Kayla and I are roomies, but ever since I found out she was secretly working with Alva—whether she was blackmailed into doing it or not—things have been, shall we say, a bit off between us. “I had to meet with Flora about Jocelyn,” I say, which is only partly a lie. I met with Flora, but I had cinnamon rolls for breakfast with Jax first.
“Oh, okay.” Kayla still looks disappointed. “Did you tell Flora you think Jocelyn was working with Harlow to escape? Because I’m sure she was.”
“I was too busy trying to convince Flora that Jocelyn wanted to escape with Harlow.” We walk by enchanted classroom doors that seal shut when all the students are inside. It’s a new safety measure since Alva’s last break-in. “Jocelyn said I’m lying, and Flora foolishly believed her.” I sigh. “Bottom line: Flora says Alva’s the one who broke Harlow out, not Jocelyn. Jocelyn seemed upset she was left behind.”
“I feel kind of bad for her being abandoned like that.” Maxine’s good eye widens. “Oh, I just meant… I…”
“It’s fine. Forget it,” Kayla says, and Maxine and I look at each other. Kayla wasn’t exactly abandoned. Her whole family was cursed by Alva and turned into a group of trees. Still, Maxine’s comment had to sting. “I should go,” she says and flutters away. She’s barely gone a few feet before the hallway mirror glows purple.
“Illegal use of magic, Kayla!” Miri reprimands her. “No flying in the hallways!”
Kayla ignores her. “So? Give me detention. I’m not leaving this place anytime soon.”
Maxine shakes her head. “That fairy needs a pick-me-up.” Her good eye widens. “I know! We should do a girl day and paint our nails or visit mermaids at the lake or... Ooh! Let’s join the Royal Ladies-in-Waiting together. It would be fun to be in a club, wouldn’t it?”
“Not the RLWs!” I say quickly, not that the other options are more appealing. Painting nails? Hanging with mermaids? I’d rather be baked in an oven. “Maybe we could do fencing.” A hallway disappears and we take the new one to the left. Thankfully it pops out on the lower level where we need to be. We have our first group therapy class with Blackbeard down here.
“Gillian Cobbler?”
I turn around and my shoulders sink. A gaggle of Royal Ladies-in-Waiting are staring at me. You can tell they’re in the FTRS club because they wear bright-pink sashes over their school uniforms and always have creepy smiles plastered on their picture-perfect faces. I wonder if they heard me talking to Maxine.
A goblin named Tessa Underlin steps forward and holds out a cream-colored envelope wrapped in a bright-pink ribbon. She’s the RLW president, and she’s wearing a tiara and a glittery, jeweled necklace. Her pointy ears are adorned with earrings much like Maxine wears. “We’d like to present you with an invitation to join the Royal Ladies-in-Waiting.”
“Oh, Gilly!” Maxine cries, smacking her heart as I stare at the pink-and-gold lettering on the thick envelope. “You’re so lucky!”
Tessa barely looks at Maxine, but I notice that the others start to whisper.
“You are the sole member we are recruiting for the club this semester, and we’d be ever so pleased if you could join us on our royal journey,” Tessa adds.
“Recruit?” I repeat. “I thought clubs at FTRS were open to all students.”
Tessa smiles smugly. I notice the pink patches on her uniform sash. She has more than any of the other girls, and I suspect it’s because she’s earned the most badges. All the girls start with the same five: a glass slipper, a wand, a hairbrush, a tube of lipstick, and a tiara. “We are exclusive, and we only accept members who meet our proper lady criteria.”
“I meet your criteria?” I notice a chocolate stain on my skirt. “I am not a lady.”
For a second Tessa looks at me like I’m a bitter biscuit. “You are a hero and that gives you a certain status. Princess Rose, our new advisor, asked for you personally. Princesses have endured so much that we commoners have not,” she gushes. “You’ve faced evil and survived, just like them. That makes you Royal Lady-in-Waiting material.” The girls behind her nod their heads in agreement.
I frown. “I don’t see it. I’m sure you guys never get your hands dirty.”
Tessa looks uncomfortable. “We’re learning. With Alva’s call to arms, we have to be ready for anything.”
My villain radar goes up. “You guys have read the manifesto?”
“Of course,” says a pixie sitting on another member’s shoulder. “Princess Rose held an emergency discussion on evil and power just last night that we all attended.”
“So?” Tessa presses. “I assume you’re interested. No one turns down Princess Rose. She’s tough. She says it’s never too early for a lady to learn how to defend herself.”
I find that sentiment surprising coming from a royal. “Why not just let a dashing prince come to your rescue instead?” I crack myself up, the sound echoing through the hall. No one else laughs. I stare at the stained glass window above me, wishing I had a way to climb up it and disappear.