The Enchantress Returns (26 page)

Jack smiled at her. “I’m a late-blooming bandit myself, but I’m catching up,” he said and winked back. They lovingly stared at each other as if no one else were in the room.

“YOU!”
Red said, still pointing at Goldilocks. She looked like a teapot whose spout had been corked.

“Oh, relax, Red,” Goldilocks said. “We aren’t here to cause any trouble. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Red snorted. “You bet your porridge-loving indecisive behind you won’t be harming me! This is my castle!” she said. “You’re both wanted fugitives! How did you get inside?”

“We used the front door,” Jack said blankly. “They let us in without any trouble. I grew up with most of the guards, remember?”

Red looked back and forth between Jack and Goldilocks, not wanting to believe the statement was true. It was frustrating to feel so disrespected in her own home.

“Does the word
queen
mean anything to anyone?!” Red shouted. “Shouldn’t my
safety
be a
priority
in
my
castle?”

Froggy decided to break the tension. “Forgive us—we weren’t expecting company and have had a rough few days,” he explained, still a little on edge himself. “Why don’t we have a seat and catch up?”

No one argued. Everyone took a seat around the Big Bad Wolf floor rug. It took a minute for Red to gather her thoughts and join them. She sat next to Froggy but left a noticeable space between them. Jack and Goldilocks sat across from them, sitting so close to each other they looked joined at the hip. Alex and Conner shared an armchair adjacent to the couples.

“You just returned from the Happily Ever After Assembly meeting, I take it?” Goldilocks asked.

“Indeed,” Red said with her nose raised slightly. “Because that’s what we
law-abiding rulers
do: We meet
publicly
and discuss things that
benefit the greater good
.”

Her words didn’t affect Goldilocks in the slightest. “Where’s the fun in that?” Goldilocks said, happy to get under Red’s skin.

“How did it go?” Jack asked.

“It was awful,” Conner said. “The Enchantress showed up and kidnapped our grandmother! And she already has our mom!”

Jack and Goldilocks looked to each other with the same inquisitive expression. “What could she want with your mother and grandmother?” Goldilocks asked the twins.

Alex and Conner had forgotten Jack and Goldilocks had made a run for it long before they discovered who their grandmother was.

“Our grandmother is the Fairy Godmother,” Alex said with a shrug that said
“surprise.”

Jack and Goldilocks looked rather impressed. “Well, how about that?” Jack said.

The twins told them all about how they were from another world and their grandmother had traveled back and forth for centuries sharing the stories of the fairy-tale world with theirs. Once Jack and Goldilocks had processed the information, the twins continued to tell them how their father had used the Wishing Spell to be reunited with their mother in the Otherworld and how they had discovered the fairy-tale world by traveling through their grandmother’s old storybook.

“Yes, yes, yes—and it was very touching,” Red said, waving her hands. “They learned the Fairy Godmother was their grandmother and then all three of them disappeared through a door that led into a different world, blah blah blah—
you still haven’t told me what you two are doing in my castle
?”

The twins could tell Jack and Goldilocks were interested in
hearing more of the story but knew they’d better appease Red before her head exploded.

“We wanted to see if any progress had been made with the Enchantress,” Jack said.

“Nope, there hasn’t been any, sorry
—
you both can leave now,” Red replied quickly.

Froggy placed his hand on her knee. “Darling, let’s not be rude,” Froggy said. “They may be emotionally distressing wanted fugitives, but they’re still our guests.”

The twins were eager to tell Jack and Goldilocks about the meeting from the previous night and didn’t wait for Froggy or Red to get to it. They told them all about Princess Hope being kidnapped and how the Enchantress had taken their grandmother and was starting to attack the kingdoms.

“And there’s nothing that can be done to stop her?” Jack said, shaking his head in the same disbelief the twins had felt for days.

“Unfortunately not,” Froggy said.

“I don’t know how the situation concerns the two of you,” Red said and crossed her arms.

“This affects us, too,” Goldilocks said. “We don’t want to live in a world ruled by her, either. We thought we could help.”

“Help?”
Red said and laughed at the idea. “And what are you going to do, Goldilocks? Steal her jewels? Pick her locks? Test all her furniture until it’s
just right
?”

Goldilocks stood and glared down at Red. It made the queen squirm in her seat. She looked to the others for help, but she was on her own.

“Is there something you want to say to my face,
Grandma’s girl
?” Goldilocks asked.

“No, I’d much rather say it behind your back,” Red said.

“I thought after helping me escape you had changed,” Goldilocks said. “But apparently I was wrong.”

“Well, I thought helping you would make me feel better, but I suppose I was wrong, too,” Red admitted and sheepishly glanced over at Jack.

Froggy raised his green index finger. “Moving back to more important matters,” he said, “the fairies and monarchs don’t have any clue what to do. The Fairy Godmother has always been able to just wave her wand and make things better, but unfortunately she can’t this time. So now we’re all waiting for a solution to arise… if there is one.”

The twins nodded. Goldilocks sat back down next to Jack and held his hand. The room was reunited with the hopelessness they had tried leaving in the carriage.

Suddenly, Conner cocked his head like a puppy.

“Froggy, what did you just say?” he asked, pointing at his amphibious friend.

“I said no one knows what to do,” Froggy said, not sure how he could have made it clearer.

“No, before that,” Conner said. “What did you say about the Fairy Godmother?”

Froggy looked at him peculiarly, wondering why he wanted the horrible news to be repeated. “I said the Fairy Godmother usually just waves her wand and makes everything better,” he said.

“Bingo!”
Conner said and immediately jumped out of the armchair and ran toward the bookshelves.

“Conner, what’s gotten into you?” Alex asked.

“Hey, Froggy,” Conner asked, completely in his own world. “Where is that book we were looking at the other day? The one that had the chapter about the Wishing Spell in it?”

It took a moment for Froggy to remember. “
Myths, Legends, and Collecting Spells
?” he asked. “It should be on the shelf two over and one below the books from your sister. I’m very specific about where my books are kept.”

Conner scanned the shelves until he found it. “Gotcha,” he said with a satisfied jump. He sat back down next to his sister and flipped through the pages. “I think the answer we’re looking for is in this book!”

“Are you talking about using the Wishing Spell again?” Froggy asked.

“Could we use it on the Enchantress?” Jack asked.

“Trust me, wishing someone away never works,” Red said and raised an eyebrow in Goldilocks’s direction. Goldilocks placed a hand on her sword as a warning.

“We couldn’t use the Wishing Spell even if we wanted to,” Alex said. “The spell could only be used twice, and the Evil Queen was the second person to use it.”

“I’m not talking about the Wishing Spell,” Conner said, his eyes still glued to the pages he was searching. “I’m thinking about something even bigger and better and—
found it
!”

Conner turned the book around to the section he was referring to.

“ ‘The Wand of Wonderment’?” the room read together. Conner nodded enthusiastically, expecting them all to share his excitement. Unfortunately, everyone else just exchanged pitying looks with one another.

“Why are you all looking at me like I want to take my pet rock for a walk?” Conner asked. “This book says that whoever holds the Wand of Wonderment is
invincible
. Whoever gets their hands on it
could potentially stop the Enchantress
!”

Froggy looked at him regretfully. “That isn’t real, Conner,” Froggy said. “That’s just a childish legend like all the other subjects in that book.”

“Okay, says the
giant talking frog
!” Conner said with an eye roll. “This book talks about the Wishing Spell, too, and we’ve proven that
that
wasn’t just a myth. I bet most of the stuff in this book is real, too.

“ ‘The Wand of Wonderment,’ ” he read aloud from the book. “ ‘Many believe that possessing the Wand of Wonderment gives the beholder the gift of invincibility. It is said that the Wand is formed when combining the six most prized possessions of the six most hated people in the world. Although the idea is dubious, the legend of the Wand may have some truth to it considering the materials needed are most likely of a magic background. Unlike most collections, the materials required for making the Wand of Wonderment may change with the times.’ ”

Conner took a breath and looked up at the others, who still looked ambivalent.

“Oh, come on,” Conner said to the stubborn group. “You’ve got to admit that it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.”

Everyone was on the fence about it. Conner was frustrated that they weren’t as convinced as he was.

“My sister and I are from
another dimension
,” he said and then pointed to Froggy. “
This guy
has been magically transformed into a giant amphibian
twice
! What part about the Wand of Wonderment is hard for any of you to believe in?”

Conner made a valid point. What about this Wand was so hard for them to believe after all the other things they had witnessed? At least it was an
option
, and an option gave them
hope
. Alex silently stared down at the book with a growing eagerness in her eyes.

“Just out of curiosity’s sake,” Alex said, “who are the six most hated people in this world?”

Red looked up at Goldilocks and opened her mouth to answer.

“By the
world
, Red, not by you,” Alex clarified and Red went silent.

“I’d say the Evil Queen is a candidate,” Froggy said, and the others nodded in agreement.

“The giant,” Jack said. “And I’m not speaking from personal experience—people were terrified of him.”

“The Snow Queen,” Goldilocks mentioned. “Her historic reign over the Northern Kingdom still sends shivers down people’s spines.”

Conner was all ears, making mental notes of their suggestions. “Who else?” he said.

“You know, I’ve personally never cared for Miss Muffet,” Red said, as if she was confessing a horrid secret. “I mean, it was just a spider! Get over it!”

Everyone in the room stared at Red for a moment and then went on with their brainstorming.

“What about the Sea Witch, who traded with the Little Mermaid?” Alex said. “I was always scared of her as a kid.”

“Oh yeah! I bet all the fish in the sea are afraid of her!” Conner said.

Froggy sat straight up in his seat as another idea came to him. “Cinderella’s
wicked stepmother
!” he said. “The whole Charming Kingdom despises her.”

“This is great,” Conner said. “So far we have the Evil Queen, the giant, the Snow Queen, the Sea Witch, and the wicked stepmother. We just need one more.”

They all went silent and their eyes wandered around the room.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Red said. “It’s the
Enchantress
.”

Lumps grew in everyone’s throats; Red was right.

“Well, the Wand of Wonderment was a good
idea
,” Goldilocks said, as if it were obvious it was no longer possible. Everyone slumped in their seats, but Conner wouldn’t accept defeat.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” he said. “We can’t let confronting Ezmia get in the way. This may be our only chance at stopping her!”

He desperately looked to everyone in the room, hoping for someone to agree with him, but no one said anything. Conner leaped to his feet, deciding actions would have to speak louder than words if he wanted to get through to them. He walked around the room collecting random books off the shelves.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked him.

He didn’t respond. He took a portrait of Red off the wall
and added a couple candlesticks to his pile. He walked to the fireplace and promptly dumped everything into the fire.

“Conner!”
Alex said.

“Those are mine!”
Red said.

“Have you gone mad?”
Froggy asked him.

Conner stood in front of the fireplace with his hands on his hips. The fire slowly consumed the pile of stuff behind him.

“You won’t need them anymore,” Conner said. “Don’t you get it? If we just sit around and wait, the Enchantress is going to take over!
Everything
we love will be gone!”

Alex wanted to share her brother’s passion, but she couldn’t get her head past the odds. “Conner, it’s just too dangerous. It’s practically a death wish,” she said.

Her lack of faith was about to make Conner jump out of his skin. “Doing
nothing
is a death wish!” he said. “If building this Wand of Wonderment thing offers us a chance at saving the world, we’d be idiots not to try it!”

Conner was practically in tears trying to convince them. Everyone looked back and forth between him and the objects burning in the fireplace. A decision had to be made. However, one thing was certain; whatever they did, they risked losing it all.

Froggy stood up abruptly. “I agree with Conner,” he said with his head held high. “We know the outcome of doing nothing, so I’d rather die fighting.”

Froggy’s words had a rallying effect.

“I’ve never been good at just sitting around,” Goldilocks said, standing with Froggy. “Besides, you’ll need someone who’s good with a sword out there.”