Whatever After #4: Dream On (9 page)

O
h, no! Is he going to stop us? I rush to the window and try to make out his expression. If he shuts down our party, we’ll never get our
wifticals
.

“What’s wrong?” Tom asks, sliding up beside me.

“The king is about to crash our party,” I rush to explain. “We have to stop him! Or at least serve the cake first. Jonah, you stay here.”

“I never get to do anything,” he mutters.

“Oh, hush,” I tell him. “Enjoy your tenth birthday party. You get only
two
.”

Tom and I hurry out the door and close the door quickly behind us. Unfortunately we can still hear the party noises from outside.

“Hello, Your Majesty!” I call out.

“Hello there!” the king says. He doesn’t look mad at all, which is good news. “I was wondering where you all were! Is Felix in there, too? Are you guys having a party?”

“No!” I say just as Tom says, “Yes!”

Oops.

“Not a party party,” Tom clarifies. “Just a small get-together.”

He frowns. “Who’s here?”

“Commoners,” I say quickly. “Just a bunch of commoners. Kid commoners. No fairies,” I add, but then cringe.

“How nice,” the king says, and continues walking toward the door. “The queen and I are big fans of commoners. The queen is taking a rose-petal bath right now or I’m sure she’d want to come, too. Also, I need to fetch Felix. It’s almost bedtime.”

Just then, Bri steps off the path holding what looks like candles. When she sees her dad she stops in her tracks and shoves her hands behind her back. “Dad! Hi.”

“I’ll get Felix for you,” I rush to say.

The king takes a step closer to the tower door. “Oh, that’s all right. I want to come in and say hi.”

“That’s a great idea,” Tom says.

It is?

“The commoners would love to see you. But before you go in, Brianna told me about the new rug you got at the yard sale last week,” Tom continues. “I’m on my way home and I really want to see it before I go. And I heard you got some new paintings?”

The king smiles with delight. “Of course. Follow me. Tell the commoners I say hello,” he instructs Bri kindly. “And tell Felix he can play a few more minutes, but then to return to Rose Abbey.”

Tom leans over to us and whispers, “I’ll distract him as long as I can. Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Bri whispers.

“Good-bye, Bri. I … love you.” He blushes, turns away, and follows the king.

He loves her! I knew it!

Bri’s jaw drops.

“See?” I say. “I told you!” Maybe she’ll realize that Tom is the one for her. That choosing a prince she’s never even met over her cute and sweet best friend is ridiculous. So what if he’s a commoner? He’s still her Prince Charming.

Jonah opens the door and peeks outside. “Guys? The fairies want me to blow out my candles. Do you have them?”

Bri stays frozen for a moment but then nods. “Yes,” she says. She opens her palm and I see that she’s holding eleven small orange birthday candles and a booklet of matches. The candles are lumpy and drippy but they’re candles! “Let’s do this. Time for cake.”

She did it. I’m so proud of her.

She marches inside. I guess she’s not going to change her mind. I follow behind. Just in time, too — a raindrop splashes on my head. I look up to see the clouds are dark again. It’s going to pour.

“Time for cake,” Bri calls out again.

“Bri, are you sure?” I ask, closing the door firmly behind me.

Instead of answering, she lights the candles with a shaking hand. “Everyone, let’s sing!”

She’s making a mistake! But what can I do? It’s her mistake to make.

Everyone sings the Happy Birthday song to Jonah.

“Are we ready?” Jonah whispers to me.

“I guess so,” I say.

Bri is gripping the top of a chair. Is she scared about falling asleep or nervous that she’s making the wrong choice? Is she just going to conk out when Jonah blows out the candles? Is Robin going to pop up, awake? Is the portal window going to work right away? Which window will it be? Is Jonah really going to be able to fly? Or make himself invisible?

Jonah takes a big breath and blows.

All the candles go out at once. All
eleven
of them.

Here it comes….

I look around.

Bri is still awake.

Jonah’s not flying or invisible.

No one says anything. Everyone just stares at one another.

The room is silent.

“Nothing’s happening,” Jonah says at last.

The blue-haired fairy frowns. “Young man,” she says. “Is it really your birthday today?”

He reddens. “Um …”

“It isn’t, is it?”

“He doesn’t look ten,” another fairy whispers.

HAH!

“Birthday parties don’t have to be on your birthday,” Jonah grumbles. “Everyone knows that.”

“Young man,” Shaznay says, “when is your birthday?”

“July,” Jonah replies.

Gasps echo around the room. “That’s months away. You lied to us!”

“Are you even turning ten?” another fairy asks. “You’re small for ten.”

DOUBLE HAH!

Jonah sheepishly shakes his head.

“We do not appreciate being lied to,” says the blue-haired fairy.

“We do not appreciate being used for our magic,” says the teeny, tiny fairy.

“Liars don’t get
wifticals
,” says Shaznay.

“Noooo!” whimpers Jonah.

“But we need them,” I cry.

“Tough,” says the fairy on stilts. “And be warned — as Princess Brianna knows, spurned fairies often return to seek revenge.”

“Please don’t say that,” I beg. “I don’t like revenge!”

But it’s too late. All of the fairies wave their wands, and with a puff of sparkle they disappear.

B
ri is still gripping the top of the chair. “What are we supposed to do now?” she cries.

“I don’t know,” I say.

The sound of thunder crashes through the sky.

“I really wanted that Superpuppy,” Jonah snivels.

I glance at the clock. It’s already nine at night here, which means it’s nine in the morning back home. Nine! How did that happen? It’s so late! My parents might stroll into my room at any minute and discover we’re not there. And then Robin’s parents will show up and we still won’t be there. My head starts to pound.

We hear a thump from upstairs.

“What is that?” Jonah asks.

I perk up. “Maybe Robin’s awake?”

Bri sighs. “No. It’s just Felix.”

“Isn’t it past his bedtime?” Jonah asks.

We hear a laugh from the attic. It’s a woman’s laugh. And it’s not Robin’s.

We all hurry up the stairs.

In the attic, the rain pummels against the skylight. Lottie and Felix are playing Karate Crocs on the floor.

“You’re still here?” I ask Lottie. “I thought you left with the others.”

“No. I was exploring. Felix was showing me how to do a horseyback ride. It’s quite fun.” She looks down at Jonah’s feet. “How come you’re not wearing your new socks?”

“We didn’t get the
wifticals
,” I admit. “It’s not really Jonah’s birthday. He’s only seven. We’re sorry.”

She frowns. “You lied to me?”

We nod, ashamed.

Suddenly, the door opens and an old woman steps into the attic. Who is it? She’s wrinkled and stooped over, and she’s wearing a powder-blue top and matching pants. It kind of looks like a sweat suit. “Here you are,” she cackles.

“Mom!” Lottie screams.

Mom? The thirteenth fairy is here? The one who cursed Bri so she would die?

She’s HERE?

“Mine!” Carlotta says, and grabs the wand from Lottie’s hand.

Lottie pales. “Mom, what are you doing here? I told you I’d take care of this!”

“It seems that Princess Brianna had another party and didn’t invite me!” Carlotta says snidely. “How rude!”

“Mom, she invited me instead,” Lottie says, biting her thumbnail. “And it wasn’t a party for her this time. She didn’t even create the guest list.”

Bri takes a step back and glares at Carlotta. “We thought you retired.” She pulls Felix behind her to protect him.

I do the same to Jonah. Carlotta may be in a sweat suit, but she’s still terrifying.

“I did retire,” Carlotta says, rubbing the wand against her open palm. “But even retired people come out for special occasions. And this time Bri is going to pay.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Bri says, but her voice trembles.

I would be afraid of Carlotta if I was Bri. Carlotta put a death spell on Bri when she was just a baby! Is she going to try that one again? But then I realize something.

“You can’t put the same spell on someone twice,” I say. “It’s double jeopardy!” That’s a lawyerly term that means that you can’t be tried for the same crime twice. I have no idea if it’s true for spells. But it should be.

“Come on, Mom,” Lottie says. “Haven’t we done enough?”

Carlotta narrows her eyes and glares at her daughter. “While you play
games
with the prince, I’m here to give the princess what she deserves. And stop biting your nails. It’s a filthy habit!”

Lottie drops her hands by her side and bows her head. She looks like she’s used to hearing stuff like this.

Bri squares her shoulders. “Go ahead. Put me to sleep. I don’t mind.”

Carlotta cackles. “I
know
you don’t mind. That’s what you want! So that’s not what I’m going to do. You, dear Princess, will stay awake. The rest of you, however” — she waves her wand in the air — “will sleep.”

“For how long?” I ask. I have a feeling she doesn’t mean a catnap.

“One hundred years,” Carlotta spits out. Lightning flashes across the sky.

My heart drops to my toes. “No! We can’t sleep for a hundred years. We have to go home!”

“You can’t put everyone to sleep,” Bri squeaks. “I’ll be the only one here.”

“Exactly,” Carlotta says with a sly smile. “Everyone you love will wake up in the future. Your parents. Your brother. Your precious Tom. Everyone except you. By the time they wake up, you’ll be dead.”

Jonah grips my hand. “But we’ll never see our parents again,” he says.

Carlotta’s eyes flash. “Tough luck for you.” She waves the wand once, twice, three times in the air. Black sparkles rain down on us all. I hold my breath and brace myself for the sleep to hit.

N
o, Mom!” Lottie yells. We hear a loud
thunk
.

The black sparkles disappear into thin air.

My body sags with relief. I’m awake! We’re all awake! Well, not all of us. Carlotta is crumpled on the floor.

Jonah leans toward her. “Is she breathing?”

Lottie’s eyes are wide. “She’s asleep. I turned the wand on her.” She says the words slowly, as if she doesn’t believe them herself.

“She’s asleep for a hundred years?” I ask.

Lottie nods. “Or until I figure out how to wake her up.”

Bri is still holding on tight to Felix. “Why did you save us?” she asks Lottie.

Lottie looks down at her mother and then back at us. “My mom was always so hard on me, you see. I wanted to be a teacher,” she explains, “but my mom said I couldn’t. She said I had to take over the family business.” She lifts her thumbnail to her mouth to take a nibble but then shakes her head. She reaches over to the sewing contraption and gives the wheel a spin instead.

“I appreciate that you invited me even though I was so mean this morning, and even though my mom tried to … well, you know. Kill you.” She grimaces and gives the wheel another spin. “I want to be the type of fairy that gives horseyback rides and plays Karate Crocs. Not the type of fairy who makes people die. To be honest, when I met you this morning I was planning on putting the whole palace to sleep the second you pricked your finger. I thought that would be the nice thing to do. So Bri would be with her family. I wasn’t going to tell my mom, but I was going to do it. This wand may have done bad things in the past, but I’m not my mother. I’m not evil.”

Aha! That’s how everyone ended up asleep in the original story! Lottie felt bad for Bri!

Lottie reaches over and ruffles Felix’s hair. “As a peace offering, I’ll grant each of you a
wiftical
.”

Yesssssss! “All five of us?” I ask eagerly.

Lottie eyes Robin. “Well, no, not the sleeping one. The four of you. Just tell me what you want.”

That’s an easy one. “I want Robin to wake up!”

Lottie nods. “Jonah? What do you want?”

He makes a chopping motion. “A crocodile that knows karate!”

I roll my eyes. “Jonah, come on.”

He drops his hands by his sides. “I know, I know, nowhere to put it. I’ll take a puppy.” His eyes light up. “Superpuppy!”

I tug the sleeve of his pajama shirt. “You have to wish for a magical portal to take us home.”

“But …” His voice trails off. “I
really
want a puppy. It doesn’t even have to be Superpuppy. It can just be a regular puppy.”

“No puppies! Get us home!”

He stubs his exposed toe on the floor. “I want a way for us to get home, please.” He looks up at the ceiling. “Can it be the skylight? That would be so cool.”

That would not be so cool. It’s pouring rain. But I already feel bad about the puppy, so I keep my mouth shut.

Lottie turns to Felix. “What do you want, sweetie?”

Felix smiles. “I want a puppy!”

Jonah glares at him.

“And what about you?” Lottie asks Bri. “I guess you want to sleep for a hundred years?”

Bri looks at Felix and then at me. “I …” She pauses. “No.”

“No?” we all repeat.

“No,” she says again. “I want to stay right here.”

“Since when?” I ask.

She hugs Felix even though he squirms away. “I knew for sure the moment Carlotta tried to take away my friends and family. I didn’t realize what I had until it was almost gone.” She shakes her head. “From now on, I’m going to appreciate what I have right in front of me. I’m going to look around and smell the roses.”

I search for a rose to hand to her, but the attic seems to be the only spot in the kingdom that’s rose-free. I cheer instead. “That’s great, Bri! I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks,” she says shyly. “Also, I realize now that I don’t want to marry a prince I don’t even know. I want to marry Tom.”

“You do?” a voice says. We turn around. It’s Tom. He has a huge smile on his face.

“I do,” she replies. She takes his hand. “Tom, will you marry me?”

“I will,” he says.

“I’m so happy for you guys,” I cheer.

She leans over and kisses Tom on the cheek. He blushes.

Hurray!

“Is there anything else you want to wish for, then?” Lottie asks Bri.

“You should wish for a bike!” Jonah says.

“Or a cell phone,” I add quickly. “I’ll take it if you don’t want it.”

Bri cocks her head to the side. “I
would
like a bike. But ever since I made those candles today, I’ve realized that I can make all kinds of stuff myself. Like bikes.” She spins the wheel of the sewing contraption. “I’ve been studying this wheel, and I think I know how to make one myself.”

I laugh. “You’re going to invent the bicycle?”

She nods. “Yes! Exactly! Why wait a hundred years? I can invent whatever I want right now! I’m going to be an inventor!”

“You’re going to be an amazing inventor,” Tom says, putting his arm around her shoulders.

“So you really don’t want me to wish for anything?” Lottie asks.

Bri shakes her head. “I already have everything I want right here.”

“What about happiness?” Lottie asks.

Bri smiles and I can see her dimple. “I can make my own.”

Jonah steps up. “Then can I please, please, pretty please with ketchup on top, use your wish to get a puppy?”

“No!” I yell. “Jonah, I would love to have a puppy, too, but we can’t bring a puppy home with us!”

“Can I have a crocodile that does karate, then?” Felix asks. “Please?”

Lottie looks at Bri.

She shrugs. “Make it a teacup crocodile that does karate.”

Jonah scrunches up his face. He looks like he might cry.

“Okay, then, here we go …” Lottie twirls her wand around and around and around. “I grant Felix one puppy and one mini-crocodile that does karate. The skylight above us shall be a magical portal that goes to Smithville. And I undo the one-hundred-years sleeping curse on Robin. One. Two. Three!”

An adorable brown puppy appears and starts barking. He has floppy ears and a little black nose.

“Awwww! So cute,” Jonah mumbles.

A teeny tiny green crocodile the size of my hand pops up next to Felix’s foot. Its little hand goes up in what I guess is a chopping motion.

It might be small but it’s still creepy.

The skylight above us starts to swirl. Yes! We have a portal!

We better not get soaked. Or hit by lightning.

“Yay! My puppy!” sings Felix. “I’m calling him Horseyback! Give me a ride, Horseyback!” Felix tries to sit on the puppy but the puppy whimpers and hides behind Jonah’s leg.

And Robin …

Robin snores.

“Robin,” I say, running over to her and taking her hands. “Robin, get up! We have to go!”

She doesn’t open her eyes. “Why is she still sleeping?” I ask. “What happened?” The skylight is swirling faster. It looks like a whirlpool.

Lottie zaps Robin again with her wand but nothing happens. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I don’t know why my spell didn’t work. Abby, maybe you were right before when you talked about double jeopardy. A wand can’t cast the same spell twice. Maybe a wand can’t undo its own spell, either.”

“Can you fix it?” I look up at the skylight, which is now a deep purple. “We have to go. It’s really late.”

“There’s nothing I can do,” Lottie says helplessly. “You’ll have to go without her. The window will work for the next minute and then it will be gone forever.”

It’s already almost ten o’clock! We
have
to go. We have no choice. If Lottie can’t make another portal, this is our only option. Plus, the other fairies might come back for revenge! We can’t leave Robin. We’ll have to take her with us.

“Maybe Maryrose will help you,” Lottie says. “Her powers are much stronger than mine. Not stronger than my mom’s, though.”

Lottie knows Maryrose? Carlotta knows Maryrose, too? Do all the fairies know each other?

Jonah points to the skylight. “We have to go!” he cries.

“How do we get up there?” I wonder. “We usually just walk into the portal, not jump up to it!”

“What if you bounce on the bed?” Bri asks. “It’s pretty springy.”

“Good idea,” I say. “We’ll pretend it’s a trampoline!”

“What’s that?” Bri asks.

“Something else you should invent,” I say.

Jonah and I lift Robin so that one of her arms is around my shoulders and the other is around Jonah’s. Her head slumps forward but we keep her up.

“Wait!” Felix yells. He runs over to us and gives us each kisses on the cheek. Aw. We all say good-bye.

“Now jump!” I tell Jonah. We hold up Robin and jump. The puppy barks and climbs up on the bed and tries to grab Jonah’s foot. We jump one more time and zoom —

The skylight sucks us right up.