“And you’re jealous? You want to drop her in a pit of snakes and ensnare him for yourself?”
I grimace. “Let’s be clear—that poopfloof isn’t getting anywhere near me.”
“Poopfloof?”
“Poop as in poop, floof as in floof,” I explain.
She tilts her head as she thinks over my words. “Don’t try to make sense of her,” the genie says. “I called you here because Daphne needs to escape this room, make haste to the ball while being unrecognizable, and then rescue her sister before disappearing into the realm and toward her freedom.”
Margaret scowls at Eugene. “So a simple scrub, search, and seclude?”
“Yes,” the genie says.
Margaret helps herself to a few berries from the platter left by the knights. “I can manage that.”
She rubs her hands together as she turns and lets her gaze run over me. Her wings flutter at the same time, like they are energizing. She slides a thin crooked sparkly wand out of a pocket on her dress. I love pockets in skirts and dresses. They are underrated.
She presses her lips together like she’s thinking hard. With a wave of her hand, the black drapes framing the windows detach and fly across the room, surrounding me in swathes of fabric. My own clothes disappear and within a tempo, I’m wearing a gorgeous black ball gown with the much needed pockets sewn into the sides.
Margaret nods. “That will suffice for a starting base.”
“It’s beautiful,” I tell her, taking a step toward my cracked mirror that the guys must have retrieved.
My mirror man appears and sweeps his gaze down me. “My lady, you are truly a beautiful sight to behold.”
“Here we go,” the genie mutters.
The mirror man ignores him. “Are we going somewhere on this fine sundown?” he asks.
“Let’s finish clothing you before we launch into the plan of how you are going to escape,” Margaret says. She flings open a window and waves her wand toward the sky. Stars flutter down toward her and she spins, aiming the stream at my dress. They seep into the fabric of my dress in swirling patterns.
“Wow,” I whisper.
The genie floats closer to me. “Made of starlight and magic, she shines brighter than the breaking sun and warms the hearts of everyone she touches. Her destiny is filled with the darkest of monsters and the bravest of souls.”
“That’s philosophical of you,” I mumble.
The genie frowns. “I’m not sure where that came from.”
Margaret smiles like she knows something we don’t. “Sit, Daphne. You need shoes to complement the dress.”
I drop onto the sofa, the dress fanning out around me, and skim my hand over the stars she’s stolen from the sky. A pair of silver heels appear in her hands. I shake my head. “No, I’m not falling headfirst into the fairy tale I’m trying to escape from. My footwear needs to be glued to my feet, because when I make my escape, I will not be leaving any clues for anyone to follow.”
She shrugs and twists her lips to the side. The heels whirl and transform into glittering boots with pretty satin laces. She hands them to me and I pull them onto my feet. They fit and aren’t escaping anywhere. “Perfect,” I tell her.
“Now, for the finishing touches. No one will recognize you,” she says with another wave of her wand. Something cool wraps across my chest and behind my neck. I glance down. There’s a twinkling necklace draped across my chest. My hair tightens and I glance in the mirror to see it twist and turn into a complicated design with more scattered stars twinkling in the braids.
She eyeballs the door. “Not that exit,” she declares. “No, your way out is through the window.”
“I could give her the gift of flight if she’d just wish for it,” the genie mutters.
“Not happening.”
Margaret eyeballs Eugene and Hamish. Then, with a quick wave of her wand, they float into the air and spin. Feathered wings erupt as they meld together to form a winged white horse.
“What did you do?” I say with horror.
“Well, they were capons and had tiny brains, so I combined them to create a more intelligent creature. Plus, they are strong enough to bear two maidens.”
