Page 15 of The Broken Mirror
What?!Filomena’s head whips around. Well, since she hasn’t, it seems someone else is asking Jack to dance.
It’s none other than Little Jeanne. She looks so pretty in her light pink gown and with her hair in a myriad of plaits down her back. Filomena flushes. Jack won’t say yes, she’s sure of it. He can’t.
“Oh, um.” Jack looks around the room. He makes eye contact with Filomena. She quickly looks away, but she hears him say, “Sure, why not.” He leads Little Jeanne to the dance floor, bows, and takes her into his arms.
Filomena wants to kick something.Jack is just being polite, isn’t he? He doesn’t actually like Little Jeanne… Or does he?
With her arms around Jack’s neck, Little Jeanne grins right at Filomena before laying her head on Jack’s shoulder.
This can’t be happening. Is this really happening? Why does this feel like an attack? This is worse than being almost eaten by ogres.
Filomena feels a sudden need to exit stage left. She feigns a massive yawn. “I’m beat!” she says to Gretel and Alistair, who are now both sitting at a table on the edge of the dance floor. “I think I’ll head to bed.”
Filomena runs upstairs to the bedroom that Princess Jeanne showed her earlier, which she’s sharing with Gretel. Alistair’s and Jack’s shared room is right across the hall. In a huff she changes out of her gown and into pajamas Princess Jeanne lent her, then crawls into bed.
That was so weird, that moment with Little Jeanne in the kitchen. And then right afterward Filomena walked in onsomething,though she’s not sure what. Little Jeanne dancingwith Jack… Could it be a coincidence? It almost seemed like Little Jeanne was trying to say,Don’t mess with me.But if that’s true… Oh no. She must suspect that Filomenacaresif she dances with Jack. Which means she could see that FilomenalikesJack. Filomena just admitted this to herself today! Is it that obvious? Does everybody know? DoesJackknow?
Even worse: Does Jack like Little Jeanne?Like likeher? Likethat? But they just met!
Filomena stares at the ceiling. She feels a pang of pain in her heart. Then she laughs. If only she had told herself a few months ago that one day soon she’d be wearing pajamas embroidered with a princess’s monogram in a fairy-tale castle and fretting about Jack Stalker dancing with another girl. She’d never have believed it. The absurdity of it all gives her a bit of solace. But thinking about Little Jeanne’s head on Jack’s shoulder still makes her heart feel a touch sore.
Just as Filomena’s getting way too deep into a pity party, Gretel, looking luminous, bursts through the door, cheeks flushed.
“Isn’t dancing divine?” Gretel gushes, shutting the door behind her and falling, sprawled out, on the bed. “I just love dancing. We don’t do it enough!”
“I think I’ve done it enough for one day,” Filomena says glumly.
Gretel’s so caught up in her own happiness, she doesn’t notice Filomena’s tone. “Oh, but it’s so fun!” she says.
Filomena lightens, feeling glad that at least Gretel had a good night.
“Are you all right?” Gretel asks, propping up on one elbow to look Filomena in the eye.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Filomena says, trying to be nonchalant.
“I saw Jack dancing with Little Jeanne, too, you know.”
“So?” Filomena says. She’s unable to make eye contact with Gretel.
“Come on, girl. Isn’t there just a little something there between you? A little spark?” she teases, tickling Filomena’s stomach lightly. Filomena laughs. Gretel continues, “You know he’s always coming to you for advice, always asking your opinion on everything.”
“I think he just respects my ideas,” Filomena replies with a straight face.
“Well sure, so do I, but I don’t get this speciallookin my eye whenever I talk to you,” Gretel goes on. “You know, like you hold all the secrets to the world.”
Gretel noticed alook? From Jack?
Though she’s finding it hard to admit the truth, Filomena can’t help but smile a huge grin at the thought of thelookGretel’s talking about. She’s never had a friend quite like Gretel.
“And come on—the wayyoulook athim, too,” teases Gretel. She fakes a swoon. “I mean, it’s Jack Stalker, the GiantSlayer! Winter Knight, Crown Prince of Vineland… What’s not to like?”
Filomena plucks at a loose thread on her pillowcase. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess when I read the Never After books, I kind of had a crush on him. But now it’s so complicated. I mean, he’s not just a fictional character to me anymore. He’s my friend!”
“Oh, but that’s the best!” Gretel says, throwing her hands in the air and falling backward on the bed again. “He’s not just some imaginary boyfriend; he’s real!” She gets serious for a second. “I mean, I know that we’re saving the worlds and everything, but we’re still allowed some fun. And if you have feelings for him, you should tell him.”
“Should I, though? Doesn’t that just ruin friendships?” asks Filomena.
“Or it makes them better,” Gretel says wisely.
