“What?” I splutter.
“We have to break the plot without making it too obvious. In this part of the story, you try to kill Naia and are stopped, but what if we get into that ball and Naia is never your target after all.”
I pull back slightly. “I’m not stabbing you if that’s what you’re asking. That’s in the realm of things that aren’t happening. Like, ever.”
“No, you goof,” she says with a little laugh. “I’m doing all this so I don’t get stabbed at the end of this story. No, you’re going to kill the prince.”
Kill the prince?
I purse my lips. The guy I just thoroughly trounced in the alleyway? I still feel bad about that, and I think Ihave some of his blood on the elbow of my coat. I step back, resting my hand on my hip. “No, thanks. I don’t kill people.”
“Don’t think of him as a person,” Vera argues as she steps toward me. She moves close enough that the bottom of her skirts brushes over the top of my boots. I move back another step, but then my back runs into the wall. “He is just a character.” Vera holds up her other hand, her finger darting between the two of us. “You and me, we’re the real people here, and if things proceed the way they are, then we are the ones who are going to die.”
“This still doesn’t seem right…”
She tilts her head. “So, you would rather kill me instead? The plot took control of you last time we were supposed to fight, what makes you think it won’t find a way to do that again? We can’t trust ourselves, not while we are trapped in this world. Our only chance is to destroy the plot by arranging an unplanned main character death.”
I purse my lips. She has a fancy way of sayingmurder someone. “It still seems cold-hearted.”
“You think I don’t know that? I’ve had a crush on Frederick since I wrote him. He is literally my perfect man. But I’d rather not die myself.”
I snatch the knife out of her hands before I even know what I’m doing. “All right fine,” I mutter. I don’t knowwhy Vera mentioning liking Frederick made my veins feel as if they were alight with fiery rage, but it did. And it finally gave me the push needed to agree to this.
After all, if the alternative is to kill Vera, I think I’d take my chances with a soulless character who is the caricature of Vera’s perfect man. “I’m not sure about your taste in men though,” I grumble.
Vera blinks, stepping back in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“I mean this Frederick guy is all looks and no brains. He doesn’t even have a personality other than being a valiant hero. How in the world are you going to find a guy like that in real life?”
“I never said my type was convenient,” she grumbles. “There’s a reason I’m still single.”
“You’re too picky.”
“Oh, shut up and let’s get out of this story so we can go back to being frenemies.” She turns, heading back toward town. I’m not sure what is going on up past the docks, but I’ve noticed a bit of a to-do. The merchants were preparing for a party of their own, setting out stalls and gathering in the streets. The castle is in the center of town, so whatever it is, we will have to pass through it to get to our destination.
I hurry after Vera, my boot scuffing against the cobblestones that make up the paths. “Wait, since when have we been frenemies?”
I wasn’t aware that we were friends or enemies. Let alone both.
She shrugs. “I was trying to be nice and not just call you my enemy.”
“Enemy?” I choke out.
“Foe. Bane of my existence… I mean you’re one to talk about pickiness. I’ve never met a more nitpicky person. You butchered my script! You couldn’t leave anything be.”
“Uh, that was my job,” I say as I grab her elbow and force her to stop. “This movie affects my reputation. I wasn’t about to put out a flawed piece.”
“My script wasn’t flawed,” she spits, her eyes flashing with frustration. “And you’re acting like you work for a huge company. My script isn’t going to be the next blockbuster so why did you have to massacre it so?”
I exhale slowly. It isn’t as if I wanted to crawl out of my farm in Idaho just to work for a struggling small studio, but it’s all steppingstones in my goal to become the next big producer in Hollywood. I can’t very well do that if I produce sub-par movies. Even if it is only out of a small studio.
“I believe that you should always give everything your best.”
“Well, bring that logic to the ball and make sure that you give killing Frederick your best effort.”
“I just don’t know why I have to do it,” I mutter. I slide the dagger under my arm so I don’t have to hold it anymore as I wipe my palm on the end of the cloak. It’s all slick with sweat.
“Because it was Hook who tried to kill Naia in the story. If we are trying to beat the plot we have to stick as close to it as possible and strike in the minutest way. We just need to change it ever so slightly otherwise the plot will catch on and find some way to control you again.”
