The Stepsister Scheme

All others require the dispensation of—”
    He stopped in mid-sentence and began to chuckle. “Trittibar, you diminutive old fool.”
    “What is it?” Danielle asked.
    “Your stepsisters kidnapped Prince Armand. He could take them through the walls of Fairytown.”
    Danielle shook her head. “Armand wouldn’t—”
    “If your stepsisters have magic enough to conjure a Chirka, they’re strong enough to cloud a man’s mind.” He closed the book. The silver waterfall reversed direction, flowing back into the cover with a ringing splash. “The treaty protects your nobles. No fairy would dare aid your stepsisters. But if Armand thought he was acting of his own volition... ”
    “What about Brahkop?” Danielle asked. “He tried to murder us.”
    “Brahkop’s an exile,” Trittibar said. “Casteless, and cut off from the power of the hill. By our law, he’s no more of fairy blood than you, Your Highness.”
    “So why take Armand to Fairytown?” Talia asked.
    “That’s something you’ll have to ask his kidnappers,” Trittibar said. Setting the book on his chair, he led them back toward the door. “Peter should have recovered and finished with the birds by now, I think.”
    Danielle glanced at Snow and Talia. “I don’t understand. Will you help us or not?”
    “I am Armand’s friend, Highness,” Trittibar said. “I would be yours as well. When you reach the wall of Fairytown, speak the word ‘Diglet’ three times.”
    “Diglet?” Talia rolled her eyes. “That’s the password to get into Fairytown?”
    Trittibar was already pushing through the feather curtain, into the stone hallway. “Come, ladies.” He chuckled as he walked. “Your ride awaits”

    Trittibar hadn’t restored them to their normal size, as Danielle had expected. Instead, he had climbed up the ivy to the spot where the roof of the mews joined the wall. The roof sloped at an angle which made climbing difficult, but not impossible. Talia strode like a cat along the cedar shingles, but Danielle and Snow moved more cautiously. Danielle’s muscles were still sore from yesterday’s exertions, and this climb left her cringing and rubbing her arms.
    Trittibar crawled to the peak of the roof and cupped one hand over his eyes as he scanned the courtyard. He nodded, then hopped down to the second row of shingles. He touched one, and it fell inward like a trapdoor. “There she is,” he said. “Her name is Karina. She’ll get you to Fairytown by late afternoon.”
    “This is madness,” Talia said.
    “Nonsense,” laughed Trittibar. “She’s far faster than any horse or ship, and she’ll keep you as safe as a dozen of your guards.”
    “If she doesn’t eat us first,” Talia retorted.
    Danielle stepped around Talia to peer through the hole in the roof. The smell of straw and bird droppings filled her nose. She knew at once which bird was Trittibar’s.
    Karina was smaller than the other falcons, though she was still large enough to snatch all three girls in her claws. Her feathers were white as newfallen snow, tipped with red along the wings. She shrieked excitedly at Trittibar, shifting on her perch and spreading her wings. Her chest was mottled with red, and as she hopped to a closer perch, Danielle could see an amber crest on the top of her head.
    “The splash of red on her brow is called the fairy crown,” Trittibar said proudly. “They say it’s proof that Karina is a descendant of the first falcon brought here by the fairy king, back when this world was born.”
    Most of the other falcons were still on the floor, ripping apart the remains of their breakfast. Trittibar put his fingers to his mouth and gave a low, warbling whistle.
    Karina leaped into the air, flying directly toward the spot where Danielle and the others stood. Danielle flinched and stepped back. The hole was too small. The falcon would snap her wings if she didn’t turn aside.
    Trittibar hastily tapped a second shingle, which began to open outward.
    Karina burst through the gap, knocking the shingle so it banged against the roof.
    “Quiet, you,” Trittibar scolded, but he was grinning as he spoke. Karina landed and ducked her head, tucking her beak beneath one wing. Trittibar reached up to scratch the feathers of her chest. She twisted her head still further, and the neck feathers poofed out so he could reach the skin.
    In the open sunlight, Karina was even more impressive. Though smaller than the other hunting birds, something in those