Sofia Whitman

The green fairy was exactly how I'd envisioned she would be. Her icy voice matched her truly evil aesthetic perfectly. She was wearing long, billowing purple and black robes, complete with scepter and horns. But the skin is what made her recognizable as Maleficent.

Next to her, stood The Evil Queen. The woman was in her human form, with pale skin, apple red lips, and a golden crown atop her head, covered by the black fabric and white starch collar.

Surrounding them were several dozen pirates. I realized quickly that they were considerably like the picture I'd seen of the audio-animatronic versions from the Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride in Adventureland.

We all stayed rooted to the spot, and I glanced back the way we came. It was clear, but I had a feeling if we tried to make a run for it, we would only be met with reinforcements.

Emma took a step behind Eli, next to Alex on my left, while Lucas and I exchanged glances on my right. We were officially in deep trouble.

What made matters worse, after a few seconds I could hear our parents calling our names back the way we came. Maleficent seemed to hear them too, and she smiled a very twisted smile.

"Does mommy and daddy not know you're here?" She asked in a very mocking tone.

They obviously did now. But the baby-talk only made me more on edge, like Maleficent knew the exact situation we had put ourselves in, and was about to take it as far as she could.

"What do you want?" I asked her.

She cackled at me in a high-pitched tone. "You must be Sofia."

I froze. She knows my name? It stood to reason she would, considering we had worked out that the Overtakers knew who our parents were. But hearing her say it sent a whole new set of shivers up my spine.

"Finn's daughter," Maleficent said to the Evil Queen, but I knew it was more for my benefit than hers. She wanted us to know that she knew vital information about us. It was an intimidation strategy that was obviously quite effective.

She turned her attention back to me, her eyes and smirk showing just how much she was enjoying this. "You have his guts. As for what I want... I want the fairlie."

My expression changed to confusion before I could stop it. I knew everyone else's must have too, because Maleficent's face actually lightened upon seeing it.

"Ah," She said, still showing off the twisted smirk, "I see your mother hasn't made you aware. That's alright. Your parents' never were ones to know what's good for them."

I ignored the slight on our parents for a moment and focused on the new information presented. Fairlie? And what did this have to do with Mom?

Lucas spoke up, "Um… it's kind of hard to give you something when we don't know what it is."

I knew we weren't going to do whatever she wanted, but the way he mentioned giving something up made me queasy. I had a feeling I knew exactly what a fairlie was, and there was no way the fairy would be given us.

"Fair point, dear. A fairlie is a child who has some extra gifts, as you say. They possess certain abilities beyond what a mere mortal human is capable of."

I had been expecting it. Lady Tremaine had asked about magic earlier, and now Maleficent wanted Lucas and I.

Wait, no. She didn't want Lucas and I, she wanted Lucas or I. She thinks there's only one.

"You all are excellent actors," She sighed, holding up her palm, in which a ball of fire erupted.

I inhaled deeply and quickly. It looked like a trick Lucas knew, but never dared perform unless we were far away from others. Maleficent tossed it from hand to hand, drinking in our reactions.

"But I think it's time to get this show on the road."

"Maleficent!"

I had never heard my dad's voice sound so strong and clear. I managed to glance back. Both my mom and dad were standing there, with Aunt Charlene and Uncle Philby.

When a few moments ago we had been running, afraid to be caught and grounded, now I was never happier to see them.

"Finn Whitman," the fairy said, in a much less joyous voice, "It's been too long."

"Really? I'd say it would never be long enough. I haven't exactly missed you."

"Now, Finn. I would have expected that from Terrance, but from you?" She shook her head, feigning sadness, "You don't want anyone to get hurt, now."

"You don't need them." My dad responded, the strength in his voice wavering, but still staring the fairy down all the same.

"Oh, on the contrary: I do need one of them. You could make all our lives easier and just tell me which is the fairlie, and we can be on our way."

My heart was racing. My dad had no idea Lucas and I were fairlies. Even so, I wasn't exactly worried he would give us up. But I also didn't see a way out of this without revealing our secret. The thought hyped my nerves up more so than the situation playing out before me.

"None of them are fairlies."

It sounded true because he believed it. The evil fairy's smile faltered for the first time in this conversation.

"They don't even know what they are." My dad finished.

I could understand Maleficent being put out by this reaction, but she only seemed to get madder. Her eyes lit up with malice and the fireball flamed larger.

"Well, let's see how they handle fire, then."

The ball soared straight at us. I reacted instinctively, grabbing Alex's shirt next to me and sending him toppling down into Emma and Eli.

Lucas avoided the dominoes, but instead of ducking, he held his hands out in front of him, catching the fireball mid-air. His face was entirely concentrated on containing the mass of power, the flames flickering inches from his chest.

I knew he would lose it quickly. The honest truth was we didn't have as much experience nor control over our powers as we should. Sure, I had seen Lucas make a fireball about this size before, but he could only hold it for a few seconds at most. We spent more time hiding and researching our powers than we did actually experimenting with them.

Lucas lost his grip and flung the fire ball towards the pirates, who all backed quickly away from it. It dissipated before it could hit anyone, but the shock of the pirates was evident.

I stood up quickly, realizing Lucas was about to pass out, and managed to catch him under one arm. My friends lay at my feet, still frozen in shock. In fact, everyone seemed to move in slow motion after Lucas' deflection. That is, until Maleficent's army started to advance.

"Dad!" I called, desperately.

He was one step ahead of me. Running forward, he produced a sword from out of nowhere, and began fending off the pirates.

In the chaos, I lost sight of Maleficent and the Evil Queen. It seemed odd that they would leave just as the real fighting began, and I realized with a jolt that they had achieved exactly what they wanted.

As soon as our parents arrived, Maleficent had known she could never get to us, but she could draw whoever had powers out. I could only imagine what the next part of her plan was.

"A little help here, guys." I said, straining under Lucas' dead weight.

This broke them out of their shock. Alex went to help me, but Eli simply hoisted Lucas' form above his head and over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. I knew Eli took his workouts seriously, but this proved how great of shape he was in.

"Amanda! Get them out of here!"

My mom and Uncle Dell finally reached us, while Aunt Charlene joined the fight with Dad. She seemed perfectly in her element, fighting alongside him.

"Come on, this way!" My mom said, leading the way.

The path became blocked by a group of pirates, broken off from the original pack in order to swarm our exit. This didn't seem to phase my mom. She held out her hands, like she was pushing something, and the pirates all flew back into the bushes.

For a moment, I thought I was going to have to catch my mom, too. But she managed to steady herself, and Uncle Philby took over, heading through the space she had just cleared.

I felt I should be more shocked, but at the moment I wasn't sure I was feeling anything. My mom just sent ten pirates flying. With her hands.

"What about Dad and Aunt Charlene?" I asked, running right beside her as we rounded the corner to the Hub.

"They'll be fine, we have to meet the others!"

"Amanda!" Uncle Dell called behind him, "I've got a return set for midnight. We've got 5 minutes!"

"Okay!"

Our feet pounded against the pavement as I ran harder than I had ever run before. Eli had somehow managed to keep up, despite carrying Lucas with him.

We came to a halt in the center of the Hub. Aunt Jess, Uncle Terry, and Aunt Willa meeting us with a mixture of angry and relieved expressions. Even those were wiped away when they saw who was chasing us.

Uncle Dell checked his watch. Eli put Lucas down gently, before collapsing to the ground himself, taking deep, stabilizing breaths.

"They have 30 seconds." Alex whispered to me, checking his own wrist.

My mom must've heard him, and turned back to look back at my dad and Aunt Charlene. They were still a few yards away, sending slashes and jabs at the pirates whenever one got too close.

Mom stepped forward, planting both of her feet firmly on the ground, and pushed. The pirates directly behind them scattered. Dad dropped the sword, and both started running full force towards us.

Then, I woke up.