Sleeping Beauty Dreams Big Read online

  Just then a bluebird flew in through the office’s high window. There was a rolled-up piece of vellum paper in its beak. Swooping low, it delivered the paper to Rose’s father. Unrolling it, he quickly scanned the words written upon it. Then he looked up at Rose and her mom.

  “I’m needed at the palace,” he announced. Since kings were busy people, Rose wasn’t really surprised that he’d been called home. He was always on a tight schedule. Her parents had only planned to stay until she was settled in, anyway, so she’d been expecting them to leave this evening.

  After a flurry of hugs and kisses and warnings about various dangers, her parents quickly bid her farewell. And then they were gone, leaving Rose in the care of the dragon lady.

  The minute the door shut behind them, a cranky new voice yelled from somewhere nearby. “Dagnabbit!”

  Startled, Rose dropped her list of dangerous things. Her eyes darted toward the door beyond the dragon lady’s desk, from which the voice had come. The door was marked PRINCIPAL R’S OFFICE. Sounds of thumping and grumping were coming from behind it now.

  “Bandersnatch! Someone’s in an uffish mood,” Ms. Jabberwocky commented. She shot Rose a grin. Then she became all business.

  “First of all … classes. I’ve assigned them for you as I do for all new GA students, and I drew up a written sheet. Now, let’s see, where is it?” She dug through the papers strewn over her desk. “Normally, I’m more organized that this, but we’ve been rather busy around here ever since Rapunzel found that magical straw a few weeks ago.”

  “Straw?” Rose bent and picked up the Danger List.

  “The Straw of Gold. It’s supposed to spin into unlimited amounts of gold, but so far …” Ms. Jabberwocky’s eyes rolled toward the door marked Principal R. “Let’s just say things are not going so well.”

  “Stupeegrabbernatch!” yelled the voice in the principal’s office. Could that be the principal himself?

  Ms. Jabberwocky made a yikes face, but then she said, “Never mind him.” She picked up a snow globe with a tiny representation of the Academy inside it, and then set it down on a stack of ancient-looking papers like a paperweight. Dust puffed up from the stack.

  At the same time Rose handed her the Danger List. “My parents would like —” she began.

  Ah-ah-a-chooo! A ball of fire shot from Ms. Jabberwocky’s mouth in a humongous sneeze. When the smoke cleared, most of the Danger List was gone. No more than a scant inch of its top corner was still clasped in Ms. Jabberwocky’s clawed hand. The rest of it had been burned to a crisp.

  “I hope that wasn’t anything tulgey important,” Ms. Jabberwocky said in an apologetic tone.

  “Um, no,” said Rose. In fact, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The scrap of the list that was left wafted to the floor. The only word she could read on it now was, Danger. Rose stepped on the word, covering it with one slippered foot. Now that the list was gone, so was her need to follow it, she decided.

  More banging came from the principal’s office. Thonk! Slam! “Jabberwockeee!” yelled the grumpy voice.

  “There in a minute, Principal R!” To Rose, Ms. Jabberwocky said, “Since I can’t seem to find my assignment sheet, why don’t you just choose from our list of classes? And be snicker-snack about it, please.” She whipped out a large, ancient-looking book, opened it, and slid it across the desk toward Rose.

  Rose stared at the list in the book for a long moment. So long, that Ms. Jabberwocky began impatiently tapping the claws of one hand on the desk. Feeling her rebellious streak suddenly kick in, she sent the dragon lady a pleasant smile. “I’ll take Threads class; Calligraphy class; and Scrying class, please.” Then she added firmly, “And Sieges, Catapults, and Jousts class, too.”

  After all, it wasn’t her birthday yet. And although less than a week in Sieges, Catapults, and Jousts wouldn’t allow her time to learn all she needed to know to become a knight, she’d still enjoy it. A lot! She’d pretend that the curse hanging over her head didn’t exist. She’d forget that it meant her dream of actually becoming a knight was doomed. Till Friday, she would do whatever she wanted to. Next week, she could ask to switch to “safe” classes if she felt like the ones she’d chosen really were dangerous. No harm done.

  “Got it!” The dragon lady pulled out a purple-and-gold leather-bound book and scribbled the names of Rose’s chosen classes on the first blank page. “I’ve added a couple of additional classes to make six, but if they don’t suit you, I’ll bend the rules and allow you to change them later.” Then, after closing the book again, she thrust it into Rose’s hands. “That’s your handbook.”

  As Rose stared down at it, an oval about two inches long suddenly appeared at the center of its cover. Right away a swirly GA logo magically drew itself inside the oval.

  “Grimmawesome!” she said, watching in delight. There were so many magical things here at the Academy it seemed, far more than elsewhere in the realm.

  “Grumpsteritchysauce! Why isn’t this straw working?” yelled the voice in the other room, even louder and grumpier now. “Jabberwockeeeee!”

  “Ooh, he’s galumphing mad. That straw was supposed to be the answer to the Academy’s financial future and …” Apparently deciding she’d revealed too much, Ms. Jabberwocky stopped mid-sentence.

  Then she switched into super-high efficient gear. She leaned over the desk and looped a silver chain around Rose’s neck. There was a long ornate key dangling from it. “Wear this from now on. It’s your trunker key.”

  “Thank you,” Rose said. She’d seen the hallway full of trunks set on their ends, and had already figured out that students must keep their belongings inside them.

  Ms. Jabberwocky nodded once, and then went on. “Classes are on the first, second, and third floors. And you’ll find your personal code for locking and unlocking your trunker on the first page of that handbook. Memorize the code quickly once you view it because it’ll disappear forever within five minutes.”

  Having imparted that information, she headed for the principal’s door. “Hmm. I feel like I’m mimsy forgetting to tell you something.”

  “Yes, you are,” said Rose. “I mean, where do I —” But her question was drowned out by the sounds of more banging and stomping from behind Principal R’s door.

  As the dragon lady continued walking backward toward the door, she counted on her claws: “Let’s see. Trunker key, trunker code, class assignments.” Behind her, the tip of her long scaly tail wrapped itself around the knob of the principal’s door. The knob turned, then she slapped the door open with a whap of her tail.

  “Oh! I know,” Ms. Jabberwocky announced, snapping two clawed fingers. “Your tower task. You’ll have sixth period free every Wednesday for that. Now, I must be off, snicker-snack! See yourself out. And have a happily-ever-after night!” She sent Rose another scary dragon-toothed grin, then stepped into the principal’s office.

  Rose took a quick step toward her. “Wait! Where —” she called after her, but the door to Principal R’s office had already slammed shut. Quietly, she finished the question she had wanted to ask: “— do I sleep?” Her words fell into the empty room with no one to answer.

  Oh well. She’d figure it out for herself. All she had to do was ask around about her trunks. Because wherever they had been taken, that’s where she’d be sleeping.

  A second later, Rose stepped back out into the fourth-floor hallway, holding her new handbook. She looked left and then right. Not sure where to go, she went left, back the way she and her parents had first come.

  Just before she reached the stairs, she paused to admire a suit of armor standing in the hall against a wall. Its intricately carved silver lance was amazingly shiny and, well, beautiful! She reached up, wanting to test its point.

  Before she could touch it, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Three whiffs of sparkly magic had flickered in the air, back a ways toward the office. A bit of yellow, a bit of pink, a bit of purple. No! Not the
m again! She’d hoped those three wouldn’t follow her here. That they’d stay behind at the palace. But no such luck. Argh!

  The three round puffs of sparkly magic, each about the size of a melon, started to move toward her. Her eyes widened. Lickety-split, Rose took off, heading for the stairs.

  Each of those magic mists contained a fairy — a chicken-yellow one, a bubble-gum pink one, and an overly curious purple one. She’d long ago realized that no one but she could see them, so she’d stopped mentioning them for fear people would think she’d gone bonkers.

  After making it to the grand staircase, she wrapped both arms around her handbook, hopped on the banister, and slid all the way down, down, down to the first floor. Her parents didn’t allow her to do such things back at the palace, but she’d sneaked enough times that she’d become a pretty expert banister-slider. She was grinning when reached the bottom to land right in front of a girl standing there. A girl with long green hair that grew like curly leafy vines from her head.

  “Hi!” they said at the same time, which made the girl giggle. “You’re Princess Briar Rose, right?” the girl asked.

  “Just Rose,” said Rose.

  The girl nodded. “I’m Princess Pea. But everyone just calls me Pea. Like the vegetable. C’mon. Dorms are on six. We’ll be sharing.” She looped an arm through Rose’s and they set off back up the staircase together.

  Rose couldn’t believe she’d run into her assigned roommate first thing. Now that was a stroke of luck! Plus, she seemed friendly.

  When they reached the twisty stairs again on the fourth floor, Rose paused to peek down the hall. No sign of the fairies or their sparkly mists. Breathing a sigh of relief, she jogged upward after Pea, heading for the dorms. The stairs dead-ended at two doors on the sixth-floor landing. One was emerald green and one was pearly white. Pea pulled the emerald one open. It took them to an outdoor stone walkway that ran between the towers. Outside, the night was cool and the sky was a dark, velvety blue.

  When they heard splashing somewhere below, Pea stopped to lean over the wall and wave down at someone. “Night, Mermily!”

  Rose looked over, too. One floor below them in a courtyard between the fifth-floor dorm towers stood a tall, three-tiered fountain. There was a mermaid about their age swimming in its waters!

  Far, far below the fountain courtyard, the waters of the Once Upon River lapped against the bottom of the castle’s stone dungeon. And above their heads the pointy tops of the three towers seemed to rise high enough to poke the puffy night clouds.

  “Does that mermaid girl sleep in the fountain?” asked Rose as she and Pea continued along the walkway.

  Pea nodded. “Usually. She’s Cinda’s roomie over in Pearl dorm. Cinda, as in Cinderella, that is. I used to live in Pearl, too, but then I got switched to Emerald. All the towers have jewel nicknames,” she went on, pointing. “The ones on our side of the Academy are Pearl, Ruby, and Emerald.”

  Rose looked at the pearly white, dazzling red, and green towers, the last one gleaming in the darkness like sparkling, lush green grass.

  “The boys’ towers are Onyx, Topaz, and Zircon,” Pea added, waving a hand toward Gray Castle on the opposite end of the school.

  It turned out that Emerald Tower was circular and was ringed with little bedrooms, all set along the outer stone wall, each with a decorative curtain as an entrance. In the center of the tower there was a gathering space with a fireplace hearth that appeared to be made of real emerald jewels! Surrounding it were a half-dozen comfy chairs and a few tables. One of them was long and rectangular with green felt on top — it was a pool table. And scattered around the floor were a bunch of throw cushions in various shades of green, turquoise, and blue.

  “In here,” said Pea, pulling aside the curtain-door to their alcove. Inside, a cute green-striped oval rug lay in the center of the floor. On the far wall beyond the rug was a big, single window with round glass panes. Canopy beds with swooping swags of wispy see-through fabric draped across the top stood on either side of the room. To see the canopies well, Rose had to stand on tiptoe since both beds were raised about six feet off the floor on tall bedposts. Uh oh, she thought in dismay. This could be a problem. A problem that had nothing to do with the dangers of sharp objects, however.

  “That’s your side,” Pea informed her, following her gaze.

  “Thanks,” said Rose, smiling at her. At the end of each bed stood an armoire with mirrored doors and a ladder. She climbed halfway up hers to look at her bed. She smoothed a hand over the coverlet. It was her favorite color, lavender.

  She glanced over at the comforter on Pea’s bed. It had green dots. She wondered if the dots were supposed to be peas. It would make sense in a weird sort of way!

  Seeing Rose’s expression, Pea told her, “I know what you must be thinking. The Academy is grimmazing. But the beds are terrible. So not comfy. I don’t sleep a wink.”

  Rose nodded, though she hadn’t been thinking any such thing. Besides, no matter how uncomfy the mattress, if the curse in her tale ever came true she’d sleep for a hundred years, which was far longer than a wink. However, she’d worry about all that five days from now. In the meantime, she had big plans for her final days of pre-birthday freedom. And they didn’t include trying to play things safe.

  However, this bed was kind of dangerous if you were the kind of princess who sometimes went sleepwalking. Which she was. She hadn’t done that in a long time, though. So maybe it wouldn’t be a problem here.

  Just then, Pea gave a huge yawn. “I’m pooped,” she said. “Mind if I hit the sack?”

  “No, I mean, that’s fine with me.” After Pea gave her some directions, Rose slipped out of their room and found the alcove marked WASHING UP. There, she bathed and put on pj’s. By the time she got back, Pea was asleep.

  Rose found her three trunks, which had been stashed beside her under-the-bed desk. Not wanting to wake Pea, she tiptoed around as she put things away. Back home in the palace, she had a huge room all to herself, so sharing this small room was going to take some getting used to.

  As she unpacked, she heard faint laughter and clanking sounds coming from somewhere outside. Glancing out the window between her and Pea’s beds she saw those four girls again. Cinda and her friends. They were laughing and playing putt-putt golf on the “green” atop the long hall that connected the Pink and Gray castles.

  But what really caught her eye was the group of boys at the far end of the green, closer to Gray Castle. The ones from the jousting team. They were sword fighting!

  Just as she decided to go down and ask to join them, however, all the students on the green ended their games. Then they went inside, boys into Gray Castle and girls into Pink Castle.

  Oh, grumblemonkeys, thought Rose. However, maybe it was best that she not rush to make friends around here. She didn’t want to get a reputation as pushy. And if she somehow managed to outwit the curse, her parents might summon her home, anyway.

  After a while, she began to yawn, so she, too, climbed into bed. She quickly fell asleep … and was soon dreaming a sort of dream she’d never had before. A dream that almost felt real, though she knew it couldn’t be.

  In her dream she was a knight! With a sword. She was using it to fight someone. Someone evil. Clank! Clank!

  * * *

  “Attention, students of Grimm Academy! Breakfast begins in one hour.”

  Wrenched from sleep, Rose sat straight up. Her heart was racing, her breath coming in gasps. She’d never even held a sword before. Weapons were pretty much number one no-nos on her parents’ Danger List. But her dream had seemed so real.

  She looked around woozily. Wait! Where was she? Not in bed, that was for sure. This room wasn’t familiar in the least.

  She was sitting in a big, tufted leather chair before a large antique desk. High along the wall above it was a speaker through which the voices had blared the breakfast announcement. The rest of the walls around her were lined with bookshelves and stuffed with oddba
ll things. Dozens of portraits, including seven in carved golden frames hung on the wall directly behind her.

  And — Oh no! — she was still wearing her pj’s. So that’s how she’d gotten here. She’d been sleepwalking. Again. Argh!

  At least there were no sparkly pink, yellow, and purple mist puff fairies floating anywhere in the room to annoy her, thought Rose. There were, however, some beautiful quill feather pens lying in a wooden box on top of the desk. A stack of vellum paper lay beside the box. To her surprise, the stack suddenly magically lifted itself to hover about four feet above the desk.

  Swish! Rose gasped as it began scattering itself. Soon, sheets of paper were flying around the room like a deck of cards being dealt wildly into the air by unseen hands.

  After several sheets drifted to settle on the desktop, one of the pens hopped out of the wooden box and flew across them to land in her hand. Startled, she dropped it and leaped from her chair, then stared as the pen skated around the desk, scribbling aimlessly on the sheets of paper.

  “Hello? Are you a magic pen?” she asked it after a moment. The quill pen stopped scribbling and the tip of its feathers bobbed up and down at her, as if nodding yes.

  “Besides scribbling on your own, can you do other kinds of magic?” she asked it.

  Instantly, the pen was off again. But now it wrote words: That’s for me to know and you to find out.

  What a cheeky little pen! she thought. Fascinated, she picked it up and drew a few lines with it on the sheet of paper. “Sorry, I can’t really draw. That’s supposed to be a flower.” Quick as a wink, her drawing rearranged itself into a beautiful rose, complete with thorny stem.

  “Why, that’s exactly the flower I meant to draw. How did you know?” Before it could write a reply, Rose was startled by a sound.

  Whoosh! She turned in time to see a large book fly from a shelf and land in the middle of the stone floor. Whap! Its pages fell open to a fairy tale. She set the pen down and went to stare at it, reading the title aloud, “Rumpelstiltskin.”