Fairy Uncertain
“Until when?” I cry. “Bring the message back!”
Maxine shakes the shell and taps the top. “Darlene? Darlene?” There is no response. “Where is the rest of the message?” she asks Hayley.
Hayley’s face is grim. “That must have been all she got to say before Rumpelstiltskin summoned her from the lamp.”
I look at the others in horror. “Darlene said Stiltskin couldn’t cast the curse until…when? How did she know a date for the curse and we don’t?”
“I’m not sure.” Jax scratched his head. “But she sounded certain, didn’t she?”
“She did,” I say, feeling defeated. “Now what?”
Jax looks at Hayley. “Who was with Stiltskin when he came?”
“The Stiltskin Squad.” She glances at me apprehensively. “Including Anna.” She twists her hands uncomfortably. “She said you two made up and I believed her. She was the one who tricked me into letting her onshore, and then she held my family captive.”
My heart starts to beat wildly, and I close my eyes to try to block out what I know to be true. My sister is a villain now. “I’m so sorry, Hayley.”
“It’s not your fault,” she says, squeezing my hand. “I should have known when she came without you that something was wrong. She was cagey when I asked about you. I guess I just wanted to believe—”
“That she was good,” I finish because I have felt the same way in the past. “I know.”
Hayley holds her head in her hands, her bleached-blond hair spilling around her fingers. “I can’t believe I let them take Darlene and the lamp.”
“We will get the lamp back. The important thing is, you’re safe and your family is all right.” Kayla puts her arm around Hayley.
“Still, Mom doesn’t feel safe in Shipwreck Cove now that Rumpelstiltskin knows where we are and has the lamp. She’s worried about the curse. We all are,” Hayley tells us. “My brother is a mess. He keeps saying things that are unnerving my parents.”
I notice a small boy who is Hayley’s clone is walking around in circles nearby. He seems like he’s in some sort of trance. “The curse is coming,” I hear him say. “The curse can’t be stopped.” I feel chills run down my spine.
“Now what?” Jocelyn asks us. “That evil little villain has his hands on a magic lamp, and there is a curse deadline we had no clue about. Anyone else think we should focus on getting out of this cove and find him?”
“We’ll never catch him with our ship like that.” Ollie gestures to the splintered mess of our pirate ship. “It’s going to take at least a day or two till we can set sail again.”
Everyone is quiet. I can hear Madame Cleo telling a story about Stiltskin to the other mermaids, but I can’t listen. I suddenly feel so doomed.
“Gillian? Gillian? Ms. Cobbler, where are you?” I hear a muffled voice and look down.
The mirror! It’s still in my sheath, covered in a ton of sand and seaweed, but it’s glowing. I pluck the pieces of seaweed off it and stare into the hazy glass.
All of my professors are staring back at me. Beauty bursts into tears.
“For the love of Grimm, where were you?” Harlow snaps. “When we saw the kraken and heard the commotion we thought the worst!”
“Is everyone all right?” Beauty asks, and the others crowd around.
“We’re okay, Mother,” AG tells her. “But Rumpelstiltskin was here before us. He got the lamp, then put a hex on Kirk, who attacked our ship.”
“Who is Kirk?” Professor Sebastian demands.
“The kraken,” Jax explains. “Apparently he’s normally friendly.”
“Who names a kraken Kirk?” Flora mutters.
“I told you Stiltskin would beat us to the lamp!” Harlow snaps at the others. “There will be no stopping him now.”
“Getting hysterical is not going to help us,” I hear Professor Wolfington say. “There is still hope.”
“Hope is dwindling!” Professor Sebastian roars, and Harlow seems to agree with him. Suddenly they’re all shouting and arguing, and it’s hard to understand what’s going on. Finally, I hear someone whistle.
“Everyone calm down!” Flora runs a hand through her salt-and-pepper hair. “Now, Gillian, tell us what happened. Calmly. And without interruption,” she adds for Harlow and Professor Sebastian’s benefit.
I do the best I can, explaining about the kraken and Hayley’s family and the lost lamp and Darlene’s attempt to give us the deadline. My teachers are stunned into silence.
“He’s waiting for a Fire Moon,” someone says softly.
“Mother!” Kayla touches the mirror in my outstretched hands. “It’s good to see you up and about.”
“Hello, darling,” Angelina says.
Kayla’s mom is the fairy that was predestined to write Rumpelstiltskin’s story. She has been in hiding ever since Stiltskin lifted his curse on her and allowed her to return to human form.
“What is a Fire Moon?” I ask.
“It’s when there are three new moons in one month, which is extremely rare,” Angelina tells us. “The third new moon, instead of being invisible to the eye like a normal new moon, casts a reddish shadow over the land. It’s said Fire Moons signify danger and darkness looming. Fairies usually hibernate on such occasions.” Her face is grim. “The last one was before I was born, but I remember my mother talking about it. Many dark curses throughout history have been cast during these celestial events—they offer optimal conditions—but they only occur every fifty years or so.”
“When will the next one occur?” Even Harlow sounds anxious.
We watch through the mirror as Angelina goes to her star charts. “This can’t be right.” When she looks up, I see her face is full of fear. “The next one is in three days.” She clutches the gem around her neck. “How did I not see this coming?”
My heart begins to thump wildly. We only have three days left to beat Rumpelstiltskin at his own game, or the world as we know it will be over.
Flora looks at the others. “We need to shore up the school’s defenses. We cannot let him get his final curse ingredient—the harp.”
“He won’t! The harp is hidden at FTRS,” Kayla says brightly. “It’s safe.”
Harlow’s face is grim. “We thought the lamp was safe too.”
“The lamp isn’t an ingredient in the spell,” Professor Sebastian reminds the others. “It’s just unfortunate that he has such a powerful weapon at his disposal. A genie is a good ally to have in a war like this.”
“Poor Darlene!” Maxine mutters. “If only I had left her on the shelf in that shoppe.”
“Someone explain what he needs to cast the curse again,” Ollie says. “How does it work?”
“In addition to the perfect time and place, it appears he needs a golden egg,” Angelina begins.
“Which he has. Gilly gave him one,” Jocelyn says.
“And Alva—” Angelina begins.
“Whom Gilly woke when Anna tricked her into singing with the harp,” Maxine says.
“Thanks for the reminder.” I’m feeling worse by the second.
“Then there is fairy blood,” Angelina adds. “Plus the harp.”
“Alva is a fairy. They can’t use hers?” Kayla asks.
Angelina purses her lips. “The curse isn’t that simple. He won’t want to spill any of Alva’s. She’s his true love. He’d protect her, but he does need fairy blood and I fear…”
“No, you’re safe here,” Harlow insists. “So is the harp. Madame Cleo hid it with magic herself. Where is Cleo?”
“We’ll bring you over to her.” My arms and legs feel heavy as I walk across the sand to the rock where Blackbeard and Madame Cleo are hanging out as if they don’t have a care in the world. “Madame Cleo?” I ask. “The professors want to know if the harp pieces are safe.”
Madame Cleo’s hair cascades in purple waves down her back. Her fin is currently the same color as the clamshells she has on as a top. “Oh yes, darling! Very safe!”
“See? Me lady is a good one at hiding treasure,” Blackbeard says adoringly.
“How do you know the harp is safe?” Harlow’s voice is droll as she pets the raven that has landed on her shoulder. Is that Aldo? I can’t remember the last time I saw him.
“Because…well…because…” Cleo’s cheeks flush pink, and soon her scales and hair are a similar shade. “Because I don’t even remember where I hid them.”
“Fairy be,” Professor Sebastian mutters under his breath.
I feel the panic start to rise immediately. Madame Cleo sometimes suffers from short-term memory loss on account of zapping herself once when she was trying to go after the Little Mermaid.
“But I know it was an excellent hiding spot!” Madame Cleo says brightly. “So you see, it’s really for the best. If I don’t remember, how could anyone else find them?”
“Cleo, we can’t not know where they are!” Harlow snaps.
“I do know! I just can’t recall where they are at the moment.”
The two start bickering. We back away as Cleo’s hair turns a violent shade of red.
“If she’s lost the harp, maybe Stiltskin has already gotten his hands on it,” Jax says. “If he has the harp, then…”
“He’s going to get the other things he needs too,” I realize. “And if he needs fairy blood, couldn’t he use my sister’s? She has fairy ancestry.”
“Yeah, but she hasn’t shown any sort of fairy ability, has she?” Kayla asks. “No one in your family has, right? Fairy blood in a curse has to be strong, and someone who doesn’t even know they’re a fairy wouldn’t be strong. Anna should be safe.”
Safe or a threat? I’m not sure what to think. I don’t know who my sister is anymore.
“But what about Kayla and her family?” Ollie asks, and I freeze.
“I don’t think he’d harm my mother. He needs her to write his book,” Kayla says. “And if he messes with me and my sisters, she will fight him. He must be looking for someone else’s…someone specific.”
“But who?” I wonder aloud. We’re all quiet.
Kayla flutters next to Ollie and places her head on his shoulder. “What if we don’t even know each other in the new Enchantasia?”
“Know each other?” Ollie asks. “What if we don’t even exist? Fairy Tale Reform School probably won’t.”
Jocelyn sits down on a nearby mossy rock. “I’m sure I’ll exist. Being the sister of a former villain and all, I suspect I’d be useful.”
“No one is disappearing,” Jax insists as Maxine begins to wail.
“What are we going to do?” AG asks.
I want to say I don’t know because it’s true. I don’t. We’ve been down and out before, but never this badly. If Stiltskin has everything he needs, how can we stop him? Think like a villain, Gilly, I tell myself. If you were him, what would you be doing right now?
“Gillian!” Blackbeard is waving the mirror frantically in the air as Madame Cleo dives off her rock and disappears below the surface. “They be wanting you again! All of you lads and lassies, come here!” We race back to the rock. “Madame Cleo has gone off with Hayley and a few of the mermaids to look for the harp,” Blackbeard explains. “Hayley says she’ll be catching up with you all soon. Er, she didn’t want to keep me lady waiting.”
Madame Cleo did not look happy earlier. I don’t blame her.
“But the professors be wanting to talk to you all before they get to work.” Blackbeard holds out the mirror.
I warily accept it. Every one of my teachers is squeezed in front of the mirror again.
“Madame Cleo is going to find the harp pieces,” Headmistress Flora tells me efficiently. “You are not to help her look. Hayley and some other merfolk are going to do that.”
“What if he wishes for the pieces in the meantime?” AG asks.
“I would think if he did, we would know immediately,” Flora says, “so we will proceed as if Darlene is doing everything in her power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“So should we just sail back to school?” Ollie asks.
“No,” Harlow jumps in. “You are to accompany Gilly to visit her grandmother.”
My grandmother? “Rumpelstiltskin is about to enact a curse that will erase Enchantasia as we know it, and you want me to visit my grandmother?”
Harlow narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t be fresh with me, young lady. Why, I could—”
Beauty steps in between us. “I think Gillian is asking how this is the best use of her limited time.”
“Exactly!” I pipe up.
“This type of curse will require fairy blood with just the right properties,” Angelina explains to me. “The book tells me he’s still looking to acquire fairy blood, which is odd considering he has your sister and Alva. He’d never harm her, or your sister, but more likely she isn’t showing any sort of fairy abilities. So whose blood does he need if not mine?” I notice her glance quickly at Harlow. “Since we can’t leave the school with everything going on, we are tasking you with talking to someone in the fairy community who might understand what type of fairy blood he’s looking for.”
I’m still skeptical. “And you think my reclusive grandmother might know?” I am almost positive I catch a passing glance between my professors before Sebastian speaks.
“As someone with fairy ancestry, with a fairy grandmother who has been around a long time, you might be able to gain insight on what Stiltskin needs, with her help.” He pauses. “Perhaps having fairy blood within you can also help stop him.”
“How? I’ve never exhibited any kind of fairy magic.”
“You were able to open a villain book, and only villains can normally do that,” Kayla reminds me.
That’s true. “But why my grandmother? There’s no other fairy I could speak with who lives closer?”
Harlow and Angelina look at each other again. Then Angelina speaks. “There is something I haven’t mentioned before. The book’s ending involves your family. You are somehow tied up in this curse, Gillian—or your family is—in a way I don’t understand yet.”
I feel too shaky to speak. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m nervous or I’m finally getting used to being on dry land again, and now I’m about to get back on a boat. I didn’t even get a chance to meet Hayley’s family, explore her paradise, or see Kirk the kraken as a friendly pet rather than a foe. Everything feels as if it’s moving so fast, and I want time to slow down. But not rewind, of course. “I’m guess I’m going to meet my grandmother then.”
“We will all go with her,” Jax speaks up, and the others nod.
Professor Wolfington smiles. “We were hoping you’d say that. We need Blackbeard back here to help Cleo…search. She responds well to him.”
Blackbeard burps and blushes. “Me lady and I are like a pirate and the sea. Intertwined! We will work ’round the clock to get me ship ready. Ollie, you command it. I trust her with you. I’ll find another way back.”
Ollie bows. “Thank you, sir! I’m a true captain! Can I borrow your hat?”
Blackbeard’s smile fades. “No.”
“This sounds fun!” Maxine interrupts. “Meeting Gilly’s family? Going on another trip together? I always wanted to vacation with my friends.”
“I’ve always wanted to go anywhere without my parents!” AG gushes. “No offense, Father.”
Everyone is much more excited than I’d expect them to be about coming on a trip to see my grandma.
A grandma I’ve never met and who has never tried to reach out to me.
Yes, this sounds like loads of fun.
Professor Sebastian clears his throat. “This trip is not a vacation. It’s important work.” We all nod. “Since you’ll be spending so much time outside class, I’m giving you a midterm assignment to do while you’re at sea.”
We all groan.
“You want us to do homework now? When a villain is threatening to rewrite history as we know it?” Jax asks.
“Yes!” Professor Sebastian does not sound apologetic in the slightest. “Evil will always try to stop us. That doesn’t mean we stop living. Your mini magical scrolls will update with the assignment shortly.”
I hear a tinkling of bells. Maxine already has her mini scroll unrolled. “Ooh! ‘Five years from now I will be…’? Such a fun topic!”
“Five years from now, we’ll all be erased,” Jocelyn says, and we all sort of laugh. It’s not funny, and yet it kind of is.
Professor Sebastian growls, and we stop laughing. “Send word via mirror when you’ve reached Gilly’s grandmother.” The mirror goes dark.
Assignment for: Professor Sebastian at Fairy Tale Reform School
Sent from: The middle of Enchantasia Sea during a sea squall
Five Years from Now I Will Be…
By: Maxine Hockler
Forgive my handwriting, Professor! It’s kind of hard to write when the ship is listing sideways and water keeps coming over the side of the ship. But we’re fine! We got the ship up and running in less than a day! AG says not to worry about her. Ollie is a great navigator, while Jax seems to really like sailing. Kayla, Jocelyn, and Gilly have been great first mates, while AG and I huddle belowdecks, sort of green and queasy. I’m trying to distract myself by writing to you as we cross the sea during this storm to get to Gilly’s grandmother. So back to the assignment…
My wishes are simple but true, and I don’t need Darlene to grant them for me. Five years from now, I’d like to be teaching at Mother Goose Nursery and have my own oak tree near my parents with a view of the village. I’d also like to make enough money to start my own jewelry-making business so I can stop wanting other people’s jewels and create my own pretty trinkets. But none of that really matters as much as my friends.
If Gilly, Jax, Kayla, Allison Grace, Ollie, Hayley, Jack, and even Jocelyn and I are still friends, then I know everything in my life will turn out exactly how it should. We keep each other in check. They keep me from wanting to pluck shiny jewels from people, and I keep them all from doing things that aren’t right (like taking the Golden Goose back to Rumpelstiltskin. At least he only has one egg, not a goose that can make hundreds of them!). Things are a bit uncertain right now, and villains will always be looking for an opportunity, but when you have friends by your side, the future doesn’t feel so grim.
GRADE: A! Nice work, Maxine. Extra points for being the first one done! Now tell your friends to get working on their projects as well. —Professor S