Chapter Twenty-Four

Mr. Andersen found himself surrounded by water. The first thirty seconds were spent in terror that he would drown. But he quickly realized that he was able to breathe, and his two legs had turned into a yellow tail.

"Sixpence?" The author looked around for his pet.

"Meow." The noise came from a bizarre creature that made Mr. Andersen laugh. It was Sixpence, sure enough, but the cats head, now complete with gills, was attached to the body of a fish.

"Well, you certainly have become a cat-fish."

Sixpence was not amused.

After locating his pet, Mr. Andersen turned his attention to where they were in the story. It was not the safe place he had put Melody, next to the Little Mermaid's garden. Nor were they in the storm as on the illustrated page. But it did not take long for him to look around and see the hut made of bones that he knew right where he was.

A mermaid swum past him, just then, emerging from the polyp forest.

"Astounding," Mr. Andersen watched as the character he wrote about swim forward and speak with the sea witch.

Off to the side of the two characters, huddled in the porch corner, was Melody. Mr. Andersen swam towards her, forcing himself to ignore the two others besides him. At least, temporarily.

"Melody?"

"Mr. Andersen?" The young girl looked up. Even though they were submerged, her tear-streaked face was unmistakable. "Oh, no! Did Morgana trap you too?"

"No, princess. You're the only one Morgana trapped. No one even knows where she went."

"And my parents? Are they all right?"

"Yes, they are well. There is much to fill you in on. But might I suggest we go to a safer place? Unless…are we even able to leave here? Or have you been stuck here this whole time?"

"No. It's possible to move through the story with Atiana's help."

"Who's Atiana?"

"The Little Mermaid." Melody shrugged. "I had to call her something."

"Are you telling me it's possible, actually possible, to interact with them?" Mr. Andersen couldn't help but show his enthusiasm.

"When you can get their attention. They're pretty focused on acting out the story. Not to mention they can only remember things in the order of when they're on the page. This Atiana here can't remember anything past this point of the story, even though we went to the end together."

"Fascinating. Well, I'd love to meet her."

"Now's your chance. The loops about to start again."

Mr. Andersen turned in time to see the Little Mermaid, Atiana, dart back through the polyp forest, the newly purchased potion in her hands. Within seconds, she was swimming out again, hands empty, ready to implore the sea witch to give her legs.

"Good morning," Mr. Andersen swam in front of her. "I'm so curious. Do you know who I am?"

Atiana looked at him thoughtfully. "No. I don't believe we've met."

"Oh." Mr. Andersen was slightly disappointed his creation couldn't recognize him on sight. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. I am Hans Christian Andersen. I'm here to help Melody escape and she told me that you can assist in getting us to a safer place."

"Nice to meet you. Of course. I'll be happy to help."

"Wonderful. Melody, come, let us leave this page."

The moment the author turned his back Atiana had swum forward to the sea witch and they were talking.

"It's tricky getting them to stop." Melody sighed.

"So, they will repeat the doings on the page we're on, even when no one is reading? This is utterly fascinating."

"No, it's annoying. Oh, I can't watch this part anymore." Melody covered her eyes as the sea witch cut out the mermaid's tongue.

"Atiana, please," Mr. Andersen interceded her again. "Please can you take us to a safe place?"

Atiana glanced down at the bottle she had paid dearly for. She was clearly torn between helping and completing the spell.

"I promise, you will get your legs. In fact, why don't you take us to shore? We'd love to meet your prince."

Atiana smiled and the mermaid turned away from the polyp forest. Melody followed without question, so Mr. Andersen came in last, Sixpence at his side. Without hesitation all four swam through a white space and emerged on the other side with two feet. Sixpence was a proper cat once more and purred in satisfaction.

The setting they currently inhabited was a seashore very similar in appearance to the one of King Eric's domain: the gleaming castle overlooking the seaside. Mr. Andersen and Melody took a seat on the rocks. The Little Mermaid was left alone to enact out her page as Mr. Andersen explained what had happened once Melody had run inside the palace after the reading.

"That's horrible! And Aunt Attina couldn't reverse it?"

"I'm not sure. That's something they're trying now. I hope we can find out together once we're out of the book. Golly, why didn't I think of that before when we were at the witch's hut? Come now, take my hand."

Mr. Andersen scooped up Sixpence in the crook of his arm, and Melody grabbed onto the gauntlet.

"Now, I've only done this once before, but let's close our eyes and think of getting outside the book."

When Mr. Andersen opened his eyes, he found himself and Sixpence in a lab of some sorts. It was a well-lit room clearly inside the palace; time had passed quickly, and it was now nighttime as he observed through a nearby window. To his dismay, Melody was not with him. The book was on a nearby table, laying on top of a pile of papers. It was opened to the illustration page, Melody still trapped in the waves. There was a cause for concern as a lantern, glowing hot, was next to the paper stack.

"That won't do." Mr. Andersen moved the lantern further back on the table. The papers were slid over to a cooler part of the table. He was about to keep the book in its spot, when he had an idea.

"I wonder, Sixpence, if anything happens to the book, does Melody get hurt? It's far too risky to find out. I wonder who left it in such a precarious place to begin with?" He glanced to the door, wondering if he should find the King and Queen to at least let them know Melody was fine, considering the circumstances.

"Perhaps, not just yet, Sixpence. After all, there are still more questions than answers. I shan't talk with them until I have more information that will enable us to make a plan on rescuing their daughter. In the meantime, this must get put in a place far from danger."

An empty bookstand was next to a table of jars and random mechanical gears.

"There," Mr. Andersen placed the book on it. "The book will be perfectly safe here. And, it's out in the open, so whoever left it here will find it easily. I wonder why they left it in such a dangerous place?"

Sixpence perched himself on Mr. Andersen's shoulder. He wished them both inside the book, leaving the room empty.