Chapter Twenty-Five

Melody opened her eyes, unsurprised to see that she remained trapped inside her prison. Mr. Andersen and Sixpence had disappeared, leaving her with only the scripted characters for company. Not that they were much company anyway. Atiana and her prince were walking together towards the castle for who knows how many times, oblivious to all else.

"He'll come back," Melody told herself. She then preceded to pick up stones from the seashore and skip them on the water. Or at least try to. The longest skip she got was only five jumps. Her father held a record of at least eleven. The stone had skipped away so far it was hard to count after that.

The princess edged along the shoreline as she had to move to gather more rocks. She was much closer to Atiana's spot when Mr. Andersen and Sixpence quietly appeared beside her.

"It didn't work." Melody sighed.

"Here," Mr. Andersen handed over the gauntlet. "Why don't you try wearing it this time?"

The gauntlet was big enough that she didn't need to unclasp it; her hand slide right through. Once again, she closed her eyes and wished for herself to be free. She peeked through one eye, confirming her location was still the same. Melody wished harder to be back in her bedroom. With her parents. In the barn with Barnacle. She even wished to be back inside the schoolroom studying, if only she could get out of this book! But all her attempts with the gauntlet failed.

"Chin up," Mr. Andersen said, seeing her distressed face. "King Triton had a theory why the trident might not be working. If I remember correctly, he said we're unable to use the trident to free you because you're entrapping yourself. It's up to you to believe there is a way out."

"But that doesn't make sense. I've tried to get out ever since Morgana put me here!" Melody threw up her arms in exasperation. "Nothing is working. I can't wish my way out. The trident can't undo what Morgana's done. The seawitch here has no magic to help me. Atiana even told me I was started to fade when I tried escaping through the ending."

"That does complicate things." Mr. Andersen sat on the shore. "I was wondering what might happen if we would just destroy the book. From what you just said, I believe my theory that your safety is connected to the books' physical form is now valid."

"Great." Melody plopped down on the shore beside him. Sixpence climbed into her lap, encouraging her for pets, and Melody obliged. In turn, Sixpence purred contentedly.

"Do you remember the exact phrase Morgana used when she trapped you here?"

"Uhhhh…" Melody blushed as she remembered Morgana's words.

"You don't remember?"

"No, I do. It's just that, um, well…" Melody bit her lip as she looked around at her surroundings. The entire place was a world created by the man sitting beside her. A world that she hated.

"If you are in some way trying to spare my feelings, I appreciate the sentiment. However, getting you free is the priority here. I assure you, a seasoned artist such as myself has come across many unflattering critiques." The elderly man smiled encouragingly at her.

"Well, Morgana used the trident to send me to the 'worst place I could imagine'." Melody winced.

"And what makes this place so bad? Be honest now."

"It doesn't exactly end happy."

"True," Mr. Andersen nodded. "Our little heroine does not marry the prince at the end. But I disagree that her ending is a sad one."

"How?" Melody focused on scratching Sixpence behind his ears. It was a useful tactic in avoiding eye contact.

"She doesn't get everything she wanted, but she has the opportunity to get a soul. And that's what she desired most of all, if you recall."

"Yeah. After three hundred years if children behave." Melody alternated between scratching the cats' ears and then giving long strokes across his back. Sixpence rolled over so she could scratch his belly. "You're the author. You create the story; you write the endings. Why choose to write something so horrible?"

"There's not an easy answer for that, I'm afraid. Was this book really the first story you didn't enjoy?"

"No. I didn't enjoy the Macbeth play that theatre troupe performed at the palace," Melody confessed. This caused Mr. Andersen to laugh.

"Truly? You find my little story worse than Macbeth?"

"Yes," Melody insisted. "It's because…well, because…I…I…um, I don't know how to put it in words."

"That is hard for some people. And thank goodness for that. If everyone could do it, I might not have work." Mr. Andersen smiled that Melody was able to laugh a little at his quip. "I know it is difficult, but could you try? Please."

Melody found she couldn't speak the answer. "I think I need to clear my head first. But, will you stay here?"

"Of course. I promise I will not leave this book without you. Unless it is absolutely necessary. But, I think I'll do some exploring if you need some space. Please, call if you need me."

As expected, Mr. Andersen went in the direction of his characters. The little mermaid and her prince were at the top of the castle stairs. They would return to their spot on the shore soon enough.

The best way Melody knew to clear her head was to go for a swim. Melody began to take off what outer layers she could spare. Just as she was about to plunge into the water, Atiana appeared back at her spot of "rescue". The prince was approaching once again, and, out of curiosity, Melody glanced over to see what this character looked like.

"Alex!" Melody gasped.