“Harry, you said something about refugees?” Goldilocks asked.
“Yes, those terrorized by the Scarlet Hand,” Harry explained. “Prince Charming has offered them sanctuary in his camp. It’s gotten to be quite a large population.”
“Wait a minute!” Henry cried. “This mirror belongs to Prince Charming? This is going to take us to his camp? This plan is insane! Have you forgotten that he has threatened to destroy our family? He and Dad couldn’t have been bigger enemies. Charming said he would bulldoze our house.”
“I can’t promise he won’t someday,” Granny said as she wiped Uncle Jake’s brow with a damp cloth. “But now he’s the closest thing the Grimm family has to an ally, and Mr. Canis has learned to trust him. We’ll be fine.”
“Mr. Canis is there, too?” Red Riding Hood whimpered.
Granny took her hand. “He won’t hurt you, child.”
Harry pushed a button on a bank of elevators and the doors slid open, revealing the portal to the outside world.
“Hey, there’s Charming now,” Daphne said, pointing into the portal. Sabrina could see the former mayor and his diminutive assistant, Mr. Seven, in a dimly lit room, propping another full-length mirror against the opposite wall. Seven was one of the world-famous seven dwarfs, and despite his boss’s frequent insults and humiliations had been at Charming’s side ever since the day Sabrina and Daphne had met him. Sabrina wondered what kept him there now that the prince could no longer afford to pay his salary.
“This is foolish,” Henry warned. “Charming can’t be trusted.”
“It’s the best plan we’ve got,” Veronica said. Granny nodded in agreement, then sent Poppa Bear through the portal with Uncle Jake on his back. Everyone else followed.
The world on the other side of the portal couldn’t be more different from the opulence of the Hotel of Wonders. Sabrina found herself inside a crude log cabin with a dirt floor and a thatched roof. A few chairs were scattered around and a rough table had a scale model of Ferryport Landing resting on top. Charming and Seven, startled by the sudden appearance of visitors, nearly dropped the mirror they were holding.
“Careful now!” a face cried as it appeared inside the mirror. He had dark skin and long, untamed dreadlocks.
“Are you people touched in the head?” the prince bellowed. “I am hanging a magic mirror! Do you have any idea what would happen if I dropped this?”
“Let’s try not to t’ink on it, my friend,” the man in the mirror said in a thick accent that sounded as if its origins were Caribbean. “I’ll have nightmares.”
“You can relax, Reggie,” Charming said. “You are perfectly safe.”
“T’is is a good t’ing, man,” Reggie said, and then disappeared.
Charming and Seven set the mirror safely against the wall. “Relda, is there more of this rabble out there or is it safe to say you’ve brought the entire town?”
“My son is injured, William. He was shot by one of Nottingham’s arrows. He needs help,” Granny Relda pleaded.
“Seven, lead the bear with Jacob to the medical tent. Tell Nurse Sprat to take good care of him,” Charming said.
Mr. Seven nodded, and, along with Poppa Bear, raced out of the cabin.
“Sprat will send for us when she has treated your boy, Relda,” Charming said. “In the meantime I suppose you’d like to take a look at our little community.”
He led the group through the door and out into an open courtyard. Sabrina was stunned by what she saw. They were inside a huge fort with walls twenty-five feet high. The compound was wide enough to fit dozens of cabins, barracks, a mess tent, a makeshift hospital, an armory, and a small farm. Hundreds of Everafters were busy gardening, working with horses, tilling the land, and building more cabins.
Granny looked around in awe. “William, what exactly is this place?”
“Welcome to Camp Charming,” the prince said proudly. “The Everafters’ last stand against the Scarlet Hand.”
ook familiar?” Daphne asked Sabrina.
An icy feeling crept up Sabrina’s back as she studied the fortress. She had been here before. In their trip to the future, Sabrina and Daphne had seen a handful of Everafters build a fort to fight the Master exactly like the one she was now standing in. Seeing the fort in the present was a chilling reminder for Sabrina that parts of the future had not been changed, and events might unfold despite the girls’ best efforts to prevent them.
The prince smiled as he gestured to the camp. “The Scarlet Hand is harassing Everafters, especially ones that have associated with you and your family. I’ve sent word out that our camp is a safe haven, and we’ve had a steady flow of people seeking shelter ever since.”