Finding Sleeping Beauty

by Tarrah Montgomery

  The room was silent. The teacher stared with wide eyes. I glanced at Abby, who also seemed surprised.

  Oh no, did I say something wrong? Maybe they speak French differently here. I took my seat again, slumping as much as I could while wearing a corset.

  “Very impressive,” Ms. White said to me. “I can tell you’ve been taught well.”

  Thankfully she directed the class onto the next lesson. Now everyone ignored me except the brown-eyed girl, who turned around to glare at me again. If you could overlook her cold, calculating eyes, she was actually very beautiful with her porcelain features and long, chocolate-colored hair.

  Welcome to Shelley High School! I thought to myself.

  Chapter 7

  Princess Etiquette:

  A Gentleman’s Greeting

  When a princess is introduced to a gentleman, she should give a slight forward inclination of the body, a smile, and an appropriate remark. Since it is a princess’s place to choose whom she will and will not recognize, she should be the first to bow to any gentleman she wishes to acknowledge. If the gentleman is married, she simply greets him with a smile and repeats his name, but if he is unmarried, the princess must wait to be introduced.

  Lunchtime at Shelley High School

  All the rules I had learned about greeting and conversing with gentlemen were useless in this land. Wherever I went, guys greeted me with a casual “Hey.” At first I was horrified and could barely offer a small smile in return.

  “It’s like these boys have never seen a new girl before,” Abby said. “They keep staring at you, Dani.” We sat at a table in the school’s dining room, which was called the cafeteria. Abby’s friends Janey and Trista sat with us. They were really welcoming and nice.

  “They’re waiting for me to make a mistake again.” I looked down at the peculiar food in front of me, which resembled long, squishy worms drenched in red sauce.

  “Whatever,” Abby replied. “Every boy is staring at you because he wants to get to know you, and every girl is staring at you because she wants to be you.”

  I squirmed in my seat. “How do I make them stop?”

  “Oh, give it a couple of days and the novelty will wear off.”

  Will I be here in a couple of days? What if the curse catches up to me?

  “Troy and Nate have joined the bandwagon,” Abby said through a mouthful of the wormy food.

  “What do you mean by bandwagon?” I asked. Sometimes she said the oddest words.

  “I mean they are staring at you too.”

  When I lifted my head to scan the room and found Nate smiling at me. I hadn’t seen him since French class. His cute grin left me breathless.

  “They are so adorable.” Abby sighed.

  “Do you like Nate and Troy?” I asked carefully, cautious to guard my own feelings.

  “Yes, but so does every other girl in school.”

  I looked around the room and found other girls watching the two brothers. The beautiful, brown-eyed girl from French class stared right along with the rest of them.

  “Especially the older one,” Abby added. “I’ve had a crush on him forever.”

  My gaze moved to Nate’s brother. They didn’t look much alike. Nate seemed stronger, while Troy was taller. Where Nate had light-brown hair and brown eyes, Troy had dark hair and green eyes.

  “They own the horse ranch down the road from us,” Abby told me. “If you want to know anything about horses, those boys are the ones to ask. They know everything. They breed horses, raise them, train them, race them . . . you name it.”

  Though I wasn’t an expert, I liked horses, and there was something beautiful about a man and his horse.

  “How long will our lessons go today?” I asked Abby to change the subject.

  “We have three more classes.”

  “Great. Which one is next?”

  “Algebra.” Abby stopped eating. “Please don’t tell me you’re advanced in math like you are in French. You’re not going to recite the answers to every problem, are you?”

  I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “No, I will not embarrass you anymore. I will be silent and quietly observe.”

  “It’s not that you embarrass me. It’s just that sometimes you come off as a little weird.”

  “Point taken,” I said. “Now, can you please tell me what this food is called that I’m supposed to be eating?”

  “I swear, Dani.” She shook her head, giggling. “It’s spaghetti.”

  Spaghetti? Why did I even ask?

  }

  When the school day ended, I followed Abby to her car, breathing deeply to calm myself for the dreaded journey. Just before we opened the doors to climb into the vehicle, someone called out, “Are you girls going to the fair tomorrow?” It was Nate, walking toward us with Troy at his side.

  Once the guys got closer, Abby answered, “Of course. You know my mom makes it a tradition every year to help with the bake-off. Are you two going?”

  “Yep,” Nate said. “We’ve been hired to help with the bull-riding championships tomorrow night.”

  “That’s awesome,” Abby commented.

  I stole a glance at Troy, but he had his eyes on the ground. I wondered why he was so silent.

  “We’re going to help with tie-down roping, too,” Nate said.

  “Wow, how exciting.” She stepped a little closer to him as they talked.

  He looked at me. “Are you going, Danielle?”

  “I don’t know, am I?” I asked Abby.

  “Yes, we’ll be there.”

  “I guess I’m going,” I told Nate.

  “Maybe we’ll see you there.” He nodded his head and motioned to his solemn brother. “Let’s go, Troy.”

  “See you tomorrow,” Abby said.

  We watched the brothers walk to a blue vehicle larger than Abby’s car. I found out later it was called a truck. I was glad I wasn’t riding in something like that—it almost looked like a monster.

  The ride home wasn’t as bad as I had expected. When we arrived at her house, another vehicle was parked out front. “They’re here,” Abby squealed.

  I smiled at her excitement. “Who’s here?”

  “The three fairies.”

  I wanted to squeal too, because I’d found the three fairies my dad mentioned. Now I could hopefully get some answers.

  “Abigail, dear, come give your auntie a hug,” said a cheerful, slender woman as we entered the house.

  When she released Abby, she saw me waiting at the doorway. Unsure how to react, I wrung my hands nervously.

  “Is this the birthday girl?” She smiled and held out her arms.

  I sighed in relief. She must know who I am, since she realizes it’s my birthday.

  I moved into her outstretched arms and held her tight, my heart singing a song of joy knowing she was here to help me.

  “Be gentle, girl. I’m not as young as I used to be,” she said.

  I pulled away. “Sorry.”

  Another woman, golden-haired and stunning, stepped out of the kitchen and joined us. Her blue eyes sparkled. “Is this her?” Her voice almost hummed with its sweet tone.

  “Isn’t she beautiful, Wendy?” said the one who’d hugged me.

  “She looks just like her mother, but she has her father’s eyes.”

  Grateful tears began to cloud my vision. I was so relieved to be among people who knew my parents and knew who I was.

  “Don’t cry, dear,” said the first woman.

  “What did you do, Alice? Did you pinch her?” Wendy teased.

  “Danielle, it’s your birthday,” the one named Alice consoled me. “No time for tears today. We’re here to celebrate.”

  Abby squealed again with excitement. “It’s your birthday? Why didn’t you say something?”

  I shrugged. With the strange and confusing day, I had hardly thought about my birthday until now.

  “Dorothy is frosting the cake,” Wendy said. “We’re going to have ourselves a little party.”<
br />
  I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. “Thank you.” I sniffed. Last night’s ball at the castle was supposed to set off a week of festivities for my sixteenth birthday. Those plans vanished when I came to Idaho. I was sad to miss seeing my family and friends, but with these three ladies involved, my birthday would turn out great.

  “Miss Allie, let’s check on Dorothy and make sure she has bowls and spoons for the ice cream,” Wendy said. The two women walked to the kitchen and left me alone with a beaming Abby.

  “Happy birthday, girlfriend.” She put her arm around me. “Are you fifteen or sixteen?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “Hmm, that makes you a couple months older than me.” She chuckled. “I thought I’d be the big sister in this relationship.”

  “We’re close enough.”

  “Right. Let’s consider ourselves twins.”

  “Sounds great,” I said. “Now tell me about the three fairies. They seem nice.”

  Abby and I peeked around the corner at the three women huddled around the kitchen table, frosting the cake.

  “Wendy is the leader. Allie, or Miss Alice with her British heritage, is always proper, and she is the peacemaker of the bunch. My mom is the schemer, whether for mischief or for good. When these three are together, they really complement each other. They have such a strong bond, it’s like they’ve always been friends.”

  “I can tell.” There was something wonderful, almost magical, about the women.

  “Wendy was an actress long ago, a song lark. She married a guy named Victor and gave up acting to be a mother to her boy, who is now married with a baby of his own. Alice Holt is the youngest of the three. Her husband is Lynn, and they have two children.”

  “Why are they called the three fairies?” I asked.

  “My mom says when they were young, they lived in a kingdom where magic and castles existed. Part of their responsibility was to prevent evil from entering their kingdom. They made a pact to continue to protect their home, thus becoming the three guardian fairies.”

  “Are they actual fairies?” Maybe they guard the portal to Fenmore Falls! That would explain why Dorothy has Nate secure the area by the broken house with the secret door every night.

  Abby laughed. “No, it was just a silly game they played as kids. They had a crazy imagination.” I pretended to think it was funny too, and Abby went on. “But they do have mysteries in their pasts—secrets that hold the friendship together. Each has a romantic and amazing story of her own.”

  For a brief moment, I fell under the fairies’ enchanting spell. Seeing me watching them, Alice asked, “Danielle, how do you like Shelley, Idaho?”

  “It is very unusual.”

  All three women laughed. “I’m sure it’s much different than what you’re used to,” Wendy commented.

  “You should’ve heard her speak French at school,” Abby said.

  Dorothy eyed me carefully. “Did the teacher ask where you learned it?”

  I shook my head. “I’ve realized I need to be quiet from now on, so as not to attract attention.”

  “Let’s hope they don’t move you to a different French class,” Dorothy commented.

  “Never mind that,” Alice said. “It’s time for cake.”

  I smiled. I love cake.

  “I wanted it to be blue, but Wendy wanted it pink,” Alice explained.

  “So, the cake is purple.” Dorothy laughed and showed me the two-layer cake.

  I giggled along with the ladies, then said, “It’s perfect. Thank you so much for remembering my birthday.”

  “Of course we’d remember it, Danielle,” Dorothy replied. “It’s not every day we get a visitor from Fenmore Falls.”

  “Particularly one we haven’t seen for sixteen years,” Wendy added.

  “Wait, you saw me when I was a baby?” I asked.

  “Certainly, dear,” Alice answered. “We were all there for your blessing day.”

  Dorothy came over to hug me. “On that day, we promised your father we would protect you if the curse came true,” she whispered in my ear. “We have been waiting for your arrival.”

  “Are you from Fenmore Falls?” I whispered in return.

  She shook her head. “No, but we all have connections to that magic land.”

  “Are we going to eat cake or not?” Wendy asked loudly, bringing the attention back to the kitchen.

  “Yes!” was the excited consensus.

  “Enjoy your birthday, Princess,” Dorothy said quietly in my ear. “You are safe here.”

  I accepted the piece of cake delivered to me by Wendy and took a bite. Yum! They have great flavors here in Idaho, I mused. Load me up with cake and waffles and I’ll be a happy girl.

  Chapter 8

  Music is a moral law.

  It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind,

  flight to the imagination,

  and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.

  —Plato

  My Third Day in Idaho—the County Fair

  According to Dorothy, a fair was a gathering where people displayed their best produce and their finest animals, and where everyone could enjoy food and entertainment. As Abby and I arrived at the county fair, the noise of the animals, the laughter of the people, and the clatter from the machines were like musical notes floating in the air, inspiring me to compose my next song. It seemed like forever since I had crawled under my bed at the castle and written some music. The plans were already forming in my mind. I wanted to make music for it all—I wanted to draw everything about this moment and remember it forever.

  The fair was in Blackfoot, an oddly named city only twenty minutes away by car. But with how fast Abby drove, it was the most terrifying ride of my life. I wanted to kiss the ground once we arrived at the fair. I would never get used to traveling in a car.

  We stood in line next to a sign that read, “County’s Best Hamburgers.” After what seemed like a long wait (in Fenmore Falls, a princess never has to wait for her food), I sat next to Abby on a bench and held up the “hamburger.” It looked like a flat piece of meat, sandwiched between two pieces of toasted bread. I mimicked Abby and applied various colors of sauces to the meat and then bit into the whole thing. It was surprisingly delicious. I actually licked my fingers after finishing. My mom would be horrified at my lack of manners.

  “Did you know that you wear your heart on your sleeve?” Abby asked when we finished.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I never have to guess what you’re feeling, since your face gives it away. I can tell you are happy right now—you haven’t stopped smiling since we got here.”

  “I can’t help it. This place is fascinating.”

  “And I can tell when you’re nervous. Like your first day of school yesterday. Your smile was more reserved.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” I asked.

  “No, not really.”

  I sighed, knowing my mom would be disappointed in my display of emotions. In Fenmore Falls, women were taught to conceal our feelings. Mom always said, “A princess must hide her emotions and only let the most positive reaction show forth.” That’s why we used fans at formal parties—to cover unwelcome emotions. But I hated hiding my feelings, so I was happy when Abby said it was easy to observe them.

  “Come on. We’re supposed to meet my mom, Wendy, and Miss Alice after lunch.” Abby walked over to a large barrel to dump her plate and remaining food. I did the same with mine. Then we walked through a crowd of people who stood around eating hamburgers, as well as what looked like fluffy clouds on a stick. Some of the children sucked on cups with short poles, and others nibbled at large pickles. This place had the strangest foods.

  I was glad to see that many of the people had cowboy boots like me. I wore the same outfit as yesterday, but Dorothy said we’d buy a couple more dresses for me at the fair today.

  She and the two other fairies waited for Abby and me by the door to a large white building. Wendy and Alice hug
ged me, and I returned the gesture. I still had to remind myself not to curtsy when I greeted someone.

  “You curled your hair?” Alice picked up one of my blond locks.

  “Abby did it,” I explained.

  “I gave her a little makeover this morning,” Abby told them. “She even let me put on mascara and lip gloss. Can you believe her parents never let her own any of that stuff?”

  My parents have never heard of that stuff, I corrected in my mind.

  Alice patted my cheek. “You look beautiful, Danielle.”

  I felt my face go red. “Thank you.”

  “Let’s show you what a produce and baking fair looks like in Idaho.” Alice linked her elbow with mine and we entered the large building.

  Tables scattered around the room were covered with every sort of food imaginable. I saw jars of it, and pies and cakes and cookies, along with piles of every kind of produce in the world. Every table was surrounded by happy little ladies putting the yummy exhibits in order.

  “I’ve stepped into heaven,” I said.

  Alice giggled. “They take things pretty seriously here at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. Winners from other county fairs enter their displays here—it’s a contest of the best of the best. Dorothy, Wendy, and I are on the judging committee. Dorothy complains about gaining a few pounds every year from taste-testing, but the three fairies are the best critics because we know what to look for. Our cooking used to win all of the prizes until they decided to let someone else win. They asked us to be judges instead.”

  I stepped closer to a table of apple pies that smelled wonderful. “I’d love to help you,” I said with a grin.

  Alice wiggled her eyebrows. “You’ll get your chance. They’ll kick out the participants in about an hour, and then the taste-testing will start.”

  Blessed day! This really must be heaven.

  Chapter 9

  Princess Etiquette:

  Dance Lessons