The Stepsister Scheme

and decent of you, but who are you to vouch for her?” Diglet smirked as he waved at Danielle’s clothes. “Your blood says you’re royal... barely. But your outfit says you spend more time playing in the dirt than sitting on any throne.”
    His words carried little sting. All her life, Danielle had been subject to far worse. “I am Princess Danielle Whiteshore.” The name still sounded strange on her tongue.
    Diglet stared. “Who?”
    With a sigh, Danielle said, “Cinderella.”
    “Oh, right. The one with the glass shoes.” He cocked his head. “How did you manage to dance in shoes like that? Sounds horribly uncomfortable.” With a leer, he added, “Or maybe there wasn’t much dancing, eh? At least not the kind that needs shoes.”
    Danielle turned to Talia. Over the past month at the palace, she had listened to enough pompous, overblown politicians to learn the pattern of their speech. “Princess Talia, do my ears deceive me, or did this goblin just cast a most denigrating insult upon the name of Whiteshore? To imply I am little more than a tavern whore, or that the prince’s taste would run to such?”
    “Now wait, that’s not what I—”
    “I believe he did, Princess Danielle.” Talia’s grin was feral.
    “I heard it, too!” Snow piped up.
    “A most grievous slight against my honor,” Danielle said. “Just as you insulted the honor of my friend, Princess Talia.” She shook her head. “Queen Beatrice will be most displeased. As will your own rulers, I suspect.”
    “You can’t tell my queen anything if you can’t reach her.” Diglet twisted and hopped backward, past the outer vines. He almost seemed to dance as he slipped deeper into the hedge. “I’d warn you not to follow. The thorns don’t like strangers. Sorry, Princesses. That one’s fairy-cursed, no mistake about it, and the queen’s had too much trouble with mortals in the past. We’re under strict orders. You can circle around to the king’s side, but I doubt his dwarves will give you a better welcome.”
    Danielle waved a hand at Talia, who lowered her sword. Diglet was right. He was only doing his job. A thankless job at that. A single goblin, sent to deny those who sought to enter Fairytown. Few would bother to thank such a creature, but how many, upon being denied, would take their frustrations out on him? “How did you become the guard of this hedge, Diglet?”
    Diglet shrugged. “A group of bandits killed Pirrok when he wouldn’t let them through. The rest of us drew sticks.”
    “You drew the short stick?” Danielle guessed.
    “Nah. Grint did. Then he pummeled me and broke my stick so it was shortest.”
    Danielle smiled. “Grint sounds like he would have gotten along with my stepsisters.” Well, no. Her stepsisters would sooner die than be seen with the likes of a goblin. Still, the bullying was the same. She wondered what other jobs Diglet had been forced to do. Cleaning up after the others? Preparing their meals? And he wouldn’t have had a loving spirit to help him escape his fate. What noble would fall in love with a goblin, taking him away from this life? Most likely he would keep guarding the hedge until someone like Talia grew irritated enough to run him through.
    “The treaty says you can refuse to let Talia enter,” Danielle said. “It doesn’t say you must. What could we do to change your mind?”
    “You could tell your friend to put that sword away, for one thing,” Diglet snapped.
    Danielle waved a hand at Talia, who scowled, but obeyed. “What if we paid you?”
    Diglet snorted, then wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Goblin guards don’t take bribes,” he said haughtily.
    Danielle studied the goblin, the way his gaze kept shifting to the ground, the way his shoulders tended to slump. “No, of course you don’t. Because Grint and the other goblins would take it away from you.”
    “Something like that.” He fingered the buttons of his vest. “Grint would steal the clothes off my back if he thought they’d fit.”
    In a way, it was brilliant. Diglet couldn’t be bribed. If they killed him, it wouldn’t change anything. They would still be stuck outside the wall, and the other goblins would simply choose the next unfortunate soul to take Diglet’s place.
    “What if we were to give you something truly valuable?” Danielle asked. “Something the other goblins couldn’t take away?”

    Diglet stood at the edge of the hedge and reached toward Danielle. “Everyone lock