The Lost Story: A Novel

Back at the palace, Winter shows Emilie her quarters in a turret, named the Princess Suite. Later, Skya reveals to Emilie the story of Shanandoah. When Skya was in fifth grade, her teacher, Mrs. Adler, gave the class an assignment on writing their own fairy tale. Enchanted by the idea, Skya began to create a story. Mrs. Adler loved Skya’s work in progress so much that she gave her a mechanical pencil with a unicorn eraser, promising that the pencil had the magic to make stories come true. Emilie reads the story, which Skya continued right until before she was kidnapped. It has references to Aurora, the queen’s pet crow, a falling star that divides into seven parts to become Valkyries, and the queen’s missing sister.

Emilie realizes that Skya’s story really did come true. Skya has no explanation for it; perhaps a saint or a fairy godmother was watching over her. After Skya followed Aurora through the tree, she came upon a group of women. As soon as they saw her, the Valkyries bowed, hailing Skya as the queen of their kingdom. Emilie loves Skya’s tale, but one part of it is bothering her. In the story, Skya writes that the Witch of Black Wolf Cave has decreed that the door from Shanandoah to the real world will open only three times before it is locked forever.