Page 36 of Switched

“Well, we do!” Harlow snaps, getting angry. “You may hold the key to stopping him. You must start writing the book again and find out the ingredients he needs so we can make sure he doesn’t get his hands on them.”

“No!” Kayla cries. “If she finishes the book, he’ll find her and torture her to tell him its secrets. It’s too dangerous!”

Everyone begins to argue, and Angelina raises her hand for silence.

“Harlow is right. I must finish writing. We all need to know how his story progresses from here,” Angelina whispers. “It’s my duty. I already broke too many fairy promises as it is.” She shakes her head and looks at me. “No wonder he broke my spell. He made it seem like it was part of your deal with him, but in truth, he needed me to finish his story. He always has an ulterior motive.”

“Have you found out anything about this spell he needs to work on?” Flora asks.

“He knows he needs the music of true love to start unlocking it,” she tells us. “And music usually involves an instrument. I know the one he seeks—a golden harp. The only one I know of is in Cloud City. If he has magic beans, he can reach it.”

“He already has magic beans,” I say worriedly. “We saw some in his office when he was at FTRS.”

“Then he can reach the harp,” Angelina says. “If he and his true love try to use it together, he’ll have the first piece of his spell in place. When I was writing the book, I suspected his true love was Alva.”

“That must be why he wanted to come to FTRS in the first place—to find Alva,” Flora guesses. “But he’s out of luck. She’ll be doing no singing in her condition.”

Harlow looks thoughtful. “If he wanted that book to get back to Angelina, it’s curious that it showed itself to Gillian and found its way here.” She tsks. “Careful, Cobbler. I suspect he knows he can play you.”

“I’ve tricked him once,” I say defiantly. “He can’t play me.” I think back to how I thought I saw Alva’s finger move once. “How long do you think your magic will keep Alva trapped in stone?”

“Forever?” Harlow guesses. “That’s my hope.”

“Nothing is forever,” Angelina says. “Not magic, not curses, not happily ever afters. If I complete the book—and I must—and he forces me to tell him the ending…”

I slump down against the wall next to her. I finish her thought. “Then he’ll finish his spell, and Enchantasia as we know it will be done for.”

“Not on my watch,” Harlow says fiercely. She looks at us. “We should all be on alert. Rumpelstiltskin obviously has a plan, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is already in motion.”

Happily Ever After Scrolls

Brought to you by FairyWeb—Enchantasia’s Number One News Source!

Welcome Tea for Prince Sebastian and Princess Beauty’s Family to Be Held at Fairy Tale Reform School This Weekend!

by Beatrice Beez

According to the royal court’s chief sorcerer, the weather should be perfect for Prince Sebastian and Princess Beauty’s Fairy Tale Reform School welcoming this weekend! Reporters have been buzzing around FTRS all week to watch the staff ready what has been described as a “very simple” event for the newest staff members.

“Princes Sebastian and Princess Beauty aren’t ones to make a big fuss about anything,” says a palace insider. “It’s why there was no fanfare when they arrived in Enchantasia in the first place. The pair and their young daughter, Allison Grace, are very shy and prefer to keep things low-key.”

Low-key seems to be the approach the newest royal family has when it comes to everything. Instead of having a castle built on royal court palace grounds, the newest family chose to move into a pop-up castle on the grounds of Fairy Tale Reform School where their daughter attends classes. “No one can understand why they didn’t send Allison Grace to Royal Academy like all the other royals,” sniffs one insider. “Olivina has seen it as a huge snub.”

The prince and princess have obviously paid no mind to the legendary fairy godmother’s worries. “They’re very protective of their daughter,” says the source. And their pop-up castle seems permanent, as the family has added a playground and lovely garden to their property. Those who have seen inside the pop-up castle say it has all the amenities a regular castle would, from a ballroom to a grand kitchen. We wonder if either will get much use. The family is said to have kept to themselves a lot on weekends and usually spends a great deal of time indoors. “Strange, if you ask me,” says the source. “Why wouldn’t you show your daughter off?”

That’s why this Welcome Tea brings so much excitement! Enchantasia can’t wait to see the royal family mingling with other royals, village folk, and students alike! While Rapunzel, who runs FTRS’s Royal Ladies-in-Waiting club, is in charge of the event and is said to be going with an unusual picnic theme, all the stops were still pulled out to get the venue ready. The Dwarf Police Squad has shiny new uniforms to wear as they patrol the school grounds for any sign of trouble. (There should be none. When’s the last time anyone heard of a villain or Rumpelstiltskin lately?) China has been borrowed, oriental rugs have taken the place of picnic blankets, and fried chicken of all things is said to be on the menu. And tea, of course. “Fairy Tale Reform School is looking forward to hosting a lovely party for our newest faculty and their family,” says school spokesmirror Miri. “A good time should be had by all.”

Stay tuned for all the details and magical pictures from Prince Sebastian and Princess Beauty’s Welcome Tea!

CHAPTER 12

The Welcome Party

I’ve never been to a fairy party, but I imagine this is what it would look like. The grounds of Fairy Tale Reform School are twinkling with hundreds of paper lanterns hanging from tree branches, floating on the lake, and lighting the path to a beautiful, blue tent. Inside the tent, members of the royal court are on hand to officially welcome Prince Sebastian, Beauty, and AG to Enchantasia.

Students from FTRS are dressed in their cleanest uniforms and shiniest shoes, while the Dwarf Police Squad patrols the lake to make sure there are no unwelcome visitors. The dwarves look sort of knightly in their flashy, new uniforms. With the sun dipping behind the lake and a sky ablaze with pinks and reds, I have to admit that FTRS looks even prettier than one of those fancy magical postcards.

And Rumpelstiltskin wants nothing more than to see this world I have grown to love wiped from existence.