Zalie Pan|FTRS|Book One (ON HOLD)

Chapter Nine

     My eyes flutter open and I see a fish swim by me. I momentarily panic but then remember that Yetti is with Ollie and Wilson.

     I see Jax and Maxine banging on glass. Glass. We're in Madame Cleo's tank! I swim to the glass and start banging as hard as I can. I see Stiltskin on the other side smirking, watching us try to break the glass. But on the inside I know he's sorry for putting me in it.

     I see Gilly swim up next to me carrying Jocelyn. Where's Hayley? Did she get sucked up too? Or did she escape?

     I feel my eyes start closing but I fight it. I use all the strength I have left to hit the glass one more time before my eyes close and I can't hear anything. A few minutes later my eyes flutter open again. I see a mermaid in front of me. Hayley! Hayley's a mermaid? I guess that explains the water-spritzing thing she does. She swims over to Jax and puts seaweed above his top lip. He wakes up.

     I see Professor Harlow, Professor Blackbeard, Professor Wolfington, Professor Flora, and some of the RS squad come in. I hear a high pitched scream and cover my ears. Professor Harlow uses her magic to break the rest up the glass and quickly put it back when we're all out.

     "How. . . Did. . . You. . . Know. . . Where. . . To. . . Find. . . Us?" Maxine asks Ollie.

     "One of the RS members cracked and told me."

     Ollie walks over to me and hands me Yetti. Yetti squeaks at me.

     "I'm fine," I reassure her.

     "Are you guys ok?" Hayley says from inside the tank loud and clear.

    "That girl is a mermaid?" Stiltskin asks with disgust.

     "She may be, but the others aren't!" Harlow says running over to Jocelyn to check on her.

     "Ye could have hurt me lass, ye Scallywag!" Blackbeard says pointing his sword at Stiltskin. His RS members rush in front of him.

     "I'm fine, darling," Madame Cleo says. Her hair turns red.

     "See, she's fine," Stiltskin says camly. "Now put the sword back in its hilt(?) or I'll take it from you along with your job." Blackbeard puts the sword away.

     Flora burst through the doors along with Kayla. When Kayla sees us she starts crying. Flora's face turns red.

     "I will not stand for this! I will not let you do this to my students!" Flora shouts at Stiltskin.

     "My students, Flora," Stiltskin reminds her. "We made a deal."

     "You still shouldn't be putting students in danger-" Flora continues when her skin turns ashy gray and her skin hardens. She's stone.

     Hey, she deserved it. Stilskin is the Headmaster, and Flora can't do anything about it. No one can.

     "I want to make a deal," Gilly says.

     "Cobbler," Harlow says sharply. "Don't!"

     "Let the girl speak," Stiltskin says. "What do you want?"

     Gilly walks over to her friends as they start to get up.

     I look at Stiltskin. I can already tell whatever this deal is going to be, he going to make me apart of it.

     "We want you to return Flora to her normal self and make her Headmistress," Gilly says "we want you gone, we want you to bring Kayla's family back to her in their fairy forms. And I want you to release Anna from FTRS."

     "Gilly!" Anna snaps "That's not your call to make!"

     "Anything else?" Stiltskin asks.

     "No," Gilly says.

     "Now it's time for my part of the deal," Stiltskin says. "What I want is the Golden goose."

     "It's a deal," Gilly says and a scroll appears in Stiltskin's hand along with a quill.

     "Excellent!" Stiltskin beams. "Just sign on the line. Oh, and take the fairy and mermaid don't want any more of her kind here. Also, take Zaile."

     I glare at him. He gives me a look saying to play along.

     Gilly takes the quill and signs it as Harlow yells at them. She passes it yo Jax who passes it to me and keeps going until it reaches Jocelyn.

     Stilskin smiles mischievously and the contract disappears. "You leave at dawn."