Once Upon a Beanstalk (3 page)

In fact, he had grown shockingly handsome.

The prince’s face broke into a sly smile. “I knew it was you,” he said, leaning one elbow against the railing. “I recognized you the moment I saw the mud on that hem.”

Indignant words filled Penelope’s mouth, but when she glanced at her skirt she saw that it was indeed spotted with mud, probably from her trek through the stables. This was exactly why she hated skirts. They were always getting dirty, and climbing trees in them was a nightmare. She much preferred trousers.

She realized she’d just spoken the thought out loud when Andrew’s smile widened. “If there was any doubt in my mind that it’s you behind that pretty face,” he said, “It’s gone now. You’re still climbing trees, eh? You haven’t changed as much as I thought.”

“Pretty face?” She replied, planting both hands on her hips. “Spare me whatever joke you’re making at my expense.”

“…And apparently you still can’t take a compliment. You really haven’t changed a bit, have you?” Despite the dismayed shake of his head, the prince looked pleased about it, too.

She scowled. “What do you want, Andrew?”

He opened the door and gestured for her to go first. “The rehearsal dinner is about to start. Your friend Tom sent me to fetch you.”

Tom. Right. How sly of him.

Penelope steamed inwardly, but she fixed a gracious smile on her face as she swept past him. “How, er, sweet of him.”

“Hey.” He blocked her way. “I hope you’re not still angry with me over those ridiculous pranks I pulled on you in school. That was years ago.”

“I’m not the one who can’t move on,” she said, sticking her chin in the air. She would
not
let him see her blushing. Thankful for the dimness of the passageway, Penelope bustled for the nearest door. She’d see herself to the dinner.

“That’s the parlor,” Andrew said behind her.

With a frown, she tried another door.

“That’s the music room.” Prince Andrew waited a beat. “If you’ll allow me…?”

Sighing, she turned back around and accepted his outstretched arm. As he led her through the castle to the banquet hall, a shrewd-eyed young man in a red cloak passed them. His gaze slipped over Penelope, and she felt a stab of suspicion. One of the Grimm Brothers, perhaps?

But before she could even see where he was going, servants threw open the door to the banquet hall, and Andrew steered her inside. She’d have to follow him later.

All eyes turned to them as they entered the room, and Rapunzel’s father, who’d been making a toast, fell silent. Penelope wanted to shrink to the size of Tom Thumb, but she held her head high and even met the gaze of the queen, who was glowering at her.

They probably all thought she was flirting with Prince Andrew or something equally repugnant. Maybe they suspected she was making a bid to be the one with next royal wedding. Well, they couldn’t be further from the truth. She couldn’t stand him any more than she’d been able to in school. In fact, this banquet was probably going to be the longest of her life, between worrying about the Grimm Brothers and enduring his company at her side.

Rapunzel’s father resumed his speech after they were seated, and the dinner commenced.

“I told the servants to put your place by Andrew’s, since you two know each other,” Rapunzel said when she made her rounds to greet everyone. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s lovely,” Penelope gritted out.

“You look tense,” Tom added.

“I will strangle you while you sleep,” she growled at him.

But despite her protests, Andrew was turning out to be a very entertaining dinner party.

“The original plan was to have golden eggs for dessert,” he said, pointing at the chocolate eggs being served by the waiters. “But it seems our cook was gravely misinformed about what golden eggs actually are. That is to say, they’re made of solid gold. Apparently he thought only the shells were made from precious metals, but I can assure you this is not the case. I was the taste tester.” He pulled back his lip and showed her where one of his teeth had been chipped. “As you can see, I’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty for this wedding.”

“I see.” She pressed her lips together to hold back a smile, but he teased it out of her somehow anyway.

The clinking of a spoon against a glass dragged her from their conversation. Rapunzel’s fiancé, Greg, stood up at the end of the table.

“Thank you all so much for coming,” he said. “I can’t tell you how full my heart is right now. My beautiful bride is here by my side, rescued from that witch…” his voice trailed off, thick with tears. “Nothing will ruin tomorrow for me,” he said, after he’d recovered his composure. “Rapunzel and I are going to be married, and I’m so glad you can all be here to share our joy.”

Greg’s words sunk into Penelope like arrows. She needed to focus. She needed to make sure the Grimm Brothers did not ruin her friend’s wedding.

~

When the castle had settled down for the night, Penelope climbed down the ladder propped against her mountain of mattresses, wrapped a bathrobe around her pajamas, and tiptoed into the dark hallway. Moonlight sparkled on the marble floors and cast her shadow across the wall as she moved noiselessly across the upper level of the castle. She checked every window to be sure it was locked, looking for any signs of tampering or climbing.

The Grimm Brothers were notorious for vanishing quickly and mysteriously after they’d stolen whatever they came to steal. She wanted to make sure they didn’t already have their escape route set up.

A hand closed over her wrist, and before she could scream she was whirled around, pressed against the wall, her mouth covered with the palm of someone’s hand. She struggled, planting her fist in her attacker’s stomach. He grunted in pain, and then a strangled voice whispered—

“Penelope?”

Abruptly she was released. She jerked away, squinting in the darkness, trying to place that familiar voice…

“Andrew?”

She could just barely make him out in the moonlight coming through the window. When he spoke, he sounded both amused and baffled. “What are
you
doing wandering around this late?”

“What are you doing?” She demanded back.

They stood in the darkness, Penelope with her arms crossed, Andrew rubbing a hand over his face ruefully.

“Look,” he said finally. “You’re not going to believe me, but I’m trying to catch a thief. A pair of thieves, really—they’re called the Grimm Brothers, and rumor has it that they’ve targeted my brother’s wedding in hopes of making off with some of the wedding gifts. Naturally, we’ve hired extra security, and the wedding service brings their own, but…”

“…The Grimm Brothers are some of the smartest thieves in the kingdom,” Penelope finished, with a sigh. “Yes, I know.” She tugged out her badge and showed him. “I’m trying to catch them too.”

Andrew’s eyes widened, whether with shock or admiration she couldn’t tell—it was too dark in the hallway. “You’re with the police?”

“Yes. I’m working the wedding as an undercover agent in hopes of catching them. Your parents know, I suppose, but nobody else.”

“Oh. That’s fantastic. We—we could work together,” he said.

“I don’t know about that.”

She brushed past him to try the next window, and he followed. “Wait, why not? We both want the same things, Pen.”

“Don’t call me that.”

He braced one arm against the window, trapping her, and she ducked beneath it and started down the hall.

“Penelope—”

“What?”

When she saw the way his face fell, she softened her voice. “I just want to do my job. Alone. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to see to.”

She continued down the hall, and this time he didn’t follow.

~

In the morning, Penelope stared long and hard at her reflection in the mirror before joining the royal family. Did she look okay? Not that she cared, of course, what anybody thought about that. But still. She at least looked
presentable
, despite her lack of sleep ... right? No dark circles, even if her eyes were a little puffy.

Satisfied, she stifled a yawn and followed the smell of pancakes and the clink of forks to the dining hall. Sunlight poured through the windows over a table where the royal family and all the out-of-town guests sat for breakfast, attended by a swarm of servants. Name plates identified everyone’s seat. A few curious eyes turned toward her as she slipped to her seat. The king was making a toast. Why did she always enter right in the middle of a speech?

Tom had a seat by her cup, a doll-sized table and chair made just for him. He peered at her as she sat down at the breakfast table. “Were you up late? You look exhausted.”

“Shhhh,” Penelope said, picking up her fork. The queen was looking at her with a strange expression. She lifted her glass of orange juice with everyone else for the toast and muttered out of the side of her mouth, “Official business.”

Andrew stumbled in to breakfast even later. He looked at her long and hard as he sank into his chair, but Penelope focused her attention on her pancakes.

She had a lot of work to do today. She couldn’t be distracted by Andrew’s soulful gazes.

~

While Rapunzel was getting into her wedding dress, Penelope dismissed the servants assigned to attend her, struggled into her bridesmaid gown, and took another hike around the castle. She was wearing a black bodysuit underneath the silk in case things got dicey, because if she’d learned anything from her childhood, it was that running and climbing in a dress makes things far too cumbersome, and on a day like this ... well, cumbersome could lose her the Grimm Brothers.

Guests were everywhere—it seemed twice as many had arrived that day as yesterday. Everywhere she looked, women dripping with jewels and men with monocles demanded help from servants or waved fans to chase away the heat. And not only royal guests, either—it seemed the whole country had turned up to witness the wedding. Penelope saw dwarves, elves, a country girl with braids wrapped around her head, and a withered old woman selling apples. A cat wearing a pair of shiny boots scampered past her after a mouse, and as she stepped aside she almost bumped into a boy in peasant clothing carrying a canvas bag under his arm. A few beans spilled out the open end, and she raised both eyebrows.

“Would you like to buy some magic beans?” He asked, giving her a dimpled smile. But before Penelope could say anything, someone behind him called “Jack!” and he slipped away.

She spotted the man she’d seen yesterday, the one with the sly gaze and the long black cloak. He stood half-hidden by a potted palm, his gaze sweeping over the guests and lingering on a few glittering jewels around the ladies’ necks. Penelope started toward him.

“Excuse me, miss.” A girl in all black and wearing a headset tapped her shoulder, snagging her attention. “The bride is looking for you. They’re taking the pre-ceremony pictures now.” The headset crackled, and she cupped her hand over the microphone. “I found her, Rumpel, but we’re all the way down by the castle courtyard. Have the photographer start with the bride and groom first.”

When Penelope looked back at the palm, the man in the black cloak was gone. She sighed. “Tell them I’ll be right there.”

She had to wait until he stole something to bring him into custody, anyway.

And then she had an idea.

“Wait a minute,” she said, before the girl walked away. “I need one more thing, please. Can ... uh, can you find me a fairy godmother?”

It was an odd request, but the girl didn’t even blink. “Of course. We keep one on hand,” she said with a hurried smile. “Just in case.”

~

The pictures were being taken in the gardens. Rapunzel looked amazing in her white satin gown. Hired fairies hovered around her, holding up her veil. The bridesmaids in their simple green dresses paled by comparison.

As maid of honor, Penelope had to stand with Andrew, who was the best man. She forced her best fake smile as he slipped his arm around her for the pose.

“Say
Happily Ever After!
” The photographer commanded, lifting the camera to his eye.

“How’s the investigation coming?” Andrew murmured in her ear as the camera snapped and the flash blinded them.

“Excellent. If only I wasn’t constantly being pestered about it.”

“I’m telling you, you need my help to catch these guys.” His breath tickled her neck.

Penelope gritted her teeth together. “I’ve got it under control. I have my own team.”

“Are you sure you don’t need more help? What’s the harm in having an extra pair of eyes around? I know the castle, and I know more of the guests than you. I can spot the strangers far better than whoever you’ve brought in—”

“Why do you care, Andrew? What’s it to you?” She pulled away slightly to glare into his eyes.

He blinked. “Well, it’s my brother’s wedding. I don’t want that ruined. And I want to help you. Is that such a crime?”

“Please hold your positions,” the photographer called in the weary-but-always-patient tone all wedding professionals seemed to use.

Penelope turned back to face the camera. “I guess it just seems suspicious to me.”

“Why? Why is it so impossible that I might actually like you, Penelope?”

He said it loud enough that several of the bridesmaids glanced at them. Penelope flushed. “Well—”

Why
was
it so impossible?

“Fine,” she snapped, mostly so he’d just leave her alone about it, but maybe a tiny bit because she didn’t want to have to answer the question in her own mind. “After the pictures, meet me in the reception hall by the wedding cake. We can talk there.”

First she needed to speak to the wedding service’s fairy godmother.

She had a plan.

~

The wedding cake was over three feet tall and looked like a tower. Sugar molded into bricks covered the entire cake. Clumps of green frosting and frosted roses clung to the base and crept up the side in swirls to simulate vines. Penelope gazed at it in fascination as she waited for the team—and Andrew, now—to arrive, examining the perfect frosted birds that hovered by enchantment above the cake instead of thinking about why she’d agreed to let Andrew help her. At the top of the cake, inside a tiny room lined with columns, a golden-haired bride held hands with a dark-haired groom.