A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(36)

Alex couldn’t imagine Red as anything but a queen. She put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, wishing she had words to comfort her with.

Froggy ran up to the throne and kneeled at her side. “Are you all right, my dear?”

“Splendid, just splendid,” Red said. She stared at the floor, quietly plotting her next move. “If it’s an election that sheepherder wants, it’s an election she’ll get.”





CHAPTER SEVEN





LITTLE BO PEEPING


Alex left Red’s House of Progress, grateful to return to her own problems. The anxiety she felt about the Fairy Inaugural Ball and the walk with Rook was heavy to carry around, but not life altering like Red’s afternoon had become, although Alex had a sneaking suspicion Red would find a way to drag her into the drama.

That evening Alex went to the field beyond the gardens to meet Rook. She was positive she arrived at the exact time they had agreed to meet but when she got there Rook was nowhere in sight. Alex sat on a boulder by the stream and waited patiently for him—or at least she thought she was being patient.

Every second waiting for Rook felt like a minute and every minute felt like an hour. The more she waited the more her head filled with doubts. Where was he? What was taking him so long? Had he forgotten about their walk? Had he changed his mind and decided not to come? Had she been stood up?

In between the negative thoughts she self-consciously straightened her headband or fixed a crease in her dress. After only five minutes of waiting Alex had convinced herself Rook wasn’t coming. What was she going to tell Red the next time she saw her? How was she supposed to trust another boy again? How could she live with the embarrassment?

Just when she was about to call it a day and return to the Fairy Palace, she heard rustling in the woods beyond the field. Rook stepped into view, looking as happy, excited, and dreamy as ever.

“Hello, Alex!” Rook said with a big smile.

“Hi, Rook!” Alex said, and let out a relaxed sigh. Just seeing him had instantly switched off all the negative thoughts multiplying in her head. She had stressed herself out for no reason.

Neither knew if they should hug or shake hands or something else, so they stood a few feet apart and silently looked at each other for a moment. It was an awkward hello.

“How was your day?” Alex said, breaking the silence.

“It was pretty normal,” Rook said. “I was planting carrots.”

“How nice!” Alex said, as if it was the most fascinating thing she had heard in weeks.

Rook nodded. “I’m a good gardener,” he said. “My secret is singing. I’ve discovered if I sing to the crops, they grow much healthier.” Rook’s eyes suddenly widened. “Oh no, I hope you find that charming and not crazy.… It’s not like I have conversations with them or anything.…”

Alex giggled. “Oh please, where I live, the plants often sing back.”

Rook was relieved to hear this. “So… where would you like to take a walk to?” he asked.

“I was planning to follow you,” Alex said. She wasn’t obeying any of Red’s advice and she knew Red would have killed her for saying that she’d follow Rook.

“Well, there’s a trail through the woods that I know pretty well,” Rook said.

“Terrific,” Alex said.

They journeyed into the trees and found a small dirt path that snaked deeper into the woods. It wasn’t a very scenic route but it didn’t matter; their walk was more about getting to know each other. However, they were both afraid to be the first to say something to the other.

“What if we take turns asking each other questions?” Rook suggested. “This is going to be a very quiet walk unless we start talking about something. Or we could play charades.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Alex said. “But you go first.”

“Oh, you’re making me go first?” Rook said playfully. “All right, here’s one—how long have you been practicing magic?”

“Less than a year, actually,” Alex said. “Everyone says I’ve been learning very quickly, though. I didn’t even know I was a fairy until I was twelve.”

“Really?” Rook said. “How did you find out?”

“It’s a long story,” Alex said bashfully.

“Good thing we picked a long path,” Rook said with a wink that made her melt inside.

Alex decided to tell him the shortest version of the story she could. “My twin brother and I grew up in a place very far away and different from all of this,” she explained. “Our dad grew up here and felt that magic ruined people. He thought it made them lazy and entitled. He wanted us to learn how to take care of our problems without relying on magic. Then when we were twelve—well, to make a long story short, we followed our grandmother home one day and discovered who we really were.”

Rook’s eyebrows were raised so high they disappeared into his floppy hair. “That’s incredible,” he said. “No wonder you’re so different from all the other fairies. What does your father think of you now?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Alex said sadly. “He died shortly before our eleventh birthday. He never got the chance to tell us the truth himself.”