My Sort of Fairy Tale Ending (12 page)

Just when I was starting to think my head would crash through the glass—ouch!—the magic faded, and I stopped moving. I found myself standing on a tiny ledge right next to the panel door. I had to get out of the slide fast before my parents shot up after me.

After I shoved the panel open and climbed out into the hallway, I heard my mom let out a groan inside the slide.

I helped pull her to freedom right before my dad appeared. Both of them looked a little green. Apparently, being in a coma for seven years and then going on a bizarro water-park ride wasn't a great combination.

“How did you know the abracadabra thing would work?” I whispered.

My dad grinned. “It's like a default magical password. You'd be surprised how often it does the trick.”

I shook my head in disbelief. Knowing that little tidbit would have been amazingly helpful during my years as an adventurer. If only my parents had been around to teach me these things…

I pushed the thought out of my head. There'd be time to dwell on all that later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting us, and all the other prisoners, out of Fairy Land.

The tunnel had brought us right by the elevator, which meant the throne room was just around the corner. Luckily, the fairy guards I'd seen here last time were all gone, probably trying to get the whole rebellion under control.

As usual, I found myself about to confront a super villain without an actual plan. I glanced over at my parents, whose faces were slowly regaining their normal colors.

“Any idea how we take care of this fairy?” I said softly.

“We usually figure things out as we go,” my dad said. Well,
that
certainly sounded familiar.

“Sometimes you just have to shoot from the hip,” my mom added.

I blinked. “What does that mean?”

“It's just an old saying,” she answered. “Maybe people don't use it anymore.”

I couldn't help smiling. I might not have known what the expression meant, but I had a feeling it was just like the cheesy sayings that were always popping out of my mouth. Even though my parents couldn't remember who I was, there was no doubt we were related.

“All right, let's go,” I said, turning down the hallway. My parents followed behind me. When we got to the doorway, I scanned the throne room, looking for the Queen Fairy's telltale glow.

Nothing.

“Maybe she's not here,” my dad said.

“She has to be,” I said. “I don't know where else she'd go.”

Just then, Mahlia emerged from behind one of the hanging tapestries. Her powdered hair was frizzy, her dress was torn, and for once she wasn't holding her star-shaped wand.

“You are too late,” she said, actually sounding sorry about that fact. “There is no stopping the Queen Fairy. The last part of her plan is almost complete.”

“The last part of her plan?” I repeated. The Queen Fairy wanted nothing more than to go after the Committee, but how could she do that when there was no one who would take her there?

I gasped as I realized that maybe that wasn't quite true.

“Quick,” I told my parents, “we have to find Anthony!”

Before we could move, a blinding light flashed all around us. I whirled around to find the Queen Fairy standing beside Mahlia. Her glowing hand was wrapped around someone's arm. But it wasn't Anthony in her clutches. It was Dr. Bradley.

“No!” I cried. “Leave him alone.”

“Silence!” the Queen Fairy said. She turned to Mahlia. “I expect order to be restored when I return.” The queen flicked her wrist, and the cuff around Dr. Bradley's wrist disappeared. “Do not think you can defeat me with your weak magic, old man. Now, take me to the Committee.”

“He's not taking you anywhere,” I said.

“Jenny,” Dr. Bradley said in a papery voice. “I'm so sorry. She will hurt you if I don't do what she says. I can't let anything happen to you.” He was pale and clearly exhausted, and his extra leg seemed to be pulling him off-balance. I'd never seen him look so old.

“No, please,” I said, but it was too late.

There was another flash, and Dr. Bradley and the Queen Fairy began to shimmer and fade. Without thinking, I leaped forward and grabbed on to the doctor's free arm. Instantly, I was sucked into a glittery vortex. And then, just as quickly, we stopped spinning and solid ground materialized under our feet.

Sure enough, we were in the Committee's blindingly white hall. The old women were seated at their table as usual, looking at us with stunned expressions on their identical faces.

“What is the meaning of this?” the Committee members demanded in unison (which was how they always talked). “You are not welcome here.”

“That is irrelevant,” said the Queen Fairy, tossing Dr. Bradley aside. He stumbled forward and fell.

“Dr. Bradley!” I cried.

“I am all right, Jenny,” he said as I helped him sit up. “Don't worry about me.” The orange cuff was back around his wrist, which meant he couldn't magic his way to safety.

“Adventurer.” The Queen Fairy glared down at me. “You continue to be a nuisance.”

“Sorry about that,” I said, straightening up. “To be fair, I think you're pretty annoying too.”

“Leave this place!” the Committee members said as they got to their feet. I was surprised to see they actually had legs. I'd always suspected they might just be torsos attached to chairs.

“Not until I have what I came for,” the Queen Fairy said, striding toward them. She'd only taken a few steps when the Committee members raised their arms and beams of energy shot out of their fingertips, all aimed right at the Queen Fairy.

The glowing fairy stumbled backward. For a second, she even looked like she might fall over. Then she righted herself and kept charging toward the Committee.

“Unacceptable!” the old women cried in outrage. They let loose a bigger wave of energy, and this time the Queen Fairy was thrown back like she'd been punched in the gut. She let out a hideous screech as she hit the tile floor.

“Leave this place!” the Committee members intoned again.

The Queen Fairy scrambled to her feet. The glow coming off her skin had dimmed a little. Maybe that meant the Committee really was stronger than she was.

Then the fairy's black eyes swung toward me. Before I could do anything, I felt myself being pulled toward her by the force of her magic. Then her long arm wrapped around me like an electric eel, almost burning my skin with her power.

She started to walk toward the Committee again, holding me in front of her like a shield.

“Do what I say,” she hissed at the Committee, “or your precious adventurer dies.”

I couldn't help letting out a honking laugh. “Yeah, right,” I said. “Those old bats hate me. If you kill me, you'll be doing them a favor.”

The Queen Fairy acted like she hadn't heard me. She just kept inching forward.

I expected the Committee members to simply roll their eyes and zap both me and the Queen Fairy without a second thought. So I was shocked to see them whispering among themselves, like they were actually considering what the Queen Fairy had said.

“Very well,” they said finally. “Release the adventurer, and we will cooperate.”

“You can't be serious!” I said, stunned. Since when did the Committee members care about me at all? Let alone enough to surrender themselves—and the magical kingdoms—to keep me safe?

“Release her,” the old women said again.

Instead of letting me go, the fairy waved her hand and instantly, four identical orange cuffs appeared on the Committee members' wrists. I was willing to bet those cuffs would suck up all the magic the old women possessed.

“Finally,” the Queen Fairy said, as her skin started to glow more brightly than ever before. “I will no longer have to live in fear of you like my father did. Once I have conjured my prince, we will be the most respected rulers in the magical kingdoms, and no one will ever have power over the fairies again.”

The Committee members stared down at their wrists in shock. I couldn't really blame them. They were used to controlling everything, to having the magical kingdoms under their identical thumbs. They'd probably never imagined that someone could enslave them, especially someone who was doing all of this to get a boyfriend.

“No!” I said. “Leave the Committee alone!”

I tried to fight out of the Queen Fairy's grip, but she shoved me toward the floor with all her strength. As I hit the tile—
crack
!—I heard my head make a sickening sound. Then everything went black.

•••

When I opened my eyes, my head was pounding like someone had used it as a punching bag.

I tried to sit up, but everything was spinning around me, and my body felt weak and shaky. I lay back down, the cool tile soothing my aching head.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Dr. Bradley hunched on the floor nearby, motionless. In fact, he was so much like a statue that I realized the queen must have paralyzed him with her magic so he wouldn't interfere with her plan.

Her plan! I had to stop her from taking the Committee's magic!

I managed to move my head slightly and spotted the Queen Fairy hovering over the Committee members who were now slumped in their chairs, asleep. Keeping them unconscious probably meant she could soak up their magic even faster.

I hoped she sucked up so much power that it made her head explode.

Wait. Maybe that was the answer. Maybe there
was
a way to defeat her, after all.

I tried to sit up again, but I was still too weak and dizzy to move. My head felt like a hundred-pound weight someone had attached to my neck. It even hurt to think.

After struggling to move a few more times, I eased my pounding head back on the cold floor. It was no use. I couldn't do anything to make my plan work. All I could do was watch as the Committee's power was drained away.

My hope started to evaporate. Maybe this was really it. Maybe my days of saving the universe were finally over, and any chance I had of getting my family back was gone.

Just when I was about to completely give up, there was a blinding flash all around me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that a whole crowd had appeared: Anthony, my parents, Luken, and Karfum. And, wait, Mahlia? What was
she
doing here? Had she brought everyone else as prisoners?

“It's over, Your Shininess,” Anthony called out. “Time to give it up.”

The Queen Fairy smirked at him. “Nonsense. Mahlia, take care of them. I have more pressing things to do.”

Mahlia didn't move. Instead, she held her ground beside Luken.

“What is this?” the Queen Fairy said. “Mahlia, I said take care of them.”

“No,” said Mahlia. “I believed you were the hope for our future and that you could keep our children safe. So I stood by and did nothing when you enslaved the leprechauns and took most of the magic for yourself. I cannot stand by and do nothing now that I see how selfish you really are.” She took a step forward, clearly gathering her courage. “And for the record, I have never liked
Cinderella
!”

The Queen Fairy let out something like a howl. “You are as much of a disgrace as that son of yours. Very well, then I will take care of all of you!” She flung her arms out, and a wave of energy rushed through the room, knocking everybody over.

Luken landed like a limp doll only a few feet away from me. I sighed with relief when I realized that he and the others were still breathing. They'd just been knocked out.

The Queen Fairy stormed back over to the Committee and continued whatever creepy method she had for putting people into comas. I hoped that meant she was too distracted to notice what I was about to do.

“Luken!” I whispered. “Luken, wake up!”

He didn't stir.

Great. I couldn't shout at him or the queen would know I was awake. But there had to be some way to get through to him.

“Luken,” I tried again, a little louder. “I need your help!”

Still nothing.

Slowly, I forced my hand toward Luken's head. The concentration made my head pound even more, and my whole body was shaking with the effort, but I couldn't give up.

Finally, my hand was right next to Luken's long ear, but when I went to pinch his earlobe, I was still too far away. Now what?

Then I remembered my tail. Slowly, using every last ounce of energy, I eased my tail along the floor like a snake until it was right next to Luken's head. Then I made the end of my tail poke him right in the ear.

“Ouch!” he said, his eyes popping open.

“Shh. Don't move. Pretend like you're still unconscious.” He did as I said and lay still. “Now listen,” I went on, barely at a whisper. “I think I know how to stop the Queen Fairy, but you have to do what I say. Okay?”

He nodded slightly.

“The Committee members are all asleep. You need to get into their dreams and tell them to push all their magic into the queen, all at once.”

Luken's eyes widened in horror. “If I do that, then…”

“I know how it sounds. But think about what she's done, Luken. She erased everything your father worked so hard for. She made Belthum and Pryll and so many others into slaves. And that's exactly what she'll do to the other creatures in the magical kingdoms if she gets the Committee's power. This is our only chance to stop her. Please, help me.”

Luken thought this over, and for a second it seemed like he might agree. Then he gave me a woeful look and a small shake of his head. Even though he obviously hated the Queen Fairy, maybe he didn't want to be the one responsible for destroying her. Especially not after his mother had loyally served the queen for years.

I wanted to cry. If Luken wouldn't help me, then this was all over.

Just then, a long, pale hand reached out and rested on Luken's arm. I could just make out Mahlia on the other side of him. She gave him an encouraging nod, and I could tell she was assuring him that it was all right, that this was something they could do together. After all this time of blindly protecting Luken, she was finally willing to work with him.

They both closed their eyes, and I watched—my breath frozen in my chest—as looks of deep concentration washed over their faces.

The Queen Fairy was pacing in front of the Committee's table now, probably urging the magic to flow into her even faster. Then she stopped and glared in my direction.

“You!” the Queen Fairy roared. “You are doing something to me. I can feel it.” She started to storm toward me. “I am tired of you and your parents trying to get in my way. You are just as foolish and weak-minded as my father was. Now that I am in control, I will put an end to all adventurers. I will wipe you away like pieces of dust!”

She was nearly on top of me, spitting glowing fairy saliva at me. I didn't care. As long as she was distracted, as long as she didn't notice that her skin was getting brighter and brighter and brighter, she could say whatever she wanted.

Her shrill voice abruptly fell silent, and she looked down at herself. “What is this?” she whispered. “What is happening to me?”

Her skin was so bright, it resembled molten lava. She stumbled backward, clutching her stomach like she was about to be sick.

“More!” I cried at Luken.

“I cannot,” he said with a gasp.

As the queen started to straighten up, I realized it wasn't enough. We needed one last push of magic to put an end to her.

Wait. If the queen had been using adventurers to magnify magic, then maybe I could do it too. While the Queen Fairy staggered toward me again, I inched my aching body closer to Luken, and then I reached out and grabbed his hand. The minute our fingers touched, I could feel Luken and Mahlia's magic flowing through me. It wasn't a lot, but maybe it would be enough.

I closed my eyes and let the magic wash over me like a warm bath. Then I imagined taking that warmth and funneling it into a single stream, molding it until it was almost like a laser. Finally, all at once, I pushed it as hard as I could away from me. Directly at the queen.

“Stop!” she screamed. “No!”

But it was too late. I opened my eyes just in time to see her skin start to break open, like the magic couldn't stay trapped inside her for a second longer. She glowed brighter and brighter and brighter, until—

Kaboom!

The entire room filled with blindingly bright light. Then the light turned into what looked like melted gold, raining down from the ceiling.

Finally, where the Queen Fairy had been, there was just a shimmering puddle.