Free Of Giants and Ice (Ever Afters, The) by Shelby Bach

kids also looked a little jealous, but I wasn’t. Well, not yet. As much as I wanted to go on an adventure, it would probably be a good idea to study the Tales before living one. I mean, I didn’t even know what a White Snake was.
    “Come on , Evan,” Sarah said in her normal voice. “I do have things to do, you know.”
    “Russell Hale and Mary Garrison,” Evan said quickly. Two figuresmade their way forward—a very small boy wearing a school uniform and an older girl who had the same freckles and red curls that Evan did, probably his sister.
    When they reached the front, Sarah Thumb asked them, loud enough for the whole crowd to hear, “Russell Hale and Mary Garrison, do you consent to undertake this journey with Evan? To advise and protect him to the best of your ability?”
    “We do,” they chorused.
    “Very well. We wish you the best of luck in this Tale.” Mr. Swallow fluttered to the top of the podium, and Sarah Thumb clambered back into the saddle. “Please follow me to the library. Rumpelstiltskin has some research to share with you.”
    She and Mr. Swallow flew off, and the three followed her solemnly. Evan waited about two seconds before biting his fingernails.
    I wondered if everyone looked that nervous when their Tale started, or if it was just Evan. He had seemed a lot more excited about the mini-cupcakes earlier.
    Once the violet door with gold lettering closed behind them, everyone started talking.
    “Who would’ve thought that Evan would be the first in our year to have his Tale?” one of the seventh graders said.
    “Except for Bryan and Darcy, of course,” said one of his friends, and both the girl with the eyeliner and the fawn with the spiked collar looked up.
    “Yeah, but who would want ‘Brother and Sister’?” said the first seventh grader. He didn’t seem to notice when Bryan and Darcy glared at him—probably because an angry fawn isn’t all that scary.
    “I wonder what Evan’s Tale is.”
    “It can’t be a very good one. This is Evan we’re talking about.”
    Over at Lena and Kelly’s table, the sixth graders were talking about the same thing.
    “What does Evan have in his family tree?” Adelaide said scornfully. “Just the Enchanted Pig and the Three Snake Leaves?”
    “He probably doesn’t have one of the better-known Tales, then,” Lena said. “It’s a questing Tale, though—” I must have looked confused, because seeing me, she started to explain, “ Like begets like . Your Tale is similar to ones your family has.”
    “But what’s a questing Tale?” I asked.
    “The Tales where you travel. Usually to retrieve an object or to pass some test,” Lena said. “They’re longer and more difficult, so you’re allowed to pick two Companions to help you.”
    “But only for the questing Tales. ’Cause it’d be dumb to recruit help if you were a Cinderella and all you had to do was go to some dance,” Chase added.
    I definitely wanted a questing Tale.
    The cat in Kelly’s lap looked up, flicking her tail. “You were in Rumpel’s library, weren’t you? Do you know what his Tale is?”
    All the heads at the table turned to me. I knew peer pressure when I saw it. I hesitated, wondering if I was going to get detention or something my second day.
    “You might as well tell us,” Kelly said. “I’ll find out from Mom at dinner.”
    “It’ll be all over EAS tomorrow,” Lena said eagerly.
    If Lena was okay with it, there was no chance it could get me in trouble.
    “It’s the White Snake,” I said.
    Obviously, everybody but me knew what that meant.
    “Oh,” Adelaide said, scornful again.
    Chase grinned with relief. “Is that all?”
    “I thought for a second he had gotten Aladdin or something,” said one of the triplets.
    “The White Snake is a pretty good Tale.” But Kelly sounded a little unsure.
    Adelaide smiled in her not-nice way. “You’re right. He could’ve been a Town Musician of Bremen. That wouldn’t have been embarrassing at