Protagonist Bound (35 page)

After a while Blue actually looked like she was beginning to get tired. For once I was winning and I was absolutely loving it!

She struck high on the right while jabbing low on the left. Again, both attacks were easy to block simultaneously. The staff twirled forcefully in my hands—one end blocking her left sword, the other knocking the right one out of her grasp completely.

Blue responded by tossing the left sword into her right hand and attempting to charge me once more, but this time I was ready for her. I smacked it out of her grip with another twirl of the staff. Then without hesitation I quickly circled the spear around and swept her feet out from under her before she could move out of the way. Blue landed on her back with a thud and I pointed the blade of my spear at her nose.

Wand
.

I smiled and helped my friend to her feet.

“It’s a combat-related miracle—a whole new you!” Blue said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Thanks,” I blushed, feeling more humble than expected.

“Seriously, you’re fantastic!” Blue went on. “The spear works perfectly for you. And I like that you’re mixing it up with the different weapons from time to time to keep me guessing. Very versatile and
super
awesome.”

I let Blue’s compliment sink in for a second. Sadly, when the moment and the rush of adrenaline from fighting had passed, bitterness and remorse once again tugged at my mind without pause or pity.

“I wish it really was a whole new me,” I said as I plopped down on one of the bales of hay. “If it was, I wouldn’t currently be doomed to be Mrs. Chance Darling—a girl who fate and the Author would have spending an eternity swooning like a weakling, grinning like an idiot, and picking out china patterns.”

Blue kicked at the straw by her feet, trying to search for words to make me feel better. But she soon discovered—just as I had when I’d wanted to console her after she’d gotten her prologue pang—that there weren’t any.

We stared at the dirty barn floor in frustration for a minute, breathing in the smell of hay and horse feed. Then the sudden sound of the barn door being opened interrupted our glum moment and filled the musty room with sunlight.

“A little bird told me I might find the two of you in here,” SJ chirped as she strolled into the barn.

“Was it that mockingbird who’s always hanging around our balcony? Because he is such a brown-noser,” I commented.

“No, Crisa. And, by the by, most people would know that is just an expression.”

“But most people do not have doves help them make their beds in the morning,” Blue countered. “You, my friend, are not most people.”

“Okay, okay, so a robin in the rose bushes did tell me you two were in here,” SJ admitted with a smile. “But that is not the point. I am here because I have figured it out.”

Blue picked up her swords from the floor nonchalantly. “Figured out what, your highness?”

“The ultimate sugar cookie recipe,” SJ groaned. “What do you think, Blue?”

This got Blue’s attention. She and I were both a bit taken aback really. We weren’t used to hearing sarcasm from SJ. It was like having a bunny growl at you; it just didn’t fit. Neither did the spark of mischief glinting in SJ’s eyes. Mischief was usually Blue’s specialty and, well, I dabbled.

“So . . . what then?” I asked.

“I know how to find out where Emma is,” SJ announced triumphantly.

My eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously?”

“It gets even better,” she continued. “I believe I know how to get us past the In and Out Spell around Lady Agnue’s so that we can get there.”

I peered over SJ’s shoulder curiously.

She had been working in the potions lab every night for the past week to prepare the special brew she was concocting for our escape. Yet, even with all the hours of labor she’d already put in, this was only the beginning. We still had to break into the Treasure Archives to get the main ingredient she needed to finish the potion.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention we were planning on breaking into the Treasure Archives?

Were we crazy? Debatably. But was it necessary? Absolutely.

You see, SJ’s idea for how to find Emma and escape the In and Out Spell around Lady Agnue’s were linked. And the keys to both were presently locked behind those famous glass cases we passed by every day on our way to lessons.

Our first target: the magic mirror from the beloved tale of
Beauty & The Beast
.

It was brilliant really, and what with Blue’s vast knowledge of all things fairytale she was actually a tad miffed that she hadn’t thought of the idea first. That mirror was enchanted to show you anyone at any time. All we had to do was say Emma’s name into it and we would be able to see where she was. It was so simple I could hardly believe it!

We were planning on breaking into the case that held the mirror, replacing it with a replica, and borrowing it for a few days until we had the information. Now, it goes without saying that when we’d originally put this lovely plot together we had always intended to put the mirror back when we had what we needed.

Ah, the best of laid plans, am I right?

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The other item we needed was a single petal from the enchanted water lily that induced the tale of
The Frog Prince
. This ingredient was vital for an advanced spell that SJ had come across while studying the special potions book Madame Alexanders had lent her. It was only the final ingredient for this magical concoction she was attempting, though. The rest of the potion needed a lot of prep work and dedication—hence our friend’s massive amount of after-school time spent in the lab as of late.

At the moment SJ was surrounded by vials, flasks, measuring cups, and the special potions book. Her right hand was stirring the boiling goopy purple contents of a small cauldron, while her left hand grinded something beige and scaly in a curved mortar dish. She was so focused on the brew she was making, her eyes darting between her various stations and the open-faced book lying between them, that she didn’t even flinch when Blue entered the room.

Our cloaked friend made sure the door was closed and the three of us were alone before revealing what she’d brought concealed beneath her cloak. It was a regular hand mirror crafted to look identical to the magic mirror we were after.

I’d sent a message to Jason a few days back via one of SJ’s birds asking him to build it in metal shop at Lord Channing’s. And, naturally, he had happily agreed to the task. As it turned out, Daniel had also helped. Even though, again, I certainly hadn’t asked him to.

Sigh.

It seemed he was fully invested in our mission, whether I liked it or not.

SJ had put several of the deer who inhabited the forest between Lord Channing’s and Lady Agnue’s on standby a couple of days ago in order to intercept the mirror when it was finished.

As mentioned, our school’s version of the In and Out Spell being more basic than its counterparts, it did not hinder animals from passing through it. The lucky creatures could travel back and forth across the forest that separated our campuses at their own leisure.

Blue must’ve been in the practice fields when one of the deer had delivered the looking glass to her like an honored messenger.

SJ took a momentary pause from her work to examine the beautiful mirror. She approved, I supposed, because she nodded and went straight back to work.

“Oh, and SJ,” Blue said—interrupting her concentration once more. “Jason’s note says that you asked him to make you this too?” Blue removed a slingshot from her pocket and put it on the table next to SJ.

“Thanks,” she answered absentmindedly, clearly not noticing the puzzled tone in Blue’s voice.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

SJ waved her hand at us. “Never you mind. Now please keep it down. We only have another hour before curfew and I need to get these snakeskins properly liquefied with the juniper berries before then.”

“Do you need any help?” Blue offered.

“No, I just need
quiet
,” SJ replied, not looking up.

Blue huffed indignantly and moved for the door. I decided to go with her and leave SJ to the privacy of her lab. There would be no talking to her now, so I figured I might as well return to our room and do some work of my own. It was already Thursday and if we were going to be up all night this weekend robbing the realm’s most sacred relics I had to make sure my homework was done before then.

Aren’t I just the most responsible?

I was alone in our suite for a long while after that—trying to concentrate on my essay about the history of genies in our realm.

This task proved to be more difficult than breaking into Fairy Godmother HQ though, as I was so not interested. Genies had vanished from the realm, like, forever ago. If they didn’t care enough to be around, I certainly shouldn’t have had to care enough to document it.

After about an hour of failing to garner enough concentration to write more than my paper’s preface, I turned my attention to something far more palpable. As it had been doing relentlessly as of late, the Natalie Poole folder I’d nabbed from HQ was courting my curiosity.

I went over to my desk drawer to fetch it for about the fiftieth time this week. I opened it halfheartedly then, hoping that answers had magically appeared since I’d last flipped through it. Alas, no such luck. It remained as empty as before.

Well, not entirely empty mind you. There were still exactly two items inside—a form and a picture of a teenage girl. The image was a roughly drawn sketch with just touches of color. Nevertheless, I recognized clearly that the girl it featured was Natalie Poole. Everything—from the freckles that brushed her cheeks like a child’s, to the sadness in her eyes—was identical to that of the girl who’d spent countless nights filling up my dreamscape.

The document that accompanied the picture contained a bunch of content so plainly laid out it looked like a census. The information included Natalie’s date of birth, a bit about her schooling, and some family background (namely that she was the only child of Meg and James Poole).

What I found most interesting, however, was what was listed for Natalie’s address. According to it, she resided in a city called “Los Angeles,” which was apparently located in our neighbor realm of Earth. Even stranger still was the area at the bottom of the page. This subsection of the paper was blatantly labeled: “IMPORTANT INFORMATION” and had three lines of bullet point text that read:

•
“Magic Classification: Category 1, 2, & 3 priority”

•
“O.T.L. Candidate: Ryan Jackson”

•
“Key Destiny Interval: 21st birthday (cross-reference
Eternity Gate
)”

Like I said, the stupid folder provided me with way more questions than it did answers.

I mean, honestly, what am I supposed to do with any of that?

It was all so bizarre. It was nonsensical. It was so theoretically useless that I doubted the Godmothers would even miss it. And yet . . .

Although I really couldn’t make sense or make use of the information found inside the file, it did give me one marvelous and extremely intriguing realization. The likes of which I was simultaneously grateful for and unraveled by. It made me aware that Natalie Poole was no mere product of my imagination manifested solely within my nightmares. Somewhere, somehow, she was out there. She was real.

The discovery was mind-boggling, and super unsettling too. Every time I’d tried to find some way to fully process the knowledge in the days since realizing it, it felt like my brain wanted to burst with angst.

But, in spite of the incomparable weight this information placed on me (and the fact that it likely would’ve been ultra therapeutic to talk about), I did not share the revelation with my friends.

For one, I could achieve nothing except more anxiety if I dwelled on the unanswerable questions for too long. The whole thing already caused my head to hurt and my stomach to ache in a post-gumbo-day-in-the-banquet-hall sort of way.

And two, the very idea of trying to explain to SJ and Blue that the girl I had nightmares about was a real person, in another realm, with a file in Fairy Godmother HQ, that I had stolen, seemed an even more unbearable option than keeping it all bottled up inside.