Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ice Castle Quest
JustAnotherFanGirl2004: It would have actually been a good idea to have had Hopper sneak in, but I have a plan for how everyone finds out he and Briar are together. They just became a couple, so not many people really know yet. And you're about to find out why Red Riding Hood has the Rose of Spring. I don't really know how this idea came to me, but I like it.
PowPow456 - Review 1: I was going to put the sequel as an option on the pole, but I decided to be a bit evil and leave you on a cliffhanger - just like any writer! And you will want a sequel when you read the end of this story. And if you want to vote on which story I do next, go to my profile and vote.
PowPow456 - Review 2: Thank you!
When Cerise and Ramona walked inside, Red Riding Hood walked in and said, "Ramona, who was at- Cerise!"
She ran forward and hugged Cerise just like Ramona had. "Are you okay? When the storm hit I was so worried."
Cerise smiled. "I'm fine. But our big secret is out."
"You'll have to be a bit more specific for her," Ramona said from behind her. "You could be talking about our family secret, Mom's secret, or your secret b-"
"RAMONA!" Cerise yelped. Her sister gave her a grin and said innocently, "What?"
When Red Riding Hood spotted the others, she sighed.
"I always knew it was going to come out somehow," she said. "You should all sit down. I suppose you want an explanation."
They all nodded and sat down. Red Riding Hood walked into the living room and brought out some blankets for the girls.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hood," Ashlynn said.
"Call me Red," she said.
"So, why's Ramona here?" Briar asked. "We heard that she went home to help a family member."
"She got permission from Giles to come home because I broke my leg and needed help. He's the only faculty member that knows. Since I'm nearly better, she was planning on going back to school soon for the end of the year. But then this happened." She gestured around.
"Speaking of Ramona, where are she and Cerise?"
They got their answer when they heard Cerise say, "I am seriously regretting trying to warn you!"
She stormed into the kitchen and said, "Mom, Ramona won't stop blaming me for everyone finding out about our secret!"
"Well, you could have stopped them!"
"How, by telling them the truth?"
"Girls, stop fighting," Red scolded. "And solve your differences with talking. Like you did when we got the bunk bed."
"If I remember correctly, that scenario ended with Ramona chasing me around the room and me spraining my ankle," Cerise said dryly.
"And I still didn't get the top bunk!" Ramona said in a teasing tone.
Cerise grinned.
"Exactly."
"Perfect, now that you guys solved your problem - Cerise, go hang your hood up. And Ramona, sit next to me," Red said.
The girls obeyed, and when Cerise came back the girls couldn't help staring at her. They had never seen her without her hood, and she looked strange without it. Her brown and white hair sat on her shoulders and her hazel eyes were much more visible. Without the hood casting a shadow on them, the girls could see they were actually amber. But the thing that made them stare was the light brown furred wolf ears that replaced the ears a human would have.
"What?" she asked when she caught them looking. "In case you forgot, I'm half wolf."
"Mrs. H- Red, would you mind if I recorded this?" Blondie said.
Red shook her head. "I wouldn't mind. It's about time the true story got out."
Blondie smiled, turning on her mirrorpad. She explained what was happening before turning the camera to Red.
"So, what happened with you and Professor Badwolf? Wasn't he like twenty while you were ten in your tale?" she asked.
Red shook her head.
"What most people don't know is that the Wolf is an unmanageable creature. It's a spirit that can only be trapped in a human body. Brian-"
"Wait, Brian?" Briar said, her eyes widening.
"That's your Professor Badwolf's first name. Anyways, the Wolf found him and put itself in his body when he was only seven. His family quickly figured out what had happened when his temper changed drastically at times. They trained him to block out the Wolf to keep people safe, but had to take him out of school - since children have uncontrollable emotions and the Wolf can break out at any moment.
"And I wasn't a village girl. In fact, the woods were in the middle of a kingdom - my parents' kingdom. It sort of split the Kingdom in two parts, the North and South sides. My grandmother wanted to be left alone in her old age and decided to move into them. She lived closer to the South side, while my family's castle was in the North. I often wished I could live with her.
"On her seventy birthday, I wanted to do something special. So, I baked her her favorite food and put it in a basket. I had just turned fifteen back then, and wanted to explore the forest. I begged my parents to allow me to take the food to her myself, instead of sending a guard or servant. They agreed.
"When I entered the forest, I got lost and started blindly going in what I hoped was the direction of the South, where I could ask for directions to my grandmother - who everyone knew lived in a cottage in the woods. I saw a boy of about seventeen chopping wood, and asked him for help. He gave me directions, and it turned out my grandmother's cottage was close by. I gave him my name, and he gave me his. Back then, I was known as Redina Emerald, but introduced myself as Red - my childhood nickname.
"But unknown to me, once I left the boy - Brian - had one of his uncontrollable Wolf breakouts. The creature took over his body. It picked up my grandmother's scent and sprinted forward. Brian tried to fight it, but only managed to stop it from eating Grandmother. Instead, it hid her in the closet.
"When I arrived at the cottage, I was terrified. The Wolf is a hideous creature that looks like a strange mix of human and wolf, and it was nothing like my grandmother. I immediately saw it under the blue floral nightgown. I was on the verge of screaming when I saw it's eyes - Brain's eyes. I remembered when Grandmother told me the story of the boy who had the Wolf in his body, and realized what was happening. He seemed to be struggling, and I did my best to buy time, saying the famous lines you know.
"But when the Wolf growled, 'The better to eat you with, my dear!' another wolf heard and smelled the prey - me. He ran in through the open door and tried to eat me. I fought back as best as I could, using the things around me.
"As though that moment was what he needed, Brain managed to merge perfectly with the Wolf for one moment. He killed the wolf with a blow to the underbelly, and then turned back into a human boy. I caught him before he could fall, and he told me where my grandmother was hidden. We let her out, and he apologized sincerely. Granny just brushed it off, smiling and thanking him for saving my life.
"After he made sure we were fine, Brian was about to leave. I walked outside and asked if I would ever see him again. He responded, 'Only if you want to.' Carefully, he picked a beautiful red rose from the ground and handed it to me. He said he would be by the lake at midnight three days from now, if I want to see him again. Then, he turned and left.
"When I went back inside with the rose in my hair, my grandmother teased me about him and the flower in my hair. I blushed and ignored it, but did indeed go back to meet Brian at the lake. The two of us quickly became best friends, and then became so much more on my sixteenth birthday, when we had our first kiss.
"I also managed to help him with the Wolf. In a couple years, I had helped him control it perfectly, and we figured out he could turn into a wolf. It's impossible to get rid of the Wolf, so we did the next best thing. We figured that if we ever had children they would get wolf ears, because though you cannot inherit the Wolf, you can inherit certain parts of its appearance.
"But then, when I was eighteen and one week from becoming Queen, my parents found out. Apparently, one of the servants saw me sneak out one night and followed. They told my parents, who confronted me and told me that I would break up with Brian, or I wouldn't become Queen.
"That night, I packed a bag and - with the help of a maid I had befriended - escaped. I ran over to my grandmother's house and waited there until the next night, when I met Brian at the lake. I told him everything and we decided to elope. My grandmother helped us run away to a woods far away. She knew that my parents would try to hunt us down and was ready to withstand their questions.
"We built this cottage together, and I stayed in touch with the maid - whose name was Eliza. She told me that my parents had tried to wipe me from existence. When asked about me, they responded, 'Who?' or 'That girl is not my daughter.' They asked my grandmother what had happened, and she simply told them the story of when Brian saved my life.
"Turns out, they changed the story completely to what you now know. They even changed my role to a young, idiotic, village girl and made Brian the villain. I think they were hoping to break us apart.
"We knew we could do nothing about the story, since it became incredibly famous. And no one would believe us since a lot of people thought I had suffered mental damage from what 'happened' and Brian was the villain. And they wouldn't believe my grandmother either, and would simply say she was a crazy old woman.
"So, we decided to follow the roles. We both legally changed our last names and kept our marriage a secret. Brian got a job at Ever After High as a teacher. He always hid in the role of a villain, even though it was hard for him. Eliza ended up quitting her job because of how everyone was talking about me. She lives in the nearby village. Nine years later, we had our first daughter. Our next one was born one year later, and Eliza is their godmother. Granny stayed in contact and even moved too. She also lives in the village and the girls' love her.
"So, that's the true story. Now you know why I have the Rose of Spring, and how I married a 'villain.' "
Everyone stared at her, shocked at what really happened. Finally-
"There you have it, Ever After!" Blondie exclaimed. "The true story of Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf! I bet everyone was as shocked as us! Until next time!"
At Ever After High, Professor Badwolf - or Brian - was grading some papers, or trying to since the storm was making it difficult to see anything.
Suddenly, Giles Grimm ran inside with a mirrorpad.
"Look!" he gasped.
Curiously, Professor Badwolf took the mirrorpad and looked at it, dropping his pen when he saw it. There was his wife - sitting between their daughters. Cerise's hood was down - exposing her wolf ears - and Ramona had her arm around her mom and sister. Red was telling their story - their real story.
He smiled.
"That's my family," he said softly and proudly.
After Blondie ended the mirrorcast, Red took them to a pedestal outside and showed them a frozen rose.
"This is the Rose of Spring (Which, if you haven't figured it out, is the rose Brian gave Red) - it can't die, but you better have a plan to unfreeze it.
"We do," Cerise said confidently. She motioned for Eve to walk forward.
They held their breath and Eve slowly waved her hand over the rose. Sunlight beamed out of her palm and onto the beautiful - but frozen - rose. After a moment, its petals expanded and it became a lovely red rose.
But that wasn't all. The magic from the Rose managed to spread to the garden. Soon, part of the area in front of the cottage was alive with life.
"We did it!" Ashlynn exclaimed.
They all cheered, but what none of them knew was that the Snow King was watching them in a giant magic globe, and he was not happy about what he was seeing.
"What is this?" the King snarled. "Who dares disturb my perfectly blank landscape with that hideous color? I need a closer look." The elf holding the globe pressed a button and it zoomed in. "Just as I suspected! My daughter continued to defy me!"
He turned away from the globe and walked down the balcony.
"But not for long."
He waved his scepter and the elf holding the globe turned into a penguin. As he thought of what he was about to do, the Snow King laughed sinisterly.
Cerise smiled at the rose in her hands.
"The Rose of Spring. I will guard it with my life," she declared.
"Big promise to make, Princess," Eve joked, making Cerise smile and break her serious look.
"One down, three to go," Crystal said with a grin.
They said good-bye to Ramona and Red, and took the path back to their sleigh.
As the girls got into their sleigh, Blondie said, "According to the Scroll of Deep Magic, the Summer Rose is at Cinderella's castle."
"Yay! My place! You guys will love it!" Ashlynn exclaimed.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Eve said. "Let's go!"
"Let's get this snow on the road!" Crystal said. But as she was about to climb in, she yelped and fell.
"Uh, can someone help me lace up my boots?" she asked bashfully.
Ashlynn smiled and said, "Let me show you how to do it. It's really easy! First, grab both laces. Then take the left one over the right..."
As the others got in the sleigh and Ashlynn continued, Jackie Frost and Northwind watched from the top of a tree.
"How adorable," Jackie said. "Little goody-two-skates is trying to save her parents. Well whatever she's up to, it won't work."
Under them, Dating said dramatically, "Daring Charming's destiny turns out to be a lowly sled dog!"
"I'm supposed to be home by now," Crystal said, ignoring the prince. "But my dad is a danger to everyone - including himself. I can't go back without a cure."
Daring started pulling, and the sleigh was off.
"What is our grumpy puppet king doing?" Jackie said, jumping down from the tree once they were gone. "Let's see."
Northwind held up his hand to her. A watch with a small orb was on his wrist. He pressed a button on it.
"Lazy servants!" the Snow King said to the pixies he was forcing to shovel the snow away from in front of his castle. The orb on his scepter started ringing and he accepted the call. Jackie and Northwind's faces appeared in the orb.
"Well, well, Jackie Frost and Northwind. Where are you two?" the Snow King snapped. "This isn't winter break! My daughter, Crystal, is out past her curfew!"
He continued ranting and Northwind muted himself and Jackie.
"We should probably go up there and...defeat him!" Jackie said nervously.
"Maybe we should destroy him later. He's super busy."
"Yeah, yeah! Let him tire himself out! Then, we take him down."
Northwind unmuted and Jackie interrupted the Snow King's rant, saying, "Don't worry about it, Sire. We'll track down your daughter for you."
"Finally! Some servitude! You'll find Crystal and tell her she hasn't just lost her right to the winter throne, she's grounded!"
He ended the call.
"Let's close the book on whatever Crystal is up to, then take care of the big guy," Jackie said. "And then, we rule!"
Daring pulled the girls through a forest very different from the one Cerise lived it. The trees had at least five feet between then, and were so covered with frost their branches had snapped off.
"Where are we, Crystal?" Briar asked.
"I don't know. And my mirrorphone is getting no bars - we're out of range."
Suddenly, Daring sneezed and stopped the sleigh.
"I can't even smell which way to go," he said. "My nose is full of icicles!"
"Same here," Cerise said. "It's freezing."
"The only thing worse than being lost in the woods is being lost in the woods in the freezing cold with no reception!" Briar exclaimed.
"Why do you even need your phone? You've never been super attached to it before," Crystal said.
"You'll find out when we get back," Briar said with a grin.
"Speaking of getting somewhere, Crystal, you're in charge - what do we do?" Blondie said.
"I don't know!" Crystal said in a panic. "I've never made decisions before, they were always made for me!"
On a tree above them, Jackie and Northwind were in owl form and watching.
"Two paths to Cinderella's castle," Jackie mused. "One easy, one hard. And we're gonna 'help' them get there."
"Wait, what? I thought we wanted to stop them," Northwind said.
"Well, duh! Watch and learn, snow-bro. Crystal trusts us, easy to trick her into telling us her plans. Then BAM! No more Crystal."
She laughed and they both flew down and turned into people behind a tree. Then they jumped out, waving their arms at the approached sleigh and shouting for help.
"I know them!" Crystal said from inside the sleigh. "That's Jackie FRost and Northwind. They work for my father!"
She got out of the sleigh and ran over to Jackie and Northwind.
"We were trying to escape the terrible anger of the Snow King," Jackie explained to her.
"You poor things," Crystal said, giving Jackie a hug. "He's cursed, you know. It's not his fault."
"Oh we totally-" Northwind started before Jackie clamped a hand to his mouth.
"We were trying to seek refuge at Cinderella's castle," she said quickly.
"Fableous! That's where we're going!" Crystal exclaimed. "The trouble is, we're a bit lost."
"What do you know? I know the way!" Jackie said. "In fact, I know a shortcut."
As she explained the shortcut, Eve frowned. She didn't know why, but something seemed...wrong. She wasn't sure she was quite ready to trust Northwind and Jackie. At least, not yet.
Daring started pulling again and Jackie and Northwind climbed onto the back.
"This 'daddy's girl' and her friends will never get their hands on the rest of this co-called curse sure," Jackie whispered to Northwind so no one else would hear. "They're about to reach a dead end. Turn right here!" she said, louder so that Daring would hear.
"Cinderella's castle is just over the rise!" Jackie said.
They entered an area with mountains all around them.
"Careful Daring - move slow," Crystal said. "By the look of these hills this is avalanche country."
"What?! Is that dangerous?!" Blondie said loudly. The girls all froze as her words echoed around the canyon and some small pieces of snow fell.
"Shh, keep as quiet as you can," Crystal whispered. "Loud noises can trigger it."
"That's right, princess!" Jackie said loudly. "It's a trap! You'll never see the winter palace again!"
"Jackie, Northwind, why?" Crystal said in dismay.
"You're even easier to fool than your dad!" Jackie scoffed.
"Surprise! We put the curse on him!" Northwind declared.
"Oooh, plot twist!" Faybelle said, grinning.
"Traitors! You won't succeed!" Crystal said. "Once I get in contact with Storm-"
"You don't think we have a plan for him too?" Jackie said.
Crystal's eyes widened. "Don't you dare hurt my brother!"
"Or what? You can't do anything about it - you're just a lazy princess," Jackie scoffed. "As for succeeding, do you really think you can stop us? You? Little miss can't-even-lace-her-own-skates? You're clueless without your servants of family to do things for you! We won't serve anybody anymore. We're gonna rule winter, and there's nothing you can do about it!"
She nodded to Northwind, and they turned into bears. They roared as loud as possible. The snow on top of the mountains started crumbling away, much to the horror of the rescue team. The twins turned into owls and flew away, leaving the friends to suffer the consequences of the avalanche.
"Daring, get us out of here!" Crystal said, panicked.
Daring started pulling as hard as he could, but he wasn't fast enough to escape.
A wall of snow stood nearly as tall as the mountains. The broken sleigh was on top of it. Under it, there was no signs of life.
"Aw, looks like Crystal's story is at The End!" Jackie said gleefully from where she and Northwind were watching. "Come on! Let's get rid of the King of Winter, and finish this snow job!"
She and Northwind took off, thinking that Crystal was dead. But they left too soon, and a moment later Crystal dug her way out of the snow. Her friends were also coming out.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"I think so."
"Now I know how a popsicle feels."
"There's snow if my underpants!"
"We're blocked! What do we do? Going all the way around will take days!"
"Days we don't have!"
"How did he sleigh get up there?"
Suddenly, Crystal yelled, "I can't believe I trusted them!"
Everyone stopped talking and turned to her.
"How was I so stupid?! Why did I trust them?! And Jackie's right - I am helpless! I can't believe a villain was able to see the truth better than me!"
"I don't think you should brand them villains quiet yet," Eve said.
Crystal froze. "What?"
"I just mean, villains are made - not born. The Evil Queen had a very traumatic past and parents that told her she was worthless if she wasn't the most beautiful girl in all the world. They then gave her the mirror, knowing very well that it would feed into her insecurities.
"Faybelle's mom - the Dark Fairy - was often left out of games as a child and ignored. If the King and Queen had only invited her to the party, she would have been delighted to have been there and a good guest.
"Cinderella's stepmother was raised to be a cold and cruel person, and was a maid for her own stepmother. She didn't know any better than to treat Cinderella wrongly and spoil her own daughters.
"As for Jackie and Northwind, they don't want to be servants for everyone more powerful than them. They want to be able to be their own people for once. Haven't you ever thought that it might be very unfair to make every frost elf a servant?
"All I'm saying is, maybe you should cut them some slack. They didn't get there on their own, and they can't get out on their own either," Eve finished. "So maybe until we can actually help them, let's figure out how to get out of here."
Everyone was a bit shocked from her speech, but the silence was broken by Blondie.
"But how?" she asked.
"Magic?" Briar whispered to Eve, who shook her head.
"I think we should see if Crystal can figure this out herself. I can always use magic if we're out of options."
In fact, Crystal was feeling very guilty for how she and her parents treated Jackie and Northwind. And maybe other frost elves felt the same way, but just never did anything because they were afraid.
When they broke the spell and she became Queen, she could fix that.
She looked up at the wall.
"I am the princess of winter," she declared. "And I will not let a little wall of snow stop me."
"Um, excuse me? But that is a super gigantic wall of snow," Daring said, causing Cerise to elbow him.
"Even if we make it over," Briar said. "And even if we get the rose we need from Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty's castle, we still don't know where the final rose of winter is."
"The world of Ever After is counting on us," Crystal said. "This cannot be the end of the story. Did Jack give up when the beanstalk was too tall? Did Rapunzel's prince look for a princess with freedom? Did Cerise's parents let their family tear them apart? No! We can do this! But only together. First, we have to get our sleigh back."
She turned to the snow wall and started to climb up.
"Is she really trying to climb that?" Daring asked. "All by herself?"
"It's called, 'Showing you care about others,' Daring," Cerise said. "She's worried about her family, about all of Ever After. And after hearing what Eve said, I can guarantee she's also worried about Jackie and Northind. And she shows it."
She and Daring had a silent stare-off.
"Is anyone else getting the feeling we've missed something?" Ashlynn muttered to the others, who nodded.
Cerise looked away from Daring and said, "Go on, Blondie. I know you don't want to miss out on this story."
Blondie beamed and turned on her mirrorpad.
"Crystal Winter, leading by example!"
Everyone at Ever After High cheered as they saw Crystal climbing the snow wall. Suddenly, she slipped and fell. They all gasped, but a moment later she slid down the wall and by some sharp spikes of ice.
"Well, that's not gonna work," Daring said.
Crystal looked at the spikes and her eyes lit up.
"I have an even better idea," she said, taking out her snow gun (like a water gun, but with snow.)
A moment later, an ice spike whizzed past the group and into the wall. They turned to see crystal loading another one into her snow gun and grinning. Understanding what she was trying to do, they grabbed more spikes, breaking them off the ground and rocks.
Crystal loaded them all into her gun, blasting them into the wall - one by one, forming a line upwards.
When she was done, it was-
"A ladder," Crystal said.
"Let's go!" Cerise exclaimed. They all started climbing up it, and soon everyone was at the top.
"It worked!"
"Crystal, you did it!"
"I knew you had it in you."
"We did it! But, no time to spellabrate. We have to hurry up and stop Jackie and Northwind," Crystal said. The girls all climbed in the sleigh and looked down. Let's just say...it was a big mess of snow.
"But...how do we get down?" Ashlynn said.
"Ooh, ooh! I know!" Daring said. "This is the fun part!"
He got in his normal position, but instead of pulling, he jumped up and was holding on the back, with the bar over the girls' laps like a safety harness.
He pushed, and they were speeding down the hill!
They were all laughing, until they saw the steps right in front of them.
Daring gasped and quickly jumped down, grabbing the back off the sleigh and sticking his feet in the snow to stop it.
The girls all sighed as they stopped from crashing into the steps.
"Owie!" Daring said. "There's a splinter in my paw!"
"We made it!" Blondie said as they walked over to the steps. "Cinderella's castle!"
"My poor feet cannot take another climb right now," Briar said, looking up at the long, long rows of steps going up a hill and to the castle. She sat down on the bottom steps and sighed.
"Oh, don't worry. My mom never wanted to lose another shoe on the run again. She pressed a gold leaf on the side of the steps and suddenly they started moving.
They all laughed in delight and jumped onto the steps.
Cerise looked at Daring.
"You hurt your paw! Let me see," she said.
"No! Don't touch it!" Daring said.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll find some bandages and fix you up. I've done it for my dad before," Cerise said.
And so, the chill in the air grew even colder as the girls explored. Cinderella and her subjects managed to escape to warmer climates before the truly wicked winter had set in.
"We must find the Rose of Summer," Crystal said, looking around. "Ashlynn, does your mother have a place where she keeps precious things?"
"Of course!" Ashlynn exclaimed. "She keeps the glass slipper in her bedroom shoe closet. We should check their first."
"Aha! Found the kitchen!" Cerise said suddenly. "You guys go ahead. I have to fix Daring up."
The two of them walked into the kitchen, and Cerise said, "Here we go! A first aid kit!"
She took some pliers out and walked over to Daring.
"Be careful, Cerise."
"Don't be a scaredy-beast. I've done this a million time, and it doesn't hurt badly."
Daring turned away. "Oh, just do it! I'm bracing myself for the pain!"
"All done," Cerise said. DAring turned to see her already packing away the kit.
"Oh, thanks."
Daring sighed. "I don't know why you're so good to me. I'm not even handsome anymore."
Cerise raised an eyebrow. "Okay, one, I am literally half wolf - and a wolf is a type of beast. My dad has some crazy Wolf thing inside him, my sister looks like a wolf, Carmine is my best friend and a wolf, and my mom fell in love with a wolf. Two, you are my boyfriend, I don't care how you look. It's the way you act that worries me."
"Cerise, I told you I'm fine," Daring said, looking away from her. Suddenly, he looked back. "Wait a moment...you're right. You're my girlfriend. YOu can break the spell!"
"I could, but I won't," Cerise said, crossing her arms. "Maybe it's your destiny to be the beast. And in the story, Beast learns a thing or two about how to act. Maybe you will too."
Daring sighed. "Okay, maybe I do have a problem with how I act. But I can't help it."
Cerise smiled and took his hand in hers. "Yes, you can. It's how you were raised, but we don't have to be our parents. Raven wrote her own story, and we are too. But that doesn't just mean rewriting our destinies, it means rewriting the wrongs. And one of your wrongs is how your dad raised you. So tell me, are you going to be yourself, or will you be King Charming?"
She took the Rose of Spring out of her hair.
"All the roses represent something more than seasons. The Summer Rose is the Rose of Magic. The Fall Rose is the Rose of Sacrifice. This isn't just the Rose of Spring, it's the Rose of Love. And I love you - the real you. That's why I won't break the curse."
Ashlynn opened the doors to the shoe closet.
"Welcome to CInderella's shoe closet!"
The girls' jaws dropped as they looked around at the huge closet.
"This is where my mom keeps her most valuable positions," Ashlynn continued, walking over to a painting of a shoe and pressing a hidden button. The painting swung open to reveal...a safe.
"Only, it's locked."
"Locked, huh?" Blondie said. "Step aside! I got skills!"
She walked over to the safe and listened carefully to the lock as she spun it. A moment later, there was a click.
"Ta-da!" Blondie said as the safe opened to reveal a single glass shoe. "There's the famous glass slipper, but no Summer Rose."
"Is there a garden in the castle, perhaps?" Briar asked.
"No," Ashlynn said sadly.
Suddenly, Faybelle's phone started ringing. SHe accepted the call.
"This is not the time," she hissed.
"Your time is runnin' out, toots!"
"Yes, I would like to change my mirrorphoen service! Unlimited hext messaging, you say?" she said in a fake voice. "Sorry, I got to take this," she said to the girls before hurrying out of the room.
"I'll call Farrah Godfairy," Ashlynn said. "She knows our story as well as anyone."
"Wait, we have internet now?" Briar said. Ashlynn nodded.
"I'll be right back," the daughter of Sleeping Beauty said, practically running out of the room. "Tell me what Farrah said!"
A moment later, Farrah popped up on Ashlynn's screen.
"Hi, Ashlynn!" she said. "How's the quest for the cure going?"
"Fairy badly, I'm afraid. The Summer Rose is not in the slipper safe!" Ashlynn said sadly.
"What did the roses of seasons riddle say again?"
"Oh, it's 'Summer's Rose wears a disguise,' " Crystal said.
"So, it may be fairy glamorized to look like something else," Farrah said.
"Then it could be anywhere. And look like anything," Crystal said.
Briar ran over to an empty hallway and leaned against the wall, dialing a number as quickly as possible.
After a few rings, the other person picked up.
"Briar?" he said hopefully.
A huge smile appeared on Briar's lips.
"Hopper!"
"What's happening? I got worried when you didn't answer my calls."
"I know - but a lot has happened."
She explained everything to him, and he said, "Wow. I mean, I knew some of that from Blondie's mirrorcast, but this is really big. And dangerous."
Briar sighed. "I know, but we have to do it. Otherwise Ever After will be stuck in a permanent winter."
"That doesn't mean I like that you're in these situations."
There was silence for a moment, then Hopper asked, "So, have you told them about us yet?"
"Not yet. I want to tell Crystal and Ash before anyone else finds out."
"Of course - I understand."
Briar suddenly saw the girls walking out of Cinderella's shoe closet.
"I've got to go - I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
She ended the call and walked casually over to her friends, ready to hear what Farrah had said.
"You owe us for cleaning up your mess at Ever After High! Now you got an easy choice - deliver the curse-curing goods you promised - and they better be good goods - or 200 years of service!"
"I'm working on it!" Faybelle said, walking over to the kitchen and walking in. "I can't steal what they haven't found yet!"
Suddenly, she looked up and jumped. At the same moment, Daring and Cerise saw her and leapt up from where they were sitting.
"Oh, hey Faybelle! What's up?" Cerise said nervously.
"Nothing! What's up with you?" Faybelle asked, quickly ending the call.
"Nothing!"
They stood there awkwardly for a moment, then Blondie flung open the door and shouted, "Breaking news, guys! The Summer Rose may be fairy glamorized! See anything weird or unusual around here?!"
"No!" they all said too quickly.
"Well keep looking!" Blondie said before slamming the door shut, leaving the three to look around.
The group met each other in the hallway.
"We've looked everywhere," Briar sighed.
"Uh, what's that?" Blondie asked, pointing to a huge pumpkin in the middle of the hallway.
"It's the enchanted pumpkin from...my mom's story?" Ashlynn said. "But what's it doing here?"
"Maybe the pumpkin is the disguise in the riddle?" Crystal asked hopefully.
"Well, it's worth a try!" Eve said. "After all, what could go wrong?"
She walked forward and rested her hand on the pumpkin. Again, light seeped out of her palm - this time going into the pumpkin. There was a flash of light, and in its place was a beautiful, full, pink rose.
"I will keep the Summer Rose safe," Ashlynn said, picking up the flower.
And so, with two of the four roses they need to cure the Winter royal family, the heros traveled on to the next castle on their list - Sleeping Beauty's.
Jackie and Northwind flew across the sky.
"We've flown across half the fairy tale world!" Northwind complained. "I need to switch from wings to legs for a while."
He collapsed in the snow, turning into a human. Jackie scoffed and landed next to him, also transforming. There was a ringing sound and Jackie pulled Northwind up, tapping the orb on his wrist.
"My daughter is out past her curfew!" the Snow King said angrily. "You were supposed to bring her to me! Yet, I see her running around from castle to castle with her little friends! While you two flit around like a couple of winter pixies!"
He ended the call.
"Ugh! But this is impossible!" Jackie groaned. "I've underestimated the princess for the last time! No more playing nice!"
"You were being nice?" Northwind asked.
"She can't get another step closer to this co-called cure!" Jackie continued. "We have to beat her to Sleeping Beauty's castle, then..."
"And then what? We tuck her in for a nice, long nap?" Northwind said.
"Northind, you idiot! You're brilliant!" Jackie exclaimed.
"Thanks?"
"Sleeping Beauty's spindle! Don't you know your fairytale history? I totally have a plan," Jackie said confidently. "Let's go!"
"I can't wait to see your castle, Briar," Crystal said. "I'm a big fan of your story."
"I donno," Ashlynn said. "100 years of enchanted sleep sounds exhausting!"
"Well, I quit my tale for a reason. But Sleeping Beauty is about more than sleep. There's magic and romance-"
"And a wicked awesome villain if I do say so myself," Faybelle interrupted. "Look! There's the castle! Let's get that rose and get back on the...road."
The reason she stopped was because they had arrived at the castle - which was covered with millions of rose vines.
"I guess the gardeners took off at first frost," Briar said.
"This might be the hardest rose to find," Crystal said. "And we're probably looking right at it."
Daring stopped the sleigh and they all got out.
"Hey, before we start looking, can I talk to you guys for a second?" Briar said to Crystal and Ashlynn. Curious, they nodded.
Briar led them to a spot far enough from the others so no one would hear.
"So, I have some big news," she said. "I...have a boyfriend."
"What?!" the girls said at the same time.
"Yeah. Everyone at Ever After should find out soon, but I wanted you two to know first," Briar said.
"Who is it?" Crystal asked curiously.
"Hopper," Briar said with a small smile.
"Well, he better treat you right," Ashlynn joked.
Briar smiled in relief.
"He does."
They looked at the others.
"We should get back to the group," Crystal said. "But I look forward to meeting this guy."
They walked back to the others.
"What were you guys talking about?" Blondie asked.
"Nothing," Briar said, before turning to the castle and changing the topic. " 'The Rose of Fall hides in the crowd,' " she recited. "But which rose is the Fall Rose? There are a million of them!"
"Every season's rose has been tied in some way to the fairytale. In Sleeping Beauty's, maybe it's in your mom's bedroom?" Crystal suggested.
"No," Faybelle denied darkly. "There's another room far more important to our story. Isn't there, Briar?"
"But...it's forbidden!" Briar said fearfully. "The magic spinning wheel is locked away in the tower!"
"Sounds slike there's where we'll find the rose!" Crystal said confidently. "Blondie, I suggest you film this part."
As Blondie was taking out her mirrorpad and getting ready to film, Daring walked forward and tried opening the doors. He struggled with them for a few moments before Briar walked up to him.
"Daring, I got this," she said with a grin. She lifted a potted plant and showed them the key under it. She unlocked the castle doors as Blondie started the mirrorcast.
The group opened the doors and walked inside. The only people left at the entrance were Briar - who looked petrified - and Faybelle - who was watching her fear gleefully.
"You know Briar, you don't have to come," she said. "If you're too afraid."
Briar frowned and started forward, quickly walking up to her friends.
The group entered the main room, and gasped. Giant rose stalks spread from the top of the tower to the bottom, where ice had formed - keeping them in place. The stairs were blocked by long rose brambles with sharp thorns.
"Holly roses," Daring said. "Where's an enchanted weedwacker when you need one?"
"We'll never get up to the tower through this!" Briar exclaimed.
"Maybe we don't have to get through," Crystal mused, looking up at the rose stalks. "Maybe we can go up. We can use these vines as a shortcut straight to the top!"
She used her snow gun to shoot at the ice of a vine Daring was holding. When the ice cracked, he was sent straight up.
"Huzzah!" he shouted. "Oh, yes! What a rush!" he shouted as he landed on the balcony high, high up. "You guys have got to try that!"
Crystal did the same thing for all the others, and then for herself.
They all laughed as they flew up on the vines, all of them landing on the balcony.
The group opened a pair of large doors and walked into a dark room with a hole in the roof and snow everywhere. The only interesting thing was the spinning wheel in the middle.
"Aw, porridge!" Blondie said. "This is the one place that roses aren't!"
Briar frowned, looking around the room. She gasped when she saw that the ball of golden yarn by the spinning wheel was glowing. Suddenly, she went straight-backed and rigid - all expressions being wiped from her face. SHe glided over to the spinning wheel as though in a trance.
"It's part of our tale," Faybelle said with a smirk. "She touches the spindle, goes to sleep - can't help herself."
She flew over to the spinning wheel and flew behind it.
"Double-dare you to touch the spindle, Briar," she taunted. Briar couldn't hear her, but still held out a finger, ready to prick it. Faybelle gasped in horror when she realized Briar was actually about to do it.
Crystal was the first one to come to her senses. "Stop!" she exclaimed, pushing Briar away from the spindle. Briar blinked a few times, then went back to her normal self.
"I was only kidding!" Faybelle said defensively as the two girls looked at her.
SHe flew away and Crystal gasped, seeing the glowing yarn.
"Magic yarn," the Snow Princess said. "The rose at Cinderella's was protected by magic, Maybe the rose of fall is too."
She sat down at the spinning wheel and held the yarn in front of it. Suddenly, the spinning wheel lit up and started moving, though no one was controlling it. The yarm wrapped itself around the spindle and - with a flash of golden light - it turned into a yellow rose.
"We found the rose of fall!" Blondie exclaimed turning her mirrorpad onto the rose so it could be seen. Briar lifted the beautiful yell flower and held it in her hands.
"The rose of fall is safe with me," she said with a smile.
"That was close, Briar," Faybelle said. "If you touched that spindle, it would have been a hundred year snooze."
"Think again, Faybelle," A voice said from the hole in the roof.
They turned and saw Jackie and Northwind as owls, flying towards the spindle. They all ran out of the way as the two turned into humans.
"I think it's time for a long winter's nap!" Jackie said, grabbing the spindle and pulling it off. Yellow sparks flew out of it and settled around the girls. They looked like harmless dots of light, but were anything but.
Jackie and Northwind warped scarfs around their faces, not wanting to stay and fall under the spell too. One by one, the girls each collapsed. Briar was the first to fall, since it was her tale. Then Ashlynn, then Cerise and Daring, then Blondie, and finally Crystal.
"This trip to Sleeping Beauty's gave me just the right weapon to knock out the Snow King!" Jackie said.
"But Jackie, won't they freeze to death - asleep in the snow?" Northwind said.
"That's not our problem!" Jackie snapped. "Let's go!"
But Blondie's mirrorpad - still filming for all on Ever After to see - fell by her side. It was focused on the spinning wheel, where sparks of light were still coming out.
At Ever After, Hopper turned on his mirrorpad to watch Blondie's mirrorcast at Sleeping Beauty's. What he saw was horrible.
It started fine, with the group walking into the Spinning Wheel room. Hopper was worried, since this was sure to be a scary experience for Briar. But when he saw Briar walking towards the spindle in a daze, he gasped.
"Stop!" he said. Luckily, another voice said the same thing on the other side and Crystal knocked Briar's hand out of the way.
Hopper watched, interested, as they uncovered the rose. It all seemed fine, then Jackie and Northwind arrived.
All he could do was watch in horror as Jackie ripped the spindle off the spinning wheel - the same spinning wheel that haunted Briar for years and had made her wake up screaming more than once.
He watched as his girlfriend collapsed to the ground. He felt like doing the same. Briar had been so desperate to escape her tale, and Hopper had been afraid of losing her. Now, since they were together, the pain was twice as bad.
He gathered that the other collapsed too because a moment later the mirrorpad seemed to be falling. It fell looking up at the spindle.
He heard a girl's voice say something about defeating a king, but didn't listen. Suddenly, he heard someone say that the group would freeze to death in the snow.
He was right. There had been hope before that they could wake them, but now there was none. They could never make it in time before they froze because the storm was especially horrible at Ever After High. The team had left before the worst of the winter had started, and they couldn't get out of the school if time to save them.
As the truth about what had just happened hit Hopper, he collapsed on his bed.
"Briar's gone," he whispered to himself.
In the palace of the Snow King, he was talking to the statue of his wife.
"I don't know, my dear," he said. "It's been so quiet in the castle. I've been beginning to question if I've been seeing things...clearly."
Suddenly, a voice yelled, "Hey, Mr. Cool!"
The Snow King turned to see Jackie and Northwind, grinning like they had just won the lottery.
" 'Mister?' It's Sire!" the Snow King barked, marching up to them.
"Nighty-night, 'Sire' " Jackie said mockingly, taking some sleeping dust out of her pocket and blowing it on the king. Within moments, he was asleep, leaning on his staff.
"Northwind! Grab his magical staff!" Jackie commanded. Northwind obeyed and walked forward, but he couldn't pull the staff out of the Snow King's hands.
"Ugh! It's always something!"
Like the Snow King, all of our heroes were now lost in a deep enchanted slumber, while their friends mourned them at home. (Zoe was at that moment kicked herself for letting Eve go on the quest.)
But in Crystal's mind...
. . .
Crystal flew up into the air, singing.
Yours is not the typical, everyday fairytale
Like they tell
Her friends flew up to her, and all of them were sucked into a beautiful, golden light.
Write your story, fill the page
Feel the power as you take the stage
Briar turned around to see the spinning wheel with Faybelle standing behind it. In the same trancelike state she was in before, she walked forward, stretching out her finger. But Faybelle's eyes widened and she grabbed Briar's hand before she pricked her finger, breaking the spell. Then, Faybelle waved her hands and the spinning wheel turned into pink birds.
You're so alive, under sparkling skies
Epic winter had arrived
Tell your tale, make it good
Do the things you thought you never could
Ashlynn ran down a long, swirly staircase made of glass. At the bottom, there was a platform. Hunter was standing on it. When Ashlynn saw him, she smiled happily and jumped off the stairs. She seemed to fly down, her normal outfit turning into a ball gown and Hunter caught her.
It's your turn, it's your time
For all your dreams to come alive
Blondie woke up from where she was sleeping on a couch, yawning. She jumped off the couch, falling down. But she landed right in a seat at a long table covered with food. Little bears sat around her, all of them smiling.
It's your turn, it's your time
Don't wait to come alive
Eve sat in a chariot above the clouds, dressed in a long, golden robe with her hair up. Smiling, she jumped down from it and landed on the ground, now wearing shorts and a tank top with yellow light coming from her fingers. She held a dagger, which she tossed aside.
Find your power, be a queen
Take the lead in your story
Daring ran through the woods in his beast from, shivering. Suddenly, wolves with glowing red eyes surrounded him. The leader was about to pounce, but then Cerise was suddenly in front of him. The wolf stopped, and it's eyes turned normal as Cerise walked forward. Daring put a hand on her shoulder and she turned around. They held hands for a moment before kissing as Daring turned human again.
Just live your dream, live your dream
Oh wa, oh wa, oh oh
Crystal levitated in the sky. The Winter Scepter flew into her hands and she softly flew down to the Winter Throne, taking her rightful place in it.
But the throne suddenly dissolved, sending Crystal falling as she screamed. She landed on the ground and heard two voices behind her laugh. She spun around to see Jackie and Northwind standing on top of an icy black wall, controlling her father like a puppet.
"Dad!" she yelled in horror, feeling powerless.
"Crystal! You have to wake up," the Snow King said.
Terrified, Crystal backed up, thinking, But I don't know how. To her surprise, she walked into the statue of her mother, still clutching the rose her parents had given her what felt like a million years ago.
Her eyes widened and she reached out a hand towards the rose - The Winter Rose. Where her journey began.
But the moment she touched the rose, ice appeared on her hand and started spreading up her arm.
"Mom! No!" she screamed. "Mom, stop!"
But the ice continued spreading over her body, nearly up to her face.
"Mom...Dad..."
The ice finished its job, completely covering Crystal's body, her father's voice repeating in her ear.
"Wake up, wake up..."
. . .
Crystal's eyes flew open. She forced herself to stand up a bit, even though the most she could muster was a crawl. She could feel her body fighting to go back to sleep, but fought back with her mind.
She coughed and crawled forwards, picking up the spindle. With her last ounce of strength, she jammed the spindle right back into where Jackie and Northwind had ripped it off, cutting off the magic and breaking the spell.
"Wake up!" Crystal called. "Wake up, everyone!"
Slowly, her friends yawned and woke up too, standing and stretching.
"I know where the Rose of Winter is," Crystal said.
Dexter opened the door of Hopper's room, holding a mirrorpad.
"Hopper?" he asked.
"Leave me alone," the lump in the blankets replied.
"I just thought you might want to see this. I think it'll make you happy."
Hopper stuck his head out of the blankets, his eyes puffy and bloodshot.
"I just found out that my girlfriend has been put under the sleeping spell she's feared her entire life and is going to freeze to death so there's absolutely no chance of her ever being saved. I'd like to see the thing that would cheer me up," he said.
Dexter grinned. "I'll leave this here. But I really think you should watch it."
Hopper sighed and got out of bed, then gasped when he saw what was happening. It was the live feed from Blondie's mirrocast, but the only movement wasn't the magic sparks - Crystal had somehow woken up and was crawling towards the spinning wheel, holding the dangerous spindle. She managed to push the spindle into the hole, making the spell turn off.
Hopper watched in shock as the others yawned and got up. He hardly heard it when Crystal said she knew where the rose of winter was. Just like before, the truth hit him all at once. Briar was alive.
He whooped out loud and laughed happily, feeling more giddy from happiness than he had in what felt like a long time.
Cursed with kindness blindness and trapped in an enchanted sleep, the troubled Snow King's bad dreams were coming true.
As the Snow King clutched his magical staff, his nightmare is in the air - literally. This was proven true when giant pieces of hail rained down on Ever After High, breaking every window that wasn't broken. The students with magic tried to help, but - like before - they were powerless.
Along with the hail came a giant tornado and lightning, which the group saw when they exited the castle, shivering even in their warm clothes.
"We're doomed!"
"Is this The End?!"
"This is news!"
The last one came from Blondie, who looked up at the tornado with a wild grin.
"My chance to be a real field reporter," she continued, walking forward. "Hello, Ever After! This is Blondie Lockes reporting live! You've probably noticed we're facing some fairy twisted weather!"
"I have to get up to the top of the world fast!" Crystal interrupted. "I have an idea how, but you have to trust me! EVeryone, get on the sleigh! And, Daring, we need a push!"
"Won't we get swept up by the tornado if we even try sledding out now?!" Daring asked.
"I'm counting on it! Everybody, hang on tight!" Crystal said. "Now, Daring, now!"
Daring stood at the back of the sleigh, holding on tightly. He pushed off, and the sleigh flew forwards, straight into the tornado.
As they were tossed and turned as they flew up the tornado, even Blondie was screaming - not very delighted anymore.
"We haven't faced our biggest challenge yet!" Crystal shouted over her screaming friends. "It's time to storm the castle!"
I don't really have much to say about this chapter. Just that I know at least ten people will read this, and I would really, really appreciate it if they could vote on my poll. Please?
-Creator of Magic