Disclaimer, I do not own The Land of Stories. This wonderful tale was written by Chris Colfer.
Chapter Ten: The New Recruits
The next morning, Froggy, Connor, and Emilia woke early on the floor of Rapunzel's Tower. The bare room was very chilly, but the blankets and cushions had definitely made the night more comfortable. They stretched and yawned, grooming themselves as best they could. The night's rest had definitely made Emilia feel refreshed, and overnight, her energy had rejuvenated. It was a new day, and she was more than ready to continue her mission.
"Where to next?" Connor asked, handing out rolls and apples.
"The Charming Kingdom is just East from here," Emilia suggested. "Maybe we should try to get a hold of Cinderella's glass slipper."
"How are we suppose to do that?" Connor asked through a mouthful of apple. "That's like going to the White House and trying to steal The Declaration of Independence."
"The White House?" Emilia asked, curious.
"The Declaration of Independence?" Froggy asked, intrigued.
"Sorry, never mind," Connor shrugged.
"I believe Cinderella's glass slipper will be quite difficult to obtain. It is a cherished possession of the kingdom and is very well guarded."
"A little magic would surely help," Emilia said.
She had never been to the Charming palace before, and the thought of breaking in brought a rush of thrilling exhilaration through her body.
"Well, we'll have to do our best. It's our only option," Froggy said.
After tidying the room which Froggy persuaded them to do, the group made their way down the spiralling staircase, and after reaching the bottom, they found their way back to the path. Emilia whistled for Cornelius, and after waiting several minutes, the unicorn galloped towards them.
"Good morning Cornelius!" Emilia cried, giving the steed a hug. "How did you sleep? Did you manage to find something to eat?"
Cornelius butted his head affectionately against Emilia's cheek, and a warm feeling that had nothing to do with the temperature swept over her. She quickly disengaged from the hug and mounted, Connor and Froggy quickly joining her.
"Okay Cornelius, to the Charming Kingdom."
At once, Cornelius took off, galloping at a fast pace. All around them, were countless evergreen trees. Even though Cornelius was a speedy traveller, they spent several hours on the dirt path, which seemed to stretch on endlessly with no end in sight. Behind her, Emilia could feel Connor becoming restless.
"Are you okay Connor?" she asked.
"Are you guys sure we're not lost? I swear I've seen these same trees for forever."
"I'm certain," Froggy reassured him. "I've been watching the map ever since we left. We should be coming up to a bridge to cross the stream into the kingdom."
"I've never been to the Corner Kingdom, or the Charming palace, but Miss Josephina often tells me stories of people trying to cross the bridge, but getting the riddle wrong when passing the bridge troll."
"Oh yes!" Froggy cried excitedly. "I completely forgot about the bridge trolls. I do love a good riddle, don't you?"
"Absolutely," Emilia said, grinning at Froggy.
This wasn't a lie. From a young age, Rumpy would give her books full of riddles and puzzles to solve. Whenever she wasn't occupied, she would do as many as she could, sometimes staying up late into the night solving by candlelight.
"Oh come on," Connor groaned. "A riddle? Seriously? What happens if we get the riddle wrong?"
"I've heard the troll bites your head off," Emilia said.
"Can someone please explain to me why everyone in this world wants to eat each other!" Connor demanded.
Froggy and Emilia were correct in their directions, and soon, they could see a wooden bridge in the distance, with a flowing stream underneath.
"See Connor," Emilia said, nudging him with her elbow. "Froggy and I know what we're doing. You need to have a little more faith in us."
"No offence, but I only just met you guys like two days ago."
"Fair enough."
The bridge seemed to excite Cornelius, and as soon as he touched it, he began to skip and prance his way across.
"Go Cornelius!" Emilia cheered.
"Grrrrrrrrr!"
Emilia leapt, and gave a high-pitched scream she didn't know she was capable of.
"Who dares cross my bridge!"
A large troll had jumped in front of them, blocking their way.
"We're very sorry," Froggy tried. "We didn't mean to disturb you. May we cross your bridge, Mr bridge-troll? May we call you Mr Bridge-troll?"
"Your bridge," Connor said. "We didn't know this was your bridge. Maybe you should put up a sign."
"Are you mocking me!" the troll thundered.
"No, no he's not," Emilia said, giving Connor a dirty look. "We would like to cross your bridge, and we'd be very happy to solve your riddle if that's what we need to do."
"Yes, that's right," Froggy agreed.
"Wait, wait," Connor cut in. "How do we know this is your bridge? I'd like to see some identity of purchase before we continue."
Froggy and Emilia ignored him and asked together,
"What's your riddle Mr Bridge-troll?"
"This one is for you," the troll said, leering at Emilia.
"What can be as small as a pea, and as big as the sky, but is not owned by the person who purchases it?"
"Ooh, that's a tricky one," Emilia said thinking, her fingers resting on her lips.
"Okay, I'm out," Connor said.
He slid from Cornelius' back, jumped off the bridge, straight into the stream.
"Connor!" Froggy cried. "What are you doing?"
"Getting to the Charming Kingdom. Guys, come on! This is a better way. It's not deep, and there's no current."
The water only came up to his waste, but it was clear to see that he was shivering violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"You'll catch your death!" Froggy exclaimed.
"No I won't, you will," Connor said, through shivers.
In a few minutes, he had reached the end, soaked to the bone, and quivering like a leaf.
Emilia thought hard, not realising what Connor had done until she finally looked up.
"That's cheating!" she cried indignantly. "Is he allowed to do that? Can he do that?"
"You and your amphibian friend asked for the riddles, not him."
"Okay, so it can be as small as a pea, or as large as the sky," she mused. "So your telling me it can be any size."
The troll gave no response.
"You have one guess, and if you guess wrong, I will bite off your head! So guess wisely."
Emilia didn't feel scared at all. Sure, the troll was a lot bigger than she was, but compared to this, she'd definitely had worse, and come out better for it. She also knew she was powerful, and she could blast the troll into smithereens if she wasn't playing a flimsy fairy facade.
"It can be any size, and whatever it is, the purchaser is not the owner. Hmmm. I'm going to say a gift!" she cried excitedly. "The purchaser of the gift doesn't own it, the person who receives the gift does."
The troll's shoulders slumped, and he grunted.
"You and your unicorn may pass, but not the frog-man."
Froggy jumped off Cornelius' back, and the troll moved aside to let them through.
"Let's see," the troll growled at Froggy. "Which riddle should I give you."
The troll seemed to think hard about this, pacing in front of Froggy, and cracking his thick knuckles.
"This belongs to you, but everyone else uses it."
Emilia turned to watch as Froggy looked down at his hands, thinking hard.
"Something that belongs to me, but everyone else uses," he repeated.
Connor and Emilia watched with anticipation. Even Emilia had to admit she was reluctant to see Froggy get eaten, and with all the gruesome and brutal acts she'd witnessed, that was definitely saying something.
Froggy looked around, his face screwed up with concentration.
"My ideas, no no, that's not my guess," he said quickly.
"Belongs to me, but everyone else uses. Belongs to me, but everyone else uses. I wonder—"
"My name! My name belongs to me, but everyone else uses it!" Froggy exclaimed suddenly, leaping into the air.
"You may pass," the troll said dismayed.
In a few leaps, Froggy was across the bridge, and they re-mounted Cornelius. Afternoon was approaching fast, and as they continued on, the evergreen trees slowly turned into tall oak trees. There were vast fields of tall grass, and in some, Emilia could see cows grazing. The air was cool and a light breeze made the tree branches sway, and the leaves blow gently. Just as the sun was beginning to set, the trio finally arrived at the Charming Kingdom. A large, luminous sign in front of them said,
"The Charming Kingdom."
Cornelius cantered on, and before long, there were villages, bakeries, and shops all around them. Up ahead, there was a small schoolhouse, with a brick chimney and small windows. The dirt path had become a cobbled one, and Cornelius' hooves made crunching noises as they went. Emilia had to admit, the scenery was very pleasant to look at, and she found that she didn't mind when Connor took his time to look at something that had caught his eye.
"This is rather strange," Froggy commented. "Usually, the streets are bustling with people, even in the evenings, but the streets are completely empty."
Froggy was right. Not a soul was in sight, and it gave the place a forlorn feel.
"How big is this place?" Connor asked.
"The Charming Kingdom is quite large," Froggy explained.
"There are many small villages on the outskirts of the kingdom, and larger wealthy estates near the centre. The palace is right at the very centre of the entire kingdom."
After looking around some more, the three entered a supermarket, and bought bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, and biscuits. As the night wore on, Emilia's adrenalin began to kick in. Every second they spent not breaking into the palace felt like wasted time.
Eventually, they decided to sit at a park bench to look at the journal, and discuss how they would enter the palace and retrieve Cinderella's glass slipper.
—
Cinderella's glass slipper is a very difficult item to retrieve. Her slippers, without a doubt, are the most cherished possession of the kingdom. First, you must find a way into the palace. This is rather difficult, as there is only one entrance. One of Cinderella's first acts as queen was to get rid of all the servant entrances, so that when people come to the palace, they all enter as equals. Once inside, find a way into Cinderella's royal display room. This will also be difficult, since no one is allowed inside of the queen's chambers without an invitation from her. The slippers are on display in a glass box on the top of a pillar in the centre of the room. The slippers are not hard to remove from inside the glass box, but the room is under constant watch by two guards at its entrance. Find a way to be alone in the royal display room and remove a slipper quietly and quickly. Leave as fast as you can, because as soon as they notice something is missing, the guards will close the palace doors and you'll be trapped and taken to the dungeons to be punished. Best of luck!
—
They glanced at one another, unsure of what to do next.
"How about I go ahead and take a look to see what we'll be facing," Emilia suggested, her heart beginning to speed up.
"Alright, but be careful," Froggy said warmly.
Emilia stood up, her body tingling, ready for action. With a grand flourish of her wand, she waved it around her body, and by Connor and Froggy's gasps, she knew she had done it.
"Amazing," Froggy breathed.
"How do you do that! I wish I could turn myself invisible. Then, I could sneak out of class and Mrs Peters wouldn't even notice."
"Glad you liked it," Emilia said, poking Connor playfully. "See you soon." She turned and disappeared into a cloud of mist. Several moments later, she reappeared outside the palace entrance. She looked up and gasped at the sight. The palace was swarming with guards and soldiers on all sides. The entrance was practically unreachable. Being invisible still meant she was solid, and with the number of soldiers, she was bound to bump into someone and rouse unwanted attention. What was going on? All the soldiers looked tense and grim, and their weapons were held at the ready as if waiting for an attack. Did her mother Ezmia have something to do with it? She thought the possibility was very likely, but she didn't want to come to conclusions just yet. Turning her eyes away from the soldiers, Emilia disappeared and returned to the others.
"Bad news I'm afraid. The palace is swarming with soldiers. I mean over a hundred at the entrance, and not just at the entrance, but guards on every side of the building. North, South, East, and West, and even in the palace gardens."
"What's going on? Has something happened?" Froggy asked, his brow furrowed.
"Oh boy, this is going to be hard isn't it," Connor groaned.
"Looks like it," Emilia replied. "You guys got any ideas?"
"Ideas to break into the palace?" Connor asked.
"No, ideas on how to become a ballerina," Emilia retorted.
"How are we going to get past so many guards?" Froggy asked.
"Em, can't you hypnotise the guards or something."
"Too many, and besides, people would notice a hundred or so guards lying unconscious."
"But you can just turn us invisible, then we can sneak in," Connor said.
"We'd still be solid, and with that many guards around the outside, we're bound to literally bump into someone, and rouse unwanted attention."
"I guess you have a point."
"I suppose if we can't beat them, we better join them. We can blend in with the guards," Froggy said, his eyes lighting up. "Emilia, you can turn our clothes into guards' uniforms. There are so many of them I doubt they would notice a few extras."
"You're a genius Froggy!" Connor and Emilia shouted excitedly.
"They were wearing black trousers and black tunics with a gold slipper embroidered on the chest."
"Come on, what are you waiting for!" Connor urged, jumping up and down.
Emilia waved her wand around her body, and a white light shot from its tip. As soon as the light touched her body, the gown disappeared, and Emilia stood before them clad in Charming guard black.
"Perfect!" Froggy said clapping his hands.
Emilia then proceeded with Connor and Froggy in turn. She then made herself and Connor taller, shortened her hair, and with a mischievous smile, returned Connor's bushy beard. Emilia then took out a small mirror and they took turns inspecting themselves.
"This looks great, but I still look like a frog."
"Oh right, I can fix that."
Emilia flicked her wand in Froggy's direction. His webbed hands were no longer webbed, and his eyes were not as glossy.
"I'm afraid I can't fix the frog legs, but I'll cast a repelling charm on them to prevent people looking too closely."
"That'll have to do."
With a few more flicks of her wand, Emilia provided them with swords and shields. Connor slashed his through the air, making fighting sounds. To Emilia's surprise, he wasn't too bad. Definitely not close to Goldilocks' level, but definitely competent.
"Where did you learn that?" she asked, genuinely curious. "You could be as good as Goldilocks if you trained really hard."
"Oh, um, my mom made me take lessons. Just a hobby I guess."
Emilia shrugged, it wouldn't hurt their quest if Connor had sword skills. In fact, it would make them more convincing if they ended up in a pickle. After all the enchantments had been cast to some degree of satisfaction, Emilia took Connor and Froggy's hands.
"Okay Cornelius," she instructed her unicorn. "Stay close by. I'll whistle for you when we come back out."
The unicorn nodded, and loped off into the night.
"Everyone ready?" she asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Connor replied.
Froggy croaked nervously and nodded.
"Here we go," Emilia said, and hand in hand, they disappeared in a whirl of light.
—
They reappeared several feet from the palace entrance. The palace was a spectacular sight. It was perfectly symmetrical and smooth. There stood three large towers that shared a base, and on top, was a gigantic clock that could easily be seen by the entire kingdom. A wide set of stone steps lay in front of them, and midway up the steps, clearly visible, was a gold plaque that said,
"This marks the spot where Prince Charming found Cinderella's glass slipper."
"Oh my God," Connor breathed in awe. "That's totally awesome."
Emilia looked away quickly as if the gold had burned her eyes.
"What's the plan," she whispered.
"Turn us invisible so we can come closer and here what they're saying without them seeing us. We'll come in gradually," Connor said.
"The palace guards rotate every three hours. When these guards go inside we'll join them," Froggy said confidently.
"Froggy, how did you know that? Did you use to work here or something?" Connor asked.
Froggy looked away avoiding eye contact.
"My father was a guard. I use to come here a lot as a boy."
As soon as Emilia had turned them invisible, they crept quietly up the stone steps. Although the night was warm, Emilia shivered, the familiar feeling of adventure, action and chaos taking over her. At last, they reached the top and sat on the step. Emilia drew her wand, and shrank the rucksack Connor was holding.
"Put it in your pocket."
They leant forward, eager to take in everything they could and find out what was going on.
"Yes, the queen was very upset when she heard the news," one guard said. "I think the whole world is upset. The Fairy Godmother is the leader of the Fairy tale World. She's a symbol of goodness and hope. It's only natural that the people panicked when they heard the news of her disappearance. I was shaken up myself."
"Do you think the evil enchantress has returned?" another guard asked in a low voice.
"I sincerely hope not," the first guard said. "If that were the case, I honestly can't say what will happen then."
"I can't even begin to imagine all the horrors that would occur," the second guard replied with a shudder.
"Have the Happily Ever After Assembly discussed it?"
"Not yet, I think they're getting together for a meeting tomorrow."
"I don't envy their position or ours for that matter."
"You got that right. How's Sir Lampton holding up?"
"Busy, and anxious which is understandable."
The soldiers talked on reminiscing about their days in combat training and adventures they had in their youth. Emilia's head spun. Did her mother kidnap the Fairy Godmother? Was she going to kill her? Emilia knew that anyone Ezmia took into captivity would be killed at some point, but when they would die she never could predict. She glanced at Froggy and Connor on either side of her. Froggy looked tense and worried, deep creases lining his forehead. Connor was sitting there, fingers splayed on his lap, lips pursed.
"What's on your mind?" Emilia asked.
"Well first, if the evil enchantress is back, why take the Fairy Godmother? Isn't she after Sleeping Beauty?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"The Fairy Godmother is a clever and powerful person. She holds a strong influence on the people. Whatever the evil enchantress is up to, she must believe the Fairy Godmother to be a big threat."
"Why is she so evil?" Connor asked.
"I've heard that monsters are made not born. Maybe in her childhood, Ezmia was so hurt and broken that she couldn't take it any more. Maybe the world was so cruel to her, she became filled with rage and wanted to treat the world how it treated her."
"The golden rule at its finest," Connor said drily."
"But the world won't treat you better just because you're a good person, but that's no excuse not to be one," Froggy said, his face pensive.
"I suppose, but wouldn't you just go insane if everyone shunned and rejected you, showing you no kindness or compassion. If that was me, I wouldn't let anyone get close. I'd just get hurt in the end, so what would be the point? I think Ezmia felt like that."
"You sound so sure," Connor said, looking at her closely. "Have you met her or something?"
With an inner mental lurch, Emilia forced her features into her customary calm expression.
"No of course I haven't met her," she said. "I'm just saying, maybe villains are just victims whose stories haven't been told."
"Interesting, there's something in that," Froggy said. "Maybe if we all learnt to be kind and empathetic, tried to put ourselves into another person's shoes and see things from their perspective, there wouldn't be so much hatred and evil."
"I don't mean to interrupt this philosophical discussion, but I think its time for the rotation."
All around them, the guards had stood up and were forming a line. Quickly, Emilia reversed the invisibility spell, and as quietly and casually as they could, they joined the back of the line. It was slow progress getting into the palace. There were so many guards, and it was almost ten minutes until Emilia and the others reached the ornate oak doors. They entered into a vast hallway with a high ceiling and marble floors.
"Wow, this is huge. Our whole house could fit in here," Connor whispered.
On either side of the hall, portraits of past kings and queens hung on the walls. Cinderella's portrait was beautiful, simple, but beautiful. Emilia hated outfits that were too sparkly. In her mind, less was more, and in simplicity, there was beauty. Cinderella wore a silk blue gown with a starburst pattern, and on her feet were a pair of blue sandals decorated with flowers. Her chestnut hair was pinned up into an elegant knot on top of her head, and she wore a gold crown. Next to Cinderella was a tall handsome man with fair hair and blue eyes. The man looked very charismatic. His posture was tall and confident, and he had a dazzling smile.
"That must be King Chance," she said softly.
"Yes, and there are his brothers, King Chase and King Chandler."
Next to King Chance were two more young men. One was short with curly hair, and the other was taller, but very lean.
"Whose at the end?" Connor asked.
The portrait after King Chandler was of a young handsome man with green eyes and dark hair. His eyes seemed to be smiling as they looked out of the picture. He seemed to look out at the world with great fascination. There was a carefree aura about him and he looked ready for adventure. But for some reason, Emilia thought he looked lost despite his free-spirited appearance.
"That's Prince Charlie, the long lost Charming prince," Froggy said, gazing at the floor.
"What happened to him?"
"He disappeared. No one knows what happened. One day he just didn't come home."
"That sucks."
"Well, I suppose things happen for a reason. The Charming brothers searched everywhere for the lost prince, and it was during the search that they met their brides."
They followed the guards down several long and winding hallways, but it was hard to keep track of where they were. The halls turned in unexpected places, and their were so many different halls and chambers it was difficult to remember the directions they'd taken. Deeper and deeper into the palace they went. Like the streets, the halls were deserted, and their footsteps echoed in the silence. They came to a stop at a large thick door. Emilia heard the sound of a key being turned on the other side, and when the door opened, a guard with dark eyes and dark hair walked through.
"Any disturbance?" he asked the men.
"No Sir Lampton," a guard replied. "All seems to be quiet."
"Very well. Come in."
Sir Lampton waved them through the door and shut it behind them.
"Thank you for your hard-work gentlemen," Sir Lampton said to the group. "It must be hard keeping alert when you don't know if the threat you're guarding against actually exists. Not long now. After this shift, it will be your turn to sleep."
A collective sigh of relief went through the soldiers. They did look very tired. When Emilia looked closer at the guards around her, she could see dark circles under their eyes, and many were stifling large yawns. The guards stood in the hall talking amongst themselves. However, because they were at the back of the line, Emilia and the others were afraid to speak, with Sir Lampton so close by. Despite their appearances, Connor and Emilia sounded rather young, even Froggy didn't dare.
"Excuse me," Sir Lampton said. "I don't think I've scene you before. I don't mean to offend, you three just don't look familiar. Are you new?"
"Yes we are," Connor said. "King Chance asked for new recruits from the ... from the ... Northern Kingdom."
"Is that so," Sir Lampton said his eyes narrowed.
"Forgive me, its just that I know all my guards quite well. What are your names?"
"I'm ... I'm Cornelius. This is Fernando, and this is Edwin," Connor managed pointing at Froggy and Emilia in turn.
"Lovely to meet you," Sir Lampton said.
They shook hands with Lampton as the buzz of chatter continued around them. Emilia looked at the others the same question in their eyes. How were they suppose to find the royal display room and get the slipper? Even with magic and decent sword skills, they were facing over one hundred guards, and these were just in one hallway.
"You're from the Northern Kingdom you say?" Lampton asked.
They all nodded, hoping they had convinced him.
"Interesting, I don't see any lotuses on your shields."
Emilia kicked herself mentally. She'd never messed up anything before. Always, she had planned and prepared meticulously for anything and everything that could happen every time Ezmia had sent her on a mission. Why didn't she think of this?
"Gentlemen listen up!" Sir Lampton called. "I believe we have some new recruits. These are Cornelius, Fernando, and Edwin."
The guards looked at them with puzzled faces.
"We didn't know we were getting new members."
"Neither did I, but King Chance has hired them. They are from the Northern Kingdom. Please make them feel welcome."
"New guards? I never hired new guards from the Northern Kingdom."
All the colour drained from Emilia's cheeks as King Chance came walking down the hall towards their line. Beside her, Froggy croaked audibly and Connor stood frozen in panic.
"Seize them!"
Before they knew what was happening, a dozen guards had encircled their group, their swords pointed. Lampton lunged for her, and instinctively, she whipped out her wand. He fell back stumbling, but there were more guards. All the guards were yelling now, alerting more guards from around the palace. Thundering footsteps told them that more guards were on their way, and if they didn't act soon, they would surely end up in the dungeons. Without thinking, Emilia cracked her wand through the air like a whip, and with a deafening bang, a wall of fog filled the hall, expanding with every second.
"Come on!" she yelled, yanking the other two forward. "Froggy, which way to the display room?"
"How come we can see through the fog?" Connor asked.
"I enchanted it. Froggy, which way! It won't last forever!"
"At the end of the hall we turn left. Then, there's a flight of stairs going up. At the top of the stairs is the door to Cinderella's display room."
They pelted down the hall, footsteps and yells coming closer behind them.
"What's going on!" cried a woman's voice to their left.
"It's Queen Cinderella!" Connor cried.
Above the din, the wailing cries of a toddler could be heard, and when Emilia looked back, she saw Queen Cinderella huddled against the wall holding her daughter.
"No time, their coming!" Emilia urged.
They turned left, and took the stairs two at a time. The door of the display room loomed in front of them, and at the same time, they grabbed for the door handle.
"Locked," Connor said, jiggling it frantically.
"Move out of the way!"
Emilia tapped the lock with her wand and it clicked open. They burst inside shutting and locking the door behind them. The display room was a wide chamber with a high ceiling and sky blue tiles. Around the room were several mops, brooms and buckets. In the corner was a large cage filled with mice, and Hanging on the walls, were ragged bits of clothing which Emilia assumed was Cinderella's rags that were turned into a ball gown. Just like the journal had said, a glass box on top of a pillar stood in the centre. As they raced towards it, ear-splitting bangs could be heard from the other side of the door.
"Come out of there at once!" Sir Lampton yelled.
With one leap, Froggy took the box down from the pillar. He opened it, retrieved a slipper, and handed it to Connor who hurriedly stuffed it under his tunic. Just as Froggy had returned the box, the door opened with a crash, and guards came piling in. Froggy and Connor took out their swords and shields doing their best to fight. Emilia abandoned all pretence of being a guard and fought with her wand. She fired curses at every guard she saw, but no matter how many she took down, more and more kept coming.
"Aaaah!" Connor cried.
Emilia turned to see a soldier's sword embedded deeply in Connor's shoulder, but despite the injury, Connor was still fighting. Froggy wasn't too bad a fighter too. His frog legs certainly helped him leap and dodge blows that could've been fatal. Several guards lay on the ground, some magically rooted to the spot, some unconscious from knock-back spells. On her own, Emilia would've used more offensive and aggressive spells, but since she was playing a fairy in training, she didn't think it would go down well if she killed one of the guards. Instead, she began turning their weapons into flowers, birds and butterflies.
"What do we do! We can't go on like this! We'll be here all night!" Connor shouted.
"Hold on!"
Emilia surveyed the battle around her. Connor's shoulder didn't look good and his tunic was heavy with dark stains. Froggy was getting tired. It was evidently getting harder for him to avoid blows. Emilia saw several cuts on his face and arms. Taking a deep breath, she waved her wand like a lasso. A bright orange light shot out of the tip. A long rope caught all the guards and dragged them together against their will. A large dome began to encircle them, trapping them for the time being. The guards yelled, kicked and cursed. They stumbled forward, trying to break the invisible boundaries of the dome that was there cage. But the force was too strong and they stumbled back into each other, tripping and falling.
"Come on!" Emilia said grabbing them.
"Are they going to be okay?" Froggy asked out of breath.
"The dome will break in a few hours."
Without looking back, Emilia gripped their hands tightly and they disappeared in a swirl of light.
They landed back at the park, and wasting no time, Emilia whistled for Cornelius. The unicorn cantered towards them. They mounted, and took off, eager to put as much distance from themselves and the palace as possible.
"Where to now?" Emilia asked.
"We need somewhere to stay the night," Froggy replied.
"We'll hide in the fields," Connor suggested. "You can just make us invisible again."
"Right now, I think that might be our best option."
They kept moving until early morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. Finally, they reached the fields of tall grass. Emilia removed their disguises, but they decided to keep the weapons placing it all in the rucksack. Emilia conjured a tent, and inside, they spread blankets, cushions and pillows. She cast the invisibility spell on them and the tent, then settled down with the others.
"That was close," Connor said leaning back on the pillows. "I thought we'd be in the dungeons for sure."
"So did I," Froggy said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Connor, let me see your arm."
Connor raised his arm, and winced. His entire sleeve was soaked with blood, and the wound on his shoulder looked very deep. An image of unicorns with deep slashes and cuts came sharply to Emilia's mind. She pushed the thought away, and looked at Connor. This was her brother. She could leave him to bleed, and the wound would get infected. She could pretend to heal him, make it look like an accident. Then, she could get rid of Froggy just as easily. After that, she would collect the Wishing Spell items herself and bring them to Ezmia. That would be so easy. Her mother would never find Connor again. It would be a win win really. Ezmia could take over both worlds, Emilia would get her revenge, and maybe if she did that, Ezmia would truly be proud of her and love her. Emilia gripped her wand tightly and focused hard.
"Connor, I'm still mastering healing spells, but I can give it a try," she said.
"Sure, can't get any worse."
Carefully, she touched the tip of her wand to the wound. Her logical brain, the one that only cared about getting things done, told her to picture the wound bleeding profusely and swelling rapidly like a balloon, but the image wasn't clear in her mind. It was jumbled together with other images she'd never before experienced. She tried to fight it, her eyes shut tight with effort, the pictures in her mind switching between harming and healing. It was as if her mind had been trapped into the dome she cast on the palace guards. Every time she attempted to act on what she was intending, her mind stumbled and faltered, as if it had hit an invisible barrier. Instead, in her mind, she visualised the wound closing, sealing smoothly without pain. She pictured Connor's sleeves clean of blood, and she pictured his arm unhindered holding a sword, twirling it through the air.
"Not bad," Connor said.
Emilia opened her eyes. Part of her was afraid to look, but she did anyway. The wound was still deep, but when she examined it more closely, she saw that it was a few centimetres shallower than before. The bleeding had lessened considerably, and surprised at what she'd done, she conjured a bandage to cover the wound.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted," she said lying down.
"Yes, I think we should all rest," Froggy said.
"Well, I'm two ninths of the way home thanks to you guys," Connor said, tucking the golden slipper safely into the rucksack.
"You owe us big time," Emilia said, pulling a face. "Let's see, we've almost gotten eaten by a pack of wolves, eaten by a bridge-troll, and now, put into the dungeons and hung up-side-down by our toenails, or possibly something much worse."
"Well, there's nothing like going on a dangerous adventure with new friends," Connor said, grinning.
"Cheers to new friendships, adventures, and going home," Froggy cheered.
"Here here," they chorused, and as the sun climbed higher into the sky, they shared a smile. And drifted off into a much needed sleep.