The Forgotten Fairytales (35 page)

The water rose fast, jumping from my ankles to my thighs in record time. My hands vibrated and I hyperventilated, unable to breathe or think as the icy liquid numbed me. Tears seared my cheeks, my heartbeat thrashing in my ears. I ran to the corner of the cell and clutched the bars, sucking in air as the water spilled over my head.

My hands dug at the walls, yanked at the bars, trying to find some escape, but I couldn’t. I swam upward, only an inch between the water and the ceiling, and sucked in great gulps of air until there was nothing left but freezing water encasing me.

Blood trickled from my fingers as I clawed at the wall, my body numbing from the cold. I was never a great swimmer. In fact, Dad and I always had contests where we held our breaths underwater and I always lost, like I had now. The strength in my body dwindled. Against all rational thought, I opened my mouth for air and water filled the caverns of my lungs, choking me, strangling me, until I gave up.

Inside Danielle was dancing with James, celebrating her victory and her happy ending, while I…I was slipping fast. A silver light shimmered in front of me. I must have been delusional, because there was a man floating in front of me, or rather, a merman.

Gripping the bars, I begged for a miracle and pleaded for the bars to dissolve. Heat flooded my palms and a smooth black liquid seeped from my skin. Beneath my touch the bars melted away. So did whatever strength I had. My heart slowed and every part of me turned into jelly. Closing my eyes, I saw everyone I loved—Dad, Wolf, April, Kate, even the mom I never knew.

“Fight it,” Wolf’s voice called to me. A lazy arm raised and grabbed at the empty sea to find him. Hands cupped my cheeks and lips pressed against mine, blowing oxygen into my mouth. It wasn’t much, but it definitely was enough to wake me up.

I clawed at the water, swimming upward as fast as I could. My ears popped and the cool liquid pressed against my skin like a tidal wave until I broke the surface. Soon the ground formed beneath me, sand and leaves stuck to my skin.

Lips captured mine, blowing in air. My chest felt like it was going to snap under the weight of the stranger I couldn’t see. Whoever it was did CPR five times before I choked up water and opened my eyes.

Silver scales flashed against the water. Both his legs were covered in scales and his feet were webbed. Drawing my attention up, I gasped and diverted my eyes. He was naked. Like butt ass naked and everything waist down except
that
was covered in silvery flesh.

I sat up and took a deep, painful breath. Everything hurt.

“Are you alright?” His voice was deep and smooth, like a rippling tide. Jerking my attention to his face, his skin was so pale it sparkled. Sapphire hair hit below his chin, making his silver eyes more prominent. Despite the strange appearance, he was kind of stunning and looked a few years older than me?

“I…” I clutched at my bare throat, surprised at how painful speaking was, like someone had scraped my vocal chords.

He reached forward and placed his ice cold hands on my throat. They were wet and slimy and made me wince. The sound of his laughter echoed in the bleak, icy night.

“I bring no harm.” Sapphire lights jumped from his hand and warmth spread through me, tickling my throat until every muscle relaxed, like someone dipped me in a bubbly Jacuzzi. “Better?”

I cleared my throat. No pain. Breathe in. No pain. “Thank you.” I ran my hands through my sopping wet hair. “For saving and healing me. I owe you.”

He nodded. “You do. And I shall seek the favor in the future. For now, I am pleased to have saved you, princess.”

“I’m not a princess.” Did they have a built in radar or something? “Just a girl.”

The man stared at me, confusion riddled over his face. “You are far from ordinary. You are the hybrid, are you not? Our land has many stories of you.”

“What do the stories say?” I asked through chattering teeth.

He stared at me bewildered. Did he not know I knew little about myself and even less about the sea world? After a moment passed, he grinned widely, exposing sharp, needle-like teeth and said, “One day, I will call
you
queen.”

Moist dirt pushed under my nails as I dug my fingers into the ground.
Queen.
You have got to be shitting me. I would never be a queen. Hell, I wasn’t even old enough to vote or buy cigarettes.

Above the treetops, fireworks shot up, illuminating the sky with an explosion of color. Purples, reds, and golds danced across the dark forest and glittered overtop the lake. Despite the lightshow, fear built inside ma and a chill drifted across my neck.

“Who are you?”

He tilted his head. “Aries. And you?”

“I thought you knew who I was?”

“I do.” He nodded gently. “But your name is retracted from our books. The only pleasure I am granted, is knowing your beauty.”

A strange sensation bubbled over my stomach, almost warning me not to tell him. Pushing the feeling aside, I took a deep, shaky breath. Mermaids weren’t all bad, after all, I saw The Little Mermaid.

“Norah Har—” I paused. “Norah Grimm.” Or was it Petrovich-Grimm? Dad said the Petrovich name held power. Already I missed the beauty of my ‘fake’ last name.

“Ah, a name as lovely as the girl it belongs to.”

Music danced through the air from the castle. Aries stared upward, his eyes shut, soaking in the pleasing music. When they opened again, he stared right at me. The silver in his eyes fierce and renewed.

“You’d better go,” he said.

“Wait,” I said. “How did you get to me? I was in a basement cell.”

A toothy grin spread his thin lips. “Magic, dear. Very strong magic.”

I blinked as he slipped into the water, leaving me alone on the shore, soaking wet. A replica of how I began here.

T
he grand ballroom was on the third level, above the lavish cherry wood staircase. Crystal chandeliers dripped down from the ceiling, illuminating the stairs I feared to walk up. Guards patrolled the landing, leaving no room for error.

The details I remembered about the ball were minuscule. With the wicked princesses planning every second of the day, I gave no attention to anything Danielle cherished, though now seemed like a good time to know something beyond the fact that Finn planned to spike the punch fountain.

Water squished out of my sneakers as I rolled on the balls of my feet. These wet clothes had to go.

“Norah!” a small voice hissed from behind. I jerked to see Kate running toward me, the biggest smile spread over her lips. She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tighter than I’d ever been hugged in my life. Relief smoothed the tension in my shoulders.

“I was so worried. I camped out down the hall. I knew if you came back you’d come here. God, I’m so…I’m so…” Tears swarmed her eyes. She wiped them away and breathed deep. Then, she scanned me, as if seeing me for the first time. “Why are you wet?”

“They tried to drown me,” I said right out. Kate’s big eyes widened. “They’re all against me, Kate. Desiree, Finn. It was all a lie.”

Blonde strands stuck to her cheeks. “Not everyone. Not me. I’m here for you no matter what.” She grabbed my hand and smiled. “Now, come here.”

A few doors down was the room where they sewed clothes and costumes for the drama department. I’d never witnessed a play, but someone said they have one a year. I wondered if they planned on performing any plays by Stephen Sondheim.
Into the Woods
seemed fitting. Danielle could play Cinderella and die. Or at least get punched, repeatedly. I’d pay any amount of money to see that show.

The door creaked as Kate pushed it open and rummaged through clothes racks. Frilly dresses, patterned pants. I needed to be invisible, not stand out. I might as well run in screaming,
“You tried to kill me, but here I am. Come at me, bro.”

Frustrated, I yanked the doors open to one of the closets, and on the very bottom spotted a pile of black clothes. Over top the pile read WARDROBE: TECHIE.
Winning.
I rushed to strip off my soaking wet clothes and cherished the dryness of my new ones. Thank God for the warmth of the long sleeves and tight cotton pants.

“I have a plan to get us past the guards.” Kate sat on top of a table, her back turned to me as I changed. “Well, more like a potion. It’ll end at midnight, so we have precisely thirty minutes.”

A smile twitched at the edge of my lips as I twisted my wet hair into a bun. “Perfect.”

Kate handed me a pair of black sneakers. “Let’s get em.”

Kate and I stood at the bottom of the stairs, her bright blonde hair masked by a dark hood. For a few minutes we watched the guards pace, trying to count how many there were. So far, we guessed five. At least on this side. In the pocket of Kate’s coat were ten small vials, half were orange, the others bright pink. Whenever I asked what they did, she only said, “You’ll see.”

“Here, take these.” She placed five in my hand, a mixture of both colors. “I’ll go to the left, you go to the right. Use them sparingly and stay away from the cloud of smoke or the potion will get you and that would really suck.”

I narrowed my eyes and stared at the swirling smoke inside the vial. “Seriously, Kate. What the hell did you put together?”

“Payback.” A new song began, and Kate squeezed my free hand.

We moved slowly, her on the left side, me on the right. My heart raced as I realized I really had no plan.

The landing was only a few steps away. Kate cleared her throat quietly and signaled to Go and Throw. So I did.

I ran the rest of the stairs. Three guards were on my side, their stark white faces firm as they advanced toward me. Panic rose inside my chest as I tossed the vial and watched it crash in front of them. The bright pink smoke devoured them. Their cries pierced the air, but only for a second. Because once the smoke cleared, three mice scattered in different directions.
No freakin way.

Kate clutched my elbow. “There still may be more.”

Instead of moving, I stared at her in disbelief. “Mice?”

“It’s a ball, right? Why not be authentic.”

We laughed and ran toward the door. Together we crept inside, sticking to the shadows in the back of the ballroom.

Blue and white peonies adorned each table. My nose tingled from the overwhelming floral scent. Pale blue satin covered the chairs and matching table cloths. Flower arrangements decorated the stage where Danielle, James, Al, Jen, Finn, and Pearl stood. Danielle’s gown was what you’d expect. A shimmering silver ball gown, the skirt so poufy I wondered how she walked. Beside her, James wore a matching tux, mostly likely made from the same material.

There was something different in his smile as they crowned him King of the ball and her Queen. Hard lines formed at his eyes. James and Danielle paraded down the stairs to the center of the dance floor. The waltz began. Music I’d hated until Wolf made me love it.

A frown took over Kate’s once smiling face. Moisture glossed in her eyes. This had to end. All of it. Danielle had to pay once and for all. And this time, I was not going down. They were.

With the vial tight in my hand, I marched out of the darkness. The other couples joined in the dance while some watched in awe. Placing the tube in my palm, I gave my best overhand swing and listened for the glass hitting the ground. Guilt wasn’t something I felt for these people. So what, they’d be mice for a little bit. It wasn’t like they were killed.