Chapter 17
A House of Cards
By Wednesday evening, Duchess was exhausted. After sabotaging both Ginger’s and Faybelle’s General Villainy thronework, she’d attended her lesson at the Red Shoes Studio and her Home Economyths class. She wanted to fall into bed, but a letter was waiting for her on her desk. She immediately recognized the handwriting.
Duchess gazed out the window, toward the distant land where her family’s palace stood. Will you still love me when you learn that I want to change my destiny?
“Did you hear what she said about me?” Lizzie asked as she barreled into the room. “Oh, she makes my blood boil!”
Duchess tucked the letter into her drawer. “Who makes your blood boil?”
“That Blondie Lockes and her gossipy MirrorCast. I’m not quitting. I’m totally capable of doing both thronework assignments. I’m… ouch!” She rubbed her bottom.
“What’s the matter?” Duchess asked.
“I’m so sore,” Lizzie moaned. “I’ve been practicing my equestrian skills all day. But my horse and I got into a big fight. When I ordered it to go left, it went right. And when I ordered it to stop, it kept on going. So I gave it a time-out, but it nipped me. And Blondie was there and she saw the whole thing. You’re so lucky you don’t have to practice.”
Duchess smiled sympathetically. “I’ve been riding my whole life. It must be hard to start learning so late.”
“I wouldn’t have to ride a horse if this school were in Wonderland. My playing-card army would carry me wherever I wanted to go!” Lizzie marched into the closet, where she took off her riding clothes and put on her pajamas, a cute matching set with red hearts. Duchess was so tired she could have slept in her clothes. But there was another matter to attend to.
“Lizzie?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady and not give away her evil intentions. “You seem totally stressed out. Why not focus on the Princessology thronework and forget about the General Villainy thronework?” If Lizzie quit, it would certainly make Duchess’s task easier. One fewer villain to sabotage, and she wouldn’t have to double-cross her roommate.
Lizzie pulled her wild hair into a ponytail. “You think I should quit?” She frowned.
Duchess tried to look sympathetic. “It might make you feel better.”
Just then, both of their MirrorPhones chimed. It was a hext from Blondie:
Be sure to watch JUST RIGHT tomorrow to see if Lizzie quits under pressure.
Lizzie tossed her phone onto her bed. “That Blondie thinks she’s so much better than me, just because she has that stupid show. Well, I’m the daughter of a real queen. She’s the daughter of some girl who scared a bunch of bears.” Lizzie’s cheeks turned as red as the hearts on her pajamas. “She wants a scoop? I’ll give her a scoop. I’m gonna go all Evil Queen on her. Just you wait and see.” She pulled a card out of her magic deck. Her mother, the Queen of Hearts, had written inspirational messages on them, and Lizzie often consulted her mother’s advice in times of crisis. “‘Look, a book is a terrible thing to taste,’” Lizzie read out loud.
“What does that mean?” asked Duchess.
Lizzie marched over to her bookcase. “It means the Princess of Hearts isn’t going to quit!”
“What are you doing?” Duchess asked.
“I’m doing my General Villainy thronework, that’s what I’m doing.” She grabbed a book. “I’ll teach Blondie a lesson, Wonderland-style.”
Drat! It would have been so much easier if she’d quit. But the good news was, Duchess wouldn’t have to change into her swan form to eavesdrop. “What’s your plan?” she asked.
“You know how Mr. Badwolf told us to look to our family stories for inspiration? Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Lizzie sat on her bed. Duchess sat next to her. “Have you ever read this?” Lizzie asked as she opened the book to its title page.
“I remember my grandmother reading it to me,” Duchess said.
Shuffle, the hedgehog, crawled out from under the covers and sat on Lizzie’s lap while she flipped through the pages. There was a drawing of a girl named Alice who was wearing an apron. There was another drawing of Alice with a neck as long as a telescope. Lizzie pointed and giggled. “That looks pretty rotten and nasty to me.”
“You’re going to stretch her into a giant?” Duchess asked. “But you don’t have the power to do that.”
“Oh, relax. I’m not going to enlarge her,” Lizzie said. “Can you imagine? She’s loud enough in her normal size.” Lizzie pointed to the text. “But look, Alice got so big she couldn’t fit through the garden door. She was trapped! That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to trap Blondie. She won’t be able to move. And she won’t be able to do her MirrorCast!”
She pushed the book aside and set Shuffle on the plush gold carpet. Then Lizzie grabbed her deck of cards and, with a practiced flick of her wrist, the cards flew into the air.
The filigreed cards soared overhead, then fell around Shuffle. The hedgehog squeaked as the cards formed a little log cabin. Shuffle’s snout wiggled as it stuck out the window. There was no room for her to turn around, and no door from which to escape.
Lizzie smiled at her accomplishment.
Duchess crouched next to the card house. “Wow. Your mom would be really proud.” Lizzie was showing signs of villainous potential. If she carried out this plan, she’d surely get the A.
“Of course, I’ll only entrap Blondie for a little while,” Lizzie explained. “I mean, she needs to eat, right? And what if her legs start to cramp?”
Okay, maybe not very villainous.
“This will teach Blondie a lesson. Don’t mess with the heart of Wonderland!” Lizzie snapped her fingers, and the cards flew back into their box. Shuffle waddled off.
Lizzie tucked her deck under her pillow, then climbed into bed. “Do you know what you’re going to do?” she asked Duchess.
“No,” Duchess lied.
“You’ll figure something out.” Lizzie yawned and rolled over. “You always get the best grades. Well, good night.”
It was only a few moments before the snoring began. Duchess was used to the sound. There’d been many a night when Duchess had lain awake, staring at the ceiling, worrying about her schoolwork and her destiny, while Lizzie had been in a deep sleep. Even with the worries of Wonderland, Lizzie didn’t seem to know the meaning of insomnia.
Once Lizzie’s snoring had fallen into a rhythmic pattern, Duchess tiptoed out of the room. She knew exactly what had to be done in order to sabotage Lizzie’s plans. It would have been nice, though, to see Blondie trapped in a card house. Maybe another time.
Since most everyone was settling into bed, the dormitory’s Common Room was quiet and dark. Duchess hurried to the corner shelves, which were cluttered with all sorts of board games like Babble, Charm-opoly, and Toil and Trouble. She squinted into the darkness, searching for the small boxes of Ever After High playing cards. Finding one, she grabbed it. The cards inside wouldn’t match Lizzie’s, but it was the best she could do at this late hour.
Duchess turned to go back to her room when she tripped on something. “Oops,” she said as she stumbled forward. She was about to do a face-plant when two hands clutched her waist and whisked her back onto her feet.
“Thank you,” she said, her eyes straining in the darkness. Who had caught her?
“You’re welcome.” For an instant, a blinding light illuminated the room, then disappeared.
Prince Daring Charming’s smile was better than a flashlight.