Page 33 of The Broken Mirror
Filomena nods, following along so far. Jack continues, “I’m not sure exactly how she ended up befriending the giants, but I’m guessing it’s some variation on the story you told. She must have married some sort of prince and had Rose Red. But we had no idea she was in Snow Country until Zera sent the message saying she found her and needs help. Maybe Rose Red will know more.” They fall silent for a bit as they continue walking.
Filomena is amazed by the beauty of Snow Country in twilight. The hills stretch far in all directions and are covered in snow. As they walk the path, she sees little cottages here and there through patches of trees, each one more adorable than the last. In the distance she can see a village warmly lit with glowing windows. Farther still is a castle. She’ll never tire of the thrill of seeing a real castle in the distance.
Jack remembers Filomena’s excitement at the idea of seeing snow. “Is it as magical as you hoped?” he asks her.
“It’s everything I dreamed snow would be! Although I could use that fire soon.”
Just then, the giants stop at a large stone cottage to the right of the path. “We’re here, everyone!” Joyful calls out.
“Finally,” moans Slumber.
They all file through the gate and toward the cottage. It appears to be a bungalow but is also incredibly tall.Well, it does have to fit seven giants,Filomena realizes. It has a thatched straw roof. It looks so charming. Filomena can almost smella toasty fire and cookies baking in an oven. She smiles at Alistair and Gretel. After a long day of walking, it feels excellent to finally arrive at a warm place to rest.
But when they walk into the cottage, it’s not cookies that Filomena smells. The cottage has an immensely high ceiling and is certainly warm and cozy, but the smell is distinctly chemical. Burnt chemicals, even.
“Good lord,” Byron whispers to Beatrice, plugging his nose. “What on earth is that stench?”
Sniffles, predictably, sneezes.
“Rose Red, we’re home!” Crabby yells.
“Just a second! I’m in the middle of something!” a voice answers from above.
Aren’t we in a one-story cottage?Filomena looks up. A loft is built over the kitchen. Smoke is pouring from the loft platform.
“Rosie, are you experimenting again? I swear to fairies, if the roof catches fire again… I’m not cleaning it up!” Cap yells up to her.
“Don’t worry, I have everything under control!” the voice—Rose Red—says. This is followed by a short scream. “All good!” she says after.
Joyful takes on the role of host. “Sit, sit!” He motions Filomena and company toward enormous plush couches by the fireplace. “Warm yourselves! We’ll get supper ready.”
“I know it’s cold,” Silly says to Cap, “but I’m opening a window. That smell is going to knock us all out.”
“Experimenting again, always experimenting,” Cap mutters as he walks to the kitchen.
Taking off their Gretel-made outerwear, the gang sits on the couches at their new resting spot. Since the furniture is giant-sized, there’s more than enough room for all of them and probably for everyone they’ve ever met, too.
Alistair wiggles his toes in front of the fire. “Now this I could get used to,” he says, leaning back with his hands behind his head.
Beatrice and Byron are cuddled up on the fur rug in front of the fireplace. Filomena loves them, exceptughthey’re so cutesy. She supposes that one day that kind of thing might appeal to her, cuddling or whatever… For now she looks away. She loves Beatrice and Byron, but get a room much?
She puts up her feet and stretches. Goodness, she is hungry. When did they last eat? She can’t remember.
Just as her stomach is about to let out a rumble, Rose Red comes climbing down the ladder that leads to the loft. Rose Red is indeed a redhead with heavy smatterings of freckles on her face, chest, and arms. She looks the same age as Filomena, maybe one year older. She has on supercool glasses: big lenses with thin frames that appear to change color.
“Hi. Who are you guys?” she asks bluntly.
Beatrice stands up. “Hey, Rose Red. I know we haven’t met before, but I’m Beatrice, and this is Gretel,” she says, pointing to Gretel, who pushes Filomena’s feet off her lap and waves. “We’re your cousins.”
Rose Red’s face brightens. “No way! That’s majorly rad. I think my mom mentioned something about cousins once, but I never thought to visit you guys. Thanks for coming over! I think I have a DNA test somewhere in the attic office; we can take it if you want to find out for sure.”
Beatrice laughs, and Gretel smiles.
“I’m pretty positive we’re blood relatives,” Beatrice says, “but maybe another time.”
“What were you doing up there?” Alistair chimes in from the couch.
“Oh yeah, sorry about the smell. I’ve been working for weeks, trying to figure out how to create a talking mirror. Or a magic mirror? Not sure what the official term is these days.”
