Fight or Flight
The squad members and gargoyles cross the flames in the bedroom and come racing toward us. Jocelyn shoots fireballs in their direction to hold them off. A gargoyle swoops across the room, coming dangerously close to grabbing my father as he’s the last one down the boot stairs. Kayla stuns the creature with a wave of her wand and hurries down after them as the roof catches fire. Wilson is squeaking madly in my ear, but he sounds far away.
I know I should move, but I can’t. Anna kidnapped my brothers. She is helping Rumpelstiltskin destroy Enchantasia. It finally occurs to me that there might be nothing I can do to stop this.
And I’ve never been more frightened.
Jax slides onto the floor next to me as arrows and flame balls fly past our heads. “Thief?” He stares into my eyes. “We’ve got to go.”
The first time I saw Jax, he was swinging from a chandelier while trying to break out of Fairy Tale Reform School. I’d never met someone with violet eyes before. Or fancied myself someone who could be friends with a prince. But right now, I don’t want to listen to him.
I curl into a ball, still not moving. “Anna has Han and Hamish.”
“Yes. And sitting on this burning floor isn’t going to bring them back.” Jax offers me his hand. “We’ll find them, but first we have to get out of here. Kayla has your family, Ollie grabbed AG, and Maxine and Jocelyn are holding off the squad. The only person left to take care of is you.”
I feel like I’m going to cry. “But I didn’t take care of them.”
“You will,” Jax says as I hear Jocelyn screaming for me in the background. Jax stays calm. “We will get them back. Trust me.”
I want to. Badly. But as the smoke overtakes the room, it feels so easy to give up. I had my chance to grab Anna, and instead, once again, I let her get away. Grandma Pearl is right—she can’t be saved.
You can still save Han and Hamish! You can stop this curse! But you have to get off that floor!
Who said that? I wonder. It doesn’t matter. The voice shakes me from this trance. I reach for Jax’s hand.
Then I see a gargoyle swooping toward us. I yank my hand back, knocking Jax sideways just as the beastie’s claws try to sink into his shoulders. I forgot how bad those things stink.
“I saved you,” I tell Jax. “Now we’re even.”
He shakes his head and helps me up.
“The boot is coming down!” a squad member shouts to the others still battling Jocelyn and Maxine. “Let’s get out of here!” The squad member grabs hold of a gargoyle and gets pulled out the window to safety.
“Wait!” Another squad member points to me. “He said not to leave without her!”
A gargoyle swoops toward me, and I grab an arrow from the quiver on the floor. I quickly nock it, ready to fire, but a burning beam from the ceiling falls in front of me, blocking the rest of the squad from view. The smoke is becoming so thick, I can hardly see.
“Come on!” Jax shouts and pulls me toward what’s left of the window. Maxine grabs Peaches, and she and Jocelyn disappear over the ledge. My heart is pounding as I look around. My family home is in flames. Jax pulls my hand, and I leap away from the flames licking at my boots.
Seconds later, I land on a flying carpet that takes us away from the fire.
“Perfect timing, Blue!” Jax says. The blue, green, and gold rug has come to our aid before. Blue zooms over the Dwarf Police Squad where I see dwarves streaming out of the building and people rushing out of their homes. Whatever spell Anna placed on them has lifted. Blue touches down near the fountain in the crowded village square. Some people are hugging, others are crying. I jump off Blue, and Mother and Father grab me as Trixie cries into my skirt. Several people run by talking about Stiltskin. The village is in a panic.
“The boys,” I start to say but Mother shushes me.
“One thing at a time.” She holds me tight, but I don’t feel any better.
I see AG with a blanket wrapped around her, and I let go of Mother to sit by AG at the fountain.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yes, but Anna. Your brothers. I’m sorry.” AG starts to cough, and Kayla holds her up.
“Just rest,” I tell her. I look at Kayla and Maxine worriedly.
“Whatever spell they cast really affected her,” Kayla whispers to me. “She should be looked at right away.”
A crack of thunder booms in the distance. Clouds are rolling in thick and fast. I hear the sound of bells and know Pete and the Dwarf Police Squad must finally be checking on my family’s burning boot. They’re always a few paces behind.
“We need to get AG back to her parents at the castle,” Ollie says. “Can we borrow Blue? How’d he even get here?”
“I thought you sent for him,” Jax says to Ollie.
Ollie frowns. “No, I thought you did.”
Blue snuggles up next to me, one of his gold tassels stroking my chin. “Maybe he just knows when we need him.”
“He’s a rug,” Jocelyn retorts. “He doesn’t have feelings.” Blue’s tassel smacks her on the arm. “Ouch!”
I feel for my mirror and find my sheath empty. “The mirror is gone! I must have lost it in the boot.”
“Great. Now we have no way to reach the school and let them know what happened,” Jocelyn says, slumping down on the fountain and rubbing her arm where she now has rug burn.
“Yes we do,” Jax says as he helps Ollie carry AG over to Blue and gently places her on the carpet. “Blue will take AG back to school with Ollie. He’ll tell the professors everything when he takes AG back right now. She can’t go alone in her condition.”
“I’ll go too,” Kayla says and looks at me. “I should see what else Mother has learned about the Fire Moon. If we really are going to need a quorum, maybe I can rally more fairies to help us.”
“That’s a good idea,” I tell her.
She takes my hands in her own. “Concentrate on your fairy abilities. I know you have it in you!” she insists. “They will keep you strong and guide you till you’re back to school.” She hugs me. “Be safe.”
“You too,” I tell her.
There’s more thunder in the distance. “You better get going before the storm,” Jocelyn suggests, and we watch as Blue carries Ollie, Kayla, and AG into the air.
“Quack!” Peaches nestles in Maxine’s arms.
Maxine’s eyes are on the sky. “Peaches is right. What if the gargoyles come back?”
“Let’s keep moving,” I suggest. “We need to get to Pinocchio’s and find that secret passageway back to school.” I look at my parents and sister. “You’re coming with us.” They start to protest. “It’s not safe for you to stay in the village.”
“Besides, where will you go?” Jocelyn asks my mother. “Your boot is one big piece of burnt shoe leather right now.”
Trixie bursts into tears again. I give Jocelyn a look and kneel down by my sister. “Trix, I know this is hard, but we need to be brave. What did Anna say to you before we got upstairs?”
She scrunches up her tiny face, which is covered in freckles. “She kept saying, ‘I won’t hurt you. It’s going to be okay.’ They wanted to take all of us, but she said they only needed you. And then Hansel said if they couldn’t catch you, they’d take us anyway as it would make you come find us. They said they’d win either way.”
Jocelyn scratches her chin. “It’s an impressive villain move, actually. If they need you for the curse, you’re going to come right to them now that they have your brothers.”
“I keep messing up!” I cry and look at my father. “If I had gotten to you sooner, the boys would be safe and the boot wouldn’t be gone.” Then I remember Father’s workshop attached to the boot. “Your business… It was going so well.”
Mother dabs her eye with a handkerchief. “Your father did manage to grab these on our way out.” Mother opens the sack on her arm and pulls out a red velvet box. She opens the lid. A pair of shiny glass slippers are inside. “The royal court’s latest order. We aren’t sure who they were meant for, but at least there is one pair left.”
Those shoes are the whole reason I wound up in FTRS to begin with. Royal Academy’s beloved Fairy Godmother started conjuring pairs up on her own and caused Father to almost go out of business. I started stealing to help buy food for my family, wound up in FTRS, and the rest is history. Now my family is back at square one.
“There is no need to despair!” Father says, interrupting my thoughts. “We will rebuild.” Father puts his arm around Mother. “We’ll make a bigger boot, with a larger workshop. It really doesn’t matter where we’re cobblers as long as we’re together.” He places his hands on my shoulders. “I know I’ve been hard on you in the past, but this isn’t your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything. A problem this big can’t rest entirely on one person’s shoulders.”
I nod. Father is right, but it’s easier said than done. I know I need to listen to my friends more and follow my gut. But what if both of those things are still not enough? The thunder booms louder.
“We need to get to Pinocchio’s before it rains.” Jax eyes the darkening sky.
We make our way through the crowded streets. Someone is already selling the latest edition of Happily Ever After Scrolls and offering instant scroll downloads on the “attack on the Cobbler family.” We hurry past, staying close together and keeping our eyes on the clouds for signs of gargoyles.
“There’s our boot,” Trixie points to a painting of our home up in flames that is flashing on a mini magical scroll. Scrolls all around the village square light up with pictures of our boot’s charred remains: COBBLER HOME IN RUINS. IS RUMPELSTILTSKIN TO BLAME?
“Is it true?” A woman grabs Mother’s arm. “Is Rumpelstiltskin here? Is that why we were all fast asleep?”
“I thought Old Man Rip Van Winkle would try a move like that, not him,” says another man. “Where is Rumpelstiltskin now?”
“We haven’t seen him,” I say and usher my parents away. We can’t get caught up in conversations. Getting back to school with my remaining family is all the more important now. We keep walking, but everyone is staring at us.
“Faster! Faster!” Maxine whispers.
“Now’s when I really wish you knew how to fly,” Jocelyn grumbles to me.
I look at Father. “Have you ever… Did you learn how to…fly?” I ask awkwardly.
Now is probably not the time to ask, but what if we’re out of time?
Father looks at me briefly, then looks straight ahead. “Your grandmother tried to teach me, but I didn’t want to learn. Besides, not every fairy learns that skill—especially if they don’t believe in it.”
“I believe, I believe,” I hear Trixie whisper. She looks up at me and smiles. “If I could fly, I’d be able to see over the treetops! I’d find Han and Hamish.”
“We will find them,” I promise, whisking her along. I’m so anxious about getting back to school that my heart is beating out of my chest. A long, low rumble of thunder makes everyone jump. The sky looks like it will open any minute. Finally, I see Pinocchio’s Puppet Theatre up ahead. Maxine hurries to the front door and tries the knob.
She starts to drool. “It’s closed!”
Jax pounds on the door, then looks in the windows. “No one is in there.”
I try one of the windows, but it’s locked. “I guess they got spooked by the sleeping curse and closed early. Now what? Do we break in?”
“We do not break into someone’s shoppe,” Mother says sternly. “There must be another way to get to school quickly.”
Jocelyn and I look at each other. “Pegasi.”
We hurry down the street again, going straight to the Pegasus stables, but I stop short when I see the huge line. People are carrying babies, holding chickens or goats on leashes, and carrying huge boxes. Children are crying, and the place is pandemonium. All the Pegasus stalls are empty.
One of the workers comes running over. “Don’t get in line!” Sweat beads on his forehead. A gold badge on his shirt tells me his name is Chaz, and he has a three-year award for good flying service. “I keep telling these people, the last ride already left! Everyone is trying to flee the village.” He looks at my parents. “You’re the Cobblers! What happened at your boot? Is Rumpelstiltskin here? Did he cast the curse?” He grabs Father’s jacket.
“Calm down, young man! Rumpelstiltskin is not here!” Father barks, and the worker lets go of him. “When are the Pegasi due back?”
The worker’s eyes widen. “They’re not. Everyone wants to leave Enchantasia Village now, the Pegasi included.”
“Don’t be silly,” Maxine says. “Pegasi don’t flee…do they?”
“You’re leaving, aren’t yuh?” he asks.
Maxine looks at the rest of us. “Yes, but um, we have somewhere important we need to be.” She gulps hard. “Where are they going?” She looks at the long lines. “It’s not like there is anywhere safe…is there?”
“My sister in Sherwood Forest says there’s no gargoyles there,” says a troll in line with triplets running circles around him. “We are camping out there.”
“I heard Avalon is a safer bet,” says a man carrying two suitcases and a parrot cage. “No one messes with that king.”
“Wonderland is where I’m going,” says a kid in a Jack of All Trades School uniform. “That queen may cut off people’s heads, but she’s not trying to rewrite history.” He taps the Pegasus stable worker on the shoulder. “When are more Pegasi coming back? When?”
“I told you, kid, just like I told the others,” Chaz says. “Go home! There’s no way out of Enchantasia by air unless you’ve got a magic carpet.”
“They’re sold out already!” says a blond girl in a Royal Academy sash carrying multiple shopping bags. “I knew I shouldn’t have left the castle! Who’s going to rescue me now?”
I roll my eyes. Classic blondie. “You can rescue yourself,” I say. “Find another way back. That’s what we’re going to do.” I look at the others. “What’s our plan? Walk?”
“That will take forever,” Maxine groans.
“Do you have a better idea?” Jocelyn snaps.
“You don’t have to be mean about it,” Maxine complains and the two start arguing. Peaches gets in between them and starts quacking madly. “What about the storm?” I hear Maxine say, but the storm is already here.
A loud crack of thunder followed by a lightning bolt flashing across the sky make everyone look up. Trixie starts to cry, as do the other kids in line. I wait for fat raindrops to fall, but none come, even though the sky is as dark as I’ve ever seen it. Suddenly, I see the trees near the stables begin to bow in the wind. Within seconds, dead leaves are blowing across the street, along with parchments and someone’s lunch bag. I’m about to say, “We should look for cover,” when a giant gust of wind whooshes through the street so fiercely that people fall over.
We grab hold of one another, trying to stay upright, and I hear what sounds like cannon fire from a ship. The boom is so loud, my ears ring. I look around, wondering where it’s coming from, when I see something strange. The air is waffling in front of my eyes, much as it did in my boot, but this time shock waves wash over the village. It comes straight toward us, and I feel the cold sensation wash over me. A second later, the skies clear and the storm is gone. I look around at the others in wonder.
“Uh, Gilly?” Trixie is pulling on my uniform. “Why do they all look so mad?”
I look back at everyone in line. They’re glaring at us.
Chaz’s face is equally angry. “There are the villains he’s after! Get them!”