"Pahkitew is a rather small kingdom, so there's not much to show you," Sammy said. "Just a marketplace and a freak show circus."
"Freak show circus?" Jasmine asked.
"Yeah, Hector Hatchet's Circus of Freaks," Shawn explained. "It's the kingdom's main attraction. He captures the most bizarre creatures and put them on display like a zoo."
"Well, I suppose this circus is worth checking out," Jasmine decided.
"Really?" Sammy asked. "Even though the kingdom is at sake?"
"I'm sure a little break won't hurt," Jasmine said.
Sammy, Shawn, and Jasmine headed over to the Circus of Freaks, joining in with a group of locals. "Ladies and gentlemen!" a large dark-skinned man exclaimed. "I am Hector Hatchet and welcome to my Circus of Freaks! Inside this tent are the world's most unusual creatures. They are so terrifying that they must be locked up!"
Jasmine, along with most of the crowd, gasped. "Oh, relax," Shawn said. "He's just saying that to get visitors intrigued."
"Now step inside, and see the wonders of the world!" Hector concluded. "Remember: all individual entries cost one silver coin."
Inside the tent, Sammy, Shawn, and Jasmine witnessed humanoid creatures trapped behind steel cage bars. They all looked vicious and uncivilized. "Have either of you visited this tent before?" Jasmine asked after a few minutes.
"No," Sammy said, shaking her head.
"I have," Shawn said. "People gave me silver coins on a regular basis, so I stopped by here once before. Mr. Hatchet told me about each of the creatures who live here. See that green-skinned boy wearing a loincloth? That's Freakzekiel. He was a normal guy before his greed corrupted him, turning him into a literal monster. And that tall orange-skinned girl? Meet Dakotazoid, the previous princess of Pahkitew. An evil sorcerer cursed her one day, making her unfit to rule. Since then, people have tried to reverse the curse, but none have succeeded yet."
"And what's behind that curtain?" Jasmine asked.
"The main attraction," Shawn answered. "Just wait until Mr. Hatchet reveals her. She's amazing!"
As if on cue, Hector stepped up. "And now, ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "It is time for the grand finale of our show. Behold, the incredible athlete Sky!"
When the curtain was pulled down, a beautiful black-haired girl was revealed. She wore a cream-colored spandex suit that had tiny purple stars printed all over it. She began to twist her body into different shapes. Unlike the other freaks, she was not trapped behind steel cage bars. That confused Jasmine. "Why isn't she caged?" she asked.
"Because Sky is different from the other freaks," Shawn explained. "She's the first one to be employed by Mr. Hatchet. No one knows why, but that doesn't make her any less amazing." He started cheering for the flexible freak.
But then, Sky gasped and bent her body back into shape. "Stop the show, Mr. Hatchet!" she exclaimed. "He's here!"
"Alright," Hector said. "Which one of you is that no-good peasant Dave?"
No one responded. "Who's Dave?" Jasmine asked.
"He tried to kidnap Sky after a performance one evening," Hector explained. "I had to ban him from attending the show, but it seems he didn't learn his lesson."
"Why would you even assume that?" Sammy asked. "That doesn't even make sense!"
"Who else would cheer for her?" Hector pointed out.
"Um... That would be me," Shawn said, raising his hand. "I think Sky is the best freak in the show."
Hector walked over to Shawn. "Of course you would say that, Da-" He pulled down the cloak's hood. "Hey, you're not Dave!"
Shawn quickly pulled the hood back up before anyone could see his undead appearance. "Of course I'm not," he said.
"Oh," Hector said. "My mistake. You can resume your performance, Sky."
Some Time Later...
"That was rather enjoyable," Sammy said as she, Shawn, and Jasmine left the tent. "But we should get our focus back on the mission."
"Right," Jasmine said. "Finding this giant named Rodney and asking him about the princess. Where is his beanstalk?"
"The town outskirts," Shawn answered. "My guess is that he didn't want to bother anyone."
"Town outskirts?" Sammy asked. "Is it far?"
"It's literally right outside the town outskirts," Shawn said. He pointed at a tall beanstalk near the 'Welcome to Pahkitew!' sign. "I don't get why people don't notice it easily."
Sammy gulped, noticing how tall the beanstalk was. "That seems like a hard climb," she said.
"Not for me," Jasmine said. "I've climbed beanstalks before when I needed to make a peace treaty between giants and villagers. I'll show you what to do."
And so, the three teens went to work on climbing the beanstalk. Jasmine used her sword as an anchor point while Shawn gripped each vine. Sammy, on the other hand, had a hard time keeping up. "Wait up guys!" she called out.
"First time climbing a beanstalk, princess?" Shawn asked.
"Yes, it is," Sammy said. She realized what Shawn had called her. "I'm not the princess!"
"It's a nickname," Shawn explained. "I know you're not the princess of Pahkitew. Ella is."
"Oh," Sammy said. "Sorry."
"Hang on," Jasmine said, climbing back down. "I'll help you." She used her free hand to lift Sammy by the waist.
"Thanks," Sammy said.
"No problem," Jasmine said, proceeding to climb as she carried the merchant with her.
Eventually, the group finally reached the top. A large cabin rested on a cloud with an orange-haired bulky giant sitting at the front porch. "Is this Rodney the giant?" Jasmine asked.
"Yep," Shawn answered. "I've seen glimpses of him in the clouds, so I know that's him."
"Great," Sammy said, starting to get nervous. "How do we get his attention?"
"Leave that to me," Jasmine said. "I know how this works." She walked over to Rodney with the other two following her. When she was on the front porch, e dark-skinned knight called out. "Rodney the giant! We want to talk to you!"
Rodney must have heard the voice because he stood up, walked over to the three, and picked them up with a single hand, making eye contact with them by lifting the hand. "Are you...visitors?" he asked.
"Yeah..." Sammy said.
"Wow," Rodney said, smiling. "I've never had visitors before. And judging from your appearances, you must be Jasmine the girl knight from a faraway kingdom, Shawn the peasant who was cursed to look and act like an undead, and Samey the merchant who took over her sister's business after she died."
"It's actually Sammy," the blonde merchant corrected. "Samey is a nickname Amy gave me."
"My mistake, Sammy," Rodney said.
"I guess you do see all if you know about us," Jasmine said.
"You're right," Rodney said. "I have a good view of the castle from my front porch, so I see everything that goes on in the kingdom. Well, except what happens inside the buildings. But I have a magical device that solves that problem."
"So you know what happened to Princess Ella?" Shawn asked.
"Of course I know," Rodney said. "I'll show you."
Inside the cabin, Rodney placed Sammy, Shawn, and Jasmine on a table and took out a golden device that was attached to a glass lens. "This is a Sneak Peaker," the giant explained. "It lets me see inside buildings and records all events into its magic lens."
"Can you show us what happened to the princess?" Sammy asked.
"Sure thing," Rodney said. He started tinkering with the device. "Let's see... Princess Ella... Two weeks ago... Why she disappeared... And... Done!" The lens projected the scene.
It all started when Ella asked her trusted wizard, Leonard, to run an errand for her. At the marketplace, he met Sugar, a simple farm girl who dreamed of being the princess. Shortly after the encounter, she went to the Scarlett Witch to grant her wish.
"So can ya do it?" Sugar had asked. "Can ya make me the next princess of Pahkitew?"
"I'll be more than happy to grant your wish," the Scarlett Witch answered. "But I require your assistance."
The first step was eliminating Leonard. Since he was the sole protector of the princess, Sugar had to lure him away from Ella. It worked, and she trapped him in an empty room after tricking him into casting a lasting sleep spell on himself.
Two weeks later, the Scarlett Witch had finished her potion. It was an invisibility potion with a cup of Death Apple slime. She visited Ella in her castle and forced her to drink the concoction, turning her invisible and mute. And with no princess, the Scarlett Witch took control and crowned Sugar the new princess.
"And that's what happened," Rodney said.
"Hang on," Sammy said. "What was that creature in the second-to-last scene?"
"The Scarlett Witch's pet swamp beast," Shawn answered. "I've seen it before."
"So have I," Jasmine said. "It attacked me when I tried to take down the Scarlett Witch. It's very ugly with glowing red eyes and swamp grass for hair."
"Not it," Rodney corrected. "Her."
"How can you tell it's a girl?" Jasmine asked.
"Because I know how she was created," Rodney explained. "She was once a normal girl before her untimely death. The Scarlett Witch resurrected her using a minion potion, turning her into a monstrous swamp beast. But that's not the worse part."
"What is?" Sammy asked.
Rodney looked at Sammy. "That swamp beast is your sister."
