Page 12 of The Broken Mirror
Alistair, Jack, Gretel, and Filomena are seated around a long dining table resplendent with large roasted fowlkens, roasted zucchonions, mashed sunsquashes, and razzleberry pies for as far as the eye can see.
After rescuing Riff, Princess Jeanne said it was about time they saw the much more welcoming castle of Northphalia, which—cough—just happened to be her own.Smaller thanRobin Hood’s creepy hideout, sure,she’d said.But much better decorated. And insulated.
It’s true. Filomena had been swept away by the beauty of the castle the instant they entered. It’s even grander than Hortense’s and Beatrice’s home, Rosewood Manor, which Filomena had thought was the height of luxury. But Princess Jeanne’s castle is on another level. It’s like the grand royal palaces Filomena’s read about in history or seen on television: marble floors, gold and silver everywhere, brocaded walls, and furniture upholstered with the richest velvets and silks.
“Welcome to the Court of the North!” Princess Jeanne announces when they enter the dining room, where dozens of guests are gathered. “These are the Merry Men and Women, and this is my dear baby sister, Little Jeanne!”
“I may be your baby sister, but I’m not a baby,” Little Jeanne says, walking up to the newcomers with her arms crossed and a pout on her face. She’s just as pretty as her older sister—and as it appears, much more spoiled. She looks a few years younger than Princess Jeanne—so about the same age as Filomena—but she’s definitely acting like a toddler having a tantrum. “I can’t believe you went on an adventure without me again!” Little Jeanne says, practically stomping her feet.
“Now, Little Jeanne, I told you, Sherwood Forest is too dangerous for you!” says Princess Jeanne, trying to placate her sister.
“LittleJeanne?” whispers Gretel. “She doesn’t even get her own name?”
After Little Jeanne stomps off, Princess Jeanne turns to the group and sighs. “Her real name is Veronique, but when she was little—I meanyounger—she looked so like me that the court nicknamed her Little Jeanne, and it stuck. Believe me, neither of us is happy about it. It causes way too much confusion. But what can you do?” Princess Jeanne rolls her eyes. “Anyway, sorry about that. Please, come sit for dinner,” she says, and leads them through the warm and inviting royal dining room.
They follow her to the center of the enormously long head table. Members of the court are dressed in luxe outfits similar to those Filomena and her friends are now wearing. Northphalia’s castle is the complete opposite of the damp, silent hideout they just fled. So much chatter and laughter! Filomena smiles. Merry men and women indeed!
When they arrived, Princess Jeanne had insisted that Filomena and her friends all change out of their “filthy travelers’ clothes” and into fresh outfits. Filomena and Gretel wear hand-me-down gowns, and Alistair and Jack are dressed in royal regalia. Only Gretel seems to feel at home in such garb; she’s admiring her reflection in the tall mirrors on the dining room walls. Filomena would much rather wear her regular hoodie and jeans, but at least she still has on her purple combat boots. They match the purple color of her gown quite perfectly.
“How wonderful you all look!” Princess Jeanne says.
“Now you really look like the prince that you are,” says Little Jeanne when she comes back and takes a seat across from Jack, coyly batting her eyelashes.
Jack smiles politely but doesn’t respond. Filomena knows he’s never been one to enjoy throwing around titles. Among all the guests, Filomena sits between Jack and Riff; Princess Jeanne and Little Jeanne across from her, next to Gretel and Alistair.
At Princess Jeanne’s nod, footmen around the table begin to serve the meal, heaping food onto their plates. Filomena’s mouth waters at the sight of the mashed sunsquashes and the crispy roasted fowlken.
Little Jeanne gestures to a jug of sparkly pink liquid. “Peony fizz,” she says, as a footman pours some for Jack. “A Northphalian specialty.”
“So, Filomena,” Riff says, “what part of Never After are you from? We haven’t met before, have we?”
“We haven’t. I’m kind of new around these parts.” Filomena laughs.
“We found Filomena in the mortal world,” Alistair interjects between bites of fowlken. “It was the most amazing accidental meeting ever.”
“Well, I don’t know how accidental it was. Jack the Giant Stalker here totally stalked me,” Filomena adds. She catches Jack’s eye, and they share a laugh, remembering their firstmeeting. Wasn’t it just yesterday that she’d run from an Ogre’s Wrath with him? Time flies when you’re trying not to be an ogre’s dinner.
“So hold on—you’re a mortal?” Riff asks, scratching his head.
“Well, not exactly…,” Filomena responds.
“Oh, Riff, don’t you read theNever After Dailyat all?” Princess Jeanne squeals. “She’s Princess Eliana, the fairy Carabosse’s niece and Queen Rosanna’s daughter! She just grew up in the mortal world.”
“We’re both biportal,” Gretel adds. “My dad is the Cobbler.”
“But she’s not just the missing princess; she’s Filomena Jefferson-Cho of North Pasadena,” Jack says. “She’s excellent at casting spells and fighting ogres.”
Filomena tries not to look too pleased by this description.
“Hey,” Gretel says, putting down the peony fizz she’s been sipping and turning to Riff. “How did you come to be captured by Robin Hood, anyway?”
Sharif shakes his head in annoyance, remembering. “I went out in search of Jeanne’s crown, and that abandoned castle was one of the first places I decided to look—it’s well known as one of Robin’s hideouts. I searched pretty much the whole place but came up with nothing. I was about to leave when I heard a girl’s voice crying out for aid from the tower.” He shrugs his broad shoulders. “I figured it must bea damsel in distress, so of course I ran up to rescue her. But when I got to the highest tower, where the voice was coming from, only Robin Hood was there.”
Jack nods in sympathy with Riff.
“Before I could even realize what was happening, he’d slipped out the door behind me and locked it! Then he mocked me through the door for trying to be a hero.” Riff glowers at the memory.
“Of course you wanted to help!” says Princess Jeanne, taking his hand across the table and squeezing it.
