Page 65 of The Broken Mirror
“That’s not true, but I’ll take it,” Little Jeanne tells him.
With that, the two of them disappear out the window.
Beatrice suddenly understands. Robin Hood is taking Little Jeanne to her uncle Richard, which means Little Jeanne is working against her older sister. And it’s clear now who stole Princess Jeanne’s crown.
Little Jeanne!
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREEHEART-TO-HEART
Filomena is dizzy, spinning a little.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that feeling,” she says, and almost falls over. Jack grabs her by the shoulders to steady her. She tenses and giggles. If she must be thrown about through dimensions, at least she has Jack to keep her grounded.
It’s morning now. All night they walked through Snow Country, thinking they’d eventually stop at an inn, but none appeared. And then they found a swoop hole, which led them here, to Westphalia. They were excited to come acrossone so early in their walk from Snow Country. This is lucky, as Westphalia and Snow Country are pretty far apart. The swoop hole spit them out on a hill overlooking the central village of Westphalia, the settlement closest to the castle.
“Hey, another idea for Rosie!” Jack says. “What about inventing something you can eat that helps you not feel dizzy or nauseated when going through a swoop hole?”
Filomena laughs. Ever since they found out Rosie is a genius inventor, Jack and Alistair have been coming up with ideas for her. The list is already getting long.
“I hate to spoil your and Alistair’s fun, but I think part of what Rosie likes about inventing is coming up with ideas on her own.”
Jack considers it.
“Nah, I think she’ll love our ideas.” He smiles that dazzling smile.
Filomena wonders how everyone else is faring getting to their destinations. Then she remembers she can check. Ira Glassman is attached to her belt next to her sheathed sword.
“Hey, want to peek and see where everyone’s at?” she asks Jack.
“Let’s get our bearings here first,” Jack says.
It’s a good point. No use checking on friends when they’ve been apart for only one night and there’s so much to do. Surely not much has happened yet.
Filomena is operating on very little sleep but figures, now that they’re in Westphalia, they can take a nap somewhere.Maybe when they get to the castle. Speaking of sleep, Ira Glassman is asleep right now. All the more reason not to check in on her friends. Filomena didn’t know mirrors slept, but Ira informed her that talking mirrors require rest to recharge. The mirror is out like a light.
She stretches and rubs her eyes. Looking around, she feels overcome with her surroundings and firmly in the present moment. Westphalia, her kingdom.Wow. My kingdom?
The village doesn’t look much better than it did during her most recent visit, even though it’s been a while since Filomena, Jack, and Alistair broke Queen Olga’s enchantment on the kingdom. There’s still a lot of work to be done before Westphalia is returned to its former glory. It saddens Filomena that she never got to see what her home kingdom looked like before the ogres demolished parts of it and claimed it as their own.
“Let’s start walking, huh?” Jack says.
They begin making their way over hills and through shallow valleys, heading toward the nearby castle. Filomena doesn’t say much. Jack must be able to sense her mood, because he bumps her shoulder gently with his.
“Intense, seeing Westphalia again?” he asks.
“It’s strange, knowing the whole reason I’m here is to become a queen. But I barely even recognize this place.”
“That may be true, but it’s in your blood. Even if you don’t feel it yet.” He smiles reassuringly.
Jack’s words do little to reassure her. It’s hard to explain,this sickly feeling creeping over her. “I guess I’ve just always felt out of place, wherever I’ve been. My family in North Pasadena feels like home, but at school I always felt apart from the group. Of course, I wondered sometimes about being adopted, what my birth parents were like, but my parents make me feel so loved. Even so, I still felt sort of alone. Is that bad to say?”
She knows she’s rambling, being contradictory, but there’s just too much emotion, too much confusion for her to make total sense right now.
“And then I find out all this stuff about my birth parents,” she goes on, “but I never got to meet them. I barely know a thing about them! And now I’m supposed to rule Westphalia and carry on their legacy? How can I rule a kingdom when I don’t even live here full time?”
They’re silent for a bit. That intense fear she felt when creating Ira Glassman is weaseling its way back into her chest. She tried to suppress it then and, in the hubbub of creating her talking mirror, was able to forget it a little. But now—now that she’s actually here, in Westphalia—it’s back in full force. She’s supposed to rule this kingdom? She doesn’t know the first thing about ruling! She doesn’t know how to take care of a whole nation of people; she doesn’t even know how to take care of herself!
Has she said too much? Is she dumping too much emotion onto Jack? She should never have said all that. She’s beingtoo vulnerable. This isn’t his problem, and she’s being way too open with him. Right? But she can’t help herself.Why isn’t he saying anything?
