Barbie Fall 2014

by Molly McGuire Woods

  Malucia seized her opportunity. She aimed her scepter at Alexa.

  A sickly green beam shot toward Alexa, surrounding her. Alexa watched as her pink magic slowly seeped away from her, toward the scepter. The scepter absorbed her magic, growing bigger as Alexa felt weaker. It looked like Malucia would win after all!

  But Malucia’s wand was now so heavy with magic, the princess had a hard time controlling it. She stumbled and Alexa saw her chance. Summoning the magic she had left, she broke away from Malucia’s power. She dashed through the woods, leaving her wand behind.

  “Ahhhhh!” Alexa heard Malucia scream with frustration. She kept her head down and ran—away from Malucia, away from the secret fort and toward the one place she knew she’d be safe.

  When she turned the corner she saw it: the entrance to the magic tunnel.

  Romy and Nori stepped from the platform into the treetop fort, followed closely by the trog guards. Then Malucia herself appeared. She looked around at the fairies and mermaids.

  “Hey, you guys are having a party? And you didn’t invite me?” Malucia whined.

  “That’s because you’re mean!” one of the fairies shouted.

  Malucia cocked her head, amused. “True. Now let’s get this party started!” She pointed her scepter at the crowd.

  “Ahhhhh!” the creatures shouted as they scattered in all directions.

  Alexa ran toward the tunnel as quickly as she could. She paused to catch her breath. All she had to do was get to the royal garden and she’d be safe—back in her own world. She wouldn’t have magic there—but she also wouldn’t have a greedy princess chasing her.

  There was just one problem: she couldn’t stop thinking about Nori and Romy. What would happen to them if she left?

  It was true that magic had brought Alexa a whole heap of trouble. But it had also given her two friends who believed in her—more than she believed in herself. And that was worth protecting. Before she could change her mind, Alexa turned on her heel and dashed back toward the fortress. If Malucia wanted a battle, she’d show her one.

  Alexa made her way carefully from tree to tree, checking her surroundings to make sure no one saw her. When she made it back to the clearing, she stepped over the splintered tree branches, scouring the ground. Her magic wand had to be around here somewhere.

  Aha! She spotted it under a pile of broken branches.

  Just then, a bouncy creature hopped over. It picked up her wand and handed it to her before disappearing into the trees.

  Alexa giggled. “Thanks!” she called after the fuzzy, adorable creature. Then she gripped her wand and closed her eyes. This was the moment of truth. She aimed the wand at a flower on the ground.

  Zap!

  The flower changed color on command!

  Still got it! Alexa thought, tucking her wand into her hair. It was time to get down to business.

  She raced to the fort entrance and pushed a button on the tree trunk to lower the platform. Then she shot a beam of pink magic around it and felt herself rise into the tree. Here we go!

  When she reached the top, she exited the platform carefully. There was no telling what she might find. The place looked deserted. Where was everyone? Were they safe?

  “Romy? Nori? Hello?” she called out cautiously. “Is anybody here?”

  A few small fairies and mermaids emerged from between the branches, looking beaten down and broken. Alexa noticed that all of their wings and tails were gone. Malucia.

  Then Nori and Romy came out of their hiding places, looking dejected. “Malucia took everybody’s magic,” Nori explained. “And she took the unicorns and left us here.”

  “Oh no!” Alexa cried in despair. If only she had stayed. Now it was too late.

  “Why did you come back?” Romy asked.

  Alexa wasn’t sure she could fully explain why. “I just had to,” she said.

  Nori and Romy smiled sadly at her.

  Alexa couldn’t bear to see her friends so devastated. There had to be something she could do.

  “Everyone!” she said, motioning for them all to gather around. “I know you feel helpless right now, but I still have my magic.” She made a flower bloom nearby to prove it. “And as long as I do, I promise to do everything I can to get back your magic and the unicorns!”

  The fairies and mermaids cheered.

  Alexa cautiously eyed Nori and Romy. Would they still want her help even after she had left them? “Feel like another magic carpet ride?” she asked.

  Nori and Romy looked at each other and grinned. “Oh, yeah!” The girls piled onto a lily pad and took off through the air.

  Alexa wasn’t sure what her plan was or how things would turn out. But if Nori and Romy were willing to take a chance on her, then she had to be willing to take a chance on herself.

  All around them the clouds of Zinnia darkened. The sky flickered each time Malucia sucked magic from another creature. They were running out of time.

  Alexa steered the lily pad down toward the castle. They hovered above a domed skylight that offered a view of the throne room.

  They peered inside and saw the Queen Unicorn and the smaller unicorns. The magical creatures were chained at their feet and guarded by trogs.

  Malucia stood in front of them. She held her scepter high and used it to suck the last of the magic from the unicorns’ horns.

  “Oh no!” Romy cried as they watched the Queen Unicorn’s horn disappear.

  “We’re too late,” Nori moaned.

  Inside the throne room, Grodlin and the trogs looked on as Malucia greedily took every last bit of magic from the unicorns.

  “That’s it,” Grodlin said. “She has all the magic.” He shook his head.

  Even the trogs looked worried.

  Malucia, on the other hand, smiled brightly. “Woo-hoo!” she exclaimed. “Now let’s pass out the hats and bring on the cake!”

  Still hovering above the dome, Alexa, Nori, and Romy wondered what to do next. The air around them flickered and went dark. It seemed as though all the colors had drained from the kingdom—right into Malucia’s scepter. Even the rainbow bridges around the castle had faded to black.

  “Malucia won,” Romy said miserably. “She got it all.”

  Alexa squared her shoulders. “No,” she said firmly. “Not all of it.” She pulled out her wand.

  “But what can you do?” Nori asked, defeated. “Her magic is too strong now.”

  “You’ll never know what you’re good at unless you try,” Alexa said, repeating her grandmother’s words. She took a deep breath and steered the lily pad toward the castle entrance.

  “And now that I have all the magic,” Malucia said smugly from her throne, “CAKE!”

  Grodlin and the trog chef wheeled out a giant sheet cake covered with white frosting.

  “Hold on!” Malucia barked, examining the cake. “Where’s my picture?”

  “Your Majesty, no cake decorator is equal to the task of drawing your portrait,” the trog chef gushed. “The only person who could do justice to the princess is the princess herself.”

  Malucia considered this. “You’re right!” Then she aimed her scepter at the cake. “A self-portrait in blue icing!” she ordered.

  Zap!

  A picture of the princess appeared on the cake—perfectly centered.

  Malucia looked shocked—she rarely got it right on the first try.

  “I did it!” she cried delightedly. “I can do anything now! All I needed was enough magic!” She aimed her scepter at the ceiling.

  Boom!

  A shower of fireworks sparkled through the air. “Hoo-hoo!” Next she made a shimmering disco ball appear on the ceiling, followed by a unicorn piñata.

  Grodlin furrowed his brow. There really was no stopping her now.

  Alexa peered around the corner at the castle’s main entrance. Two imposing trog guards blocked the door.

  I guess there’s only one way to do this, Alexa thought. She motioned for Nori and Romy to follow he
r and walked confidently toward the door.

  “Excuse me?” she said to the guards sweetly.

  The trogs looked startled. “What? Er. Who goes there?”

  Alexa gathered her courage. “We wish to formally surrender to the great and powerful Malucia.”

  The trogs looked at each other, trying to decide if Alexa was telling the truth. No one had ever surrendered to Malucia. But then again, the princess had all of the magic now, so maybe it made sense. “Oh, all right,” said one. “This way.”

  The guards led Alexa, Nori, and Romy down a castle hallway, toward the throne room and Malucia.

  “They put up quite a fight, Your Highness,” a trog guard shouted over the noise of the princess’s fireworks.

  “Good work, guys!” Malucia exclaimed. She stopped the fireworks and sat in her throne. “I remember you two.” She eyed Nori and Romy and laughed meanly. “But you,” she said, shaking her scepter at Alexa. “You’re not a fairy or a mermaid.”

  “I’m a princess,” Alexa said proudly.

  “Right,” Malucia scoffed. “I’m the only princess around here. I bet you don’t even have real magic. Sniffers!”

  At Malucia’s command, Sniff and Whiff wobbled into the room. They sniffed around Alexa’s feet, checking for magic. “That’s the most magic I’ve smelled—ever!” Sniff exclaimed.

  “Holy moly! My nose is going to explode!” Whiff cried.

  “Duh!” Malucia said. “I just took the magic from everybody—and the four unicorns.”

  Sniff shook his head. “No, Your Highness, not you.” He pointed at Alexa. “Her!”

  Furious, Malucia pointed her scepter at Sniff.

  Whiff leapt in front of his brother to protect him. “Sniff, tell the nice princess that she’s still the most magical creature in the whoooole kingdom, right?” he instructed, urging his brother to agree.

  Sniff looked confused. “No! Yeah!” he stammered. “Of course,” he said, catching on. “The most magical creature . . .”

  The sniffers bolted from the room before Malucia could punish them further.

  Malucia walked in a circle around Alexa. “Okay, Your Highness,” she sneered. “Apparently you’re not up on all of the latest princess rules. Like how no one gets to have magic in this kingdom except me.” She glared at Alexa.

  Alexa took a deep breath. “I’ll make a deal with you,” she said bravely.

  “What kind of deal?” asked Malucia, watching her suspiciously.

  “Give everyone their magic back, and I’ll let you go,” Alexa answered, returning Malucia’s stare.

  Malucia looked shocked and then she let out an evil laugh. “You? You’ll let me go? That’s really funny!” She turned to her trog army. “Isn’t that funny?”

  The trogs forced a few laughs.

  But then Malucia turned serious. She whipped her scepter toward Alexa. It was so heavy with magic, she almost tipped over. “Sorry, missy, but all the magic is mine!”

  Reacting fast, Alexa plucked her wand from her hair. She pointed it toward a shield on the wall. The shield flew in front of her just as Malucia’s green ray of magic blasted toward her. The green ray bounced off of the shield and right back at the scepter, knocking it out of Malucia’s hand and causing her to fall down!

  “Oof!” Malucia cried. She scrambled to her feet and climbed on top of a nearby table. “All right, princess imposter-pants. Let’s see what you got!”

  Alexa aimed her wand at the floor below Malucia. Poof! A plant shot out of the ground.

  Malucia crossed her arms. “Impressive,” she said sarcastically.

  Suddenly, Alexa’s plant started to grow. It sent out dozens of long, spindly tendrils that twisted and coiled, reaching for Malucia.

  Malucia jumped, trying to avoid a tentacle wrapping around her ankle. But another one wrapped itself around her scepter, pulling it away from her. “Give me that!” the princess yelled, yanking it back. She aimed it at the ceiling and a cloud formed. Snow fell from the cloud, blanketing the plant. The tendrils shrank back from the cold and the plant started to wither.

  Frustrated, Malucia pointed her scepter at the disco ball overhead. It spun faster and faster until it came unbolted from the ceiling.

  Whizz! The ball flew through the air, careening toward Alexa.

  Thinking quickly, Alexa aimed her wand toward the ceiling. A pink beam shot toward the disco ball, severing it from its cord. The shimmering ball smashed into the unicorn piñata hanging right over Malucia’s head. The piñata splintered and a shower of candy rained down, burying the princess!

  The trogs rushed forward at the sight of all the delicious candy.

  “Woo-hoo!” one cried.

  “Out of the way! These are the tasty bits!” shouted another.

  “Drop that candy—it’s mine!” Malucia shouted from underneath the pile of candy. Reluctantly, the trogs inched back to their guard posts, shoving sweets into their pockets.

  Alexa watched as Malucia’s scepter rose through the pile of candy. Malucia waved it around. All at once, the greedy princess shot out of the candy. She had grown to four times her normal size! Her head almost hit the ceiling.

  Nori and Romy gasped in fear.

  “Now you’ve done it!” gigantic Malucia roared, glaring at Alexa. “You’ve ruined my party!” She aimed her scepter at Alexa and a ring of green magic surrounded her.

  Alexa fought with all her might against Malucia’s power. Finally, she broke free and fell to the floor. Malucia tried to crush her with the heel of her scepter, but Alexa rolled away.

  Grodlin stepped in front of the greedy princess. “Your Highness, you have enough magic,” he said, trying to intervene.

  Malucia shot a blast of magic at Grodlin, sending him across the room. He landed with a thud next to Nori and Romy.

  “Anyone else got something to say?” the princess thundered, waving her bulging scepter through the air.

  Alexa studied the scepter closely. Was it just her, or was it so full of magic that it was starting to crack? It was literally bursting at the seams!

  Alexa bit her lip in thought. If she could pump Malucia’s scepter full of more magic than it could handle, it would break and they could defeat her! It was risky. But if Alexa didn’t try, Malucia would win.

  Alexa took a deep breath and then jumped to her feet.

  “Hey, Malucia!” she shouted. “You want all the magic? Take it!”

  Malucia paused, confused. Then a wicked grin spread across her face. She raised her scepter and shot a beam of green magic toward Alexa.

  The beam struck Alexa, forcing her backward. Her own pink magic mingled with Malucia’s and traveled toward the scepter.

  The scepter grew brighter and brighter as more magic flowed into its bulb. Then it began to shake so much that Malucia had trouble controlling it. She held on tight with both hands.

  Alexa watched as the crack in the orb grew bigger and bigger. She felt herself weakening as the magic drained out of her.

  But with one final burst of strength, she raised her wand. It faded and disappeared into thin air, gobbled up by the green magic.

  Alexa felt faint. She could hardly keep her eyes open. Then she heard the sound she had hoped for.

  Kaboom!

  Malucia’s scepter exploded. The princess flew backward and landed against the wall with a thud.

  An explosion of multicolored swirls flew toward Alexa. Brilliant colors surrounded her, hiding her from sight. The crowd gasped as the glittering magic swelled and spun around Alexa.

  Then, just as quickly as it began, the spiraling magic softened and slowed.

  Alexa emerged from the cloud and blinked, trying to clear her head. She looked down and discovered that she was wearing a magnificent ball gown! The gown, bursting with color and flowers, matched the landscape of Zinnia!

  Alexa twirled, admiring its beauty, and felt the luxurious fabric between her fingers. Then she lifted her hand. Even her magic wand had been returned to her!

 
; Alexa waved her wand through the air, as if she couldn’t quite believe it belonged to her once more. Then she noticed that all eyes were on her. Grodlin, Nori, Romy, the unicorns, and even the trogs stared at her. They marveled at her beauty and wondered what she would do next.

  Alexa didn’t have to think twice. She raised her wand and aimed it at Nori. A stream of pink magic shot through the air and instantly restored the fairy’s glittering wings.

  Alexa grinned. Her plan had worked! Not only was Malucia’s scepter shattered, but all of its magic had been transferred to Alexa’s wand! And Alexa knew just what to do with it.

  Next, she shot a stream of magic toward Romy. Poof!

  “Tail!” Romy cried, flapping her shimmering mermaid tail with delight.

  Alexa aimed another shower of pink magic toward each unicorn, restoring their magic—and their horns.

  Then she sent streams of color out the doors and windows, spreading through the palace. The swirls of pink raced through the land of Zinnia, restoring magic wherever it had disappeared. The skies brightened, rainbow bridges glittered once more, and the landscape breathed new life.

  A ribbon of magic shot through the trees to the fairies’ secret fort. Excited cries echoed throughout the kingdom as mermaids and fairies received their rightful magic.

  Then Grodlin stepped forward and bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said.

  “Don’t mention it,” Alexa replied graciously. She walked toward Romy, who was sitting on the edge of a fountain. “Your tail! It’s amazing!” she cried, watching the scales twinkle in the light like diamonds.

  “Thank you!” Romy exclaimed, splashing her magnificent, shimmery tail in the water.

  “You gave up your magic for us,” Nori said.

  Alexa smiled. “I would do anything to see you with your beautiful wings,” she said.

  Nori grinned and took off flying around the room.

  Alexa felt lighter than air seeing her friends restored to their original selves.

  There is nothing more magical than true friendship, she thought.