Free My Sort of Fairy Tale Ending by Anna Staniszewski Page B

scrunched up his purple face. “How do you know? The leprechauns can strike all they want, but that doesn’t mean it’ll help the rest of us.”
    â€œIt will pay off if you help each other out. Remember, there’s no ‘I’ in team!” I waited for my cheesy saying to work its magic as usual, but everyone just kept staring at me.
    â€œUm, no pain, no gain!” I tried again.
    Still nothing.
    â€œEr…you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?” I said, desperate.
    â€œWhat’s honey?” one of the mermaids asked.
    Wow. Tough crowd. Was I starting to lose my touch? Or had all those citywide announcements made the residents of Fairy Land immune to my cheesy sayings?
    Before I could try anything else, pounding erupted at the door to the shop. Bam! Bam! Bam! “Queen’s Guard. Open up!”
    Everyone’s faces turned panicked.
    â€œWe have been discovered!” cried Luken.
    I started to run toward a nearby window, thinking we might be able to climb through it, but someone grabbed my arm before I could get there. Pop! The chaos around me faded, and I was sucked into a whirlpool of glittery green.

Chapter Seventeen
    When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was back in my room in the palace. Karfum was holding on to my arm with one hand and Luken’s wrist with the other.
    â€œThank you for bringing us to safety,” said Luken. “If we had been caught…” He didn’t need to finish that thought. No doubt we would have been swiftly turned into woodland creatures. Or worse, made to reenact scenes from Cinderella .
    Karfum nodded briskly. “Try to get some rest.”
    â€œWait,” Luken said. “Will you join the strike in the morning?”
    The leprechaun sighed. “Yes. Not because I think it will help, but because I know it is what Belthum would want me to do.” Then he gave us a tight-lipped smile, twirled the shamrock between his lips, and slipped out into the hallway.
    Luken turned to me. “I shall return at dawn, and we will explore the lower levels.” Then he disappeared into the closet.
    My heart was still beating at twice its usual rate. I didn’t think I could fall asleep anytime soon. Instead, I sat on my bed, staring out the window at the shimmering haze that glowed even in the middle of the night.
    Bing! I got ready for another one of the chipper announcements. Apparently, the fairies liked to make them at all hours. But the voice that chimed in over the intercom wasn’t the one I’d been expecting.
    â€œ Hey there, Fairy Land folks!” Anthony’s voice rang out from the speakers. “ Just a reminder that tomorrow is Official Candy Day, so make sure to bring candy with you to work! ”
    Then the intercom fell silent. What was Anthony doing? At least he’d sounded okay, but was he actually on the queen’s side now? I couldn’t imagine there was enough candy in the universe to convince him to help her.
    As I spread out on the bed, the queen’s ultimatum kept bouncing around in my head. I had less than two days to decide whether or not to reveal the Committee’s location. Less than two days to find my parents, get home, and put this entire glittering nightmare behind me.
    â€¢â€¢â€¢
    Just as light was starting to come through the window, voices erupted in the hallway right outside my room.
    I pressed my ear to the door and heard shouts, grunts, and marching footsteps fill the corridor.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” I heard a fairy ask.
    â€œTell the queen we will not work until our demands are met,” a leprechaun answered. “She must return our pots of gold, pay us real wages, and let us return to our land whenever we like. Until then we will not gold back to our posts.”
    The strike had officially begun.
    A minute later, Luken appeared in my room. “Are you ready?” he asked.
    I nodded and followed him toward the tunnels.