Page 11 of Barbie: Dreamscape

I scoff, waiting for someone to fix this malfunction. I wait…

But nothing happens. No one rushes in. The crowd is just beyond the glass, gone very still and quiet in anticipation.

Something is obviously broken. This isn’t exactly how I wanted to reveal myself, but I storm over to the window, going through with the steps I’ve practiced in my mind a thousand times.

When I finally reach the front of the room, the crowd erupts in gasps, seeing me empty-handed.

“There—there’s been a mistake,” I explain, raising my voice so they can hear me through the window. Because that’s the only possible answer.

I look at the crowd, desperately searching for Robin, and find Callie. Her eyes are wide with shock. I smile at her reassuringly. Don’t worry.

Robin will make this right. My eyes cut to the dais below. I find my guardian still standing on her stage, magical scepter in hand, and relief slides down my spine. She’ll know what to do. She’ll put the seal back, and I’ll do this again, and everything will be okay.

But Robin’s staff has gone dark. When I meet her gaze, her eyes—for the first time since I can remember—are filled with surprise, dismay… and pity.

She doesn’t move a single inch.

She doesn’t right this.

“No. There’s—it’s a mistake,” I repeat. The crowd just stares at me.

“THERE’S BEEN A MISTAKE!” I scream, and the crowd flinches back. I swallow. They’re looking at me—

They’re looking at me like they’re afraid.

It’s the last reaction I was expecting today.

My heart is an erratic rhythm in my chest, a beast trying to break out of its cage. My ears are roaring.

Someone has to do something.

At last, Robin claps her hands, and when she speaks, her voice is even and sure, belying the surprise written across her face. “This concludes our Boxing Day ceremony. Please make your way to the front courtyard for more celebration…”

What? No.

This can’t—this can’t be over.

I haven’t gotten my Fate yet!

The crowd begins to disperse. But not before a voice rings out, crystal clear through the glass, and says—

“The Fates make no mistakes. Fate is final.”

Paige. She’s standing with the Lawyers, arms filled with a leather briefcase, folders, a quill, and a coffee mug. She’s looking at me smugly, like a truth has been revealed that she’s known this entire time. And finally, people are listening.

To her.

A murmur spreads through the crowd as people begin to echo her words. It becomes an endless chant that echoes through the courtyard, through my mind, through my bones, until, finally, Robin is able to lead them away.

No.

This can’t—this can’t be final.

I sink to the ground, my feet finally giving out from under me, my heels slipping off. The clips in my hair fall to the floor, as if even they don’t want to be associated with me.

This… can’t be real.

But I’m not dreaming.