Diary of an Evil Queen Read online

  Once Daring was out of mirror prison, everyone was so hexcited for him to live the story and kiss Apple awake. Only it didn’t work! He tried so many times. Nothing. It seemed like her forever-after sleep might be forever after all. I suddenly had an idea and had to go to Mom and missed the rest of the spellebration of Apple’s life, but what I now know is that Darling wound up rescuing Apple! Once she realized that Daring wasn’t Apple’s Prince Charming, she sprang to action and dislodged the poisoned apple that got stuck in Apple’s throat.

  Darling would be a great doctor if she wants to make that her destiny.

  They had dragons. They had the Booking Glass. They had Faybelle, who’d changed sides. And now they had Apple White.

  They’re coming for you, Mom!

  Your Wish Is Mirrie’s Command Game:

  Match the command that Mirrie says from Column A with the actual command from Column B.

  COLUMN A COLUMN B

  1. Feet a band twitch a. Wake up Apple

  2. Wing a throng b. Free Daring

  3. Capture beagle spleen c. Ride a dragon

  4. Bake up chapel d. Eat a sandwich

  5. Hide a wagon e. Capture Evil Queen

  6. Tree herring f. Sing a song

  Answers: 1. d, 2. f, 3. e, 4. a, 5. c, 6. b

  While all that was happening, I was at school, trying to figure out what to do. Mom realized that I wasn’t being honestly bad, so she trapped me with a spell. I know, right? She said back in the essay-writing chapter that she wouldn’t cast a spell on me, her daughter. Can everyone see what I am dealing with? My mother cannot be trusted!

  Of course, I wasn’t really to be trusted, either. So maybe we’re more alike than I’m willing to admit?! Shake that thought off!!!

  Once I was trapped, she called her dark dragons and started a battle. Mom’s dark dragons versus the light ones.

  Winner takes all.

  My friends did well riding the light dragons. Still, we knew we couldn’t win without capturing my mom in the mirror.

  I managed to break free and join the others.

  We were going to win, as Mother says, “No matter the cost!”

  Swooping on dragonback, I found Apple. She was holding the Booking Glass, ready to use it to send Mom back to prison. Mom knocked the Booking Glass from Apple’s hands, but I got it back.

  We got close enough and finally got Mirrie to understand what we were saying—everything was ready! But then Mom was up to her tricks again, swaying Apple with her theories on good and evil and telling Apple that she had to make a choice. It was Apple who had let the Evil Queen out of prison so she could have her Happily Ever After. Did she really want to send the queen back, ruining her chance at her destiny?

  My mom played every card in her deck. She tried desperately to convince Apple to let her stay free. She told Apple that she’d never get her Happily Ever After if my mom wasn’t around because, well, I wasn’t going to poison my friend. It was true. I couldn’t argue. I wasn’t ever after going to give my friend a poison apple. I was off book.

  Apple had this strange look in her eyes. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Had Mom convinced her again?

  We were close enough for Apple to capture my mom. All she had to do was initialize Mirrie.… That’s when Apple hesitated!

  Quick! She needs a Hex Yeah (pro) and Hex No (con) chart!

  Hex Yeah:

  List all the reasons you can think of for Apple to trap the queen back in mirror prison:

  Hex No:

  List all the reasons you can think of that Apple should let the queen stay free and rule Ever After High:

  Hex Yeah! Apple did it! She got the Booking Glass started, and I gave it a boost. Together, we put the Evil Queen back in prison! It’s time for a new page!

  The teachers turned back from animals to teachers.

  The dark dragons lost their evilitude.

  The school settled back to the ground, and the vines unwrapped themselves.

  The students were free to dress in anything they wanted and use whatever their old names were before they were changed to an evil sidekick name. Of course, Maddie still wanted us to call her Nightshade Who Is Feared by All, but no one ever after would.

  9

  The Evil Queen’s Unjust, Unfair Return to Prison

  Dear Diary,

  I refuse to believe that this is my fate. Being cast back into mirror prison was never supposed to be how my story ended! I’ve read all the fairytales. The Evil Queen is supposed to live a long life, plotting and planning and terrorizing her neighbors until she succeeds in the eventual takeover of all of Ever After. That’s my destiny!

  If only Raven would join me, evil would triumph. We could rule Ever After and more.

  But that ending wasn’t in the cards. Not this time. Apple sent me back here through the Booking Glass. Ungrateful girl, after all I did to get her story back on track!

  Then Raven took the glass and used it to send me my evil guidebook with a bright red blinking note that she’d never need it. Never? Never is a long time in Ever After, my dear. Don’t ever say never. Remember when I said I’d never cast a spell on my own daughter? Things don’t always work out.…

  For now, I have all the time in the world to figure out my next steps. I will triumph. It’s what I am meant to do. Like I told Apple—repeatedly—there is no good without evil to balance things. Good on its own is nothing. Evil is what makes good good. You need me! You all need me. You’ll see.

  Evil is necessary for a Happily Ever After.

  So what should I do while I am in prison, waiting for my next big breakout?

  Rank the following from 1 to 10. If I like your choices, I’ll start at number 1 and work my way through the list.

  _Write a spellbinding memoir of my most fascinating life.

  _Train the spiders in my room to be my minions.

  _Write a special song for Melody to sing to everyone, hypnotizing them to do whatever I say in the lyrics.

  _Curse all of the teacups in the Castleteria so the tea disappears every time a Wonderlandian tries to take a sip of tea from them.

  _Spy on Raven and Apple through the school mirrors.

  _Pitch new black-hat ideas to Maddie.

  _Curse Daring’s mirrors so they each break, giving seven years of bad luck per mirror.

  _Build a gingerbread house of my very own. I could do such a better job than the Candy Witch.

  _Trick Faybelle into doing my bidding (though I doubt that will work twice).

  _Deliver a basket of apples to Apple White every single day for an entire month with a note that says “These are poisoned… or are they?”—just for fun!

  Any other ideas on how to entertain myself while trapped in prison? I’m open to suggestions as long as they show great evil potential.

  This diary belongs to me, the Evil Queen. I might run out of pages, but this is not the end. I have an endless supply of evil ideas. So watch over your shoulder, Raven and friends, because I will get out of this prison again and when I do—

  I will convince Raven to follow her legacy—

  Evil will triumph!

  Together we will rule Ever After!

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  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Dedication

  A Letter to My Dearest Daughter

  Chapter 1: The Importance of Evil

  Chapter 2: Question: Who Deserves Freedom? Answer: I Do, Of Course.

  Chapter 3: Tips and Tricks to Being Evil at School

  Chapter 4: Casting Evil Spells

  Chapter 5: Care and Feeding for Y
our Dragon

  Chapter 6: Evil Rules

  Chapter 7: How to Convince Someone to Be Evil (Especially if That Someone Doesn’t Want to Be Evil)

  Chapter 8: Hand Over the Diary, Mom: By Raven Queen

  Chapter 9: The Evil Queen’s Unjust, Unfair Return to Prison

  Copyright

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 Mattel, Inc.

  Cover design by Véronique Lefèvre Sweet

  Cover © 2016 Mattel, Inc.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  lb-kids.com

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  First ebook edition: February 2016

  ISBN 978-0-316-38994-5

  E3