Prologue
Once upon a time, there was a library. It was no ordinary library – it had a magical secret. Anyone who fell asleep or was knocked unconscious within the library's walls would be whisked away into the magical land of Libralia – a wondrous realm of the world's greatest works of literature in which all the greatest characters within those stories came to life. The world was divided into five sections: the Isle of Adventure, the Dimension of Science Fiction, the World of Fantasy, the Crypts of Horror, and the Paths of Mystery.
All those worlds were ruled by an elderly and wise wizard known as the Pagemaster, and his five talking books who served as his loyal servants and advisors; their names were Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and Mystery. Adventure was a light brown book that resembled a pirate: he had a hook on his right hand and a peg on his left leg; he also had a brown mustache, a yellow and orange polka-dotted bandana, a fake black eyepatch, a brown belt with a sword, and a black colonial shoe over a red and white striped sock. Fantasy was a lavender book that resembled a fairy godmother; she had tiny wings, hot pink hair with a gold crown on top and wore a pink skirt, reading glasses, white stockings, and glass slippers, and she also carried a magic wand. Horror was a blue book with a misshapen spine, and resembled a hunchback; he had heterochromia – his left eye was purple and his right eye was yellow – a curly, dark blue binding on top of his head, and wore torn brown sleeves over his long arms, a tattered green collar, and brown cloth shoes. Science Fiction, nicknamed "Sci Fi", was a yellow book who was a scientist, alien exterminator and medical doctor; she had black hair, brown eyes, and wore big, round glasses and a Men in Black-styled outfit – a white blouse, a black jacket, tie, shorts, and high-heel boots. Mystery was a jade green book who worked as a detective; he had mahogany colored hair and green eyes, and he always wore a green jacket over a white dress shirt, red tie, brown vest, sand colored slacks and black shoes with white spats. All of the books were wise and loyal guardians of their respective sections.
Long ago, the Pagemaster was chosen to rule Libralia by his uncle, because the young wizard was wise, caring, and loyal. His cousin Malaria, however, was self-centered and more interested in dark magic. When the time came for the one to be chosen to rule the library, Malaria's father chose her cousin instead of her. Malaria was enraged; she left Libralia and went far away to the restricted section, where no soul ever dared to venture.
As the years passed, the Pagemaster ruled the land fairly and wisely, and eventually married and started a family. The Pagemaster and Pagemistress were blessed with a son named Matthias. The young Matthias learned from his father and the talking books about all the greatest works of literature, the characters, and the dos and don'ts of ruling a kingdom for when the time came for his reign. Eventually, Matthias grew up, and when he was in his mid-twenties, he met a young woman named Natalia. The Pagemaster and Pagemistress took a strong liking to Natalia's beauty and gentle nature; eventually Natalia and Matthias married and had four children: Alexander, Donovan, Mirabelle, and Bethylasia.
The youngest of the Pagemaster's grandchildren, Bethylasia, was the most unusual but also most special of all. For instance, she was the only one of her siblings who wore glasses like her mother and grandmother, had an unusual name, and wore darker clothing than the rest of her family. But the young girl was very gifted in reading books and understanding certain subjects. When she was seven years old, Bethylasia was given a special present for her birthday from her grandparents. It was a necklace that had a charm shaped like an open book.
"It's beautiful!" cried the young princess.
"We're glad you love it," said the Pagemistress, "Your grandfather and I have another surprise for you." She motioned to her husband to get something. When the Pagemaster came back, he had a large book with a blue leather covering, a silver buckle locking the turn-ins together. On the front cover were the words "The Pagemaster" written in old medieval text. "Is it your diary, Grandfather?" asked Donovan.
"No," said the Pagemaster, "I am giving Bethylasia the key to all my stories inside my special book of events within Libralia."
Everyone gasped in awe as little Bethylasia tried to open the book with all her might. "Whoa, whoa!" said her father, "That's not the way to treat a special book. Here, let me show you." He took Bethylasia's new necklace and placed the charm into the silver keyhole. Then he turned it to the left, and the book's lock unlocked! The Pagemaster then opened the book himself. "Look!" he told everyone. The Pagemaster and Pagemistress took turns turning pages.
"See here," said the Pagemistress, "Right now, Bethylasia is having her birthday." A picture in the book showed the royal family of Libralia at Bethylasia's current birthday party. "That's me!" cried the ecstatic little birthday girl.
"Yes," said her mother, "What else is there, Pagemaster?"
Suddenly, the Pagemaster and Pagemistress got worried looks on their faces. "This can't be good," whispered the Pagemaster.
"What?" cried Mirabelle, "What can't be good, Grandfather?"
"Well, it seems to me that my evil cousin Malaria will be coming soon and she'll want revenge on me!" cried the Pagemaster, immediately closing the book.
"Who's Malaria?" asked Alexander. The Pagemaster then told everyone the story about how he was chosen to rule the land of books while Malaria wasn't. The wizard then added, "I feel it in me that Malaria wants revenge on me and my family. She will return tomorrow morning and attack my kingdom, destroying literature and happiness; if that happens, no one will want to read books or come to the Real World's library anymore!"
"What's the 'Real World'?" asked Bethylasia.
"The Real World," explained the Pagemaster, "Is a world far beyond our world in which we live – Libralia, for instance, is really a library that folks in the Real World come and go in to check out books for a while. That's why some books are gone for a period of time before they come back to us. Sometimes if people in that world fall asleep or are knocked unconscious, they will dream about coming to Libralia and journey through our land of stories."
"So we're all just dreams?" asked Natalia, who was getting a little worried for the sake of her children. "Not exactly," said the Pagemistress, "We're fantastic beings brought to life by the minds of certain people with great ideas and large imaginations. But back on topic – if Malaria is coming tomorrow morning, we must plan an escape. Matthias, you and your family will sleep in your palace's main parlor tonight, and wake up at the slightest whim. That way, you'll be able to make it out quickly before Malaria comes!"
"Yes, Mother," said Matthias.
Later that night, the Pagemaster, Pagemistress, and their royal family all went to sleep in their palace's main parlor, keeping their ears open for any unusual sound that could mean trouble. Sure enough, at about four o'clock in the morning, a strong wind blew the main doors open! Everyone woke up in alarm! "It's Malaria!" cried the Pagemaster.
"Dearest," the Pagemistress told her husband, "Take Matthias and the others! I'll stay behind and ward off Malaria's magic!'
"Are you sure you can do this?" the Pagemaster asked his wife.
"Trust me!"
The Pagemaster led the royal family out through a hallway while the Pagemistress stayed behind to guard the palace. Just then, a woman with pale skin, white hair and purple eyes entered; it was Malaria, and she was dressed in a black and purple gown with one sleeve and a black tiara with a purple stone. Circling around her were some small dark spirits that moaned and laughed. "Well, Pagemistress," said Malaria with calmness in her voice, "We meet again. I'm surprised that husband and family of yours aren't around."
"They didn't want any confrontation with you, Malaria," replied the Pagemistress, who was getting irritated, "We will not let you destroy literature!"
"Then I'll destroy YOU to start!" shouted Malaria, and she shot her hand out at the Pagemistress, concocting a purple bolt that struck the old woman in her chest, stopping her heart. The Pagemistress fell dead to the floor!
"MOTHER!" screamed Matthias, who heard the whole thing. The prince came running, with his wife and children following. The Pagemaster only managed to hold Bethylasia back. "Grandfather, let go!" cried the youngest child.
"No, Bethylasia!" said the Pagemaster, "I won't risk having ALL my grandchildren sacrificed!"
The rest of the family came back to the parlor and found the lifeless Pagemistress lying on the floor. "How sweet!" said Malaria, "The children and grandchildren have gathered around to mourn the departed. Now I will make sure none of you move while I finish my work!" Malaria waved her hand in the air, and made some black and purple smoky dust; then she shot the dust at the royal family, which turned them all into stone!
Bethylasia and the Pagemaster, who were hiding behind a curtain, saw the whole thing. "Mama and Papa," whispered Bethylasia sadly, as a tear fell down her cheek, "My brothers and sister."
"No time to mourn, darling!" whispered the Pagemaster, "We must keep going. My book servants are waiting in another part of Libralia to help us!"
For seven days and nights, the Pagemaster and Bethylasia travelled from the palace across rugged terrain and snowy mountains until they came to a secret cave in the fantasy section. "Grandfather, why are we here?" asked Bethylasia. The Pagemaster just took the little girl in his arms and gave a big hug; a tear came down his cheek. "Bethylasia, I am sending you away to the Real World. There you will grow up and live another identity until the time is right."
"For what? What about my family?"
"Not to worry, dearest," said the Pagemaster, "You'll learn in time."
Suddenly, the young girl began to float off the ground. She was then whisked away into a magic typhoon, which carried her far and wide into a realistic world, where she went from an "illustrated" person to a real human being. She fell from the ceiling of a library's rotunda, where she entered the body of Becca Ridges, a girl who looked exactly like her, and was sleeping on a chair. A few seconds later, she woke up. A librarian named Mr. Dewey ran to her side and helped her up. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked, "You can't fall asleep here, you know. Where are your parents?"
"I don't know," answered the girl, "I had a dream where I was a cartoon, and my parents were turned into stone, and a wizard turned me back into a real person…"
"Becca!" said a woman. It was the girl's mother, Tasha. "I'm sorry," Tasha told Mr. Dewey, "My daughter didn't get a good sleep last night. She's really into books and stays up long hours to read 'one more chapter'."
"I understand," said Mr. Dewey, "I see she has quite an imagination with her explanation of her so-called dream!"
Tasha took Becca's hand and the two of them left the library. "Honey," said Tasha, "I want you to stop staying up all night to read books. You are seven years old and you need your sleep!"
"Sorry, Mom," said Becca, "But I just had this really cool dream where I was a cartoon, and you and dad were put under some kind of magic spell, and there was this wizard who told me to go home and come back when the time was right!"
"Oh, sweetie, it's just a dream," comforted Tasha as she got her daughter into her car to go home, "There's nothing to be afraid of." But young Becca twirled around with her necklace, which had a charm looking like an open book…