Page 2 of The Broken Mirror
The rest of the thieves start taunting Filomena, Gretel, and Alistair, circling them with quick steps and jeering.
“Oh, come on now, kids,” the leader boy says. “Don’t be scared. We only want to see what you have in those bags! Didn’t your mothers teach you to share?”
Jack leans toward Gretel, Filomena, and Alistair, who all still have their backs together in defense. “Whatever you do,” he instructs, “don’t take your eyes off them, not even for a second.”
“Oooh, lookee here, this one thinks he’s some kind of hero,” jeers the leader. “Is that what you are? A hero?”
Jack reddens and slashes with his sword, but the boy ducks away easily, cackling loudly as he goes.
Filomena reaches for her Dragon’s Tooth sword, but when she pats her hip, nothing’s there.
One of the boys brandishes it. He laughs wildly. “Looking for this?”
“Hey, that’s no fair!” Alistair yells. He looks around tocheck for his own weapon, and as soon as he takes his eyes off the boys, they charge.
Without her sword to defend herself, Filomena has little to rely on. She tries to swing her bagful of Never After books at the thieves (they are heavy tomes, after all, and could do serious damage), but she loses her balance and, in doing so, gives the thieves an opening to relieve her of her belongings.
Gretel gives a bloodcurdling scream as she tries to hold on to her pack, pulling it away from the thieves. But there are two of them and only one of Gretel, and with a mighty tug, they rip it out of her hands.
“Who’s the hero now?” the leader of the pack sneers.
“Will you shut up about that?!” seethes Jack. In Jack’s haste to secure his sword before flicking his vines, the thief is able to swipe the blade from its sheath as quick as a blink.
“What the—” Jack curses, but it’s too late.
The muggers run off with the four friends’ weapons and packs, and the group is left standing in the clearing empty-handed.
“Did that just happen?” asks Gretel, who’s still in shock.
“Unfortunately, yes,” groans Alistair.
They’re still trying to come to grips with the situation when a now all-too-familiar voice calls from a distance: “It was so nice to see you all again! I do hope we keep running into each other. And thanks for the gifts!”
A chorus of laughter fades into the woods as the four friends are left looking dumbfounded at one another.
“Tell me that didn’t just happen,” Gretel repeats. “We were like sitting ducks!”
“Only cowards attack from behind!” Jack fumes. If Jack was grim before, he’s absolutely livid now. He’s pacing frantically back and forth while Alistair and Gretel pat their pockets and assess their losses.
“My scissors! They even took my scissors! How will I make my Snow Country collection now?!” Gretel yells in despair. She shakes out her empty pockets. “And my entire makeup kit! All my mascara wands! I’m going to look like I have no eyelashes until we get them back!”
Alistair is even more upset. “All my cooking gear is gone! And I was just starting to get good at it! How am I supposed to learn to make tulip cakes without my supplies?”
Filomena freezes as she just realizes whatshe’slost. “You guys, you guys, my Never After books are gone! I need those! How am I going to help us if I don’t have them for reference? I read about Snow Country a long time ago; I was relying on those to refresh my memory!” Now she is really panicking.
Jack turns around, his eyes blazing. “We’ll get everything back—every single pot, every single book, every single mascara wand! I swear!” Then he hangs his head. “Our dragonhide armor is gone, too, and we’ll need that when we get to Snow Country. I’m so stupid; I should have had us all wearing it. This is all my fault. I should’ve defended you all.”
Filomena can’t stand to see him this way. “Jack, come on,” she says, putting a hand on his shoulder. She feels her stomach flip a little as he looks at her with wounded eyes. She goes on, “You’re not single-handedly responsible for fighting off every danger for us. You may be a hero, but you’re not the only hero here.” Filomena smiles at Alistair and Gretel. “We’re all in this together. We can all be one another’s heroes.”
Filomena looks at her three friends. Standing in this clearing empty-handed, discouraged, and totally robbed of their armor, weapons, and treasure: This isn’t exactly how she pictured their next quest starting. But then again, when have things in Never After ever happened in the way she thought they would?
“You know what we need right now? A group hug!” Filomena declares.
And so Jack the Giant Stalker, Alistair Bartholomew Barnaby (aka Ali Baba), and Gretel the Cobbler’s daughter all surround Filomena in a tight hug. Turns out that even getting robbed isn’t so bad when you’ve got friends like these.
CHAPTERTWOTHEFORBIDDENFOREST
“Well, you know what I’ll say about hanging out with you three?” Gretel says as they break apart from their embrace. “There’s certainly never a dull moment.”
