Ever After High--The Secret Diary of Apple White
Page 6
At least, I hope you’ll get it.
Spring Break starts after lunch today. Some of my friends are going home together. Briar Beauty is going home with Apple White. Rosabella Beauty is going home with Darling Charming. Cerise Hood invited me and Madeline Hatter to her house in the Dark Forest. That was an invitation I was fairy hexcited about. I feel lucky every day that I have such great BFFAs. When I was a little kid, I didn’t really have that many friends, and I didn’t have many sleepovers. Okay, I had zero. A lot of families don’t want the daughter of the Evil Queen sleeping over at their houses. It’s hard sometimes, but not everyone believes that I’m not like my mom. I understand it—I mean, my mom is a legend in Ever After and she’s done some seriously wicked things, and I’m supposed to be just like her. But I’m not, and maybe one day all of Ever After will realize that. So the fact that Cerise’s family wanted me to visit feels good. Her family isn’t like other families. Everyone knows her mom is Red Riding Hood, but no one would ever guess that her dad is… Mr. Badwolf. (Shhh, Diary, that’s a big secret! I can tell you because that’s just like telling myself… but I would never-ever-after tell anyone else that.) Cerise’s parents totally flipped the script!
Maddie said yes to the invitation right away. (Actually, what she said was “Do bees kneel at tea parties? Abso-TEA-lutely!” But that means “I’m in!” in Riddlish.) I definitely wanted to say yes, too. It would be hexcellent to stay up all night talking with Maddie and Cerise. Plus, Cerise’s mom bakes the most delicious pies and cakes, and Cerise said we’d go on a picnic in the woods… but then I thought of home. I miss Cook and her twins, Butternut and Pie. I haven’t seen my father, the Good King, in forever after. I want to tell him about all the fableous things I’ve been up to at school. This was a tough choice.
Go home or visit Cerise and her family?
Then I got a hext message. My dad invited me to sit next to him in the royal box for the Gallant Princes on White Horses race. The race is a big deal. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men go. Princesses and fairies get dressed up and wear the most enchanting hats. Dad rides his horse around the track before the race starts. He invited me to ride next to him. He’s never asked me to do that before, but he says I’m old enough now, and that he wants his spelltacular daughter by his side for all the kingdom to see.
That does it! Decision made. I’m going home for Spring Break for some overdue dad-daughter time.
Spell you later,
Raven
Faybelle Thorn stood in front of the heavy door leading to the tower attic and peered down the empty hallway again. Was she alone? She had to be triple sure. It was against the rules for students to go up in the attic. If she were caught, Headmaster Grimm would probably give her detention again, and she’d spent enough time there already this year.
I won’t get caught, she decided.
Faybelle hesitated for a moment. After the last time she’d sneaked up there, she’d pinkie-promised herself that she’d never-ever-after go again. But Dark Fairies are known to break promises. Even promises they make to themselves.
Faybelle recited a fairy spell, and the heavy chains crisscrossing the door immediately turned as bendy as gummy dragons. She pushed them aside and opened the door.
Faybelle’s skin prickled as she ran up the narrow spiral staircase. Enchanting the door and being inside the dusty tower attic wouldn’t get her into that much trouble. But what she was doing in the attic would—talking to Her. Even her mom, the Dark Fairy who’d cursed Sleeping Beauty to slumber for one hundred years, wouldn’t approve. Faybelle didn’t want her mom to be angry, but she couldn’t help herself. Visiting with the Evil Queen made her feel brave and special. She was the Villain Club president and already Ever After High’s Fairy-to-Fear, but if the students knew that she was talking to Her, they’d be royally petrified.
Just thinking about all that fear made the tips of her wings tingle.
But no one could know. Ever.
Faybelle was wicked, but she wasn’t stupid. The Evil Queen was locked up in mirror prison and hidden away in the attic for fairy good reason. She’d rampaged Wonderland, and then that one time she destroyed Ever After High when Dragonsport was brought back to the school… with Faybelle’s help. But Faybelle really learned her lesson that time. The Evil Queen’s out-of-control evil was dangerously off-book. Even Faybelle knew she needed to stay inside the mirror from now on. But it couldn’t hurt to just talk to her.…