Annie could see that the witch was getting mad. Her face was turning red, and two veins stood out in her forehead. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Annie shouted. “It’s not because you love your family, but because you were bored and this was a chance to stir things up, to have a little fun in your miserable, boring life! Your sister and your mother don’t mean any more to you than your son does!”
“Quiet, you piece of pestilence!” Terobella screamed.
“Why should I?” Annie shouted back. “You’re afraid of me. What are you going to do—turn me into a worm, too?”
“I should!” Terobella shrieked. “Or a slug! No, no, I have it! I’ll turn you into the slime that the slugs leave behind. And when I’m done, the rain will wash you away and it will be as if you never existed!”
“Terobella, no!” shouted Marissa, but her sister was already raising her arm and pointing her finger at Annie.
Once again, a burst of green light shot from the witch’s hand, but when it hit Annie, there was a loud fizzing sound, and the light rebounded, flying back to engulf Terobella. There was a flash and a bang, and she was nothing but a slime trail shining on the mud. At the same instant, Horace and the others turned back into men, the rift closed with a wet slapping sound, and the mud buildings turned back into stone. The rain began to lessen until it was gone, leaving everyone soggy but grinning.
“You did it!” Liam cried, running across the courtyard to pick Annie up and squeeze her tight.
“I remembered how Nasheen had made me mad at supper one night, and I thought that if I could only make Terobella lose her temper, she might forget that she shouldn’t cast a spell at me. Then Marissa shouted and … where are Marissa and Granny Bentbone, by the way?”
Liam raised his head to look and smiled at what he saw. “It seems they’re in Captain Everhart’s custody and headed toward the dungeon.”
Annie turned in Liam’s arms. “What’s Tandry doing?”
“It looks as if he’s trying to find something in the mud. His mother has probably already washed away, though. I think we’ve seen the last of her.”
“And the crows?” Annie asked, looking toward the top of the curtain wall.
“Gone, every last one of them, apparently,” said Liam.
“Thank goodness!” Annie exclaimed. “If I never see another crow, I’ll already have seen too many!”
After being a worm, Horace was too shaken to go anywhere that day, so Annie and Liam postponed their trip back to Treecrest until the following morning. Once again, Snow White insisted that they take gifts with them, so while Liam supervised their packing, Annie went to see Lilah. A cook’s helper directed Annie to the garden, where she found Lilah reading a book.
“If you still don’t want me to introduce you to Snow White, I think you should come with us,” Annie told her. “Unless you have some reason to want to stay in Helmswood.”
“I’m in Helmswood only because I walked this far and wanted to rest for a time. Nothing’s keeping me here,” said Lilah.
“Treecrest is farther from the ocean and anyone who might know your father. I can help you start a new life, and I know a lot of eligible princes if you’re interested.”
“Will that nice prince who gave me this book be in Treecrest?” Lilah asked, looking hopeful.
“His name is Prince Cozwald, and he’ll be traveling with us for most of the way. All the princes who came with us decided to wait for us to leave. They’re getting ready to go right now.”
“Are you sure I wouldn’t be imposing?” Lilah asked.
“I’m positive!” said Annie. “How long will it take to get your possessions together?”
“This is all I have,” said Lilah.
“Then come with me! We’ll be leaving as soon as we say good-bye to everyone.”
When Annie and Lilah reached the courtyard, Liam was ready to go. Annie’s horse was saddled, and the princes were already starting across the drawbridge.
“Who is that?” Liam asked as Lilah climbed into the back of the cart that Horace and another guard were driving.
“A friend,” said Annie. “I’ll tell you all about her later.”
“I found her!” Dog barked when she saw Annie. The animal started running, and Annie braced herself for an enthusiastic greeting.
“Annie, there you are!” called Snow White, hurrying across the courtyard. She sidestepped Dog, who was wagging her tail and wiggling all over as she licked Annie. “We wanted to say good-bye. Thank you so much for all you’ve done. Without your help, I never would have known what to do about the princes or realized the truth about Maitland. And Terobella … I hate to think of what she would have done!”
“That’s enough, Dog! I love you, too,” Annie said, calming the animal by scratching her behind the ears. She glanced up at Snow White and smiled. “You’re most welcome, Snow White. I think we all learned a lot over the past few days.”
“Indeed we have,” King Archibald said, giving his daughter an affectionate look. “I’ve already sent the royal physician packing. He was here because Marissa had brought him to the castle. I didn’t know how bad he was until Snow White pointed it out. Now that we have an excellent herbalist in our midst, we don’t need someone like him. You should see the plans for an herb garden that my daughter has drawn up.”
“I can’t wait to see your garden when it’s finished,” said Annie.
“You’ll be back long before then!” Snow White declared. “Maitland and I want you and Liam to come to the wedding.”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll be here for that!” Annie glanced at Liam, who was laughing at something Maitland had said. Liam turned just then and caught her eye. Annie nodded, then gave her friend a hug. “It’s time for us to go. Good-bye, Your Majesty. Thank you for your gracious hospitality.”
“It was my pleasure,” said the king. “You are most welcome here anytime. You saved Snow White’s life and brought her back to me, then you helped her find her true love and saved us all from a dreadful fate. My daughter couldn’t have a better friend than you. Thank you for everything.”
Annie was surprised when the king gave her a hug, and even more when Maitland kissed her on the cheek as he helped her onto her horse.
“We’re almost relatives now, you know,” Maitland told her as he checked her horse’s girth. “Your sister is married to my brother. If Nasheen had known that, he would have suspected a conspiracy from the start.”
“And he would have been wrong,” said Annie. “You had to show Snow White what you were really like, and she had to get past her anger over what you told your friends and forgive you. I’m thrilled that it all worked out so well.”
“Annie,” Liam said, “I think the princes will be wondering what happened to us if we don’t go now.”
“You’re right,” Annie told him. “Good-bye, everyone! We’ll see you soon!”
Dog followed them, barking “Good-bye!” all the way to the drawbridge.
Annie had turned back to wave to her friends one last time when she noticed that the castle looked a little odd. It took her a minute to realize why it didn’t look the way it usually did. The edges of the stone weren’t quite as straight as they had been before, and the corners were all a little rounded.
“Maitland and I saw it, too,” Liam said when he followed her gaze. “The stones look like they did when the rain started dissolving the mud.”
“It’s good that they didn’t stay mud any longer,” said Annie. “If they had, the rain would have washed more away, and the castle would have looked very strange. You know, people often question stories of magic, but no one will ever doubt what happened here once they see the castle. So tell me, what was in the cart that Horace was driving?”
“Our gifts from Snow White! She gave you the suit of armor that you wore into the south tower.”
“Really?” said Annie. “I doubt I’ll ever wear it again.”
“She also gave you her stepmother’s magic mirror.”
/> “Why? That thing must have been dreadful to carry down all those stairs.”
“My guess is that she gave it to you because she didn’t want it in her castle, although she said it was because Captain Everhart told her that it didn’t answer my last question, so it has to go sit beside your bed.”
“Oh my! I never really meant that!” said Annie. “It was just a threat to make it answer you.”
“Well, now you’re stuck with it, although I’m not so sure I want it in your bedchamber. I don’t like the idea of that creature … face … whatever it is, being that close to you.”
“Liam, are you jealous?”
“All the time! I’m just very good at hiding it. And that brings me to something else I wanted to discuss with you. Snow White and Maitland are going to start planning their wedding. I think we should do the same.”
“Plan their wedding?” Annie said with a twinkle in her eye.
Liam laughed and shook his head. “No! Plan ours. I don’t want a long engagement. Let’s get married soon!”
“My parents just paid for one wedding. I’m not sure they’ll be ready for another yet.”
“Then we’ll run off and get married in a country chapel.”
“If I tell my mother that you said that, she’ll have a huge wedding planned for us within a day!”
“In that case, I’ll tell her myself! I love you, Annie,” Liam said, bringing his horse next to hers.
She was about to reply, but the kiss he gave her took all her attention for a very long time.
A Note on the Author
E. D. Baker is the author of the Wide-Awake Princess series, which includes The Wide-Awake Princess and Unlocking the Spell, plus many other delightful books for young readers, including A Question of Magic, Fairy Lies, Fairy Wings, and the eight Tales of the Frog Princess. The Frog Princess was the inspiration for Disney’s hit movie The Princess and the Frog. She lives with her family and their horses in rural Maryland.
www.talesofedbaker.com
Also by E. D. Baker
THE TALES OF THE FROG PRINCESS:
The Frog Princess
Dragon’s Breath
Once Upon a Curse
No Place for Magic
The Salamander Spell
The Dragon Princess
Dragon Kiss
A Prince among Frogs
Fairy Wings
Fairy Lies
TALES OF THE WIDE-AWAKE PRINCESS:
The Wide-Awake Princess
Unlocking the Spell
A Question of Magic
Text copyright © 2014 by E. D. Baker
Map copyright © 2014 by Kimberly Bender
All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published in the United States of America in April 2014
by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
This electronic edition published in April 2014
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baker, E. D.
The bravest princess: a tale of the wide-awake princess / by E. D. Baker.
pages cm
Sequel to: Unlocking the spell. Summary: Sleeping Beauty’s younger, nonmagical sister, Annie, still can’t rest while trouble in the kingdom threatens her good friend Snow White.
[1. Fairy tales. 2. Princesses—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.
4. Characters in literature—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ8.B173Br 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2013034317
eISBN: 978-1-6196-3276-9
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E. D. Baker, The Bravest Princess
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