The Tapestry of Tales by Cathy O'Neill

Author:Cathy O'Neill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2023-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

NO,” SAID ROMY, GIVING ME a look that was just the tiniest bit smug. I couldn’t blame her. Judging by the way Belle was staring at the mirror, as if it were a bomb that might explode, Romy and John had been right to stop me from using it.

“Good,” said Belle firmly, putting on her glasses. She reached out her hand. “May I?”

I gave her the mirror.

Belle placed the mirror on the table and stared at it. She looked immensely curious and a little frightened, as if she were looking at an insect that might fly off the table and sting her on the nose.

“What happens if you ask it a question?” asked John, leaning back so that Romy and I had space to sit down beside him. The three of us sat on one side of the table with Belle on the other, as if we were students in a class she was teaching.

“There’s great danger in this mirror,” said Belle, turning the mirror over so that it was facedown on the table. “It takes payment for every question it answers.”

“What kind of payment?” I asked, swallowing hard. I almost didn’t want to know what I’d just barely avoided. What if I hadn’t listened to Romy and John?

“It takes a little piece of your soul,” said Belle. “A little piece of the kindness and goodness and light.”

There was a moment of silence as we all let that sink in.

“The Evil Queen wasn’t always evil, you know,” she continued. “But she was given this mirror, and bit by bit, answer by answer, it took her soul. And when all the kindness and goodness and light is gone, what’s left?”

“Greed,” I said. The Evil Queen wanted to be the richest woman in the world. “Jealousy.” She couldn’t stand it if she thought someone was more beautiful than her. “Cruelty.” She’d told her huntsman to kill Snow White.

“Exactly,” said Belle. “So, make sure your question is worth it before you ask. And ask only one.”

Only one.

We needed to make sure that the queen had told us the truth and that Gavin and the other kids weren’t in any danger. That was the reason we’d come to Paris. That was the question I had to ask, right? But this was my chance to find out about all the things that Mom wouldn’t tell me. How could I not ask about that?

“I think Belle means we get one question each,” said Romy softly as if reading my mind.

“Well, I’m not asking it anything,” blurted out John, putting a hand over his chest. “I’m not messing around with that thing….”

Belle gave a tiny nod, as if she thought that was a wise decision.

“I’ll ask whether or not the queen told us the truth,” said Romy, biting her lower lip. “Then you ask it about your…” She looked down at the floor and then back at me. “Well, then you ask it whatever you want.”

“Okay,” I said, exhaling loudly. I’d been holding my breath without realizing it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.