Ever After High, Fairy Tale Retellings Book #2 Page 4

  “Cerise! Is that you?” Dexter called out happily. But there was no response… just more scratchy noises. Then he heard a light tapping, as if someone was running across the castle floor.

  “Cerise?” he called out again, a little more tentatively this time.

  But there was still no answer, just more tapping and scratching noises.

  Dexter decided to explore the castle. There must be some servants still hanging around, he thought. They probably decided to stay and forgot to tell me. First he checked the kitchen, but it was empty. Then he looked in the dining and living rooms, but no one was there. The more he searched, the more nervous Dexter grew.

  Then he heard another noise—like someone scampering back and forth.

  “Hello?” he shouted. He checked out the library next. The castle was huge, but he had searched every room. Whoever was in the castle was faster than he was; whenever he heard a noise, he rushed in that direction, but when he’d open a door, there was never anybody there. Whoever it was, he or she did not want to talk to Dexter!

  Someone else is definitely in the castle, Dexter thought. And it’s not Cerise! I’ve got to get out of here! He quickly started gathering books to use as a barricade as he planned his escape.

  Meanwhile, Cerise played bookball with her new friends all afternoon. It was so great to run around with other strong, athletic girls and be cheered for her athletic prowess. So much so that when the girls invited her to join them for a match that night, she immediately said yes. She didn’t think about the castle or Dexter or her promise to him to come home soon. She forgot about everything except the fun she was having just being herself.

  Cerise was feeling so happy that she decided to treat herself to a nice dinner before the match, to keep her energy up. She found a little restaurant right by the field and ordered a big bowl of porridge. She tried to eat slowly and delicately, but how could she when the porridge was this delicious? And after all that running around, she was so hungry!

  She heard another diner whisper to a friend, “Just look at the way she wolfed down her food!” Instead of worrying that they knew her secret, Cerise just laughed to herself. She felt so free here. No one really knew her, so what did it matter if she let her wolf side show?

  After dinner she headed out for another hexciting bookball match with her new friends. By the end of the day, she was so tired that she got a room at the town’s inn. She fell fast asleep far, far away from the Beast’s castle.

  “Cerise! Cerise! Where are you?” Dexter looked around fearfully. He was hiding behind an enormous stack of books in the castle garden. “Cerise! Please help!”

  Cerise was racing through the forest. But every time she got close to Dexter, a giant wildberry pie blocked the path. And she could still hear Dexter calling for her. “Cerise, where are you? Help!”

  “I hear you! I’m coming, Dex!” Cerise called back as she ran and ran, losing her hood in the woods. She knew her ears were exposed, but for once she didn’t care. Her classmates were in the woods with her, pointing at her ears. But all Cerise could think about was Dexter needing her help. She concentrated on following his voice to find her way back to the castle.

  “Cerise! Help!” Dexter pleaded. “Ceriiiiiiise!”

  Gasp! Cerise jumped out of bed with a start as she woke her from her horrible nightmare. Dexter looked like he was in trouble and scared. Guiltily, she remembered the promise she had made to Dexter. She had said she would be back that night, and now it was really late! She wished she had her MirrorPhone with her to send him a hext, but when they landed in the new fairytale, their phones had disappeared. Cerise left the inn as quickly as she could and rushed back to the castle. She hoped Dexter was okay and that he wasn’t too upset with her.

  CHAPTER 6

  It’s Coming from Inside the Castle!

  As soon as Cerise reached the castle, the first thing she noticed was that it was completely dark inside. That’s odd, Cerise thought. Where is everybody? Where is Dexter?

  “Dex… Dex! Where are you?” she called.

  “C-C-Cerise? Is that you?” Cerise looked around and saw Dexter the Beast in the garden, peeking out from behind what appeared to be a wall of books—just like in her dream!

  “Dex, what’s going on?” Cerise said.

  “I had to get out of the castle,” Dexter told her fearfully. “The staff has the night off, and with you gone, I was all by myself.”

  “I’m sorry I stayed away so long,” Cerise apologized. “But I was feeling a little homesick, and I met some girls who were playing bookball, and I just lost track of time—”

  “Never mind that,” Dexter whispered. “We have bigger things to worry about. Someone is inside the castle!”

  “What do you mean someone?” Cerise whispered back. “You don’t know who?”

  “No. I heard all these creepy scratching noises around the castle, and I knew it wasn’t the staff—or you! I got scared and I ran out here. After a little while I tried going back inside.…”

  “And?”

  “And then I kept hearing the strange noises, and I didn’t want to stay inside to find out what they were. So I made my little fort out here.” He took Cerise’s hand. “Come on in. I made it big enough for two in case you showed up.”

  Cerise shook her head. “We shouldn’t stay out here all night. That’s silly, and besides, it’s going to get cold. Come on, let’s go back in.”

  “But, Cerise, whoever it is, they could be dangerous. We don’t know anything about them or what they want—”

  “Maybe… but it sounds like you’re getting ahead of yourself,” Cerise said gently. “Besides, you’re the Beast. Whoever it is, they’ll be scared of you. Remember, I taught you how to growl and howl.”

  Dexter nodded. Slowly and quietly, they made their way back to the front door. Besides the fort, Dexter had stacked even more books in front of the door as a barricade. Cerise gave Dexter a look, and he shrugged his shoulders as if to say, What? I was scared!

  After they silently moved the books, Cerise peeked her head inside the castle. It all seemed fine and fairy quiet. But then, to her surprise, she heard lots of scuffling and scraping. She turned back to Dexter. “Okay, maybe you were right—somebody is in there,” she whispered. They both tiptoed inside. Dexter grabbed a lantern near the front door. They had just taken a few steps when they heard a tremendous CRASH coming from the kitchen. Dexter shrieked, making Cerise jump a little, and then he dropped the lantern. The lantern shattered!

  Cerise’s eyes flashed, and she growled so deeply that the hairs stood up on the back of Dexter’s neck.

  “Cerise, is that you growling?” He could hardly believe Cerise was so scary!

  Quickly, Cerise regained her composure. “Oh, uh, whoops. Sorry, Dex. I was just trying to scare whoever else is in here.”

  Dexter let out a nervous little chuckle. “Well, it worked! Keep it up. Meanwhile, let me see what I can do with this lantern.”

  So as Dexter tried to fix the lantern, Cerise paced and growled. After a few minutes, Dexter declared, “Got it! And look, I was able to up the wattage on this, so the light should be super bright now.”

  “Okay. On the count of three, then,” Cerise said. “We charge, and you turn on the light. Ready?”

  “Ready!” Dexter agreed.

  “Okay. Here we go. One… two… three… lights on! GRRRRR!”

  Cerise and Dexter both stomped and charged as Dexter turned the lantern on the intruders.

  “Aaaagh!” Dexter yelled, while at the same time Cerise burst out laughing at the scary “intruders”—two baby deer, a family of fluffy squirrels, and little mice were snacking on a bowl of berries and nuts they had knocked off a table.

  “Oh, sorry, little fellas.” Cerise knelt down and put her hand out for the animals to sniff. The baby deer stared at her with wide eyes as Dexter dimmed the lantern. Cerise scooped up a handful of berries and offered them to the deer. The squirrels and mice realized there was nothing to fe
ar, so they continued eating the snacks scattered across the floor.

  Dexter chuckled. Cerise turned to look at him. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  “We are,” he replied. “Scared of some baby animals!”

  Cerise laughed. “Well… they could have been scary intruders,” she said. “I still think we were fairy brave to come in and charge them—even if they were just a bunch of cute animals.”

  “Agreed,” Dexter said. “Now let’s whip up a midnight feast in honor of our bravery and defending the castle! It’s just the two of us, so you don’t have to worry about servants or cooks or fancy manners. We can just relax and be ourselves.”

  Cerise nodded happily. She suddenly realized she was starving, too! Once again, Cerise thought that even though this fairytale wasn’t hexactly what she was hexpecting, it was still a pretty fun adventure.

  CHAPTER 7

  Let’s Be Real

  Dexter and Cerise teamed up again—this time to cook a delicious meal, complete with stew and another of Red’s wildberry pies to celebrate their bravery. As usual, Cerise served giant portions of the food, and, as usual, she ate her share with wolflike appetite and gusto. She was too hungry for manners, and she didn’t care. She had already finished two bowls of stew while Dexter was still working on his first. It just felt so good to be safe and inside, eating a hexcellent meal with a good friend. I think there’s a reason I wasn’t destined to be a princess, Cerise decided. I don’t want to rule a kingdom and make all the important decisions a royal has to make. That attention isn’t for me. I just want some space to run and a good meal to share with a friend. That makes me happy.

  “You were so cool,” Dexter told her. “The way you made that scary growling noise even though you were just as scared as I was, and then the way you charged, full-on—”

  “Right into some baby deer,” Cerise added with a laugh.

  Dexter started laughing, too, and that made Cerise laugh even harder. When she finally stopped giggling and looked over at Dexter, she noticed he had a strange look on his face.

  “Dexter, what’s wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?” Cerise said, confused. “Oh no. Do I have stew all over my face?” She wiped her mouth with a napkin.

  Dexter shook his head and didn’t say a word. He simply pointed at Cerise’s head. Cerise immediately knew what was wrong. Her hands flew up to her ears in a flash. While she was laughing, her hood had fallen off! After all her hard work trying to hide it, her secret was out.

  “Cerise… are you… part-wolf?” Dexter asked.

  Cerise looked away and hesitated for a moment. Then finally she nodded. “Yes. I’ve been keeping a secret from you,” Cerise said quietly. “Actually, it’s a secret I’ve been keeping from almost everybody.” She took out her locket and showed Dexter her family picture. “My mom, Red Riding Hood, married the Big Bad Wolf.” She paused for a moment, waiting for Dexter to respond. He looked so surprised, and she wasn’t sure how he would react—or if he’d be able to keep her secret.

  At last, Dexter spoke. “Are you telling me… that Mr. Badwolf is… your dad?”

  “Pretty much, yeah,” Cerise said shyly.

  A big grin spread slowly across Dexter’s face. “So… what’s it like having your dad be a teacher at school?” he teased.

  “Pretty great, actually,” Cerise replied as she gave him a playful push. She was so relieved he’d taken the news well. It was the biggest secret of her life, and yet, she felt like she could trust him. They were good friends, and she knew he was there for her. “Only my fairy closest friends know,” she continued in a quiet voice. “And I’m hoping to keep it that way. At least for a little while longer.”

  Dexter nodded seriously. “You don’t have to worry. Your secret is safe with me,” he assured her.

  Cerise nodded gratefully. “I thought it would be. Thanks, Dex.”

  Then Cerise told him everything that had happened after she left the castle. She told him about the family of wolf pups she had come across that made her fairy homesick. And then the human family picnic that made her homesick, too. She told him how wonderful it was just to let loose and run as fast as she could, and she told him about playing bookball and how great it was to feel athletic and strong. Last, but not least, she told him about going to the library. He was surprised that Cerise had made time to stop by the library. He couldn’t wait to hear more! “What was the library like? Did it have better books than this library? Do you think we can go check it out now?” he asked all at once.

  “Calm down,” Cerise replied with a laugh. “It was a really cool library. I read the Beauty and the Beast story, and it made me realize that Beauty and the Beast isn’t about princes, princesses, or castles. It’s about learning to be happy just being yourself.”

  Dexter smiled. “Well, you should be pretty happy being yourself,” he told her. “You’re smart, you’re brave, you can run like the wind, you can be super scary when you need to be, and you make the best pie in the entire world! You’re a Hood and a Badwolf. That’s awesome.” Dexter paused and pulled out a gift from under the table. “And even though I don’t think you should have to hide who you are, here’s a new hood that I made for you while you were in the village.”

  “That’s really nice of you, Dex. Thanks,” Cerise said as she admired his handiwork. “And you shouldn’t be shy—or embarrassed—about who you are. Look at how you owned this whole ‘beast’ thing. You totally rocked it.”

  Dexter awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and gave Cerise an appreciative smile.

  “How did you fix that lantern so quickly anyway?” Cerise asked. “And not only fix it, but make it better?”

  Dexter blushed. “It was nothing. I learned from reading some books about lamps and light fixtures in the library,” he said.

  “See? You were a natural at fixing that lantern. That’s a real gift.”

  Dexter reached across the table to get some salt, and knocked over the salt and pepper with his huge paws. But instead of getting upset, this time Dexter just laughed it off.

  “I’ve decided not to be so hard on myself anymore,” Dexter told her. “I guess I’ll never get the hang of being the Beast, but I’ll be the best kind of beast I can be.”

  Then it was Dexter’s turn to tell Cerise about what happened while she was gone. He told her all about the fairy wonderful dream he had where he wasn’t the least bit nervous about being the Beast, and he wasn’t the least bit clumsy or awkward. He told Cerise how in his dream Raven had said he was perfect just the way he was. “It was the best dream ever,” he said. “I never wanted to wake up.”

  Cerise nodded. “Dream-Raven was right! You don’t need to be the perfect Beast. You just need to be you. Being a princess isn’t for me, either. I just want to be me: a Hood with a little bit of Badwolf. I want to be outside, running, racing, swimming”—she got a mischievous look on her face—“and occasionally howling at the moon.”

  Dexter looked at Cerise thoughtfully. “You know, Cerise, you’re right,” he said. “Like you said, I’m not meant to be the Beast. You’re not meant to be Beauty. Look how hard we tried to change, and we couldn’t. But did Ever After fall apart? No. I’m kind of a klutz. I bumped into a lot of stuff. I knocked things over—”

  “That’s true. All the broken vases in this castle are proof,” Cerise said with a little laugh.

  “—and you were unhappy cooped up in the castle,” Dexter continued, “so you went on an adventure outside! What was wrong with us just being ourselves? Was it terrible? Was it awful? No, we did just fine.”

  “I think you’re right. We are pretty great when we’re just ourselves. I say we stop trying to be Beauty and the Beast, and just be Cerise and Dexter.”

  Dexter smiled. “Agreed. Anyway, we had fun when we were just being us! We make a pretty good team.”

  Suddenly, Cerise noticed there was a vase filled with spelltacular roses on the table. She touched one of the buds lightly. “Where did these flowers come f
rom?” she asked.

  “Oh, I picked those,” Dexter said. He held up his paws and laughed. “One advantage of these thick, furry paws—I can pick roses without getting hurt by thorns! Do you like them?”

  “I love them. When I was reading about Beauty and the Beast, I noticed that Beauty and I had a few things in common after all. Turns out, we both love roses. Thanks, Dex.” Cerise gave her friend a warm hug.

  BOOMF! Almost immediately, Dexter and Cerise found themselves transported back to Ever After High. They both landed by the lockers. Cerise looked around in a bit of a daze. The first person she spotted was Raven.

  Raven rushed over to Cerise’s side. “Cerise! You’re back!” she exclaimed. “Well, what happened?” Raven spotted Cerise’s hood slipping, so she quickly helped her friend cover up her ears with a worried look. Within minutes, Dexter and Cerise were surrounded by students, all eager to hear about the latest fairytale twist.

  “Tell us all about your adventure, Cerise!” Cedar Wood cried.

  “Dex!” Hunter Huntsman shouted. “Where were you, buddy?”

  “Yes! Was it wonderlandiful? Did you have tea? I can’t wait to hear all about it!” Madeline Hatter said.

  “Hexcuse me, hexcuse me, reporter coming through!” Blondie Lockes shouted. She was running down the hallway with her cameraman rushing behind her. As Blondie spoke, the camera was aimed at Cerise and Dexter.

  “I just received word that Cerise Hood and Dexter Charming have returned from their adventure in the wrong fairytale,” Blondie said. “Now, this is a scoop if I ever heard one! Welcome back, you two! Can you tell us a little bit about your trip? Cerise, what was your new fairytale like?”

  Cerise was thrown off by the attention and pulled her hood tighter around her ears. Exchanging a look with Dexter, she remembered everything they’d learned together. Sometimes, she needed to deal with some hextra attention, and that was fine. Clearing her throat, Cerise answered: “Well, um, we landed in this ginormous castle with a staff and a closetful of dresses—”