My Sort of Fairy Tale Ending

by Anna Staniszewski

  I sank to the floor of my cage, feeling like something was pressing down on me. If my parents—the greatest adventurers in history—hadn’t been able to bring down the Queen Fairy, then what chance did I have?

  Chapter Twenty

  The hours ticked by as I sat in my miniscule cage, totally out of ideas. In the morning, I’d be brought to the Queen Fairy to give her my answer. Not only was I no closer to rescuing my parents, but now I had to deal with a constant, overwhelming cheese craving.

  I tried to focus on the comforting weight around my neck of my mother’s necklace, which had shrunk down to mouse-size along with me, and let it soothe me. Hopefully, my mom’s jewelry would go back to normal when I was human again. If I was ever human again.

  Okay, this wasn’t helping.

  I was so on edge that I didn’t think I’d be able to get even a minute of sleep, but after a while my eyelids started to droop. Great. The fairies were probably luring me into one of their creepy dreams again. I tried to fight it, but my eyes didn’t listen to me. My lids got heavier and heavier until it felt like fingers were pressing them shut.

  Finally, I stopped struggling, curled up in a tight ball, and let the dream take me away.

  This time I was in the Land of Tales, outside of Princess Nartha’s palace. Just like during my real mission, I was trying to convince the villagers that I was there to help them. Unlike in my real mission, the Committee members suddenly materialized alongside Jasmine, another adventurer about my age. I expected the old women to scold me for breaking the rules—that’s what they always did when I was around—but this time they surprised me by shaking their heads sadly and telling me they would understand if I betrayed them to save my parents. Even Jasmine, who was the most cautious and law-abiding person I’d ever met, agreed that getting my mom and dad back was the most important thing.

  As if to prove just how serious they were, the Committee members snapped their fingers, and a signed and stamped form flew down from the sky with the words “Permission granted” written across it. Having the Committee members’ blessing should have made me happy. Instead, I felt horrible for even thinking of betraying them. And sure enough, the prickle in the back of my brain was there again, stronger than ever.

  “I want to wake up,” I said, just like I’d done the first night. “Now.” Once again, it worked.

  I opened my eyes, my mind spinning. Even in my mouse state, the fairies had been controlling my dream, trying to tell me that turning over the Committee was my only choice. But that couldn’t be true. There had to be another solution.

  I sat up, wide awake, an idea bouncing around in my tiny mouse brain. Maybe there was a way I could get my parents back and keep the Committee safe. And get rid of that glowing faux-Cinderella once and for all.

  •••

  What felt like days (but was only hours) later, Mahlia and her fairy guards appeared in the storage room. The animals around me erupted in squeaks and chirps, desperate to be let out. Mahlia ignored all of them and came straight over to me. Then she picked up my cage and brought me to the elevator so we could ride to the top floor.

  The whole way up, as the fairies screamed, my furry body shivered with excitement while my nose itched even worse than before. My plan had to work. It just had to.

  When I got to the Queen Fairy’s throne room, I noticed she’d dressed it up since the last time I’d been here. The whole place sparkled like a gaudy chandelier. The Queen Fairy stepped forward, looking like she could generate electricity. I shuddered to think what her touch might feel like.

  Mahlia placed my cage directly in front of the throne, and then she and her guards left the room.

  It was only then that I noticed another smaller throne had been placed next to the queen’s. And on that throne, surrounded by towers of candy, was none other than Anthony.

  What on earth? I’d thought Anthony was being kept prisoner somewhere, and instead he was here stuffing himself with candy and pretending to be a ruler?

  The gnome didn’t notice me as he shoveled handful after handful of sugary treats into his mouth so fast that the small crown on his head was shaking. He was now wearing two glass loafers. The queen must have decided he was her true prince, after all.

  It was only when the queen stood up and said, “Jenny the Adventurer,” that Anthony stopped eating and looked up.

  “Jenny-girl, is that you?” He giggled. “The mouse look suits you almost as much as the royal look suits me.”

  I couldn’t believe it. Was he really going to ignore everything the queen had done just because she’d given him all the candy he could want? Didn’t he care that she’d taken my parents and imprisoned tons of people? And that thanks to the fairies, I now had a tail?

  “Anthony, what are you doing?” I demanded.

  As he grinned back at me, I noticed that his eyes were weirdly glazed over. Either the queen had put some kind of spell on him or he’d had so much sugar that it had sent his brain into overload. “I know it seems hasty, Jenny-girl, but I’m getting married! The wedding’s tomorrow. I’m sure you’re invited. Imagine, after all these years of being just a magical guide, I finally get to be the one giving orders!”

  “My dear,” the Queen Fairy said to Anthony in a sickeningly sweet voice, “remember what we talked about. You must stay quiet while I conduct my business.”

  “Oh, right,” he said. “Sorry, pookie.” Then he went back to popping candy in his mouth.

  “Now, Jenny,” said the queen. “Your three days are up. Have you made a decision?”

  “Yup,” I squeaked in reply. “My answer is yes. I’ll do it. I’ll help you get to the Committee.”

  “Excellent,” she said immediately, like she’d known all along that I’d agree to her proposal. “Tell me their location.”

  “I don’t know their location. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “If that is true, then you have nothing to trade.” The Queen Fairy raised her hand like she was going to summon her guards.

  “No, wait! Just because I don’t know where the Committee is, that doesn’t mean I don’t have a way to get there.”

  “Explain.”

  “Anthony can send me.”

  The gnome stopped licking the armrest of his throne—which was apparently also made out of candy—and his glazed-over eyes focused on me. “Wait, what?” he said.

  The Queen Fairy’s smile dimmed. “Darling,” she said to Anthony, “you did not tell me you could bring me to the Committee.”

  He shrugged. “You never asked. Besides, I still have this on, remember?” He held up the orange cuff that was blocking him from using his magic.

  The queen turned to me. “Our deal is off. If my fiancé can take me, then I do not need your help.”

  Uh-oh. This wasn’t how the plan was supposed to go. “But—but if you send me to the Committee members first, I’ll talk them into surrendering to you. Then you won’t even have to fight them. Think of all the magic you’ll save!”

  She laughed. “Do you really think I am a fool? I will not simply release you.”

  “Of course not,” I said. “I’ll have a cuff on, remember? You’ll know exactly where I am.”

  As the queen seemed to consider what I’d said, I had to stop my brain from running through all the things that could go wrong with my plan. What if Anthony sent me to the Committee and the members didn’t listen to me? What if I couldn’t convince the old women to take my cuff off right away and the Queen Fairy managed to track us down? What if this was the absolute worst plan I’d ever come up with?

  Shut up, brain! This plan had to work or I was totally out of options.

  Finally, the Queen Fairy stood up. “Very well.”

  Score!

  “Jenny-girl,” Anthony said, “you know I’d do anything for your parents, but are you sure about this?” Maybe he hadn�
��t completely lost his mind, after all.

  “I’m sure,” I said, hoping that through his sugar haze, he could tell this was all part of my plan. I turned back to the queen. “Before we do anything, how about turning me back into a human? If I go off to the Committee like this, someone might step on me and mess up everything.”

  The queen sighed. Then she waved her hand and—zap!

  My legs got longer and longer, my body larger and larger, and my skin less and less furry, until…I was me again!

  “Achoo!” An unbelievably satisfying sneeze exploded out of me. Finally, the itching in my nose stopped.

  “All right,” said the queen. “Now go.”

  “Wait.” I had to find a way to whisper my plan to Anthony first. “I just want to—”

  “No,” she said. “I am tired of waiting. If you do not go now, our deal is off.”

  Before I could say anything else, a deafening Pop! filled the throne room.

  I whirled around, hoping to see a Committee-led army coming to rescue us. Instead, there was only a sole figure in the middle of the room, holding a wooden cane instead of a weapon.

  Dr. Bradley.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Welcome back, Doc!” Anthony called out. “Where have you been hiding all this time?”

  Dr. Bradley didn’t answer. Instead, he hobbled toward the Queen Fairy. “Release them,” he hissed. I’d never heard him sound so threatening.

  Not surprisingly, the Queen Fairy ignored him. She whispered some sort of command, and instantly I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

  “Get us out of here!” I cried to Dr. Bradley. If he’d managed to transport himself here, that meant he could pop us back out. Once we regrouped, we’d figure out how to get my parents out too.

  Dr. Bradley raised his cane just as the Queen Fairy started shooting waves of energy at him. He managed to deflect one—two—three waves and send them crashing into the floor. Meanwhile, I yanked Anthony off his throne and dragged him toward the doctor, so the three of us could get into world-jumping position.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” said Anthony. He tried to grab handfuls of candy as I dragged him away.

  As my fingers were about to wrap around the doctor’s elbow, another beam of energy hit and knocked Dr. Bradley’s cane across the room.

  “No!” the doctor cried. He tried deflecting more of the queen’s attacks with his own magic, but it was too weak. I watched, helpless, as the doctor fell to the ground.

  Just then, a wave of energy slammed into me. Zap!

  And just like that, I was shrinking all over again and sprouting extra legs, a tail, and fur. This was ridiculous! How many times was I going to get moused and unmoused in the span of an hour? Beside me, the doctor and Anthony were also morphing into woodland creatures. I noticed that one of Dr. Bradley’s small paws had an orange cuff around it. Now his magic was useless too.

  Before any of us could scamper away, a cage appeared around all three of us. We were trapped.

  “Take them away,” I heard the Queen Fairy say.

  “Hey!” Anthony squeaked as a guard picked up our cage. “What are you doing? I’m the queen’s future husband.”

  “Do not worry, my dear,” said the queen. “I will retrieve you in time for the wedding. And after that, you will have your very own cage.”

  Anthony’s eyes bugged out. He seemed to be finally coming out of his sugar haze. Maybe learning that the queen intended to keep him as a pet was enough to sober him up.

  “Wait!” I cried. “What about my parents? What about our deal?”

  The Queen Fairy didn’t answer. Instead, she disappeared behind one of the hanging tapestries, like the sun setting behind a cloud. I guess that meant any hope of making a deal was gone.

  “I can’t believe it,” said Anthony as the guards carried our cage down the hall. “She gave me all the candy I could ever want. She said I was the one she’d been waiting for and she’d do anything to make me happy. She even convinced me wear these uncomfortable shoes!” He kicked his tiny glass loafers off his furry feet so they landed on the floor of the cage. “And now she’s turned me into a disgusting creature and locked me up?”

  “What did you expect?” I said.

  Anthony sighed. “I guess you’re right. It was too good to be true. But the throne…it tasted so good!” His eyes started to glaze over again. “Maybe if I go apologize to the queen, she’ll let me—”

  I smacked him with my tail. “Snap out of it!”

  Anthony’s mouse eyes focused back on me. “You’re right. It’s over. The candy throne is gone.” He turned to Dr. Bradley. “Where have you been all this time, Doc? And why couldn’t you find anyone to help break us out of here?”

  “I pleaded with the Committee to organize an effort to rescue you,” said the doctor, peering down at his four legs. Just like when he was human, one of them was made out of metal. I wasn’t sure how he’d be able to move around without his cane, but maybe having three good legs would help. “Alas,” he went on, “they deliberated for days about what to do, but in the end—”

  “Let me guess,” I said. “They told you the mission was too dangerous and they’d have to study the matter further.”

  He sighed. “Something like that.”

  I wanted to laugh. It figured that I’d spent all this time trying to think of ways to keep the Committee safe from the fairies, and they didn’t even care that the Queen Fairy had trapped us here forever. What was the point of staying loyal to those grumpy old ladies when they were willing to just let us rot here?

  I twitched my whiskers. Well, it was too late now. Even if I decided to give up the Committee for real, the Queen Fairy wasn’t interested in making a deal anymore.

  The guards brought us into the elevator, and we shot down through what seemed like about a million levels. Anthony and I automatically put our front paws up and shrieked along with the guards. Dr. Bradley stared at both of us as if we’d gone totally insane. Maybe we had.

  Finally, we emerged in the lower level where the other prisoners were being kept. And where my parents were probably still asleep in the lab. What would they think if they found out their daughter had been turned into a mouse, not once but twice? I suspected they’d be disappointed in me, and probably a little grossed out that their only child now had fur growing out of her ears.

  The guards put our cage right next to Ilda’s before leaving and closing the door behind them. The witch scurried over as if she was excited to see me.

  “Back so soon? Did you make a deal with the queen?”

  I sighed. “Nope. I guess it’s time for Plan B.”

  “What’s Plan B?” said Anthony.

  “I don’t know yet, but we have to find some way to get out of here.”

  A voice chimed in from the cage on the other side of us: “Don’t bother. There’s no escape.”

  I glanced over to see a small mouse in a leprechaun outfit curled into a little ball in the corner. Something clicked in my head. “Are you Belthum?” I said.

  The mouse blinked at me, obviously startled. “Yes. How did you know?”

  “Your father’s been so worried about you!” I said.

  Before I could tell him about Karfum’s plan to fight against the queen, the door to the chamber creaked open. Were the fairy guards coming back to turn us into snakes this time? Or worse, were they going to make us sing?

  I peered through the bars of my cage and spotted someone tiptoeing toward us. It was Luken.

  “Jenny?” he called softly. “Are you there?”

  I squeaked and waved him over with my front paws. “What are you doing here?”

  He crouched by our cage and whispered, “I came as soon as I could deactivate the new cuff. They made this one even more difficult than the last.”

  “Luken?” said Belthum, his voi
ce full of disbelief as he came to the bars of his cage. “Is that you?”

  “Belthum, my friend,” said Luken, looking downright joyful. “I knew I would see you again. I just knew it!”

  I hated to interrupt the happy reunion, but we had to get out of here as soon as possible. “Luken, can you use your magic to break us out of this cage?” Since there was no door or lock, magic had to be the only way.

  He shook his head. “I cannot use the magic. I will not.”

  “Why not? You deactivated your cuff, didn’t you? That means they’re not tracking your magic anymore.”

  “I want to help you. Really.” Luken’s thin shoulders sagged. “You must know, Jenny, that I have never agreed with what my people do. Even when I was a young child, I could not understand how they could teach me that stealing is immoral and yet do it themselves.”

  “Stealing magic,” I said. “Yeah, the fairies like doing that. I don’t know why they bother when they already have plenty.”

  Luken’s eyes were full of sadness. “You misunderstand. The fairies do not steal magic out of greed. They steal it out of necessity. If the fairies do not take magic, then they have none of their own. They are powerless.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “What are you talking about?” I said. “Fairies have tons of magic. I mean, look at us! Do you think we turned ourselves into four-legged creatures?”

  Luken shook his head. “Fairies can read dreams, but that is the extent of their natural magic. Before the Queen Fairy took over this land, my people used their abilities to make the amusement park exactly what visitors wanted. It was only when the Queen Fairy devised a way to take magic from others that she remade this land into her own fairy-tale kingdom.”

  I thought of the Land of Tales and how its residents had lost their way of life because their magic was gone. The Queen Fairy had destroyed their world in order to keep her own running.

  No wonder all that glowing magic was practically bursting out of her. She wasn’t supposed to have it in the first place. I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually sweated magic. (Did fairies sweat? Something told me they probably didn’t.)