Sabrina sighed, worrying about her daughter. Allison was stubborn, but she would come through. It was in her blood, she thought.
She stepped up the Hans Christian Anderson and took a deep breath. "Knock-"
*Thump*
She whirled around, anticipating an ambush, but the park was as empty as it was when they had first arrived. She was alone... Or was she? She held her breath and remained completely still. If only she could locate the direction of the noise...
*Thump*
It was coming from the car. She ran over to it, grabbing her dagger out of her purse. Sabrina crouched down next to the car door. "I'm armed," she warned loudly. "Whoever is in my car better show themselves!"
She waited quietly with bated breath. No answer. After a few minutes or so, she sat down next to the car. She was overreacting. She hadn't imagined the noise, had she?
*Thump*
"That's it!" she cried and swiftly opened the car door, prepared to face any attackers. What she didn't expect though was her ten-foot long rug zooming out of the trunk and hitting her full in the stomach.
"Oof!"
Some of their luggage spilled out of the car as well, knocking the rug to the ground. That gave her time to gather her bearings and have enough sense to grab onto the rug before it attempted to fly away.
Once in her hands, though, the carpet went limp. She stared at it bewildered for a moment, and then searched the car. Nothing out of the ordinary. She stared at the rug again, and then tucked it under her arm.
"I better hold onto you for now," she said aloud. "Can't have you breaking my car window trying to escape."
The rug made no response.
Feeling a little foolish, she put the bags back into the car and walked back to the statue, still holding the rug. "Knock-knock?"
The bronze statue head turned to face her and beamed. "Who's there?"
There was a whoosh, and Sabrina found herself in the front bar of Faerie. But it was strange; different than the last time she visited. Then she realized; it was completely empty, except for the usual bartender, Ruby. She walked up to the counter. "Ruby?" she asked the lady at the counter, who was polishing glasses with a dirty towel.
Ruby turned and smiled kindly at her. "Sabrina! I haven't seen you here for a while, honey! How's the family?"
Sabrina frowned. "They should be here. You didn't see them pass through?"
Ruby's smile faded as she shook her head. "I haven't seen anyone else here all morning except for Mustardseed chasing after a little girl. Was she yours?"
What? Where was Puck and Allison? Sabrina looked at Ruby, who was watching her anxiously. "Yes, she's my daughter," she answered, trying not to panic. "Which way did she go?"
Ruby pointed down one of the halls. "That way, dearie."
"Thanks a ton, Ruby!"
She dashed down the hallway. "Emma?" she called out. "Mustardseed?"
No one answered her. Getting even more worried, she ran faster.
The hallway split into two separate corridors. She stumbled, confused. She didn't remember Faerie being so extensive last time she visited. Taking a wild guess, she turned left. Another split. She turned right this time. This hall was full of doors. She hoped she wasn't lost.
"Mustardseed?" she tried again, but to no avail. All of the doors she passed were closed and locked. Her footsteps echoed loudly behind her, reminding her of the hall's emptiness. Where was everybody?
The hallway seemed to go on forever. Finally she skidded past a door that was slightly left ajar. Backtracking, she quietly made her way back to it. Dim light shone through the crack of the door, and she was seized with an irrational fear. She mustered up her courage. If her family was in any danger...
"Emma?" she called out hesitantly without opening the door.
There was a short silence.
Then much to Sabrina's relief, two voices responded.
"Mom?"
"Sabrina?"
Sabrina threw the door open.
What she saw made her gasp.
The first thing she noticed was the pool. It was a perfect circle carved into the marble floor, about twenty feet across, and about twenty feet deep. But looking up was what had shocked her. Dangling about fifty feet above the pool was a giant version of what looked like a cast iron bird cage, with Puck and Allison stuck hopelessly behind its metal bars.
Puck was sitting down, but he leapt to his feet as soon as he saw her. "Sabrina! Oh thank god you're all right! Where's Emma?"
"She's with Mustardseed," Sabrina tried to reassure him, "But I honestly don't know where they are!" She stared around the room. The only exit was through the door she had came. They were alone. "Who did this?" she whispered.
"We don't know!" Allison cried. "Dad and I were transported directly here. Mom, I'm scared!"
Puck put an arm around his daughter and squeezed her tight. "Just keep calm, Allstar," he murmured. He sighed warily. "Sabrina, my magic won't work inside this cage. I can't fly... I can't shape-shift either. The only way out of here is by key." He pointed to a keyhole on the cage door.
Relief broke out on Sabrina's face. "Oh, is that all?"
"What do you mean?" Puck demanded suspiciously. "Unless you have the key..."
Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Who needs a key?" she reached up and pulled a bobby pin out of her hair.
Puck's eyes lit up. "Brilliant! But how are you-"
Sabrina had already mounted the flying carpet and was twenty feet off the ground before he could finish his question.
"Carpet, forward," she commanded confidently as the rug zoomed over to the cage door. She stood up to reach the keyhole. Her feet a little unsteady, she leaned over and jiggled the pin in the cage until the door swung open. "Easy enough for the Queen of Sneaks," she boasted as Puck and Allison boarded the carpet.
Once out of the cage and onto the rug, Puck tested his wings. To his relief, they popped out easily, and he soared around the room. "Oh, whatever," he teased. "On better days, the Trickster King has had triumphs far superior to those of the Queen of Sneaks."
The three left the room and Puck led the way down the hallway, eager to find the rest.
"Hey, at least Mom lives up to her title," Allison joked. "Some Trickster King you are."
Sabrina's smug smile faded and was replaced by a horrified look. "Allison! Don't even joke about-"
But Puck was already grinning wickedly. One could almost see the wheels turning in his head imagining new devious plots of mischief. "So that's how you want to play, Allstar? Challenge accepted!"
Sabrina groaned. "You've done it now, Allie. Don't even say I didn't warn you."