Of Enemies and Endings (37 page)

“Oh,” I said in a small voice. I'd been so busy worrying about the dwarves and the gnomes this morning, I'd never thought about how the humans might feel.

Mom glided out of her bedroom. On her, armor looked like just another costume. Parents weren't supposed to join the actual battle again, but after yesterday, she wasn't taking any chances.

“Your father and I decided that you'll babysit Danica while we're in the meeting,” she told me cheerfully.

The phrase “your father and I decided” kind of threw me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard her say it. Then I realized what she'd said. “No
way
. I won't do anything while you're gone, but I have to find this letter.”

“You can take the baby with you for that,” Mom said, smiling in that steely way that meant she refused to argue about this.

“But what if the
invasion
starts?” I said. “I can't take my baby sister into battle.”

“Exactly,” Amy said, tossing a few more throw pillows on the floor. “Rory, you say you won't do anything dangerous while we're gone, but the only way we'll know for
sure
is if we put you in charge of someone tiny and helpless. You wouldn't leave Dani.”

Mom scowled at Amy. So it was true. I didn't know if I should be pleased my parents were working together or upset that they were ganging up on me.

“What?” Amy said, suddenly awkward. “Was I not supposed to tell her? She was just going to keep arguing.”

“No, I'm glad you said something. Arguing really would have been a waste of time,” I said, and Amy laughed, even though I hadn't meant for it to be funny.

I showed up at Dad and Brie's apartment five minutes before the meeting.

“Good! You're here!” Brie plunked Dani in my arms before I even stepped inside. Then she walked back into the apartment and opened the hall closet. I stared from her to the baby, almost afraid to move. I'd never held Dani without someone watching us before. I wanted a chaperone who could swoop in if it looked like I might drop her. I tucked her against my shoulder, one hand over her head and one over her diaper, like I'd seen Brie and Dad do a thousand times.

Then the baby sucked in a huge breath and let it whoosh out, sleepy and content. The fear fizzled out.

Actually, for the first time all day, I didn't feel empty. Or even terrible.

This was probably what they meant by “heartwarming.” Maybe the Snow Queen should try this.

I immediately sobered. Maybe she had. Maybe that was why she had kidnapped Rapunzel.

“Are you
sure
this is okay?” I asked my stepmother.

Brie didn't bother looking up. She just kept digging through her closet. “You're her big sister! That's the best kind of babysitter there is.”

“Free?” I said.

“Family. You love her just as much as we love her. You won't let anything happen to her,” Brie said. “Diaper bag is beside your dad's desk. You should be all set. If you have any trouble, call us on our M3's. I'll come right away.”

Diapers. I'd
never
changed one. I edged away from the designer bag, covered in a print of rubber duckies, hoping I wouldn't need it.

“The harp lady dropped that off earlier. Looks kind of important.” Brie pointed to the table. Rapunzel's glass vial stood there, and I was surprised at how happy I was to see it again. I drifted over and glanced at the note sitting under it.

Sorry I couldn't drop it off myself! Gran wouldn't let me do “unnecessary errands.” She says it's pretty, though. She's strongly hinting that she would like a chandelier of these vials for her birthday. I'll make sure it's from both of us.—Lena

Brie stuffed one arm in the sleeve of her hoodie. “Oh my God—is that really the time? ERIC! We're supposed to be there in three minutes!”

Dani heard her mother shouting. Her eyes opened and swiveled up to mine in a way that clearly said,
Should I be worried?
I stroked her back.

“Brie, did you say something?” my dad called. “Can't hear you with the shower running.”

My stepmother sighed and headed for the bathroom. “I love your father to pieces, I really do, but he has a very creative understanding of the term ‘on time.' And the man
loves
his long showers.”

Then she poked her head inside the bathroom and started talking to Dad. I kept my eyes averted.

I hadn't been sure about it at first, but I loved Brie too. I loved the way she was honest. I loved the way she talked about things—how she always had a way of sounding cheery and goofy instead of scared or bitter. I hadn't figured out if she worked hard at it the same way Chase did—hiding what she was really thinking—or if she was just born that way.

She laughed at something Dad said. Then she blew him a kiss and shut the door. “Okay, he's gonna meet me there. You make sure he gets his butt out of this apartment, okay?” She crossed the room, gathering her second shoe and her purse along the way. “You know what my mom said to me after I broke up with my first boyfriend? ‘Someday, you'll find a keeper. He'll still drive you crazy, but you'll look forward to him driving you crazy for the rest of your life.' Kind of annoying that she was right.”

She kissed my forehead and then Dani's. “Love you both. Remember: You'll do great. Sister bonding time! And, Rory, don't forget to open your gift. It's on your dad's desk.” Then she grabbed her keys and was gone.

The Snow Queen could invade the human world any minute, and my stepmother was worried about me getting my belated birthday present.

It was hard to tear the wrapping off with the baby dozing on my shoulder, but I managed.

Inside the gift box was a stack of typed pages—Dad's screenplay—with a Post-it attached:
I know you're busy, but after things settle down, could you read this for me and tell me what you think?
I obviously wasn't the only person he'd asked. The margins of the first page were crammed with handwritten comments.

I spotted Brie's messy scrawl, but Amy's tidy cursive surprised me.

She'd circled some dialogue and written,
Rory would never say this. Listen to her more, and you'll get a better idea of how kids talk
.

Then I read that circled dialogue.

RACHEL

You don't scare me, Ice Witch, but your armies . . . well, I don't like them very much.

Amy was right. I would never say that. Who
did
like armies?

I skimmed the rest of the page. A girl, talking to this Ice Witch. Her friend held captive by the witch's trolls. Agreeing to fight this fairy guy. Swearing to free them.

Oh.

The door to the bathroom cracked open, and Dad strolled out in jeans and a T-shirt that was damp at the neck, rubbing his hair with a towel. “Brie asked you to make sure I didn't take too long, didn't she? I'm sure they don't care if I'm a little late—” Then he spotted the wrapping paper on the floor.

“It's about
me
,” I said. “And my friends. Did I
tell
you about fighting Torlauth in the Snow Queen's entrance hall?” I thought I'd left out that detail when I told him, Mom, and Amy the story in April.

“Miriam did,” Dad admitted. “She let me pick her brain.”

He hadn't been hanging out with me just because Brie had told him to. He'd been investigating me behind the scenes. He cared about me just as much as he cared about Dani.

Dad made a face. “Are you mad? I was afraid you'd be mad.”

I shook my head. I was almost happy. “I'll try to read it before I go back to school.”

We didn't mention that I might not get a chance to be a freshman, but I saw a muscle twitching in Dad's jaw, like he was trying hard not to get emotional right before he went to a meeting. “You're going to look for that letter, aren't you?”

I nodded. He
had
been paying attention.

He tossed the wet towel over the back of the leather couch, which would probably drive Brie crazy again. He picked up the carrier that usually kept Dani strapped to his chest. “Let's get you in this thing. It'll keep your hands free.”

He had to tighten it a lot, but it fit. Dani was so used to it that she kept snoozing. For a second, Dad kept one hand on my shoulder and one hand on the baby's head. He stroked her hair with his thumb. “You know what I think about? I missed so much with you. I can't get it back, but I won't make the same mistake with Dani.”

I had it so much better than Solange. My dad never abandoned me for another family. He had just made ours bigger.

I was misty-eyed. Dad kind of was too. We were a mess, but the good kind.

“You're ten minutes late now,” I reminded him. “If you don't show up soon, I'll be in trouble with Brie.”

“Better go, then.” Dad hugged me and Dani both, careful not to squeeze too tight and wake her up. “If you want to, I completely encourage you to crash the meeting. I wouldn't mind getting rescued by my girls.”

I rolled my eyes. He grinned. Then he left, and I was alone with the baby.

Dani slept long enough for her drool to soak through my T-shirt. She woke up on the way to the courtyard, but she didn't cry. She stared at Rapunzel's glass vial swinging from my hand, fascinated.

The only other person I saw outside was the Director. She sat in front of the ruins that used to be her office. Someone had salvaged one of the big rose-carved armchairs. Stuffing was coming out of the back, but the Director was still sitting in it.

Rapunzel wouldn't leave me to figure it all out on my own.

The Director might, though. My letter could have been waiting under our door, just like Chase's and Sarah Thumb's. She could have sent someone to steal it. She might be keeping it from me. She had a habit of withholding information.

You might say that confronting someone a lot older and more powerful than you while your baby sister was strapped to your chest would be a bad idea. You might be right, but I marched over to her anyway. “Do you have my letter?”

“Hello, Aurora,” the Director said. Standing above her, I could see the dark circles under her eyes. “What makes you believe I would take your letter?”

“You have a history,” I reminded her. Dani spat out her pacifier. I stooped to pick it up.

Yes, I was
really
intimidating.

“What a mild way of putting it.” The Director rubbed the back of her neck, wincing like she had a crick in it. “The Canon is probably accusing me of worse crimes at the moment.”

Oh right. The meeting.

“It didn't occur to you, did it?” said the Director. “Why I am not there? I can tell you: The only reason they don't invite someone to a Canon meeting is if they're discussing that person, especially if that person is the head. First, the Tale representatives will vote to see if the families living here will get a vote. Then they'll vote on whether or not I can keep my position.”

I didn't know they could fire her. I couldn't imagine EAS without her leading it. “You still didn't answer my question.”

“I did not take your letter, Rory,” the Director said with a deep, weary sigh. I wasn't sure if I believed her or not. Her gaze fell on the glass vial Dani was playing with. “Rapunzel's sister gave her that. Did she tell you?”

I shook my head. I slowly tugged it out of the baby's hands. It didn't seem so harmless anymore. Dani started to fuss. I put a fresh pacifier in her mouth.

“We were traveling to steal the Pounce Pot,” said the Director. “We passed an elven market. Solange bought it when she saw how the vial lit up when she whistled. She said she was going to give it to her little sister, who was afraid of the dark. Sebastian and I were surprised—she hadn't told us she'd found her father and his new family. That came later.”

Time, for me, is messy. And timing delicate,
Rapunzel had said.