Chapter 19. Once Upon A Dream
Philip Prince
Philip woke up in a strange place. The cliffside of a dark fortress in a green stormy sky. "Where am I?" He rubbed his eyes.
He saw a dry and bloody hand grasp the cliff. It was Briar Rose, torn and tattered, hauling herself up the cliff.
"Briar!" He lit up and grabbed her hands, helping her onto the ledge. "What's happened to you?"
She looked at him quizzically. "Philip, I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream."
"Yes, it's me, Philip." He held her hands tightly. "How can I help you?"
"Love is the only thing powerful enough to save me. To save us. But if I know you, I'll know what you'll do. You'll love me at once, the way you did once." She began to cry.
"I'll always love you." He cried. "No matter what happens, in dreams or in waking." He leaned in to kiss her parched lips.
Just then a rock fell loose on the cliff and hit him in the head. Philip jolted awake.
He was back in his bedroom. April rain pattering on his window.
Cinderella Tremaine
It was a rainy Saturday morning and Cinderella had gone to the grocery store super early to beat the crowds. She walked back with her reusable bags clutched tightly under her umbrella.
"Hey, Ella."
Cinderella turned to see Charles running towards her in glistening black jogging gear.
"Let me help you with those." He reached for her grocery bags.
"I can carry groceries, Charles." She laughed.
"Fine, you caught me, I just wanted to share your umbrella." He ran his hands through his dark wet hair.
"You just had to ask." Ella offered him the umbrella and he held it above both of them. "You really should check the weather before you go out running."
"I know but at least I get to share an umbrella with a pretty girl." Charles smiled.
"You're too smooth for your own good." Ella laughed.
It was a lovely walk through the rain. They wound their way up to Ella's front porch.
"I love the way this place looks in the rain." Ella sighed.
"It's a beautiful home." Charles nodded.
"One of the oldest in Waltville." Ella felt the sturdy door. "I love this old place."
"I love you." Charles said.
Cinderella startled. But she caught herself. "I love you too."
In that moment Cinderella felt like she was the bravest she had ever been. She knew Charles could hurt her if she opened her heart, was vulnerable, but it was worth it, if just for this one shining moment.
Charles kissed her, it was wet and bright and glorious and made Cinderella feel more awake than she had ever been in her life.
She didn't want this moment to end but she had milk and meat in her bags. "I'll talk to you later, Charles." She smiled and kissed him again.
She walked to the door, beaming and waved goodbye as she stepped inside. She felt like she was glowing as she stepped inside the dark house. Her stepfamily was still sleeping.
Cinderella began to put away the groceries. She heard a quiet whimper and saw Bruno looking sad, ears hanging low.
"Bruno, what's wrong?" Cinderella said quietly.
Bruno whined and prodded her with her nose. "What's wrong? Please show me?"
Bruno led to the tv. Cinderella raised a curious eyebrow and turned on the tv. It flicked onto the local news.
She saw Dr. Jafar from the hospital standing aside King Stefan and Queen Leah.
"According to our medical expertise, the Princess Aurora has become brain dead and is beyond our help." Dr. Jafar said in his drawn out voice. "After consulting with her parents, her father, King Stefan has agreed to pull her off life support. She will be with us a few more days before peacefully passing in her sleep. Thank you."
Reporters flashed cameras and asked questions but the Doctor escorted the King and Queen inside the hospital.
Cinderella gasped, her heart seemed to fall to the floor and shatter. The medical world was giving up on Briar Rose. She could hardly believe it.
Bruno nuzzled into her. She pets his head softly. The hospital didn't know what forces were at play, though that doctor gave her a sinister vibe. Cinderella did know that magic was afoot. She had to do something.
She sent texts to Charles, Belle, Philip, Aladdin and Ariel to meet her at the library and bolted out the door.
"Is this about Briar?" Philip had a panicked look in his eyes as he sat sprawled in the study room chair.
"So you saw the news too?" Ella asked, putting down her book filled with notes.
"I think we all did." Ariel wiped a teary looking face.
"And I think we all know that this has something to do with all the strange goings on in Waltville and that Night on Bald Mountain game. Just like Rapunzel." Ella said confidently.
Ariel nodded. "We have to do something."
"What is the best thing to do according to the evidence?" Belle asked.
"I see Briar Rose in visions sometimes." Philip said softly. "They always stop before we kiss."
"Are you suggesting you kiss a girl in a coma? Gross." Belle rolled her eyes.
"But look at this page in the rule manual." Aladdin showed them all a page from the Night of Bald Mountain manual. It was of the Bright Paladin and the Dawn Princess kissing with a dead horned dragon at their feet.
"The Bright Paladin and the Dawn Princess have a special move called True Love Conquers All." Aladdin explained. "If they kiss they can break any curse that has been cast on the board."
"It's worth a shot." Ariel shrugged. "Unless we know of a better way to defeat an evil fairy."
"And even if we did defeat this evil fairy how would we be certain it would awake Briar Rose." Charles added.
"So Philip's just going to waltz into a hospital, that's highly guarded by Liechtenstein and American hired guards and kiss a high profile, heavily guarded patient. That's our plan." Belle crossed her arms.
"No, it's not." Cinderella thought out loud. "The forces of evil and magic in this town have been playing on a whole other level than us. Secret deals, kidnapping, family curses, spells, we need to meet them on their own playing field, fight magic with magic."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Philip asked.
"I've been asking around about Night on Bald Mountain and I think I just might have our answer." Aladdin interjected.
"You really think that game is magic?" Charles asked, sharing a disbelieving look with Belle.
"I think Aladdin is right. That game is the closest thing we have to real magic, beside my shoes and the flying carpet." Cinderella said.
"Somebody has a flying carpet?" Ariel's wide eyes were bewildered.
"I think I might have a solution to helping us win that game and getting us into the hospital but it's going to involve a lot of people." Aladdin leaned in.
Adam Prince
Philip brought Adam his dinner. Mrs. Potts had accepted that Philip, Aladdin and Belle were the only people Adam would see and Hubert basically gave up on his eldest son.
"Mrs. Potts hopes you'll come out soon." Philip put the dinner tray on Adam's bedside table, shaking a little.
Adam growled. "Chances of that are low." Adam turned to his younger brother and saw how nervous he looked, "You're shaking, what's wrong?"
"I'm just really nervous." Philip said, sitting down on the broken bed. "Tomorrow is a big day, we're trying to wake up Briar Rose."
Adam nodded. "That sounds like a difficult task."
"You know how scary these evil forces can be first hand, I'm not sure if I'm ready to face them." Philip shuddered.
Adam frowned. "You have to Philip, I let them control me and I lost Belle, maybe forever. If you really love Briar, you can't risk losing her."
"I do love her and I can't risk it." Philip looked at Adam with steely determination.
"Good. I believe in you." Adam smiled with his fanged teeth.
Philip Prince
Philip lay in bed. His scars throbbed and hurt and he couldn't sleep. He could hear a faint whisper calling his name in a sing-songy voice. "Philip." And the same voice called again "Philip"
Philip got up as if in a trance to look for the voice. Just then the window flew open and three colorful lights baubled into his room.
In a whirl of colorful light the pink, green and blue lights turned into the three Sisters of St. Brigid, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. Except now they wore pointed hats and had tiny translucent wings.
"Philip, we're sorry to disturb you." Flora spoke first.
Philip was bewildered. "Are you-"
"Faeries. Yes." Merryweather nodded.
"But Good faeries." Fauna added.
"We have served Queen Leah's family for generations." Flora explained, "We thought we could protect Briar Rose here but it seems we were deceived by the magic in this town.
"Even that Doctor Jafar has some kind of magic." Merryweather added. "He's hypnotized the King and Queen to get them to agree to terminating Aurora's life."
"The King and Queen are acting like they don't even know who Maleficent is." Fauna shook nervously.
"Do you know who Maleficent is?" Merryweather asked.
"I do. I found out the hard way."
The three fairies gasped at the scars on Philip's chest.
"You poor child." Flora tutted. "We should have thought of you sooner."
"This Maleficent seems to be involved in something even bigger than Briar Rose." Philip said.
"We fear so." Merryweather shook her head. "This all goes deeper than some family curse, she needed Rose here and asleep to achieve some nefarious goal. And she must have known that you could wake her up and get in the way of her plans."
"We should have protected you." Fauna cried.
"We may have failed in so much but we will not fail in this." Flora pulled out a thin wand and so did her sisters.
They waved their wands and a sword appeared in Philip's hand. The hilt was golden and the blade was gleaming white steel.
"The Sword of Truth." Flora declared. "A weapon so powerful it can cut through any evil spell. You'll need it to awake Briar Rose."
"Am I supposed to cut her with the sword?" Philip gasped.
"NO!" The faeries all shrieked.
"True Love's Kiss can break the spell." Merryweather explained. "I was able to alter Maleficent's curse from death to sleep and True Love is powerful enough to break any curse."
"This sword will aid you." Fauna twittered. "But the most powerful magic is the True Love in your heart."
"Let's hope his love is true." Merryweather muttered.
Philip held the sword with unearned confidence. "I won't let you down."
"This is how many people you're bringing?" Esmeralda crossed her arms at Aladdin and Philip.
"This is basically a heist. We need a lot of people." Aladdin shrugged.
"You're going to freak the Court of Miracles out, coming in with a sword." Esmeralda flashed her green eyes at Philip's bright blade. "And gardening tools and oars." She glanced at the other teens who had brought makeshift weapons from home.
"Let's just hope Dr. Facilier rolls with it. We need to save Briar Rose." Philip pleaded.
"I understand." Esmeralda gave him a reassuring touch on the shoulder.
She glanced at the assembled teens. Cinderella, Kenai, Kristoff, Tiana, Ariel, Moana, Mulan and Phoebus were all at the ready and they were just part of this operation.
"Let's hope for the best." Esmeralda sighed and pushed in a brick in the abandoned warehouse wall.
A secret door opened to a metal staircase that descended into the dark below. Esmeralda led the group shuffling down the clanky stairs. The stairs led into a concrete room that smelled of mildew and moss.
"It looks like they've arrived." Dr. Facilier smiled from the shadows.
"It's about time." A voice Philip recognized as Yzma's echoed in the empty room.
"Where are all the other players?" Esmeralda asked.
"We knew y'all were coming down and we wanted to play a game with just you." Dr. Facilier grinned.
Cinderella stepped forward. "You're ready for us, but we're ready to play." She sat down. Tiana sat next to her. Cinderella was confident that Tiana had a strategic mind and would excel at this game and Philip agreed. They had briefly dated a couple years ago. When they broke up Tiana told him to let her know if he ever needed anything. This was him calling in that favor.
"The rest of you go ahead." Dr. Facilier pointed into the darkness beyond the concret room. "The game will decide your fate."
"This was easier than I thought." Esmeralda shrugged and leaned against the wall, pulling out her phone.
Philip strode into the darkness. Ariel and Phoebus lit the darkness with their phones. The group of teens stayed close. They could hear the sound of running water. Just then there was a flash of magenta light that lit up and kept the whole room lit.
A portly old woman appeared before them, Philip recognized her from the Halloween ritual.
"I'm the Mad, mad, mad Madame Mim." She laughed "And where do you think you're going?"
"To rescue Briar Rose. And you won't stop us, witch." Philip pointed his sword at her.
"You can't just point swords at people and call them witches." Moana sighed.
"You thought we'd let you access the hospital from underground without a fight." The hag cackled. "It seems the Diamond in the Rough knows his way around town but so do we."
"Whose we?" Aladdin asked.
Madame Mim snapped her fingers and the side doors of the room opened. Misshapen green men poured in, waving black metal swords and spears. Behind them came rushing green, putrid water. Philip recognized the men from his meeting with Maleficent in Briar Rose's cottage.
In an instant the men were upon them. The teens had come prepared. Moana and Ariel stood back to back swinings canoeing oars at the men. Phoebus, Kenai and Kristoff had brought gardening tools, rakes and shovels and the like and whipped them at the men. Aladdin and Mulan leapt about, kicking and punching and dodging blows.
Philip used the Sword of Truth and slashed at the sallow men. He cut one on the arm and saw green blood spurt out. It almost made him sick. He didn't want to kill anyone. But he slashed and cut his way through the men or goblins or whatever they were. One grabbed him by the leg, biting through his dark jeans. Philip cried out in pain. Ariel whacked the man away with her oar. One swung towards Philip's face but Kristoff thwacked him in the butt with a shovel. Philip broke free of the men and came face to face with Madame Mim, behind her was an old rusted door.
"Looking to get in?" Madame Mim laughed. "Did I tell you that I can shape shift?"
Madame Mim's laugh turned into a loud hissing as she transformed into a tall snakelike creature with a one large gaping head and steely jaws.
Philip gapped as the serpentine being loomed over him.
Cinderella Tremaine
Cinderella and Tiana took the cards that Dr. Facilier handed them. Cinderella wasn't surprised she got the Star Dreamer. She was expecting it. Tiana got the Mademoiselle d'Orleans and seemed disturbed by how familiar it looked.
This game was convoluted and confusing but they had secret help. Esmeralda may have looked like she was meaninglessly scrolling but she was streaming the game. Taran and Belle were watching at home, guidebooks open. And they were whispering into Ella and Tiana's ears with tips and tricks.
Dr. Facilier oversaw the game as Game Master while Yzma played the Forces of Evil.
The game flowed quickly. Taran would tell Ella to gather her heroes together and to protect the Snow Maiden and the Dawn Princess. Belle would tell Tiana to immobilize the Hideous Beast and free the Day Flower from The Duplicitous Mother. Soon the board began to look more and more like Waltville.
"Use Starlight Wish to hide the Snow Maiden in the Dwarf's cottage." Belle whispered.
Ella played the card that depicted a bright glowing star. And hid the Snow Maiden piece. Yzma was still able to trap the Dawn Princess in the Forbidden Mountain.
"You have to rescue her." Taran whispered. "They need her trapped to win."
Tiana started throwing heroes at the Forbidden Mountain. The Little Mermaid, The Sun Knight, The Strong Blossom. All were kept back by one piece called The Wild Witch.
"You need to learn how to play the game if you want to challenge an old pro like me." Yzma played a transformation card and the Wild Witch turned into a creature called the Hydra.
"Wait, she transformed into the Hydra?" Taran's voice filled with excitement. "Play The Wonder Boy."
Ella played an orange card depicting a young man with orange hair and bronze armor that looked a lot like Hercules. "I'm playing the Wonder Boy."
Yzma's eyes betrayed some worry. "How did you little worm know to do that?."
Philip Prince
The monster snapped at Philip, jaws blazing white. Philip rolled to the side. He took the Sword of Truth and sliced it through the monster's neck. The blade ran straight through the flesh, tearing it asunder. The severed head fell limp on the concrete.
"That was easy." Philip thought.
Just then the slain monster began to stir. It's neck writhed and wriggled and out of its neck sprung three heads, fang's dripping with venom.
"Fuck." Philip muttered.
All three heads lunged for Philip. He dodged and rolled, their fangs just grazing him and tearing off his compression sleeve.
Philip tripped and landed on the floor. He swung his sword blindly at the gaping jaws that encircled him. How could it all end here? He wouldn't let it. He just needed a miracle.
Just then the rusty door swung open and out burst Hercules in a suit of shining armor and holding a lighter and lighter fluid.
"Chop off the heads, Philip!" Hercules called.
"But they just grow more." Philip screamed as one of the fangs cut into his shoulder.
"Just trust me!" Hercules shouted.
Philip figured Hercules was his miracle. He fought through the pain and raised his sword, slicing through the left head. Hercules ran towards the severed neck and doused it in lighter fluid. He then hit it with the lighter. The monster's neck went up in flames and the other two heads hissed in pain.
"Keep slicing." Hercules called.
Philip sliced one head and then the other and Hercules sent each head up in flames. Soon the monster stopped squirming. It's carcass lay there, smoldering.
"How did you know to do that?" Philip asked.
"My dad is a god. He told me." Hercules shrugged.
"Damn." Philip's world just kept getting crazier.
Mulan and Aladdin ran over to Philip.
"Are you okay, Philip?" Mulan wiped sweat off her forehead.
"I'm fine." He glanced over to his friends, who were still fighting the men with oars and garden tools. "Can you help them, Hercules? I need to get to Briar Rose before it's too late."
Hercules nodded and cracked his knuckles. "I can help. You three go rescue Briar."
Philip, Mulan and Aladdin ran through the rusty door and up the stairs to the hospital.
Anna Arendelle
Anna stood in the small park in front of the hospital, flanked by Charles and Rapunzel. Jasmine, Flynn, Eric, Ferdinand, Pocahontas and Naveen had also assembled. They all held signs saying things like "Keep Briar Rose Alive", "Save our Classmate", and "She still has a Chance."
Anna turned to her classmates. "We gotta be loud and make ourselves heard. The more media attention the better."
Pocahontas nodded, "You can count on me. I'm an old pro at this."
"This is our last chance to save her. If they don't put her on life support soon, she'll die today and that's not happening on our watch." Anna did her best to sound confident.
She saw Hans slinking into the group of teens, holding his own sign. Anna felt her confidence shake but no, she wasn't going to let Hans get in the way of her saving Briar Rose.
"Are we ready?" Anna shouted.
"Yes, we are!" The teens shouted back. "Save Briar Rose" They chanted. "Save Briar Rose."
Guards in black suits began to stride out of the hospital and line the streets. A news van pulled up.
"Good, it's working." Anna smiled to herself.
Sisters Flora, Fauna and Merrweather joined, raising rosaries in protest.
A news reporter shoved a microphone in Anna's face. "What's your goal with this protest here?"
Anna summoned all her confidence. "We believe that Briar Rose still has a chance to live. Just because she's vulnerable and can't speak for herself doesn't mean her life has less value. We're fighting for our classmate to be given a chance."
Anna heard rumbling thunder but no rain came. She wondered if that was a good or bad omen but she knew she was doing her best on her front of the rescue mission.
The Princess Aurora
Aurora climbed up onto the top of the mountain. There was a rickety drawbridge that led to the black gate. Aurora hid behind a crumbling stone gargoyle The birds alighted in the gaping mouth and the squirrel nestled in her arms and the rabbits hid at her feet.
"How am I going to do this?" She whispered to the animals.
They chirped and hooted in uncertainty.
"I suppose I'll just have to go for it." Aurora shrugged.
She raced across the drawbridge. Goblins began to shoot arrows at her from the fortress ramparts. But the Owl and the other birds dodged the arrows and flew up to the Goblins. They scratched and pecked at their eyes. The goblins screamed and Aurora made her way into the fortress.
Immediately two burly Goblins swung axes at her but she gracefully danced away from the blows. The Squirrel and the rabbits ran up their pant legs, sending the goblins into a squirming dance.
Aurora ran towards the central square of the fortress where a gleaming white blade was stuck into an anvil. She grabbed the hilt of the blade and pulled it from the stone, right as a shrieking ogre fell upon her. She twirled away and stabbed the ogre in the heart, it's massive body falling onto the stone.
The animals rejoined Aurora as she looked to the tallest tower where a thundering green cloud was forming. She could hear a boy's voice cry out. That was her goal, that was where she would save Philip and herself. It was her only chance.
A/N: Things are heating up. I hope you're on the edge of your seat. I know I am! Please comment/review. Your thoughts give me life!