by Chris Colfer
“Conner!” Bob shouted. “Are you all right? Where’s your mother?”
“Everything is fine, we’re all safe,” Conner said. “Mom is in the emergency room with Jack and Goldilocks. They have a son and they named him Hero! They’re just getting checked out to make sure everything is okay.”
“And what about that horrible man?” Cornelia asked.
“The Masked Man is gone,” Conner said. “And this time, he’s not coming back.”
The news wasn’t as comforting as Conner thought it would be. In fact, the expressions of the characters around the room didn’t change. They didn’t even seem excited about the new baby.
“Guys, what’s wrong?” he asked. “You all look like someone died.”
The characters parted and Conner realized they were gathered around the Tin Woodman. He sat in a chair beside Blubo, the small flying monkey. The monkey was distraught and his eyes were puffy from crying.
“Blubo?” Conner asked. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in the fairy-tale world with the others?”
“We wanted to share the good news about completing our army with the others back in the mine,” the Tin Woodman said. “We traveled through the emerald storybook but when we arrived, they were all gone. Everyone in the mine had been turned into stone! Blubo was the only one who wasn’t affected.”
Conner shook his head as if he were trying to clear out the words he didn’t want to hear.
“What?” he said. “You mean the royal families, the animals, the citizens, Hagetta, the Tradesman—”
“THEY WERE ALL STATUES!” Robin Hood said. “STILL AS ROCK AND PALE AS BONE.”
“Oh no. Granny.” Red gasped. “What happened to them?”
“Right after you left the mine, we were attacked by a horrible monster.” Blubo sniffled. “I was so afraid, I hid and covered my eyes. I never even got a good look at it.”
Conner had an idea of what had happened. “The creature that turned the Fairy Council into stone must have found a way into the mine,” he said.
He walked in a circle around the room, wondering what to do next. Apparently he had left one crisis only to stumble into another. He looked for his sister but didn’t see her.
“Has anyone seen Alex?” Conner asked.
“She hasn’t been here since I arrived,” Cornelia said.
“I’ll check to see if she’s in the bathroom,” Red said.
Red left the room and sprinted down the hall. As soon as she opened the door of the women’s restroom she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Conner!” Red yelled. “Come quick! You need to see this right away!”
He was already headed toward her before she finished the sentence. As Conner dashed down the hall, all the characters followed him. Whatever Red had found was so bad, she hadn’t even needed to step inside the bathroom to see it. The queen just held the door open and stared inside in total shock.
Conner arrived at her side and peered into the bathroom—but there wasn’t a bathroom to see. He saw the night sky and other buildings outside. He looked up and saw into an empty office above; he looked down and saw into a deserted basement below. There was drywall, sparking electrical wires, and broken water faucets—it looked like an explosion had gone off.
Even though there was no evidence that Alex had caused it or that she had even been present for it, Conner knew in the pit of his stomach that it had something to do with his sister.
“Alex…” Conner said. “What’s happened to you?”
President of the United States Katherine Walker was sitting in the Oval Office of the West Wing with two foreign ambassadors.
“Gentlemen,” President Walker said, “I understand it’s difficult for the prime minister and the sultan to agree on a location, but I’m not going to sit here day after day while innocent people are suffering because of their negligence. If we can’t find a way to resolve this matter in the next forty-eight hours, I will put troops on the ground.”
The meeting had been a major priority on the president’s schedule and was booked weeks in advance. As far as she was concerned, no other matter was more important, and her entire afternoon had been cleared for the discussion. So it was surprising when the door of the Oval Office swung open and her Chief of Staff interrupted.
“Madam President,” the Chief of Staff said. “I’m sorry for the interruption, but you’re needed in the Situation Room immediately.”
“What’s wrong?” President Walker asked.
“It’s best if you see it for yourself,” the Chief of Staff said. “There’s a situation in New York City.”
“Terrorism?”
“No, ma’am,” he said with difficulty. “Our most educated analysis, with all means of science and technology in mind, is that it’s magic.…”
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank Rob Weisbach, Alla Plotkin, Rachel Karten, Derek Kroeger, Heather Manzutto, Marcus Colen, Jerry Maybrook, and the amazing Brandon Dorman. Also, I couldn’t have written this book without the support of Alvina Ling, Bethany Strout, Melanie Chang, Nikki Garcia, Megan Tingley, Andrew Smith, Kristin Dulaney, Svetlana Keselman, and everyone at Little, Brown. And, of course, all my friends and family! Thanks for being mine!
TURN THE PAGE FOR A SNEAK PEEK
OF THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL!
AVAILABLE OCTOBER 2016
Imagine a world with magic. Now imagine this place is home to everything and everyone you were told wasn’t “real.” Imagine it has fairies and witches, mermaids and unicorns, giants and dragons, and trolls and goblins. Imagine they live in places like enchanted forests, gingerbread houses, underwater kingdoms, or castles in the sky.
Personally, I know such a place exists because it’s where I’m from. This magical world is not as distant as you think. In fact, you’ve been there many times before. You travel there whenever you hear the words “Once upon a time.” It’s another realm, where all your favorite fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme characters live. In your world, we call it the Land of Stories.
For those of you familiar with fairy tales, I’m known as the Fairy Godmother. I’m best remembered for transforming Cinderella’s raggedy clothes into a beautiful gown for the prince’s ball—but I won’t give anything else away in case you haven’t read it. You’ll be delighted to see it’s the first story in this treasury.
I understand this all may come as a bit of a surprise. It’s not every day you learn that a place like the Land of Stories exists outside one’s imagination. Although it shouldn’t be that shocking if you think about it: After all, if fiction is inspired by mythology, and myths are just embellished legends, and legends are exaggerated history, then all stories must have an element of truth to them. And I can assure you that the fairy-tale world is as real as the book you’re holding in your hands.
You’re probably wondering how the stories of the fairy-tale world became so prevalent in your world. Allow me to explain, for I am entirely to blame.
Many centuries ago, I discovered your world by accident. After a long and wonderful career of helping people (like Cinderella) achieve their dreams, I was only eager to do more. So one day I closed my eyes, waved my magic wand, and said, “I wish to go someplace where people need me the most.” When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the Land of Stories.
When I first arrived, your world was enduring a time known as the Dark Ages, and there couldn’t be a better description. It was a period consumed with poverty, plague, and war. People were suffering and starving, and they were very doubtful that conditions would get any better.
I did what I could to help the people I met:
I treated the sick, I fed the hungry, and I even tried to stop the violence throughout the land. Unfortunately, nothing I did prevented the disease and destitution from spreading.
However, it wasn’t interaction your world needed; it was inspiration. In a world dominated by ruthless kings and warlords, the ideas of self-worth and self-empowerment were unheard of. So I started telling stories about my world to entertain and raise spirits, especially the poor children’s. Little did I know it would become the greatest contribution of my lifetime.
I told stories about cowards who became heroes, peasants who became powerful, and the lonely who became beloved. The stories taught many lessons, but most important, they taught the world how to dream. The ability to dream was a much-needed introduction to hope, and it spread like a powerful epidemic. Families passed the stories from generation to generation, and over the years I watched their compassion and courage change the world.
I recruited other fairies to help me spread the tales from the Land of Stories around the world, and the stories became known as fairy tales. Over time, we asked writers like the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault to publish the stories so they would live on forever.
During that time, I realized how important storytelling is. While philosophy and science help enhance our mind and body, storytelling stimulates our spirit. It broadens our imagination, teaches us valuable lessons, shows us that things are not always as they seem, and encourages us to reach our greatest potential.
With that said, I have a favor to ask of anyone reading this: Become a storyteller! Read to others the fairy tales in this book. Read them stories from another book. If you can, create your own stories to share. When you pass along the art of storytelling to your family and friends, you make the world a better place.
By inspiring someone, you stimulate that person’s creativity; and when someone is gifted with creativity, he or she inherently holds the source of progress and prosperity. Creativity is the simple but powerful ability to make something from nothing, and it just so happens that making something from nothing is also the definition of magic.
Become a storyteller and help us keep fairy tales alive. Even if people don’t believe in magic, never let the world forget what it represents. Wherever there is a storyteller, there will always be hope.
Thank you, and may you all have a happily-ever-after!
With love,
The Fairy Godmother
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
PROLOGUE: THE FAVORITE STUDENT
CHAPTER ONE: THE MASKED EMPIRE
CHAPTER TWO: GROUNDED
CHAPTER THREE: THE FALLEN EMPEROR
CHAPTER FOUR: A NICE FAMILY DINNER
CHAPTER FIVE: CRIES FROM THE CASTLE
CHAPTER SIX: A BEWITCHING OFFER
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE CAPTAIN AND HER CREW
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE WRATH OF SMOKY-SAILS SAM
CHAPTER NINE: SAILING CIRCLES AROUND THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE
CHAPTER TEN: STARBOARDIA
CHAPTER ELEVEN: CURSES
CHAPTER TWELVE: MAKING A SPLASH ON SYCAMORE DRIVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: GALAXY QUEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: UNIVERSAL PESTS
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE APPLE MEETS THE TREE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: FULL HOUSE AND FULL HEARTS
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: REGROUPING
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: SAINT ANDREW’S CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE ZIBLINGS
CHAPTER TWENTY: PROFESSOR WALLET’S SECRET LABORATORY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: CITY OF LIGHTNING
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: A CASTLE OF QUESTIONS
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: FAMILIAR STRANGERS
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: THE ADVENTURES OF BLIMP BOY
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF QUEEN TROLLBELLA”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: ALEX ALONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: CEMETERY OF THE UNDEAD
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: A SITUATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A SNEAK PEEK OF THE LAND OF STORIES: A TREASURY OF CLASSIC FAIRY TALES
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Christopher Colfer
Cover and interior art copyright © 2016 by Brandon Dorman
Excerpt from The Land of Stories: A Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales copyright © 2016 by Christopher Colfer
Cover © 2016 Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
First ebook edition: July 2016
ISBN 978-0-316-38320-2
E3-20160618-JV-PC