“Absolutely not! We are not helping them!” says the blue mouse. The mice are huddled together talking, but they’re not exactly being quiet. We can hear everything they are saying.
“They just saved your life!” Corden argues, his face turning red. “I don’t think they’re here on Olivina’s orders. They’re lost. Just like we were.”
“Yeah, come on, Tara,” says the red mouse as it shrugs out of its costume and reveals a girl with red hair and a face covered in silvery glitter. “They’re just like us—banished. Why can’t we help them? We have the room.”
“Yes, but we are not taking in strays!”
“Strays?” Logan repeats, looking at me. “I feel like a cat.”
“We’re sticking together. Just the three of us. That was our rule,” Tara, the blue mouse, says.
“Rules change,” says the girl with shimmer on her face.
Tara sighs and steps out of her costume. Raina gasps. The girl is beautiful. She has dark-amber skin, and her hair hangs in at least six braids that swing as she paces back and forth. When she turns to talk to Corden, I glimpse a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. “No. Rules keep us safe. This is my forest, and they’re trouble! I can tell. We cannot take them home.”
I bristle. My forest? Who says, “My forest?” As if anyone could actually own the forest! The forest belongs to every living creature in it, not a girl who tricked us into believing she was a mouse and tried to send us over a waterfall.
“We can’t just leave them out here,” says Corden. “They won’t survive.”
“We were doing fine on our own before you grabbed us.” I look to my friends for backup.
Logan shakes his head. “Not really.”
“Not even a little bit,” Sasha agrees.
“I don’t care. They can’t stay,” Tara says again. “They’ll draw too much attention. She’s never banished this many students at once before. We were all banished separately.” Her face darkens. “This situation has trouble written all over it.”
“Plus, there is the firebird feather.” Logan holds it up. “That’s another bad omen.”
“Whose side are you on?” Heath asks. “Look, we don’t want to move in to your…camp or whatever it is you have out here.”
“Yeah!” I second. Who needs this Tara and her bossy ways? We can figure this out without her.
“We’re just tired. Dirty. Hungry.” Heath gives his famous heart-melting smile. “If we could make camp with you for one night, we’d be on our way tomorrow.” The girl with shimmer starts to giggle.
“It’s one night, Tara. Let them stay,” she says.
“Do you have a pop-up castle? Or maybe a luxury tent? I’d be fine with either,” Raina says.
Shimmer girl opens her mouth. “It’s…”
Tara clears her throat. She looks at her and Corden. “Fine. They can stay for one night, Prue. Then they’re on their own.”
“Thank you!” Raina starts walking. “I am desperate for a wash, and I’d love some moisturizer. I don’t suspect you have those all the way out here, do you?”
Corden grins. “Of course I do. Skin gets too dry out here without it. I make my own, actually.”
Raina loops her arm through his. “Will you share some?” Sasha, Logan, and Heath follow them.
“So where are we heading, anyway?” I grumble to Tara. “You didn’t actually say.”
She barely looks at me. “You’ll see when we get there.”
Ogre’s breath, she’s secretive! Now I’m dragging my heavy, dirty skirt through the mud, wishing I was wearing pants, while her and her non-mouse buddies carve a path through some heavy brush for us.
Humph! A flicker of movement on a nearby tree, and my heart flutters when I see it’s Lily. I haven’t seen her since the firebird attack. Smart little bearded dragon. I knew she’d find us again! I scoop her up and slip her into my skirt pocket.
Sasha appears at my side and whispers in my right ear. “It’s her, isn’t it?” She doesn’t wait for my response. “It has to be!”
“Who is her?” I ask, glaring at Tara as she walks ahead of me.
“Tara! She’s the princess who was banished before us,” Sasha says excitedly, as if this should be obvious. “Think about it: How many Taras in the kingdom do you know? She looks around our age—probably a year older—and she’s hiding out in the forest with two friends who are equally worked up about Olivina. It’s her!”
I’m too flabbergasted to respond. This girl is the Tara? The one who was on to Olivina before we even arrived? Naah…
Sasha’s blue eyes widen. “If it’s her, Tara might know something about Olivina we can use to get out of this banishment. I know what you’re thinking: Why do I want to reverse the banishment? It’s not like I want to go back to RA to study, unless someone else takes over who is more progressive in their teaching methods, but I don’t want to be banished from the kingdom.”
I point to the trees around us. “If you haven’t noticed, this Tara seems happy in the woods and wants us gone. I don’t think she’s interested in figuring out how to reverse our banishment.”
“She knows something.” Sasha is pensive. “Look at her.”
We both study the girl leading the way. She keeps looking around like she’s worried something’s going to jump out and attack us.
“Maybe.”
Sasha prides herself on her sleuthing skills, so I let her run with the theory. She’s got to be a good reporter to run her own fairy-tale blog—the Enchantasia Insider. Few people know Sleeping Beauty’s younger sister runs the blog. I still feel guilty she won’t be able to publish it now that she’s been banished.
“Unless she’s hiding out till she figures out how to take down Olivina and gathers more allies to stop her,” Sasha adds. “Allies like Red! I’m telling you: This is the princess Olivina doesn’t want anyone knowing about. Olivina’s afraid of this girl. The question is: What does she know about the fairy godmother that we don’t?”
“Did you say this air is making you bloat?” Heath whispers, appearing on my other side. “Because I agree. I never would have eaten three slices of roast pheasant last night if I knew I’d be hiking the forest before dawn this morning.”
Logan holds his stomach. “Oh, roast pheasant.” He shakes his head. “I miss having access to a kitchen already.”
I feel my stomach tighten. Like Sasha, Logan never would have been mixed up in this mess with Olivina if it hadn’t been for me. Helping me save that baby dragon egg, fighting gargoyles, disobeying the school rules—him being involved was all my fault.
“Never hike without water,” Heath lectures. “This one time, we were climbing down Hobshead Canyon, and a pack of wolves showed up out of nowhere and—”
“Heath! Focus! We were talking about Tara,” says Sasha. “We think she’s the princess who was banished from RA before us.”
Heath leans against a tree to think. The trunk has a WANTED poster for Robin Hood on it. He’s legendary in these parts for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor—and he’s never been found. “Tara… Should I know a Tara? She doesn’t look familiar, and believe me, I know most of the young ladies in this kingdom.” He winks at us, and we both roll our eyes.
“We think she had our dorm room before us,” I supply. “But we could never figure out why she was banished. Snow knew her but wouldn’t say what happened.”
“We should find out her last name,” Heath suggests. “Maybe then we can figure out what royal family she’s part of.”
“Good idea! We will have to find out a way to ask her. Maybe she arrived at Royal Academy a totally unknown royal.” Sasha looks at me. “Kind of like you.”
I try not to bristle. Tara and I are nothing alike.
Tara looks back suspiciously. “All okay back there?”
“We’re fine,” Heath tells her, “but if you’d like a hand with blazing that trail, I can help.” He flexes his biceps.
Tara gives him a withering glance. “I’m fine on my own, thanks, but stay close.” She shields her eyes and looks upward. “A storm is coming. We need to be inside before it gets here. I know the way around this forest better than anyone.”
“Again with this?” I mumble.
Heath nudges me. “What’s wrong with you? Aside from the fact we’ve been ejected from the kingdom?”
“I’m fine.” Aside from being ejected from the kingdom. “I just don’t trust her…or them.” Up ahead, Raina still has her arm around Corden and the two are laughing.
“Why? They didn’t abandon us. They’re taking us back with them,” Heath argues.
“After originally trying to make us disappear for setting foot on their property,” I remind him. I watch Tara closely.
“It was a misunderstanding!” Sasha counters. “We’ve smoothed things over. We’ve got a place to stay for a day, and we can use that time to learn who they are, what they’re doing out here, and why they were banished. Hopefully, they can put us in touch with Red too. It’s going to be fine.” She nudges Heath and me forward. “Now let’s try to be more social and make nice. Trust goes both ways, you know.”
“But your mice costumes looked so real,” I hear Raina say as we approach the group. “They were brilliant! How did you make them so lifelike? I never would have known you were human. Never!”
“Thanks,” Corden says as he helps Raina over a rock in her path. His nails are painted black, and he’s wearing eyeliner. A skull earring dangles from his right ear, and another skull appears on his weathered black-leather vest. Underneath he has on a white shirt that looks fashionably distressed and bright-red leather pants. “I’ve been working on those costumes for a while now. Sewing is a hobby of mine.”
“Hobby?” Tara repeats, turning to look at Raina. “Don’t let him fool you. Corden is a master of disguises. How do you think Robin Hood’s Merry Men get around without being seen? Last week, Corden dressed a bunch of them up as garden gnomes. Every time someone turned around, they froze. It was excellent!”
Corden shrugs. “It was all right. My best costume so far was a black bear. Friar Tuck was able to get into the Three Little Pigs restaurant without anyone bothering him.” He starts to belly laugh. “You should have seen it! The pigs went running. I even gave Tuck a voice changer, which gave him a ferocious growl.” Raina’s pink mouth widens in an O shape.
“And the costumes disappear seconds after taking them off, so there’s no evidence,” Prue adds. “It’s Corden’s most amazing trick.”
“A better trick would be getting you to let me give you a makeover.” His pale-blue eyes widen. “I am dying to try some of these face elixirs and lip stains I’ve made on someone, but both Prue and Tara are anti-frills. I am in desperate need of a muse.”
Raina grabs Corden’s arm’s tighter. “Search no further; I’ll be your muse. The minute we get to the… Where are we going anyway?” I hear a rumble of thunder in the distance.
Tara slashes again, and the brush falls to the side, revealing a clearing. “Here we are! Home, sweet home! Let’s get you inside. Quickly.”
Logan blinks. “There’s nothing here.”
“Think again,” Corden says with glee. “Prue here is a master at the protection skill.” He motions to the girl with the shimmery pale skin.
“We’re a clever lot,” Tara boasts. “It’s how we’ve survived in the forest this long without falling down a shaft or being thrown over the falls.”
I bite my tongue.
“Watch.” Corden picks up a small rock and throws it into the air. The air shimmers and, for a brief second, I see the outline of a tree where there was only grass a moment before.
“I saw something!” Raina says excitedly. “Was that a house on stilts?”
“It’s a tree house,” Corden explains. “It’s completely invisible to the naked eye. Or the magical one.”
“Magical?” Logan questions.
“Enchantasia didn’t want us, so why should it get to know where we’re hiding out? Tara asks. “We take every precaution to protect ourselves out here in our woods. So when your lot in your coronation ball getups and less-than-sensible shoes showed up on our radar, we thought you might be here on Olivina’s orders. We had to get you off our scent.”
“We wouldn’t have really thrown you over the falls,” Prue insists. “We were just hoping to scare you off. And then the firebird showed up.”
“Oh, you scared us all right,” Logan says as raindrops begin to fall. “So did the firebird.” A clap of thunder makes everyone jump.
“Enough dawdling.” Tara walks to the center of the clearing and mumbles a few words while sprinkling something from a sack. A moment later, a tree house appears high in an oak tree.
It’s nothing like the kind of tree house I begged Father to make me when I was younger. This one looks like a pirate ship. There are chutes and ladders connecting each level, a crow’s nest, and a smokestack and large antennae at the top. The tree house is painted a green color that camouflages it against the trees, and it’s so high off the ground that you’d never notice it unless you looked up.
Prue passes out small satchels. “This is Mirage Mix. It’s the only way you can get up in the tree house—with the password, of course.” She looks at us. “Tara’s already said it, so you’re good to go for the next sixty seconds till the tree house disappears again. Watch.” Prue runs into the clearing, throws the dust into the air, and disappears.
“Next.” Tara motions to Heath. “I’ll be last up to close the protection spell again. Hurry!”
Logan looks worriedly at me as Heath jogs past him and disappears. Corden takes Raina’s hand, and the two of them disappear. One by one, everyone disappears until only Tara and I are left.
“Devin!” Logan calls down to me. “It’s okay! Come up. The ride is great!”
Ride?
“You better get going, Princess,” Tara tells me. “Or this opening is going to close. I’m not sure you’re cut out for this storm that’s brewing.”
I square my shoulders as the wind picks up. “I’m sure I’ve seen worse.” I reach down to pick up Lily and put her into my pocket, then I jog into the clearing and place some dust in my hand as the thunder booms closer. Then I close my eyes and blow the dust into the wind. My body is sucked up so fast, I don’t even have time to scream. I feel myself whooshed through an invisible tunnel as if I’ve been catapulted into the sky, and then, boom! I land on a Technicolor pirate deck that smells like cinnamon and apples.
I’m taking a deep whiff when my arms are lifted by two mechanical arms. I kick out in a panic, but am quickly placed on a giant X that marks the spot. I’m doused with water and soap that makes me sputter (even if it tastes like licorice) and then dried just as fast. The nicks on my arms from climbing down from the firebird’s nest are somehow gone too.
“Presenting Devinaria Nile of Cobblestone Creek,” a tinny voice from beyond declares. “Animal lover, reluctant princess, and lover of trousers. When in residence, she’d be more comfortable wearing something like this!”
The muddy, much-too-heavy ball gown that I’ve been wearing since the anniversary party the night before disappears, replaced with a shorter blue dress, my favorite polka-dot leggings, and a purple robe with a hood. My footwear has been upgraded to boots. The mechanical arms disappear, and I’m free to move around in my incredibly perfect, clean, and warm outfit. Lily pokes her head out of a pocket in my new dress, looking around, bewildered.
“This pirate ship is incredible,” I whisper.
Thump! “Of course, it is,” Tara says, landing behind me. “I created it.”