by Liz Dejesus
Knox opened the door; it released a soft creak, as though it had been ages since anyone had stepped inside its threshold. It had a higher ceiling than the rest of the cottage. In the middle of the room was a full-size bed, with white lace sheets and a single pillow. There was a small night table with a silver candlestick and a single half-burnt white candle. At the foot of the bed was a large wooden trunk. It was a beautiful polished cherry. All Bianca wanted to do was open it and find out what secrets it held.
“This was Snow’s room,” Knox said.
“It’s beautiful.” And Bianca meant it. She was struck by the simplicity of the place. It was elegant. Uncomplicated. Much like the woman that had inhabited this space.
“We’ve left it just as it is. We come in every once in a while to dust and clean off the cobwebs.”
He opened the trunk and very carefully placed the items on top of the bed. There was a white dress, a pair of dusty-rose silk slippers, black work boots, a navy-blue and white quilt, and lace gloves that had yellowed with age. Then he tugged on a small piece of rope and revealed a secret hiding place. Patiently, Bianca waited. Knox pulled out a red velvet bag with gold ties.
“Here.” He handed the bag to Bianca.
“What is it?” she asked as she took the bag from him. She couldn’t get over the rich velvet fabric she held in her hands. The fabric felt soft against her fingertips. Bianca had never seen anything so luxurious in her life.
“I don’t know. I’ve never looked inside. She never said what it was or what to do with it. All she told me was that she would return someday to retrieve it. Unfortunately, that day never came. And seeing as you’re her kin, I like to think she wouldn’t mind if you had it.”
Knox took the items he had placed on the bed and put them back inside the trunk. He gently closed the lid and walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him with a soft click, leaving Bianca alone to examine the red velvet bag.
She let out a deep sigh. It never ends.
She sat on the corner of the bed. The color on the blood-red bag was still bright. It was as though it had been at the bottom of the trunk for a few days and not a couple of centuries. She undid the knot and emptied the contents on top of the bed.
“Apple seeds,” she whispered.
At least a dozen ruby, onyx, and ivory apple seeds.
What am I supposed to do with this? How am I supposed to explain this to Mom?
But the more she thought about it, the more she knew she wouldn’t have passed on the chance to be in this cottage. Had she gone back home like Rose asked her to, she would’ve missed meeting Knox, Howard, and Collier. She placed a few of the apple seeds on the palm of her hand. They were heavy, almost as if she were holding tiny precious stones. Seeds were supposed to be light as a feather. She gently pushed them from one end of her palm to the other and felt the magic humming within each seed.
“What do you do?” she asked. “I’ve officially lost my mind. I’m talking to a bunch of seeds.”
Bianca carefully placed the seeds back inside the red velvet bag and tucked it inside her jean pocket. She went downstairs and joined her friends. They were the only thing that made sense to her at that moment.
Ten
Her stomach growled and groaned. She was starving.
“Ready for some supper?” Collier asked.
“Yes, please,” Bianca said.
She followed Collier into the kitchen. He served her a healthy helping of soup and also gave her a slice of toasted bread.
“It smells good. What exactly is it?” she asked.
“Vegetable stew. Old recipe. Snow used to love it. Although her favorite was always shepherd’s pie. We haven’t had that in a while,” he noted sadly.
Bianca was at a loss for words. She wasn’t sure if she should say anything. She nibbled on her thumb nervously for a brief moment and then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Collier sighed, patted her hand a few times, and then walked away.
Bianca thanked him for the meal and took her bowl of stew to the table. She took a bite and was immediately transported to heaven—at least as close as she could get. She had never tasted anything so delicious in her life. Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, celery, and onions, as well as an array of herbs and spices she couldn’t name.
“Holy mackerel, this is amazing,” Bianca spoke and tried to chew at the same time. She knew it was gross and unladylike, but she felt that it was something that needed to be said immediately.
“I know, right?” Ming said.
Collier blushed and said, “Thank you.”
“No, you don’t understand. This is the most amazing stew I’ve ever had. I should know. I take food very seriously,” Bianca said.
The stew was still hot enough that it burned the roof of her mouth, but she kept eating regardless. “Is there more?” Bianca asked. She drank the remaining broth from her bowl.
Collier chuckled. “Yes, there’s more. I always make enough to feed eight people, even though there are only three of us left. It’s a difficult habit to break.”
After dinner, everyone retired to their designated rooms for the night. The dwarves had graciously prepared the two spare rooms for them. Terrance and Prince Ferdinand shared one, and Bianca and Ming were in the other bedroom.
Ming and Bianca made themselves at home in their little bit of space.
“So…why did Knox want to see you alone earlier?” Ming asked.
“He wanted to give me this.” Bianca pulled the red velvet bag out of her pocket. She poured some of its contents onto Ming’s open palm.
“What are they? I mean, besides awesome lookin’.” Her voice was filled with awe as she gazed at the gem-like apple seeds.
“I don’t know.”
“They don’t look like any apple seeds I’ve ever seen before.” Ming held the ruby red seed against the candlelight and peered into it. “These are cool. What do they do?”
“I have no idea.”
Ming helped Bianca put the seeds back in the bag.
“So what else is new?” Ming chuckled and added, “Another whirlwind adventure with Bianca. What’s going on? Where are we going? She has no clue, but here we go…into the unknown. Seriously, you are the queen of wingin’ it.”
Bianca rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Shut up.” She put the velvet bag back in her pocket. “Anyway, I’ll have to ask Mom as soon as we get back home.”
“Oh good! So we’re going home tomorrow?”
“No, we’re heading to the swamp lands to find the glass slipper,” Bianca said.
“Yeah…no. I’m not going to no swamp, B.”
Bianca’s heart leapt to her throat. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“You’re going home?”
“Ah, yep.”
“What? Why?” Bianca had to control her voice and not scream. Last thing she wanted was to get in a screaming match with Ming just as everyone was trying to go to sleep.
“You promised me a vacation in a castle with a prince. I got one day of princess treatment, and now I’m on a horse in a dirty forest.”
“But look at where we are.” Bianca waved her hands to show the grandness of the cottage.
“This is wonderful, B. But…this is all for you.” Ming put her hand on Bianca’s shoulder.
Bianca shook her head. She didn’t want Ming to leave. But at the same time, she understood why her friend wanted…no, needed to go back home.
“What about Prince Ferdinand?”
“He’s going to have to understand.”
“You’re going to break his heart.”
Ming sighed and combed her ponytail with her fingers. “I don’t know, B. Hearing all that talk about future king of Everafter, meetings, leaders from other realms and all that stuff. I don’t know if I’m ready for any of that.”
“He’s not going to be crowned king tomorrow, you know.”
“I don’t belong here,” Ming whispered.
“He loves you,” Bianca said.
As if that would somehow make everything better.
“I know.”
“Don’t you love him, too?”
“I care about him, but I’m not sure it’s enough for me to leave everything behind.”
Bianca massaged her temples. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this… I thought…”
“I thought so, too,” Ming said.
“What are you going to do while you’re home?”
“Think.”
Bianca nodded.
“I wish I were brave like you, B,” Ming said.
“Half the time, I’m terrified,” Bianca admitted.
“You certainly don’t look it.”
“That’s because you don’t have front row seats to my brain.” Bianca tapped the side of her head.
Ming shook her head and tried not to laugh. “Bianca, you’re my best friend and you know I love you, but I can’t go any farther than this. My mom is all alone back home. At least your parents know where you are. I lied to my mother. I’ve lied to her twice to come to Everafter with you. What if something happens to me while I follow you around in this crazy place? What if I get hurt? What if I die here? Who’s going to tell my mom? I’m her only child. All we have is each other. You know my dad works all the time at the hospital and hardly ever makes any time for us. I hate leaving her all alone. Why do you think we almost always have sleepovers in my house?”
Ming took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if she had finally said everything she needed to say and the weight of the world was no longer on her shoulders. That responsibility was now on Bianca’s hands.
Ming’s words made Bianca fell selfish…and ashamed. She knew better. She should’ve known better than to put Ming at risk. To pretend that nothing was going to happen. That everything would be all right. She was a fool to think that she would be able to protect them all. Three people under her care.
What the hell am I thinking? I should want to go home too.
The last thing she wanted to do was make kind and soft-spoken Mrs. Lee suffer because she was being self-centered.
“Don’t worry. I’ll send you home first thing in the morning. Just be nice to Ferdinand. He really does love you.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Bianca. I really am. I wish I could stick with you the rest of the way. But I just can’t. I know my limits.”
“It’s okay. I should know better. I wish I could go home with you, but I think I’m in too deep to back out now.” Bianca took a deep breath. “Anyway, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, so we should try to get some sleep. Or at least, I should try to get some rest.”
“Okay,” Ming said with a nod.
“Good night.”
“Night, B.”
Ming fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. Bianca could count on her being in a coma-like sleep until the following morning. No matter how hard Bianca tried, she couldn’t fall asleep. All she wanted was a dreamless slumber. That wasn’t too much to ask. Was it?
Bianca’s mind was filled with too many random thoughts. She snuck out and tiptoed into Snow White’s bedroom. It looked different in the dark. The only light that shone in the room was that of the silver moon that clung to the inky midnight sky. Bianca sat on the corner of the bed and enjoyed the rare moment of silence. She was rarely alone. She wondered why that was. It never bothered her…being by herself.
But now? There was Terrance, and she had no idea what to do with him. She thought about what his father William had said to her during her visit: You love him. Plain and simple. What you choose to do with that love will make you or break you.
The last thing she wanted was to hurt Terrance. She wondered how on earth they were going to make their relationship work. There was no way Terrance would go home with her. His parents would be devastated. The only other choice was for her to move to Everafter. That thought made her catch her breath. Not because it would be a difficult decision for her to make, but at how easy it would be for her to leave everyone and everything behind.
As if she had called him with her mind, she heard his footsteps out in the hallway. He stopped at the door and knocked softly. Bianca got up, tried to make as little noise as possible, and opened the door.
“Hello,” Terrance said.
“How did you know I was here?” she whispered.
“I can hear you a mile away.”
“You’re kidding,” she said with a smirk and sat on the corner of the bed.
“I never jest when it comes to my hearing. I hear everything. It’s quite maddening. Every crunch of the leaves, owls hooting, cows mooing, the bloody birds’ chirp, chirp, chirping…” He let out a deep sigh and added, “Everything.” He scratched the back of his neck and took a seat beside her.
“Yikes. Sounds annoying.”
“It is, but it’s something I’ve dealt with my whole life. I’ve learned how to tune out certain things.”
Bianca knew that their polite chit chat was just another way of avoiding what he really wanted to know.
“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing in here,” she whispered as she fidgeted with her fingers.
“The thought did cross my mind,” he replied.
“I just wanted to be here. Where she spent her time. Read. Wrote. Practiced magic. Slept. Where she hid from the world.”
“I can understand that.”
“And Knox gave me these seeds today. I have no idea what they’re for or what I’m supposed to do with them. I was hoping I’d find something in here that would help me, but I’m too afraid to touch or move anything. I don’t want them to be mad at me.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough.”
“How can you be so sure?” she asked.
“Because you’re Bianca Frost and I’ve seen you do incredible things. You’ll find the answer. I know it.”
Bianca sighed and lifted her gaze at him. “You do realize that I’m just a normal seventeen-year-old girl, right?”
“Darling, you are everything but normal.”
She arched an eyebrow and said, “Is that a compliment?”
Terrance smirked. He stood and extended his hand out to her. She took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. She lifted her face, and their lips brushed against each other. They were a breath away from kissing. Terrance pressed himself against her and kissed her on the lips. Bianca gently pulled herself away, remembering where they were. She held his hand, and together, they sat in the hallway just outside of Snow White’s room.
She took a deep breath, drunk with the smell of him. She picked a lock of his hair and twirled it between her fingers.
“Terrance?” Her voice was several notches below a whisper.
“Yes?”
It reassured her to no end, knowing that he could hear her no matter what. She nibbled on her lower lip nervously. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him what was on her mind.
Here goes nothin’.
“What would you say if I told you that I was thinking about staying?”
“In Everafter?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“I think that would be fantastic. But are you sure it’s something you want to do?”
“Well, I’d have to finish school first, obviously, but…you know…what if I stayed?”
“I’d love that.”
“Yeah?”
He kissed her on top of her head and said, “You know I would go to the ends of the earth with you. And if you wish to make Everafter your home, then I will do everything I can to make it happen.”
“Even if it means living in my little brick house?”
Terrance grinned. “I would live with you under a bridge, but luckily for you, I’m not the pauper in this story.”
“Seriously?” Bianca asked.
“I have land not too far from the castle. We could build ourselves a little cottage.”
Bianca gazed at him, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. She noticed the faraway look in his eyes, as though he could see that happeni
ng in the near future.
“Sounds wonderful.” She yawned.
She yawned once more and rested her head on his chest. She fell asleep with his heart beating steadily against her ear and his chest rhythmically rising and falling. She had never been happier and never felt safer than at that particular moment.
Eleven
Sunlight streamed through the window. It landed right above Bianca’s eyelids and awoke her from her deep slumber. Her eyes fluttered open like the wings of a monarch butterfly. She took a deep breath, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and found herself back in the room she was sharing with Ming. She smiled. Terrance had carried her while she slept.
“Ming, wake up,” Bianca whispered.
When she turned to where Ming was supposed to be sound asleep, she found her side of the bed empty.
“What the what?” Bianca muttered.
She checked her watch. Seven o’clock. For as long as Bianca had known Ming, her best friend had never woken up at that time…unless it was Black Friday and they were getting something on sale. Bianca climbed out of bed and looked out the window. She sighed in relief; Ming was outside with Prince Ferdinand.
“Uh-oh.” Bianca quickly remembered the conversation they’d had the previous evening. She was probably telling the prince her plans to return home. Bianca walked away from the window and let them have their privacy.
Bianca was brushing her teeth when Terrance knocked on her door. She swallowed the toothpaste foam because she didn’t know what else to do and opened the door.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning, darling. I trust you slept well?” Terrance said.
“Yeah. Thanks for not leaving me out in the hallway.”
Terrance grinned and said, “You’re welcome.”
“I saw Ming and Prince Ferdinand outside.”
“Yes. From what I gather, they are still in the garden.”
“Anything you wanna tell me?”
Bianca knew that he could hear what they were talking about.
