CHAPTER 18

Unhappily After…for Now

When I open my eyes, all I see are blue sky and clouds. Am I still in Cloud City?

I sit up fast and feel dizzy.

“Oh, my head,” I hear Jax moan. Children all around me are coming to as well. I look around.

We are scattered on the ground like bread crumbs, each one of us lying near a twisting, turning root of a fresh, new beanstalk. Everyone looks as dazed and confused as I am, especially when they see Erp lying in a giant-sized crater on the ground.

I am not home in my cozy boot, but I am back at Fairy Tale Reform School, safely on the ground. I smile. My head won out over my heart.

A sound like thunder rumbles through the ground as the staff bursts from the school, trailed by dozens of students aiming weapons. They look from the new beanstalk to Erp, who is trying to stand, to the kids scattered across the ground.

Tessa lowers her wand in surprise. “It’s Gilly and the others!” she cries, and everyone lets up a loud cheer. “They’re okay!”

Rapunzel lowers her crossbow and runs to Jax. “It is you!” He’s still just sitting up when Rapunzel tackles him in a hug.

It’s like a domino effect. Jack, his mum, and Milky Way have a reunion on a vine. Kayla flies to her mother’s and sisters’ sides, then drags them over to meet Erp as she starts telling everyone how he helped save us. Ollie and Blackbeard trade sword-fighting stories. Maxine and AG hug their fellow RLWs.

Students run over to the rescued kids, offering their mini magic mirrors so the kids can reach home and tell their parents they’ve been found. Even non-FTRS kids seem happy to have someone kind and forgiving wrap a blanket or cloak around them.

“No candy!” I hear a goblin boy beg. “All I’ve eaten for the past month is candy. It’s fun for the first week, but if I ever see a lavender gumdrop again, I think I’ll have the shakes.”

It should be a happy moment, but I can’t help thinking about the one person who didn’t come back with us.

“Jocelyn!” snaps Professor Harlow. She’s busy putting up some sort of shield that keeps sputtering out and dying every time she casts it. “Stop lollygagging and help me with this blocking charm! It takes two, and we don’t want to let anyone through!”

Jocelyn, who appears to have face-planted, attempts to stand and staggers over to Harlow to help her. Seconds later, the two of them manage to cross magic streams and send a glowing bubble up over the beanstalk, preventing anyone or anything from climbing it till it can be cut down.

“What about the giant?” someone cries as Erp finally stands and starts to stumble around. “Someone restrain him!”

“No!” Jack shouts, rushing forward. He steps onto Erp’s mega-sized toes. “Erp is harmless. I can’t speak for all giants, but Erp helped save us.” He hangs his head as he looks at his mum and Milky Way. “It was my fault everyone needed saving though. I got myself thrown into FTRS on purpose so I could get close to Gilly and convince her to go after Anna.”

“Sweetheart, why would you do that?” his mother asks.

Jack pauses again. “Because I was working with Rumpelstiltskin.”

The outcry is loud and angry and all at once.

“Young man, explain yourself at once,” Headmistress Flora demands. She sounds angry, but I know she’ll be fair with Jack. He may have tricked us, but he did help us escape. And if he’s willing to change, then maybe he deserves a place at FTRS.

But right now, I need to be alone to think about all that’s happened since I climbed into the sky to save my sister and came back empty-handed. I walk away from the crowd and sit under a large oak tree with my back to the school. I close my eyes for a moment, listening to the sound of the wind.

“Gilly?” I hear a gruff yet tentative voice say. “Mind if I join you?”

It’s Allison Grace, who is still partially in wolf form.

“How’d you know where I was?” I ask, looking back at where Jack is speaking to the crowd.

AG points to her snout. I mean nose. I mean snout-nose. “Powerful sniffer. You’ve got a strong scent.”

“Oh. Thanks. I think.”

AG sits down next to me, and neither of us says anything for a while. Then I hear someone calling her name.

“Allison Grace!” Beauty cries when she sees AG sitting with me. “Kayla said you came back, but when we didn’t see you, we feared the worst. Oh, and, sweetheart, you’re…” No one will say the word beast in front of her.

Prince Sebastian and Beauty quickly try to cover her with a cloak.

“No, I’m not hiding who I am anymore!” AG pushes off the blanket, surprising them both. She stands up unsteadily, and I get a good look at the princess in all her wolfy glory. “Yes,” she growls, her voice gravelly, “I’m cursed to be part princess and part beast, but I’m not afraid of my beast side anymore. I think being part beast makes me a princess you won’t want to tangle with. And I like that.”

Beauty and the prince look at each other doubtfully. Then he trains his eyes on me.

“Did you convince our daughter to go on this foolish quest and risk her life?” he thunders.

“Don’t blame Gilly, Father,” AG interrupts. “I made the choice. Gilly is my friend—a good friend—and I wanted to help her try to get her sister back. If I hadn’t transformed, we might not have escaped Stiltskin.” The prince starts to growl.

“Er—maybe I should let you three to catch up,” I say, anxious to avoid the prince’s wrath.

The prince puts out a hand to stop me. “You stay right here.”

“Sebastian, the girl just lost her sister!” Beauty says. “Hasn’t she been through enough?”

“Don’t get mad,” AG tells the prince. “Your job is to be my father, not the Dwarf Police Squad. I don’t want to be cut off from the world anymore. Why should I be ashamed of who I am just because you were ashamed of your appearance? My beast side can come in handy.”

“Or it will get you shunned,” the prince says.

“People are more accepting now,” AG says as her body starts to transform back. The hair is starting to recede from her body as she slowly becomes human again. “If I show them there is nothing to fear about me being different, then they won’t be afraid. Being different is what makes us special. That’s what Gilly taught me. I need to own my differences, not hide them.”

Prince Sebastian looks at me ever so briefly. “Gillian Cobbler taught you that?

“It seems like this is a much longer discussion that we should have,” the prince tells his daughter, “and we will have it when we get home. To the pop-up castle.”

“You mean we’re not going home home?” AG asks excitedly.

The prince looks from Beauty to his daughter. “It would appear we are home. I’ve never seen you more comfortable than you are here.” AG jumps up and hugs him. “All your mother and I want is for you to be safe and happy. And if that means staying here, then here we’ll stay.”

“Fiddlesticks,” I say under my breath. “I guess this means I still have to finish my family tree.”

The prince surveys me with pursed lips. “Perhaps we could work on that together,” he says, to my surprise. “It appears you and I have more in common than I realized. We should get together to talk about Rumpelstiltskin someday soon.”

“Really?” I ask in surprise.

“Really.” The prince almost smiles.

Jocelyn whistles for us. Everyone under the beanstalk is staring. “Hey! You two. Want to come join the party? We have a crazed villain on the loose to deal with, you know.”

AG, Beauty, Prince Sebastian, and I walk back over to where the others are gathered.

Headmistress Flora’s face is grave. “We must alert the royal court and the Dwarf Police Squad immediately. They will want to prepare for any situation.”

Tessa and Raza both are in hysterics. “Our beloved Princess Rose! She’s just getting her strength back at her summer retreat. If she hears of Alva’s return, it will send her straight back to bed!”

“Or back to plotting her takeover of the royal court,” Jocelyn mumbles. This almost makes me laugh.

“For now, we will let Rapunzel and the royal court worry about Princess Rose’s needs,” Flora says delicately. “We have children to return to their worried parents, and all of you need a good long rest. Off to bed!”

Our group starts to disperse, but I find I’m not sleepy. I’m not ready to end the day just yet, and Flora knows it.

I put up my hand. “You don’t have to say it,” I tell her. “I know what I did was headstrong and selfish.”

“And foolish!” Jocelyn adds.

“And brave,” AG adds. Everyone looks at her.

“I’m with Jocelyn,” I tell her. “I was foolish. All I cared about was finding Anna and convincing her to come home. I wanted her to change so badly.” I look at all my professors. “But my sister is a full-blown villain now. I’ve accepted it, and I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“Maybe she is, and maybe she isn’t,” Jack says softly, and we all look at him standing with Erp. “I worked for Stiltskin too, didn’t I? And I lured you up the beanstalk to help him just like Anna did, but now I’m standing here with you instead of him. People can change if they really want to.”

“Jack’s right,” AG agrees. “Look how much I’ve changed since I’ve met you! I never thought I’d be okay with being part beast. But now I own it.” She winks at me, and I grin.

“A villain is only a villain because they know no other way to be,” Jax says. “There’s still hope for Anna.”

“And if she doesn’t change?” Maxine whispers.

I look up at the blue sky again and take a deep breath. “If she can’t, then we’ll still do whatever it takes to stop her and Rumpelstiltskin.” I look at Jax, who begins to smile. “We have a kingdom to save.”