CHAPTER 2

Does This Ball Gown Come with a Hood?

Cerise took a deep breath. Okay, one step at a time, she thought. First things first. She needed to find a hood, and fast. There was no point in worrying about becoming Beauty when she had her wolf ears popping out for anyone to see. Cerise went through every closet in the castle in search of a hood. She found a closet full of crowns and tiaras. They were hexquisite, but no matter how she angled them, not one completely covered her ears. Plus, she’d have to wear whatever she picked all the time, and she’d look pretty silly wearing a tiara with her pajamas.

Next, Cerise found a chest filled with hats. At first she was hexcited, because what could be more perfect? She was certain she’d find a hat she could use in place of her hood. But as she tried on hat after hat, her hopes of finding the right one got smaller and smaller. There were some delicate, flowery hats that barely covered her ears. Then there was an enormous straw beach hat with such a wide brim she could barely make it through a doorway. There was a top hat, but it was so fairy tall she had a hard time keeping her balance while wearing it. Now I understand how Goldilocks felt. Cerise groaned. Some of these hats are too big, others are too small, but none of them are “just right.”

She hesitated when she came to the kitchen closet, as she doubted she would find anything useful there. Might as well check, just to be sure, she told herself. But there were no hats or hoods in the pantry. She found a big wooden bowl and for a second considered whether it would make a good hat before realizing how silly that was. Keep your hood on straight, Cerise! she told herself as she put the bowl aside. Would she ever find the right fit?

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a chef’s hat. Maybe hope wasn’t lost yet! She carefully put the tall cap on her head. Hey, this kinda works, she thought. Now all I need to do is find a hexcuse for wearing a chef’s hat. Would Dexter believe I want to become a chef? I do love food, Cerise thought. And I love helping my mom bake pies with our old family recipes.

Speaking of her mom’s recipes… Cerise spotted a big bowl of hexcellent-looking berries on the kitchen counter. A piece of Mom’s wildberry pie would definitely help make me feel better right now. Cerise’s heart dropped when she realized that pies probably weren’t part of Beauty’s story. Now more than ever, Cerise wished she were in her own storybook, where she fit in. She missed her village and her family. She missed her mom and dad. They always made things better.

Hmm, she thought. Maybe some wildberry pie would do the trick. Checking first to make sure the coast was clear, Cerise grabbed the berries off the counter and tried her fairy best to remember her mom’s recipe. A sprinkle of this, a dash of that, and Cerise was ready to put her pie in the oven. It wasn’t quite “Red Riding Hood quality,” but she’d done her best—and it sure did smell delicious!

She smiled happily until she caught a glimpse of herself in a shiny lid. She realized that her ears had popped out of the chef’s hat and were totally exposed. All this hat is good for is inspiring me to bake, Cerise thought. She groaned. She’d almost forgotten where she was and that her favorite red hood was missing.

In desperation, she returned to her bedroom and pulled everything out of the closet, determined to find something that could work. But as she looked at the massive pile of clothes, blankets, and sheets in front of her, she realized she knew nothing about making herself a hood. Her mom always made their hoods, and Cerise hadn’t learned how to sew yet. But now she was in a bind, and she had to at least try to make a hood. You’ve got this, Cerise, she told herself.

The first thing she tried were some big blankets piled on top of her head, but they were so heavy they wouldn’t stay put. Next she tried tying a fuzzy sweater around her hair as a makeshift headband, but it was too itchy… and it didn’t cover her ears.

CRASH! Just then, something (or someone) came bounding into her room. What in Ever After was that? Cerise thought.

“Who’s there?” she asked, her voice muffled from being buried under a huge pile of clothes.

“Cerise? It’s just me, Dexter. What are you up to?”

“Oh… Dex. Hi, I was just… umm… looking for something comfy to put on. You know the old saying, ‘a closet full of ball gowns and nothing to wear,’ ha. What’s up?”

“So you’re having a hard time, too, huh?” Dexter asked sadly. “Turns out having big furry paws is even harder to deal with than you’d think. I’ve been fumbling around, knocking into things with my new tail, and accidentally squishing things with my big paws. I’m no good at being the Beast! Plus, I was hungry and tried to fix myself a snack, but I ended up making a huge mess! I’d feel terrible asking the servants to fix the disaster on their own. I was wondering if you could come down and help me clean it up. I’m afraid I’ll just make everything ten times worse if I try to straighten up by myself.”

Poor Dex, Cerise thought from behind the pile of clothes. But I can’t help him clean up until I have something to cover my ears.

“Sorry, Dex,” Cerise called out. “But I’m kind of… buried in work at the moment. Maybe I can help you later?”

“Okay, sure,” Dexter said. “I’ll see you—OOF!—later.” Cerise heard a crashing sound.

“Um, what was that?” Cerise called with concern.

“I just bumped into your dresser on the way out.… I knocked over a couple of things. I’d try to pick them up, but I’m afraid of breaking them. ”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cerise said.

So Dexter left, and as he did, he crashed into the door and let out a wail, which didn’t sound the least bit beastly. It sounded more like a cute little baby dragon yelping. “I’m never getting to The End of this fairytale,” Dexter said sadly.