Dorothy smiled as she watched Shade "listen attentively" from across the table:
"You've probably noticed that some of your Fairy Tale Mizzle are actually Words of Sublimation belonging to Leisha and me."
Now that Miss Writer and Her Royal Highness the Princess had become Chosen Ones, both were at the ninth ring and therefore each possessed two Words of Sublimation.
Dorothy's were: outside Matchstick's Dream Illusion, the Scribe pities the Frozen to Death (Match Girl); within Castle of Night, only time can hinder the blessed Princess (Cinderella). Leisha's were: the Sleeping Princess finds peace between reality and dreams (Sleeping Princess); shattered foam/dreams also write the despair of the soul (Mermaid).
"So the new fairy tale you're going to teach me this time is one of your High-Ring Words of Sublimation, right?"
Shade accepted the document Dorothy handed him. The Blonde Young Lady nodded:
"Yes. The three choices were a 'Princess who uses the power of Ice and Snow,' 'a snowman melted by spring,' and this one, which was ultimately chosen. Read the story first, then guess whether it was my choice or Leisha's."
"And is there a prize if I guess right?"
Shade asked. Dorothy's emerald eyes were filled with amusement:
"Of course."
The first material she handed Shade was a very thin storybook titled "20 Bedtime Stories." It was the sort of bedtime story adults told to coax children to sleep, which also meant that this tale had spread quite widely.
The fairy tale Dorothy had marked by folding down the page corner was the longest story in the book. Shade had encountered this story both in his homeland and in this world: the Queen, envious of the Snow White Princess's beauty, tried to have a hunter kill her adopted daughter. Yet the hunter let her escape into the