Sleep did not come easily to me last night despite how tired I was. I'd lain awake thinking about everything Jack said, especially how torn up he'd been about his own fate. It sucked. If I were in his shoes, I'm not sure I'd be able to function knowing one day I'd kill someone I thought of as family and then try to do the same to my best friend. It was a bad situation.

One that Jack fully committed himself to, however.

That would never be me. I refused to take this lying down. I would fight it with my dying breathe. I have never been and will never be a slave to anything, especially a freaking fairy tale story.

Yawning, I rolled over and saw it was past ten in the morning. No one had disturbed me yet. Not sure how much longer that would last, I got up and did my business in the bathroom. The plate of food remained untouched on my bedside table. Some kind of ham sandwich. Food was not my friend last night, but this morning, my belly was singing a different tune. I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday and that had only been a yogurt. My step-monster was on the health food kick and so were we since she did the shopping and the cooking. I felt half-starved every day.

"You up?" Jack didn't even bother to knock, he just opened the door and stuck his head in. "I thought I heard you shuffling around in here. Cinderella has already been by here once to collect you."

"Her name is Casey."

He rolled his eyes. "She should be back soon. Your school uniforms are in the closet. The headmaster said your clothes should arrive sometime today as well as a few other things your family thought you'd want."

I slammed the door in his face, not wanting to deal with him yet. He laughed. I almost tore the door open to tear him a new one. Almost. But I did want to get dressed. I'd never been a lazy bones when it comes to sleeping in. My dad always said he could set his watch by what time I got up—6am every day.

The massive walk in closet was close to empty. Not even my clothes from home would make a dent in this thing. Shelves, drawers, hangers. My step-monster would kill for this closet. It pulled a gleeful little giggle out of me. I was so going to show this thing off when she and Dad finally got around to visiting.

Five school uniforms hung in a neat little row on the closest hanger bar. Black jackets, white shirts, and sliver and black plaid skirts. They really expected us to wear skirts in this weather? Insane. The top drawer of built ins under the uniforms housed underwear and knee-high black socks. They felt like either flannel or wool. Not that it would help the cold from seeping up under the skirts though.

With no other choices left to me except the fuzzy pajamas I currently wore, I had to put on the uniform. It was comfortable, but cold. Even with the long-sleeved jacket, I stood there shivering. Why was their secret school up north anyway? Why not somewhere warm like California or one of the southern states? Did the cold deter people from trying to run away? I bet that was it. It would definitely be harder to escape with a blizzard at your door every five minutes. Sneaky and clever.

Jack had on his school uniform when I finally emerged from my bedroom. It was similar—same back jacket and white shirt, only he had on black slacks and wore a berret with some kind of weird sigil on it. Probably pronouncing his role as bodyguard. His dark good looks did manage to steal my breath for a moment. When he wasn't scowling at me, he really was quite gorgeous. I'm a girl. I noticed how hot he was last night. Him being a hateful ass didn't take away from his hotness. It only added to it.

"Took you long enough."

If he'd only learn to not speak, I could enjoy ogling him. The minute he opened his mouth and the surliness came roaring out, it reminded me why I didn't like him.

The knock at the door stopped my own snarky reply. Instead of ripping into him, I answered the door, fully suspecting Casey to be my visitor.

Not so much.

A guy stood there, smiling. Blue eyes twinkled with laughter out of a face that would make my best friend fall to the floor, her body having melted from lust. Blonde hair was spiked in a very fashionable cut and he definitely rocked his school uniform. Not in the same way Jack could, but this guy could hold his own in the hotness department.

"I'm Michael." Even his voice gave off that fairytale quality and it put my senses on alert.

"Let me guess, you're Prince Charming?"

His smile never so much as flinched at the hostility in my voice. Points to him.

"That's what they tell me."

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I have no desire to be Snow White."

"That's good, because I have no desire to be Prince Charming."

That threw me. I never expected him to say that.

"So, now that we have that out of the way, why don't we agree to be friends instead of Fairytales?"

Jack snorted from behind me and it confirmed my suspicions. This guy, handsome as he was, was telling me what he thought I wanted to hear. More of them trying to make me into someone I wasn't.

Michael shot an annoyed look in Jack's direction. "Your guard doesn't seem to believe me any more than you do, but I promise I'm not playing you. I really would like to be friends."

"And anything that comes out of that is icing on the proverbial cake?" I couldn't hide the sarcasm even if I'd wanted to. I was done with this place.

"Casey told me you didn't want to be Snow White this morning and it gave me some hope."

My eyes narrowed, trying to assess his angle. "Hope?"

"I told you, I don't want to be Prince Charming. I want to be able to control my own destiny. I'm hoping between us and Casey, we might find a way out of this mess."

"Tell me you're not really as crazy as she is." Jack stomped over to us. "You were raised in the Fairytale world, born a Charming. You know the consequences of what might happen if you don't assume your roles."

"I know what I've always been told." Michael shifted, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "No one's ever shown me a shred of proof that's what will actually happen."

"You can't see the air you breathe, but that doesn't mean it's not real." Jack cracked his knuckles. "But if you stopped breathing, you'd die. Same thing with magic, only in this case, magic could hurt people if it ran wild. Fairytales protect others from that magic."

"So you say." Michael simply plastered on a smile and held out his hand. "What do you say, Sara? Join me for lunch and we'll discuss our unhappiness with our current situations?"

Part of me wanted to believe Charming, but my more cynical side couldn't get past the idea this was a ploy to win me over to the dark side. Why would someone born into a Fairytale family want to escape it? It made no sense. But the chance at having someone on my side outweighed my doubts.

I took his hand. "Let's go cook up a revolution."

***

Michael led me down the stairs to where Casey and, who I assumed was Rory, waited. The girl was pretty, a mane of auburn hair only accented the soft brown eyes that watched me curiously. I'm sure Casey filled her in on my refusal to be Snow White. Rory had taken to her fairy tale like a duck to water. I could only guess what she'd think of me.

"You look less grumpy." Casey hugged me and I gave her an awkward pat back. I didn't know her enough to be hugging it out friend style.

"I'd be less grumpy if they'd give me my phone back."

"Good luck with that." Casey grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the back hallway, the one I'd associated with the kitchens. "They still haven't given me mine back yet."

"How long have you been here?" The smell of burgers and fries hit my nose and my stomach rumbled loudly, causing them all to laugh at me. What? I hadn't eaten since lunch time yesterday. I'd planned on grabbing a bite with Jimmy after the game. I'd ignored Jack's offering last night out of spite. In hindsight, it hurt me more than it did him since he didn't even know I refused to eat.

"A few months. Rory's been here for almost a year, though."

"Do you have your phone?" I turned my attention to the petite redhead. Maybe she'd let me call my Gran.

"Well, yes, but we're not allowed to let new students use it until they've come to terms with who they are."

Okay. So Rory wasn't going to let me use her phone. Strictly a Fairytale convert, that one.

"I'll let you use mine later," Michael whispered so low no one else could hear, or so I'd thought. The growl emanating from Captain Jack said otherwise. Tough. I need to call my grandmother and he'd have to deal with it.

"Thank you." I slid into the chair Michael pulled out for me and the others settled around the large table. Except my hostile guard. He remained standing, his back against the wall, eyes watching the room. "Sit and eat, Jack. Surely no one is going to attempt to assassinate me in the school lunch room."

"He can't," Michael explained before Jack could snap at me. "It's his duty to watch over you. He will eat after you are safely tucked away in your room."

"That's not really fair and why don't you two have a guard?"

"We're not Snow White, future queen of all Fairytale." Rory said this as if it was something I should already know. I wanted to shake her. How was she so brainwashed?

Casey rolled her eyes and Michael ignored her sing-song voice.

"Have you gotten your books and your class schedule yet?" Rory ignored everyone's reaction to her as easily as they did her holding onto an outdated tradition of forcing people into Fairytale roles.

"Yes, but I haven't looked through them yet."

Michael asked all of us what we wanted and then he went to get everyone's food. As soon as he was out of earshot, Rory leaned forward. "He's such a cutie and so nice! You lucked out with him."

Casey snorted so hard, the chocolate milk she'd been chugging, spewed out through her nose. I heard the distinct sound of a muffled laugh behind me and sure enough, when I looked, Jack had his hand over his mouth, trying to hide his laugh.

"I don't want him, though." I passed Casey the napkin dispenser. "I don't want any part of being Snow White."

"But why?" Rory's brown eyes widened. "It's the most honored role in Fairytale."

"Because I have other plans for my life."

"Like what?" Rory tilted her head, trying to understand. I could see it in her eyes. Maybe I'd misjudged her.

"I want to be a neonatal surgeon."

"A whatsit?" Casey asked, blowing her nose one final time to clear it of the chocolate milk.

"A surgeon who operates on babies and their mothers before and after they're born."

"Why would you want to do that?" Rory thanked whoever it was that set her food down in front of her and Casey while Michael handed me mine. That was super quick.

"Because my mom died from a complication that could have been prevented had it been taken care of before she went into labor. I want to be able to prevent kids from having to grow up without a mom."

"That's noble." This from Captain Jack. He sounded slightly less hostile.

I shrugged. Noble or not, it's what I'd wanted to do since I was old enough to understand it was my fault my mother died. I wanted to prevent anyone else from carrying such a heavy burden.

"Well, as Snow White, you can divert funds to that kind of medical program and..."

"And nothing." I slammed my hand on the table, rattling plates and drinks. "You might be happy being some kind of figurehead and pretending you're nothing more than a character in a story, but that's not me. I have other plans. I know I have to be here to make sure I don't hurt anyone when my curse manifests itself, but I'm gone as soon as I am able. Get it through your head, Aurora. I. Am. Not. Snow. White."

Everyone stared at me like I was a crazy person, but I wasn't. I just didn't want to be a brainwashed Fairytale. I also noticed how all the students filtering in for lunch stopped to gawk at me. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. I had enough problems without being labeled psycho queen or something.

"It's okay, Sara." Rory patted my hand the way my grandmother would. "This is hard. I know that. No one expects you to be happy or accept it right away. That's why you have us. We're here to help."

Michael bit into his burger to keep from laughing. She sounded so earnest and I believed all she wanted to do was help, but it wasn't the kind of help I needed.

"Besides, I don't see why you can't be a neo-natal surgeon and still be Snow White," Rory brought all the focus back to her with that statement. "It is the twenty-first century after all."

"The leaders of Fairytale would never allow it." Jack shifted, letting his back rest against the wall. "Snow White is too important to risk letting her forget her duties in the face of a career."

Rory snorted. "Then that's why it's more important than ever for Sara to take on that role. She can change things for the rest of us, so we don't have to keep getting weighed down in the past. Fairytale has to change with the times."

Rory's words stunned everyone into silence. Here Sara thought the girl was brainwashed, but maybe that wasn't the case.

"Who are you and what have you done with Aurora?" Casey reached over and placed her hand on Rory's forehead.

Rory laughed. "I love being Sleepy Beauty. I think it's honorable to take up those reigns, but it doesn't mean I don't have dreams myself."

"Like what?" Michael asked, popping a fry into his mouth.

"I want to be a lawyer and represent children's rights. I was in foster care before the Academy found me. I used to live in some less than loving homes. Those kids need someone to fight for them."

Now it's my turn to be impressed. Sometimes you really can't judge a book by its cover.

"I have dreams too, but I also understand why being a Fairytale is so important to the balance of nature. Once you start reading up on our history, you'll understand it too. Then maybe you won't be so fast to judge those of us who take pride in our roles."

Rory's words shut us all up. Everyone at the table but her didn't want to play the role they'd been given and had been verbal about their contempt. With one statement she guilted everyone into silence.

"Now, let's eat. We have a lot to show you later."

I nodded and dug into my food, slightly fearful of what later would bring.