Sugar and Spice Page 4

  Well … we’ll have to be careful … but … if the witch doesn’t see us …

  My stomach is growling.

  And I could really use some dessert.

  And … it’s the CAKE HOUSE!

  I run down the hill.

  By the time we get there, Hansel has grabbed a piece of cake off the roof and stuffed it in his mouth.

  “Dis is ama-ing!” he calls out, garbling his words while he chews. He grabs a handful of jelly beans decorating the front door and devours them in one gulp.

  Jonah is about to do the same.

  I am about to grab a scoop of cotton candy from the side of the house when my common sense comes back to me.

  “Wait,” I say to Jonah softly. “Let’s just make sure the witch isn’t watching. We definitely don’t want her to see us eating her cake house.”

  “I don’t think she’s here,” Jonah says. He peeks in through a window. “At least, I don’t see anyone inside.”

  “Really?” I say. “Hmm. I guess it’s possible that she’s not home. It’s not nighttime yet. The original story doesn’t take place until tomorrow, so she might not even be around right now. She could be out luring children with bubble gum or something.”

  I take a peek through the sugary windows to be sure.

  The cottage isn’t as incredible on the inside. In fact, it looks just like a regular house. I guess only the outside is coated in candy. The walls are white and the kitchen and living room and dining room are one big room. But in the far corner, away from the door, there’s a wooden rocking chair with a green velvet cushion. In the other corner is …

  … a cage?

  Yeah, I think it’s a cage, but it’s built into the wall. It’s kind of like a closet except, instead of a closet door, there are wooden slats about an inch apart. It’s big. Big enough to fit two grown people, standing. This must be where the witch kept Hansel.

  Beside me, Prince barks. He’s sniffing around the house, his tail wagging, taking little licks as he goes.

  “Yum,” says Hansel as he breaks off a piece of the window frame, which happens to be made of candy cane.

  “Double yum,” Gretel says, her mouth full of gingerbread.

  “Abby?” Jonah pleads, clasping his hands together.

  “One minute,” I tell him.

  Still cautious, I walk around to the back of the cottage, Prince following me. I look through every window. I don’t see anyone home. I notice that on the coffee table is a tray that’s covered in sparkly things. Candy? No. Oh! It’s jewels! The witch’s jewels! That’s what Hansel and Gretel take at the end of the story.

  There’s no movement in the house at all. And if the witch were here, wouldn’t she have come out by now? There are four kids to grab. That’s four potential kid pies!

  She must be somewhere else.

  “The window box is made out of peanut brittle!” Gretel says, breaking off a piece. “Mmm! So good!”

  I look closer at the window box. The dirt is chunks of chocolate! And the stems are green licorice. And the flowers are … gummies?

  And the flowerpots are made of Skittles.

  Mmm. I love Skittles.

  “This gingerbread sure is delicious,” Gretel says, munching on a shingle. “Aren’t you guys going to have any?”

  “C’mon, Abby!” Jonah begs. “Can’t we have a little?”

  I look at the walls. The strawberry shortcake walls. Mmm. I love strawberry shortcake.

  But I don’t want my brother going nuts.

  “ONE bite of ONE thing,” I tell Jonah.

  He grins and rips a piece of cake off the roof. “Mmmm, icing!”

  I dip my finger into the strawberry shortcake and take a scoop. It’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.

  “Yuuuuuuum,” I say.

  I have another little bite.

  One more. So good.

  Ooh, are those lemon drops? I step closer to the line of little, round yellow balls dotting the windows. I pull one off and pop it in my mouth. Amazing.

  I look back through the window, and I see the cage again. It’s really creepy.

  I start to feel a prickling down my back. Should I not have led Hansel and Gretel here? Was that a mistake? They’re about to get trapped. In the original story, they escape, but what if something goes wrong this time? What if the witch wins? What if she ends up hurting them and it’s all our fault? My heart starts to race.

  Through the window, the jewels on the table catch the last of the sun’s rays and sparkle.

  Hmm.

  I turn to my brother. “Maybe,” I say, “we let them skip the whole being kidnapped part, and just take the witch’s jewels.”

  Jonah’s eyes widen to the size of cookies. “You want us to steal the witch’s jewels?!”

  “Witch’s jewels?” Gretel asks, her mouth filled with taffy. “Kidnapped? Excuse me? Would you mind telling me what’s going on here?”

  Oops. Should probably have used my indoor voice. I guess I’ll have to tell them the truth now.

  “Um, see, this is a witch’s cottage,” I admit. “She lives here.”

  “A witch lives here?” Gretel shrieks.

  “Yes,” I say.

  “Are you sure?” Hansel asks.

  “Yes,” I say. “We lied to you before. We’re sorry. We shouldn’t have. But see, the witch is going to pretend to be nice and trap you. Eventually, you trick her and save yourselves and take her jewels … but you’re supposed to be stuck here for a few days.”

  “But how do you know all that?” Gretel asks.

  “It’s in the story,” Jonah says. “We were trying to keep it the same. But now Abby thinks you should take the jewels and just go home.”

  “What story?” Gretel cries. “What are you talking about? Who are you, anyway? And what do you mean just go home? Of course we want to just go home! We would if we knew how to find it!”

  “Plus, I don’t think it’s right to steal the witch’s jewels,” Jonah says. “That seems wrong.”

  “I know it sounds wrong,” I say. “But it’s better than what happens to her in the original story, isn’t it? And then Hansel and Gretel can get their happily-ever-after right away. They’ll have enough money to buy all the food they need!”

  “Yeah but …”

  Ruff! Prince barks. Ruff!

  “Yummy, huh, Prince? But remember, no chocolate.” Chocolate is totally bad for dogs. It hurts their tummies.

  Ruff! Ruff-ruff!

  I glance over to see where Prince is. He’s not even begging for candy. He’s a few feet away from the cottage, his paw up against a tree.

  Ruff! he barks again.

  Huh? Why would Prince be standing against a tree and barking like crazy? There’s no one behind it. There’s no one else around.

  I walk over and look up at the tree. No squirrel. No one hiding in the leaves. So what’s going on with Prince?

  “What’s wrong?” I ask Prince.

  Ruff! Ruff-ruff! RUFFFFF! Prince barks.

  “He’s trying to tell us something,” Jonah says.

  I step even closer and stare at the tree. Hey, wait a sec. It does look a little different from all the other trees. But what is it? The trunk is made of brown bark and the long branches are full of big green leaves. It’s just a regular old tree.

  I step closer to the tree and touch it. It feels different. Almost like the wind is making the trunk shake a little.

  Jonah rushes over. “Abby, the tree is vibrating. I mean, the center of the trunk is vibrating.”

  Huh? Why would —

  I gasp. It’s the portal! “Yay!” I look at my watch. “That’s good timing. It’s five in the morning at home! We only have an hour left here, and we already found the portal!”

  “I’ll bet you’re right,” Jonah says. Then he reaches over and knocks on the tree.

  “Wait, Jonah!” I cry. “We can’t go home just yet. We have to make sure Hansel and Gretel will be okay first. Let’s get the jewels, a
nd then we can go.”

  “Oops,” Jonah says. “Sorry.”

  The tree trunk starts to swirl. Purple sparks come off it.

  It’s definitely the portal. But we can’t leave yet!

  Hansel and Gretel’s eyes are both wide. They stare at the swirling purple haze in the middle of the tree trunk.

  “That’s how you get to your house?” Gretel asks.

  “Yes,” Jonah says. “When we’re ready to go, we knock two more times and just jump right in.”

  “Does it hurt?” Hansel asks. He steps closer to the portal, peering in.

  You can’t see anything, though. Just purple.

  “Nope,” Jonah answers. “It’s like walking through air.”

  “That’s amazing,” Gretel says, staring at it.

  “Wow,” Hansel exclaims.

  It IS pretty cool. Jonah and I are so used to it that it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. But I guess it is. I mean, how many kids get to jump through portals in and out of fairy tales?

  “We have to tell Maryrose we’re not ready to go yet,” I say. “I’m sure she’ll close the portal and open it when we knock again. In fifteen minutes. We’ll just get the jewels first and make sure Hansel and Gretel will be okay.”

  “And maybe have another snack or two,” Jonah adds. “Or three.”

  The portal is still swirling.

  “Maryrose,” I say to the portal, “can you just pause the swirling for like five minutes? Please?”

  “Who’s Maryrose?” Gretel asks.

  “Oh, um, she’s sort of like our travel agent,” I say. “Listen, guys. We need to get the tray of jewels on the witch’s coffee table. That way you’ll be able to afford to buy food. Who’s coming with me? Gretel?”

  “Are you crazy?” Gretel asks. “I’m not going into the witch’s house!”

  “I’ll go!” says Hansel.

  Gretel puts her hand on his shoulder. “And neither is my brother,” she says. “He stays with me.”

  Aw. She’s a good sister. Just like me!

  I look inside the house again. The jewels probably don’t even belong to the witch. I’m sure she stole them from someone else. So I shouldn’t feel bad about stealing from her. She’s evil. She eats children! I’ll be like Robin Hood. Taking from the rich to give to the poor. Taking from the witch to give to the poor.

  Jonah’s eyes light up. “I’ll come. Sounds fun. Do you think the door is locked?”

  “We could always eat through it,” I say as we step closer to the entrance.

  He turns the handle. “It’s open!” he says with a trace of disappointment. He totally wanted to eat through the door.

  I glance at my watch. “Okay, guys,” I tell Hansel and Gretel. “Jonah and I are going to run inside the house. You two keep a lookout here. If you see anyone, yell out.”

  “Okay,” Gretel says, looking at the swirling tree. I can’t blame her. It’s pretty cool.

  Jonah carefully pushes open the door. I step forward, Prince at my heels.

  I poke my head in and look around. “Hello?” I call out.

  No one answers.

  “Hello? Anyone home?”

  Still no answer.

  The witch is definitely not here. Perfect.

  “Okay, let’s go in. But be careful!” I tell Jonah. “We don’t know much about this witch.”

  “Except that she likes kid pie,” Jonah says.

  Yeah, except that. I was trying to forget that part.

  “Don’t touch anything,” I tell Prince. He wags his tail in understanding.

  We step in farther and look around.

  “I’m grabbing the jewels,” I say. I run to the table and pick up the tray. “I wish I had a bag to put them in.”

  “Let me see if she has a plastic one under the sink,” Jonah says.

  I wait by the jewels and look out the front window.

  Hansel and Gretel are holding hands in front of the portal.

  Gretel looks at Hansel. She nods.

  He nods back.

  They both smile.

  And then they go running straight for the swirling purple in the center of the tree.

  “Wait!” I cry. “STOP!”

  Do they wait? Do they stop? No.

  They just keep going. Right into our portal home.

  NOOOOO!

  My eyes practically pop out of my head.

  No. No way did that just happen.

  Except it did.

  My heart speeds up, and my mouth goes dry.

  Hansel and Gretel ran right into the portal. Our portal. And now they’re gone.

  The purple has stopped swirling. The tree looks like a normal tree.

  They stole our way home! I can’t believe they did that! We were being nice to them and trying to help them. And this is how they repay us? By stealing from us. I make fists with both my hands and slam them against my knees.

  “No, no, no, NO!” I shout.

  “What’s wrong?” Jonah asks from where he’s crouched under the witch’s sink. “I still can’t find a bag. Maybe Hansel and Gretel have pockets? They can stuff some of the jewels inside.”

  My voice comes out in a whisper. “They’re gone.”

  “Who?”

  “Hansel and Gretel,” I say.

  “Where’d they go?” Jonah asks, looking up with a frown. “To find a bathroom? They should probably just go behind a tree. I had to do that once with Dad when I was younger. It was an emergency, though.”

  “No, Jonah. They snuck into our portal.”

  Jonah’s jaw drops. “Wait, WHAT? They went through our portal? But why would they do that?”

  “I don’t know! Because they’re awful people!” I yell, feeling on the verge of tears. “Because they’re thieves! What kind of people take someone else’s portal?”

  “We were about to take someone else’s jewels,” Jonah points out.

  “It’s not the same thing,” I snap. “We were stealing from a witch! They were stealing from two little kids!”

  “Who are you calling two little kids?” Jonah asks.

  “Us!” I yell. “We are!”

  “Abby, wait. Does that mean we’re gonna be trapped in this fairy tale?” Jonah asks, biting his lip.

  “No,” I say quickly, although I’m unsure. “We can’t be. I mean, Maryrose will know they’re not us. Right?”

  He bites down even harder. “How? They look just like us!”

  Oh, no. My stomach tightens. That’s true.

  “Uh … uh …” I try to think. “She’s a magic fairy. She’ll be able to tell the difference.”

  “Are you sure?” Jonah asks.

  “I’m not sure of anything right now except that Hansel and Gretel are the worst!” I yell out. I take a breath, trying to calm down. “Maybe Maryrose just trapped them in the mirror.”

  “Maybe,” Jonah says. “Or they’re …”

  “Or they’re what?” I ask.

  “Or they’re … in our house right now!”

  EEK!

  “We have to go after them!” I say. “Let’s go knock on the portal!”

  “Hurry!” Jonah says, springing to his feet. He, Prince, and I race for the door.

  I reach for the doorknob.

  But the door opens.

  I gasp.

  A woman is standing in the doorway. She’s about my mom’s age, maybe a little younger, and has pretty blond hair in loose waves to her shoulders. Her eyes are blue and almost the same color as her dress, which has a white lace hem. She has a big smile on her freckled face and a basket in her arms. She looks like she’s selling something.

  “Hello,” she singsongs. “I smell children! Are there children in here?”

  “Oh, um, hi,” I say. “We don’t live here. We were just leaving.”

  “Oh, I know you don’t live here,” she says sweetly. “I live here. You’re in my house.”

  I take a step back.

  Oh. No.

  “Your house?” I ask weakly.
<
br />   Prince barks, as if to say DANGER, DANGER!

  “Yup!” the woman says, still smiling.

  This is bad. Really, really bad. If this is her house … then she’s the witch!

  We’re in her house, and she’s the witch!

  We’ve got to get out of here.

  “We’re sorry for trespassing,” I say nervously, grabbing Jonah’s arm. “We’ll just be on our way …”

  “No,” she says, the horrible smile still plastered on her face. “You snuck into my house. You ate my candy.”

  “How do you know we ate your candy?” I ask.

  “I can smell my strawberry shortcake on your breath!” she says with a laugh.

  Oops. I lick my lips. Still good, though.

  She squints at us. And she’s not smiling anymore.

  “Have a seat,” she says coldly. “It’s almost time for dinner.”

  I swallow, hard. I have a bad feeling about what’s on the menu.

  Us.

  “No, thanks,” I say, my voice shaking.

  “That came out wrong,” the witch says more softly, making her tone sweet again. “It’s dinnertime. Please stay. You can have all the candy you want.”

  “What kind of candy?” Jonah says.

  The witch smiles, revealing straight white teeth. “All kinds,” she tells him. “And I’m all about sharing. My name is Patty, by the way.”

  “As in Peppermint Patty?” Jonah asks.

  “Exactly.”

  “Patty,” I say, “we appreciate your offer to stay for dinner, but we have to get home.” I force a smile. “Come on, Jonah.”

  We have to get out of here. Now.

  “You go to her left,” I whisper to Jonah. “I’ll go to her right. Go, go, go!”

  We both start to run. I make it outside, but the witch grabs Jonah.

  Oh, no!

  Jonah!

  Prince howls.

  “No!” I cry. “Let my brother go.”

  “Let him go?” the witch repeats. “Why would I do that? He smells delicious. He’ll be perfect for a stew.”

  Jonah’s eyes widen. “I don’t want to be a stew! I don’t even like stew! The only time I liked it even a little bit was when Snow White made it … and I definitely wasn’t one of the ingredients!”

  Patty steps outside toward me. With one hand gripping Jonah, she grabs me with her other hand.