Chapter One
"Don't you know that all of those stories are lies?" he hissed into my ear, making my heart pound against my ribcage. A lump grew in my throat as I blinked back the tears that were threatening to overflow from my eyes. "There's no such thing as Happily Ever After…."
Okay, backtrack. I bet you're wonder what's going on, right? Well, it's a long story. We'll start off with introductions, shall we? My name is Aralyne Loreley Chanson. I was once a normal teenager living a normal life until I got sucked into the "wonderful" world of Disney. Yeah, I know, living in Disney's stories would be a dream come true to any child (or child at heart), but trust me, it's not all fun and games. Yes, there are heroes, and princesses, but there are also the villains (which everyone seems to forget for some reason). I would say that's how this story starts – with the villains. And there is one in particular that ruined my whole life. The name alone gives me the shudders and I'm terrified to even think it, let alone, speak it. But, don't worry; you'll know who it is eventually. Now on to the story!
The Evil One sat upon his throne in a stone castle that was slowly falling to pieces. His followers were scattered among the dark room, and he could make out the shapes of their shadows knowing who was who. They, on the other hand, could not make out his form, for he wore a cloak to hide his identity. Two short demons – a skinny green one, and a fat purple one – cut through the crowd dragging along a tiny pig with bright blue eyes struggling and squealing to be set free, and a tub of water.
"Pain," said the purple demon holding down the pig.
"And Panic," added the green demon as they stopped before the Evil One.
"Reporting for duty," the two demons said simultaneously with a salute.
"Show me my future," the Evil One demanded in a cold voice that made everyone in the room shiver in fright.
"R-right, your most evilness," Panic stammered nervously. He began swirling his finger in the water grabbing the pig's attention. The pig watched entranced before placing the tip of her snout onto the water.
"Hen Wen, from you I do beseech...
Knowledge that lies beyond my reach...
Troubled thoughts weigh on your heart...
Pray you now those thoughts impart..."
Images began to appear in the water, and the crowd murmured in fascination. It showed the Evil One taking over the world with his followers, causing pain and destruction to any who opposed him, but then the images were replaced with something else. It was a teenage girl with long curly dark brown hair, golden brown eyes, and freckles scattered over her moon pale face. The girl was brandishing a sword and light seemed to emanate from her. She swung the blade over the Evil One, and all darkness disintegrated.
"What?!" the Evil One roared, scarlet eyes flashing from underneath the hood of his cloak. His outburst startled Hen Wen and she squealed in fright, running from the Evil One. Pain and Panic tried to hide behind each other as the crowd backed up wary of what was to happen next. "A little girl is to defeat me?" the Evil One hissed. He was quiet for a moment as his eyes narrowed. "Hmm…. Perhaps not. If I am able to control her, then she wouldn't be in the way of my victory…. Someone, go out and fetch her. You," he pointed to a thin dark skinned man with violet eyes, wore a top hat, and held a cane, "Facilier, bring her to me…."
"Of course," said Facilier with a tip of his hat. He then turned and strolled out of the throne room in search of this mysterious girl.
It was late at night by the time I got home from work. Like every other sophomore in college, I had a part time job at Wal-Mart, which, thankfully, is right down the street from my apartment, so that I didn't have to waste gas driving. I lived alone in Silver City, New Mexico while I went to school; my family lived in Arizona. After getting home, I changed out of my work clothes and into my pink and white Happy Feet Two pajamas. As I pulled my long, dark brown, curly hair into a bun, I shuffled into the kitchen to make myself something to eat. Upon opening the fridge, I was disappointed to see a gallon of milk that was half empty and a bottle of Gatorade.
"Great," I muttered slamming the door shut, "I should have bought food while I was at work."
Once I had slipped on my shoes, my favorite white sweater, and grabbed ten dollars from my wallet, I left the apartment, and walked all the way back to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately for me, the apartments are right beside Memory Lane Cemetery, which happen to be way super creepy at night. As I quickly passed by the cemetery, I could just imagine ghosts and zombies popping out of the graves heading right for me. With a shudder, I ran through the knee-high grass and swerved around a few bushes and trees scattered around the area before finally arriving in the parking lot of the mini strip mall. Now in the safety of street lights, I hiked up hill until I was right across the street from Wal-Mart.
Now away from the Evil One, Facilier was able to breathe normally. Using his black magic, he asked, "Where can I find the girl?" and conjured a circular image in the air. It showed the girl leaving a building with a white plastic bag clutched in her hand, and she began walking alone into the night.
"She's not from Incantationen," he mused waving his hand and making the image disappear, "No matter…." Facilier pulled a handful of sparkly purple dust out of the pocket of his vest, and threw it on the ground. There was an explosion, and the air filled with violet smoke. When it had cleared away, Facilier was gone.
As I left the strip mall's parking lot and headed back to the apartments, I was soon engulfed by the darkness of the surrounding trees, and all sound was extinguished except for the crunch of my feet on the dirt path. My eyes shot a brief glance over at the cemetery up ahead, and I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. The farther away I got from the safe lights of the strip mall, the more uneasy I became. To be honest, I've always been afraid of the dark, and I regret not bringing my flashlight, thinking I'd be able to see with the light of the full moon instead. I hugged myself as my insides began to squirm. I was pretty sure any stray animals could hear how loud my heart was beating.
"I'll be fine. I'm almost home," I said out loud trying to keep myself from breaking down into hysterics. At that moment, a cold shiver ran down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. There was something out there watching me!
"W-Who's there?" I stammered coming to a halt and looking around, but I didn't see anything unusual. A twig snapped several feet to my right, and my vision was suddenly obscured by dark shadows. I felt my mouth open to let out a piercing scream.
Even though there wasn't anything physically touching me, I felt something holding my arms to my sides and something clamping my mouth shut so that I would quit screaming. In my struggle to break free from my invisible captors, I dropped my bag of groceries. I looked up to see a skinny dark man step out from behind a tree and he chuckled. Oh, crap! Am I going to be raped? I feared, my eyes widening.
"Enchantée," he said removing his top hat to reveal dark wavy hair, "A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier." Well, at least I've got a name. He eyed me for a moment, placing the hat back onto his head, "So you're the one that is to defeat the Evil One. A bit small aren't you?"
My fear evaporated to be replaced with anger. Small?! Yes, I was short but not small! I glared at him and felt a growl rumble in my throat.
Facilier shrugged then reached into his vest and threw something onto the ground. With an explosion, a thick cloud of purple smoke engulfed us, and I choked on the foul stench it emitted. Gag! It smelled like brimstone mixed with rotten egg! When the smoke cleared, we were no longer on the path to my apartment. In fact, I didn't even know where we were. It was possible we were still in New Mexico since we were in some sort of wood or forest, but I couldn't be sure. He began walking through the forest and said, "Bring her." Who was he talking to? I was dragged into a patch of moonlight filtering through the leaves of the trees and saw my shadow being held captive by demonic looking shadows. Once again, I tried to scream, but it came out as a squealed hum. I struggled to get free, but it was pretty much useless.
"Let that poor girl go!" a male voice shouted out in a thick Cajun accent, "Don't make me light my butt!" I looked around to see who my rescuer was, but saw only a firefly. The firefly flew to the demonic shadows and smacked into each one. The shadows evaporated with a cry of pain, and I was suddenly released from my bondage. A figure arrived brandishing a sword and began to attack Facilier. Dr. Facilier fought back using his cane to block his opponent's blows. I watched the brawl in silent fascination, feeling like an idiot with my mouth hanging open. Eventually, Facilier gave up, turned and ran deep into the forest. His attacker didn't even bother going after him.
"Are you alright?" my rescuer asked stepping into the moonlight and I couldn't help but gape even more. It was a Chinese woman with shoulder-length black hair and she wore a pale gray outfit that looked like what a karate student would wear. She slipped the sword into a scabbard attached to the belt around her waist.
"Um, yes. I'm fine," I managed to say, "Thanks for your help."
"Cher, you can come out now, the coast is clear," the Cajun voice said, and again, I looked around for the source, but didn't see any other living creature besides the firefly.
That's when I saw a girl around twelve years old step out from behind a tree. She had long blonde hair that fell down to her bottom, and light blue eyes. She wore a black, pink, and white dress and a black band on her head.
"Oh, good," the blonde girl said brushing dust off her pink skirt, before heading our way, "I thought he would never leave." She held her hand out to me, "Hello, I'm Princess Eilonwy."
"Hello," I said shaking her hand. Eilonwy? Why does that name ring a bell?
"And I'm Mulan," said the Chinese woman with a smile. My eyes widened. Now that name I knew!
"And this adorable little creature is Ray," Eilonwy gushed gesturing to the firefly. I got a closer look at the bug to see him waving at me.
"Hey there, Cher," said Ray, "What's your name?" A talking insect?! I had to refrain from screaming again.
"I'm Aralyne," I replied shakily, "Aralyne Lorely Chanson. Can any of you tell me where I am? I would really like to go home."
"You're in the Dark Forest," Mulan said as if I should know where that is. She must have seen my confused look because she tilted her head to the side and scrutinized me. "You're not from around here are you?"
I shook my head and suddenly noticed Eilonwy trying to hide a snicker. "What?" I asked her.
"What are you wearing?" she inquired eyeing my clothes. I glanced down at my pj's; the top was pink with Erik from Happy Feet Two dancing, and my pants were white with the same picture. My sneakers were black with pink laces, and my white sweater hung open from my shoulders. I flushed in embarrassment feeling absolutely ridiculous in my penguin pajamas.
"Eilonwy," Mulan said in a warning tone, wiping the smirk off the child's face. Mulan once more smiled at me. "Come on, we'll take you home." She, Eilonwy, and Ray began making their way through the forest, and I followed closely behind.
Dr. Facilier returned to the Evil One's castle and nervously entered the throne room.
"Well?" the Evil One demanded, when he saw Facilier had come back alone, "Where is she?"
Facilier gave a nervous chuckle, and removed his top hat spinning it around in his fingers. "About that, heheh, I was attacked and, uh, she… escaped."
"You let her escape?!" the Evil One hissed, his scarlet eyes narrowing in anger. The crowd in the throne room shifted uneasily.
"It wasn't my fault!" Dr. Facilier cried beginning to tremble.
"Evil One," a deep rumbling voice interrupted and a large Bengal Tiger stalked forward, giving Facilier the chance to escape into the crowd, "Allow me to fetch the girl."
"And me," another voice hissed. A python hanging from the chandelier lowered himself to the floor and slithered up beside the tiger.
"Very well. Go on," agreed the Evil One with a wave of his decrepit looking hand.
The python and tiger left the castle.