Sleeping Beauty's Daughters by Diane Zahler Read Free Book Online

there is no boat there? We cannot sail a boat. And we don’t know where Emmeline’s island is. Or—”
    “Stop,” Luna commanded. “We can’t bother about all that now. We must just go. We’ll worry about the rest later.”
    Her certainty was so powerful that I was swept away by it. Somewhere in my weary mind was the knowledge that I should take care of Luna and keep her from danger, not the other way around. But I had no strength to protest. “What of Mama and Papa?” I asked helplessly.
    “We’ll leave a note,” Luna said. “Hide it, but not too well. That way, when our disappearance is discovered . . .”
    “Poor Mama. She will be frantic!” Still, even in my dazed state I could see that Luna was right. I marveled at the way she took charge, when usually she couldn’t plan even an instant ahead.
    Master Julien came back into the classroom then. He carried a teapot and a single cup on a tray.
    “Cook made me some tea, and I removed the vial of devil’s shrub when her back was turned,” he said, showing us the little glass bottle. Luna took it and passed it to me. I held on to it tightly. The dark powder looked like dirt, but it was my lifeline.
    Master Julien poured the tea, and I drank a cupful quickly, burning my tongue. I grimaced at the taste. But the change was immediate. I could feel my back straightening and the color rushing to my cheeks. The fog in my head cleared away almost completely.
    “Oh, that’s much better!” I exclaimed. Luna clapped her hands, and Master Julien looked relieved.
    “I think that I should be the one to try to find Emmeline,” our tutor said then. “I will walk to Vittray myself and make inquiries. It would not be a good idea for you to come upon the woman who sold me that pen, but I can ask after her without arousing suspicion. Then, if I find her, perhaps I can force her to tell me where Emmeline’s island is. If anyone knows, it would be Manon.”
    Luna and I exchanged a glance. “Are you certain that is the best plan?” I asked.
    “I must do something,” Master Julien said. “It is my fault this curse has come to pass—my pen that caused it. I cannot sit by and let you suffer.”
    “I’m sure you’re right. We have no real choice,” Luna said. “We’ll wait here for your return.” I marveled at her coolness.
    “Can you keep your sister awake for a few hours while I am gone?” Master Julien asked Luna.
    “Of course I can,” Luna assured him. “I’ll give her more tea. We have the vial of devil’s shrub.”
    “Then I will get my cloak and be off. I will try to be back before nightfall.” Master Julien hurried from the room.
    “Well,” Luna said, looking after him, “if he finds Manon, she will probably turn him into a fish, or a turnip. For a man of superior learning, he’s not all that smart.” Then she turned swiftly to me and asked, “Do you know the ladder that leads down to the strand a few miles north of here?”
    “Mama and Papa have forbidden us ever to use it,” I pointed out. “They say it’s unsafe—and besides, it’s outside the palace wall.”
    “Oh, it’s not so bad,” she said lightly. It was clear from her tone that she had snuck out and tried the ladder herself. For once, I thought, Luna’s misbehavior might come in handy.
    I said, “Ah well, the old rules don’t matter much anymore, do they?”
    Luna stared at me. I knew it was as unlikely a statement as she could ever imagine me making, and it pleased me a little to shock her. Then she grinned and replied, “No, they don’t. Let us break the rules and descend the perilous steps and find our great-great-great-godmother Emmeline, Sister!”

7
    Of a Desperate Descent
    W e threw the pen that had pierced my finger onto the fire in the classroom fireplace, where it burned with an unnatural, multicolored flame. Taking up a piece of chalk, I started to write the note for Mama and Papa. It was hard to find the right words. In truth, I knew that it didn’t