What Comes Next?
Together we stand in stunned silence, staring at the place Alva reigned only moments before. A ray of light beams down from the red moon and the air is suddenly calm.
Alva is gone.
But at what cost?
That is what I’m thinking as we hold on to one another and stare off into the distance at FTRS, smoking and in pieces. The castle I called home for so long is destroyed. My brothers, Jax, and our beloved teachers are missing or lost to us. Enchantasia still stands, but our victory does not feel as sweet as it should.
Finally, I let go of Anna’s hand.
“Gilly?” she starts to say.
But I’m too upset to talk to her. “Don’t move.” She sits down on a rock, looking lost. Mother, however, runs over, saying nothing as she pulls Anna into her arms. The two of them weep. I walk over to the golden egg on the rock and pick it up, feeling its weight.
Quack!
Peaches waddles up beside me and pecks her beak into my legs. Quack! Quack! Quack! Wilson scurries out of a nearby bush, and I stoop down to pick him up as Peaches continues to act frantic. Wilson is squeaking madly too.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying when you talk that fast!” I tell him as the others gather round. Peaches is flapping her wings wildly. Suddenly she starts to cough. Seconds later, she chokes up a phlegm-covered lamp. This time it’s returned to normal size.
“Quick! Someone rub the lamp and see if Darlene is okay!” Maxine says.
“Ooh! I’ll do it!” Jocelyn says, her eyes turning almost green with envy.
Ollie swipes it from her. “I wish to see the lady of the lamp,” he says, and Darlene oozes out of her home.
As soon as she sees Maxine, she bursts into tears. “We’re still here? Oh my word, I thought we were done for!” Darlene says. “How are you all still here? Why did I have the sudden sensation of being swallowed? And who is my new master?”
“That would be me!” Ollie says, and Grandma Pearl clears her throat. “But, um, I wasn’t going to use the wishes, unless you want out of your lamp or you can bring back everyone we just lost.” We look at her hopefully.
Darlene’s smile fades. “I’m afraid those truly lost in battle cannot be brought back through wishing.” My heart plummets. “But I can return the people that Stiltskin’s Squad did away with in his second wish—like the teachers of Royal Academy and the princesses. As for those whisked away in battle, let’s bring them all back here. Shall we?”
“Darlene!” Maxine cries. “Bring them back! Please!”
“I need a wish,” Darlene reminds her and looks at Ollie.
“I wish for our teachers and adult friends to be returned to us from wherever they are in battle or, uh, on vacation!” Ollie says. Darlene closes her eyes, says a few words, there is a gust of wind, and poof! Headmistress Flora, Professor Harlow, Madame Cleo—via mirror, Blackbeard, Professor Wolfington, Professor Sebastian, Red, Robin Hood, Beauty, and even AG appear in front of us. Everyone starts cheering while Jocelyn runs for her sister, and AG runs for Kayla and Maxine.
“We’ll go check on the other children!” Red declares, hitching a ride on one of Robin’s arrows. The two head off into the cornfields to look for more kids and survey the damage.
I am thankful, of course, but my heart still aches in a way it never has before.
“Is everyone all right? Where are Stiltskin and Alva?” Flora asks. “We’ve been trapped on the other side of the lake. We couldn’t get past it since the kingdom was disappearing all around us.”
“Mother!” Azalea and Dahlia burst through the trees and into Flora’s arms as Angelina and Kayla quickly fill the teachers in on what’s happened.
Reunions are happening all over the place. They’re just not mine. Mother has a hand on Anna’s shoulder and is talking quietly with Father as Trixie picks daisies nearby. Does my younger sister understand what’s happened? I can’t stop thinking of my brothers.
Harlow puts a hand on my shoulder. “You did good.”
“Not good enough,” I whisper.
“Our best is always good enough,” Professor Sebastian says, coming up beside her. “Unfortunately, when it comes to love and war, we don’t always get a happily ever after. I heard about Jax.” My eyes well with tears. “And I have something you might want to see.”
He pulls a piece of parchment out of his jacket. I see the handwriting and know right away it’s Jax’s. “He handed it in last night before… Well, I thought you might want to read it.”
I take it from him, fighting back tears.
Assignment for: Professor Sebastian at Fairy Tale Reform School
Sent from: Fairy Tale Reform School (while I still can!)
Five Years from Now I Will Be…
By: Prince Jaxon
I know what you’re thinking: Five years from now this prince will be part of the royal court.
Well, not so fast.
Look, being prince means I have that right, I guess, but as the kids at Royal Academy have shown, not everyone born royal is meant to rule.
I’d love to explore my options before I decide my place in the kingdom. I’m a good negotiator, a good speaker, and I think I’m a pretty decent guy, so I feel like spending time among the villagers and championing their causes would be a great use of my time. There are so many wonderful organizations out there that could use a boost from a prince’s words—and I don’t mean that vainly. I just mean if my voice can help promote action for others, why not help where I can?
I have a lot of ideas and much I want to see happen in Enchantasia in the future, so maybe I will wind up on that royal court eventually after all. I guess I’ll just need a queen.
And maybe, just maybe, I already have one in mind.
“I didn’t get to grade it yet, but I feel like an A would have been fitting,” Professor Sebastian says softly.
“I agree,” I say, choking back tears. I try not to think about the last sentence of his paper.
“I also have a second wish!” Ollie says, trying to help lighten the mood. “I wish the people of Enchantasia no longer think of us kids as villains.”
“Oh, thank the genies, that’s a good one!” Darlene agrees and reverses Stiltskin’s other wish as well. A shock wave seems to wash over us like the wind, and Darlene smiles. “Done.”
Seconds later, we hear a tingling sound. A message is coming across Madame Cleo’s mirror.
Kayla reads it out loud. “All safe at royal court. Royal Academy was unharmed, but everyone is a wreck. Is everyone here okay? What’s happened? Feels like we were all under Princess Rose’s sleeping curse. Will get there as soon as we can to check on the rest of you. Raz.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Flora says. She eyes the castle and frowns. “We may need their help housing the students till we can get them all home…if their areas of the kingdom are still here. We’ll have to send Red and Robin out to see what’s left of Enchantasia.”
“Home?” Maxine asks. “But FTRS is our home!”
“If you haven’t noticed, we don’t have a home to go back to,” Ollie points out. “It was destroyed in the curse.”
“It will take years to rebuild,” Professor Wolfington says sadly. “I’m afraid we’ll have to find other ways to continue to help the children of Enchantasia change their ways.”
“Don’t be sad,” Beauty tells us. “We can create a pop-up castle or ask Royal Academy to let us run some classes there. There is always a way to continue our work!”
“And hand in homework,” Professor Sebastian says, looking at me. “My assignment still stands.”
“But Jax…” Kayla starts to say, and everyone grows quiet again.
I turn away so no one can see my tears.
“I wish I could help with the others,” Darlene says again. “I so wish that, but I can’t do that or rebuild what the curse has taken away, I’m afraid. Wishes don’t overrule curses. But you do have one more wish,” she reminds Ollie. “So what is it? I’m looking forward to getting back to my lamp and the genie community, even if I will be banished for two weeks for banishing Stiltskin. It was worth it! In fact, if I could make a wish, it would be that you hide me somewhere truly safe so I don’t have to grant any more wishes for a good long while.”
“You can come stay with me,” Grandma Pearl says. “I don’t get many visitors.”
“You will now.” Father pats her hand. “I think we’re long overdue for a visit. We all could use a vacation after we find the boys.” He swallows hard.
BOOM!
There is a thunderous sound of something descending at alarming speed. We all dive out of the way just in time to see a beanstalk reach the ground and embed itself into the dirt. I look up and see it stretches clear into the cloud.
Erp claps his hands excitedly at the sight of the stalk and tries to climb it.
“Wait!” Jack tells him. “It’s coming in reverse. That means someone’s coming down.”
Whoever they are is so high up, I can’t see them. Erp finally gets frustrated and climbs up to greet them. Halfway up, he stops and comes back down with something clutched in his large hand. When he reaches the bottom, he opens his palm.
Jax, Han, and Hamish are nestled inside.
Everyone goes berserk trying to reach them first. Mother and Father are crying, Trixie is screaming, and I’m running for the three of them, laughing through my tears.
“Gilly!” Han’s eyes are wide. “We saw Cloud City!”
“And met real giants!” Hamish says. “Jax introduced us to everyone and then said when the coast is clear, we have to head home. We heard the cheers from above and headed back.”
“I thought we lost you,” I say, looking at Jax but meaning all of them.
“I thought so too.” Jax nurses his wounded shoulder, which is now bandaged. “But I guess you can’t keep a good trickster down.” He grins at me. “Did I worry you again?”
“No. Not at all!” I argue. “You had my brothers. That’s why I was worried.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why,” Ollie says and our friends laugh.
I blush slightly. Jax is probably my closest friend, and that’s all there is to it.
For now.
I feel a peck in the back of my legs again. Quack! Quack! Quack! Peaches starts again.
“What now?” I huff. “Maxine, will you call your attack duck off?”
Peaches quacks madly at her too.
“What do you mean it didn’t fully work the way the curse was meant to and it can be partially reversed?” Maxine asks. She picks up the golden egg. “Uh-huh. Yes,” she answers Peaches’s quacks. “So Peaches says the reason the curse took so long to work is because it wasn’t a full-size golden egg. Yes, a lot of FTRS was destroyed, but the rest of the kingdom is still intact.” Everyone cheers. “Peaches said she tried to tell you this earlier when the curse started, but no one would listen.”
Peaches glares at me and burps.
That duck…
“Thank you, Peaches,” I say, and the duck waddles away.
“Stiltskin’s story ended exactly as it should have,” Angelina says as she clutches his villain book. “He lost what he most wanted, and good prevails. Thanks to Gilly’s strong belief, we fought the darkness and won.”
I look at Grandma Pearl. “I tried to believe in myself and remember we’re never really alone. As lost as we may feel, we can defeat the darkness together.”
“She’s right,” Father says and puts an arm around his mother. Grandma Pearl’s wings flutter.
“All that’s left to do is bring back the school—with a few modifications. Remember, I still get another wish,” Ollie says, his eyes twinkling.
“Oliver, don’t do anything foolish,” Headmistress Flora says.
“You bring that lamp back to your place as soon as he’s done,” I hear Harlow tell my grandmother. “No more wishing for this crew.”
“I was just thinking a pirate ship wing, and maybe a new gym,” Ollie tells her.
“Oh, and a bigger place for the magical fairy pets to hang out!” Maxine adds.
“A larger potions lab?” Jocelyn suggests.
“And a second wing for daytime students,” Professor Sebastian says, and we all look at him. “This crew has clearly graduated—once their papers are turned in—but obviously, continued guidance on a daily basis would be my recommendation.”
“Do you have room for new students?” I hear someone ask.
I turn and see Anna standing awkwardly with Mother. Everyone looks at my younger sister. “I know I came here once before and did everything wrong.”
“Everything,” I repeat sharply, folding my arms across my chest.
“And my actions almost brought about the end of Enchantasia as we know it,” she adds. “But if anyone needs helps learning how to be reformed, it’s me, and the rest of the Stiltskin squad, who are probably hiding out in the woods as we speak.” Headmistress Flora is quiet. “I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but—”
“Everyone deserves a second chance, child,” Professor Sebastian says. “It’s what you do with that chance that tells us who you could are—and you, from what we’ve heard, turned against one of our world’s biggest villains.”
Anna’s eyes are full of tears. “I want to be good like Gilly.”
My heart breaks a little. “And I want you to be you. Whoever you are—as long as it’s good, of course.”
Anna runs over to hug me. I don’t let go.
Anna isn’t good yet, but she obviously isn’t all that bad either. She’s a bit like all of us, trying hard to do the right thing and sometimes failing. But that’s what Fairy Tale Reform School is for, to help us learn how to get things right and make the kingdom a better place.
“Then let’s get this school back so we can start working again, shall we?” Flora asks.
“With pleasure.” Grandma Pearl taps the golden egg. “What was undone, please be redone—as much as you can!”
We watch in reverent awe as our school glistens and glows in front of our eyes, reshaping, regrowing into our school. It’s not the same, of course, and there are still things that will have to be rebuilt and grown, but we take off at a run toward it anyway. In the distance, I see Robin Hood and Red zipping across arrows and depositing children at the school’s new gates. Ollie has obviously made his last wish too. There’s a pirate ship on top of the boys’ dorm and what appears to be an entire zoo area for the Magical Fairy Pets. There’s even a sign for a village simulation shop where students can “try being good” in a controlled environment.
“Want to go check it out?” I ask Anna, holding out my hand.
Anna looks at her new school in wonder and smiles as she puts her hand in mine. “Yes.”
“Come on, thief!” Jax calls, running ahead of me.
My sister and I take off at a run, as fast as our legs will take us into the fiery-red moonlight.
Assignment for: Professor Sebastian at Fairy Tale Reform School
Sent from: 5 Boot Way (My new home address! Our house has been rebuilt!)
Five Years from Now I Will Be…
By: Gillian Cobbler
It feels strange thinking about five years from now when I’ve already lived a lifetime at Fairy Tale Reform School. Let’s face it: I’ve done a lot. How many twelve-year-olds do you know who have faced down two major villains, visited Cloud City, and fought a dragon, a wyvern, and a possessed princess—and lived to tell about it?
What do I really want to happen in five years? I want to see the kingdom at peace.
I’m sure that’s not possible. But if I wind up working at the Dwarf Police Squad like I envision, I’ll be there with a shiny badge, ready to take down any villains or delinquents who need to learn how to be good. But maybe I should be thinking bigger.
Why stop at just helping the kids of Enchantasia Village when I could be doing more for the kingdom as a whole? Maybe I’m meant to help run this place. Hey, it could happen. If the Royal Academy kids can rebel at what it means to be a prince or a princess, why can’t I buck the whole system and run Enchantasia as a commoner? I’ve seen a lot and have a lot of ideas about how to make this place great. I know how to work well as part of a team now. Plus, I know a great group of kids who would make the coolest, most well-rounded court around.
GRADE: B+! Impressive dreams, Gilly. I wouldn’t be surprised if this actually happens! See you at class this Monday, where we’ll discuss what it means to be in charge of a kingdom. Keep up the good work. —Professor S