UnEnchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #1)(51)

Mina was never the kind of girl to enjoy dress shopping, or shopping in general which was why she usually let her mother pick out her clothes, but this was getting ridiculous. Mina scanned the rack of dresses and her eye stopped on a deep red one.

“That one.” Mina pointed to the rack and Molly jumped up and pushed the dresses to the side and pulled out a beautiful red dress that flowed out in billows from the petite corseted waste. Most of the fabric was gathered and pleated down the back in a late Victorian style. The corset was a deep red and made from many different fabrics that sparkled and twinkled with the lights.

The dress was gorgeous and took Mina’s breath away. This is the one she would have chosen, if it hadn’t been red.

“I didn’t even know we had this one,” the seamstress gushed over the dress and looked at Mina’s petite figure skeptically. “It looks like it’s too small.”

“It will fit.” Mina knew it would deep down. She knew that this was the dress she was supposed to wear.

Sara helped Mina into the dress and her hands shook as she went to try the zipper. “I can’t.” Sara backed away from the dress to sit on a small pink padded stool by the mirror. She held her hand to her mouth fearfully.

Molly stepped forward and pulled the zipper up with ease and hooked the top eyelet. “Well, I’ll be. I would have thought it was two sizes too small but it fits you like it was made for you.”

Mina’s eye went wide when she saw her reflection. Molly began cinching the back of the corset and tugging the ribbons and arraying them. Mina had to actually pinch herself, to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

She looked different: older, more mature, and beautiful. She couldn’t remember ever looking this stunning in her whole life. Her dark brown hair flowed down her back and was lost among the ribbons of the corset. Her eyes looked huge and her lips looked red and full. Her nose that she always thought was too small for her face looked straight and perfect. She gave the sleeve a cursory sniff and sighed in relief when it smelled like cinnamon and honey instead of mothballs.

Molly stood back to admire Mina. “Wow, you look like something out of a fairy tale.”

Sara cried harder.

Mina spun around and looked at the dress from every angle in the multiple mirrors. It was better than any princess dress she had tried on so far. The only worry that Mina had was the layers and layers of material in the back. It would make it very difficult to run in, if it came down to that.

“We’ll take it,” Mina told the girl, not even bothering to ask what the price was. If the Story wanted her to wear the dress then the Story better provide the money for it.

It seemed to want Mina to own it because Molly had to check twice on the price of the tag, it was so low. “I can’t believe it, I didn’t know we sold any dresses for that price but I’ve checked with the manager. It seems you have yourself a dress.” She clapped and presses her hands together in excitement.

Mina was about to get down off of the dress platform when Molly held up something that had been hidden by the folds of Mina’s dress. “Oh look, it comes with a cape and hood.”

Of course it would, Mina thought dryly.





Chapter 23


Mina couldn’t stop pacing in the small carpeted living room, waiting for Brody to pick her up. Charlie sat in the window seat, nose pressed firmly to the glass, fogging it up with every breath he took. He was more excited than his sister.

Sara had been unusually quiet and had become more withdrawn as the time of the dance drew nearer. She did her motherly duty and helped her daughter do her hair. She made all the appropriate comments and oohed and aahed when necessary, but nothing could get her excited about this evening knowing that the tale was heading toward its final climax.

This was one of the tales that had secretly haunted Sara as a child. When her grandmother had read the story to her when she was eight, she woke up with nightmares about a wolf attacking her in her bed. She feared that a wolf was after her grandma.

When she had married James and learned of the curse, Sara had been truly devastated, for her biggest fear was that specific tale coming to life. And now here she was, sixteen years later on the day of her daughter’s birthday, her fear finally coming to life.

Mina looked over at her mother and could see how tense she was. The morning had started out peaceful enough. Sara had made Mina a two-tiered white frosted birthday cake with light pink flowers. Inside was her favorite strawberry cream cheese filling. Of course, the party wouldn’t be complete without including her best friend and the Wongs. The Wongs had decorated a section of their restaurant with bright pink and blue streamers, something that looked like it was left over from a baby shower.

The Wongs sang Mina "Happy Birthday" off key, while Nan and Charlie made faces during the whole song. Nan went so far as to even add the verses "you look like a monkey and smell like one too." She knew any eight year old boy would, and just because Charlie didn’t talk, didn’t mean he didn’t think like any normal eight year old.

Charlie looked at Nan and was smitten. From that moment on, Mina knew Nan had won Charlie over. The boy had the biggest kid crush on her best friend.

The Wongs gave Mina her birthday gift in a Chinese takeout box, which included a gift card to the mall. Nan’s gift was a new pair of cute black flats that she promptly asked to borrow next week after Mina had worn them. Charlie had given her a new stationary set and journal, which was a very thoughtful gift for a boy.