Chapter 20

No Looking Back

Poof! We land in Olivina’s private quarters.

“What’s going on? Where are we? Is this another test?” Logan panics.

Raina comes rushing over to help us up, and I’m so surprised that I fall back down. “What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I’m so sorry,” she says hurriedly, her eyes wild. “I was only trying to help! I thought if Heath and I could tell Olivina what Brynn overheard, we could clear everything up.”

I back away, shaking my head. I feel my heart tighten. No. We were so close to getting out of here. To exposing her. But now Raina’s exposed us first.

“I wanted to defend you so you didn’t get another strike. I was trying to protect you! I didn’t know she… I was trying to fix things.” She starts to sob.

“Raina, what did you do?” Sasha whispers.

“She told me everything, of course,” Olivina says, her face coming into the light. She has Heath held firmly by one arm. “A pity, really. She did the right thing. Well, the right thing for me, at least.”

“I was just trying to help Snow,” Heath tells me. “I didn’t know we were headed here.”

“Now Snow has no idea where her two darling siblings are, poor thing,” Olivina tsks. “What will I be forced to tell her? How can I break it to her that her siblings went astray?”

“We didn’t!” Raina cries. “I was trying to set things right.”

“Isn’t that what those in the wrong always say?” Olivina says with pity. “I’m sure Devin didn’t think sharing what she learned about my conversation with Hazel would cause any harm to her friends, or that her actions in the tower would cause Ella to stand up against me. Just like Sasha didn’t think I knew she was sneaking around trying to learn what I was up to.” Olivina shakes her head. “If only you two could have kept your noses clean. Then poor Heath, Logan, and Raina wouldn’t be in the same predicament you two are.” Raina cries harder.

An uncomfortable feeling creeps over me, the same feeling I get when I sense danger in the woods. “This has always been about you, hasn’t it? It’s never been about what we need. It’s about what we can do for you.”

“I wanted you to learn to be a proper princess,” Olivina insists. “That’s my job!”

Sasha butts in. “No, you want us to be incapable of doing anything on our own. You don’t let the princesses learn how to do anything for themselves, and you keep the princes busy with protecting the princesses. Then, when anything important happens, we only have one option… Wait for your help.” Her eyes widen. “Help you give to royals when it suits you the most. Well, I’m not my sister. I don’t just sit around and wait!” Sasha is shaking with fury. “You keep the royal court in line by making sure they always need you to help them make decisions. My sister thinks she can’t function without you. That’s how you always make sure you’re the one who saves the day.”

“You insolent children!” Olivina is fuming. “You know nothing about what it takes to run a kingdom. I made the royal court! Ella was a dirty little commoner, crying by the fireplace, before she met me. I lifted her up and helped her stop being so weak. Guided her on how to help her people and run a kingdom. I taught her everything she knows. And your sister,” she spits out, turning to Heath and Raina. “She was so naive that she took a comb from a wicked old crone without a second thought. If it wasn’t for me directing that witless prince, she’d still be asleep.

“And that’s to say nothing of Princess Rose,” she adds, sneering at Sasha. “But we all know how useless she is without me going into it. The royal court would be nothing without me. I pull the strings. I make the plays. Enchantasia is mine!” She clutches the back of a chair and pants with anger.

The five of us stand in complete shock, staring at the beloved fairy godmother.

“You’re a puppet master, and we’re the puppets,” I say in realization. “What kind of school is this?”

Olivina sighs deeply and throws up her hands, then pulls a black wand out of her robe pocket. Her expression changes.

“Clever, clever children. I’m impressed you figured me out. I foresaw some of you having great power and being strong rulers.” She glances my way. “I thought we could be allies, but you’re just a bunch of meddling troublemakers. Even you, Raina! Running to me for everything! Well, now that you know the truth, I’ll have to clean up your mess.”

“You won’t get away with this,” I say, my voice barely more than a whisper.

Olivina’s eyes flash. “Watch me.” She begins to wave the wand in the air, and I know what’s coming. There’s nowhere to run.

“Wait! You can’t just get rid of us!” Raina is frantic as Heath pushes her behind him. “My sister will wonder where we are. The royal court will send out a search party. They won’t stop till they find us.”

Olivina smiles wickedly. “I know. And who do you think they will trust to lead the search for a group of beloved first-year students?” Her face darkens into an evil smile. “Enjoy your banishment.”

“No!” Raina shouts.

But it’s too late. Olivina points her wand toward us and… Poof!

This time, I land hard on a patch of dirt. The world is dark and quiet, except for the soft rustling of leaves and the cry of a wolf in the distance. We must be in a forest. I reach in my skirt pocket and pull out Lily. She sticks out her tongue at me so I know she’s thankfully fine.

Dizzily, I slowly sit up and see the others.

“This can’t be happening!” Raina cries. “We’ve been banished!”

“Because of you!” Sasha shouts. “You had to run to Olivina behind our backs. We were going to expose her!”

“I was trying to save you!” Raina shouts.

“You were trying to save yourself!” Sasha argues.

“Now we’re in the middle of nowhere, and Olivina is going to see to it that no one finds us.” Logan pulls himself into a ball. “Except maybe—Achoo!—dragons!”

“How long have you all known Olivina is evil?” Heath cries. “Why did no one tell me?”

“Because you were too busy flirting with princesses!” Raina snaps.

As the group argues, Lily climbs up the front of my dress and plucks at the neckline. It takes me a minute to figure out what she’s trying to tell me. Then I remember: the note Anastasia gave me! It seems like a lifetime ago that I stashed it down my front. I unroll it and look at the handwriting. It’s familiar.

All is not lost. If anything, it’s just the beginning. But to get through it, you need to be ready for anything.

This is Professor Pierce’s handwriting. I’m sure of it! I remember it clearly from the magical chalkboard. It’s nice advice, but what does it mean? And more importantly, did he know we’d get banished?

“Now we’re alone in some spooky woods without food, water, or a sensible pair of shoes!” Raina is shouting. “No one will ever find us! She’ll say a villain took us. She’s made us outcasts!”

How do you stop the most powerful fairy godmother there ever was?

How do you prove she’s actually evil and controlling everything we’ve ever known to be true in Enchantasia?

I look back at Professor Pierce’s note. I guess we need to be ready for anything, whatever that means. It would be great to have some help though. Like from someone who’s fought the system and won. Wait. Ready for anything. Where have I seen that phrase before? I know!

“Get up,” I tell the others excitedly. “We have to get moving before the sun comes up. We don’t want her to be able to see where we’re going.”

Sasha is the first standing. “Where are we going?”

The others gather around as I walk into the shadows of the trees. The sunflower meadows shouldn’t be too far a walk from here. I smile giddily, thinking of who I’m finally going to meet. My idol. “We’re going to find Red Riding Hood.”