Beauty Queen Page 3

  Jonah and I hold our breath.

  Mr. Beast closes his eyes for a second. Then he opens them. “All right,” he says eventually. “You have until dinner. Or your brother gets hurt.”

  My heart starts to hammer. Mr. Beast isn’t really going to KILL my brother, right? In the story, he doesn’t actually kill the merchant, he just threatens to, so I’m sure he won’t do it here. He’s a nice person underneath all that fur. He really is. He’s a big softie. His bark is way worse than his bite. I gulp. Isn’t it?

  “What time is dinner?” I ask.

  “Nine.”

  Okay. That’s a ridiculous hour to eat dinner, but I’m not complaining. I need the time. But it’s so late. How does he do it? I’d be starving by then!

  “We can do it,” I say. What choice do I have? “We’ll be back by nine. What time is it now?” I look up. It’s a perfect day. It’s sunny, but there are a few fluffy clouds in the bright, blue sky.

  “Eleven o’clock in the morning.”

  I nod and motion for my brother and dog to follow me back around to the front of the castle. “Come on, Jonah, Prince, let’s go!”

  “Nooooooooo.” Mr. Beast shakes his head. “Your brother stays here.”

  Jonah turns white.

  My heart stops. “No way,” I say.

  “Way,” Mr. Beast says.

  Jonah looks at Mr. Beast and then back at me. “Abby, I’ll be okay here.”

  “No,” I cry, grabbing my brother’s hand. “The last time I left you alone in a fairy tale, you got turned into a frozen zombie.”

  His face lights up. “I did? Really?”

  “Yes! I can’t leave you with someone who just threatened to hurt you.” I turn to Mr. Beast. “Take Prince instead. You guys are already friends!”

  Prince barks twice.

  “No,” Mr. Beast says. “How do I know you’ll come back for the animal? People don’t care about animals.”

  “I care about my animal!” I protest.

  Mr. Beast leans against the stone castle wall. “Clearly not that much if you were willing to trade him for your brother.”

  Touché.

  Jonah steps closer to me and lowers his voice. “Abby, I’ll be fine. Mr. Beast is the hero of the story, right? He doesn’t actually hurt anyone. He’s just trying to scare us to get his way. You saw how sweet he was with Prince. And maybe spending more time with him will make my memories come back.”

  “But … but … but …” Argh! I guess he’s right. And it’s not as though I have much of a choice.

  I lift my chin and face Mr. Beast. “Do you promise not to hurt my brother?”

  “I promise not to hurt the boy,” Mr. Beast swears, squaring his shoulders. “Just be back in time for dinner.”

  I swallow hard and squeeze Jonah’s hand. He squeezes back, nodding at me reassuringly.

  “What will you even do while I’m gone?” I whisper to Jonah.

  Jonah shrugs. “I don’t know. Do you have a PlayStation, Mr. Beast?” he calls out.

  “Huh?” Mr. Beast asks.

  “I guess that’s a no. What about ketchup? Do you have ketchup?” my brother asks.

  “Of course,” Mr. Beast huffs. “Homemade ketchup.”

  Jonah’s eyes light up. “Seriously? Yum.”

  “Are you hungry? I have a lot of food. Mr. and Mrs. Butler!” Mr. Beast calls out, turning toward the castle.

  “Oh! I remember that part from the movie!” Jonah says. “Is the housekeeper hiding in a teapot?”

  “Excuse me?” Mr. Beast asks incredulously. “Why would anyone hide in a teapot? How could anyone even fit in a teapot?”

  An older man and woman walk slowly into the garden. They’re both thin, with gray hair and kindly expressions.

  “These are my housekeepers,” Mr. Beast explains. “Mr. and Mrs. Butler.”

  They nod and smile at me and Jonah.

  “Their name is really Butler?” I ask. Under different circumstances, I’d giggle.

  Mr. Beast nods. “Of course. In the kingdom of Kingdom, your name describes you.”

  “The kingdom of Kingdom?” I ask. “This kingdom is named Kingdom?”

  “Yes,” Mr. Beast says simply.

  Oh. Like Beast. And Beauty. That’s funny.

  “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Butler!” Mr. Beast says to his servants. “We have a guest!”

  “A quest?” says the old man. “Did you say we have a quest? Will we need Pony?”

  “Not a quest,” Mr. Beast says. “A guest.”

  Mrs. Butler pulls on her earlobe. “Are you tired? Do you need a rest?”

  “No,” Mr. Beast bellows. “A guest! Look!” He points to Jonah.

  “Ah!” says Mr. Butler. “Guests! Why didn’t you say so, Mr. Beast? We will set up their rooms right away.”

  “Can I get you something to eat and drink?” asks Mrs. Butler.

  “Yes!” says Jonah. “I’m starving. And I heard you have ketchup —”

  “Rooms won’t be necessary,” I cut in. “We’re not staying overnight. But I’ll be bringing back a girl named Beauty and she’ll be staying.”

  “Oh, wonderful,” says Mrs. Butler warmly. “I will get three rooms ready. I’ll pick out some clothes for you, too! The closets are packed with new outfits I sew in case we ever have visitors!”

  I’m about to correct her, but … new clothes! Who am I to say no to new clothes?

  “Do you have any toys?” Jonah asks.

  “Toys?” Mr. Beast snarls. “No.”

  “I’m sure I can find something to entertain you,” Mrs. Butler rushes to say. “We have lots of board games. And tons of books in the basement.”

  Jonah scowls. “No books, please. I don’t like to read. But I’ll check out the games. Bye, Abby, you can go, I’ll be fine! I’ll teach Mr. and Mrs. Butler how to play flying crocodile!”

  “Well …” I hesitate. I am really torn. I don’t want to leave my brother alone. At all. I’m his big sister, his protector. Jonah doesn’t remember all the scary things that can happen in fairy tales! And Mr. Beast is pretty scary!

  But … maybe being here will help Jonah’s memories come back. And anyway, I have to find Beauty.

  At least Mr. and Mrs. Butler do not seem as if they would let anything bad happen to Jonah.

  And since I know Mr. Beast’s story, I do know that he is good deep down. He didn’t hurt the merchant and he didn’t hurt Beauty, so he won’t hurt my brother. He’s not a monster.

  It’s not like he purposely destroyed someone else’s painting out of jealousy and then lied about it. Nope.

  That was all me.

  Maybe fixing up Beauty and Mr. Beast will make up for what I did. My nana always says that matchmaking is a mitzvah. That means “good deed” in Hebrew.

  “Okay,” I say. “I’ll do it. I’ll go. Wait,” I add, suddenly panicked. “Where am I going?”

  Mr. Beast laughs. “How am I supposed to know? You’re the one who said you knew who she was.” With that, he turns and marches inside the castle.

  He has a point. I try to remember what the story said. The merchant was on his way home when he got lost. So Beauty must live in a nearby town.

  “Is there a town nearby?” I ask the servants.

  “A crown? You would like a crown?”

  “No, a TOWN,” I clarify. Although if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t mind a crown either.

  Mrs. Butler nods. “Yes, it’s called Town.”

  “The town is called Town?” I ask.

  She nods again.

  Of course it is.

  “It’s about a two-hour ride,” she goes on. “Mr. Beast has never been — he doesn’t go out in public — but I go every week to get supplies. I’ll give you a map and you can borrow Pony.”

  I assume Pony is their … pony.

  At least I’m good with maps. I got all As in our new geography unit in school. And I’ve had to ride a horse before, and I’m not so bad at it. Now I just have to figure out where in Town Be
auty will be. All I know from the original story is that she likes books. “Is there a bookstore in Town?” I ask. “Or a library?”

  Mrs. Butler shakes her head. “No,” she says. “But if you go to Main Street, you can ask around to see if anyone knows her.”

  I nod. “Okay. I’ll go.”

  I give Jonah a long, tight hug. “Be careful,” I whisper to him. “Be safe.”

  “I will,” Jonah assures me, hugging me back. Then he steps out of my embrace and waves to me. “Good luck! Oh, and take Prince. He can help you find her.”

  I nod again. Prince is good at finding stuff. Last week, he found the TV remote, which had somehow ended up under my parents’ bed.

  Although Prince was probably the one who put it there. Anyway.

  Time to go to Town.

  I climb onto Pony’s back, Prince in my lap.

  For a pony, Pony is pretty big. But he’s also adorable.

  I spread out the map and take a look.

  Okay. This doesn’t seem that hard. I have to take Rocky Path to Winding Path to Straight Road to Highway to Boulevard to Main Street.

  “Giddyup!” I say, which seems to work, because Pony moves, bumping down Rocky Path.

  I bounce a bit from side to side. Prince grabs my leg with his paws.

  I start to worry. Did I really just leave my brother alone with a beast? A beast who threatened to kill him? Am I seriously riding a pony into a forest I’ve never been in before? That does not seem very smart of me.

  “I don’t know if this was my best decision,” I tell Prince and Pony.

  Prince barks. Pony whinnies.

  We continue trotting down Rocky Path.

  “Not smart at all,” I add. “It’s not totally my fault, though, is it? I barely had time to think my decision through.”

  They bark and whinny again.

  “I know what you guys are thinking,” I say. “What if we can’t find Beauty? Or what if, when we do find her, she doesn’t want to come with us?”

  Prince barks twice. I guess that means yes. Pony neighs. Obviously, they both agree with me.

  Yep. I’m going to pretend Prince, Pony, and I are having a discussion, and that’s that.

  “What should I say to her to convince her to come to Mr. Beast’s castle?”

  “Neigh!”

  “No, Pony,” I say. “I can’t just tell her the truth. Wait, Pony, turn here by that waterfall. It’s Winding Path.”

  Pony turns and I pat him on the back. “Good job. Where was I? Oh, right. I can’t tell her that Mr. Beast is actually a gorgeous prince, because then she can’t break the curse. The curse has to be broken by someone who doesn’t know what he really looks like.”

  Two barks.

  “True, Prince, we can beg her to come with us. We can tell her that the beast is keeping my brother hostage and maybe she would want to help. She was willing to help her father in the original story, right? But that was her father! We’re not her family. She doesn’t even know us. Would you trade yourself for a hostage that you don’t even know?”

  “Neigh.”

  “No, me neither.” I think back to art class. “But we already know I’m a monster, so we can’t judge her on what I would do.”

  “Ruff!”

  “I am too a monster. I ruined Penny’s painting on purpose. I’m the worst. But let’s get back to the problem. How do we convince Beauty to save Jonah?”

  “Growl!”

  “True, Jonah is just a kid and Beauty might feel bad. But she might not. We need some other ideas.”

  “Neigh!”

  “Pony! That’s not very nice. You think we should trick her? Well, I guess we could. I’m glad you thought of it and not me. But yes, desperate times call for desperate measures. And the ends might justify the means. Oh! I have an idea! We could tell her that there’s a ball! And that she’s invited! And she’ll come with us back here, and then I’ll take Jonah and run! She’ll be angry, of course, but after all is said and done, she’ll get her happy ending and she’ll get over it. Right?”

  “Grunt. Neigh. Snort. Ruff.”

  “Okay, then never mind.”

  About two hours later, we turn on to Main Street. It looks exactly how I imagined a Main Street would look. It’s a pretty, cobblestoned street lined with all kinds of stores. There’s a grocery store called Supermarket. A clothing store called Boutique. Oooh, there’s even a store called Cheese Shop.

  My stomach growls. I could so eat some cheese right now.

  Stay focused, I tell myself. I will just go into Cheese Shop to ask for directions.

  I leave Pony outside and carry Prince. When I push open the door, a little bell rings.

  Mmmm, it smells so good in here. I wonder if they have cheese sticks. Maybe they’re giving away samples.

  “Well, hello there!” the girl behind the counter says. She looks just a little older than a teenager. She’s pretty, with blond spiky hair and lots of freckles. She’s wearing a white apron that says CHEESE SHOP.

  She lowers her face to Prince’s eye level. “Aren’t you a handsome little guy?” she asks him. “Would you like a special treat? I make special animal cheeses,” she tells me. “Okay with you?”

  “Sure,” I say.

  She puts a plate down on the floor in front of Prince.

  To say Prince likes the cheeses is to put it mildly. He devours them. His tail wags all over the place.

  “What can I get for you?” the girl asks me. “You look hungry.”

  “Oh, um, thanks, but I don’t have any money on me.”

  “Well, you’re in luck,” the girl says. “I was just testing out a new sandwich. Grilled apple and cheese on a bun. Want to try one? My treat. You’ll have to be honest and tell me if you like it.”

  “Yes, please!” I say, and devour half of it in three bites. Mmmm. “Thank you. It’s amazing.”

  “Hurrah,” she says, beaming. “Now, if you didn’t come in for cheese, why did you come in?”

  I lick a stray piece of melted cheddar off my fingers. “I’m looking for someone. She’s about sixteen or so. I think her name might be Beauty? Do you know her?”

  The girl smiles. “Beauty! Of course I know Beauty! She’s … well, she’s beautiful! She has the most amazing hair. And skin. Invisible pores. And she’s such a good person,” the girl goes on. “Always doing things for other people. She was a few years behind me at school. I was in her older sister’s class.”

  “Great,” I cheer. “Do you know where I can find her?”

  “Not too far. She lives in a cottage about an hour outside of town.”

  “Oh,” I say. Another hour of riding Pony? At least I have some strength after eating.

  “But you know what?” the girl adds. “I bet you can find her at Soup Kitchen. She volunteers there at least twice a week. Or maybe she’ll be at Orphanage. She reads to the children every morning. Or maybe at Garbage Dump? She helps with the recycling.”

  “Wow, she does a lot of good stuff,” I say. I can’t help but feel jealous. Beauty sounds like the type of person who would never ruin someone else’s painting.

  So now I’m jealous of someone because they’re nice? What is wrong with me?

  I am a green-eyed monster. I am more monsterlike than Mr. Beast!

  The girl nods. “She does do a lot of good stuff. She’s really beautiful inside and out.”

  “She sounds amazing,” I say. I should really do more volunteer work. Maybe I should have a bake sale. Or a car wash. I want to read to orphans. Where can I find orphans?

  “Oh, look! There she is now!” The girl points out the window. “She’s helping Grumpy Great-Grandma with her groceries!”

  “Someone’s name is Grumpy Great-Grandma?” I ask.

  “Yup.” She shakes her head. “She is very, very grumpy.”

  I laugh. “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Freckles,” the girl says with a smile.

  I spin around to face the window and immediately spot Beauty. How
could I miss her? She is, indeed, gorgeous. She has long black curly hair and big brown eyes, and she is wearing a white dress that perfectly shows off her dark brown skin.

  I’m not the only one who notices her. Every man, woman, and child on the street has stopped moving to stare at her. She’s like a movie star.

  Not that she notices. Beauty is carrying six grocery bags, and a very old woman is holding on to her arm. This woman looks old enough to be Mr. or Mrs. Butler’s grandmother. She’s hunched over and using a cane.

  Seeing Beauty’s helpfulness in action makes my heart lift. Maybe she will want to help Jonah!

  “Prince! Let’s go,” I holler, stuffing the rest of my sandwich in my mouth. I try to tell Freckles, “Thank you so much,” but because my mouth is full, it ends up coming out as “Tank ew oh mut.”

  Freckles smiles, and I wave and run outside.

  “Be careful!” Grumpy Great-Grandma yells at Beauty. “Carry the bags higher!”

  “Sorry, Grumpy Great-Grandma,” Beauty says. She lifts the bags higher.

  “Now they’re swinging!” Grumpy Great-Grandma shrieks. “Are you trying to bang up the bananas?”

  Grumpy Great-Grandma really is very, very grumpy.

  Beauty looks at me and smiles. She has two perfect dimples. She also has perfect, white shiny teeth.

  “Hello,” I say. “Beauty?”

  “Hello,” she says. “Can I help you?”

  “Actually, that would be great,” I say.

  “Less talking, more walking,” says Grumpy Great-Grandma.

  “Sorry, Grumpy Great-Grandma,” Beauty says. Then she turns to me. “It’s not her fault. She has a bad hip.”

  “No problem,” I say, walking along beside them. Prince trots behind us.

  How to begin? It seems strange to just come out and ask someone if she wouldn’t mind going to live with a beast so you could have your brother back.

  Grumpy Great-Grandma narrows her eyes at me. “If you want to talk to Beauty, you should at least give her a hand and carry one of my bags.”

  “Of course,” I say. “Sorry! Let me help.” I take two bags from Beauty and clear my throat. “So. My name is Abby, and my brother’s name is Jonah. And Jonah is why I need help.”