

  Snow White just shook her head. “Maybe that can wait.”

  May helped her up, Jack took her other arm, and together the two helped her walk out of the throne room, while behind them, Lian pointed to Snow White and whispered, “She knows who I am!”

  Before they could exit, though, a growl from behind them reminded May of something. The four turned to find the green dragon, now freed of the Queen’s spell, looking extremely angry.

  “Uh, can someone reach those reins?” May asked. “Anyone? Lian, you’re closest.”

  “Let me repeat that I never liked you,” Lian said, and disappeared, only for the dragon to whip its head out and knock the girl aside.

  The dragon roared and reared back to set fire to the entire room, when the throne room doors burst open, and something flew straight into the dragon’s open mouth. The dragon snapped its jaws shut, looked confused, then toppled over, shaking the entire building as it landed.

  “Nice shot,” Jack’s father said to Penelope, who stood in the doorway, holding a few splinters of spindle.

  Penelope smiled back politely. “I’ve had lots of practice.”

  Phillip cleared his throat, looking at May, then his eyes went wide when he saw who stood next to her.

  “Your Princeness,” Jack said with a short bow.

  Phillip stepped forward, then hugged Jack roughly.

  “This is really not necessary,” Jack said, frantically trying to free himself.

  “You live!” Phillip said, wiping at his eyes. “I could not be happier at such news!”

  “That makes one of us,” Lian said.

  “Don’t fight, kids,” Jack’s father said. “Let’s get Snow White out of here, and we’ll deal with everything else. The mermen and fairy queens are on their way to all the kingdoms the Queen attacked to bring the goblins back here. But someone will need to be in charge of what happens to them all.”

  May started to say something, then just nodded. “I’m on it.”

  “You?” Jack’s father said.

  “It’s a long story, but it looks like Her Wickedness here is the Queen’s heir,” Lian said.

  “There’s also the matter of the Charmed One being my uncle,” Jack said.

  His father started to say something, then glanced at Snow White and nodded. “I couldn’t tell you. None of us could. If you’d known, you might have grown up like—”

  “A spoiled royal,” Phillip said.

  “And who would want that?” Penelope said with a smile, taking Phillip’s hand in hers. May saw Phillip blush, then match her
smile, not letting go of her hand. “Now, can we go home?” Penelope continued. “I could really use a good night’s sleep.”

  May laughed, half because of Penelope’s comment, half from relief. Phillip started to say something to her, probably to apologize again, but she just shook her head. She was too tired to deal with that now; it’d have to wait. Besides, she had someone far more important to talk to.

  As the others began to file out of the throne room, May held back, waiting to say something, anything to Jack about him leaving, about . . . a lot of things.

  But when she looked, he was nowhere to be found, almost like he’d disappeared into thin air.

  CHAPTER 47

  The courtyard exploded in cheers as May, Phillip, and the rest filed out of the castle. Mermen, human soldiers, and even a fairy queen or two surged forward to greet them, the noise reaching all the way up to the ramparts, where Jack watched, unnoticed by the crowds below.

  “The Wicked Queen is dead, by Princess May’s hand!” someone shouted, and everyone went crazy.

  “She’s going to get all the credit for this,” said a voice from behind him. Jack didn’t bother looking up as Jill stepped up to the rampart next to him. “Figures.”

  “She deserves it,” Jack said.

  “So do you,” said Jack’s father from his other side. “So does Jill. Of course, I deserve more praise than any of you, since I planned this entire thing, but I’m too modest to ever suggest that.”

  “YOU planned this?” Jill said with a snort. “Nice try. Jack surprised us both. Don’t bother pretending.”

  “Speak for yourself, young lady,” his father said. “I had Jack set up from the start. Why do you think the Charmed One blocked his memories? At my order, so that the Queen couldn’t find him.”

  “Did you set me up to free her too?” Jack asked quietly, still staring down into the courtyard.

  “Well, no,” his father admitted. “I’d planned on you freeing me, not her. But sometimes kids can be disappointing.”

  Jack smiled in spite of himself as Phillip was lifted up on his soldiers’ shoulders, followed by May. May kept shaking her head, but that just encouraged the soldiers, and the cheering got louder.

  “It’s just not fair,” Jill said, sighing as she turned away from the celebration.

  “Aren’t you the one who always says that we’re not heroes?” Jack asked her. “We’re the ones who get things done, no matter what?”

  “Yeah, but it’d be nice to be thanked.”

  Jack’s father reached out and hugged her. “Thank you, Jill,” he said, his voice sounding strangely not-mocking. “Your mother would be proud.”

  Jill paused, then hugged him back, sniffing loudly. “Well, okay, I’ll take that.”

  His father turned to Jack, still hugging Jill. “So what, Jack? You still hate me, or do you want a hug from your father too?”

  Jack turned, starting to say something, then sighed, shut his mouth, and hugged them both.

  “Your mother loved you both so much,” his father said quietly. “More than you can imagine.”

  Jill sniffed again, and Jack bit his lip to keep himself from following her lead.

  “So, what now?” his father asked. “I take it we’re not going to join the party downstairs.”

  Jack shook his head. “I think they’re better off without us.” He moved back to the castle’s ramparts and looked down at May, who was smiling and laughing. “They’ve got their own stories to follow, and we’ve got ours.”

  “You don’t even want to say good-bye?” Jill asked. “I mean, I don’t, but they all annoy me.”

  Jack gave May one last look, then shook his head, turning his back on the courtyard and everyone in it. “Nope,” he said, forcing a smile he didn’t feel. “I think everything got said back in the Fairy Homelands.”

  Jill slapped him too hard on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit! Though let me know if you ever want to take the Queen’s harp and mess with Merriweather a bit. I’d totally be on board for that.”

  “No one’s messing with any fairy queens,” his father said, leading them away from the ramparts. “Well, not today. There’s too much to do.”

  “Do?” Jack said.

  “Oh, you’ll see,” his father said with a grin.

  CHAPTER 48

  Dust filled the room, and Jack paused to try to wave some out the window. The Charmed One’s castle—his family’s castle—had gotten pretty dirty. Granted, it had been dirty during his training, too, but he’d been a bit distracted then. Now that he wasn’t so busy, it felt right to clean it up a bit.

  His father watched him from where he sat sideways on the castle’s throne. “I told you there was a lot to do,” the man said. “Though you look like you could use some help.”

  “I sure could,” Jack told him, handing him the broom.

  “Doesn’t a father have the right to make his children do chores for him? Where is your sister?”

  “Exploring,” Jack said, going back to sweeping. “She said something about finding some world-ending magical something or other in the basement, and wanted to experiment with it. I think she’s just bored and wants to cause trouble before we go to Phillip’s coronation next week.”

  “Sounds fun,” his father said. “Maybe I should go help her with that.”

  Jack sighed. “Please don’t do anything stupid. It’s only been a month since everything kind of settled down, and I’m not really ready for another adventure just yet.”

  His father smiled. “But you will be?”

  Jack narrowed his eyes. “I’m committing to nothing.”

  “That’s what I thought,” his father said, hurrying out of the room to find whatever trouble Lian had found and most likely make it worse.

  Somehow, having his father out of the room made cleaning go that much faster, and Jack fairly sped along until a blue flame exploded in the room, almost making him jump out of his shoes.

  And out of that blue flame stepped someone he’d never expected to see again.

  “Hey,” said a blond girl wearing a crown and a light blue tunic over the same pants she’d always worn. Her hair was much shorter now, and the blue streak was gone.

  “Uh,” Jack said, stopping his sweeping and leaning on his broom. “Hey.”

  “It’s been awhile. I haven’t seen you since . . . she died. You never visited.”

  “I’ve been a little busy.”

  May nodded. “Me too. I’ve had the goblins out looking for the proper rulers of all the kingdoms the Queen took over. If any are left, I want them back in charge. And if not, we’re going to hold elections. Gonna do that in my kingdom, either way.”

  “Elections?” Jack asked, going back to sweeping.

  “Everyone votes on who they think is the best person to lead,” May said, looking out the window. “That’s not me. I’m no princess.”

  Jack smiled a bit at that. “I don’t think any of us are who we thought we were.”

  May turned to him and nodded toward the window. “That’s my stepmother’s house, you know. Just down the road.”

  “Here?” Jack frowned, feeling like he should have known that for some reason. But that wasn’t it . . . wasn’t there something else having to do with her stepmother or the house?

  May nodded and watched him clean. “You know, you left the Fairy Homelands before we could talk about what Merriweather told you.”

  Jack stopped with a sigh. “I’m sorry I left like that.”

  “You should be.”

  “I just said—”

  “You left something behind, remember?” she said, then pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. “Dear May,” she read. “I spoke to Merriweather, and she told me about your family. You have a stepmother and some stepsisters, it sounds like, waiting for you. You were meant to live with them, only the Wicked Queen stole you away. Your stepmother is evil, by the way.”

  May stopped reading for a second. “She is, you were totally right about that.�
� Then she went back to the letter. “Merriweather would have saved you from all of that, though, if the Queen hadn’t taken you. She would have introduced you to a prince, your true love. He was supposed to give you this slipper—” She held up a crystal slipper. “The slipper is magic and feels hard as glass unless your true love gives it to you. Then it will feel like it’s made of air.”

  She tossed him the slipper, and he grabbed it, his eyes widening. May went back to reading the letter. “I don’t know that I’d trust it or anything, a translucent shoe telling you how to feel. But that’s me. And speaking of me, I have to go, May. I have to fix things. You were meant to be with that prince, and the Wicked Queen stopped that. And then I made a mistake and set her free again. This is my fault, and I need to make up for it. Please don’t follow me or look for me in any way. Hopefully, this will make up for things. Jack.”

  “This shoe is pretty soft,” Jack whispered.

  “I know,” May told him. “That’s how it felt when you left it for me too.”

  “Um . . . ” Jack said intelligently.

  She stepped closer. “You shouldn’t have left, Jack. That was pretty stupid.”

  “I . . . I had to fix things.”

  She slowly shook her head. “No. We had to fix things. And we did. But neither of us could have done that on our own.”

  “That’s a fair point, but—”

  “Shh.” She took his hand and smiled. He couldn’t help it, he smiled back. “So. Prince Charming, huh?” she said.

  “Prince of Charm, really,” Jack pointed out. “The town’s name is Charm, so—”

  “You really don’t know when to be quiet, do you?”

  “I really don’t.”

  She shook her head, then stared up at him. Jack took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and leaned forward—

  “If you two are through,” someone said from the doorway, and both of them blushed and looked up to find Jill covering her eyes. The golden fairy Gwentell sat in her hair but seemed far more interested in what was going on than Jill did. “You may want to come outside. I might, might have just traded our father to a witch by accident.”