The Bravest Princess (26 page)

“Indeed we have,” King Archibald said, giving his daughter an affectionate look. “I've already sent the royal physician packing. He was here because Marissa had brought him to the castle. I didn't know how bad he was until Snow White pointed it out. Now that we have an excellent herbalist in our midst, we don't need someone like him. You should see the plans for an herb garden that my daughter has drawn up.”

“I can't wait to see your garden when it's finished,” said Annie.

“You'll be back long before then!” Snow White declared. “Maitland and I want you and Liam to come to the wedding.”

“Oh, I'm sure we'll be here for that!” Annie glanced at Liam, who was laughing at something Maitland had said. Liam turned just then and caught her eye. Annie nodded, then gave her friend a hug. “It's time for us to go. Good-bye, Your Majesty. Thank you for your gracious hospitality.”

“It was my pleasure,” said the king. “You are most welcome here anytime. You saved Snow White's life and brought her back to me, then you helped her find her true love and saved us all from a dreadful fate. My daughter couldn't have a better friend than you. Thank you for everything.”

Annie was surprised when the king gave her a hug, and even more when Maitland kissed her on the cheek as he helped her onto her horse.

“We're almost relatives now, you know,” Maitland told her as he checked her horse's girth. “Your sister
is
married to my brother. If Nasheen had known that, he would have suspected a conspiracy from the start.”

“And he would have been wrong,” said Annie. “You had to show Snow White what you were really like, and she had to get past her anger over what you told your friends and forgive you. I'm thrilled that it all worked out so well.”

“Annie,” Liam said, “I think the princes will be wondering what happened to us if we don't go now.”

“You're right,” Annie told him. “Good-bye, everyone! We'll see you soon!”

Dog followed them, barking “Good-bye!” all the way to the drawbridge.

Annie had turned back to wave to her friends one last time when she noticed that the castle looked a little odd. It took her a minute to realize why it didn't
look the way it usually did. The edges of the stone weren't quite as straight as they had been before, and the corners were all a little rounded.

“Maitland and I saw it, too,” Liam said when he followed her gaze. “The stones look like they did when the rain started dissolving the mud.”

“It's good that they didn't stay mud any longer,” said Annie. “If they had, the rain would have washed more away, and the castle would have looked very strange. You know, people often question stories of magic, but no one will ever doubt what happened here once they see the castle. So tell me, what was in the cart that Horace was driving?”

“Our gifts from Snow White! She gave you the suit of armor that you wore into the south tower.”

“Really?” said Annie. “I doubt I'll ever wear it again.”

“She also gave you her stepmother's magic mirror.”

“Why? That thing must have been dreadful to carry down all those stairs.”

“My guess is that she gave it to you because she didn't want it in her castle, although she said it was because Captain Everhart told her that it didn't answer my last question, so it has to go sit beside your bed.”

“Oh my! I never really meant that!” said Annie. “It was just a threat to make it answer you.”

“Well, now you're stuck with it, although I'm not so sure I want it in your bedchamber. I don't like the idea
of that creature … face … whatever it is, being that close to you.”

“Liam, are you jealous?”

“All the time! I'm just very good at hiding it. And that brings me to something else I wanted to discuss with you. Snow White and Maitland are going to start planning their wedding. I think we should do the same.”

“Plan their wedding?” Annie said with a twinkle in her eye.

Liam laughed and shook his head. “No! Plan ours. I don't want a long engagement. Let's get married soon!”

“My parents just paid for one wedding. I'm not sure they'll be ready for another yet.”

“Then we'll run off and get married in a country chapel.”

“If I tell my mother that you said that, she'll have a huge wedding planned for us within a day!”

“In that case, I'll tell her myself! I love you, Annie,” Liam said, bringing his horse next to hers.

She was about to reply, but the kiss he gave her took all her attention for a very long time.

E. D. Baker is the author of the Wide-Awake Princess series, which includes
The Wide-Awake Princess
and
Unlocking the Spell
, plus many other delightful books for young readers, including
A Question of Magic
,
Fairy Lies
,
Fairy Wings
, and the eight Tales of the Frog Princess.
The Frog Princess
was the inspiration for Disney's hit movie
The Princess and the Frog
. She lives with her family and their horses in rural Maryland.

www.talesofedbaker.com

THE TALES OF THE FROG PRINCESS:

The Frog Princess

Dragon's Breath

Once Upon a Curse

No Place for Magic

The Salamander Spell

The Dragon Princess

Dragon Kiss

A Prince among Frogs

Fairy Wings

Fairy Lies

TALES OF THE WIDE-AWAKE PRINCESS:

The Wide-Awake Princess

Unlocking the Spell

A Question of Magic

Text copyright © 2014 by E. D. Baker
Map copyright © 2014 by Kimberly Bender

All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published in the United States of America in April 2014
by Bloomsbury Children's Books
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

This electronic edition published in April 2014

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury Children's Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baker, E. D.
The bravest princess: a tale of the wide-awake princess / by E. D. Baker.
pages  cm
Sequel to: Unlocking the spell. Summary: Sleeping Beauty's younger, nonmagical sister, Annie, still can't rest while trouble in the kingdom threatens her good friend Snow White.
[1. Fairy tales. 2. Princesses—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.
4. Characters in literature—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ8.B173Br 2014        [Fic]—dc23         2013034317

eISBN: 978-1-6196-3276-9

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