Free The Forgotten Fairytales by Angela Parkhurst Page B

ask a prince or something.”
    “No.” Tipping his head back he groaned, and he may have growled a little too. “You owe me. Big.”

    As expected, Wolf knew where April’s dorm was. He left me alone at the entrance with instructions on how to get to her room. A part of me wondered how he knew so much, but the better part of my brain told me not to question it.
    Knocking twice without a response, I tried the door knob. Unlocked. When I entered her room, April sat on her bed, doodling on her hand with a thin brown marker. Besides the bed and two worn, russet suitcases, there was not a single thing about the room that suggested someone lived there. As if the lifeless and unadorned stone walls weren’t enough to unsettle me about April’s condition, the lack of a second bed confirmed my worst fear. They had her by herself. No roommate. No one to make sure she didn’t succumb to her worst thoughts. She should not have been left alone. I’d be taking this up with Madrina tomorrow.
    “I knew I should’ve locked the door.” April kept her attention trained to the drawing. Her hair canopied over her face, masking the expression of annoyance she always had around me.
    “You never told me where they put you. I’ve been looking all week.”
    Ink spread over her skin, the henna-like designs twisted in intricate patterns covering her entire palm. I smiled, despite myself, remembering the summer we spent in Morocco.
    “I didn’t tell you for a reason,” April said. “Professor Jansen said I didn’t have to see you if I didn’t want to.”
    “That’s a little harsh.” I sat on the edge of the bed, holding my arms close to me. “Come on, April. Can’t we put the past behind us? I miss you. I want us to be close, like sisters should be.”
    “Yeah, right,” she scoffed.
    “I’m serious, April.” Why did she have to be so damn hardheaded! “Remember that summer in Paris, I was ten, you were eight. We had so much fun together, like friends.”
    She dropped the pen and exhaled so heavily, I thought she was seconds from putting her fist in my face. “I don’t want to walk down memory lane with you, not now, not ever. Get out, Norah. I mean it.”
    I’d have preferred to be slapped. She pushed me away at every freaking opportunity. I was so sick of her attitude, her constant need to be alone and away from me. Was it selfish of me to want her to want me around?
    “You can push me away all you want, but I’m never going to give up on us. I promise you that.”
    The expression she shot back at me made me wish I was dead. “For both of our sakes, I hope this is one promise you don’t keep.” April’s hatred grew by the day. All because she was convinced Dad favored me.
    I left soon after and found myself staggering through the dark, cold forest. I shivered as I shouldered through branches, leaves crunching under every step I took. Somewhere along the way, between the cold and the fact I was slipping deeper and deeper into the woods, I debated leaving a trail to find my way back.
    The thought of leaving a breadcrumb trail evoked an image of Hansel and Gretel lost in the forest. Their little trail didn’t help them. I guess I’d have to take my chances. Not that I wanted to go back. Hope of mending my relationship with April was quickly crushed. For a girl who she assumed had everything, I sure felt like a piece of shit who had no one. No friends, no sister, nadda.
    “Norah?” I swirled and tripped over a tree trunk. Finn’s hands broke my fall. Damn him and his quick reflexes. “What are you doing?”
    “Um, you know, just walking around.” I shrugged.
    “At eleven o’clock at night?”
    “Yep.” Be casual, Norah. He doesn’t have to know I’m sneaking through the woods to find some party of villains. Hopefully they had drinks. If not, I knew Finn would be good for a shot.
    He narrowed his eyes. Somewhere in the distance music drifted into the air. The beat hit my hips but I stayed still, unwilling to