Ever After High: The Unfairest Of Them All Part 10

aYep,a said the other ogre. aNope.a aIam sorry?a Apple asked, confused.

Both ogres began to stumble over themselves in an attempt to explain.

aThey gotta thing up thereaa aThereas this stuffaa aJumpina and sum otheraa aBut itas a list you gotaa aEnough!a said a third voice.

Apple looked for the source of the voice. A bright green sprite stood on a Beanstalk leaf perfectly camouflaged. Her hair, wings, and stylish motorcycle boots were all the same color of green.

aWell, h.e.l.lo!a Apple began.

aIall stop you right there.a The sprite hovered directly in front of Appleas face. Her eyes were glowing green. aDonat try any flattertalk. Just go away.a aAh, camon, Amy,a one of the ogres grumbled. aWhy you gotta be so mean?a aYou!a the sprite shouted, darting straight to the ogre. aShut it!a The ogre bowed his head.

Apple took a breath. ah.e.l.lo, Amy, is it? My name is Apple White. Would you be so kind as to tell me why the Beanstalk is closed?a aSporting event up there.a Amy hefted the tiny MirrorPad in her hand. aAnd youare not on the list. There are rules, you know.a Apple groaned. She respected rules. Rules existed to keep everything going in the right order, on track, safely and securely, with as little uncertainty as possible. But here rules were stopping her from trying to get everything back on track.

Appleas mind raced. Shead read a book two years ago during Kingas Break, The Dust Trade During the Age of Djinn, detailing the historical economics of trade between magical creatures. Briar had made fun. aA book about dust? That has got to be the driest tale ever!a There had been a chapter on how the court of the sprite regent only traded in ideas, thoughts, or feelings, which made doing business with them awkward and confusing. Instead of a load of potatoes, they would trade something like athe satisfaction of a full wagon,a or instead of a diamond they would trade aa brideas beauty.a Well, it was worth a shot.

aIt is a pleasure to exchange thoughts with you today, Amy,a Apple said in what she hoped was the formal sprite manner.

The spriteas little eyebrows raised in surprise. Her lips cracked a tiny smile, revealing green teeth. aAnd with you, Apple,a she said.

Apple clasped her hands together. She was on the right track.

aI am thinking todayaa Apple said, gazing up at the clouds that swallowed the top of the Beanstalk. She needed to express her need to get up the Beanstalk and into the giantsa castle, but in the sprite manner. aa about transit, and pa.s.sage, and entry.a Amy smiled and flitted back to the leaf she had been sitting on when Apple arrived.

aAh,a said Amy. aMy thoughts bend toward duty, gates, andaa Her eyes flicked to her ogre companions aa frustration.a aPerhaps we could trade?a said Apple.

aWhat do you offer?a she said.

aI would take your frustration in exchange for pa.s.sage,a Apple said.

The sprite sighed and turned away. Whoops. Apple messed up there somewhere. What she wanted was to somehow make this spriteas life easier in exchange for the chance to go up the Beanstalk.

aBut I fear it would be a poor exchange,a Apple said, trying to recover.

The sprite nodded.

aI am feeling free, Amy,a Apple said. aRight now, I am feeling like I could take a break. Alone, away from large distractions, maybe to have a cupcake. I want to trade my freedom to you, Amy. You mentioned duty before. Your duty. Iall take that in trade. You can relax, and I think duty suits me.a The sprite brightened. She flitted up to Appleas cheek and patted it. aDeal. Let us also trade grat.i.tude.a Apple laughed in relief and happiness. aAgreed,a she said, and watched Amy fly off toward town. Probably to the cupcake shop. Hopefully she and the pastry vendors could work something out, because Apple was pretty sure they wouldnat take something like adutya or afrustrationa as payment.

With the sprite gone, a quick, friendly conversation with the ogres delegated the door-guarding portion of her newly gained duty to them, and she proceeded to the Beanstalk base. Ogres, Apple found, were often reasonable when treated kindly. A climbing rope was wrapped around it, and Apple clicked a hook onto the first link and began the long, arm-aching, stomach-trembling, dizzying climb.

aI. Donat. Like. Big. Weeds,a Apple breathed, wiping her hands, sticky with bean sap, on her skirt.

At last she breached the cloud cover and climbed up into noise. Ma.s.ses of people and creatures sat in towering bleachers, blocking her pa.s.sage to Giant Castle. And no giants in sight.

A huge banner hung over the cloud field: Apple looked around, desperate to find some way around the crowd and to the castle.

A witch in black spandex and a pointy black hat was floating on a mop about ten feet above the crowd. She was standing straight up, holding the mop vertically, with one boot on the floppy business end of the mop, one hand holding the pole part. A ma.s.sive mirror broadcast her image to the crowd.

The witch shouted into a megaphone. aNext event: Fairy Balllla Balllla Ballll!a The crowd cheered, and four teams of two people ran onto the cloud field, each in matching bright outfits.

Apple heard a voice she recognized.

aWhat do you mean, he doesnat meet the height requirement?a Briar yelled. She was wearing a bright pink minijumpsuit and sporty wedge sneakers, her dark brown hair swept up in a ponytail. As always, crowngla.s.ses were perched on her heada"a sleek, aerodynamic pair today.

aRules,a said a plump, bearded man with a bird on his shoulder.

Apple moved closer and nearly tripped on Nate Nutcracker.

aWhoa,a she said, stumbling. aSorry, Nate! I didnat see you there.a aStory of my life,a Nate said, smiling to show he didnat mind, though his forehead was worried. He was also wearing a bright pink minijumpsuit.

aWaita you were going to compete with Briar, and they wonat let you becausea"a aStature,a said Nate, his tiny hands shaking.

aThatas not fair,a Apple said, her fists going to her hips. aAnd if thereas anything I donat like, itas unfairness.a aNo, itas totally okay,a Nate said. His nutcracker jaw was chattering. aIam actually rea rea relieved.a Still, Apple marched up to Briar, ready to give the referee a piece of her mind.

Briar stopped her yelled protests midsentence. aThere!a she said, pointing at Apple. aThereas my new partner!a aWaita what?a said Apple.

Briar grabbed Appleas hand, tugging her onto the field. aI had no idea you wanted to start doing hextreme sports, Apple!a Apple skipped erratically behind Briar, trying to keep up without tripping. aI, um, I donat. Actually, I just came up hunting for a giantas hair.a aReally? Gross.a aYeah,a Apple agreed.

aStand here,a Briar said, pointing to a small circle combed into the cloud field. aFairy Ball is a cool event. Youall be okay. Hey, Iam throwing a going-away party for Maddie tonight in my dorm. You must be there, of course. I know we all want to cry our eyeb.a.l.l.s out about it, but crying makes for lousy partying, so tonight we dance and sing and just spellebrate the wildest, maddest girl in all of Ever After.a aRelease the b.a.l.l.s!a shouted the announcer-witch.

Apple looked around. She had been hoping that Fairy Ball was some kind of ballroom dance-off, but there was no music, and everyone seemed to be lookinga up.

Apple looked up just in time to see a giant, silver, spherical blob plop heavily onto her and Briar. She felt slimy for a second, and then, pop!, she was inside the sphere, looking out onto the world through a shimmering haze.

aWaitaa said Apple. aIam here fora"a aA giantas hair, I know,a said Briar. aDonat worry, I can help.a aButa"a aGo!a the announcer yelled.

aRun!a Briar screamed.

aAah!a said Apple.

But she ran.

As Briar and Apple ran, the ball began to roll. It surrounded them like a rubbery coc.o.o.n, powered by the motion of their tread. Apple watched through the transparent curves as the other b.a.l.l.s pa.s.sed them.

aIsa ita a race?a Apple asked, panting.

aYeah!a shouted Briar.

The ball was surprisingly bouncy beneath her feet, like running on a trampoline. She laughed. aWhy is ita called a Fairy Ball?a Briar pointed to either side of them. aBecause of the wings!a Tiny gossamer wings were attached to the outside of the ball. Only they werenat spinning with the ball, just flapping once every time their ball seemed to make a complete rotation. Apple imagined that if the ball were spinning fast enough, it might actually fly.

aFaster!a Briar shouted.

Apple tried to pick up the pace, but she kept slipping on the unfamiliar surface. Three Fairy b.a.l.l.s cruised along in front of them. She hoped that Briar wouldnat feel bad about losing.

Suddenly the Fairy Ball in first place disappeared. It just dropped out of view.

aBriar?a she asked.

aFaster!a Briar shouted, laughing.

The second ball dropped out of sight.

aBriar? Why are there wings on the ball?a The third one disappeared, and then Apple saw it. They were running right off the edge of the clouds.

aSo we can fly!a Briar yelled, and their Fairy Ball rolled off the edge and fell.

They both began to scream, though Briaras scream was aHextreeeeeeeeme!a and Appleas was more of an aAaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!a Apple could see the other compet.i.tors now, their Fairy b.a.l.l.s spinning, tiny wings flapping, bobbing in the air as if they were floating in water. She would have found it pretty had she not been nearly incapacitated by terror.

aBut I needed to go,a said Apple. aTo. The. Giant! Castle!a aI know,a said Briar. aI can help!a They sailed past the ball that had been in third place, the second, and then the first.

Apple stopped screaming. aHey! Weare winning!a Briar and Apple gave each other a high five, and then looked down. The ground was coming up remarkably fast. They werenat awinninga so much as falling faster than anyone else. Apple looked at Briar with wide eyes.

aFaster!a they both screamed.

Apple scanned the ground below. They were dropping too fast, and they were going to go splat. It was all wide stone ground and cobblestone streets. They needed to land in water or hay or something softer than a hammer.

aWhatas that?a Apple asked, pointing to a large gray ma.s.s.

aThe. Giantsa. Midden. Heap,a Briar said, panting with the effort of running.

The midden heap. The giantsa garbage pile. Gross. But way softer than stone. And just maybea aDo the giants throw their garbage and stuff there?a aYep!a said Briar. aMaybe even the hairs after a haircut. Buta itall be nasty.a Apple shrugged, as much as anyone can when running for her life.

Briar looked at the oncoming rush of ground. aLetas do it!a she yelled, sprinting.

The Fairy Ball containing Apple White and Briar Beauty crashed into the giantsa garbage heap with a sound like ten thousand b.u.t.ter pies exploding. The ball burst on impact, its remains lying like a gelatin picnic blanket under the girls. For two seconds they sat in silence, stunned that they were not road paste.

Briar broke the silence. aThat. Was. Awesome! Letas do it again!a Apple took a breath, thought better of it, and then began absently patting herself to make sure she wasnat missing any arms or legs.

aUm,a she noised, standing unsteadily. aI canat. Have an errand. To run.a The word run reminded her how shead just run for her life, and she shuddered.

Briar hopped up. aWhat do you need the hair for anyway? Hextra credit project? Never mind, I donat want to know any gross details.a Briar tore a couple of pieces off the ballas remains. aHere, we can use this to board down the heap so we donat have to ruin our shoes in this nastiness.a aThanks, Briar. Iall see you back at school.a Her friend gave her a thumbs-up and leaped onto her impromptu garbage surfboard. aWahooo!a she yelled, sliding away.

Apple looked around the garbage heap. Huge orange peels, banana peels, crumpled tissues, and (shudder) sharp toenail clippings. Snow White had to face an Evil Queen, creepy forest, poison apple, and gla.s.s coffin, but at least in her story shead been safe from giant midden heaps.

At last she spotted a thin, stiff stick as long as her arm poking out from under a monstrous, wilted cabbage leaf. A giant hair. She didnat have enough time to climb back up the Beanstalk and try to find the giants all over again. Besides, the riddle did say adrops in the muck.a Maybe the most garbagey hair was exactly what the spell needed.

aBe brave,a Apple told herself.

She teetered across a path of garbage, moved aside the leaf, and pulled out the giantas hair. It was black and rough to the touch, like the bark of an oak tree. Holding the hair firmly, she sat on the sc.r.a.p of the gelatinous ball and slid down the heap. After falling from the sky, sledding over garbage was a walk in the park.

SEEK THE Sp.a.w.n OF THE p.a.w.n.

OF THE CRONE OF BONES.

THAT COTTAGE OF DOOM.

THE ROOM NOT A ROOM.

THE BEAST NOT A BEAST.

THAT MOVES SOUTH AND WEST AND NORTH AND EAST.

SEARCH IN NEST, COOP, OR DEN.

OF THE COBBLED TRUSSED HEN.

RAVEN WAS CATAPULTING THROUGH THE AIR.

Iam going to die now, Raven thought. Iam going to smash against the side of the castle like that spoonful of porridge against Appleas cheek.

Beyond the breathless terror and dizzy delirium, she noticed that the sun was lingering over the horizon. Only a couple of more hours of daylight.

Maddiea Raven refused to die. She shook her head to focus her thoughts, fought the air to point her hands toward her feet, and tried a spell shead never attempted before. Streams of high-powered fire shot from her hands. Her speed increased, rocketing her through the cool air, but she could move her hands and control her angle at least. She wiggled her hands, adjusting her trajectory, aiming for the open door on her dorm balcony.

She hurtled through it and crashed in a heap on Appleas bed. The remnant of her fire-hands spell spurted out, but not before setting afire one of Appleas throw pillows. It had been her favorite, tooa"Briar had ironed on a photo of the five boys from the band One Reflection. Their smiling faces scorched and turned into ash. Raven whimpered. Apple would not be happy. They were really cute boys.

Raven quickly swept off the ash and straightened the satin bedspread. Apple always kept her things tidy.

Nevermore was perched proudly atop the shrunken dragon skull, flapping her wings and squawking like a chicken.

aGood girl!a said Raven. aCould you go back to the park? I kind of promised the kids youad play with them. Come back at sunset, okay? Or before that if people show up with torches and pitchforks.a Always good advice.

She gave Nevermore a good-bye neck scratch and then unfolded the parchment from her pocket.

a aSeek the sp.a.w.n of the p.a.w.naa a She read the next riddle over and over again, pacing. The sun was lowering still. a aa the beast not a beastaa a No time, no time. a aa search in nest, coop, or denaa a Maddie. Save Maddie. Her panicked heart scattered her thoughts. She needed to calm down and refocus.

Raven gave up on pacing and sat at her vanity, opening it to reveal a hidden keyboard.

It was a Legacy Day gift from her father. He didnat know yet that she hadnat signed, only that she hadnat been excited about it. But he had known the most perfect gift possible. Raven sat, letting her fingers roll out a melody that was both haunting and sweet, a tune that whispered a new day was full of possibilities, risks, fears, and joy. She didnat have to be evil. She didnat have to take after her mother. The past couple of days shead been feeling afraid of the unknown hole uprooting her destiny had left inside of her. The music reminded her that while freedom was a little frightening, it was also beautiful.

She had claimed her own destiny. There was power in choice. And she would use the power to help save Maddie.

Raven began to sing the riddle into the melody. a aThe crone of bonesa that cottage of dooma the room not a roomaa a She stopped and laughed.

aIave got it!a She laughed so hard she put a hand over her mouth and tensed for the sound of Professor Momma Bearas knock. It didnat come.

Raven ran out to the balcony and scanned the courtyard below.

Every day at sunset Baba Yagaas hut dropped the witch off at the dungeons. Whatever Baba Yaga did down there had to be done in the dark of night, and, frankly, Raven didnat really want to know what it was. She was more concerned with the Hut.

A acottage of doom,a both a abeasta and a aroom.a One of Madam Yagaas t.i.tles was aBone Witch,a and that was about as close to aCrone of Bonesa as you could get. She needed to track the Hut to where it aslepta at night. Its den or nest, as the riddle said. Whatever she needed would be there.