A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(23)

“Oh, Alex, you need to relax and just enjoy the moment,” Red said. “You only have a first love once. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I could get my heart broken and take my aggression out by enslaving the world like the Enchantress did,” Alex said matter-of-factly.

“That’s a tad extreme,” Red said. “But you’re nothing like her so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Who’s to say I’m not?” Alex said. “This is the first time something like this has ever happened to me. If I’m not prepared enough going into it, I might be scarred for life!”

Red placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly. “The first cut is always the deepest, but not every cut leaves a scar,” she said. “If you spend your whole life worrying about getting hurt, then you aren’t really living. You don’t want to shield yourself so much from the bad stuff that nothing good gets to you, either. Meeting up with a cute boy who likes you isn’t going to hurt you.”

“Thanks, Red, that was really insightful,” Alex said, a little surprised Red had so much knowledge on the topic.

“Well, if there’s one thing I know a lot about it’s first loves,” Red said. “Then again, when I was fourteen I ruined two lives by trying to be with the boy I liked, so I’m not sure how good the advice I’m giving you is. There’s a thin line between in love and insane—and I crossed it many times. But looking back, had I not experienced all those awful things I would never have met Charlie, so in the long run it was all worth it.”

They smiled at each other. Red was probably the closest thing to a big sister Alex would ever have. Red had spent years of her life chasing after a boy she could never have, and yet here she was today, happily supporting him at his wedding to another woman. Red had come a very long way, and if Red could overcome heartbreak, Alex figured she could, too.

“So when do you see him next?” Red asked.

“Tomorrow evening,” Alex said. “We’re going for a walk.”

“Oh, how adorable! I’ve always wondered what poor people do for their first dates,” Red said. “I insist you stop by my castle tomorrow before you see him. We can talk about boys and I can help you pick an outfit.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind?” Alex said. “Aren’t you busy being the queen of your own kingdom and all?”

“Oh no, I’d be delighted,” Red said. “I just have this silly little meeting at the House of Progress but you can come with me and we can chat during all the boring parts.”

“What’s the House of Progress?” Alex asked. Surely she must have heard her incorrectly.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Red said. “It’s just like that place you were telling me about from your world, the one with all the representatives?”

“Congress?” Alex asked.

“Yes, that’s the one!” Red said happily. “I decided to copy it! I have a representative from each neighborhood in the Red Riding Hood Kingdom help me make all the decisions. That way every decision is a well-rounded one and I can’t be solely blamed for anything that goes wrong. But Congress sounded so dreary and bleak; I wanted my house of representatives to sound promising and uplifting. I thought Queen Red Riding Hood’s House of Progress had such a better ring to it.”

There was movement in the trees around them. They could hear several people approaching the clearing from different parts of the forest.

“Speaking of ring, I think the wedding is about to start,” Alex said.

Like clockwork, as the sun began to set in the horizon the remaining wedding guests emerged from the trees around them. Each guest was shadier than the next. There was an ogre covered in yellow warts who took a seat in the front. He was followed by a woman with bright red eyes who knew the witch in the back and sat beside her. A rugged dwarf led a blind dwarf with two eye patches to a seat near Alex and Red. A goblin couple with green-scaled skin sat in front of them.

A woman covered in maroon robes sat close to Alex and Red. The only part of her body that was exposed was her beautiful green eyes. She seemed friendly enough, but like Red, Alex didn’t want to make herself too known in this environment.

Red looked to the sky and took deep breaths, trying to fight off the anxiety that the newcomers caused her. A loud swoosh made Alex jump as Mother Goose swooped down from the sky on Lester’s back. They landed at the front of the clearing and Mother Goose took her place behind the stone pulpit. She took a large swig from a flask she had hidden in her hat and cleared her throat before starting the ceremony.

“Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and whatever the rest of you are,” Mother Goose said. “We understand a lot of you are on a tight schedule due to being on the run from the law, or have tried to eat or kill each other in the past, so we’ll make this celebration as short and sweet as possible to avoid any discomfort. Let the wedding begin!”

The crowd cheered, which was an interesting combination of hoots, hollers, and growls. Jack and Charlie, the man forever known as Froggy to the twins, appeared from the trees behind the pulpit. They both wore sharp dress shirts and looked as handsome and charming as ever. Jack looked as anxious as Red about being there, but in a good way.

A soft series of thumps came from the back of the clearing and Alex turned to see a white-and-brown-spotted foal walking down the aisle. He held a basket of rose petals in his mouth and was breathing very heavily, blowing the petals out of the basket and scattering them across the ground with every exhale.