the part.
Carrie aims apologetic eyes at me as Julie ushers me out. She feels bad.
“Call me later!” she shouts.
To get to my post at Elena’s Castle, we use the tunnel below the theme park, unofficially referred to by all of us as the Underground. It is, without a doubt, the best-kept secret at Fairytale Kingdom. The Underground is essentially a city beneath the theme park accessed only by employees. It’s where we arrive for our shifts, clock in and out, and change into costume. There are training rooms, stock rooms, conference centers, break rooms, and offices for the electrical and engineering teams. In the very center, under the castle, there’s a cafeteria with a Subway and a McDonald’s.
The tunnels in the Underground are wide enough to allow for pedestrians and golf carts. Sprinkled throughout these passageways, there are 35 stairwells that lead to hidden entrances to the park. The secret gateways are necessary because the park is made up of several different themed zones, like Elena’s Village, Enchanted Forest, and Safari Island, to name a few. Elena’s Village is designed as a medieval French village with the grand castle in its center. However, head due north and those bright, friendly cottages gradually give way to a dark and mysterious forest. That section of the park is meant for teenagers and adults. Employees there dress as fairies and huntsmen, nymphs and elves. If a guest saw an Enchanted Forest elf walking along Castle Drive, it would jar them out of the carefully crafted setting. So, the execs don’t allow it. We have to leave our zones via the Underground if we want to go from one area to another.
If a little kid ever accidentally stumbled into the Underground, it would shatter her world. It’s a gritty underbelly compared to the land of make-believe that exists atop Castle Drive. Down here, fairies walk around in hairnets. Bears walk around in their jumpsuits with their headpieces tucked under their arms. Maintenance men honk the horns on their golf carts, angry if anyone happens to stray into their path. I once stumbled upon a huntsman from the Enchanted Forest getting it on with a smith’s apprentice from Castle Drive. So yeah, no one is allowed down here without an employee badge or a microchipped costume.
Julie swipes her badge and we gain entrance to a shallow set of stairs that open up directly into the hearth of the great room inside Elena’s Castle.
On a normal day, I’m excited for my shift.
Today, the hours stretch out before me in a never-ending sea of children. I’m counting down the minutes until I can leave here and hunt down Carrie for more information. She might as well have thrown a grenade at me in that dressing room. Even now, it’s sitting on the ground near my feet…
Ticking.
Chapter Five
Derek
Accepting my new role as His Royal Highness feels a lot like walking through the five stages of grief. Denial comes first, and it lasts exactly the length of time it takes me to get from Cal’s penthouse to my new apartment in exec housing. I smile to myself and think, That Cal, what a trip. He really pulled one over on me this time. Working In Character in the park? Hilarious. Then I realize, no. Cal is sincere.
He expects me to agree.
That realization gives way to anger—a healthy dose of it. It’s not that I think I’m above the task. Work is work. It’s an honest job just like everything else. Coming from the board, though, it feels like a slap in the face. They know how hard I’ve worked the last decade. They know it’s insulting to suggest I might not have earned the position as Director of Operations.
I go to sleep fuming and wake up only a few hours later, kicking off my sheets. My run is so abusive, the treadmill sighs with relief when I step off of it. Over coffee, I fantasize about forwarding my CV to our board members—a way of throwing my experience in their faces—and then creating a middle finger out of keyboard characters to go along with it. Once my coffee kicks in, I realize that option lacks tact. I can do better.
Leaving the Knightley Company is another possibility. Going to work for a competitor would certainly sting, but there’s no way I could go through with it. I don’t have the heart for revenge and I would never do that to Cal.
Bargaining blends with depression as I drag myself to the