Ever After High, Fairy Tale Retellings Book #1 Read online

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  © 2017 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EVER AFTER HIGH and associated trademarks are owned by and used under license from Mattel, Inc.

  Cover design by Ching Chan and Véronique L. Sweet. Cover illustration by Erwin Madrid.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  Visit us at lb-kids.com

  everafterhigh.com

  First Edition: March 2017

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-50187-3 (paperback); 978-0-316-50189-7 (ebook)

  E3-20170123-JV-PC

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  CHAPTER 1: Time for a Change!

  CHAPTER 2: Did Somebody Say Cinderella?

  CHAPTER 3: Time for Chores

  CHAPTER 4: Two Grumpy Sisters

  CHAPTER 5: Scrub-a-dub-dub

  CHAPTER 6: One Candy-Colored Coach Coming Up!

  CHAPTER 7: Anybody Lose a Sneaker?

  CHAPTER 8: Everybody, Dance Now!

  CHAPTER 9: Bookball, Anyone?

  CHAPTER 10: If the Sneaker Fits…

  CHAPTER 11: The Sweetest Stepmother

  CHAPTER 12: A Spell to Remember

  For my niece Maria—you’ll always be a princess to me!

  CHAPTER 1

  Time for a Change!

  Faybelle Thorn was bored. It was a dull day at Ever After High. She wanted to go out and have some fun, but everyone was busy getting ready for midterm hexams. This school year, Headmaster Grimm announced that everyone would have to enter their storybooks and make it to The End of their fairytales in order to pass. This annoyed Faybelle. Seriously? she thought. You call that a test? I could be the Dark Fairy with my eyes closed. She tried to convince her fellow cheerhexers to spend the day with her working on a new routine or catching up on their favorite MirrorCast, but they said no. They all wanted to study. Now Faybelle was annoyed times two! She was not used to the fairy cheerhexers saying no to her!

  Apple White overheard Faybelle asking the cheerhexers to abandon studying, and she was fairy concerned.

  “Faybelle, you should think twice about not studying,” Apple said in a serious voice. “It’s the midterm hexam! In order to get a good final grade, you have to pass the hexam.”

  Faybelle just rolled her eyes. Apple was such a goody-goody! Oh my wand, what is wrong with everybody today? My dull classmates need to get their priorities straight, she thought.

  What could she do to stir things up? Faybelle ran her hand across the storybooks, all neatly labeled and laid out for tomorrow’s class. I should jump into Apple White’s story-book and teach her a lesson about being such a goody-goody all the time, Faybelle thought for a moment. Then Faybelle laughed as she imagined Apple White trying to live her life—as if Apple could ever handle being the Dark Fairy. Wait—now there’s an idea! Faybelle knew a way to make her day a lot more hexciting—and everyone else’s, too. She would cast a spell and switch up all the storybooks. Everyone would end up in a different fairytale than the one that was part of his or her destiny. It’s perfect, Faybelle thought. It will make this hexam fairy, fairy entertaining… for me, at least.

  Whenever Faybelle had an important spell to cast, she had a special way of making it hextra powerful: cheerhexing. She tossed her long blond hair, pulled out her pom-poms, took a deep breath, and gave a cheer:

  Study hard and listen well,

  As I start to cast my spell!

  Whether you’re a princess, prince, or witch,

  It’s time to get ready for a great big switch!

  S-W-I-T-C-H! SWITCH!

  Faybelle did a jump kick and shook her pom-poms in the air to finish her cheer. Then she heard a little poof! and she knew that her spell had taken hold. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow!

  CHAPTER 2

  Did Somebody Say Cinderella?

  OOOF! Where am I? Cupid thought, gingerly touching the top of her head. She’d fallen into a storybook to take her midterm hexam, but this did not look like her story at all. She had been hexpecting to land on top of Mount Olympus, but instead of seeing clouds and bright-blue sky, she was staring up at the roof of a cozy house—probably in a small village somewhere.

  As she looked around, Cupid felt hexcited. Had Headmaster Grimm put a special twist on her hexam assignment? Was she supposed to bring love to this little town? Ooh! That would be spelltacular! Cupid thought. Then she became aware of a delicious smell. Something fairy yummy was cooking. Peering around the little room, she saw that there was a pot bubbling on the stove and a roaring fireplace in the corner. The smell of the food was making her hungry, and Cupid’s stomach rumbled. Is there a feast about to be served?

  Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the wooden door. A muffled voice shouted something from outside. Before Cupid could answer, a tall woman with pale-blond hair and serious gray eyes and her two grumpy-looking daughters burst through the door.

  “Now, I am your stepmother and you should respect me, young lady! When I say supper on the table by seven o’clock, that means you have supper on the table by seven o’clock!” The two daughters nodded in agreement with their mother, hands pressed firmly on their hips. While Stepmother looked disappointed and frustrated, her two daughters looked positively furious! Cupid couldn’t understand why they were so upset.

  “Just look at her, Prudence,” the daughter with short hair said to her sister. “She’s just sitting there doing nothing, and meanwhile it’s dinnertime.”

  “Yes, Charlotte. She’s being lazy as usual,” Prudence agreed. “We’re all starving! Where’s dinner? When are you ever going to get your chores done on time?”

  Rather than react to the fact that everyone was being fairy mean for no reason, Cupid did what she always did: She studied the girls to try to figure them out. Part of being Cupid meant really understanding people. How could she help them fall in love if she didn’t understand what made them tick? Cupid looked closely at the two sisters. Charlotte had short brown hair, bright-blue eyes, and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. She looks like she has a lot of energy. She kind of looks like a gymnast, Cupid thought. Prudence had long, straight dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail and hazel eyes. She is probably the quieter sister. She reminds me of a ballerina, Cupid decided.

  The sisters and Stepmother stared at Cupid as they waited for her to respond, but she was too deep in thought trying to imagine with whom the sisters might fall in love to answer. “We will await our supper in the sitting room,” their mother said to Cupid finally. “And you’ll finish all your chores… tonight.”

 
Cupid stared blankly at Stepmother and the stepsisters as they strolled out of the kitchen. Chores? Well, she’d never thought of bringing people love as a chore, but maybe mortals saw it that way. Cupid reached back to find her bow and arrows—just to make sure they were handy in case a handsome duke or a nice stable boy came by—only to discover they were missing!

  Okay, what in Ever After is going on around here? Cupid wondered. Had she lost her bow and arrows? Then she caught sight of her reflection in a mirror. Instead of her usual outfit, she was wearing a dress and an apron. And not a particularly nice dress and apron, either—the dress was old and raggedy, and the apron had quite a few stains on it.

  This outfit is definitely not my style, Cupid thought.

  But then Cupid replayed everything in her head. Two mean sisters and their mom shouting orders at her about chores… raggedy clothes and an apron… hmm… Why did this all sound vaguely familiar?

  “Cinderella!” the stepsisters called. “Serve us our dinner this instant!”

  Oh. My. Wand. Suddenly, it all made sense—Cupid wasn’t on Mount Olympus… because she had landed in Ashlynn Ella’s story! In this storybook, she wasn’t C.A. Cupid, Olympic Champion of Love. She was Cinderella!

  Cupid tried to look at the bright side. This could be a little vacation from matchmaking! It had been so demanding this semester at Ever After High. She’d already used more than half her supply of arrows for the year! Now, instead of worrying about practicing her archery skills, Cupid could just sweep some floors, practice her father’s angel food cake recipes, and maybe even go to a ball! This little mix-up wasn’t so bad ever after all.

  “Cinderella!” Stepmother barked. “Are you even listening to us? Quit daydreaming and get dinner on the table… now!”

  “I’ll be there in a moment!” Cupid replied.

  So long, Cupid—Hello, Cinderella!

  CHAPTER 3

  Time for Chores

  “Cinderella! Cinderella!”

  Every time someone called out that name, it took a moment for Cupid to realize they were calling her!

  “Cinderella! What is all this? What have you done? You usually just serve us porridge in the morning.”

  Stepmother and the stepsisters stared at the breakfast table. Looking at the spread, it occurred to Cupid that she may have gone a little overboard this morning. First off, there were ten vases overflowing with beautiful, freshly picked flowers in the center of the table. They were almost as bright as the bowls of colorful fruit that sat next to tall stacks of fluffy pancakes and towers of decadent waffles. Then there were steaming-hot dishes of scrambled eggs; sizzling, crispy bacon; and jelly-covered toast. And everything was cut into heart shapes! But suddenly Cupid was nervous. Did she overdo it?

  “I—I… just thought it might be fun to have something a little different for a change,” Cupid stammered.

  “Why is everything a heart?” Prudence asked grumpily as she helped herself to a heart-shaped waffle.

  “Hmm, well, I started with the pancakes, and then I guess I really got into it!” Cupid said proudly as she watched Prudence stack some heart-shaped bananas and strawberries on her waffle.

  “It’s definitely different, that’s for sure,” Charlotte said, heaping bacon and eggs on her plate. “I’ve never seen scrambled eggs made into heart shapes before.”

  The faintest glimmer of a smile appeared on Stepmother’s face. “Well… hearts mean love. And speaking of love, I believe the prince should be throwing another ball very soon! Charlotte, dear, have you decided which dress you will be wearing?”

  “Yes, Mother,” Charlotte said. “I decided to go with the yellow one.”

  “Cinderella, after you have finished all your chores, Charlotte and Prudence will try on their new gowns, and you will alter them accordingly.”

  “Of course,” Cupid replied.

  “And, Cupid… about these pink, heart-shaped pancakes…”

  “Yes?” Cupid answered anxiously.

  “They’re… they’re actually not half-bad,” Stepmother said. “Please pass me another.”

  “Sure!” Cupid said with a smile.

  So Cupid happily cooked, cleaned, and swept the floor. But after a while her arms started to ache and she realized housework was really difficult without a little magic.

  How does Cinderella do it? Cupid wondered, rubbing her arms. Three beds to make up (not even counting her own), the living room and bathroom to keep clean, plus three meals a day for four people. It was simply too much.

  “How in Ever After am I going to get through this?” Cupid groaned as she fell back on her bed, hexhausted.

  Then she remembered that in the story, Cinderella had helpers! Where were all the cute little critters that always helped Cinderella out? Cupid poked around the entire house until she finally found a family of teeny-tiny doves in their little twig nest on her windowsill. Upon opening the window, the family swooped in and started fluttering about the floor, sweeping up the dust with their little wings.

  “You’re awfully cute, but you’re all so tiny! I’m not sure how much help you will actually be,” Cupid told the little doves. But as Cupid went about her chores, the birds followed her.

  Much to Cupid’s amazement, all the chores went so much faster with just a little hextra assistance. The birds helped her make the beds, helped hang the laundry on the line to dry, and all the while kept up a steady stream of cheerful chirps to keep Cupid smiling while she finished her work.

  “We need to get some of you sweeties on Mount Olympus! I think Dad would just love having you around!” Cupid said as she blew a kiss to her new feathered friends.

  Cupid practically danced through the house, completely enchanted by her nonenchanted chores. She danced all the way into Charlotte’s room, sweeping as she went. Trying to reach the tough corner by the back of the bed, Cupid crouched down and saw a pile of clothes hidden under there.

  What in Ever After…? she thought as she angled the broomstick to yank out the clothes. It’s fairy strange that Charlotte would be hiding clothes under her bed. The rest of the room was neat and clean. Right as Cupid was ready to wiggle out the mess, Charlotte stormed in.

  “Cinderella! What do you think you’re doing here? How dare you enter my room without asking?” Charlotte fumed. Her face was red with anger.

  “B-but I was just trying to clean,” Cupid started to explain.

  “Never, ever, ever come into my room without checking with me first,” Charlotte said sternly. “Now get out of here. And never look under my bed again!”

  “Okay… I’m sorry, Charlotte. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just trying to make everything sparkly clean,” Cupid said meekly, slinking out of the room with her head down.

  Cupid felt terrible, as though she had been caught doing something wrong. But had she really done anything wrong? She just wanted to make everyone in this fairytale happy, and she was working as hard as she possibly could—without magic! But even though she prepared everyone’s favorite foods and the house was spotless and shining from top to bottom, the stepsisters always seemed to be in bad moods. Why?

  Cupid didn’t have the slightest clue. But she did know that something fairy fishy was going on… and it was her mission to find out what.

  CHAPTER 4

  Two Grumpy Sisters

  That afternoon, Cupid busied herself with cooking up a delicious dinner in the kitchen. Even though she’d started to enjoy cooking almost as much as shooting love arrows, Prudence’s and Charlotte’s grumpiness still bothered her. Back at Ever After High, she would have talked about it with some of her friends. But she didn’t have any friends here. Or did she?

  Cupid decided to turn to the feathered friends she had made in this topsy-turvy fairytale.

  “Birdies, I’m doing everything I can, and the stepsisters never seem to be happy! Why are they so upset?” Cupid asked.

  The birds fluttered around excitedly as they tried desperately to get a message across to Cupid. They wa
nted to explain what was going on. Finally, one of the birds flew out the door and into the hallway. Cupid chased after him. She found the dove perched on the dining room table with an envelope in his beak. He gently nudged Cupid with the envelope. Cupid opened it up and saw that it was an old invitation to a ball from a couple of weeks past. Cupid looked back at the birds in confusion as they flapped their wings all around the room.

  “An invitation to a ball is upsetting to the sisters?” Cupid asked. The little birds all nodded their heads vigorously and twittered in agreement. But why would an invitation to a ball make the stepsisters unhappy? Cupid wondered.

  Cupid knew she was onto something, she just wasn’t sure what it was. So she found a little notebook and started jotting down everything she knew about “her” stepsisters.…

  After the family enjoyed another one of Cupid’s delicious dinners, Stepmother handed Cupid two ball gowns.

  “The yellow one is Charlotte’s and the purple one is for Prudence,” she said. Then she called out, “Girls! Come down here for your fittings!”

  The two stepsisters reluctantly trudged over to Cupid. Prudence stepped into her dress. It was beautiful! Cupid couldn’t help herself. She gasped.

  “Oh, Prudence, this is one of the most hexquisite dresses I’ve ever seen!” she cried. It looked like Prudence was wrapped in a fluffy lavender cloud. The material was soft and billowy, with satin ribbon trimming puffy sleeves. Tiny sequins were sprinkled all over the dress, so her gown looked like a purple sky full of twinkling stars. It would look amazing in motion!

  “Look at my beautiful daughter,” said Stepmother proudly.

  Cupid stood back and studied Prudence all dressed up. “It doesn’t look like this dress needs much altering at all,” she said. “It fits you like a dream. Just look.”