“Find a seat, girls,” she said as the train rolled out of the station.
“Daphne, don’t worry,” Sabrina whispered as she took her sister’s hand and helped her into a seat. Sabrina had many talents, but her greatest was the ability to devise effective escape plans. While she comforted her sister she studied the exit doors, windows, and even the emergency brake. A daring escape was already coming together when she noticed the complete lack of worry on her little sister’s face.
“I’ve got this one covered,” Daphne said.
“You what?” Sabrina asked.
The little girl put her palm into her mouth and bit down on it.
“What’s going on, Daphne?” Sabrina continued, eyeing the girl suspiciously. Daphne had never plotted an escape. Escaping had been the exclusive domain of Sabrina Grimm for almost two years. What did her little sister have in mind?
“Zip it!” Ms. Smirt snapped before Daphne could explain. “I don’t want to have to sit on this train for two hours with a couple of chatterboxes.” The caseworker snatched a book out of her handbag and flipped it open. Sabrina peered at the title: The Secret.
“Ms. Smirt, have you ever heard of the Brothers Grimm?” Daphne said.
The caseworker scowled and set her book on her lap. “What do you want?”
“I was wondering if you have ever heard of the Brothers Grimm.”
“They wrote the fairy tales,” Ms. Smirt said.
Daphne shook her head. “That’s what most people believe, but it’s not true. The Brothers Grimm didn’t write stories—they wrote down things that really happened. The fairy tales aren’t made-up stories. They’re warnings to the world about Everafters.”
Sabrina was stunned. Daphne was spilling the family’s secret to the worst possible person. They couldn’t trust Smirt any further than they could throw her.
“What’s an Everafter?” the caseworker snapped.
“It’s what fairy-tale characters like to be called,” the little girl explained. “‘Fairy-tale character’ is kind of a rude term. Like I was saying, the Brothers Grimm wrote about Everafters because they are real. Take Snow White. She’s a real person and the story really happened—poison apple and all. Cinderella, Prince Charming, Beauty and the Beast, Robin Hood—they’re all real people. They actually live here in Ferryport Landing. The Queen of Hearts is the mayor. Sleeping Beauty is dating our uncle.”
“Debbie, you are going to look so adorable in your straitjacket,” Ms. Smirt said.
“It’s Daphne,” the little girl said.
“Please be quiet,” Sabrina whispered into her sister’s ear.
“OK, kid, I’ll bite. So, if fairy-tale characters are real, how come I haven’t met any?” the caseworker said with a cackle.
“Because there’s a magical barrier that surrounds this town that keeps the Everafters inside. Our great-great-great-great-grandfather Wilhelm Grimm and a witch named Baba Yaga built it to stop some evil Everafters from invading nearby towns.”
“Oh, of course,” Smirt said sarcastically. She slapped her knee and let out a ghastly laugh that sounded like a wounded moose. Sabrina had never seen the nasty woman laugh before and hoped she never would again.
Daphne ignored Smirt. “The barrier has made people in the town angry, and a lot of the Everafters don’t like us much,” Daphne said. “But—”
“Daphne, stop. You’ve told her too much,” Sabrina begged.
“Let me finish, Sabrina,” Daphne said calmly. “Like I was saying, we have a lot of enemies in Ferryport Landing. but we’ve managed to make a few friends.”
Suddenly there was a tap on the window. Sabrina gazed out, expecting to see the Hudson River rushing past. Instead, what she saw nearly caused her to fall out of her seat. In the window was a familiar ragged-haired boy in cowboys-fighting-monkeys pajamas. Held aloft by two giant pink insect wings, he soared alongside the speeding train, grinning and sticking his tongue out at her. Sabrina had never been so happy to get a raspberry in her life.
To be continued. . .