“This,” she said pointedly, “is precisely why fairies stay away from humans most of the time.”
I gaped at her. I could feel Hudson’s hand on my arm, warning me to let it go, but I couldn’t. “I asked for a way to change things into gold and you threw me, my family, and all of our possessions into the Middle Ages. I have been imprisoned, threatened, shackled, and my house was ransacked. I was forced into a bargain with a creepy ex-fairy, knights are out looking for me in order to force me into a marriage with a crazy old man, and the gold enchantment rips at my heart every time I use it. And now, on top of that, you’ve put my baby in danger.”
Chrissy regarded me evenly. “You know, you’re pretty unhappy for someone who got exactly what she wanted.” I gritted my teeth. “I never asked to be part of this fairy tale!”
“But it’s what you wished for. The trouble is that you didn’t really want gold. You wanted a life with no worries, no problems, and the answers to every test before it’s given to you.”
“Okay,” I said. “That sounds good. Give me that instead of this wish.”
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She flicked my words away with a toss of her manicured nails. “If that’s what you wanted, you should have asked to be turned into an encyclopedia.” She shook her head patiently. “You wouldn’t be happy on a dusty shelf though. Living is more fun. The key to happiness—as any good fairy godmother will tell you—is not to avoid problems, but to overcome them.” She took a deep breath, composing herself, then gestured grandly toward the forest. “So off you go on your journey, my little charge. Overcome.”
Hudson cocked his head at her in disbelief. “Overcome?” She ignored him and kept waving her hand at the forest. I looked in the direction she was motioning and then back at her. “It will be dark soon, I have a baby, and there are sword-wielding men out there who want to capture me.”
She pulled her wand out of her purse and waved it at the horses.
They changed from brown mares into white steeds, fully saddled.
“Overcome,” she said. “And if you can’t overcome, at least learn something meaningful. Otherwise it will be an awful story, and no one will want to read it. You don’t want to be responsible for not only giving an ex-fairy his powers back but also ruining a perfectly good fairy tale, do you? Now off you go.”
With another flourish of her wand our supplies flew off the ground and repacked themselves onto the horses.
“No one will want to read it?” I repeated. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
Her gaze ran over me and she let out a martyred sigh. “I suppose as long as I’m blowing my magic budget, I ought to fix your legs too.
You can’t go hobbling around for the rest of the story.” I didn’t argue with her about that. She swept her wand in my direction and the pain drained away, until it had completely disappeared.
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“Here,” Chrissy said, holding out the book. “You should read the next page before you go.”
I was holding the baby, so Hudson took the book and opened it so we both could see it. Illustrations covered the pages again, and the latest painting was of Rumpelstiltskin. He held his magic mirror in one hand, a look of dark determination in his eyes. I recognized the background. He stood next to the boxes of supplies at Robin Hood’s camp. He must have come not long after I left.
Which meant he was looking for me.
My heart jumped into my throat. My hands trembled.
“Even ex-fairies know the ways of the forest,” Chrissy said. “All Rumpelstiltskin needs to do to find you is ask the birds and the trees which way the fair blond maiden went. If you want to keep ahead of him, you need to keep moving. And you,” she said, turning to address Hudson, “would do well to stay a nameless extra during this story.” Hudson shut the book with a thud and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Rumpelstiltskin had better stay away from us.” Chrissy patted his shoulder tolerantly. “A very noble thought from you, extra-character guard fellow, but fairies—even ex-fairies—can’t be killed by the sword. They can only be slain by magic, something you have precious little of.” To me she said, “The Alliance may have stripped Rumpelstiltskin of his fairy powers, but over the years, he’s picked up plenty of enchantments. He still has enough magic to kill you easily enough.” She shook her head as though it couldn’t be helped. “Mortals have such a frail grasp on life to begin with. I swear, you’re all born with one foot already in heaven.” Her voice had risen in frustration and she took a breath to calm herself, then smiled at me benevolently. “What I mean is, be careful. More than your life is riding on the outcome of this fairy tale now. Think of your family, and the 265/356