by Tom Percival
‘Thank goodness you’re back!’ said Rapunzel.
Anansi swung down from the treetops on a rope made of spider silk. He pulled Red into a tight hug. ‘It’s OK!’ he yelled up into the tree. ‘She’s safe!’
Red looked up into the canopy where a horde of spiders nodded at Anansi, then scuttled away.
‘Can you speak to any spider anywhere?’ she asked.
‘Pretty much,’ said Anansi. ‘Apart from Spanish ones. I’ve never got the hang of Spanish. Anyway, my mum will be waiting. Red, are you all right to keep going?’
‘Of course I am!’ said Red. ‘I only fell down a cliff!’
They ran on up the path until it stopped at a deep chasm with a couple of frayed ropes dangling from it. The edge of the forest was just on the other side.
‘Oh no!’ exclaimed Anansi. ‘The bridge is down.’
‘Down it fell. It fell away! And on this side you’ll have to stay!’ chanted a high-pitched voice. ‘I cut the bridge down with my knife, and that fall now could cost your life!’
Rapunzel groaned. ‘Oh no, it’s Rumplestiltskin!’
‘Whaaat!’ squawked Betsy.
‘Seriously?’ said Jack. ‘That guy is SO annoying!’
‘Your quest will now end here in vain, if you cannot just guess my name. I’ll weave a bridge made out of gold, but first my name has to be told!’
The owner of the voice leaped out from behind a rock, cackling gleefully.
Rapunzel glared at the bearded little man. ‘Your name is Rumplestiltskin!’ she said crossly. ‘We all know your name. Everybody knows your name – it’s a pretty hard name to forget! Can you just get on with it and weave us that bridge? We’re in a bit of a hurry.’
‘It was worth a try . . .’ muttered Rumplestiltskin as he pulled out a portable spinning wheel. ‘Can you pass me some straw?’
Rapunzel sighed as she gathered up hay from a pile by the side of the path, which the small man spun into gleaming rope. Finally the golden bridge was complete. Rapunzel, Jack and Anansi ran across without a backwards glance, but Red slowed down as she passed Rumplestiltskin.
‘Maybe you could think about changing your name?’ she suggested. ‘Or coming up with a new riddle?’ Then with a wave she ran on to catch up with her friends.
‘There! Up ahead!’ shouted Anansi, pointing to where the path left the forest and joined a wide road at the bottom of the mountain.
Peering out from behind a large rock was an even larger figure – a troll.
‘Mum!’ called Anansi.
Cautiously his mother came out from behind her rock, a broad smile on her face.
Nobody noticed the thick net dangling from a ledge on the mountain above. Suddenly the net tumbled down, knocking Anansi’s mother off her feet. She roared in anger, but before she had time to get free, the net was pulled shut, trapping her.
‘Over there!’ shouted Jack, pointing to a winch being wound in by a burly man wearing a huntsman’s leather cap.
‘We need to cut the rope!’ yelled Anansi, but before he could get close, the huntsman heaved the troll into a cage on the back of his horse-drawn wagon.
‘MUM!’ screamed Anansi, as the huntsman’s horses started to gallop away. ‘Mum . . .’
‘It’s not your fault, Red,’ said Anansi for at least the twelfth time. ‘There’s no way you could have known what would happen.’
‘You said it yourself, just this morning – I’m too trusting!’ replied Red. ‘I told that huntsman what we were doing here, and now your mum’s gone, and it’s all my fault!’ She gritted her teeth and tried not to cry.
They were standing at a crossroads. The hoofprints and wagon tracks had vanished and they had no idea which way to go next.
Rapunzel, Jack and Anansi were trying to make Red feel better while Betsy was pecking and scratching at the forest floor.
‘Come on, Betsy!’ said Jack. ‘This is no time for eating.’
‘Whaaaat?’ squawked Betsy angrily.
‘What do you mean, you’re not eating?’
‘WHAAAAAT!’
‘Well,’ said Jack in surprise. ‘I didn’t know you could track people! Can hens even smell?’
‘Whaaat...’ Betsy rolled her eyes.
‘Well, it’s just that you don’t even have a nose!’
‘WHAAaAAT!’ shrieked Betsy, sounding very cross.
‘OK, OK!’ replied Jack, holding his hands up defensively. ‘You have an excellent sense of smell and beaks are way better than noses. Happy now?’
Suddenly Betsy stood completely still. She scratched at the floor one last time – then shot off like a feathery arrow.
‘Come on!’ yelled Jack as he sprinted after her. ‘Betsy’s found something!’
The sun hung low in the sky when the forest suddenly ended and they arrived at a locked gate set into a tall stone wall.
Carved skulls and gargoyles peered down at them and a sign warned people to
Underneath in smaller letters it read:
Red glanced at her friends nervously.
‘Oh, come on!’ said Rapunzel. ‘People write that sort of thing all the time – it’s never actually true! Now, how do we get in?’
Everyone was looking at Rapunzel. She stared blankly back at them for a moment before she understood. ‘You want to climb over the wall using my hair?’
Jack looked at her and shrugged. ‘Well, if you don’t mind?’
‘I just had to ask, didn’t I?’ Rapunzel muttered as she unwound her hair from its long plaits. The golden strands waved and curled as if they had a life of their own. She threw her hair up and it whipped around one of the scary-looking gargoyles, tying itself into a neat little bow. One by one, they all climbed up Rapunzel’s hair and waited for her on the top of the wall.
‘You owe me three bottles of conditioner!’ Rapunzel complained as she pulled herself up and her hair magically untied itself. Nobody replied – they were all staring silently ahead.
Within the wall, nothing was alive. The trees were twisted and dead, and the ground was bare, dry earth. A gleaming road led towards a huge castle in the distance. Rapunzel looked at the road more closely and realized it was made of bones. From inside the castle walls they could hear the unmistakable roar of a dragon.
‘Oh . . .’ Rapunzel said quietly. ‘I guess the sign was serious.’
Getting inside the grounds had been easy enough, but getting into the actual castle was not.
First, Red had tried knocking on the door. A ghostly figure had appeared and told them that all uninvited visitors were ‘encouraged to bear in mind that any attempt to enter the castle would result in a long and incredibly horrible death’. Deciding it was just a trick to scare off visitors, Jack went to try the doorknob. The ghost had reappeared, but this time it skipped most of the message and just repeated ‘DEATH’ in a very loud and very creepy voice until they all backed away.
Next Rapunzel had tried to use her hair to reach an open window, but as soon as her golden curls had touched the castle wall, her hair became a huge tangled knot. While Red and Jack were helping Rapunzel to unpick it, nobody noticed a single magic bean drop out of Jack’s pocket and burrow into the dry earth.
Finally, Anansi tried to climb a waterspout with the help of some spiders. At first it had seemed as if it was working, but suddenly a torrent of rainwater gushed down, flushing Anansi and all his incy-wincy friends off the wall before soaking into the dry ground around them.
‘It’s useless!’ exclaimed Jack as he helped Anansi up. ‘We’ll never get in!’
Betsy pointed a wing into the air behind him and squawked, ‘WHAAAAAT!?!’
Jack, Red, Rapunzel and Anansi spun around. Thundering up from the now wet earth was a huge, curling beanstalk. It twisted as it grew, thick leaves bursting out either side like rungs on a ladder.
‘I was saving that,’ said Jack quietly. ‘I’ve hardly got any left.’
‘But Jack, that’s our way in!’ exclaimed Red. ‘Come on, everyone, up!
’
Jack stuffed Betsy inside his jumper and everybody scrambled up the beanstalk with Red at the back. She had just passed a window when she heard a voice that she recognized – it was the huntsman! She climbed silently back down to peer in.
‘But it looked like a troll!’ protested the huntsman. ‘You know, big and green an’ that.’
‘Yes, yes . . .’ hissed an impatient voice. ‘But it isn’t a troll, is it?’
Red craned her neck as far as she dared to see who the huntsman was talking to. When she saw, a shiver ran down her spine – it was a wicked witch, no doubt about that. Red wasn’t sure exactly how wicked this one was, but judging by the necklace of skulls that she wore, the answer was probably ‘very’.
‘The enchantment isn’t even very strong!’ continued the witch. ‘Why, even my magical necklace would be able to break it!’
A thrill of excitement ran through Red: so there was a cure for Anansi’s family!
‘Do you want me to try and find another troll?’ asked the huntsman.
‘Of course not!’ exclaimed the witch. ‘It took you long enough to find this one in the first place. It might not be a “real” troll, but it looks like one. Finally my collection of magical creatures is complete! Soon I will have my own private magical army!’ The witch cackled for a moment, glaring at the huntsman until he half-heartedly joined in.
‘Oh, never mind!’ she snapped a second later. ‘The moment’s passed.’ She turned on her heel and marched out.
The huntsman’s shoulders slumped and Red saw him sigh deeply.
A sudden movement in the corner of the room caught Red’s eye. Darting out from behind a tapestry was a girl – a very grubby girl – dressed only in rags. She paused for a second, looking straight at Red, and gestured something that could only mean ‘Get out of here’.
At the exact same moment the witch burst back into the room. ‘Intruders!’ she screeched. ‘Climbing a beanstalk! I saw them in my crystal ball!’
‘Do you mean that great big beanstalk what’s growing up outside the window?’ asked the huntsman.
‘Of course I do!’ shrieked the witch. ‘What other beanstalk would it be?’
‘Yes, ma’am. Right, ma’am. I’ll deal with it!’
‘I wish I could believe you!’ spat the witch.
‘But I don’t think you could deal a pack of cards! So instead let’s . . .’ She paused dramatically, then screamed, ‘RELEASE THE DRAGON! Mwaha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,!’
The huntsman’s shoulders slumped even further as he joined in with the witch’s evil laughter. Then he went to do as he was commanded.
Red scrambled up the beanstalk as quickly as she could, past thatched roofs and towards the battlements on top of the main tower. It was a long climb and soon she was out of breath. Eventually she could see her friends up above.
‘What took you so long?’ shouted Jack.
‘Dragon!’ gasped Red breathlessly.
‘What?’ yelled Jack. ‘Flagon? Flagon of what?’
‘There’s a dragon!’ repeated Red as she gasped for air.
‘There’s a wagon?’ replied Jack, sounding confused.
Red didn’t get the chance to say anything else. There was a ferocious roar, and suddenly Jack, Anansi, Rapunzel and Betsy were all staring down at a huge dragon with a heavy chain wrapped around one leg. It sniffed the air and then flew straight towards them, sparks flying from its mouth.
Red could only cling on to the beanstalk and watch in horror as a huge, clawed foot snatched up her friends as if they were a handful of sweets. The dragon turned in the air, smacking into the beanstalk and sending Red flying. Before she could take a breath, Red landed on a roof and slid down until she was hanging on to a length of guttering. She could see Rapunzel’s knotty hair trailing behind the dragon’s foot as the creature slowly circled the tower.
Red’s mind worked furiously. If she stayed where she was, the dragon would definitely see her – but where could she go? She peered down between her dangling legs to the thatched roofs below. Perhaps they would be a soft landing? Hopefully . . .
Red took a deep breath, closed her eyes and dropped soundlessly through the air.
Red crashed through the thatched roof. She’d bounced off one, rolled down another and things had been looking up . . . until this last one gave way beneath her.
Instead of dropping silently, Red was now screaming as loud as she could as she fell towards the flagstones below. ‘Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!’
There was a puff of smoke and instead of slamming on to a cold hard floor, Red found herself landing on something surprisingly soft and warm. The flesh-coloured cushion wobbled beneath her as she sat up and looked around.
What was this thing? And where had it come from?
Suddenly she heard high-pitched, uncontrollable laughter. Hovering in the air nearby was a bright blue, almost see-through young boy.
‘That is the funniest thing EVER!’ he squealed.
‘What is?’ demanded Red, feeling annoyed. She’d just fallen through a roof, she had rotten straw poking out of her hair, and now she was being laughed at.
‘Look what you landed on!’ continued the boy. ‘It’s a bum! I magicked a bum! AMAZING!’
Red looked down. He was right – she was indeed sitting on top of a giant bum.
She tried to wriggle off, but it melted away into nothing.
‘You smell of bum! You smell of bum!’ sang the boy happily as he whirled around through the air.
‘That’s enough, Cole!’ rang out an exasperated voice. Standing in the corner of the room was the same tattered girl that Red had seen in the witch’s chambers.
‘Sorry about him.’ The girl sighed. ‘That’s Cole, my Fairy Godbrother. I apologize in advance for anything annoying or horrible that he says . . . or does.’
The Fairy Godbrother responded by looking curiously at Red, then slowly and thoroughly picking his nose.
‘You’re disgusting!’ said the girl.
‘That’s MEAN!’ shouted the boy. ‘You’re always bossing me!’
He blinked out of sight, leaving Red and the girl alone in the cold dark room.
The girl shrugged. ‘He never stays cross for long,’ she explained. ‘I’m Ella, by the way – it’s short for Cinderella, but that’s a pretty out there kind of name so I just stick with Ella.’
‘I’m Red.’
‘Oh. Er, right,’ replied Ella. ‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with creative names! I mean . . . wouldn’t it be boring if we were all called Sally or something!’ She paused and looked at Red. ‘Your middle name’s not Sally, is it?’
Red smiled and shook her head.
‘Thank goodness!’ said Ella. ‘So anyway, welcome to our humble home. It was nice of you to drop in.’ She looked up to the hole in the thatched roof and grinned.
Red laughed.
‘It looks like the dragon didn’t see you,’ continued Ella. ‘She’s going a bit blind in one eye, poor thing.’
‘Poor thing?’ exclaimed Red.
‘She’s a prisoner of the witch too!’ said Ella. ‘We all are. I haven’t been able to leave the castle in ages. Anyway, I know that she’s up to something – for the past few months she’s been sending Wilf out to hunt down magical creatures.’
‘Who’s Wilf?’ asked Red.
‘The huntsman,’ explained Ella. ‘Nice bloke, quite chatty, very big, a bit smelly, you know?’
‘I know . . .’ replied Red, narrowing her eyes. ‘He kidnapped my friend’s mum, and now I’m all on my own and I’ve got to rescue everyone. But I’ve got no idea where they are – it’s going to be impossible.’ Red tried to blink away the tears that threatened to tumble down her cheeks.
Ella placed an arm over her shoulders. ‘Well, most of that might be true,’ she said gently. ‘Apart from one thing . . .’
‘What’s that?’ asked Red sadly.
‘You’re not on your own!’ Ella smiled. ‘Plus, I’m pretty sure your friends aren’t in t
he dungeons. I heard the witch moaning that the dungeons were already full. So we know we don’t have to look in there.’
She looked away from Red and called out, ‘Hey! Cole! Fancy playing some tricks on the guards? You can be as silly as you like, I promise I won’t shout.’
‘Promise?’ asked Cole’s voice from thin air.
‘Promise!’ replied Ella. There was a crackle of magical smoke and the room filled with blue light as Cole reappeared.
‘You won’t be cross if I get things wrong?’ he asked.
‘Of course not!’ said Ella.
‘Even if I make it rain rabbit poo instead of unlocking a door, or something like that?’
‘Even if you do that,’ said Ella. ‘Listen, Cole, I’m sorry I shouted at you earlier – I didn’t mean it.’
‘That’s all right!’ exclaimed Cole happily. ‘I’d forgotten anyway. So . . . who are we rescuing?’
Red smiled. Suddenly, the world seemed a little bit brighter.
‘But gosh! Just look at the state of me!’ gasped Ella, looking down at her ragged clothing. ‘I can’t meet your friends like this! I have to get changed!’ She hurried off into the next room.
Cole had one finger stuck firmly up his nose when he looked over at Red.
‘Sorry!’ he mumbled, removing his finger and wiping it on his trousers.
Red grinned at him. ‘Do you want to know a secret?’ she whispered.
The Fairy Godbrother’s eyes lit up and he nodded.
‘Sometimes I pick my nose too!’
Cole’s eyes grew wide with delight.
‘But you mustn’t tell anyone!’ continued Red. ‘Especially my friend Rapunzel. She’d think it was gross!’ Cole nodded, suddenly serious. ‘Of course not!’ he said solemnly. ‘A secret’s a secret!’ He paused for a moment. ‘Do you want to know my secret?’ he asked.