Of Giants and Ice (Ever Afters, The) (9 page)

“I was
hungry
,” Evan said. “I thought it was sausage.”

Mr. Swallow eyed Evan’s biggish belly with one beady eye and chirped something else.

“I am
not
overfed,” Evan said outraged. “Mom says I’m a growing boy, and I need to keep up my strength.”

While Miriam, Philip, and I tried not to laugh, Gretel gave him a stern look that clearly said she’d heard
that
before. “You better get started,” she told Sarah.

The little woman nodded and climbed to the top of the podium. “Evan Garrison,” Sarah Thumb said in a formal voice, nothing like how she talked during the orientation. The crowd grew quiet, expectant. “Congratulations. Your Tale has begun. Since it is a questing Tale, you may choose two Companions for your journey. Do you accept this privilege?”

Sarah Thumb had never explained what a questing Tale was or even mentioned them.

Evan just nodded. He looked like he couldn’t speak.

“Which Companions do you name?” Sarah Thumb asked in the same serious tone.

Evan swallowed and surveyed the crowd. Everyone held their breath, hoping it would be them. The air seemed to buzz with anticipation, and even though I knew that there was no way he would ever pick me, my stomach churned with butterflies.

Plenty of kids also looked a little jealous, but I wasn’t. Well, not yet. As much as I wanted to go on an adventure, it would probably be a good idea to study the Tales before living one. I mean, I didn’t even know what a White Snake was.

“Come
on
, Evan,” Sarah said in her normal voice. “I
do
have things to do, you know.”

“Russell Hale and Mary Garrison,” Evan said quickly. Two figures
made their way forward—a very small boy wearing a school uniform and an older girl who had the same freckles and red curls that Evan did, probably his sister.

When they reached the front, Sarah Thumb asked them, loud enough for the whole crowd to hear, “Russell Hale and Mary Garrison, do you consent to undertake this journey with Evan? To advise and protect him to the best of your ability?”

“We do,” they chorused.

“Very well. We wish you the best of luck in this Tale.” Mr. Swallow fluttered to the top of the podium, and Sarah Thumb clambered back into the saddle. “Please follow me to the library. Rumpelstiltskin has some research to share with you.”

She and Mr. Swallow flew off, and the three followed her solemnly. Evan waited about two seconds before biting his fingernails.

I wondered if everyone looked that nervous when their Tale started, or if it was just Evan. He had seemed a lot more excited about the mini-cupcakes earlier.

Once the violet door with gold lettering closed behind them, everyone started talking.

“Who would’ve thought that Evan would be the first in our year to have his Tale?” one of the seventh graders said.

“Except for Bryan and Darcy, of course,” said one of his friends, and both the girl with the eyeliner and the fawn with the spiked collar looked up.

“Yeah, but who would want ‘Brother and Sister’?” said the first seventh grader. He didn’t seem to notice when Bryan and Darcy glared at him—probably because an angry fawn isn’t all that scary.

“I wonder what Evan’s Tale is.”

“It can’t be a very good one. This is
Evan
we’re talking about.”

Over at Lena and Kelly’s table, the sixth graders were talking about the same thing.

“What does Evan have in his family tree?” Adelaide said scornfully. “Just the Enchanted Pig and the Three Snake Leaves?”

“He probably doesn’t have one of the better-known Tales, then,” Lena said. “It’s a questing Tale, though—” I must have looked confused, because seeing me, she started to explain, “
Like begets like
. Your Tale is similar to ones your family has.”

“But what’s a questing Tale?” I asked.

“The Tales where you travel. Usually to retrieve an object or to pass some test,” Lena said. “They’re longer and more difficult, so you’re allowed to pick two Companions to help you.”

“But only for the questing Tales. ’Cause it’d be dumb to recruit help if you were a Cinderella and all you had to do was go to some dance,” Chase added.

I definitely wanted a questing Tale.

The cat in Kelly’s lap looked up, flicking her tail. “You were in Rumpel’s library, weren’t you? Do you know what his Tale is?”

All the heads at the table turned to me. I knew peer pressure when I saw it. I hesitated, wondering if I was going to get detention or something my second day.

“You might as well tell us,” Kelly said. “I’ll find out from Mom at dinner.”

“It’ll be all over EAS tomorrow,” Lena said eagerly.

If Lena was okay with it, there was no chance it could get me in trouble.

“It’s the White Snake,” I said.

Obviously, everybody but me knew what that meant.

“Oh,”
Adelaide said, scornful again.

Chase grinned with relief. “Is that all?”

“I thought for a second he had gotten Aladdin or something,” said one of the triplets.

“The White Snake is a pretty good Tale.” But Kelly sounded a little unsure.

Adelaide smiled in her not-nice way. “You’re right. He could’ve been a Town Musician of Bremen. That wouldn’t have been embarrassing at all.”

Chase and the triplets laughed, and Adelaide smiled wider.

I made a mental note to search online for “The Town Musicians of Bremen” and figure out what was so funny. “What’s wrong with The White Snake?”

“There’s nothing
wrong
with it,” Lena said slowly, “but—”

“Have you heard of it?” Chase asked me.

“No,” I said defensively, sure that he was going to make fun of me.

“Then it can’t be the most impressive Tale in the world, can it?” Chase said.

“Somebody eats a little bit of a white snake when he’s not supposed to,” Lena explained, “and then he can understand animals. He helps some of them out, and in return, they help him with some impossible tasks. Then he wins the princess or riches, depending.”

“Oh,” I said, wondering what a seventh grader would do with a princess. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It’s
boring
. It’s too easy. He’s going to let some ants do all the work,” Chase said. “When my Tale starts, you’ll know it. It’s going to be the best one in decades.”

“Me too.” Adelaide shook her long blond hair back. “Snow White hasn’t happened for a while, and we haven’t had a new Sleeping Beauty in over a century.”

“How do you know?” I asked. “Sarah Thumb said that we don’t find out what our Tale is until it starts.”

“Don’t let them confuse you, Rory,” Lena said. “They’re just guessing. Wishful thinking.”

“Chase and I have a better chance of getting a good Tale than
you
do, Lena,” Adelaide said scowling. “What do you have in
your
family tree? You’re descended from Madame Benne. Big whoop.”

“Madame Benne was a great sorceress, an inventor—” Lena started, insulted. She pronounced “Benne” with a long “e.”

“And who’s ever heard of her? How about you, Rory?”

I hadn’t heard of her, but I glared at Adelaide rather than say so.

“That’s not fair, Adelaide. Everyone
used
to know about her. When she was alive,” said the shortest triplet, the one with darker hair. “She died a long time ago, that’s all.”

“Besides, Lena’s brother had his Tale just yesterday,” Kelly said loyally.

“Yeah, but let’s be honest,” said Chase. “‘George and the Dragon’ is about a saint. It’s not even a real fairy tale.”

Lena jutted out her chin stubbornly, but she didn’t say anything, which meant that she probably couldn’t think of a comeback. So, I told Chase, “Yeah, but you still wish
you
got to slay the dragon.”

“I don’t
need
to slay any dragons,” Chase said, and I knew I’d struck a nerve. “I already told you. I’m going to have the best Tale this place has seen for centuries. Maybe even
two
awesome Tales. I could be one of the Brave Little Tailors or the Boy Who Went Out to Learn What Fear Was—”

“You definitely aren’t the second one,” I said. “It looked like you had fear all figured out when the dragon cornered us.”

From the way Chase’s face turned red, I was one more insult away from turning the playground into a battlefield again, or whatever. I hoped none of the other sixth graders knew any reporters.

But Lena, who had looked like she was about to cry a few
seconds before, tried not to giggle. I guessed it was worth it.

“Well, Chase may be climbing beanstalks and killing giants like his father soon,” Adelaide said. “We haven’t had a new Jack in years.”

“That’s right,” Chase said, calming down a little. “Do you even know anything about the Tales in your family?”

I had no idea, and I was beginning to worry that I was supposed to figure that out by myself. The phone calls would be so awkward:
Hey, Aunt Lucy. Was Uncle Billy a frog before you kissed him?

Adelaide stared down her nose at me, which took skill, because I was a couple inches taller than she was. “Are your parents even Characters?”

I glanced at the other sixth graders, bracing myself for those faraway glazed expression that people get when they think about those famous people, Maggie Wright and Eric Landon.

But nobody had that look—not even one. They were all interested more in the argument than what I would say about my parents.

They didn’t know.

Well, except for maybe Lena. She glanced at me uncertainly, but she wasn’t the type to make a big deal over celebrities.

My mouth fell open.

Of course, Chase and Adelaide thought I was speechless for a completely different reason. They both looked smug.

“So, keep in mind who you’re talking to,” Chase said. “My dad’s Jack, and Adelaide’s mom was a Cinderella.”

I looked at Kelly, surprised. She and Adelaide didn’t act anything like sisters.

“Not
that
Cinderella,” Adelaide said with a sniff, and both Kelly and Puss-in-Dress glared at her.

“I think they’re coming back,” the shortest triplet said, looking at the violet door with gold lettering.

Sure enough, Sarah Thumb and Mr. Swallow came flying out. The crowd parted under her, and Evan Garrison and his two Companions hurried through. Each of them carried a green pack, all looking very pale. Evan was still biting his nails.

“That was way faster than normal,” Chase said.

“Maybe they’ll at least send them someplace cool,” said the shortest triplet. “Maybe Atlantis.”

“Atlantis?” I said, so loudly that a dozen people turned away from Evan to stare at me. My face burned.

“That’s right,” Lena said softly. “It’s a Fey realm, like Avalon and the others, hidden from humans. Sarah Thumb showed you a map, right?”

She definitely
hadn’t
. Apparently, my orientation hadn’t covered everything.

“But how will they get there?” I whispered, as Evan and his Companions passed us.

“The Door Trek system,” said the tallest triplet. “Of course.”

“Don’t tell me,” Adelaide said sarcastically. “Sarah Thumb didn’t tell you that either.”

I frowned, not sure if she was mocking Sarah Thumb or me.

“It’s a transportation system, faster than the Fey railway. It’s simple if you have a door and something to tie you to your destination,” Lena explained quickly.

“You know, like how we got to Yellowstone,” said the triplet with darker hair.

“I wonder,” said Lena thoughtfully. “Where was the last White Snake Tale? And when?”

“Muirland. Ten years ago,” said Puss-in-Dress. “But only one
of the Companions came back. There weren’t enough animals to complete the tasks.”

Sarah Thumb landed on the Director’s podium, and the soon-to-be questers assembled themselves in front of her. As the crowd started to quiet down, Lena whispered, “And when was the last successful White Snake quest?”

No one answered, and butterflies in my stomach morphed into a tight, anxious knot.

“Evan, Russell, and Mary,” Sarah Thumb said in the same formal tone she had used before. “The time has come for you to venture into the Fey realm to complete Evan’s Tale. We wish you luck, courage, and cunning on your journey, and we bestow upon you these three rings.” The rings glowed electric blue, dangling from a silver ribbon in Mr. Swallow’s beak. They looked a lot like party favors from a laser tag birthday party. “If at any time during your travels you find yourself in a fatal situation, twist your ring around your finger three times and think of this courtyard. You’ll find yourself here.”

As Evan reached up and took the rings from Mr. Swallow’s mouth, the whispers started up again.

“When was the last time EAS gave out the rings of return?” Lena asked Kelly and Puss-in-Dress.

“Not since The Yellow Dwarf,” the cat replied. “That one is always supposed to end badly.”

“Two years ago,” Kelly added. “They must be worried about this one too.”

“It’s long for a quest, right?” said the triplet with darker hair.

“The standard time period for a White Snake Tale is five to six weeks,” Lena replied in her tinny, reciting voice. “The third longest quest of all, which only increases the Character’s peril.”

Since so many people were talking, I couldn’t hear what else
Sarah Thumb told the three travelers, but pretty soon she and Mr. Swallow led them out. Some of the students patted Evan on the back and waved good-bye mournfully, as if they never expected to see the questers again.

Even Chase sounded sympathetic. “Who knew such a dumb Tale could be so dangerous?”

“But
why
?” I asked. “These are fairy tales we’re talking about. Don’t they all end with
happily ever after
?”

The tallest triplet shuffled his feet. Lena and Kelly looked at each other and didn’t answer. Chase shoved his hands in his pockets, and even Adelaide looked uncomfortable.

“They didn’t take her,” said one triplet.

“They don’t take
everyone
,” Puss-in-Dress reminded them. “Usually, no one younger than twelve.”