THE CURSE OF THE KINGDOM

BY KALEB LEVERMORE-RICH

In 1955, a man named Walter Elias Disney built a Magical Kingdom, a place where the young and the young at heart could have fun together. As time went on, a larger, more complex sibling Kingdom was constructed, on the other side of the country. While Walt Disney would never live to see this second Kingdom get built or opened, it would stand as his greatest achievement. As the years went by, three more Kingdoms opened up across the globe, and each one would only continue to grow.

Every aspect of these Kingdoms was meant to tell a story. A majority of these were based off of other stories that Walt Disney's company had produced, many of which were based on ancient legends and fairy tales. But every story has at least a little bit of truth behind it. What nobody knew was that these Kingdoms were a monument to an extraordinary journey, that every single story told there was just a fragment of one story alone. That everything was connected to each other.

The most important fragments of this grand story, however, were scattered across the globe, some even lost to history as the Kingdoms evolved. These fragments were the few that appeared to not be based on anything, and a few stories from Disney's company were even created from these fragments. But a single fragment of a story will not tell you everything you need to know. The countless fragments have finally been spliced together. It is time you knew the story that every aspect of these Kingdoms try to tell you. It all begins with the end, the newest fragment that appears to not be based on any legends or tales, far across the globe.

CHAPTER I:

THE LOST COMRADE

"Albert! There you are. You didn't touch that Music Box, did you?" Lord Henry Mystic looked at his pet Monkey, his hand right above an ancient Music Box they had discovered in their last expedition. According to legend, its music could bring inanimate objects to life. Albert happily chirped and shook his head. "Hmm, you never know, the legend just might be true. Well, come along, Albert." Albert leapt onto Henry's shoulder as he walked out of his collection chamber and into the library.

Henry grabbed his mail as Albert prepared a pot of tea. Henry sat down and opened the biggest letter. "Oh, my. A-Albert, it's from S.E.A.! They're disbanding because of the incident!" Albert tilted his head in curiosity. "Oh, of course. I should have told you sooner, I just wasn't sure how you'd take it. You remember our associate, Harrison Hightower the Third?" Albert rolled his eyes. "I thought you might. Well... He's disappeared. He was last seen in his own elevator, but it crashed from the top floor. Most of the Society assumes he was killed in the crash."

Albert leapt up to a series of busts depicting the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, and knocked over the bust of Harrison Hightower III. Henry stood up. "Albert! I know you never respected the man, and I can't say I blame you, but at least respect the fact that he may have passed away." Albert put the bust back in its place. Henry looked back at the letter. "It appears, however, that before S.E.A. disbands, they're going to be performing an investigation. At least one of the priceless artifacts in Hightower's collection has disappeared, not too long after his disappearance." Albert crossed his arms. Henry chuckled in response. "Three guesses which particular artifact." Albert jumped on Henry's shoulder as he grabbed his coat and prepared to leave the premises of Mystic Manor.

While in their horse-drawn carriage trotting down Main Street, Henry and Albert reviewed the letter from S.E.A.. "If they stop meeting up, how will we afford to keep going on our monthly expeditions?" Albert took off his fez and made a sad chirp. "I know, you always wanted to explore that one ancient temple, didn't you?" Albert rubbed his head against Henry's shoulder.

An hour later, the carriage dropped them off at Hotel Hightower, the place where Harrison Hightower III was last seen. Henry and Albert walked into the front lobby, where a reporter ran up to them. "Pardon me, sir. Manfred Strang, New York Globe Telegraph. Mr. Mystic, sir, what exactly was the nature of your relationship with the late Mr. Hightower?" Henry cleared his throat. "He certainly was no friend of mine. He had no respect whatsoever for the countless artifacts he has stolen. I'm just here to help with an investigation." Manfred nodded. "As am I, sir. I was one of the last people to speak with him before he vanished. Sir, you know as much about ancient artifacts as Mr. Hightower, correct?"

The two walked over to the broken elevator doors. Albert jumped off of Henry's shoulder and looked around inside the crashed elevator. Henry crossed his arms. "Yes, we both shared a passion for ancient artifacts. Hence the fact that we were members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers." Manfred nodded. "Then what do you think about the rumors surrounding his disappearance?" Henry scoffed. "Superstition, all nonsense, oh my. Then again, there's always at least a tiny bit of truth in legend. The tribe he stole that idol from did seem somewhat pleased when he stole from them."

Manfred nodded. "Speaking of stolen artifacts..." Albert leapt back onto Henry's shoulder as the two walked into the meeting chamber of Hightower. Albert stared at a stand with Hightower's latest artifact, an ancient idol referred to as Shiriki Utundu. "Try not to look at it too much, Albert. Those things always look like they're staring at you wherever you stand." Manfred opened up a secret door to Hightower's personal collection. "This is where one of the artifacts went missing."

Because I plan to include literally every single attraction from Disney Parks around the globe, this will not be an easy story to write. Therefore, I will be taking requests to help out with this. Bear in mind, I do have a general idea of how the story will progress, so some of your suggestions may not fit with the basic outline I have planned. Also, a few rules.

1. It can be related to any Disney Park around the world, but only that! Universal Studios and other such parks are off-limits.

2. PG-13 at the most. Remember, this is based off of Disney. That being said, Disney has created some exceptionally dark and scary properties, so feel free to explore.

3. It MUST be based off of an attraction. Events from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are okay because they have a ride, but Wreck-It Ralph has no ride in any of the parks, so they can't ever show up.

4. Because the movie was terrible, I will only include events from the Haunted Mansion attraction itself. Other rides with movies, however, like Pirates of the Caribbean and Tower of Terror, are fair game.