Red Hood's Revenge

weapon meant only for show. “Thank you for your quick response.”
    “And Queen Bea thought this would be hard,” Snow said, brushing straw from her dress.
    Danielle said nothing. Beatrice had predicted blood and death. True, the rats had left Rumpelstilzchen bleeding from dozens of wounds, but none of his injuries were serious. Talia had also held back, as far as Danielle could see. Perhaps Beatrice had been mistaken. Or perhaps the danger hadn’t yet passed. “Snow, could you—”
    “I’ll make sure our guests don’t try anything,” Snow said.
    Danielle hugged Hevanna to her chest. “Well done, both of you.”
    “You too, Princess.” Talia gave her a wry smile. “I think you’re finally starting to get the hang of this.”

CHAPTER 2

    D ANIELLE AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING to the sensation of a two-year-old prince plopping his knee squarely into the middle of her stomach. “Mama, up !”
    She groaned and tousled Jakob’s blond hair. “I’m awake.”
    Jakob grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the edge of the bed. “Up!”
    Prince Armand stood in the doorway, smiling as he watched them. Tall and lean, wearing a jacket of dark green velvet that brought out his eyes, he looked so different than he had when Danielle first danced with him at the ball. That night he had been polite and formal, a prince even as he flirted. This morning, he was simply a father and husband, content to watch his son maul his wife. “I let you sleep as long as I could, but he was getting upset.”
    Stifling a yawn, Danielle stood and scooped Jakob into her arms. She hadn’t bothered to change clothes before crawling into bed, and her gown was a wrinkled mess.
    “Long night?” Armand asked. A neatly trimmed beard couldn’t hide his mischievous smile. “I’m told there was a commotion in the courtyard near the stables.”
    “We found Princess Hevanna,” said Danielle.
    “Hevanna of Lyskar?” Armand stared. “That’s wonderful! How—”
    “A foreign fairy named Rumpelstilzchen. Beatrice asked that we not announce Hevanna’s rescue until she’s safely home.” Danielle squeezed Jakob until he squirmed, then reluctantly set him down. “Hevanna was the first of twenty-three children he returned to us.”
    Danielle had been up most of the night finding room for them all and people to look after them. She hadn’t gotten to bed until nearly sunrise.
    “Oh, no.” she said, staring at the window. The sun-beam was nearly vertical. She started for the door, then spun back around. “Where did I leave my sword?”
    Armand opened the wardrobe and retrieved her sword from between her skirts. “You left it beside the bed. When I woke up, Jakob was dragging it toward the door. No doubt planning to threaten Nicolette into giving him more sweets.”
    “Thank you, love.” Danielle kissed him, bent to kiss her son, and raced into the hallway toward the stairs. “I’ll be back soon!”
    Low-floating clouds drifted overhead as she crossed the courtyard, heading for the chapel. Talia was already waiting. She looked alert as ever despite spending the entire night helping Snow and Danielle with the children.
    Danielle stifled her envy. Talia hadn’t slept a single night since awakening from her cursed slumber. On those nights when she wasn’t fighting fairy kidnappers, she passed the hours roaming the palace or practicing her fighting skills or, more recently, checking to make sure Prince Jakob hadn’t woken up and snuck out to explore.
    “You’re late.” Talia smirked as she took in Danielle’s appearance. “Are you barefoot?”
    “Hush!” Danielle glanced behind, half afraid she would see her handmaidens chasing after her. Sandra and Aimee would be outraged at the thought of their princess running about in such a state, straw tangled in her hair, rat fur clinging to her gown. “Is Snow here yet?”
    “Still sleeping.” Talia stepped aside and pulled open the door. “Magic takes a lot out of her lately. The binding spell wasn’t too bad, but then she stayed up using her mirror to try to break Rumpelstilzchen’s charms. The little beast didn’t even know the true names of half of his stolen children.”
    The smell of incense greeted Danielle as she entered the chapel. In the past, she and the others would have reported to Queen Beatrice in the secret chambers beneath the palace, but everything had changed after a mermaid attacked Beatrice more than a year before.
    A knife to the chest would have killed most