If someone were to ask Sabrina to list her virtues, patience would not be one of them. Waiting made her grouchy. She remembered one Christmas in particular. While waiting to sit on Santa’s lap she took a gander at the long line of kids in front of her. She was sure their lists were filled with silly wastes of time, but hers was something St. Nick would want to get started on right away. So she had to act. When her father’s grip on her hand loosened for a moment, she darted to the front of the line, stiff-armed an elf, and hopped into Santa’s lap. She shoved her wish list into his white-gloved hand just before security guards yanked her away. Her parents were horrified and dragged her from the store, but Sabrina didn’t care. Such an important list couldn’t wait.
So waiting for the Widow to return was painful. What made it worse was that there was no one to talk to. Her mother and father were too busy writing Veronica’s speech for the Scarlet Hand, and her sister was giving Elvis a much-needed bath, though it looked more like Elvis was giving the little girl a bath.
To take her mind off the wait, Sabrina tried to busy herself with chores. She collected her family’s dirty clothes and scrubbed them in a bucket of water. There wasn’t any detergent available, but she hoped the socks, jeans, and T-shirts might lose some of their peculiar funk if she drowned them a few times.
After she hung them up to dry, she offered to help Pinocchio build a compost pile his father insisted he finish. But ten minutes later his constant whining and declarations that he was “too smart for menial labor” forced her to leave him to his task.
She took Basil beneath a shade tree and the two counted the rusty orange-colored leaves left in the skinny branches. She fed the horses, then fed the chickens. She watched Boarman milk a cow. She helped Mallobarb and Buzzflower hang a tapestry, then wandered through the castle to explore the rooms, which would hopefully be living spaces for the new soldiers. None of her efforts distracted her for long. Eventually, she threw up her hands and marched off to see the magic mirrors. Maybe they had some news.
She found them all waiting in their frames when she entered. Reggie, Titan, Fanny, Donovan, and Harry were all smiling, but the rest eyed her warily.
“How was the wedding?” Fanny asked. “What did the bride wear?”
“Was there any dancing?” Donovan said. “I was hoping someone would ask me to play some records. I have the most extensive collection of disco and funk in the known universe. Half of my collection is from bands that are purely imaginary.”
“Who caught the bouquet?” Titan roared.
“Everything was lovely,” Sabrina said. “It was like a fairy tale, but it’s all over now and drama has returned to Castle Charming.”
She explained her family’s plan, what her mother would do, and what they hoped to gain.
“So it sounds like they’re finally taking you seriously,” Reggie said.
Sabrina nodded, but she wasn’t sure. It seemed that ever since the mirrors had made their prophecy, everyone was bossing the girls around more. She had offered her parents a few ideas about the speech earlier that afternoon, but they had all been dismissed. At the time she was OK letting her mom and dad make all the plans. After all, what did she know about any of this? But now, with the mirrors reminding her of her earlier complaints, she felt a little silly. “I guess they are.”
“So what can we do for you?” Harry asked.
“This meeting is scary. Everyone I know might die, including me. I think I need a reminder of why I’m doing it. Can you show me Granny?”
The mirrors’ reflections became milky vapors until they coalesced into a lone figure wearing a filthy white dress—Granny Relda. Her long gray hair was a tangled briar, sticking out in all directions. Her eyes were smoldering black coals and her face, once kind and amused, was convulsing with bloodthirsty rage. Sabrina watched the old woman with increasing horror. Granny’s head cocked to the side as if she were peering back at Sabrina, and then she laughed. It was a low, foul, otherworldly sound, filled with violence and frenzy.
“Stop!” Sabrina cried, tears in her eyes. “I can’t see this!”
“We’re sorry, honey,” Fanny said as she and the other guardians returned.
Titan roared fiercely. “I hate to see you so, girl. I swear on my life that the First will pay for his crimes. We’ll find a way to punish him and rescue your grandmother.”
Sabrina prayed silently that Titan was right.
“Hey! The black chicken is back,” Puck said. He had crept into the room without her knowing.
“She’s a crow,” Sabrina said, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“Whatever,” Puck said. For a moment his face had softened as he watched her cry, but now it was angry and determined again. He stomped out of the room, shouting behind him, “It’s time to go!”