Free Once Upon the End (Half Upon a Time) by James Riley Page A

stones (she laughed to herself at that, then rolled her eyes), but that answer didn’t get her anywhere, besides to maybe a more logical world to live in. But to be honest, that wasn’t happening any time soon.
    The castle looked bigger on the outside than the inside . . . either that, or she was just a lot quicker than she thought, because she managed to walk through the entire thing within seconds. Seconds? Wait, it couldn’t be that small.
    But this was a dream, and dreams went by much faster, didn’t they?
    If only she could fast-forward to the point where she found the Fairest.
    “She belongs to me,” said a glassy voice behind her, and she whirled around to find the Sandman, with what looked like a newly sculpted glass plug keeping his sand inside his glass body.
    “Why do you always appear right behind me, anyway?” May said, pushing her hands into her sand-full pockets.
    “Sleep always catches one unawares,” the Sandman said, tilting his head a bit.
    “Oh, aren’t we proud of that little line,” May said. “You think you’re so smart? Maybe you should . . . take a FALL!” And with that, she tossed a pile of sand into his face.
    Had her comment made sense? She’d better clarify. “As in, FALL ASLEEP!” There.
    The Sandman brushed the sand from his face and looked at her curiously. “I’m not entirely sure what you hoped to accomplish. But I do not have time to play your games. Shall we take a look through your nightmares again?”
    And the castle disappeared, only for May to smooth a long, blue gown over herself. “But I couldn’t possibly!” she said to Merriweather, who stared down at May with a loving smile. “This gown is far too nice for someone like me!”
    “You need to look pretty if you wish to impress the prince,” Merriweather said. “And I’m here to help with that, to help you get away from this life!”
    May felt the fabric between her fingers dreamily, then abruptly screamed, long and loud. “Are you KIDDING me?!” she shouted, throwing the dress at Merriweather. “THIS?! You’re not making me live this, NO ONE is making me live this! I’m NOT Cinderella, I don’t care about a stupid dress or some prince, and this is not who I am !”
    “Isn’t it?” the man of sand said, and May stood at the top of an elaborate set of marble steps leading down into the most beautiful ballroom she’d ever seen. She, like the dancers below her, wore a mask to hide her identity. These masquerade balls were such fun, and she’d wished for so long that she might attend one. To be here, to perhaps be near the prince . . . !
    But would that ever happen? From her vantage point atop the stairs, she could see her prince, swirling around in a dance with a girl in a large pink dress, one that looked like it’d taken a bit of magic to make itself. She looked down at her own blue dress and marveled at its magnificence once more. Only a fairy queen could create something so beautiful.
    NO. SERIOUSLY, DRESSES?! She growled and kicked both glass slippers off her feet, which hit the dance floor below, shattering into a thousand pieces. “I DARE YOU TO MAKE ME TRY THOSE ON LATER!” she screamed as loudly as she could. “I DARE YOU!”
    The crowd parted all the way to the prince, who broke off his dance with the girl in pink. His mask, a large double-diamond-shaped covering, hid his entire face behind it as well as most of his hair. He held out his hand to her and, in a familiar voice, said, “You should embrace who you are. Your dreams show you the real you.”
    May picked up one of the bigger shards of her slipper and threw it like a baseball at the prince. “I am who I SAY I am!” She picked up more of the rounder shards and threw each of them as she yelled. “I! AM! NOT! CINDERELLA!”
    The prince caught each shard, then pushed them together in his hands. A moment later, he bent down on one knee, opening his hands to reveal a glass slipper. “If the shoe fits, May.”
    And that’s when