“Father sent me a message with this.” Jax pulls a quill out of his pocket. It’s one of the magic quills that self-writes a message when you touch the point of the quill to parchment. When you write back with it, the ink disappears so the note can’t be confiscated. It’s brilliant. I had no idea it could work sending a message as far away as the royal castle. If that’s the case, maybe I can get one to Anna.
“Rapunzel got knocked out when she tried to fight the gargoyles off,” Jax says. “When she awoke, she found a scroll in her hands with a message.” Jax writes something, and Alva’s loopy handwriting appears, having been copied by Jax’s father. The words give me chills:
You can run, but you can’t hide. Nowhere is safe. My ranks are rising, and my power is growing. You’ve been warned.
“Wow, that villain has a vendetta all right.” Ollie shakes his head. “I guess when your evil scheme to curse a princess to sleep fails, you go to the next best plan—take over the whole kingdom.”
“Thank goodness Rapunzel is okay.” Maxine’s love of princesses is legendary.
“My sister is fine, thankfully, but she and Father are really worried,” Jax says. “If Alva learns about more peace talks and keeps sending her gargoyles, it could ruin future negotiations. The princesses are this close to a treaty. If Alva stops the peace talks, it could mean war.”
“No!” Maxine cries. “We ogres have come so far for our freedom. We’re finally allowed in the village and at this school. I couldn’t even go to FTRS when it first opened. We can’t let Alva destroy that.”
I put a hand on her shoulder. “We have to find that mole.” I think of the RLWs again. I’m still not sure one of those silly princess wannabes is desperate enough to work with Alva, but it’s the only lead I have. I can figure this out on my own.
“There’s more.” Jax looks gloomy. “Headmistress Flora was at Royal Manor this morning to meet with the royal court to discuss protection for FTRS. She’s worried about Alva’s manifesto and what it could do to the students at our school. The princesses were sympathetic, but…” Jax hesitates. “They refused to offer protection. Everything that has happened at FTRS makes us too risky to help. We’re on our own.”
“How could the princesses say that?” I ask angrily. “We’re kids and members of this kingdom. They’re just going to let our school keep getting attacked?”
Jax’s smile is grim. “You sound like Flora. Rapunzel said she stormed out right before the other princesses took leave and the gargoyles attacked.”
“That’s just like royals to think about themselves,” I grumble.
Jax throws his hands up. “You are so anti-royal.”
“I am not anti-royal!” I say. “I’m friends with you, aren’t I?”
“You did refuse Princess Rose’s invite to join the RLWs,” Maxine chimes in.
“Seriously?” Kayla’s jaw drops. “That’s the most prestigious group in school.”
“If they’d let boys in, I’d totally join,” Ollie adds, pulling three balls out of his pocket so he can juggle. “Looks like a great way to impress the ladies.”
“I have no desire to be a wannabe royal.” I sniff. “I don’t need their approval. All I care about is finding this mole.”
“Gilly’s right,” Kayla agrees. “We have to find out who is secretly aiding Alva. She won’t stop ’til she’s ruling Enchantasia, and she wants the students of FTRS to help her get there.” Her face scrunches up. “I have an idea, but you might not like it. There’s only one person out there who can help us find that mole fast.” She inhales. “Rumpelstiltskin.”
Ollie misses one of the balls he’s juggling and all three fly out of his hands, bouncing off the floor, the walls, and Maxine’s head.
“No price is worth paying for his help,” Jax reminds her.
I glance at Kayla. After what Rumpelstiltskin did to her family, I try to avoid saying his name at all costs. Say it three times, and rumor has it, he’ll appear. We don’t need any more problems. “There has to be another way to find out who the mole is.” We’re all quiet.
“What about my mini magical scroll?” Maxine exclaims. “Someone is leaving me messages on it. It has to be someone who works at HEAS.”
Jax and I look at each other. “She has gotten several notes. We should check it out,” says Jax.
I sigh. I’m still not convinced those messages are for Maxine, but what other lead do we have?
“I can prove my messages are real! What if we showed up at HEAS’s offices in the village?” Maxine asks. “If they see me outside, they might be willing to talk.”
“Sure,” Ollie says. “We can just pop out of the castle and go to HEAS. Maybe we can even pick up fresh flowers and caramel cakes while we’re there.”
Jax scratches his chin. “I think Maxine is onto something.”
She beams.
“Did you eat too much gingerbread?” Kayla laughs. “Last time you tried to break out, you set off every alarm in the castle and had Wolfington on you in seconds. You can’t bust out of a reform school.”
“You used to disappear all the time,” I remind her.