“I had no idea we’d have different classes than the boys!” Raina freaks as she reads the scroll containing her schedule.
“Are you really surprised?” Sasha asks, taking notes on her scroll. “Our required reading lists were totally different. Didn’t you ever look at Heath’s?”
Raina slips on a pair of long white gloves. “Who had the time? I was busy pulling together my wardrobe.” She places her RA sash over her head and lays it on top of her pale-pink dress. “How are we going to meet a prince if we aren’t even with them half the day?”
“We have some classes with the boys,” I point out optimistically. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. But it looks like our schedules are different. Sasha and I have your sister’s class in the morning, and you don’t have it until the afternoon.”
Raina snatches my schedule out of my hands and compares it to hers. “Why would they separate us? Ugh, I better not have all my classes with Clarissa. Well, I suppose we’ll just have to wait to meet up until afternoon tea, then.”
I’m feeling Raina’s panic too, but for a different reason. Snow’s class is happening! And I’m in it! But the rest of my schedule looks wonky. How to write a love note? From cha-chas to charming princes? Why should the boys be the only ones who learn how to slay a giant or a dragon? Where are the classes that are supposed to teach us how to rule a kingdom? Lily flicks her tongue at me as if to say “too bad!” And she’s right, I guess. I promised Olivina I would behave like a princess, and a real princess would love the classes I got…I think.
I glance in the mirror and attempt to straighten my tiara. I try not to think about how it is pinching my skull. I slip into my not-very-comfortable but Marta-approved shoes, and smooth out the creases in my pale-green organza dress, taking some satisfaction in the fact that it has a hidden pair of pants underneath.
(I have to hand it to Marta. When she goes for a trend, she goes all in. She put purple polka-dot pants in all my gowns and promised we’d keep the secret just between us.)
It’s showtime.
“You’re so lucky, miss!” Brynn looks over my scroll. “This schedule seems wonderful!”
Now I feel guilty for even wanting to complain. Brynn wants to take classes so badly. “I’ll share all my notes with you after class tonight,” I whisper in her ear as she snaps a pearl necklace around my neck. Brynn beams.
“I’m skipping today’s meet-up,” Sasha says. “I’ve got to finish the Enchantasia Insider, and I want to get it out tonight. I only got four hours of beauty sleep last night. There’s still so much to write and edit. And besides, any prince that wants to meet me should have to work to find me.”
“Is that allowed?” I ask hurriedly. “If so, I think I’ll skip too.” I don’t really feel like mingling with princes today.
“I think so,” Sasha says. “Did you guys see Olivina’s class was canceled for today? How could she miss her first day?”
My chest tightens at the sound of Olivina’s name. Sasha looks at me strangely, and I realize I’m biting my strand of pearls.
“Oh, Sasha, stop being all sleuthy.” Raina takes off the gloves and adds a few beaded bracelets to her arms instead. “Olivina is a busy fairy godmother! I’m sure she’s just off granting some all-important wishes that couldn’t wait.”
“Maybe,” Sasha says, but I can see the wheels in her writer brain working.
I’m not saying a word. “How do I look?” I ask the group.
“Like a future queen!” Milo’s mirror has come alive in a swirl of gold and silver. I jump at his voice. I forgot someone is always watching here. “Remember…to wear a crown, you have to not just look the part, you have to follow the protocol set forth for someone of your stature. Put your best slippered heel forward!” The mirror’s glow goes dark.
Raina ties a bow atop her head and smiles. “I can tell this is going to be a great first day. Now let’s get going. I want to be first to class. Remember: the early princess gets the prince!”
Even after studying a map, I see the castle is bigger than I realized. A wrong turn can land you in any number of rooms. I already accidentally walked into an incredibly elaborate powder room that reminded me of Mirror Image, a beauty store in Enchantasia, and a full-blown armory.
It doesn’t help that the hallways are so crowded. I keep getting bumped by princes carrying gear to their first class (Brute Strength: Practice Makes Prince Perfect!) and princesses heading to primping sessions in the Royal Underground. Eventually, we find our way to Snow’s classroom, which has horse posts outside the large double doors. Excitedly, I head inside and find…wow!
There are two aisles of pens and cages filled with very vocal animals. I spot a cougar, a leopard, and a ball python kept separate from horses and a flock of geese. In the center of the room, Princess Snow is busy setting things out at a large table. She’s got snacks and bandages, and look! There’s even a tiny stethoscope. This is exactly what I was hoping for! She sees me and waves me over.
“Hi, Devin. Excited about today’s first class? I know I am.” Snow’s dark eyes are hopeful. “I’ve wanted to teach a class like this for so long! I just hope the students are open to learning. I’ve already had a gentleman tell me that he’s allergic to dragons.”
Logan. I don’t see him. Maybe I should start checking under the tables. “I think he’ll be okay.”
Snow nods. “I just want things to go well so we can keep this class and add others like it. The royals have to keep moving forward, as Professor Pierce and I like to say.” She half smiles. “And I have such great creatures to introduce you all to.”
A carrier pigeon dives low, almost nailing me in the head, and drops a rolled parchment on the table. Before flying off, he looks at me and coos. That woman is crazy!
What woman? I want to ask.
Snow reads the parchment and frowns. “Oh. But…well…” Snow sighs. “This certainly changes things,” she says. I catch a glimpse of the signature before she folds the note and slips it in her apron. It’s from Olivina. “If you’ll excuse me, I should start class.”
I wonder what that was about. No matter. Class is starting! I take my place next to Sasha, who is with a group of princesses standing next to a pen of baby goats.
Snow claps her hands. “Hello, everyone! As you know, Creature Comfort is a new course I’m proud to introduce this year. I don’t want anyone to be nervous,” she adds, glancing Logan’s way. (He didn’t bail after all!) “It’s my goal for each of you to become more comfortable around our animal counterparts. They’ve been wonderful friends to me, and they can be the same for you. Any animal can be a help, from the largest rhino to the smallest bumblebee.”
“A bumblebee?” A prince and his friends burst out laughing.
I glare at them. “Bumblebees are really smart,” I say. “Did you know they can see color? And they can even do tricks. I once taught one to roll a ball.”
“Roll a ball?” The prince looks skeptical. “Please stop talking, blondie.”
Sasha touches my arm. “Ignore him,” she whispers. “Derek Hoffstater’s older brother dated my first cousin, and the whole family is pompous. Don’t engage.”
I bite my tongue.
“Thank you, Devin,” Professor Snow says gently. “Now, I know this class is coed, but it has just been decided that princes and princesses will be split up for different exercises.” Snow smiles apologetically.
Come again?
“Girls, you’re going to stay where you are, while the boys will be working on our secret project, which is down the hall in our meet-and-greet animal room.”
“Meet-and-greet?” Logan looks at me pleadingly.
“It will be quite enlightening. Follow me,” says Snow, looking uncomfortable. “Girls, if you wouldn’t mind each getting a bowl of pine nuts ready, we’ll use them when I come back.”
I look at Sasha. “They get to do a secret project in the animal meet-and-greet room, and we get pine nuts?” I grumble.
“I’m sure we’re using the same animals,” Sasha says, but I’m not convinced, especially when Snow returns with a small box.
Snow makes eye contact quickly with me. “Now, this wasn’t scheduled, but I’m sure it will still be fun. Presenting your first animal friend…the chipmunk!”
“Awww,” chorus the princesses.
The chipmunk? I’m offended. So is the chipmunk, who makes a small chittering sound. What’s up with this crowd? Know where I can find a good pine nut?
“What’s he saying?” Sasha asks me, but I’m too annoyed to answer her.
Neither the chipmunk nor I are any happier when we learn today’s “skill” is learning how to make our animal friend feel comfortable enough to crawl onto our skirts. Chipmunks are notoriously not cuddlers, even when they like you. And princesses are notoriously not known for activities where they can be pooped on. But, at Snow’s bidding, the princesses reluctantly get down on the floor, cooing and smiling at the chipmunks to try to entice them to come closer—with varying degrees of success. Next, Snow shows us how to get our chipmunks to eat a pine nut out of our palms.
“Can you tell mine to sit on my lap, at least,” Sasha complains as she waves the nut wildly at her chipmunk. “I don’t want to fail my first assignment.”
“I told you. Move slowly and ask nicely. Chipmunks appreciate your patience, and they love people who are very calm,” I tell her. My chipmunk is sitting on my shoulder.
Sasha tries bird noises, catcalls, and even a few neighs to try to get the chipmunk’s attention, but he won’t budge. Her chipmunk looks at mine and chitters, And they said this class would be fun? I’m bored.
Me too, I want to tell them. All we’re learning today is how to feed a chipmunk? I look at Snow, who is going from princess to princess and giving advice. Every few minutes she runs back to the other room. I can hear loud talking coming from down the hall, and I’m so curious…and jealous. Is this really what she had planned for us today?
“What are the boys doing anyway?” I ask Sasha. If only I could see!
Sasha shrugs. “No clue. Maybe it’s dangerous. Why don’t you ask the chipmunk? Maybe he knows.”
The chipmunk looks at me. No clue.
“He doesn’t know. And besides, dangerous? Creature Comfort?” I start to laugh.
Thump.
Thump.
The ground beneath us starts to shake. The glasses on Snow’s desk start to move. A vial of beet juice shatters on the floor. Animals in the pens get restless. The cougar lets out a low growl. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have laughed at that dangerous part. What are the princes doing down there?
“Students, if you will just excuse me for a second…” Snow starts to say, but she’s drowned out by a loud roar.
I inhale sharply, half-excited, half-terrified as I smell a hint of smoke in the air. “Dragon,” I whisper.
“Dragon?” Sasha repeats as we hear a commotion down the hall.
Both of our chipmunks hear this and start to run. I’m out of here! they chatter.
The boys’ room bursts open and princes come flooding out, some screaming. Logan is leading the pack.
“Derek let the dragon loose!” Logan shouts. “Run!”
He dives under a desk seconds before a giant, greenish-gray beast bursts through the double doors behind him. His eyes are red and wild as his head searches left, then right, for what I assume is the exit.
“Loose?” Snow cries. “You were supposed to study the eggs. Not engage with the dragon yet! That’s an upper-level skill! Why did Olivina suggest a dragon on day one?” I hear her mutter.
All I can do is stare in awe as others take off running. The dragon is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen! Its scales are almost translucent and its wings so expansive that I’m sure at full width they could cover the entire room. One claw is the size of my whole body, and the tail might be the length of my dorm room. I should be scared, but instead my mind is racing with questions. Where does it call home? How do dragons store up enough fiery breath to take out a whole village?
“Devin, let’s go!” Sasha calls, snapping me out of my fog. “You are not trying to talk to that thing!” The girls around me almost trample their chipmunks in their quest to get to the exit. Students stream into the hallways screaming “Dragon! Dragon!” I sweep a bunch of chipmunks up in my arms and place them back in their box, then close the lid just to be safe.
Click! Click! Click! Snow is moving slowly toward the dragon while making a clucking sound with her tongue.
The dragon stops walking around long enough to look at her.
“It’s okay. Come with me now,” she coaxes.
Thump! It whacks its large tail against the floor.
I hold my breath and wait for the fire to start, but the dragon ignores Snow. He’s searching and sniffing alcoves. One contains the horses, who start to neigh furiously. A steed breaks from its holding, galloping down the aisle and out the classroom doors, distracting the dragon and sending students diving out of the way.
“Come on, men!” says Derek. “Let’s get this beast back into its cage. Draw your swords!”
“Don’t hurt him!” Snow cries. “He’s just scared. Stay back! I can control him!”
“Charge!” Milo’s voice booms from a mirror in the room. “Charge, young princes! The headmistress demands you step up and send this creature back to its holdings.”
“No!” Snow protests.
“And you, Professor Snow, should plan on having a meeting with the headmistress when this situation is contained,” Milo snaps. “It’s obvious this class is way too dangerous for our young royals.”
“This was an accident!” Snow protests, arguing with…um…the mirror. “We weren’t even supposed to study dragons today! All the students were supposed to meet unicorns! Olivina made the switch. I certainly wouldn’t have suggested a creature like a dragon, who could cause damage when let loose.”
“That is all,” says Milo. “The princes will deal with this.” His mirror goes dark, and the dragon roars again.
Sasha pulls me into an empty alcove. “The nerve of him, telling Snow what she can and can’t do!”
“You heard her!” I seethe. “We weren’t even supposed to meet a dragon today. What is Olivina doing?”
“Devin!” Logan comes sliding toward me, staying low and ducking so the dragon doesn’t spot him. He’s out of breath. “The dragon. I can’t believe I’m—Achoo!—saying this, but it’s not—Achoo!—its fault!”
“What do you mean?” I whisper as the dragon begins cawing like it’s calling for someone. Another dragon? The call sounds desperate, but I can’t understand dragon.
“Derek didn’t just let the dragon out. He stole one of the dragon’s eggs!” Logan tells me. “He was saying something about it being worth a ton of gold. He took one, and the dragon saw. That’s when he burst out. I think he’s looking for it.”
Of course! The dad dragon is looking for his baby! His caws are getting more and more desperate. So are the actions of the princes. They brandish their swords at the dragon, coming close to nicking his skin. This only agitates the creature more.
“We have to find that egg,” I say. “But we can’t let the dragon leave this room. He could end up hurting people.” I can’t say this for certain of all dragons, but this one doesn’t seem interested in hurting anyone. Yet.
“I’ll find the egg,” Sasha volunteers. “Logan, help me find Derek. He can’t be far.”
“Oh, I—Achoo!—can’t,” Logan says. “I’m allergic.”
“To dragon eggs?” Sasha asks. “We have to get that egg back, or the dragon will rip the school apart looking for its baby!” She grabs his hand, giving him no choice. “Now come on!”
“I’ll stay here and hold the dragon off,” I say. “Go quickly!”
ROAAARRR! The dragon knocks over two bookcases, and Snow and the few remaining students in the room start to scatter. One of the princes pokes the dragon hard, and it screeches.
“Back away from that dragon!” I shout, and everyone looks at me.
The prince nudges me with his sword. “You back up, princess. This isn’t a job for you.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“Devin, wait!” Snow warns, but I ignore her.
“It is if you keep screwing up!” I pull the sword out of his hand. The princes around him gasp. “You back up. You’re scaring him! It’s only going to make things worse.”
“This is not your jurisdiction, princess,” says another prince.
It’s clear I’m not going to get any help from the guys. I have to try to help the dragon on my own. “Are you looking for your baby? Your egg?” I ask the creature. “Don’t worry! We’re going to bring it back to you. We just need you to stay calm and wait.”
“Devin, you can’t!” Snow sounds frantic. “I know it’s hard to sit back, but let the princes find this egg if that’s what’s really going on. It’s their job.” I open my mouth to protest. “They’ll restrain the dragon. Please! I can’t let this happen to another student, not after Tara…”
I’m about to ask, “Who’s Tara?” when the dragon bounds in front of me and cocks its head like it’s listening to what I have to say. His face comes dangerously close to mine. “Nice dragon,” I say, trying not to sound frightened. Just one of his teeth is as big as my head.
“It’s going to attack Princess Devin!” The first prince grabs another boy’s dagger and stabs it into the dragon’s tail.
The dragon roars so loudly that the ground shakes violently. Seconds later, it opens its mouth.
“Duck!” I cry as fire rains down on the room.
Snow’s table is the first casualty. Two pixies race into the room to put the fire out with mini magical sparkles, but the dragon is still breathing fire. The princes dive at the dragon.
“No!” I cry again.
“Devin! We have it!” Sasha holds the egg high above her head as she races back into class. Logan is right behind her, grinning triumphantly. “We have the egg! Logan hit Derek! You should have seen… Oh!” She screams as fire shoots in her direction.
The dragon thinks Sasha stole the egg! “Sasha!” I run toward her. “Put the egg down and back away. No one move!”
Sasha gently places the egg on the floor, then walks backward slowly till she’s next to me. We hold our breaths.
The dragon sniffs the egg, poking it with his nose before carefully picking it up with his teeth. He snorts in my direction, and I have to imagine he’s thanking us.
We watch as he heads back the way he came. Snow hurries after the dragon to lock him up. She looks back at me worriedly, but I’m smiling. I met a real live dragon!
“You guys did it!” I hug Logan and Sasha.
“We all did!” Logan says with a laugh. “I hit a prince and spoke to a dragon and—Achoo!—I’m still alive!”
Sasha starts to laugh too. “And I helped save the day! Wow, that felt good!”
Then we hear a voice behind us.
“Miss Devin, Miss Sasha, and Mr. Logan!” Hazel is out of breath as she clings to what’s left of our door. She looks furious as she looks around at the charred remains of our classroom. “You…you…you three are in major trouble.”