(( AN: I realized the other day that I never did explain why Verum turned into a fluffy little rabbit when the water was dumped on her. That was supposed to happen in her and Toby's last little conversation. I've edited Chapter 24 to include that, so go back and check out the four or five new paragraphs. Can't have that hanging over people's heads! ))
28.
"Has anyone told you how Georgette came to be Theodore's foster mother, Princess?"
Toby raised her eyes to look at the Fairy Queen, her brow furrowing. Rosepink had led her from the room filled with Believe's history through a side-door that she hadn't noticed before. It had connected them directly to the Throne Room. Toby was sure it would have been a beautiful room, except for the quiet oppressiveness hanging heavy in the air. The red curtains hung too low, too motionless, and the lack of light in the room made the shadows cast by the few fires flit and creep along the walls unnervingly. The large, ornate throne at the head of the room sat high on a dais, watching over everything with a stern air.
Rosepink had immediately ascended to her throne and there she sat, running her fingers along an ornately-carved wooden box sitting on the arm of her throne at her right hand. Toby swallowed, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. Her tiara felt cold against her brow.
"No," she finally conceded. The Queen smiled, crimson eyes glittering. Toby had the nagging feeling she'd seen those eyes before, somewhere...
"Georgette was sent to a small town after we received a plea for aid. She found there that a mother dragon had taken up residence in a nearby cave and was slaughtering the villagers, using them to teach her fledgling to kill and enjoy the taste of blood. Nearly a dozen townsfolk had already been lost."
She relaxed back in her seat and Toby wondered if she was imagining the satisfaction she saw in the red Queen's eyes. "Georgette fought the dragon, who was a very old and powerful dragon, and in doing so nearly lost. Her dear Valiance was severely injured in the fight. As she was bandaging the Pooka, the fledgling -- your darling Theodore -- appeared, drawn by the smell of Valiance's injuries. He attacked Georgette, but instead of killing him, she, for whatever reason, took him under her wing.
"Since then he has been nothing but a nuisance. Whether you want to admit it or not, Princess, he has blood on his muzzle. He's a killer; it's in his very nature."
Toby's throat was painfully tight, furious retorts all vying for exit. Instead, she kept her tongue. "Why are you telling me this?"
The Queen smiled, kindly. It made Toby uncomfortable -- guilty, almost, as if she didn't deserve such kindness. "I just do not wish to see you make a terrible mistake, Princess. Others before you were born to be Princesses and knew these things before they were given such a responsibility -- your situation is quite... unique."
"I'm trying my best," Toby replied, defensively. Rosepink gazed at her sympathetically.
"Of course you are, child. But the Story is so very big and you... well, you were an accident. Like an ink splotch on the page of the Story." She glided to her feet and down the stairs towards Toby. "How do you think poor Verum feels? She spent so much time and energy planning this Ball to honor you, only to have you disappear in the middle of it. What will everything think of that? And with you running off with a dragon no less? Poor Verum..."
Toby's stomach twisted in knots. Rosepink, with her cold eyes, was right; Verum was going to be disappointed in her, she just knew it. And Dominic... She'd completely run off on him without even a word of warning. Now even Theo was hurt and upset, and it was all her fault for not leaving things well enough alone, for not letting him keep that distance he'd wanted to maintain.
"I didn't... I wasn't trying to..."
"Shh, it's okay," Rosepink soothed. "It's not your fault. You're just in over your head... This is just all so much bigger than you. You're just a normal girl..."
"I am...! I'm not meant to do this! I... I can't!" Toby's hands clenched, agitatedly. Even the Queen could see it. Even the Queen of the Fairies knew that she wasn't meant to do this, that she couldn't do it. If she could see it so clearly, how many others had seen Toby tonight and been disappointed? How many others had come away with lowered expectations? Tears burned in the corners of her eyes. "I'm not... I'm not a Pr..." she choked on her tears, raising her hands to her eyes.
"Not what, Toby? Go ahead, you can say it..." Rosepink's soft voice was encouraging, one of her slim hands stroking Toby's hair in a reassuring fashion. "You can't be what you're not. You shouldn't even try."
"You're right, I'm not a Prin--" Toby whispered, then paused. She raised her head, looking up at Rosepink with tears sparkling on her cheeks. "Wait, what?"
The Fairy Queen's face twisted in irritation for a half second before she smoothed it over, smiling gently at Toby. "Go ahead and say it. It's all you need to do, Toby. Just admit you aren't a Princess... There's no shame in it."
"No," Toby said. Realization sunk like a rock through her, crashing to the pit of her stomach. She couldn't give this up. She couldn't turn her back on Theodore and Verum and Fizzybink and everyone else. Then they would be even more disappointed in her, and she couldn't bear the thought of it. "No, you're right. I shouldn't try to be what I'm not. But I can be a Princess. Just not the type of Princess you want."
Rosepink's eyes were twin rubies, hard and glittering. "Just admit what we both know, Toby. You're not a Princess. Just say the words."
Toby took a half-step back. "Why? Why is it so important I say it?" The Fairy Queen didn't answer, fury wrinkling her beautiful face. Quite suddenly and quite certainly, Toby knew where she'd seen that face before -- in every single nightmare that had plagued her since she'd donned her tiara and began this whole crazy adventure.
"Oh my god. It's you. You're the one who made the Princesses disappear. Is that how you did it? Make them admit they're not a Princess?"
"It doesn't matter how I did it. Only that I did it, Tobias," Rosepink said, the false warmth and kindness fading from her face. She didn't move towards Toby but folded her arms in front of her, staring at the brunette without blinking. Toby was reminded of a cat, cool and collected, just watching a mouse across the room, and she very, very much wished she was not that mouse.
"But... But why? Making the Princesses disappear... all it did was plunge this land into a sleep! How does that possibly help you?" Toby demanded, bewildered. "Because of you everyone has forgotten magic and the Story and everything that the land of Believe stands for!"
"Oh, it helped me. I will see this land reborn without all the vapid, shallow, self-serving little twits we call Princesses." She began to walk forward slowly, making Toby back up with each step, a dangerous dance across the floor. "All of you Princesses, showing up and messing everything up. It doesn't matter how simple or how perfect things are, the Princesses have to ruin everything they get their pampered little paws on. I practically handed everything to you for a perfect Story -- a fairy godmother, a perfect Knight-to-be, even a dragon to slay. But you can't just accept what you're given. No, no... You have to get on your high horse and start preaching the goodness inherent in an oversized lizard. It's the same with all of you Princesses, thinking you know best when you most certainly do not, refusing to those who are older and certainly wiser than you are.
"No more, Tobias. I will not let my land be tainted by silly, stupid humans anymore. We Fairies have always been the heart and power of the land of Believe. I will see to it that we no longer have to depend on disappointments such as yourself for life. Even eternal sleep is better than wakefulness soiled by Princesses."
Toby's back hit the large, solid doors of the Throne Room, her fingers pressing flat against it, searching for a door knob desperately even though her mind knew there would not be one to find. The Fairy Queen smiled -- a cold, heartless smile.
"I am sorry it has to be this way. Disappearance from the Doubting is painless and quick. However, now we will have to do things the hard way... Unfortunate, for you anyway, but I will have what I desire." Like a viper, she struck, her slim, cool hand wrapping around Toby's wrist. Turning, she began to drag Toby back towards the throne.
"Let go of me! Stop!!" Toby dug her heels in. She didn't know why Rosepink wanted her back towards the throne but she wasn't about to give in and let the Fairy Queen have her way. Her heart thudded, and suddenly her tiara began to shine. For the first time since she'd gotten it, Toby was incredibly glad for the crystal and silver circlet. It would defend her. It would stop Rosepink or stall her long enough for Toby to get help and then everything would be okay.
Rosepink laughed, shattering the happiness that had welled up in Toby. "Please. Do you really think such a trinket will harm me? I made that tiara." With complete calm, she reached over and clenched her fist around the tiara.
There was a sharp cracking noise and Toby felt like she'd been punched in the gut, doubling over in time to see small bits and pieces of crystal falling to the smooth stone beneath her feet. Her head reeled, the magic lashing back and hitting her instead of protecting her. No one had said anything about it backfiring...!
The room pitched around her dangerously, but she could still sense herself being dragged forward, yanked up onto the dais.
Rosepink had opened the box and inside was a small wooden spindle, like the one that had been missing from the end of the plain wooden spinning wheel in the hall of artifacts. Her hand gripped Toby's wrist calmly as she delicately picked up the sharp-pointed cone. If Toby was remembering her fairy tales correctly, and they'd been passed down correctly, that spindle had been cursed by an evil witch to kill the Princess whose finger was pricked on it.
"No!" Toby cried out, fumbling for Kjavaeos. She drew the broken blade of the sword, swinging out in one smooth motion.
The Fairy Queen released her, jerking back as a long, thin line of brilliant crimson formed along one previously perfect cheek. Her ruby eyes widened, fury burning like a wildfire in those depths as she reached up delicately with one finger. "You cut me..."
Toby held the half-sword out in front of her. "I'll do more than cut you if you come near me again."
Rosepink stepped forward, so fast Toby's words hadn't even died out of the air before she'd backhanded the sword, sending Kjavaeos's hilt spinning out of the brunette's hands to clang to the ground, sliding into a corner. Then the Fairy Queen yanked Toby forward.
"No!" Toby fought her, but the Queen was older, stronger. Better. Calmly, as if Toby wasn't thrashing and flailing and trying to get away, she raised Toby's hand and jabbed the end of the spindle into the middle of Toby's hand. Toby cried out at the sudden sting, jerking back. The Queen released her and she tumbled down the dais into a heap on the ground, gripping her bloody palm.
The pink-haired Fairy was watching Toby, expectantly.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Tobias, but I won't have you ruining my plans, and I certainly won't have you ruining my land. You are not fit to be a Princess of the land of Believe." Even as the Fairy Queen spoke in that soft, smooth voice, the room began to buck and whirl wildly around Tobias. She could feel her body going numb, terror racing through her. She was going to die. The realization made ice frost along her veins.
"He.. help me..." she whispered, darkness clawing at the edges of her field of vision, sneaking in front of her and blurring her sight. The Fairy Queen said nothing, just stood watching. Waiting. How twisted was this? The one person they'd thought they could trust turned out to be the one who was going to kill Toby. That just figured.
Toby suddenly realized she was laying on the ground, the world throbbing in and out of focus. Maybe she would sleep. It seemed so tempting, to just let go, to just give in to the darkness that gripped at her.
"He..lp..." Her lips and tongue wouldn't function, but she could hear her voice calling out in her mind.
Theo! Help me..!
Then darkness surged across her brain and she surrendered to the inevitability of the poison coursing through her body. Letting it take hold, she had one final, irrational thought before slipping into blissful oblivion.
How am I going to get the Jade Lady's sword back to her...?