The Fairy Godmother knew she should have never brought up the debacle. That’s what the Fairy Godmother had been calling it. And that’s exactly what it was, a debacle. And as far as the Fairy Godmother was concerned, Circe and her mothers, the Odd Sisters, were perfectly fine where they were, in the Place Between, far away from the Fairylands and the Many Kingdoms, where they couldn’t hurt anyone. It wasn’t her business if Circe chose to go beyond the veil with her mothers, or come back to the land of the living after she said her tearful goodbyes to those horrible witch mothers of hers. This was a matter for witches, not fairies—it was no longer their concern. As long as the Fairylands were safe and as long as the Odd Sisters were as far away from them as possible, she was content. Oh yes, there was some way the ancestors could bring them back if they chose, but the Fairy Godmother felt Circe would make the right choice. For all Circe’s failings, the Fairy Godmother thought she was a brave young woman. She had, after all, sacrificed her own life to stop her mothers from destroying the Fairylands. Circe had saved the Many Kingdoms, and for that the fairies would always be grateful. And the Fairy Godmother knew Circe wouldn’t make the mistake of bringing the Odd Sisters back into the world again. So as far as she was concerned the matter was put to rest. What they all needed now was to tighten up ranks and make sure nothing like that would ever happen again, even if that meant not entangling the fairies with the likes of the Tremaines. Of course her sister, Nanny, didn’t agree, and as usual she was Hades-bent on flying them into the face of danger.

Nanny tutted at the Fairy Godmother (no doubt having read her sister’s mind) and turned to face her.

“Sister, please don’t ever mention Circe again,” Nanny said. “And don’t insult me or my intelligence by invoking her name in an attempt to distract me. You know as well as I do that you are fairy duty–bound to help Queen Cinderella!”

As Nanny spoke, the Fairy Godmother grew more and more agitated. She tapped her wand on the edge of the table, causing it to spark in rapid bursts that Nanny had to dodge.

“Sister, stop that!” Nanny scolded. “You know you don’t have a choice. You have to help Cinderella. And as much as you will hate it, that means you have to help Anastasia and Drizella. I can’t believe we are even having this discussion.” Nanny was so angry her wings were now standing up straight behind her.