A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(9)

The Fairy Palace was the most beautiful place Alex had ever lived. She marveled at its beautiful golden pillars, archways, staircases, towers, and vast tropical gardens. However, one downside was that there were very few walls and ceilings in the Fairy Palace—it was always so pleasant outside the fairies had no need for them. So every morning when the sun rose over the Fairy Kingdom, Alex had no choice but to rise with it.

Luckily she had been able to enchant a magnolia tree to grow its branches and blossoms around her room like drapes. This gave her an extra few minutes of rest each morning before she forced herself out of bed and started her day. Other than the enchanted drapes, Alex kept her chambers quite simple. She had a large comfy bed with white rose-petal sheets, a few shelves filled to over-capacity with her favorite books, and a small wardrobe in the corner, which was practically unused thanks to a few magical tricks her grandmother had taught her.

Alex stepped out of bed, picked up her crystal wand from her nightstand, and waved it around her body. Her plain nightgown was instantly turned into a long, sparkling dress the color of the sky and a headband of white carnations appeared on her head—it was her standard fairy uniform and resembled her grandmother’s.

“Good morning, Mom, Conner, and Bob,” Alex said to a framed photo on her nightstand. “Good morning, Dad,” she said to another framed photo, this one of her late father.

Alex took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “All right, three wishes by noon, three wishes by noon,” she said to herself. “You can do this, you can do this.”

Every day at noon Alex met her grandma in her grandma’s chambers for a new lesson. Sometimes the lessons were magical, sometimes historical, sometimes philosophical, but whatever it was, the lesson was always highly enjoyable.

And although it wasn’t expected, Alex had recently taken it upon herself to grant at least three wishes every day to the villagers nearby using the little magic she knew. It was very ambitious of the fourteen-year-old fairy-in-training, but Alex didn’t feel like herself unless she was overachieving. Alex also found that the busier she kept, the less homesick she felt—and the less she thought about her home in the Otherworld, the better her training went.

She briskly walked out of her chambers, through the palace, and down its front steps. The shimmering golden walls and floor had taken some getting used to but they didn’t make her nearly as dizzy as they had the first week she lived in the palace.

Alex passed Rosette, who was trimming a luscious rose garden just outside the palace. The roses and thorns were as big as her head.

“Good morning, Rosette!” Alex said.

“Good morning, dear!” Rosette waved at her as she walked by. “Another early morning, I see?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Alex said. “Three wishes by noon, that’s my daily goal! I haven’t missed a day in two months!”

“Good for you, dear! Keep up the good work!”

Alex continued through the gardens until loud snoring to her left startled her. She looked at the ground and saw Mother Goose sleeping against a large boulder, clutching a silver flask. Lester was passed out beside her—obviously the two had had a late night in the gardens.

“Good morning, Mother Goose!” Alex said loudly enough to wake them both.

Mother Goose snorted as she came to life. “Is it?” she said with one eye open. Lester yawned and stretched his long neck.

“Did you sleep outside all night?” Alex asked.

“Well, the last thing I remember was taking a walk with Lester after dinner and we stopped to sit for a moment,” Mother Goose said. “It looks like we’ve been here ever since. Lester, you mattress filler! You were supposed to wake me up! I’m getting a bad reputation.”

Lester rolled his eyes as if to say, “That ship has sailed.”

“Why do we have to live in a morning kingdom?” Mother Goose said to the goose. “I swear I’m going to move to the Eastern Kingdom. At least people know how to sleep there!” Mother Goose climbed on top of Lester and took his reins, and together they flew toward the Fairy Palace.

Alex chuckled as she watched them fly away. Then she reminded herself of her schedule and proceeded with her walk. She reached the edge of the gardens and found herself in a large meadow.

“Cornelius!” Alex called out. She smacked the side of her leg loudly. “Here, boy! Where are you? Cornelius?”

Across the meadow, sipping from a stream, was a unicorn—but he was unlike any other unicorn in the kingdom. Cornelius was frumpy with a big tummy that swung underneath him when he walked. A silver horn grew out of his head but had broken in half during an accident when he was a baby.

“There you are, Cornelius!” Alex said.

Cornelius was glad to see her and trotted over so she could pet his large nose.

“Good morning, boy.” Alex sensed something off about her horned friend today. He didn’t have as much of a bounce in his step. “What’s wrong, Cornelius? You seem sad.”

Cornelius lowered his massive head and looked gloomily across the stream. Alex looked, too, and saw a herd of magnificent unicorns in the distance. Each was more beautiful than the next, with their long, lean bodies and perfect horns that glistened in the sunlight.

“Oh, Cornelius,” Alex said, and stroked his mane. “You’ve got to stop comparing yourself to the other unicorns.”