Category: Book One

Mira Morganstein: The Pink Lemonade Club 017

The Pink Lemonade Club (Episode One)“Mira,” her mother fastened her gaze on the table cloth, still pristine and white, “I’m going to tell you a story. I need you not to interrupt me until I’m finished. All right?”

Not liking the sound of that, Mira nodded. How was she supposed to figure things out if she couldn’t ask questions?

“Once upon a time—”

“I thought you said this was a real story.” Mira folded her arms and raised a brow.

“It is.”

“Then why did you—”

“All the very best stories start with ‘Once upon a time,’” her mother said in her usual no-nonsense voice. “This one is no exception. May I continue?”

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The Faerie Thief: The Ruby Queen’s Garden 018

The Ruby Queen's Garden (Episode One)Gwyn turned her pockets out, searching in vain for a handkerchief. When none seemed forthcoming, Robin sacrificed one end of his scarf with all the air and dignity of a martyr. She buried her face in the soft red wool, mindful not to tug too hard, as her cousin was still wearing the rest of it. It smelled of the wild with a hint of blackberry, and made her stomach fizzle as though she was the one accustomed to swooping through the air and gusting with the wind.

“Really, it’s for the best,” Robin said, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder and looking everywhere but at her.

“I-I don’t s-see how,” she whimpered. Now that she’d started crying, she was having a difficult time stopping. It was as though each tear was determined to draw out all the sadness and frustration she’d ever felt, and no fewer than tens of thousands of them would be up to the task.

He gestured to the room. To the murky walls with anonymous stains that were streaked with grease. To the rafters stuffed with cobwebs and lost dreams. To the the filthy floor gritty with bracken and debris that must have blown in when she’d been locked up.

“You’re in a cage, Gwyn, and the sooner you accept that, the better.”

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Mira Morganstein: The Pink Lemonade Club 016

The Pink Lemonade Club (Episode One)To Nick a Knack,

First find a feary—

any of the Folk will do.

Bind the powers of the moon,

sun, and dust of starlight too.

Wait a mite with milk in hand,

And a needle for blood’s bright band.

Find a shadow, sew it shut.

Make the first, a shallow cut.

Wait to see what follows then,

For it shall find each of your ken.

For this Knack, you’ll surely pay,

For that it is the Folk’s only way.

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The Faerie Thief: The Ruby Queen’s Garden 017

The Ruby Queen's Garden (Episode One)With a flash of crimson sleeve, the queen’s arm snaked out and she caught Gwyn by the ear and pinched down tight.

“Don’t think you can escape me, girl,” she whispered. “You belong to the garden, and thus to me.”

Gwyn winced and tried to keep her head even with the queen’s grip. It wasn’t easy, though, with the queen being a few heads shorter than she was.

“W-where are we going?”

The Ruby Queen gave her a look so filled with fury and hate that she nearly made a door back to Lyra’s world then and there. The only thing that stopped her was the certainty that the queen would follow her and drag her back to the garden after she’d destroyed Lyra’s world completely.

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Mira Morganstein: The Pink Lemonade Club 015

The Pink Lemonade Club (Episode One)“Fine,” Mira breathed, wishing, in that moment, that she could take back her exhale. The Pink Lemonade Brigade’s scent was suffocating. Like she’d stumbled into a garden that had been bred for the smelliest of flowers. Individually, they might have been nice. But all together like this, overpowering was a more accurate word.

She tugged on the end of the ribbon, and the bow unknotted. The other ribbons fell away, leaving only the yellow paper to contend with. Mira slipped her finger into a fold in the paper and followed it up to the point where it had been stuck to itself with beeswax. (Another oddity of the Pink Lemonade Brigade was their inability to deal with a simple piece of tape. The one time she’d talked one of them into helping her wrap a present of her own had resulted in the entire roll of tape mummifying Auntie Marigold’s hand.)

The wax came away easily, and Mira pulled the paper away. Now all that remained was the box.

And what was inside it.Read More