by Liz Dejesus
Bianca took a few steps toward her, careful not to get too close to her enemy.
“Last chance,” Bianca said. “I’ll find a way to help you if you stop now.”
Elda coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood and saliva. Her eyes held the same hateful venom as before. “Never.”
With a single command, the ghost wolf opened its mouth as wide as it could and ate Elda. She shrieked and howled in pain as the fire consumed her in the creature’s transparent belly.
Bianca didn’t release her hold on Wolfie until all she could see were Elda’s bones slowly circling around its ghost-like body.
“Thanks, Wolfie. You were an awesome pet to have.” Bianca gently scratched underneath the ghost wolf’s chin. The little tufts of fur were warm and the air tickled her fingers. The creature gave her a quick smirk and winked at her. She had a feeling that this was not going to be the last time she would see Wolfie.
She cut the connection she had to it and released the spell. The wolf vanished in a spray of yellow-orange sparks. Elda’s bones fell on the cold, stone floor. The snakes that were still alive in the throne room quickly vanished with a puff of smoke.
Bianca fell on the ground and let out a sigh of relief. It was finally over.
Twenty-Four
“Are you all right?” Terrance asked as he ran up to Bianca.
“Exhausted. You?”
“Some of those little bastards got a few nips at me, but nothing life threatening.”
Prince Ferdinand joined the group and sat down beside Bianca. “What a fantastic day.”
“Are you insane?”
“We looked at death in the eyes and lived to tell the tale!” he exclaimed. The prince let out a happy sigh. “Oh, the songs the minstrels will sing about us. Perhaps we should have one follow us on our adventures. What do you think, Terrance?”
His friend chuckled and replied, “I have a feeling that Bianca will take the minstrel’s mandolin and bash you in the head with it.”
“You know me so well,” she replied.
“Hello, Bianca,” a familiar voice spoke from up above.
Bianca frowned and slowly looked up. It was Bluebell. He had finally caught up to them.
“Hey, Bluebell! You’re late. You missed all the fun.”
“Oh no. I was here for the good parts.” Bluebell did several flips in the air and crossed his legs as he hovered in the air. “Her Majesty, Queen Titania, would like a word with you.”
As soon as the words were spoken, a burst of light blinded everyone in the room. When the light subsided, Queen Titania stood before them in a beautiful emerald green gown. She studied the room, as though assessing the damage Bianca and her friends had done.
“Well done, Bianca Frost. Well done,” the fairy queen said.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Bianca replied.
Queen Titania looked down at the floor and quickly inspected the bones beside her feet. She clicked her tongue against the roof her mouth several times. Then, in one graceful swoop, she bent down and collected Elda’s bones. The fairy queen put each of the snake witch’s bones in a white pearlescent bag.
“What are you doing?” Prince Ferdinand asked.
“Collecting what is owed to me. Creatures like Elda have a way of coming back even when you think they’re dead, which was the mistake I made. And if she does return, it will be in my realm, under my care.” She gave Bianca a sweet smile and took a moment to examine her. “I will keep a close eye on you, Bianca Frost. You are an intriguing mortal.” Titania patted her gently on the shoulder and gave her a warm smile.
“What about me, Your Majesty?” Rebekah whispered. She stepped out of her hiding place behind the pillar.
Titania narrowed her eyes and asked, “What about you?”
Bianca was amazed over how quickly the fairy queen was able to change her emotions so quickly. Like turning a switch off and on. One moment, she was polite and warm, then ready to throw ice cold daggers the next.
“She destroyed the slipper, my only chance at being normal. One glass slipper isn’t going to repair the damage that has been done to me.”
“Why do I care? If it weren’t for you, none of this would’ve happened,” the fairy queen countered.
“It’s not fair,” she whimpered as she covered her amphibian face.
“What’s not fair?” Ferdinand asked.
“My face! My hands! These scars! This body isn’t mine! This isn’t me,” she shrieked. She clawed at her face like a rabid cat.
Titania tightened her lips and remained silent for a moment. She turned to Bianca and said, “I will leave it to you to make the decision. But my involvement in this matter ends here.”
Before Bianca could utter a word in protest, the fairy queen vanished, leaving nothing but a trail of shimmery dust on the floor—the only bit of proof that she had even been there.
Bluebell sat on Bianca’s shoulders and observed the scene playing out before them.
“Aren’t you supposed to go with her?” Bianca asked.
“Oh no, I’m staying to observe. This is so much better than watching my friends fight over the last piece of candy,” Bluebell replied.
“Give her the slippers,” Ferdinand whispered.
“What?” Bianca asked.
Bluebell giggled.
“You heard me,” he replied calmly.
“What’s to stop her from wishing us all dead? What’s to stop her from using the slippers to kill your family and taking over the throne?” she argued.
Ferdinand looked into Rebekah’s large, watery-blue eyes and smiled warmly at her.
“Now why would she wish for something silly like that?” he asked.
Once more, Bianca saw a flash of the man Ferdinand would become. The sort of king he was going to be. Her eyes stung with the threat of tears and the hope that surged through her veins. He would be a great king, just like Terrance promised. Bianca took a deep breath and shook her head. She didn’t understand Ferdinand’s reasons, but she trusted him, which was why she did as he asked. She dug into her backpack and pulled out the glass slipper and handed it to Ferdinand.
“But I, I thought…I saw you destroy the slipper,” Rebekah stammered.
“It was a decoy. My friend created a fake shoe in order to deceive Elda,” the prince explained.
Rebekah turned her confused eyes at the prince. She pulled out the other slipper from her cloak pocket and handed it to Prince Ferdinand. Finally, both slippers were together and intact.
“Why did Elda want the slippers anyway?” Bianca asked.
Rebekah sighed and shook her head in shame. “She wanted to use the slippers against Queen Titania. She wanted revenge for what she had done to her.”
“After two hundred years? She was still pissed off after all this time?” Bianca asked.
“From what I gathered, it wasn’t the first time she’d tried to kill the fairy queen,” Rebekah said.
“That I believe,” Bianca replied.
Prince Ferdinand took several tentative steps toward Rebekah and asked, “May I?”
Rebekah nodded and lifted her skirt several inches. She revealed surprisingly small, human-looking feet. Bianca noticed that she had pearlescent webs between her toes.
Ferdinand kneeled before her and gently placed a slipper on each foot and then took a step back. The Frog Queen giggled and cried at the same time. She covered her quivering lips and closed her eyes.
“Please let this work,” she mouthed. “I wish…I wish I were a beautiful, human girl and to be free of my great-grandfather’s curse.”
A swirl of silver quickly enveloped Rebekah. It sealed her inside, as though she were being cocooned in its magic. Slowly, the magic of the slippers unveiled Rebekah.
“My goodness,” Terrance whispered.
“Did it work?” Rebekah carefully touched her new features. Her hands gingerly skimmed over her forehead, ears, nose, and lips. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered in awe. She let out a series
of nervous giggles and then gasped. “I need a mirror. Someone bring me a mirror.”
A servant quickly appeared with a silver hand mirror and handed it to the queen. The moment Rebekah saw her reflection, she covered her lips as her body trembled with sobs. Her long brown hair shimmered with little effort. Her once jade-green skin was the color of caramel and had slightly green-brown undertones. She no longer had bulging eyes like a frog. They were a lovely pale blue like the sky on a cloudless day. Her thin lips broke into an easy smile.
“Is that your only wish?” Ferdinand asked.
“Yes…except this wasn’t at all how I expected to look.”
“What were you expecting?” Bianca asked.
Rebekah grinned. Bianca was surprised to see that she had dimples and that her smile was lovely.
“I don’t know. Prettier, I suppose.” Rebekah studied Bianca’s face, as though she would find the answer to her problems somewhere there. “More like you…” she whispered.
Bianca’s cheeks warmed. She wasn’t used to receiving compliments, even the subtle ones.
“At least no one will be able to call me The Frog Queen anymore. I always hated that name. It is like nails on a chalkboard to me.”
“I’m sorry. We didn’t know,” Prince Ferdinand said.
“It’s quite all right.” Rebekah sighed and gazed out the window.
“What will you do now?” Terrance asked.
“I always dreamt of leaving the swamp lands. This was the unwanted remains that had been given to my great-grandfather, Prince Heinrich Caspar Dietrich. According to my grandmother Adelaide, it didn’t bother him in the least. He always maintained an affinity to the frogs and other creatures he had spent time with while he was cursed to live life as an amphibian. I’ve spent my whole life wishing for a different life.”
She turned her hands over and gazed at her wrists. There was a thin pearlescent line on each. Rebekah caressed the scars on her wrists. Apparently, the slippers had changed everything about her except for that.
“Several years ago, I tried to end my pitiful life. The sight of bright red blood shocked me at first, and then there was sweet relief when I thought of how my suffering would soon come to an end. But what I didn’t expect to see was my self-inflicted wounds suddenly closing up and scarring. Anytime I tried to kill myself, the bleeding would suddenly stop and heal itself. I even threw myself off the tallest tower, and still, I could not be killed.”
Bianca listened to Rebekah, spellbound. She couldn’t believe that Rebekah had actually tried to kill herself. She suddenly understood the young woman standing before her a lot more. She finally got why Rebekah was so desperate to get her hands on the slippers. Anything had to be better than the misery she’d been living through day by day.
Prince Ferdinand wiped a corner of his eye and gave Rebekah a warm smile. “If you’d like, I can see if arrangements can be made for you to visit me in my castle. It will give you the opportunity to speak to my parents about finding another castle. Someplace much more suitable to your new needs. You will, of course, have to apologize for stealing the slipper, but I can persuade my mother to forgive you…just as I have.”
Rebekah beamed, once more flashing the new set of dimples the glass slippers have given her. “Your Highness, I would like that very much.”
“Very well. I will have a messenger send out an invitation to you as soon as we get home. And I would appreciate it if you could give the slippers back, please,” he said as he extended his hand out to her.
She lifted her skirt a few inches and allowed the prince to retrieve both glass slippers with little struggle.
“Thank you, Prince Ferdinand. I suppose it’s true what they say about you.”
“And what is that?”
“That you are a true gentleman and a friend to all.”
Ferdinand gave her a short bow and replied, “Thank you, Rebekah.”
The prince handed the slippers to Bianca. She carefully wrapped up both shoes in a white T-shirt and put them in her black backpack.
“I guess this is goodbye,” Bianca said.
“Not goodbye. More of a farewell,” Terrance corrected.
“Farewell, then.” Rebekah gave them a small curtsy. “And thank you….thank you so very much. I will never forget this kindness you have done for me.”
Terrance reached for Bianca’s hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed her on the knuckles. “Shall we?”
“Yeah, let’s go home.”
Bianca, Terrance, and Prince Ferdinand left the swamp lands. Rebekah didn’t have any horses, so they had to walk. Even though it was going to take them a long time to reach Prince Ferdinand’s castle, Bianca was relieved to finally be on the journey home.
This has to be without a doubt the craziest freakin’ summer of my entire life. She sighed and continued to walk. Ever since she found out she was a witch, her life had become one wild roller coaster ride after another. And to top it off, she had to go back to school soon.
What is that going to be like? I mean, how am I supposed to go back to my real life when I know that there is a chance that something magical and insane might pop up in the middle of math class? How am I supposed to graduate with honors while battling witches, wolves, and God knows what else?
Twenty-Five
It took them a couple of days, but they returned to Ferdinand’s castle and gave the slippers back to Queen Felicia. It was obvious that she was angry with Ferdinand because of what he had done. She certainly wasn’t thrilled to discover several of her guards in a tavern in the opposite direction of Rebekah’s castle. Bianca noticed how the queen struggled to keep her emotions at bay to deal with the important task at hand. But every once in a while, she would narrow her eyes at her son.
“I believe one of these slippers belongs to you,” Queen Felicia said.
“I don’t know if I should take it with me,” Bianca replied.
“There is a reason the slippers have been kept apart for all these centuries.”
“What if someone comes looking for it again?”
“Your family has kept it safe all these years. I know Great-Grandmother Helena would want her slipper under your care.”
Against her better judgment, Bianca reclaimed the glass slipper.
“As for you, my dear son, you disobeyed me. After I told you to stay home.” Felicia turned her unfaltering gaze at Prince Ferdinand.
He lowered his head, but Bianca could see the ghost of a smile on his face. It was obvious that he regretted nothing.
“You are not allowed to leave the castle grounds for a year,” Queen Felicia said.
He snapped his head up and stood up straight. “A year! Mother, please be reasonable,” Ferdinand pleaded.
“I have been reasonable, and all I get in return is a disobedient son.”
“Doesn’t it matter that I helped retrieve the glass slippers? I met three of the surviving dwarves and forged an alliance with the fairy queen!”
“If you wanted to meet them, I could’ve easily arranged for it to happen. As for Queen Titania? She doesn’t forge alliances. She sits idly by and watches as we die one by one. The Summer Queen gets what she wants either way.”
“Mother, please.”
“Enough. Do not make me place guards around you at all times. I hope to be able to trust you after your punishment has come to an end.”
Prince Ferdinand stormed out of the throne room and slammed the door behind him.
“Your Majesty, perhaps a year is too long…” Bianca whispered.
“What will you have me do, Bianca? He is my only son. I have to think about him and our kingdom. He doesn’t understand how important he is to everyone. We have no other heirs. If something were to happen to him, all will be lost.”
“I’m not going to tell you what to do, Your Majesty. But please…just talk to him.”
The queen took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Her nostrils flared and she seemed to take Bianca’s words into consideration. “Beca
use of the great service you have provided for our kingdom, I shall think on your words and the kindness you are trying to show for my son. Your job here is done. Thank you, Bianca.”
“You’re welcome, Your Majesty.” Bianca curtsied.
“Please visit us again. You are always welcome here.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. You’re too kind.”
“Terrance, please take her home. See to it that she arrives safely.”
He bowed and said, “I will, Your Majesty.”
Hand in hand, Terrance and Bianca walked out of the throne room. They snuck out of the castle and delayed Bianca’s departure for a few hours. Bianca wanted to steal every moment she could to be with the man she loved. They found a valley, laid down on the green grass, and gazed at the sky.
“What now?” Terrance whispered.
“I think this is the part where you kiss me until my lips are numb,” Bianca said.
He chuckled. “You know that’s going to happen either way. What I meant to say was what will happen to us now?”
Bianca sighed. “I have to go home.”
“I know.” He held her hand. “I’ll miss you.”
“Me too,” she whispered. Bianca hated this…the uncertainty. The not knowing. She wanted to push the fast-forward button and get to the end of her story. She wanted to know what was in store for them.
“You’ll come and visit me?”
Terrance smiled. “You know I can’t stay away from you.”
Bianca grinned and gave him a tender kiss on the lips.
Twenty-Six
Bianca was home. She breathed in the familiar air and was completely underwhelmed with her surroundings. She had never wanted to get away so badly. All she wanted to do was go back to Everafter and stay with Terrance and never let him go. But she was responsible. She was a good daughter. The last thing she wanted was to cause her parents any more grief and worry.
