I overhear Azalea. “You said we’d have time to go to Pinocchio’s Puppet Theatre before we went back to school.” She stomps her feet. “You never do what I want!”
Dahlia growls at her sister. “We’re not even supposed to leave school grounds. We were supposed to get a few new gowns for the royal dinner at Royal Manor and then head back. We’re supposed to be at Princess Rose’s RLW meeting.”
“Why would I want to help with her wannabe royal club?” Azalea pouts, her curls bobbing up and down as she shakes her head. “I want to be royal, not pretend to be.”
“She asked for our help, and we’re going to give it,” Dahlia insists. “It’s the quickest way into her inner circle. Mother said keep her close, remember?”
Jax and I look at each other.
“Now where is that magic carpet with our other packages?” Dahlia asks as the line moves forward. “If it doesn’t get here with those shoes, this whole trip will have been a waste. Those glass slippers have been on special order for weeks!”
“Wait!” A girl in a simple tan-and-white apron and white dress scuffed with shoe polish is running. In her arms are four beautiful, shiny shoe boxes that are almost as big as she is. I see the stamp on the side and stare at it in surprise. Cobbler Glass Slippers—Get the Original. “Here you go, ladies!” she says. “The magic carpets were backed up so I delivered these freshly boxed shoes myself.” The voice, the brown hair tied back in a bow, the new clothes and shoes… I know before she even turns around who she is.
“Anna.” The name slips from my lips.
“That’s your sister?” Maxine is in awe. “She looks just like you!”
“Is she a thief too?” Ollie asks, and I notice he got the cake bag back. Stinker.
I shake my head. “No, she’s all sugar and sweetness.”
“So you’re opposites?” Jax jokes and I glare at him.
“Look at her boots!” Kayla marvels. “They’re so glittery.”
“Business must really be booming.” I stare at Anna. “I can’t believe saving FTRS helped boost sales.”
“You didn’t actually do it alone,” Jax reminds me and I shrug.
We watch Anna try to hand Dahlia and Azalea the boxes.
“How are we supposed to carry those?” Azalea holds up her arms full of bags.
“We’re out of bags,” Anna says apologetically. “But I can wait with you ’til you get on your carriage so that you don’t have to carry them.”
“Obviously,” Dahlia snaps. “That’s your job.”
Hearing them talk down to Anna makes my blood boil, but my sister takes it like a pro.
“Not a problem,” she says sweetly. “Cobbler Shoes is happy to help.”
“If she distracts Azalea and Dahlia, we can get in their carriage and hitch a ride back,” Jax whispers. “We just need a diversion to get in.”
“Anna won’t even take my Pegasi Posts.” I stare at my younger sister sadly. “She is not going to agree to help us.”
“Attention, royals!” I hear Pete’s voice and shrink back. “I am looking for a group of thieves who have hit the peddler square this morning.” He rides down the line, and I cover my mouth to keep from laughing at the applesauce dripping down his shirt. Pete stops in front of Azalea, Dahlia, and Anna, who is trying to balance all the stepsisters’ boxes. “Aren’t you Gillian Cobbler’s sister?”
“Yes,” says Anna, sounding surprisingly stubborn like me, “but she’s not here. You put her in Fairy Tale Reform School.”
“Not today, sugarplum.” Pete looks around the area with beady eyes. “She’s broken out, and I’m going to find her and haul her back in. She’ll be there ’til next year at this rate!” He laughs loudly and his horse jumps. As Anna moves out of the way of the hooves, one of the boxes in her arms topples off the pile to the ground. A glass slipper with a broken heel falls out.
“Look what you’ve done!” Azalea cries as Pete strolls on, talking to other passengers. “We waited weeks for those shoes!”
“I’m so sorry.” Anna grabs the broken pieces and puts them back in the box. “I’ll replace them.” Her voice is shaky. “I can have a new pair ready next week.”
“Next week?” Dahlia is irate. “You tell your father we need a new pair today.”
“But”—Anna sounds nervous—“I don’t know if we have any more. They’re all special orders now and—”
“You have one hour!” Dahlia snaps. She looks at Azalea. “We can go to your silly puppet theater while we wait and then take the Pegasi from Cobbler’s.”
Azalea claps her hands. “Yay! We get to do what I want!”
Dahlia rolls her eyes and looks at Anna. “One hour. No more or we want our money back for all the pairs.” She drops the rest of her bags at Anna’s feet, and Azalea does the same. “You might as well carry all our bags while you’re at it. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No.” Anna curtsies and I want to vomit.