Chapter 1
The house was far from a palace. The walls were slightly burnt; the floors creaked when walked on; the furniture was rickety. The house was far from a palace, yet the heroes had been living there for a month. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… They had waited for a war, but none had come. They’d stared up at Scarlett’s dark fortress for hours on end. For what they could see, no none had come in or out. No one had come period. The only thing that did come was more snow. Seeing that everyone was frozen and weary, Amanda and Miranda led them to a desecrated village. “She did this; Scarlet did,” Evie gasped, gesturing to the ruined buildings, “Didn’t she?” The sisters nodded. Miranda pointed to an abandoned cottage, “This is where we will stay.” “Wait! Let me get this straight: Your plan is to hide?” Aric scoffed. Amanda glared at him, “Consider it waiting out the enemy in comfort. Besides, we’ll have plenty of time to train for when Scarlett’s army comes.” “If it comes,” Hope muttered. “Why should we do what you say?” Ally spat, “You weren’t able to help Jane and Tina!” Miranda was eerily calm, “Those girls weren’t able to help themselves.” Her sister opened the cottage’s squeaky door, “Now come inside before you catch cold.” So the heroes decided to live in the ruined house. The upstairs had two bedrooms; the Evers stayed in one and the Never in the other. The Nevergirls had put up a curtain, cutting the room in half so that the boys could not intrude on them. NO one knew where the sisters slept, if they ever slept. The heroes made the cottage their home, for they didn’t know if they’d ever had a chance to have a home again. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Rose frowned at the magical calendar Amanda had set up in the kitchen. “December 20th,” she sighed, “Today would have been the Snow Ball.” The other girls sighed along with her. Evie and Allison found themselves sighing too. It was the first year Nevers were invited, and secretly they’d been excited. Miranda looked up form across the room and winked. …………………………………………………………………………………………. Tina dragged Tina by a chain across the bumpy purple ground. The real Tina was the one who was gagged and bound in chains. Omega Tina was the one in control. Finally they reached their destination, a house made of reflective glass. Inside a familiar voice-Jane’s-addressed Omega Tina disdainfully, “What took you so long?” “Tried to get her to leave the easy way, but it won’t work unless she wants it to. She refused. She wouldn’t leave without ‘Jane.’ Still, I took care of her for a month, trying to convince her…But I couldn’t, so I decided to make her leave the hard way,” Omega Tina explained. “I know all of that. You contacted me three days ago. Why did it take so long for you to get here?” “Have you ever tried dragging yourself across ten miles?” Jane frowned. She didn’t care. Omega Tina continued to talk anyhow, “I may be thin, but it doesn’t mean I’m not heavy.” “Just put her downstairs with the others,” Jane ordered. ………………………………………………………………………………………… Evie, Aric, Ally, Jack, Willow, Hope, Marigold, Rose, Ellie, Amber, and Velvet crept down the stairs together. After a long day of training for a battle that may never come, they’d returned to their rooms to each find a note: Come downstairs in an hour. We have a surprise. ~A & M An hour had passed incredibly slowly, but now it was time. Reaching the bottom, they noticed an immediate change. The furniture was neatly pushed off to the side, the walls covered in differently shaped mirrors, the floor polished. A table of sweets stood in one corner, a tall grandfather clock in the other. Three violins hovered in the air, playing all by themselves. Amanda and Miranda were in the center of it all. Three Everboys were beside them- Nathan, Oliver, and William. “Welcome to our Snow Ball,” Miranda greeted. The Evergirls squealed. Amanda smiled, “No go get ready, but hurry back. The first dance is about to begin.” The girls dashed back to their rooms, rooting through trunks and closets of clothing the previous tenants had left behind. The boys stayed in the mock ballroom, smirking at the angelic sound of giggling girls above them. …………………………………………………………………………………….. Tina was tossed down a flight of basement steps. “Tina?” Jane and Etta peered at her from the walls where they were chained. Tina stared at Jane. She felt dumb. Of course the Jane upstairs wasn’t the real Jane. ………………………………………………………………………………………… Perfection. No other word could describe this moment but perfect. After months of living in fear and running head-first into danger, Ellie finally felt at ease in William’s arms. It’s nice, she thought to herself, that at the end of a time of chaos, there could be peace. Outside the window, snow fell on the dead grass, and as each blade was gradually covered with white, Ellie felt herself let go of her worries. If something as delicate and vulnerable as snow could cover a clearing, then she was certain love could conquer all. William turned his gaze on the pure winter wonderland, “Follow me, I have something to show you.” Ellie was confused, yet she let him grab her hand and lead her out of the cottage and into the snow. “What are we doing out here?” Ellie wondered, seeing her breath. William pulled her close, “We can’t have a Snow Ball without snow.” Ellie smiled a warm smile, and as dainty snowflakes swirled around her and her prince, she felt like nothing in the world could ruin that perfect moment. Meanwhile, Hope and Willow wanted nothing to do with the poppycock of love. They pitied their friends for falling into such a foolish game. The two Nevergirls would never understand romance or the cyclone of emotions it brought. Dressed in elegant black gowns they spent most of the Ball on the sidelines laughing at the things they could not fathom. The ball was, in it’s own way, a truce. For at least one night, boys and girls would understand each other, Good could party with Evil, and the new had the courage to stand beside the old. Enemies could become friends. Jack and Allison were born to hate each other, but there was no other couple in the world that was more in love. At one point in the night, as the two slow danced in the center of the floor, they were greeted by Hope and Willow. “HI Jally!” the two Nevergirls teased, strutting around the dancing pair. Ally snorted, “It’s silly.” “What?” Jack asked, looking a tad bit surprised. “That name,” Ally stated, “Jally.” Jack grinned, “I used to think so too.” “And you don’t anymore?” “No,” said Jack softly, “Because I realized what it means.” “Humor me,” Allison smirked. “It symbolizes our unity. We are no longer individuals. I’m not Jack anymore; you’re not Ally. We are one; we are Jally.” Allison had never heard anything more deep or romantic. She rested her head on her boyfriend’s soldier, “You always know the perfect way to put things.” To that, he replied, “I know.” Rose felt like a princess. It was an appropriate way to feel, for she was one. Being spun in a shimmering golden gown by her dashing prince, Nathan, was her idea of Ever After. The unfamiliar faces painted and framed on the walls around her seemed to agree. Rose was convinced their eternal smiles were meant for her. …………………………………………………………………………………………. Black boots tromped down the red carpeted hall. They belonged to Rider Paper of Hona-Lee, who walked slowly, looking down at his feet. The walls of the corridor were pearl-white, the door of every room shut- almost every room. One door was slightly ajar, the space inside was a dull gray. But behind the bed, there was a glimmer of pink. Noticing it, he paused and pushed past the door, reaching down and grabbing the pink. It was a long, scarf with a frayed end. He caressed the soft accessory. It was hers. He folded up the scarf and fitting it gingerly into his coat pocket. He would return it to her the next time he saw her, which he was sure would be soon… ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Marigold peered at her reflection in the mirrored wall for the fifth time. She didn’t recognize herself. She wore a sky blue off-the-shoulder dress that showed off her hourglass figure and flowed regally to the floor. Clasped around her neck was a pendant with a pink stone. Rather than in the usual tight bun, her hair cascaded down over her bare shoulders. The only things that were remotely familiar about her appearance were her face and the new pair of magic shoes from Amber on her feet. Standing close to the doorway, she gazed at the happy couples before her. She wished she hadn’t come to the Ball. She’d been to a different ball, once before, and it was still too fresh in her mind to forget. Marigold turned away form the party, and eyed a portrait of a girl with haunting green eyes. The girl in the picture seemed to be mocking the world with her crimson smirk and queen-like posture. Marigold almost wished people would see her that way. “I understand how you feel,” the girl sighed. Marigold looked frantically at her shoes, expecting them to do something. She thought she’d heard the painting talk, but she couldn’t have. “Marigold, I’m talking to you,” the painting called with a voice that resembled both fire and ice. Marigold continued to stare at her feet, “But how>” she wondered aloud. “Those enchanted shoes can’t protect you from everything. What I’ve learned is with magic, there’s always a loophole,” the painting cackled. Marigold looked up at it, “What do you want?” “My name is Emma, and I want to help you.” “Thank you Emma, but you’re too late. Someone else is helping me.” Marigold dismissed, shrinking backward. Emma rolled her emerald eyes, “Don’t tell me you’ve been listening to Darius and his creepy entourage.” Marigold paled, “How do you know them?” “Oh,” Emma scoffed, “There was a time when Darius came for me. That predator and his siblings are not to be trusted.” “no. He understands me. He wants to take me to his land, to-“ “You’re sweet…And gullible. Darius and his crew are known as the Mortgrove Death Porters; all he wants to do for you is put you out of your misery. I, on the other hand, can help.” “How do I know I can trust YOU? “Marigold asked, hands on her hips. “Because,” drawled Emma, “Unlike Darius, I have good intentions. Only I can help you, because I’m just like you.” Marigold opened her mouth to remark, but Emma gave her a withering glare and continued to talk, “Poor Mari. You feel like and outsider even among your friends. But your friends don’t even know the half of it. You’ve been deceived and hurt by someone you loved. You spent fa long time alone in a certain gray room. Your mind began to slop away and you let it. You didn’t expect to survive but you did. Now you don’t know what to do. You’re afraid, afraid to tell everyone about your scrambled mind and afraid of yourself, of what you might do.” Quailing, Marigold shrunk back, “How-how do you know these things?” The painted woman smiled sadly, “That’s what happened to me. I told you; we are very alike, you and I.” :But you’re-“ “A painting?” Emma chuckled, “Yes… though there’s more to that. You see, I am a representation of a girl long dead. She once lived here, but when she left, she enchanted this picture to tell her story. And for years I have done just that. I’ve spoken to other girls, like you and in turn, they have created their own contingents to join me on my mission to save the lost.” Marigold noticed a crowd of girls in colored dresses appear behind Emma. “Together we are the Sisterhood of Sane Insanity. We all have the same tragic backstory and a mental disability of some sort as a result,” Emma gestured to two girls who had stepped forward, “Lee hallucinates, Val has anger issues, you talk to inanimate objects and voices in your head, but I am the worst I do all of those things. The only difference between you and us is that we have embraced the insanity.” “W-what?” The girl called Lee pursed her lips, “In the beginning we tried to hide from our minds. Fearing ourselves led us to do unspeakable things. We kept the insanity a secret, believing we would cure it…bout you can’t escape yourself. You may think those magic shoes are a solution, but their power isn’t permanent. Besides, they don’t at all make people stop comparing you to your parents.” “But once we welcomed the insanity, we felt much freer,” Val added. Emma smiled, “Now we aren’t cowering from the darkness anymore; we’re controlling it. If you want to be like us, Marigold, the first step is taking off those shoes. The choice is yours; you can fall or you can fly.” With that, Emma froze in her painted smile, the other girls faded away, and the painting was just a painting once again. Across the room, laughter erupted from Rose as Nathan nuzzled her, and Marigold ran from the Ball like Cinderella. There was a party downstairs, but Amber wanted nothing to do with it. Instead, the leprechaun sat atop her bed, reading- the door open just a crack-trying vainly to block out the noise of the music below. She hated parties, especially ones that involved dancing. Her reasons stemmed from a time when she was young-too young to remember some had claimed, but they were wrong…Years ago, before an angry mob had chased her family away into hiding, her parents had been the village cobblers of Emerald Valley. It was rumored that each shoe they made was infused with a little magic, so the cobblers were prosperous and happy. However, all it took was one tiny spark to ignite chaos. One fateful day, a selfish little girl, named Karen, came in with an old woman, and bought a pair of lovely red heels. Amber’s father had not cursed the shoes. In face, he added a charm to them that would make the wearer seem even more beautiful than she already was. Karen had brought the curse upon herself by neglecting and taking advantage of her kindly old guardian, which earned her the wrath of an angel. The celestial being put a spell on the shoes that made it impossible for them to be removed and forced the wretched girl to dance forever. Eventually, Karen repented and the merciful angel took her soul to the Heavens, but not before she had her feet chopped off in hope the Evil shoes would go away. Naturally, when the villagers found the girl’s cold, dead body strewn across the ground with the shoes several feet away- glinting maliciously in the sunlight- they could think of no other culprit than the heels…But one cannot punish a pair of shoes, so they traced the seemingly deadly footwear back to its makers, and went after Amber’s family with torches and swords. Fugitives, the leprechauns hid themselves from society in order to stay alive. Yet that wasn’t what was bothering Amber (if it had been, her fear of dancing would be described as irrational). There was a story within the story, one that would be engraved in Amber’s mind until the day she died. She never told anyone, but she’d been peering out her bedroom window above her parents’ shop the day Karen perished. As she stared dreamily down at the picturesque town below, along came the red shoes. They were dancing a jig down the wide dirt road, as if possessed. Each shoe contained a foot, severed at the ankles and dripping with fresh blood. Amber couldn’t help but stare as the lurid slippers carried the feet across Emerald Valley to the beat of a song in the distance. It was a whisper on the breeze, cold and cruel, “Dance you shall,” it hissed, “Dance in your red shoes ‘till you are pale and cold, ‘till your skin shrivels up and you are a skeleton.” Amber had never forgotten that day. It would haunt her forever. A muffled sound of laughter and the lilt of violins in the parlor could still be heard up in her room on the second floor. Amber had been reading the same sentence over and over for a half hour. She was so focused in trying to be engrossed in her book, that she almost didn’t notice a barefooted princess glide past her door. All of Snowy’s roommates’ romances had failed. However, she was the only one trying to salvage the night. Tina was trapped who knew where and she hadn’t even seen Marigold. But Snowy wasn’t going to let a lack of a date stop her from enjoying the ball. That night she dressed in a low cut red gown with a **** up the left side that contrasted so well against her pale complexion, resembling fresh blood on snow. Her hair was spun into bouncy curls. She dressed for no one but herself. She danced to every song, flitting around entwined couples as free and beautiful as a butterfly. Maybe I’m different from my parents, she thought to herself, maybe I’m my own true love. While she was satisfied with being single, Snowy was destined to fall in love. Her soul mate hadn’t been at the Welcoming, he hadn’t even been at the school, and Tobias’ rose hadn’t belonged to Tobias. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Omega Tina and Other Jane grinned wolfishly as they entered the basement, “Time for you three to die, my friends.” “Why are you doing this?” Real Jane exclaimed. “Because,” Other Jane growled, “There can’t be two of us in one place. It’s unnatural. Soon the mirror will realize that and once it does, we will die.” “And we’ve got a lot of living to do,” Omega Tina added. Other Jane finished the sentence, “So you shall instead.” The real Tina and Jane exchanged a frightened expression. Etta smiled. Jane gave her a dirty look. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan. We just need to stall for time,” Etta whispered gleefully. Their captors drew swords. “Curse!” Omega Tina turned her head to look at Etta who had said it. “Curse! Hex! Spell! Enchantment!” Etta spouted. “What are you doing?” Jane hissed. Etta giggled, “Cursing them out.” “Those are just synonyms for the word ‘curse.’” “Yup. Curse words.” Other Jane stopped in her tracks, “Why do you always have to ruin everything, Mimikie Etta?!” she snarled. But she wasn’t talking to the girl in chains beside the real Jane. She was scowling at a tall woman with wild blue hair, who had descended the steps when no one was paying attention. Other Etta glared fiercely at Other Jane, “I’m not gonna let you hurt them!” ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. “A Never doesn’t cry,” her mother had warned, but the tears fin Evie’s eyes were those of happiness. Finally, after almost losing him so may times- too many to count- Evie knew Aric was hers. He always had been. Slow dancing in his arms, she couldn’t imagine life without him. Evie almost pitied Scarlett, for she would never experience the affection Evie and Aric had. Scarlett would never get a happy moment like this. The black rose had only been the beginning. “You know, you’re my NeverAfter.” Aric softly kissed her red lips as to say ‘I know.’ “I love you, Cheshiregirl.” Evie kissed him back; she didn’t even try to correct him. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. “How many times do I have to tell you it’s not going to work before you believe me?” Rider huffed. “It has to,” Scarlett responded. “NO it doesn’t. And it won’t.” “Why not?!” “Because, as I’ve been saying for the past month, it’s a genetic thing. You can’t just ‘turn into’ a dragon.” “WHYNOT?!” “Puff was my father’s alter-ego. I inherited the gene. Now he’s mine.” The villainess hadn’t wanted to admit it, but he was right. “Fine. So I’ve wasted my time. Those brats who killed my brother have gotten away. Gather the others, we will find them tonight to make up for this failed goose-chase crusade of a wasted month. We will make them pay! …………………………………………………………………………………. Velvet was flying. Well, she wasn’t really, but it was like that. During the fast dances, Oliver twirled her so quickly across the floor that he could lift her into the air. When the songs were slow, he pulled her close. Hugging and swaying under the broken crystal chandeliers they danced. Moonlight outside illuminated the indigo sky of falling snow. “You are more beautiful than the moon,” Oliver remarked as they swept past the frosted windows, and Velvet knew he was the one. At the end of the waltz, the clock began to bong. “It’s ten o’clock already,” Velvet observed, “I had no idea it was so late.” Oliver beamed, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” “Yeah.” “We’ll dance ‘till morning if you wish.” Velvet leapt into his arms in an enthusiastic embrace. Oliver eyed the snack table, “Are you thirsty, Vel?” “A little.” He dashed away, and returned quickly, holding two goblets of red juice. Velvet clutched at her heart with mock delight, “My hero.” She took a small sip. The violins struck up a waltz on the dance floor. Oliver grabbed her arm, “Come on, it’s our song.” But Velvet wasn’t paying attention. Her throat burned and her body felt like it was on fire. The dancing couples around her became dancing shapes before her eyes than an impressionist portrait of swirling smears and blurs. The cup went slack in her hand, slipped and clattered to the floor. She teetered on her heels before losing her balance and collapsing to the hard wood. Her eyes were still open, but all she could see was the color black. “Velvet!” Oliver fell to his knees, “Velvet!” He shook her but she didn’t stir. Leaning over her prone body, he hissed her. He tasted an acrid substance on her lips. His legs faltered. He collapsed beside his darling. …………………………………………………………………………………………………. Scarlett, Nicky, Annie, Star and Danny dismounted from the back of a large green dragon. Jafar’s daughter eyed the cottage they’d landed in front of, “And you’re sure this is the place?” Nicky nodded, “Absolutely. I came by an hour ago and saw one of those insipid Evers dancing idiotically in the snow.” Scarlett smirked, “Perfect.” Now Rider stood where the dragon had been, “Remember, you can kill the rest of them, but Mari doesn’t get hurt.” The villainess turned the door handle, “Of course.”
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