“Wait here,” Sabrina said, then walked over and sat down next to him. He looked at her but said nothing, and for a long time she did the same. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say. What kind of pep talk do you give someone who just found out he’s not real, that his memories are inventions, that he’s a figment of someone’s imagination walking around in clothes? Daphne would know what to say. She always knew how to make a person smile, and she seemed to have a positive effect on Charming. The only effect Sabrina had on him was to make his face curl up as if he had just smelled a carton of spoiled milk.
“Nice view, huh?” she said, gazing out at the river. The water was calm and the moon had painted everything a soft blue. On the far banks of the river was a little restaurant with a dock and beyond that a couple of houses. Sabrina wondered if those people had any clue what was happening across the water. “You know, we never get a chance to just sit and talk.”
“What do you want?” Charming grunted.
“Nothing.”
“Then go away.”
“Hey, I’m just enjoying the scenery. It’s a free country,” she said, settling down more comfortably and taking off her shoes to let the cool air slip through her socks.
“You’re not going to leave, are you?” Charming asked.
“Nope. Now, normally, I would run to the other side of town to avoid having a conversation about feelings, but I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. Think of me as a pal you can share things with. I’ll start. I’m running your army and it’s scary. I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m afraid I’m going to get everyone killed. You should come back. OK, now your turn.”
Charming sighed in surrender. “Is she with you?”
“Snow? Yes. She’s very worried about you. We all are.”
Charming glanced over his shoulder to take a peek at Snow. “I should go. I don’t want to talk to her.”
“Listen, William, I know this stinks. But here’s the thing—it’s not like the Wicked Queen turned you into a weirdo. She made you pretty awesome. You’re brave and smart and strong. You’re too good-looking for your own good. I wish someone would remake me, sometimes.”
“But those things aren’t real, Sabrina. I’m not brave because I have some inner strength. I’m not smart because of experience. I’m not strong from hard work. These gifts aren’t things I’ve earned. They don’t belong to me. All my dreams and aspirations are hardwired into me. Wanting to build that stupid castle, rebuild my kingdom, everything—it has consumed me for hundreds of years and for what? It’s not even what I really want!”
“How can you be sure?”
“That’s just it! I can’t be sure, and it’s maddening. There is nothing about me that I can be certain about—not even Snow. Especially not Snow.”
“You think you don’t love her?”
“Oh, I love her all right. With everything that’s in me. But is that an invention? How can I know it’s real? Maybe it’s just part of the story Bunny created for me. I met Snow five hundred years ago, and for five hundreds years I have carried a torch for her, and now to think it’s just part of my character, well . . . that’s earth-shaking.”
Sabrina nodded. “Seems to me that if you feel it, then it’s real.”
“Billy?”
Sabrina turned to see Snow approaching them. Charming climbed to his feet and Snow rushed to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and showering his cheeks with kisses.
“Billy, we can work this out. I know it’s terrible but . . . it took so long for us to find our way back to each other. We can’t lose that again,” Snow said.
Charming pulled away. His face twisted with confusion and pain. “I don’t know if I love you, Snow.”
“You—what?” Snow cried as if the prince had suddenly begun speaking in another language.
“I’m sorry. I can’t be with you,” the prince said.
And then in a flash, the dumbstruck look vanished, and Snow lost her temper. Her cheeks turned fire-engine red and her mouth puckered into a pout. “William Charming, I will not have it!” she demanded.
Charming took a step back, and even Sabrina was alarmed by her tone.
“I know that life has thrown you a curveball—”
“It’s a bit more than a curveball,” Charming said, then turned and walked into the woods, vanishing within its dark interior.
“Billy!”
“I’m sorry,” Sabrina whispered.
Snow turned to look out at the milky river. Her anger faded. “I think I’ve lost him this time.”
“Don’t worry. The man can’t stop thinking about you. You left him at the altar and he still cares.”
“I don’t know this time. This is different,” Snow said, her whole body trembling. “This is big.”
? ? ?
Sabrina managed to get a few hours of sleep before being woken by shouts and hollers. As soon as she opened her eyes, she realized everyone was rushing from the campground into the woods.
“What’s going on?” Daphne said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“I think we’ve caught our first mouse,” Henry said, appearing before them with Basil in his arms. “Why don’t you go take a look? Junior and I will prep a room in the mirror.”
Sabrina helped her sister to her feet, and the two rushed after the rest of the army. It wasn’t long before they found what was drawing everyone’s attention. Jack Pumpkinhead was dangling upside down, held in the air by a vine wrapped around his feet. His giant pumpkin noggin was as red as the handprint painted on his shirt.