Fans – The Queens (Part 1)

Cast of Characters:

Queen Penta – Eldest queen of Kingdom. Administrator of business and taxes. Can teleport.

Queen Helga – Second oldest. The Marsh King’s Daughter. Warrior. Has the ability to cure curses.

Queen Valencia – Third oldest. The Little Match Girl. Preference for the poor. Has good fortune.

Queen Cinderella – Fourth oldest. Organizes festivals and social events. Has the ability to charm.

Queen Snow White – Youngest. Negotiator and ambassador. Cannot be murdered.

AN: A short story in two parts told in two different perspectives. The second part is entitled Fans – The Fans Themselves.

Let me tell you a secret. I receive fairy tales from a mysterious author who I suspect lives in a fantasy world known as Kingdom, a world I know is real for I went there and completed a quest. I have no idea how to journey to this other world for a ghost transported me there. That’s why, when periodically someone sends a story from Kingdom, I’m both puzzled and delighted.

I’m Harold Tray, and I’m the recipient of said stories. The tales—which come as letters—contain a detailed account of the people I met in the fairytale world known as Kingdom. Written as fiction, they are as precious to me as emails from a once close friend I haven’t talked to in years. I wish more than anything I could write the unknown author back.

I received the last letter about a year after I returned home from Kingdom. The story detailed how my friends, the five monarchs of Kingdom (all sisters) were getting along while governing their world together. The fairytale queens anticipated many problems after they ascended to power, but they failed to foresee a major problem. Their fans.

In Kingdom after the queens ascended to power, the sovereigns settled into the business of ruling their land. They knew some of their subjects wouldn’t immediately accept them, and reprobates would commit rebellious and other undermining acts. Base men would never accept an all-woman ruling party though having women leaders were a staple of Kingdom’s history. The queens knew they would need to increase taxes to remove the extortion rampant around the land, and outlawing pixie scalping at the same time as hunting down child kidnappers, often used for ingredients in spells, resulted in certain merchants seeking new industries. To say “And they lived happily ever after” when the queens rose to power was not only a euphemism, it was an outright lie.

Despite the assassination attempt on Queen Cinderella for banning seal hunting, and the abandonment of Queen Helga in a battle with cloud trolls, the monarchs handled every issue handed to them forthrightly. They acknowledged each situation, discussed it at length in private, and if they disagreed, they portrayed a united front to the public…until the aforementioned problem. At first, the queens were flattered by their fans. They never expected the problems it would later cause.

Six months after their coronation, Valencia, also known as the Little Match Girl, entered the side entrance to the castle after two hours of distributing fruit to Town’s beggars. She strolled inside and nearly ran into Snow White in a large chamber with a back staircase to the upper levels. Normally Snow White’s pulchritude was without question, but today the fairest queen’s hair stuck out in disarray. Sod smudged her pale left cheek and her plate armor, dented and scuffed, required some attention.

“Combat training?” inquired Valencia.

Snow White walked beside her. “Hate it!”

“Me too. But Helga is right. ’Tis necessary.”

“Hmm…”

Valencia touched her sister’s shoulder. “I thought I saw you in the marketplace while I shopped there, but it turned out to be a young woman who disguised herself to duplicate your countenance. I wondered if you sanctioned a decoy—a very dangerous idea, I thought. I stopped her and inquired why she made herself up to look like you. She said she admired you and wanted to look like you.”

Snow White touched her chin. “Oh, ’tis odd.”

“She told me a number of girls are doing the same. They apply white powder to their faces and use natural pigments to color their hair black. How does it feel to be such a revered role model?”

Snow White considered her answer as they ascended the stairs. “Worrisome.”

At the end of the queens’ daily consultation, Penta addressed Cinderella. “Helga and I met an interesting young lady in the market today.”

Helga brightened. “Assuredly. Let me tell it. Penta and I stopped in a stall to purchase new gloves. The merchant’s daughter applied rouge to her face and changed her hair color to make herself a mirror image of you, Cinderella. Clearly, she favors you over the rest of us.”

Cinderella blushed. “Oh, I must go visit her,”

Valencia and Snow White exchanged a glance, and the Match Girl said, “I also saw a young lady dressed as Snow White.”

Snow White put a hand to her chest. “Goodness. Two of them. Perhaps they are sisters themselves?”

Penta curled a lock of her hair around her finger. “As you know, the Devil banished me to earth for over a year. A similar phenomenon exists on earth. When people admire a famous person, they will sometimes dress like them, or change their features to match them. ’Tis known there as having a fan.”

“A fan?” asked Cinderella. “Like the object you wave to cool yourself?”

“No, ’tis short for fanatic, but earth people don’t think of them as zealots,” answered Penta. “It is acceptable there to have fans. Most of the people who have fans are flattered and sign their name for them.”

Snow White furrowed her brow. “Is it on a proclamation of some sort, Penta?”

“No, famous people write their name on an empty piece of paper. This signature proves the fan met the person they admired.”

Cinderella, a woman who loved to collect words, dipped her quill in ink and scratched the word down and underlined it. She clapped her hands. “What a wonderful custom. Helga, you must take me to the marketplace to meet my fan tomorrow.”

Three months later, Valencia bustled into the dining room, late for dinner. The other queens were assembled in a circle, holding hands and waiting for her. They were about to start their traditional prayer before the evening meal.

Valencia grinned from ear to ear as she took Helga’s and Penta’s hands, completing the circle. Snow White led the queens in a compact blessing. After the prayer, Cinderella turned to her ebullient sister. “Why so happy, Valencia?”

“I ran into my first fan! Such a delight to talk to.”

Penta rolled her eyes. “Goodness. Is that all?”

Valencia and the rest of the queens made their way to the dining table where Roger sat. She pouted. “The rest of you have all met your fans. ’Tis impossible to stroll through the market without passing some girl dressed as Cinderella these days. Why should I not have a fan?”

Snow White took a seat. “You should. A large number of people admire you, Valencia. I have often heard how your gifts of food to the poor makes a difference to those most in need. Even the wealthy have taken up your cause and emulate your actions. They are fans too in their way.”

Valencia put her hands in her lap as the servants entered and began to distribute their food. “I am grateful for them, but no young lady has ever made herself up to resemble me until today.” Cinderella smirked.

“Do I spy envy on your face, sister?”

Valencia snorted. “Coming from someone who has fans a-plenty, I thought you would be happy for me.”

Cinderella nodded at the servant who set her food on the table in front of her. “I am teasing, my dear one. I am happy for you. As the rest of us can tell you, fans make a gloomy day bright with sunshine.”

“And while Cinderella has many fans, she lacks one type in particular,” remarked Helga.

Cinderella picked up her golden fork. “And what type would that be, Helga?”

“Male admirers.”

Roger’s eyes twinkled, observing his wife. “I beg to differ.”

Helga grinned. “Indeed, she has plenty of men vying to take your place, Prince Roger. None could, of course. I meant a male fan. A boy who would imitate her.”

Roger cut into his meal with his fork and knife. “A boy in a dress, Helga?”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps a boy wearing the traditional markings of ashes of Cinderella under his eyes. Or a boy dressed as Cinderella ready for battle. Your wife’s teal and gold armor would suit a boy.”

Cinderella placed her fingers into her washing bowl before reaching for the bread. “I do not know if I shall ever attract a male fan. Girls are one thing. Boys another.”

Helga lifted a spoonful of soup to her mouth. “It has already come to pass for one of us.”

Questions in their eyes, the queens regarded her until Valencia brightened. “Helga! You have a male fan.”

Helga sipped her soup, eyebrows raised.

“I have one last item before we finish for the day,” said Penta, addressing her two sisters Valencia and Cinderella. The other two were absent. Snow White had traveled to the eastern part of Kingdom hoping to achieve a detente with the hill giants, and Helga had set sail on a ship to explore islands.

Cinderella and Valencia’s faces were drawn and discouraged. The lengthy discussion on whether the Selkie Protection Edict also applied to encantados exhausted the three, and their decision to extend the law to include the enchanted dolphins was not made lightly. Cinderella made a motion to rise but returned to her throne. Valencia pushed herself back in her seat.

Penta folded her hands. “The royal guards brought a matter before me today. Fortunately, though they resolved the incident, they thought it prudent I should know about it. Apparently, a Penta fan attacked a Cinderella admirer in the streets of Town today. Fans on either side joined the brawl until six children were involved. The guards had to intervene to settle the dispute.”

Cinderella put her hand to her mouth. Valencia, eyes wide, asked, “Was anyone hurt?”

“A guard had to take a young Penta fan to the healer.”

Cinderella gripped the armrests of her throne. “But this is terrible! What possessed them to do this?”

“They argued over which queen was the best one.”

Valencia rubbed her forehead. “You are not serious.”

Penta ground her teeth together. “Unfortunately, I am.”

“One of my fans came to me a few days ago,” said Valencia. “She had a bruise on the side of her cheek. A Snow White fan had assaulted her.”

Cinderella’s eyes narrowed. “Those Snow White fans are so aggressive.”

“Cinderella!”

“They are! And worse, they do not respect anyone except for Snow White.” Penta raised her hand in objection.

“The guard said the Cinderella fan started the fight.”

Cinderella put a hand to her chest. “I doubt that. My fans are the definition of decorum.”

Valencia snorted. “The same girls wearing those short skirts?”

“I have discussed their inappropriate clothing with them at length. They are not Cinderella fans. They told me they are Valencia fans dressing like me to discredit my followers.”

Valencia stood. “My girls would never do that!”

Cinderella squared her shoulders. “They have, my sister. I am sorry to be the one to tell you.”

“This velitation ends now,” said Penta. “I bring this news to this council so that we discuss it with our fans. I will write Helga and Snow White as well. Our admirers must understand they should portray themselves with honor and tact if they want to be our admirers. We are the crown, and we decided in our first session to rule Kingdom with benevolence and mercy, not in-fighting and intrigue. We must be role models.”

Penta’s sisters inclined their heads in agreement.

The five queens assembled in the throne room two days before the Redeemer’s birthday, and all expected to discuss the issue of the open-sea pirates, but Penta surprised them with her first order of business. “We have an issue with our fans.”

Lines formed on Snow White’s forehead. “Is this the most important topic of Kingdom?”

Penta folded her arms. “My instinct says it is. The guards continue to tell me of squabbles between the fans and worse, public fighting. The girls have created chants designed to put each other down. Helga’s boys assault Snow White and Cinderella’s male admirers. And now I’ve learned they are writing on walls. At first, they wrote small sentiments like ‘Cinderella is number one.’ I do not like favoritism, but I thought it innocuous at the time. Earth citizens call this graffiti.”

Cinderella grabbed a nearby scroll and wrote the word down, collecting another new entry for her vocabulary list.

Penta continued, “But now they draw a line through each other’s proclamations and insert derogatory statements about one another. It has descended into marking each other’s houses and destruction of their property. This must stop.”

Cinderella’s eyes narrowed at Helga. “You must control your bullies. My poor girls.”

“Sister, I have been gone for weeks,” answered Helga. “How am I to control them from the middle of the ocean?”

Valencia retrieved a match from her pouch. She often fiddled with this particular object when vexed. “By talking to them. I meet with my girls when they help me and instruct them on how to act properly.”

“Is that why I spotted them throwing pig poo at the leader of my fans?” inquired Snow White.

Valencia crossed her arms. “Your fans fabricated that story.”

“I witnessed it myself, Valencia,” replied Snow White.

Helga tossed one of her braids over her shoulder. “Valencia, you may not have many fans, but they are a scrappy bunch.”

Valencia stamped her foot. “Why must you keep pointing out I have fewer fans than you, Helga?”

Helga pressed her mouth together in a thin line. “The number of admirers does not matter. My point is with such a small number you should be able to control your fans better.”

Snow White lifted her chin. “If you removed the aggressive ones from your group, Helga, you would not have half of Valencia’s following. The temerity of your fans appalls me.”

Helga gripped the ends of her chair, but Penta interrupted her response. “Let us return to our problem at hand—the behavior of our fans. We must admonish them when they act disagreeably.”

Cinderella’s eyes darted to her elder sister. “Starting with your fans, Penta. I do not like the way they remove their gloves and slap my admirers.”

“They told me they do no such thing. They said your fans are lying, Cinderella.”

“I have seen the bruises with my own eyes. Are you suggesting they are slapping themselves?”

Valencia uncrossed her arms and rolled the match between her fingers. “Maybe. They are not the smartest group around.”

Cinderella leaped to her feet. “What are you implying, Valencia?”

“It does not mean—”

“Are you saying I am not smart like you? If so, do you claim Helga is a bully?” Valencia stiffened.

“I never called Helga a bully. I said your fans take their playacting to an extreme…”

Cinderella took a deep breath and sat down.

“…much like the queen they admire,” finished Valencia.

This time, both Cinderella and Snow White stood. They spoke at the same time.

“Valencia, how dare you!”

“Valencia, apologize immediately.”

Penta lifted her hand. “Everyone, calm down.”

Cinderella turned on her. “Not this time, sister. I have obediently listened to you and deferred to your age, but this insult cuts to the quick.”

“We are going to—”

Helga interrupted her. “Do not make peace this time, Penta. Let this run its course.”

Penta finished her sentence. “—say something we regret.”

Valencia said, “You will not censor us, Penta. We will have our say.”

Penta ground her teeth together. “I do not censor you.”

“Yes, you do, sister,” spat Cinderella. “I will have my apology. Valencia?”

Observing the match rolling through her fingers, Valencia responded. “I apologize.”

Cinderella slammed her fist on the arm of her throne. “That was not sincere.”

“It was as sincere as yours for your fans when they embarrassed my girls at the well.”

Cinderella wavered, suddenly less imposing. “You do not understand.”

Penta said, “Sisters, please take your seats and—”

Helga threw her sister a sidelong glance. “Penta, pray do not interrupt.”

Penta stood and squared her shoulders. Her posture demanded the other queens’ attention. “I am sorry, but I must do something for our own good.”

Penta disappeared and reappeared next to each queen, using her ability to teleport. She vanished with each of her sisters to different locations around the castle grounds, each one selected carefully, a site each sibling loved. The entire action took three seconds and happened before any of her sisters could protest. She had been practicing this maneuver for battle, never dreaming she would have to use it on her own kin.

Penta reappeared back in the throne room alone. She ran a hand through her russet-colored hair and sighed. Sitting in her chair with her arms crossed, she awaited her sisters’ return and reflected on their fans and their impact on her family.

The Fans Themselves (Part 2)

Cast of Characters:

Penny – Leads Penta’s fan club.

Heggy – Leads Helga’s fan club.

Matches – Leads Valencia’s fan club.

Ashes – Leads Cinderella’s fan club.

Apple – Leads Snow White’s fan club.

Five teenagers sat on a bench inside the royal castle, heads hung down, afraid to glance around at the portraits of the kings and queens of Kingdom. The bench warmers, ranging in age from fourteen to seventeen, didn’t speak or look at each other preferring to stare at their hands, their shoes, or a spot on the floor. They fidgeted until a door next to them swung open and a man emerged. The man, a guard with mutton chops and a square-cropped beard, strode toward the five and, to their surprise, stopped before them. He glared. “Do you all know who I am?”

Five heads nodded.

He addressed the one who wore scuffed and ill-fitting leather armor. “Who am I?”

The teen peered at the guard through black braids. “Lyken.”

“Correct, Heggy. Surprised I know your nickname? Does it give you a sense of how much trouble you are in?” He turned to another. “And what else do you know about me? Matches?”

A small girl with thin but long blond hair grimaced. “You decide who gets to see the queens.”

“Yes. I have turned away lords and ladies.” Lyken stroked his beard. “They have respected my orders though I am far beneath their caste. Why is that so?”

“Because you speak for the queens,” said Apple.

Lyken clasped his hands behind his back. “I know what you are thinking. He will lecture us and let us go like before, but you are wrong. You are all acknowledged leaders of these groups that are called fans of the queens.”

One girl with dirt under eyes went to speak, but Lyken cut her off.

“Yes, I know Cinderella’s gaggle has claimed they don’t have a leader, but my sources say most listen to you, Ashes. Your group obeys Cinderella and treat each other kindly but are abusive toward the other queen’s followers. This is true of all of the fans.”

Penny trembled. “Lyken, I am not like these others. I am younger and have never done anything bad. You must believe me.”

The others scowled, and Lyken unclasped his hands, allowing his arms to drop to his side. “I know, Penny. Penta spoke to your predecessor and asked her to leave your group. She did not go far.” He paused and his eyes shifted to Apple who hung her head. “And yes, your first run-in with the guards occurred this afternoon, and you wear the markings of your beating. However, you will be disciplined with the rest. Do not interrupt me again.”

Penny shrunk under his admonition.

“As I was saying, you think I am going to scold you and let you go, but as you observed, I consult with the queens regularly. This situation is out of control. Apple assaulting Penny. Matches whispering evil gossip to the poor about Apple’s parents. Ashes drawing pictures of Helga cutting off the head of bound prisoners with Heggy looking on happy. And Heggy writing a slur against Snow White on Apple’s house.” Apple’s eyes widened.

Heggy stood. “I did not do any such thing!”

Lyken grunted. “Did I not say do not interrupt me? The next one to do so will be personally escorted to the lowest level of the dungeon until such a time I come to collect you.”

Heggy sat back down.

“These actions have not gone unnoticed.” Lyken rocked back and forth. “These indiscretions…and in some cases…crimes have the queens’ attention. Thus, I have decided to take you to them. This time, it will not be as a fan to her respected mentor, but as a malcontent before a queen.”

The fans, as if one person, breathed in at the same time.

Lyken gestured to the throne room. “Follow me.”

They entered the throne room—a massive chamber with a polished marble floor leading to a wide dias. In the epicenter of the room, the architect had arranged five elegantly-carved, unique thrones in a semicircle. The room extended three stories upward, and the trample of boots echoed as if traversing a gigantic cavern.

The five fans stood before the queens seated on their thrones. The royal sisters glowered at the troublemakers, all frowns and grimaces, and the accused shrank before them. As Lyken recited each offense of the past two days, the queens’ eyes bored into the teenagers. Their normally cheerful and compassionate faces transformed into an expression of anger and disappointment, and the transgressors huddled together.

Penta gripped the end of her armrests. “Thank you, Lyken. Please step aside while we address our fans.”

Snow White turned to Heggy. “How could you write something so derogatory about me?”

“My queen, I did not—”

Lyken unsheathed his sword. “Do not address the queens unless you are asked to.”

Heggy, eyes wide, refrained.

Snow White addressed Penta. “I cannot let this pass. Heggy must be punished.”

Penta shut her eyes and left them closed for a few moments. “I never thought I would have to punish children when I gained the throne…but I agree.”

Heggy stole a pleading glance at Helga. The warrior queen leaned forward. “Heggy is not the source of the trouble here. ‘Tis only two days ago, where the Helga fans gather behind the marketplace, one of the rival fans wrote Helga’s group were bloodthirsty wenches.”

Cinderella drummed her fingers on her armrest. “But the miscreant directed the insult at your fans, not you.”

Helga’s eyes flashed. “What they write about my fans, they write about me.”

Snow White shook her head. “Helga, ’tis not the same. The slur against me was personal.”

Color rose in Helga’s cheeks. “Do not tell me how I think, my younger sister. I felt it deeply. I myself have been called that exact phrase before. The writer knew what she was doing.”

“Or he,” said Valencia. “This sounds like a boy wrote it. Girls do not call each other wenches.” Cinderella rolled her eyes.

“Your fans do. Ashes has told me your little followers often use sharp words when addressing others.”

“As if the others do not.”

“But yours are the worst, Valencia. They believe themselves superior to our admirers. One thing my fans and I will not tolerate is arrogance.”

Valencia cocked an eyebrow. “I am surprised they are smart enough to recognize it when they hear it.”

“Valencia!” exclaimed Penta.

Cinderella glared at her sister and went to respond when Snow White interrupted. “Let us return to the subject of these so-called fans. What should we do? Heggy must be punished.”

“As must Ashes.” Helga gripped the armrests on her throne. “She called my male fans a name the likes of which I will not mutter in this holy castle.”

Penta nodded. “I have heard it. Evil to be sure. I agree. Ashes must be punished as well.”

Ashes mouth dropped open.

Cinderella leaned forward. “I must have justice. I have been insulted, and now my favorite fan shall be punished? Unjust! Matches must suffer as well.”

Valencia turned on her sister. “You will punish my fan for a slight against you? Base act, my little popinjay.”

“Not because of your indiscretion, but because Matches called Ashes stupid…like her queen. Ashes told me herself.”

Valencia sat back and smirked. “If the shoe fits, Cinderella…”

Helga covered her mouth to suppress laughter, and Snow White smiled. Penta pinched the bridge of her nose.

Cinderella stood. “I will have justice!” She pointed at Matches. “She suffers the same fate as Ashes.”

Valencia replied, “Cinderella, sit down. Matches, you should not have called anyone stupid, my dear. I am afraid I cannot protect you this time. But may I say those words do not wound like fists, and the fan most likely to use her fists obviously did so today.”

The queens regarded Apple who quickly unclenched her hands.

“I agree.” Penta gestured to her fan. “Look at poor Penny’s face. I move Apple is punished for her scuffle today.”

Snow White lifted her chin, a haughty expression gracing her otherwise composed face. “And then Penny should as well. She participated in the disturbance.”

Penta stood and walked to Penny. “Look at her, Snow White. Look at her eye. She is a victim, and as queens, we would do well to remember we defend young, abused women. If we fail to uphold the oppressed, we do not deserve these thrones.”

“You have taught us earth sayings like ‘it takes two to tango.’ Something set off Apple, and I stand with my fan club. She deserves punishment as much as anyone else here.”

Penta turned to Penny, eyes softening. She took the young fan’s gloved hands in her own and sighed. “Fine. She will be punished too. She will be an example for all of the Penta fans though she has not done anything wrong.”

The fans looked on horror-struck while Lyken stepped in front of them. His face, normally serene and cheerful, held an expression of disgust. “You five follow me.”

He ushered the teenagers from the throne room to a dingy staircase proceeding down forty steps. Grime and moss encrusted more and more of the walls the further they descended, and the fans realized they were underground. The bright sunshine of the day far behind them, they entered the darkness of the dungeons of Kingdom.

Lyken led them down a rock-hewn corridor, and he stopped them before a dwarf with a beard twice his height. The small guard sat on a stool, snoozing until Lyken kicked a leg of the jailor’s seat. “The queens have imprisoned these five indefinitely. Do you have five open cells?”

The dwarf didn’t regard the prisoners. “We are quite crowded at the moment. I have a large cell to hold all of them. It should suffice.”

Lyken put his hands on his hips. “Fine. I do not care if they occupy one cell. If they want to melee with each other, so be it.”

The dwarf led them around a corner to a dirt-encrusted, wooden door. He retrieved a ring of keys and opened the portal then leaned down and grabbed a rope attached to an iron circle embedded into the floor. The jailor threw an end of the rope into a room and then turned to the teenagers. “Climb.”

The prisoners peeked into the room and regarded their new quarters with despair. The original builders had carved the cell into the ground like a hole, hollowed out from an underground rock vein, its walls dripping with lichen and water. Damp straw lay scattered on the floor, and the stones of the empty room were lit up with an eerie blue glow. The door, traditionally flush with the floor, was located near the cell’s ceiling, six feet off the ground.

The fans took the rope and climbed down into the room. When Penny, the last fan, landed on the ground, the dwarf slammed the portal to the corridor behind them with a resounding clang. The sound echoed around the forlorn cell.

Lyken’s voice floated through the door. “Why leave the key in the lock?”

The dwarf laughed. “They cannot escape. I leave the keys to frustrate the ghosts down here. The spirits attempt to grasp the key through their ethereal fingers. I dun like ‘em coming around me.”

The fans blanched when the dwarf mentioned ghosts.

The dwarf continued, “The queens do not mean to leave them here for long, do you think?”

“I have never seen them more upset at each other, and they blame the fans. They will be here for a long spell, I suspect.”

In a small alcove near the door sat a glowing sphere casting off blue light, making everyone look pale and ghastly. Footsteps receded down the corridor as the prisoners regarded each other—panic and desperation in their eyes. Apple set her chin and pointed at Penny. “I blame you.”

“Why?”

“You started the fight.”

Matches interrupted, “The queens do not care about one isolated skirmish. They have been warning us for weeks. We tipped a balance on their scale of patience.”

“If you hadn’t kept teasing my friends, Matches,” said Ashes. “The two of us would not be here.”

Heggy leaned against a wall. “Of course we would. Teasing is not a crime.”

Apple walked underneath the door and looked up. “I do not belong here. I should be home with my parents.” She wiped her eyes.

The fans lowered their heads. Penny ran a hand through her long, tangled hair. “Me too. We are children.”

Ashes’ eyes filled with tears. “And we admired them. We loved our queens.”

Heggy, leaning against the wall, slipped to the ground. “How could they do this to us?”

Silence reigned supreme in the room for a long time. To break it, Penny stood and marched around the room like a soldier then suddenly turned toward Apple. “I am sorry for what happened.”

Apple regarded her with disdain. “How will that help us now?”

“It may not help us, but it would be what Queen Penta would do. Of all the queens, she did not want to punish us. We owe her, we owe them all, our best behavior.”

“Penny, they threw us in prison!”

Matches shifted straw with her foot. “They want to teach us a lesson. Perhaps Penny is right. The better behaved we are, the more likely they will let us go. If they hear we are arguing and fighting, they may keep us here.”

Apple shrugged. “’Tis logical.”

Penny lifted her chin, mimicking the queen she admired. “But my apology is more than a show for me. Perhaps when we get out of here, I will apologize to the queens.” She squared her shoulders. “Penta would seek forgiveness. We know their stories. The queens all would.”

The five teenagers looked at each other. Forgive the insults, the cruel chants, the fights, the destruction against their homes? For a long time, they wouldn’t look at each other, examining the walls or the ground. Then Ashes broke the silence. “Heggy, I did not know the meaning of the insult when I called you that name. Only later did I realize how awful it must have sounded.”

“It really hurt.”

Ashes blushed. “I did not realize. I am sorry.”

“It makes sense you did not realize the meaning of the word,” said Matches. “You usually do not use such language, Ashes.”

Ashes peered at her. “Like my queen, I wanted to learn new words.”

“And like our queen, Valencia fans love to learn. She teaches us vocabulary as well.”

“Valencia’s fans have the sharpest tongues,” murmured Penny.

“We are small in number and picked on. We must have some defense.”

Ashes crossed her arms. “Valencia is small and people often picked on her, but she does not insult others.”

Matches ran her fingers along the wall. “True. I should act more like her, I suppose.”

Apple turned around. “Oh, listen to all of you. You act as if any of this matters. Who cares if we apologize now? We are stuck down here for who knows how long.”

Penny lowered her head. “Yet my apology stands, Apple.”

Heggy stood. “I agree. Apple, for our little skirmish last week, I am sorry. It went too far.”

Matches and Ashes looked at each other and then at Apple. Ashes nodded and Matches cleared her throat. “We apologize too. We are the ones who wrote on your house.”

Apple turned around and squared her shoulders. “I thought Penny did it, but it was you?”

Penny said, “Apple, I forgave you though I did you no wrong. Please, return the favor. Forgive them.”

Apple’s nostrils flared, but Heggy held up a hand. “We may be down here for a long time. The least we could do is to be nice to each other, Apple.”

“Do you know how I felt when Penta told me I could not be her fan after my last fight?” Apple slumped to the floor, head bowed. “It destroyed me. I figured Snow White would be more forgiving.”

Penny touched her arm. “Then prove yourself. Snow White would forgive them.”

After a long moment of reflection, Apple lifted her head. “I forgive you.”

Matches looked relieved. “I thought you were going to beat me up.”

Apple stood. “No. No more fighting. ’Tis what brought me here.”

No one spoke for a stretch of time. After a while, Matches smiled. “I have a thought.”

“What?” asked Ashes.

“I think we should escape.”

Heggy leaned back, uncertain. “I do not know. We could get in trouble.”

Matches laughed. “We are already in trouble right now. We probably will not get past the guard. He will return us here if he catches us.”

They looked at each other, waiting for someone to object. Penny didn’t give anyone a chance to counter the idea of escaping. “I think we should do it.”

Heggy knocked on the stone floor. “Impossible.”

Penny turned to her. “We all have to be in this. You too. You are our best fighter.”

Heggy stood and leaned against the wall. “Oh, why not? We shall never get out of this cell.”

Matches examined the door. “The key is in the lock. They did not think we could reach the door.” She looked around. “But we can if we work together.”

“You mean help someone up to the door?” asked Apple. “Maybe three of us get out, but how will the last two escape?”

Matches smiled. “We will make a ladder to allow the other two to leave.” She waved a hand at their puzzled glances. “Let us work on escaping first.”

Everyone looked at the tallest member of their quintet—Apple, but Penny shook her head. “No. Let us not ask Apple to do this. Heggy and I will boost Matches up to the door and then Ashes and then Apple.”

Heggy and Penny positioned themselves under the door and lifted Matches so that she stood with one foot on each of their shoulders. She stretched and her fingertips brushed the door handle. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed the latch and the door swung open.  She allowed the momentum of the door to lift her off Heggy and Penny’s shoulders and drag her into the hallway.

Heggy and Penny helped Ashes and then Apple. Apple lifted herself up and out of the room with Ashes and Matches assisting. Matches then asked Apple and Ashes to hold her legs while she extended herself through the doorway and down the wall. She grabbed Heggy’s hands and, with Penny pushing, Matches pulled her up to allow the Helga fan to exit the cell.

Penny stretched for the door, but she was too far below to reach it. No one could boost her to the hands of the others. Her shoulders slumped. “Leave me here. I cannot reach the door.”

But then Heggy wrapped her arms around Apple’s legs and lowered her, and Ashes did the same to Matches. The girls grabbed each others’ wrists forming a step as on a ladder for Penny to stand on. She climbed onto their interlocked arms and then grabbed the bottom of the doorway. Apple and Ashes pushed on her legs as she lifted herself up and out. Heggy and Ashes pulled the others back into the hallway. Wide-eyed, the five examined each other, free from their cell.

Heggy spoke first. “We did it.”

“This was the easy part,” said Matches. “The next part will be harder. We have to sneak past the dwarf.”

Ashes went to the intersecting hallway down the corridor and peeked around the corner. She retreated back to the others. “He is wide awake.”

Heggy looked the other way. “Is there another way out?” Apple peered in the opposite direction.

“I’m not going to wander around this dungeon.”

Penny folded her arms. “Matches, we need a solution.”

“Me? I figured out how to leave the room.”

Four pairs of eyes focused on her. They were pleading, hopeful.

“Very well.” Matches closed her eyes and ignored their attention. “Let me think.”

The rest of them surveyed the corridor, hoping no one would come along. Ashes asked Heggy, “Do you think the guard was jesting about the ghosts?”

Matches eyes snapped open. “Ashes! What a splendid idea.”

Startled, Ashes jumped. “What did I say?”

“Apple, do you have the white powder you use to make yourself like Snow White?” asked Matches. “A lot of it, I hope?”

Apple reached into her pouch. “Yes, I have it here.”

Penny straightened up. “Ghosts, right Matches?”

Matches nodded. “We should cover our faces and arms and pretend we are spirits.”

Ashes grinned. “And scare the dwarf.”

In minutes, the five had spread the paste on their exposed skin and had sprinkled it over their hair. As they examined each other, they realized patches of skin still retained its original pigment. Only at a distance would they fool someone.

“The powder is starting to wear off,” observed Penny. “We need to go.”

She reached for the key in their door and shook it and then led the way down the corridor to the corner.

They began to moan and shriek before they reached the intersection. When they rounded the corner, the jailor’s head jerked upward and swung toward them. The dwarf’s eyes glistened in the flickering torch’s light and the corners of his mouth turned downward. He jumped to his feet while the children stood at the bend in the passageway, waving their arms, moaning.

Without looking back, the dwarf turned and abandoned his post, heading for the staircase and rushing for the ground floors. The fans didn’t hesitate but followed him, reaching the steps and bounding upward. Moisture from the underground dripped on their skin and hair and washed off the powder. The fivesome reached the top and were relieved the dwarf was not anywhere about. They stole to a doorway across the passage, peeked through a crack to find it empty, and stepped inside to concoct their next plan.

Heggy shook with delight. “We made it!”

Matches peered up and down the hallway. “Not quite yet. We still need to exit the castle. Scores of people guard the front entrance. We must find another way.”

Penny looked at them. “Is there another way? I have not toured the castle.”

Again, all attention went to Matches. “Yes, ’tis another passage out. Valencia brought me here to teach about architecture. I toured the castle with her. She showed me another exit at the rear of the palace.”

Penny gestured them forward. “Let us not tarry.”

They left the room, and Matches led them down a number of passageways. They crossed a large chamber filled with portraits and artifacts from Kingdom’s history, and another room with proclamations affixed to pillars. Anyone they passed ignored them. The fans, on Penny’s advice, lowered their heads and acted like servants on a chore. They reached a stone corridor and followed it past various rooms and then halted.

In front of a large, emerald-colored double-door stood a man and a woman on either side. The helmeted guards wore padded leather body armor and thick, rugged boots. Each held a pike; the man on the left in his left hand and the woman in her right. Expressionless, they stood at attention, protecting the door.

Matches suggested they retreat until the five were out of earshot. The little Valencia fan looked over her shoulder. “We must get past them.”

The others followed her gaze. Apple bit her lip. “I shall cause a distraction and have them follow me.”

Penny rejected this idea. “No. We leave together or not at all. We must confront them. We need a lie.”

Heggy pointed down the hallway back the way they had come. “I saw wood for kindling in the last room. I could use it as a weapon.”

“Heggy, you are not Helga,” said Penny. “Fighting two trained guards is pointless.”

Heggy’s eyes grew round. “I have an idea.” The teenager turned and ran back down the corridor.

After Heggy left, Ashes said, “This plan will not succeed. I agree Heggy is our best fighter—I would never challenge him—but Helga has trained the guards herself.”

“I have no better idea,” replied Penny. “I trust him.”

Matches frowned. “If he fails, they may take him back to the dungeon, leaving the door unguarded and allowing us to escape.”

Penny opened her mouth to speak but Apple interrupted her. “No, ’tis like Penny says.” She gazed at the younger girl with admiration. “We escape together or we do not escape at all.”

Ashes shook her head with determination when Heggy rounded a corner with a large piece of wood. He carried it in his arms as if on the way to light a fire. Heggy nodded to the others as he passed them, indicating they should follow. They fell in step behind Heggy as he made his way down the corridor, giving the sentries no indication the door they guarded was their destination. When Heggy reached them, he adjusted the wood in his hands to hold it like a weapon and smashed the man’s kneecaps. The man, surprised, fell forward with a shout. Slow to react at the sudden attack, the woman switched the pike to her other hand, but not quick enough. Heggy swung his wood like a bat, striking both knees with one blow.

The woman fell forward and the others fell on the guards. Before they raised the alarm, the fans pulled them into the room across the way and shut them inside. Heggy wedged the piece of wood through the rung of the door and the wall, jamming it.

Ashes looked on Heggy with admiration. “How did you think of targeting their kneecaps?”

Heggy straightened with pride. “Queen Helga. She taught me and her other fans to examine our opponents for vulnerabilities. The guards lacked the proper protection for their knees. My sisters and I spar all the time looking for advantages with each other, and my sister Halcyn entered the army last week. I am proud of her.”

Penny tilted her head, a thought forming. “Perhaps we are fortunate, but…no matter. Let us exit with due haste.”

They scurried through the door, and Matches led them down a few more passages until they found themselves at the back of the castle. Seven sentries were stationed before their exit. The fans peaked around a corner at them, discouraged.

Penny bit her lip. “We must find a way past them. We have come too far to be thwarted here.”

Apple nodded her head. “We have indeed, but we must face it. One will need to sacrifice herself for the others…I will do it.”

“No, we—”

“It would be what Snow White would do. She would sacrifice herself for her sisters.”

At the word “sisters,” Ashes gasped and the others stared at her wide-eyed. Penny had tears in her eyes. Heggy crossed his arms and frowned. Apple said, “My newfound brother, too.”

Penny wiped her eyes and set her jaw. “Wait one second before you do something rash. Give us a little time to think.”

The fans waited and looked everywhere but at each other. While they contemplated their situation, a door opened near them, and Prince Roger, Cinderella’s husband, stepped into the corridor.

As they were the only ones standing in the passage, the fans all hung their heads and took on a servile attitude, hoping he would ignore them. They winced when he hailed them. “Do I not know you from somewhere?”

All of their eyes shifted back down the corridor, and they all had the same thought. “Run!” And then Ashes turned her attention back to Roger. She curtsied. “Hail, Prince Roger.”

Roger regarded her. “You are the one they call Ashes, are you not? You are the leader of the Cinderella fans.”

“We do not claim to have a leader, but I am Ashes,” she replied. Hoping he hadn’t heard about their sentencing, she continued. “We were taking a tour of the castle, and we have come to the end.” She batted her eyelashes on him and smiled. “Would you do us the kindness of escorting us out?”

Roger smiled at her and then surveyed them all. “I dare not refuse such a fetching, young lady and her friends.” He turned to the Cinderella fan. “And charming too. My wife charms with her abilities, but it comes to you naturally, young Ashes.”

Ashes blushed. “I do not mean to flirt, my prince.”

“You misunderstand me. You speak from your heart. Trust it, and you will gain many friends.” Roger nodded the other way down the corridor. “I shall do more than escort you. Allow me to show you a hidden exit. I can trust the five of you with one of the royal palace’s most guarded secrets, I assume?”

Ashes said, “Oh, absolutely. We shall be ever-so-discreet.”

The others eyed her. “A little less charm,” whispered Penny.

The fans followed the prince down three more twisty corridors and then to a room with banners on all the walls. He moved aside a banner of the crest of the queens and placed his hand on the stones of the outer wall of the castle. The wall flashed and then a five-foot arch materialized.

He gestured to the exit. “Hurry. It only remains open for a minute.”

The fans scampered through it, bowing as they did. As they made their way from the castle, Roger called after them. “You are in the middle of the hedge maze. You must pass through its center to find your way out. All the best.” The arch disappeared.

Outside, the sun beat down on the escaped prisoners while they cheered. They had made it out of the castle. Penny, not as excited as the rest, returned their smiles. Heggy faced the sun. “I do not believe it, but we are free.”

“We dare not go home.” Penny rubbed her gloved hands together. “The queens will send guards there to return us to the dungeon.”

Apple nodded toward the others. “Let us stay together until they forget us. I know a place to hide for a few days. Stick with me.”

The fans, triumphant with their successful plan, made their way around the hedge maze. They turned in multiple directions. Matches examined the sky to keep their bearings. After they encountered a few dead ends, they came upon a row of hedges leading to the middle of the maze.

When they reached the center, they stopped dead, halting before the queens focused on a game of croquet. Penta and Valencia stood next to each other each holding their mallets, eyeing their shots. The eldest queen instructed her younger sister on how to strike the ball. “You hit it with the end of the mallet, Valencia, not the side of it.”

Valencia brightened. “Like this?” She struck the ball and it rolled through the grass.

Cinderella stopped the ball with her foot, her mallet resting on her shoulder. “Through the hoop, my dear.” She smacked the ball back to Valencia.

Snow White balanced her mallet on two hoops near a stake. “A delightful idea playing this game, Penta.”

Helga sat on a bench with her arms extended on top of its back support. “Do you plan to introduce it to the rest of Kingdom?”

Penta brushed her russet-colored hair from her eyes. “Of course. I think the people will enjoy it.”

The fans took two steps backward to escape the center of the hedge maze. Somehow the queens had overlooked them, too focused on their game. The refugees thought if they retreated, they might be able to cut through the hedges to freedom.

Snow White, without looking at them, waved them forward. “Come here, you five. We will not send you back to prison.”

The fans glanced surreptitiously at each other then took a few tentative steps into the large clearing of the maze.

Valencia lined up her shot toward a nearby hoop. The tip of her tongue emerged from her lips and she bit it. “Wait until I take this shot.”

Plonk. The ball sailed through the hoop and Valencia whooped with joy. “Ha! I did it.”

“Shall we pause our game to address our spectators?” asked Cinderella. “They seem to be wigging out—slang Hero taught me from earth.”

Apple, the oldest, found her voice first. “Are we in trouble?”

Valencia swung the mallet over her shoulder. “Certainly. You will perform chores for us around the castle for weeks for the in-fighting.”

Penny touched her chin. “You arranged all of this, did you not? The dwarf, the soldiers, Prince Roger, all knew we had escaped.”

Penta’s eyes flashed. “Penny, when you are older, we should talk about a position here as a royal advisor.”

Snow White gestured to an empty bench. “Sit. Did the five of you honestly think we would send young people to the dungeon?” She turned to the rest of her sisters. “We must work on our reputation.”

Helga, who sat across from the fans, smirked. “Just because you thought they would not believe their punishment does not mean the people think us severe. Our fans were afraid and vulnerable. In such a state, ’tis no wonder they believed us. Even our false argument.”

Cinderella grinned at Valencia. “I loved the insult you created. ‘If the shoe fits’ surpasses your best joke ever, sister.”

Penta stood before the fans and the queens all moved to stand next to her. Penta put her hands on her hips. “Now, what have we learned?”

The fans shuffled on the bench. Matches toed a rock on the ground. “We learned not to fight with each other.”

“Matches, you can do better than that,” said Valencia. “What have you achieved today?”

Matches swallowed. “We helped each other to escape.”

“But you arranged it,” Penny lowered her shoulders. “In the end, we did not accomplish anything.”

Penta blinked. “Penny, really! Now I am disappointed. Everything happened only if the five of you worked together.”

“And you used what you learned to help each other and not yourselves. My poor guards.” Helga shook her head. “The kneecaps, Heggy, right?”

Heggy nodded.

Penta gestured to the fans. “And now, you five shall lead the other fans, showing how to be considerate of each other. The five of you will come to the castle regularly and report on your progress.”

Cinderella leaned to the side using her mallet for support. “In addition to the chores, each of you will come to the palace for three weeks and report to a different queen other than the one your fan group admires. You will talk to the queen and then, together, we will perform a chore.”

Snow White clasped her hands behind her back. “We do not always agree, and we have had some arguments.”

Cinderella grinned and rolled her eyes. “Doozies! Another earth term. It means large fights.”

“But we have never turned on each other,” continued Snow White, eyeing her interrupting sister. “We rule as one. ’Tis the only way to keep Kingdom together. If we battle each other, we reduce our beloved world to ruin.”

Penta held her hands to the teenagers. “Enough of our chitchat. Come along. You are invited to dinner.”

The fans looked at each other and stood as the queens placed their mallets against a bench. The queens walked in front and made their way through the hedge maze. The fans reached for each other’s hands and followed them to the castle.