“But what she wrote, was it the truth?” Sasha’s father asks. “Are you manipulating the royals in this kingdom to do your bidding?”

Olivina looks aghast. “Of course not!” She motions to her couch. “Please, let’s all sit down and chat.” She holds up a tray of baked goods. “Try one of these chocolate rhubarb muffins I just got the recipe for. You’ll feel so much better.”

“Thank you, Fairy Godmother.” Snow takes a bite of a muffin. “I don’t mean to question your judgment. It’s just we’re having trouble understanding what our siblings and children could have done that deserved banishment in the first place. You’ve been a part of my family for years. If my brother and sister were not following school protocol, I should have been notified. We all should have been… Oh. What did you say was in these? Rhubarb?” She takes another bite. “They’re delicious!”

“Are they?” Sasha’s mother reaches for one. “Our family has had such heartache this year with Rose. If Sasha wasn’t upholding her royal duties, shouldn’t we, her parents, be the ones to handle that? We’ve spoken to Logan Nederlander’s parents as well. They’re actually out searching for their son as we speak, which is why they didn’t join us this evening.”

“They are?” Logan pipes up. “Wow, and at night too. My parents never go anywhere under the cover of darkness without my brother nearby. Too many things could eat you.”

“These are delicious,” Sasha’s mom says and offers the plate to my parents. My mother takes one, but my father waves it away.

Olivina folds her hands in her expansive lap, her ruby-red gown fanning out in front of her. “I understand all of you are upset. How do you think I feel? To lose such promising young students so early in their education? It’s unheard of! But the path they were going down was too dark to allow it to continue. Try as I might to straighten them out, their behavior led me to believe…” She hesitates and looks at Hazel, who puts an arm on her shoulder. “They were on their way to becoming villains.”

Raina is aghast. “How could she say that about us? It’s not true!”

“Do you really think so?” Snow asks with a dreamy look on her face.

“Oh dear,” says Sasha’s mother. “That makes me sad, but if you say so…”

“What’s wrong with them?” Heath asks. “Why are they going along with Olivina?”

“I know how hard this is to hear.” Olivina’s eyes fill up with tears. “But it is the truth! I swear on my fairy godmother code of honor.” My mother hands her a handkerchief. “Thank you, darling. This is all so upsetting. I never like to lose a student under my watch. But the truth is, there is a reason we do things a certain way here.”

“These truly are wonderful,” my mother says and giggles. “I must get the recipe!”

My father looks at her strangely. “Are you all right?”