The Stepsister Scheme

thing ourselves in order to ruin them.”
    Danielle adjusted her sword and fixed her belt. “That’s madness.”
    “That’s fairy politics,” Snow said. “Don’t worry, I have a friend who should be able to help us.”
    Danielle barely heard. Now that more urgent needs had been taken care of, she had finally turned her attention to the wall of Fairytown.
    Even at her full height, Danielle would have found the wall an imposing sight. It was easily twice as high as the palace wall back home. Only instead of stone and mortar, this was made of vines and thorns.
    The largest of the vines were thick as trees, with rough bark giving them the brownish color Danielle had seen from the air. The thorns varied in color from dark purple to almost pure black. The smaller thorns shone like liquid. The largest were the length of full spears. These were duller in color, and had a tendency to flake near the base.
    Danielle turned to Talia, whose jaw was tight. “Are you all right?”
    “Fairies like to manipulate living things,” Talia said. “People, animals, plants... they’re easier to shape and control than cold rock. I’m told the hedge of thorns became quite popular after my imprisonment.”
    The skeleton of a dog or wolf hung a short distance in, suspended on two medium-sized thorns. A family of sparrows had built a nest in the rib cage.
    “I’ve seen it before,” Talia continued. “Snow and I were here a year or so back, chasing a spy from Silvershell Port. He had a magical belt that let him transform into a donkey. He’d been hiding out in the stables for close to a year before Snow caught on. We spent a day tracking him around Fairytown, less than a stone’s throw from this wall.” Under her breath, so low Danielle barely heard, she added, “Hated it then, too.”
    “Did you catch him?” Danielle asked.
    “It was six months at the most before I discovered him,” Snow said, walking over to join them. “He lured us to the chasm south of Fairytown, then changed into his donkey form and tried to kick us over the edge.” She grinned. “Let’s just say the ass-kicking didn’t go quite the way he had hoped.”
    “If I’d known how many times you were going to make that joke, I’d have pushed you after him.” Talia finished strapping her short sword to her belt, swiveling it around so the hilt rode in the center of her lower back. Her whip went into a small sheath on her hip.
    “You’re no fun.” Snow pressed one of Trittibar’s magical spores into Danielle’s hand. “Eat up.”
    The spore felt like a thin-shelled seed. Snow was already chewing hers. Talia tossed hers into the air, catching it in her mouth.
    Danielle followed suit. The shell crunched open as soon as it touched her tongue, spilling dry, rounded nodules that tasted bitter and sour, like mushrooms gone bad. She forced herself to swallow.
    “You might want to sit down,” Snow said. She ignored her own advice, spreading her arms as she began to grow. Her feet pressed into each other, and her arms whirled madly as she fought for balance. She staggered sideways. With a happy shriek, she tumbled into the grass, giggling madly.
    Talia simply balanced on the toes of one foot. Her other foot rested lightly on her thigh. That would be the fairy gift of grace. She held their bags in her arms, and kept her eyes shut as Trittibar’s magic restored her and their belongings to normal size.
    Following Snow’s advice, Danielle sat with her legs extended as the magic took effect. Even so, she had to wiggle and squirm as her body spread across the earth. She had the strangest sensation of falling up , and her fingers dug into the dirt for security. She held her breath and shifted her weight, trying to keep the dirt from staining her clothes as her limbs stretched.
    By the time she stopped moving, Talia had already grabbed one of the waterskins. She rinsed and spat. “Fairy magic tastes foul .”
    Snow brushed dirt and grass from her clothes. Streaks of green stained her sleeve and back, but a little vinegar would take that right out.
    Karina flew to the wall, landing lightly on one of the outer thorns. She spread her wings and cocked her head.
    “Thank you,” said Danielle. “You must be hungry after flying for so long.” The little falcon had crossed half the island in less than a day. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find food on the way home. Please thank Trittibar for his help.”
    With a soft screech, Karina launched into the air.