A/N: Just something I wrote for English, inspired by ouat. Hope you enjoy!
"If I'm going to trust you to stay in the car whilst I pop into the shops, then you must promise me that you won't get out," Evie's mother told her sternly. "I can't have you wandering around the city on your own."
"I know, I'm not that little!" the seven-year-old girl exclaimed, pouting. "I just want to finish the fairy tales that Amelia let me borrow!"
"Well, as long as you stay in the car…"
"Mum!" Evie groaned, letting out a sigh.
"Okay, okay. I won't be more than quarter of an hour." Smiling at her daughter, she climbed out of the car. Watching her mother cross the street, Evie waited until she had walked out of sight before turning back to her book.
She was half way through reading Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was just reaching the part where the Prince was being told that Snow was 'dead', killed by a poisonous apple. Completely gripped, she turned the page and came across a beautiful picture of the Prince's striking white palace. Deep, sea-blue turrets topped the many soaring towers that rose up out of the main body of the castle and the walls glowed a brilliant white, inlaid with hundreds of large shining windows looked as though they sparkled in the sunlight. Finally, her eyes caught onto the large greens that rolled out in front of the palace, full of vivid, multi-coloured flowers that rippled gently in the breeze and were only interrupted by the maze of pale pink paths leading up to the palace.
Evie sighed. If only she could live in a castle like that.
Lifting her gaze, she stared out of the window at the dull, grey buildings of Leeds, and dreamt of a world full of castles and forests. A world where dragons and unicorns existed. A world where courageous knights rode off on adventures every day, slaying dragons and rescuing princesses from high towers.
When she eventually turned back to her book, something out of the window flickered in her peripheral vision; it seemed brighter outside than it had been a moment ago. Tentatively, she raised her head. The boring, stone buildings had gone. Instead, where the large and looming museum had been a moment ago now stood a castle very much like the one Prince Charming had owned in the story, except, instead of blue turrets, pink ones that looked like large, fluffy wisps of candyfloss had taken their place on the tops of the towers, the new-found sunlight making them gleam as bright as the moon on a clear night.
She tore her eyes away from the magnificent palace and turned to look in the opposite direction where a huge arched trellis stood, covered in honeysuckle flushed a pale pink. A paved yellow road led off as far as she could see, just like the one in The Wizard of Oz. Evie wondered whether it led to the Emerald City.
As her brain whirred with the excitement of the new world, the young girl didn't even feel herself putting down the book until her hand reached something satin. The car seats were leather. Not satin. Looking down, she saw she was sat on a soft, white seat that would be suitable for a princess' carriage. She looked around. She was in a princess' carriage. She realised that she could even hear the horses whickering softly. Why was she here? Was she expected at the castle? She couldn't see anyone around. Not even a footman. Perhaps she ought to take a look?
Reaching for the handle, Evie opened the door of the carriage and stepped out. The door shut behind her with a soft click. The young girl remembered her promise to her mother. What was she doing? She shouldn't have got out, even if she wasn't in Leeds. For all she knew, this Fairy Tale World could be dangerous. She didn't know anything about it! She turned round to get back in, pulling at the handle. It wouldn't budge.
"No!" the young girl exclaimed in despair. It was locked. Now what was she to do?
At that point, the sky seemed to darken and the sun's warmth was covered by thick, grey clouds. Evie shivered and turned around, hoping to head inside the castle for warmth. Instead, she came face to face with a towering black palace in its place, surrounded by tall, dark trees looming threateningly over the road. She stumbled backwards, crashing into one of the horses, only to come running forward again as it whinnied loudly.
That was when another carriage emerged from the trees. However, this one wasn't white like her own. No, this was as black as could be and was being guided by a fierce-looking man dressed in red and black armour. This could be no princess' carriage, surely?
She was proved right as the carriage stopped and the door opened to reveal a woman dressed in a flamboyant, midnight black gown. Her eyes were ringed with dark kohl, her face painted a chalk white, her lips a blood red. Sat on her head was something that, to Evie, looked like an air hostess' hat, a single feather protruding from the top and held in place by a glittering diamond. Evie had seen enough pictures of evil queens to know that this woman was one.
"You look a little lost, my dear," the Queen addressed her, smiling widely. Instinctively, Evie didn't trust that grin. "Where are your parents?"
"I – I don't know," the young girl stuttered, backing away from the woman as she stalked towards her, that smile unmoving.
"There's no need to be frightened, dear, I only want to help you." The dark woman coquettishly bent her head to one side in an attempt to seem gentle.
This did nothing to ease the young girl's mind. Evie knew that she could not trust this woman, however much she tried to conceal her true motives. If only she had just stayed in the car. That way none of this would have happened. That way, she would have been safe.
"Look, come with me, and I can help you find your parents," the Queen continued, but it was clear her patience was running thin as she took another threatening step towards the young girl, the fixed smile now frozen on her face.
Panicking, Evie forced herself to think. This was a world that contained magic. Surely, if she wished for something, then it would come true? Wasn't that what fairy godmothers were all about? It was worth a try.
Closing her eyes tightly, the young girl wished. She wished that the Evil Queen was gone: "I wish I was safe with my Mummy. I wish I had my Mummy."
Nothing happened. She opened an eye. The Queen was now even closer.
With her mind racing, the young girl soon realised that no one was going to save her; that there were no Fairy Godmothers coming to her rescue. She turned to flee. However, she hadn't even reached the curb when she slammed straight into something. Or someone. Fearfully, Evie looked up. What had she got herself into now?
"Mum?" she managed to choke out before flinging her arms round her and burying her face in the familiar fur coat. Her wish had come true!
"Evie? For goodness sake, I was worried sick!"
"You came! You really came for me!"
"Of course I did! Do you realise how much panic went through my head when I saw you weren't in the car? What do you think you were doing?"
"I wasn't doing anything!" Evie protested. "I was just reading n then I looked out of the window n there was a castle and …in a carriage and …I got out, but then the door locked. And then this Evil Queen arrived and she was trying to get me and…"
The young girl's mother could see that her daughter was upset by the ordeal and softened. She was just a girl who had read too many Fairy Tales.
"Hey, calm down and listen to me," she said, bending down to her daughter's level. "There are no such things as evil queens in this world, Evie, they exist only in Fairy Tales."
The young girl just looked at her mother in despair. She didn't understand. She would never understand. Evie knew what she had seen, even if her mother refused to believe her.
"Come on, let's get you back to the car. We'll talk about this when we get home. You have to understand that you must do as you're told. The world can be a dangerous place."
And not just this world, Evie thought to herself as she allowed her mother to take her hand and walk her back to the car. However, as she got into the car, a little glimmer behind her mother's back had her head snapping round. She frowned. The glimmer was gone. Yet… she could have sworn she'd seen… no, she must have been mistaken; her mother didn't have wings… did she?