CHAPTER 1
A Wolf in Princess’s Clothing
Where in Ever After am I? Cerise Hood wondered. She looked around, hexpecting to see the beloved woods and lakes and the spelltacular outdoors that were part of her story. But instead, she was standing on a hard marble floor. It was a magnificent floor and polished to perfection, but Cerise couldn’t imagine what it was doing in her fairytale. She took an unsteady step.
“Whoa!” Cerise let out a big yelp as she toppled to the floor. What in Ever After? she thought when she saw what had made her trip: She wasn’t wearing her usual dress with leggings and lace-up boots, but a poufy pink gown and satin heels.
“Oh dear! Are you okay, miss? Please, let me help you!” A maid with a worried look on her face rushed to Cerise’s side. She immediately started fussing with Cerise’s clothes and smoothing her dress.
“Thanks, I’m okay,” Cerise assured her.
“Are you sure? You look like you took quite a tumble there,” the maid said.
“No, no, really. I’m good,” Cerise said. As the maid reached up to fix Cerise’s hair, Cerise quickly put her hands up to her ears. Her hood was gone! She immediately pretended to smooth her hair. “Thanks, but I’ve totally got this. Don’t worry about it,” she told the maid. She didn’t want the maid to spot her two wolf ears. They were Cerise’s big secret—her family’s big secret. She was the daughter of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, so Cerise was part-wolf.
No one in Ever After knew that her parents had gone off book—except Cerise’s best friends forever after, Madeline Hatter and Raven Queen—and Cerise was determined to keep it that way, wherever after she was!
“Well, if you’re certain you’re okay, I’ll finish dusting the parlor,” the maid said. “Please don’t hesitate to call for me if you need anything at all.”
“Thanks a bunch. Oh, what’s your name?” Cerise asked.
“You’re such a funny princess! Have you bumped your crown? It’s me, Sarah. I’ve been your maid since you came to stay here at the castle,” the woman said with a gentle smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, the parlor is waiting. And the chef has already set out some food for your breakfast on the table.”
“Oh, um, okay,” Cerise replied, even though she was completely confused. First things first, she thought. Did she say castle? Did she say princess? I need to find out hexactly what’s going on here. She took a good look around. Besides the marble floor, there was an enormous full-length mirror in the corner, with a fancy solid-gold frame. There was a huge picture window with velvet drapes, and the longest, plushest-looking couch Cerise had ever seen, covered with silk pillows. There was a hexquisite mahogany table, and it was heaped with every type of breakfast food imaginable: pancakes and waffles, thronecakes and muffins, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and a bowl of fresh fruit salad. Delicate plates rimmed with gold and sparkling silverware decorated with gemstones completed the spelltacular spread.
Well, I am definitely in a new fairytale, Cerise thought. This doesn’t look anything like the storybook for Little Red Riding Hood.
Cerise loved going on new adventures and exploring, so she couldn’t help but feel hexcited about having fallen into the wrong fairytale. She would worry about why it had happened later. For now, she would just try to figure out where she was.
Based on her surroundings, she knew she had fallen into a fairytale with a beautiful castle, but so many fairytales had castles that the possibilities were practically endless!
Who else is here? she wondered. She followed her instincts and decided to explore. There was a beautiful grand piano in the living room, and fresh flowers were everywhere. The flowers were fairy beautiful exotic blooms, like orchids and long-stemmed roses. As beautiful as they are, I prefer wildflowers, Cerise thought. Though these roses are pretty hexcellent.
She peeked around a corner and spotted Sarah the maid speaking to a man wearing a huge chef’s hat and nodding his head at whatever she was telling him. They both looked happy. Cerise already knew Sarah was friendly, and she had a feeling the man in the chef’s hat was, too.
Well, this looks like a nice place to visit, Cerise thought, but I really need to figure out which story I’ve landed in. As she walked past the full-length mirror, she did a double take. Is that really me? she thought, looking over her reflection. Cerise barely recognized herself in the fancy ball gown and the dainty satin heels she wore. The outfit was pretty, but she felt strange wearing it. I’m sure Apple White or Briar Beauty would love this, but it’s not really my style. She hoped there was a change of clothes somewhere in this big castle.
Suddenly, she heard someone calling her name.
“Cerise! Cerise! It’s me, Dexter! What’s going on? What are we doing here?”
Cerise ran down the hall and straight into Dexter Charming… sort of. He sounded just like Dexter, but he sure didn’t look like Dexter! He was big and tall and covered in fur! What the hex happened to Dexter? Cerise wondered. She wasn’t sure, but she was still happy to see him. She and Dexter weren’t BFFAs, but Cerise had always liked the shy Charming brother. They’d had a few classes together at Ever After High, and she knew Dexter was a hexcellent student.
Just then, Cerise remembered that she didn’t have her hood, and she quickly started playing with her hair to make sure her wolf ears were hidden.
A moment later, Cerise put everything together and realized what fairytale they had both fallen into—the castle, her clothes, Dexter covered in fur… it must be Beauty and the Beast!
Now what am I supposed to do? Cerise thought anxiously. Of all the fairytales to drop into! She didn’t know the first thing about being Beauty. Beauty was definitely a princess, and Cerise was probably the most unprincess-like girl at Ever After High. How in Ever After could she make it to The End of a fairytale in which she had to be one of the most famous princesses of all time?
“Dex? I think I know why you’re a beast.… We were accidentally sent to the Beauty and the Beast story,” Cerise told him.
Dexter was stunned. He looked at his furry arms. “What does that mean?” he asked.
“All I know is that we need to make it back to Ever After High, and we need to pass our hexam to do it. That means we have make it to The End of the storybook. It’s just that the storybook is now Beauty and the Beast,” Cerise thought aloud as Dexter’s furry face went from looking confused to panicked.
“Dexter, don’t worry, this should be a piece of thronecake for you,” Cerise told him. “I’m the one who’s going to have a problem being a princess. What do I know about being a princess? But you’re a Charming. Your brother, Daring, is destined to be the real Beast. You were basically born to do this.”
“My destiny is to be a prince—a human prince,” Dexter said. “Not a beast prince—covered in fur with giant hands and feet! And not only that, I…” But then Dexter stopped.
“‘Not only that’ what?” Cerise asked.
“Oh, never mind,” Dexter said sadly before wandering off to the castle’s library.
Cerise sighed. She was used to being in the great outdoors, not being cooped up in a fancy castle. She walked over to the window and looked out longingly at the woods. This fairytale is going to be a royal carriagewreck, she thought. How was she ever going to get the hang of being a princess? She was nothing like Apple or Briar or Rosabella Beauty. Her fairytale didn’t have a fancy castle or poufy dresses. Would she ever be able to make it to The End while trying to be Beauty? But then she shook her head defiantly. It was time for some positive thinking. She was going to make it to The End, pass her hexam, and get home to Ever After High—no matter what!