“I’m sorry it had to be like this,” she says coolly as I begin to glide out of the private chambers and into the courtroom again. “I liked you. Truly I did. You have fire! You are stubborn, yes, and willful!” She laughs to herself. “But I thought you’d make a wonderful second-in-command under my reign. Alas, Alva wants you to pay the price for interfering in her affairs, and I cannot mess up the agreement we already made.” She shrugs her bare shoulders and I can hear the red gown she’s wearing swish. “Alva will do away with you and rule somewhere far, far away, and then I’ll get my kingdom all to myself. Your life is a small price for me to pay.”
My body begins to rotate and I catch glimpses of Rose. She taps a mirror and the glass begins to swirl ’til I see a face on the other side. “Yes?” I hear Alva’s smooth voice.
Rose curtsies. “It’s done, Wicked One. I have the girl.”
“Good! I’ll come out of hiding. Bring her to the ballroom for all to see.”
“But, the others. Gillian’s friends will try to stop us.” Rose sounds anxious.
Alva laughs. “Foolish little princess. Now that we have the hero, the others will easily fall. Go. Before I change my mind on this deal.”
“Yes, Wicked One.” Rose curtsies. When the mirror darkens, Rose uses her wand to guide me out the doorway and down the castle hall. “She doesn’t have to be so bossy about everything,” Rose mumbles. “We’re supposed to be partners. I infiltrate FTRS and build her army, she scares the people into wanting a regime change, and voila! I get my kingdom all to myself.
“You have no idea how hard it is to get a say when three other princesses always think they’re wiser. It’s a nightmare! ‘Rose, you’re too busy pruning roses to read a scroll and know what’s going on in the kingdom!’” she mimics. “‘Rose, if you paid more attention to the villagers’ complaints and less to what tailor you want to move into the kingdom, you’d know why we need to have a Dwarf Police Squad.’” She moans. “Ella, Rapunzel, and Snow think they know everything!”
My eyes dart around the hallway, which is quiet. Everyone must be in the ballroom by now. I hear the music playing and the sounds of talking and laughter. A waiter appears in a doorway and yelps when he sees us, but he doesn’t get far. Rose gives a zap with her wand and he’s immobilized.
“Now that Enchantasia is about to become mine, I can do anything I want with the kingdom and make it so much better like…like…” She stops for a moment and bites her full lips. “Well, I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I’m sure whatever it is will be wonderful!”
Rose zaps open the ballroom doors and sends me gliding through them onto the main table. People scream and jump up as my body slides along the dishes and glasses, knocking things to the floor until I come to a halt in front of Ella and Snow.
“Dinner is served!” Rose says with a laugh.
The caramel cake in Ollie’s mouth falls out.
“What have you done to Gilly?” Maxine cries. Rose zaps a water glass near Maxine’s hand and it splatters water everywhere.
Snow waves her Dwarf Police Squad over, but Rose zaps them too and they freeze in mid-run. “Sister, what are you doing?”
“What I should have done a long time ago!” Rose cries. “I’m tired of being the one princess with no power. I want a chance to rule!”
“You’re the one always off dancing in the forest instead of coming to meetings,” Snow mumbles.
Ella remains seated. “Rose, unbind this poor girl and we’ll discuss this calmly and privately in our chambers. You can’t be so rash!”
“No!” Rose says hotly and I see her knuckles tighten. “I’m tired of not getting a say. When word came that my former captor was still out there wreaking havoc, did you rush to find her? No! You let the rest of the kingdom deal with her. No one helps me! So now I’ll help myself. Wicked One! Come and claim your prize!”
Alva glides through the ballroom door with her gargoyles, and I feel my heartbeat rev up. It’s about the only thing I can feel, although my fingers are starting to tingle. The party guests scream as Alva walks straight to the head of the table where I lie. “At last! I have the little troublemaker!” When Alva leans over me, I see her dark-red gown, pointy cape, and jet-black hair swept up in a high bun adorned with jewels that scream villain. Her smile soon fades. “Seize them all!” Alva tells the gargoyles, flipping her cape and walking away from the table.
Several of the RLWs dive under tables and chairs or take off for the second-floor balcony. They don’t get far from the dozens of gargoyles that screech and hiss as they fly around the room grabbing RLWs and invited guests. But three people run toward the gargoyles to get closer to me—Kayla, Ollie, and Maxine.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gilly hold still this long,” Ollie cracks.
“Ollie!” Kayla reprimands as Maxine swats a gargoyle away with a gold plate that it takes off with instead. “We have to help her. How do we stop the gingerroot effects?”
“You can’t. They have to wear off.” Maxine reaches a hand for me, and my body sways slightly. I could swear my left leg moved, but I can’t seem to get it going again. “We could hide her somewhere ’til they do.” She pulls my dress toward her and my body glides to my friends. I think I feel Maxine push on my chest and lower me beneath the table. “She’ll be safe under here.”