The Forgotten Fairytales (32 page)

I
’ve heard it said, when you plot revenge, you end up burying yourself too. If I only knew how true those words were, I would’ve thought twice before acting. That was the thing about revenge. Taking one person down usually meant falling as well. And I fell. Hard.

The door locked from the outside, keeping me prisoner to my bedroom. I sank on the bed and held a cool rag to my mouth. Until they figured out the harshest punishment, I was to stay here, locked away inside a bedroom with only one window. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom. Only the fancy suites had bathrooms.

Loneliness crept through, driving me stir crazy and I’d only been alone for a minute. April’s hatred burned my mind, twisting through my stomach until I felt like throwing up. I curled into the windowsill and pressed my warm face against the cool glass. April was right, I screwed everything up. Wolf and I were supposed to work as a team. We were supposed to plot together and find a way to oust Danielle while staying hidden in the shadows. Wolf was good at being sneaky. Damn, why hadn’t I listened to him? Why did I have to be so hard headed? If I had, things would be different now.

Tears soaked my face as I watched the sun dip into the horizon, streaking the indigo sky with pinks and oranges. I dragged my finger along the glass, wishing I had my dad to save me. Wishing I could talk to him and tell him about these horrible people.

Turning away from the window, I spotted a box near the door. Slipping off the windowsill, I hurried across the room and fell to my knees. It was from Dad.

My heart raced as I tore the tape off and pushed the packing peanuts around until I found another bin. This one was covered in floral designs with the letter N engraved on the cover. The box creaked as it opened and the smell of flowery perfume wafted into the air.

Inside were pictures. I recognized myself instantly but not the woman holding me. Her sandy brown hair matched mine, as did her sun-kissed skin. The first picture was a close up, her lips pressed to the newborn baby’s forehead.

The second was older, by a month. I was bigger and in a fluffy purple dress. The bow on my head was bigger than me. The woman smiled wide, cuddling me in her arms. I flipped the picture over and in the neatest script it read: Natalia and Norah, six weeks.

I ran my finger over the photograph. This was my mother. Dad was right, she was beautiful. Like a bright ray of sunshine in a dark world. Her features were beautiful yet exotic. We looked almost identical.

Beneath the pictures was a jade envelope. Like everything else, it had an N scrawled on the outside. Carefully, I pulled the flap and took the aged sheet of paper out. There were no lines and the ink had aged so much some words were hard to make out.

Happy seventeenth birthday, Norah. I’m sorry I’m not there to see you reach such a darling age. Leaving my only daughter was not an easy choice to make, still it was a necessity.

Seeing as it is your seventeen birthday, I’m going to assume you are on your way to the place I called home for most of my life. And also, the place I fear you may never belong, no matter how hard you try.

With your beauty, they will force you to be a royal. So, I’ll warn you now, everyone is there for themselves, to move up in the ranks, to find a better fate than what is planned for them. By now your father has told you the truth about who you are, but what he does not know, is your destiny. People will be threatened by you, the girl who brings change. The girl who cannot be named. The hybrid.

I’m sorry I have dealt you such a horrible fate. That’s why I left you with your father. So you could have a mortal life as long as possible, because, I’m sorry to say, the second you walk through those doors, your life will never be the same again. Fairy tales are a lie. There is no such thing as Happily Ever After. And whatever you do, don’t fall in love. Love only ends in tragedy for Petrovich women. Trust me.

No matter how strange your life gets, know I am watching and I will find you again. I promise. If I do nothing else, I will find you.

My heart raced as I read the letter over and over again, trying to process every sentence. Yet the only one that stuck out was
the girl who brings change
. She was right. I was screwed.

The door to my room creaked open—I shoved the letter in my back pocket, the last thing I needed was for anyone to see—and Wolf poked his head inside.

“Word has it, a pretty kick ass girl is held hostage in here.” He slipped inside and locked the door.

“How’d you get in?” I scampered to my feet.

“Never doubt my ability to get what I want.” He stepped closer, his eyes studying my face. “What happened?”

Reaching in my pocket, I handed him the letter. “Read this.” I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my hands through my hair, chewing on the inside of my lip. He sat beside me and gritted his teeth together.

He unfolded the aged paper, his eyes traveled down, soaking in the words as I had, and then they went back up, and down, several times before he stopped and finally let out a breath.

“I have to tell you something, but you can’t get all girly and freak.” Just saying that was almost guaranteeing that I would. I motioned for him to go on. “My grandpa, he used to be a prophet. He was also a drunk, so people ignored whatever he said, but, um, before you came here he babbled on about a hybrid that was born around the same time as me. One kept hidden from the council. He said the hybrid had an unclassifiable magic that would put the council in an uproar because she had the power to change everything. At first the changes would be small, but one day, she’d overthrow everyone.”

His eyes blazed into mine and a wave of little pins rolled over my skin. “I never believed the shit my grandpa said, at least until you showed up. There were too many similarities. Then Koyte said he met a seer in the woods and she mentioned you too. The Hybrid. I wanted to tell you earlier, but with all the shit going down, there wasn’t time. I’m not even sure what it all means. To be honest, it kind of scared the shit out of me.”

Me too. What the hell did they want me to change? Already I was in love with a villain and trying to hook Goldilocks and Prince Charming up. Wasn’t that enough?

“Isn’t that what you wanted to do all along? Change the system?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t do it because I was meant to. I did it because I wanted to.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

I shrugged. “Look where it got me.” I motioned to my pathetic, dark, lonely room.

“There are far worse things in the world than this.” He gave me a sideways glance, a lazy smile spread over his mouth. A smile I loved.

Our hands fell side by side, our fingers brushing against the other as the possibilities hung over our heads. Weeks ago, the thought of any future with story books would have pushed me over the edge, but after talking to Dad, reading the letter from my mom, and finding the lost fairy tales, something different bloomed inside of me. Maybe I was meant to fix things. Wolf was right. All along, I wanted to create change. To inspire hope. But overthrow the council?

I rested my head against his broad shoulder. “I’m sorry I lost it and hit Danielle.”

“You do punch surprisingly well.”

Lifting my head, I narrowed my eyes. Surprisingly? Please. I rocked and he knew it. “Excuse me, but I am pretty kick ass. I have an A in combat and beat all the guys in sword fighting. Plus, you saw Finn. The other end of my fist is not where you want to be.”

“No need to get your panties in a twist. That’s my job.” My skin crackled with tiny bolts of electricity as he wrapped his arm around my waist and yanked me into him.

“So what, I belong to you now or something?”

A blush filled his cheeks. A look of nervousness and uncertainty he never let show. “Only if you want to.”

“What do you think?” Unable to control the smile taking over, I leaned down and explored the smooth lines of his mouth.

His warm hands pushed the hair from my face and he pulled back, staring me in the eyes. “I want to hear it.”

“Hear what?”

He teased me by kissing one corner of my mouth. “You know.”

A certain part of Mom’s letter emerged in the back of my head. The sentence about love. In that moment, I found myself at a crossroad, because being here with Wolf made me feel so much more than love. Comfort, hope, courage. How could I lose it because a woman I didn’t know said my love would end tragically? I wasn’t my mother. I was much, much stronger.

“I’m yours,” I said, knowing with all my heart it was the truth. “Only yours.”

“Forever,” he whispered before his lips molded with mine and we sank deep into each other.

If someone had told me months ago, I’d be here, in fairy tale high, making out with the Big Bad Wolf reincarnated, I would’ve told them they were bat shit crazy. But now I couldn’t imagine anyone else.

We kissed for minutes or hours, I wasn’t sure. But time passed slow as we explored each other in a different way than we had before. There was no urgency, no threat, no fear of losing the other. I loved him and I knew he loved me too.

He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. I wondered if I’d ever get used to how breathless I felt after kissing him. One single kiss turned my insides upside and shattered my world, destroying everything I thought I once knew.

“I’d better go.” His long fingers twisted the hem of my shirt. “If I get incarcerated then we’re both screwed.”

“True.” I laced my fingers around his neck for one more kiss. “Speaking of trouble. Any way you can cause a scene so I can check on April?”

He narrowed his eyes, holding in a smile I knew he wanted to release. “You’re lucky I like being used by you.”

Running my hands through his messy hair, I pulled his head back and took a good, long look at him. Though softened, his eyes were fierce and powerful, captivating me with a single glance. They hummed with energy and desire.

“I’d never use you.” I brushed the loose strands from his face. “Well, a little.” I grinned. “But only in the nicest way possible.”

Wolf chuckled and rose to his feet, towering over me. “We’ll see about that.” He kissed me and headed to the door, but not before tapping my butt. “I’m off to cause a scene.”

“Try not to blow any houses down.”

“The pigs aren’t really on my hit list.” He winked and opened the door. “Take the back stairwell, it gets less traffic.”

The door shut and I sat against the frame of the bed and sighed, wishing he didn’t have to leave so I could spend all night with him again. Doubt turned over in my stomach as I wondered when I’d see him again. Who knew what punishment I’d get for punching Danielle. Finn wasn’t in too much trouble for hitting Al, but then again, everyone liked Finn and he was a prince. No one liked me.
The one who brings change.

Couldn’t she have given me a different fate, like
the one who changes light bulbs
? For the most part, light bulbs were perfectly safe. Everyone needed a little light in their day. The change I brought only stirred drama and hurt people.
If I ever meet my mom, I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.

After waiting twenty minutes, I poked my head outside the door. Empty. Good. Like Wolf instructed, I used the back staircase which went along the outside. No one usually traveled this way. The ground was freezing so I shivered most the way down. Dim lights flickered along the wall. Murmurs drifted up stone. I froze in place, praying it wasn’t guards or Danielle.

“Can you believe someone clogged the toilets in the bathroom?”

Somewhere a door opened and the voices drifted with it. Toilets? Nice.
Point for Wolf.

A few flights down, I drew open the door enough to ensure no one was lurking in the hall. Nothing. I let out the breath I’d been holding most of the walk down and hurried toward April’s room, praying and praying Danielle wouldn’t be there. According to the time on the grandfather clock I passed, tea was still going on. Who knew if they were having tea after the fight today, but somehow I doubted Danielle had it in her to cancel plans, especially so close to the winter ball.
Appearances are everything, Norah.

I didn’t knock when I got to their room. Instead, I turned the knob, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn’t. Poking my head in, the room was dark and empty. The only light was the tiny flicker from inside the washroom.

The door clicked shut as I entered, slowly taking in the mess on April’s side of the room. Shredded papers masked her bed, along with photos. I picked one up and ran my finger over the red X over my face. The ink spread over my fingertips. Setting the picture down, I pushed the door to the bathroom open, and as I did, my heart sank to the floor and a scream erupted from inside my throat.

Blood dripped down the shower wall. Lying beneath the gory waters of the tub, my sister lay in nothing but a white slip. Her eyes were shut and her face peaceful and unharmed. As if she’d already left me. My knees slapped against the claw foot tub as I dragged her body out, together we fell onto the floor. Open wounds covered her wrists, slashing the way she would to kill herself. The opposite way she usually cut. Because before, she only cut to bleed out the pain and misery. Now, she wanted to die. She wanted to die because of me.