Perhaps Apple noticed, because she stepped forward boldly and put a hand on Ravenas shoulder.
aMs. Queen, we need your help,a Apple said.
aCertainly! Just put your hands on the mirror and repeat the words I tell you. Iall be out in a flash to a.s.sist you with whatever troubling little dilemma you find yourselves in!a aMother, please, we canat do that,a Raven said.
aHmph. I had to try. People are always surprising me with the extent of their stupidity, but no surprises here today. Yet.a aWe need your a.s.sistance with a translation, Your Majesty,a Apple said, fists on her hips.
The Evil Queen snorted and then giggled and then began laughing with such malevolent force and volume that Raven worried the mirror gla.s.s would break.
aIam sorry,a the queen said, wiping tears from her eyes. aOne doesnat get to laugh much in here, and I found that delightful. Snow Whiteas daughter needs my help! With a translation! Any other homework I can do for you?a There was a knock at the door. Apple and Raven turned to each other in terror.
aRaven! Apple! Are you ladies okay?a a voice called.
aQuick,a Raven said. aPut a blanket over the mirror!a Apple tossed a blanket as Raven removed the locking spell and opened the door to Professor Momma Bear.
aHi,a Raven said, putting on her most relaxed face.
aI thought I heard something in here,a Momma Bear said. aSomethinga terrible.a aNope,a Raven said. aJust us girls. We were, uh, telling jokes.a Apple approached the door. aWhat did the zero say to the eight?a Momma Bear furrowed her brow. aIam sorry?a aNice belt!a Apple said.
Momma Bear and Raven both stared at Apple in silence until Apple gave Raven a significant look.
aOh!a said Raven. aNice belt! Ha!a Apple nodded at Raven, coaxing.
aHa. Ha!a Raven continued to laugh, building volume. aMwahahahahahahaha!a Apple flinched. Raven had sounded almost exactly like her mother.
aUm,a Apple said. aIs that what you heard?a aI think it was,a Momma Bear said, eyes narrowing. aBe careful, girls.a aOkay,a Raven said. aThank you, Professor Momma Bear.a Raven shut the door and leaned against it.
aThat was close,a said Apple.
aNice belt?a said Raven.
aYou know, because an eight looks like a zero squeezed in at the middle?a aOh, okay. Thatas kind of funny.a Raven pulled the blanket off the mirror.
aThat,a said her mother, awas the height of disrespect.a She shuddered. aNow, you need my help. My price is conversation and involvement. Iam bored, and your little problem has a solution just sneaky enough to be interesting.a aWait, we havenat even told you whatas going on,a Raven said.
The queen sighed as if exhausted. aYour dearest lunatic friend Maddie is being banished for something she didnat mean to do, and you need to convince that worm Milton Grimm that heas wrong.a Apple and Raven stared.
aHowa"?a Raven started.
aSince thereas no way to force change in Uncle Milty,a the queen continued, awella there is, but Iam thinking you arenat willing to shove a parasitic worm into his brain, correct?a aCorrect,a said Raven.
Apple nodded, adding a quiet agross.a aSo. You need to show him and the rest of that petty faculty the whole picture. They need to see what happened from every point of view and convince themselves of the truth of the matter. You need Irrefutable Evidence.a aWe have this book,a Apple said, holding up volume aI.a aIs that Auntie Aesopas ridiculous Complete Compendium? Ugh. Not only is she a complete bore, I know from personal experience that she cheats at cards. Anyhoo, I already know the spell, and Iall teach it to you. Then you can drop that truth bomb in Grimmas face and laugh as he cringes at the realization of his own ignorance!a aItas not an actual bomb, though, is it?a Apple asked.
aNo! Thatas a metaphor, my little fruit bat. Donat they teach you anything in that school?a aWe know what a metaphor is, Mom. Weare just making sure.a aWell, yes, thereas making sure, and then thereas being a fool. But, no, it is not an actual bomb. Just a simple revisualization of the event.a aIs it like a reenactment that you can run on a mirror?a Apple asked. aThat plays back a view of what was in front of that mirror earlier?a aClever little rose hip. If I wasnat boxed in here, Iad pinch your cheek. Itas just like that. In the way that mortar and sludge are just like a castle.a Raven sighed. This was typical of her mother: insults hidden in praise.
aShe means that a mirror reenactment is similar, but a lot simpler,a Raven explained.
aOh. Okay. This might be a Mirror Networking problem, then,a Apple said. aSomething for a network reflectioneer to handle, not a sorceress.a The queenas eyes flashed purple, and Ravenas mirror actually shook a little.
aSilence!a the queen bellowed, pointing at Apple. aAnd pay attention. You might actually learn to live a life rather than play a Silly! Tedious! Role!a Apple cringed.
aMother! Enough!a said Raven. aThis is my friend! You are doing us a favor, I know. But please try to be civil!a The fire in the queenas eyes quenched, and she smiled in a way that Raven very rarely sawa"a comforting, genuine way.
aThereas my girl,a the queen whispered.
Raven took an involuntary step back, not sure whether to be glad of or worried by her motheras approval.
aThis spell doesnat use actual mirrors,a the queen said calmly, as if nothing untoward had happened. aYou need the mirrors of the soul, the eyes of those who witnessed the event.a She held up a hand. aBefore you ask, no, you donat need to remove anyoneas actual eyeb.a.l.l.s.a Apple and Raven exhaled in relief.
aBut you will need specific ingredients to make it work. Unfortunately, I canat actually tell you what they are.a aWhat? Thatas a joke, right?a aIf it had been a joke, it would have been better than that zero-with-a-belt monstrosity. No. The conditions of my imprisonment prevent me from acasting spells or through my specific words causing spells to be cast.a a Raven groaned. aCould you at least try?a aHat airing,a said the queen, abic spudow, ullrag donks, wise pat, liny agaught, and lastly, a ep.a She winced as she spoke, finally bowing her head, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose.
aWas that some kind of Faerie language?a Raven asked.
aNo,a Apple said. aThatas the filter. The mirror encryption enforcing the rules. She probably did tell us the ingredients, but they came through garbled.a aPrecisely,a the queen said, rubbing between her eyebrows. aAnd I am punished personally by a demon of a headache for even trying.a aHow about a riddle?a Raven said. aGive us riddles for each one, and weall figure them out on our own.a The queen quirked a half smile. aPerfect. I love this game.a Apple tore a sheet of parchment from her spiral scroll notebook and handed it to Raven.
aWrite down the riddles.a aI could just record it on my MirrorPhone and save the parchment?a said Raven.
aThat would be a bad idea,a Apple and the Evil Queen said at the same time. Apple looked at the mirror, shocked. The queen raised an eyebrow.
aOkay,a Raven said. aWhy?a aBecause the phone is connected to the Mirror Network,a Apple said, pulling her gaze away from the queen. aThe stuff on it might be accessible to someone who knows what theyare doing. Like Humphrey or Dextera"a aOr the school administratora"exactly.a The queen tilted her head, smiling at Apple and batting her lashes. aAre you sure youare Snow Whiteas daughter? Not adopted or anything?a aMother!a Raven said.
aYes. Iam sure,a Apple said, pushing a lock of blond hair behind her ear.
aUgh!a Raven sputtered. aJust give us the riddles, okay?a aAdvice first, or risk the failure of everything you attempt.a Apple scooted closer, notebook and pen ready to take notes.
aIn this endeavor you search for truth,a the queen said. aThis is truth: If you seek help from others, expect to fail.a aSo weave already failed,a Raven said.
aBecause you sought me out?a said her mother. aDonat be a fool, girl. Despite what Milty Grimm says, there are no rules in life. But I am keenly observant, and I notice what happens and which patterns repeat themselves. Take this advice for what itas worth: If you wish to succeed, depend on no one but yourself.a aOkay, buta"a Raven started.
The Evil Queen interrupted. aAnd without question, in no way and by no means let Madeline Hatter know what you are doing. Do this, if not for my sake, for your fatheras, who would weep unpleasantly over the sc.r.a.ps of his daughter left after a spell gone bad.a Raven stared. aNot tell Maddie? Why?a aOh, you know how these things work,a said her mother. aOnce upon a time, the brave sister must weave seven shirts out of stinging nettles in order to change her brothers back from swans and do it without speaking a word. Blah-blah goody-two-shoe nonsense, but sometimes a spell does require silence, so not a worda"spoken, written, even thoughta"to Madeline Hatter.a aButa"a Raven started.
aGot it,a said Apple. aThe riddles now, please?a aVery well,a the queen said. aI will give you six riddles, one for each ingredient of the spell. The first is this: Willow tree and whispers threeaa
WILLOW TREE.
AND WHISPERS THREE.
TOGETHER MAKE A TASTY TEA.
IN FORESTS THEY DO GLOW.
WHENCE WE DO NOT KNOW.
BUT IN THE TEAPOT THEY WILL GO.
APPLE READ THE FIRST RIDDLE ALOUD over and over as she and Raven left the school, crossed the Troll Bridge, and entered the Village of Book End. The cobblestone main street was mostly empty, the shop fronts quiet, doors closed, as if the village were in mourning. The news of Maddieas banishment must have already spread.
aWhispers three, whispers threeaa Raven muttered. aGlowing in forestsa curses, I canat make sense of it. You know who is really good at solving riddles?a aMaddie,a said Apple. aAnd we canat ask her. How about Kitty Cheshire? Sheas a Wonderlandian, too. I bet sheas royally good at riddles.a aBut sheas terrible at keeping secrets,a said Raven. aHow about Lizzie Hearts?a aWell, your mom said not to ask for help.a aI wisha"a Raven started.
aI know,a said Apple. aFurther proof that Maddie is indispensable! We canat risk asking her, but we should go to the tea shop, anyway. The riddle mentions tea twice. Itas our best clue.a aButa but Maddie will be there all day with her dad, and imagine how sheall feel when we canat talk to her.a aRaven, weare doing this for her, and if telling her would break the spellaa Raven stopped before the red front door of the Mad Hatter of Wonderlandas Haberdashery & Tea Shoppe. She took a deep breath.
aOkay, but this is going to be terrible, because not only canat we talk to Maddie at alla well, we canat even risk thinking about the spell while weare with her.a Apple wrinkled her nose. aWhat?a aMaddie sometimes hears, um, a voice she calls the Narrator, and that aNarratora reports on what people are thinking.a aWait, we canat think about what weare doing around Maddie because then a voice will tell Maddie what weare thinking and the spell will break?a Apple smiled, expecting Raven to say she was kidding. Raven nodded. Apple lost her smile.
aClear your thoughts,a Raven said.
Apple let her mind go blank and opened the door.
The first thing she noticed was the quiet. Usually the tea shop was full of chatting customers, their conversations like the harmony to the melody of piping teakettles and clinking silverware.
The Mad Hatter was sitting at one of the empty tables. His large, black-and-white-striped top hat in his hands, his thinning mint-green hair exposed.
aNo room! Weare closed!a he called out.
He was always shouting silly things like that, but this time Apple believed him.
aOh, itas you, Raven Queen.a The Mad Hatter smiled wide around his bucked front teeth. aHow is a Raven like a writing desk?a aNeither is able to feel happy today,a said Raven.
The Mad Hatter nodded, and his smile slipped away. aIam going with her, of course. Closing up shop. Do you think they like tea in Neverland?a Apple tried to imagine the pirates, mermaids, and Indians in Neverland drinking tea out of dainty cups. Maddieas destiny to become the next Mad Hatter of Wonderland had already been severely compromised when the portal to Wonderland was sealed. At least in Ever After she and her father had been able to continue their destiny by opening the tea shop. But in Neverlanda aWe were hoping to get some tea from you just now,a said Raven. aDo you know what kind of tea would involve willows and whispers and glowing in forests?a aAh, will oa the wisps tea!a said the Mad Hatter. aAn exotic brew. Never made any in the shopa always meant toaa He looked around wistfully at the walls covered in doors, the empty tables set for a teatime that wouldnat come. aIall just go fetch my copy of Recipes for Teas, Tales, and Time.a The Mad Hatter went into the kitchen just as Maddie came out. Apple stiffened. She heard Raven squeak.
aRaven!a Maddie hopped over to them on one foot. aAnd Apple White. I knew youad stay with me on my last day. I knew you didnat forget about me after I hopped off.a Raven shook her head but pressed her lips together.
aSometimes I hop when Iam sad,a Maddie explained to Apple. aBecause itas hard to stay sad when youare hopping. Your feet bounce your middle and your middle wants to laugh. Try it!a Apple stood on one leg and hopped. She didnat feel like laughing.
aRaven, are you gloomy and goosey again?a said Maddie. aYou donat need to worry about me. Iall be okay. In Neverland. With thea"aha"aha"ACHOO! Excuse me. With all the pirates and things. I justa Iall miss you so much. When I think about it, I want toaa Maddie screwed up her face as if fighting off tears. She took a deep breath, bent one leg, and hopped madly around the room. She returned with her smile again in place.
aHey, why are you girls so quiet?a Apple cleared her thoughts, focusing on anything other thana"no, she wouldnat think it. Instead, shead think about bunnies. Cute, little, fuzzy bunnies with wiggly noses.
aApple, why do you keep thinking about bunnies?a Maddie asked.
Apple cleared her thoughts. Bunnies, bunnies, bunniesa Maddie giggled. aI love bunnies, too. Are you trying to cheer me up?a BUNNIES. BUNNIES. THINKING ABOUT BUNNIES. Apple felt a light sweat begin to glisten on her forehead.
aSomething strange is going on,a Maddie said, squinting through one eye. aNarrator? Why are they acting squirrelly? Like squirrels without hats even?a Maddie tried to get the Narrator to explain, but the Narratoras job was to observe, not spoil secrets.
aSecrets?a asked Maddie. aWhat secrets?a Just what Raven and Apple werea uma Bunnies. So many bunnies.
aNarrator?a said Maddie, shocked. aYou too?a aHere it is!a the Mad Hatter said, returning from the kitchen. aI found the recipe in this book. And I found the book in a hat. And I found the hat in a closet. And I found the closet under the table, though how the closet got under there Iall never know.a Apple read the recipe as quickly as she could. She had to get out of there soon or she woulda"
BUNNIES. BUNNIES!.
Apple handed the book back to Maddieas dad, and she and Raven turned to leave.
aYouare leaving?a said Maddie. aYouare just going? Buta but Ia I was hopinga"a Apple didnat look back. BUNNIES. She ran outside, Raven following, both breathing heavily as if theyad been holding their breath as well as their thoughts. They kept running down the block till the tea shop was out of sight. Raven sat on the edge of a fountain and covered her face with her hands.
aDid you see Maddieas face?a said Raven. aShe thought that I didnat care.a aLetas get this over with fast so you can explain,a said Apple. aAccording to the recipe, weare going to need to find will oa the wisps in the Enchanted Forest and make them into tea, which could take hours, and this is just the first item of six. Wead better split up.a Raven nodded. aI agree. We have less than a day to solve all the riddles, collect the items, learn the spell, and use it to defend Maddie.a aRight. So, Iall go chase will oa the wisps?a Apple asked. aAnd you can tackle the next incomprehensible item on the list.a Apple waved good-bye and ran. Every minute she took crossing the school grounds, the footbridge, and the meadow toward the Enchanted Forest was one minute less in the day. She tried not to think about the Kingdom Management quiz the day after tomorrow, or that paper due in Damsels-In-Distressing, or that work sheet for Experimental Fairy Math she was supposed to be doing, ora"
Maddie. Right now, Maddie is more important than protecting perfect grades. A good ruler thinks first of her own subjects. Uh, people subjects, not school subjects. Hocus focus, Apple!
The moment she crossed under the canopy and into the shadows of the Enchanted Forest, a white fluffy streak slammed into her chest, knocking her to the ground.
aGala!a said Apple. aI missed you, too.a In all the drama after Legacy Day and then Yester Day, she hadnat taken time to come visit her pet in the Enchanted Forest. The snow fox nuzzled into Appleas neck and then ran a circuit from atop her head down her arm, up the other arm and over her head again several times, finally stopping to perch on Appleas knee. Apple looked into Galaas shiny black eyes.
aGala, sweetie, Iam trying to find a will oa the wisp. Can you help?a Gala reached forward to touch her cold black nose to Appleas, then she launched herself off Appleas knee and began to run. Apple followed her loping white shape deeper and deeper into the forest. The shadows were so dark they gleamed purple.
Purple, like her eyesa Apple thought, shuddering.
The Evil Queen made Apple nervous, but that was only naturala"after all, thatas how the Snow White story went. Then again, she hadnat been quite as scary as shead imagined. She was just Ravenas mother, right? She was helping them, wasnat she? Besides, as evil as she was, the Evil Queen was still an elder with a lot of knowledge and experience, and Apple thought it wise to learn what she could. From the Greatest Evil There Ever Was. As she went about on her errands. Collecting spell ingredients.
Apple gulped. And hoped she was on the right path after all. But how could she know for sure when everything had gone so totally off script?
The only surety, the only safety at all, was in following her destiny. And Apple would do everything she could to protect not only her own destiny but also everyone elseasa"including Maddieas.
Up ahead was a clearing with a grand gray willow tree at each end. From afar Apple could see a glowing sphere about the size of a baseball bobbing above the ground on a breeze. Suddenly it disappeared. Apple had spotted these will oa the wisps in the past, but until reading that pa.s.sage in the Mad Hatteras recipe book, she hadnat understood what they were.
Faerie is a realm alongside our own, invisible to most. Only its residentsa"fairies, pixies, sprites, and sucha"move freely between it and Ever After. Sometimes, on full moon nights or right after a rainfall, one may catch a breath of Faerie flowers, their rich scents pa.s.sing briefly into our world. Besides Faerieas residents and the occasional aromas, another traveler from There to Here are the will oa the wisps.
One of Faerieas most beautiful flowers is the enchanting dandyrose. At the end of a dandyroseas life, it erupts into a puff of downy white seeds called will oa the wisps. They are so light they sometimes catch a breeze in our world and cross over, especially near willow trees. They disappear and reappear as they move back and forth between Faerie and Ever After. Will oa the wisps glow in the nonmagical light of our realm. They follow whispers, and so serve as an interesting ball in the pixie game of Wisp Whispering.
Not until Apple stood on the edge of the clearing could she hear the whispers.
Tiny pixies flew around the field, some guarding the goal zones by each willow tree, others surrounding the glowing ball, whispering madly at it. Half wore blue jerseys, half green, both sides tackling each other, trying to keep members of the opposite team away from the ball.
When the will oa the wisp disappeared, the two pixies on the sidelines began screeching words Apple didnat understand. Both teams of pixies spread out over the field, forming a grid pattern. A few moments pa.s.sed, and the pixies waited, spinning in place, watching. When the ball winked back into existence farther down the field, the nearest pixies swooped to it, tackling one another and whispering at the ball to follow, follow.
Apple tiptoed up to the two pixies who were hovering off to the sidea"one in blue, one in greena"who she a.s.sumed were the coaches.
aPardon me,a Apple said softly. aIam sorry to interrupt your fascinating game, but I need a favor, please.a One of the pixies flew by her ear, buzzed loudly, and flitted away. The other made a noise Apple would swear was laughter.
aUm, I really need a will oa the wispa"itas to help a friend?a The pixies were screeching at the players, completely ignoring Apple now.
aCan you help me, please?a Apple asked.
The pixies glanced at her and returned their attention to the game.