Free Of Enemies and Endings by Shelby Bach

the rest. “Too bad we can’t help them resettle in their homeland in Arizona. We would at least know where to find them. If they had their petrified wood back, they would never budge.”
    It had been a weak joke. Only a few people smiled.
    â€œWhy can’t we?” It took me a second to realize I’d said it out loud, but judging by the number of Characters who turned to stare at me, I definitely had.

he Director had made it very clear that we young Characters were only there to give reports and receive orders. We were not supposed to talk. I tried to pretend that I had just been muttering something to Lena, but that didn’t work.
    â€œDo you have something to say, Aurora Landon?” said the Director shortly.
    I froze.
    Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. Maybe I should have pretended that I let the grown-up Characters do all my thinking for me. Maybe I would have—if they had been talking about anyone besides the Living Dwarves.
    I knew Hadriane. I remembered the longing in her voice when she spoke of her people’s homeland. So I said, “Why can’t we help them resettle in the Petrified Forest National Park? We should be able to talk to the ranger people. The dwarves would need to hide during the day, but . . .”
    I drifted off. The whole Canon was still staring at me. Most of them looked kind of scandalized. I guess it was a stupid idea to suggest during a war. We had enough to deal with.
    Chase sat forward. “They might come to us if they hear we have something to offer.”
    Then Lena piped up. “I could probably cast a cloaking spell over their settlement, so no humans could see it unless they were inside.”
    â€œThey really want their homeland back,” added Miriam, the representative for the rising twelfth graders. She and Hadriane had spent most of the quest side-by-side. Miriam had even started a new fashion among the high schoolers—four-strand dwarvish braids, just like the princess had taught her. “That’s the only reason they allied with the Snow Queen, but we could probably help them more than she could. I mean, we still live in the human lands. We know more stuff.”
    â€œActually, this is pretty random,” said Ben, who was the representative for the grade above us, “but I have a cousin married to a park ranger who works there.”
    For three whole seconds, it seemed kind of possible .
    A few members of the Canon were warming up to the idea. Red Riding Hood scratched her chin under her red baseball cap. Henry stared at me with the same shock I’d felt the day the sword master invited me to be his assistant—like I’d never seen him properly before. But Hansel and Rapunzel both smiled.
    The Director’s look was cool. “The dwarf king will be truly eager to accept our help, I’m sure. The last time his people allied with ours only resulted in the death of his eldest daughter.”
    Everyone but Ben flinched. We had invited Hadriane on the quest with us. I wasn’t the only one who felt responsible for her death.
    â€œMildred.” Rapunzel’s voice was soft, but the reproach was obvious. “One child was taken from him, but his twins and heirs were returned safely. The king would not forget.”
    â€œIt’s a fair point,” said Gretel. The guilt lodged in my stomach barely budged.
    â€œThe king does owe us,” Hansel agreed, “and his people may want revenge for the death of their princess.”
    â€œSo, this should be our new policy, then?” said the Director. “To lure allies to us the same way Solange does? Offering them lands we do not have?”
    Ugh. In every meeting, the Director found a way to remind everyone how similar the Snow Queen and I were. We weren’t just the only two Characters in history with Unwritten Tales. Sometimes, we thought the same way too.
    She didn’t need to tell me. I’d been doing my