Soman Chainani

To me, a king is a lighthouse. A guide who can cast his glow across his kingdom and bring every last one of us out of the shadows. A beacon who we can look up to when the world seems lost. A bridge who can unite us when our differences seem to stark to reconcile. Tonight, we need a king who is all of those things. A king who can look each of you in the eye and make you feel that you won't just fight for him or his kingdom, but you'll fight for our way of life.

My behavior last night was poor.""Poor?" Agatha coughed. "You pushed me through a window!

Hold on to me!_ Tedros yelled, hacking briars with his training sword.Dazed, Agatha clung to his chest as he withstood thorn lashes with moans of pain. Soon he had the upper hand and pulled Agatha from the Woods towards the spiked gates, which glowed in recognition and pulled apart, cleaving a narrow path for the two Evers. As the gates speared shut behind them,Agatha looked up at limping Tedros, crisscrossed with bloody scratches, blue shirt shredded away.__ad a feeling Sophie was getting in through the Woods,_ he panted, hauling her up into slashed arms before she could protest. __o Professor Dovey gave me permission to take some fairies and stakeout the outer gates. Should have known you__ be here trying to catch her yourself.__gatha gaped at him dumbly.__tupid idea for a princess to take on witches alone,_ Tedros said, dripping sweat on her pink dress.__here is she?_ Agatha croaked. __s she safe?___ot a good idea for princesses to worry about witches either,_ Tedros said, hands gripping her waist. Her stomach exploded with butterflies.__ut me down,_ she sputtered_ __ore bad ideas from the princess.___ut me down!__edros obeyed and Agatha pulled away.____ not a princess!_ she snapped, fixing her collar.__f you say so,_ the prince said, eyes drifting downward.Agatha followed them to her gashed legs, waterfalls of brilliant blood. She saw blood blurring_ Tedros smiled. __ne . . . two . . . three . . .__he fainted in his arms.__efinitely a princess,_ he said.

Hester glowered at her. __he biggest mistake a villain can make is to get caught up in revenge. Hansel and Gretel were two hungry kids trying to survive in the Woods. Mother thought she__ captured another pair of greedy, gluttonous brats, only to grossly underestimate them. Hansel and Gretel killed her because they had to. It wasn__ personal._ She glanced back at the old siblings. __oesn__ mean I can stand the sight of __m, of course. But it also doesn__ mean their story has anything to do with mine anymore.

- You gave me a dead frog for my birthday!- To remind you we all die and end up rotting underground eaten by maggots so we should enjoy our birthdays while we have them. I found it thoughtful.

Even fairy tales have limits," said Sophie. "Three people can't have an Ever After. Not without me being alone.

She had always found villains more exciting than heroes. They had ambition, passion. They made the stories happen. Villains didn't fear death. No, they wrapped themselves in death like suits of armor! As she inhaled the school's graveyard smell, Agatha felt her blood rush. For like all villains, death didn't scare her. It made her feel alive.

Sophie: "For the Create-A-Tale Competition, your story ended with Snow White eaten by vultures and Cinderella drowning her-self in a tub."Agatha: "I thought it was a better ending.

Dear girl, it will be a very long road if you spend more time looking backwards than forward.

[B]eware trying to bend the Truth to fit your story instead of facing it head-on. That was your father's mistake. And that's how a Snake becomes a Lion and a Lion becomes a Snake. Because the more you bend the Truth to fit a story, the more it turns into Lies without you even realizing it.

Is it really a Lie if someone is unwilling to see the Truth?

Gently Agatha touched her face in the mirror, glowing from inside. A face no one recognized because it was so happy.There could be no turning back now. The bread crumbs on the dark trail were gone. Instead, she had the truth to guide her. A truth greater than any