Jax looks sad, and quickly I realize why. He pulls Maxine’s gingerroot bag from his pocket and empties the contents in his hands, blowing them in Rapunzel’s face. She freezes on impact. “I’m sorry!” he tells her. “It’s for your own good.” He looks at Harlow. “Lead the wyvern your way, and we’ll grab the tapestry.”
We wait ’til Harlow does, then make a break. Jax, Ollie, and Kayla run straight past the beast and begin to tug the tapestry off the wall. Jocelyn and I follow closely behind, but our timing is off. I hear the fire before I smell it. The scent is of rotting flesh and…my skirt! It’s on fire! Jocelyn dives on top of me, patting the flames out with her skirt.
“Are you okay?” Jocelyn asks.
“My left leg burns, but I think I’m fine,” I tell her. “Thanks.”
“Now you owe me two times!” she declares. We look across the room and see that Jax and Ollie have the tapestry down. Part of it gets singed as they run back across the ballroom, but there is enough of the tapestry left to still be useful. Harlow continues to lead the flames in the other direction, while the rest of us gather behind her to discuss our next move.
“Weapon!” I tell Jocelyn as Harlow leads the wyvern away from us again. “I’ll throw it. I’ve got good aim.”
Jocelyn holds the dagger close to her chest.
“You’re not even on the fencing team!” Jocelyn yells back as Ollie and Jax jump from a flame that Kayla flies above. “Stop trying to be the hero! I’m doing it!”
We hear a screech and turn to see Harlow backed into a corner with the wyvern coming her way. But before anyone can help her, the beast sends a wall of flames in her direction. When the smoke clears, a rocky crater is all that remains in her place.
“Harlow!” Jocelyn cries.
The air is getting thicker and hotter by the second. We won’t be able to stand here much longer without Harlow’s protection. I think of Maxine on the other side of the room with the princesses that will stand there ’til the walls come down around them or their curse is lifted. Is Rapunzel okay where Jax placed her frozen in a deep corner of the ballroom? How are we going to get out of this crumbling room? Jocelyn is crying too hard to be of much use. Jax sits her down and pulls the dagger from her hands.
“Throw it, thief,” he tells me.
I shake my head. “No, Jocelyn’s right. I’m no hero. Look at all you guys have done tonight while I screwed everything up. I can’t do this!”
Jax puts his hands on my shoulders. “Yes, you can. We’re a team, remember? We’ll finish this together.”
Ollie and Kayla pick up the remains of the tapestry. “We’ll distract it,” Kayla says. “You throw that dagger with all you’ve got. Make it a good shot, roomie!”
My hands shake as I hold the cold dagger in my hands. If I screw up, we’re finished, but if I do this right, we could save the entire kingdom this time.
“When they get close enough, I’ll tell you to throw,” Jax says as we run closer to get the best shot. My eyes are on Kayla and Ollie, who are darting between the wyvern’s huge, scaly legs.
“Hey, beastie! Over here!” Ollie shouts as Kayla flies above him, holding the tapestry in her hands. The wyvern turns its massive head and screeches so loud that I hear ringing in my ears. I watch as it opens its mouth, exposing its gnashing teeth in seemingly slow motion. It’s about to spray my friends with fire.
“Now!” Jax yells as we race into the line of fire behind Kayla.
I stare into the wyvern’s orange-and-yellow eyes and Jocelyn’s doubts echo in my head. I’m not even on the fencing team. Can I throw this far enough?
I’ll have to try. With a feeling of fierce determination, I take aim and throw as hard as I can, sailing the dagger straight into the wyvern’s mouth.
The creature screams, then begins to shimmer and freezes with one massive claw in midair before it starts to dissolve in a haze of smoke and flames, leaving behind a bruised and battered wicked fairy. There’s no time to grab her. We take cover as the ceiling of Royal Manor rains down in a spectacular display of fire, ashes, and golden embers around us.
Happily Ever After Scrolls
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BREAKING NEWS:
Alva Captured! Princess Rose in Custody! Fairy Tale Reform School Students Save the Day (Again)!
by Beatrice Beez
Happily Ever After Scrolls is pleased to confirm that Alva has been captured! In an alarming twist, Princess Rose has been taken into custody for her involvement in the reign of terror that has befallen our kingdom. While details are sketchy, palace sources say Rose planned to take over Enchantasia from her fellow princesses with Alva’s help. Using charmed sashes, she cursed her RLWs and fellow princesses to do her bidding, but was thwarted by Rapunzel and FTRS student Jax Porter.