Once Upon a Broken Heart

After two weeks at sea, Evangeline and Marisol arrive in the Magnificent North, which they enter by sailing under an arch that supposedly keeps magic from leaving. The place is everything Evangeline pictured from her mother’s stories with tiny dragons, a misty feel, and magic everywhere. As she makes her way to the palace, she can’t help feeling that coming here feels “like the start of everything” (85).

According to the Daily Rumor (another local gossip sheet), Evangeline is a potential favorite for the prince to pick, which makes Evangeline really believe she has a chance at love. That evening, she has a private dinner with Prince Apollo, and she spends the afternoon preparing. Just before she leaves, Marisol makes a poor attempt to joke about being the cursed bride, and Evangeline’s guilt resurfaces. She promises herself again that she’ll tell Marisol the truth about Luc someday and goes to dinner hoping that “the North had enough magic to create happier endings for both of them” (91).

The evening’s festivities take place in a wood burnished with the colors of autumn. A phoenix tree stands in the center of the clearing, and Evangeline remembers the tree from her mother’s stories. It takes 100 years to mature so all its leaves turn to gold, and if a single leaf is plucked before then, the entire tree will burst into flames.