“Delightful!” Mother says. “But I do wonder… Oh, what was I wondering? Oh! Yes! Why not just send them to Fairy Tale Reform School then?”

Olivina’s smile waffles. “We don’t do that here. We already lost one royal to that school, and I don’t like the idea of royals being mixed in with such…unseemly individuals. We take care of our own. The world is a dangerous place, and I am here to see to it that we’re doing things properly so the kingdom has a bright future.” She looks at Snow. “Did I not guide you and your fellow royal court?”

“Of course, Fairy Godmother!” Snow agrees.

She turns to Sasha’s parents. “Have I not helped end sleeping curses and found cures?”

“Yes!” Sasha’s parents reply.

She turns to my parents. “Have your fairy-tale dreams not come true?”

“Indeed, they have,” my mother replies.

“Something’s wrong,” I realize.

“What was in that muffin mix?” Logan asks. “If Olivina made them, maybe there’s something in them that is making everyone agreeable when they normally wouldn’t be.” He taps his chin. “I wonder what she used…”

Raina clutches her chest. “She wouldn’t. Would she?”

“We understand now, don’t we?” Snow says, and the others mutter in agreement as they take their second or third muffins from the tray.

“No.”

“I’m sorry?” I hear Olivina say.

My father steps forward.

“Wanting to be an creature caretaker is not criminal or villainous,” my father says even as my mother tries to shush him. “If that’s what my Devin did to deserve banishment, then I disagree. I second-guessed sending her here in the first place. She is meant to be a creature caretaker, and I won’t let you ruin that just because she wanted that more than she wanted the life you planned for her.”

I feel a lump form in my throat. My father is standing up for me.

“Commander Nile, don’t be so upset!” Olivina says. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like a muffin?”

“No, thank you,” he says. “The truth is, I never wanted to pigeonhole my daughter into a life she didn’t want. I taught her to be kind, brave, and true to herself, and if that’s not enough to make her worthy of her title, then maybe I don’t want her to have one.”

“That does make sense,” Snow holds her head. “I feel so strange, but I agree with the commander. Not everyone born royal is best suited to rule. Raina has always taken to the royal life, but my brother is an expert trailsman and I always thought he’d be a wonderful explorer. Maybe we shouldn’t force them into lives they aren’t meant to live.”

“Whatever Olivina says, I agree with,” Sasha’s mother argues, and her father sticks a whole muffin in his mouth.

“Mother, fight like Snow!” Sasha shouts at the mirror.

Olivina flashes a tight smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Well, I think that’s enough talking for one day.” Hazel ushers everyone to the door and takes away the remaining muffins that Sasha’s mom is trying to dump in her purse. “Thank you so much for coming in, and do send a Pegasus Post if you hear anything that feels wrong. The media, as you know, can be so one-sided. I don’t put much trust in it.” Hazel nods in agreement. “And, as I said, if you hear from your children and they choose to follow our ways, I can find it in my heart to welcome them back and remove their banishment.”