Legacy 208: Ways to Be Wicked
Part 6
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When Julian opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a marble floor of a windowless room. There was a large hole in the ceiling above him. He looked up and saw a small dot of light at the end. He sat up and discovered he was wearing different clothes, a light blue blouse with a white gilet and white pants. He had never worn such bright colors in his life and felt ridiculous. Luckily, there was nobody around. He studied the room, which was decorated with Victorian style furniture. Aside from the hole in the ceiling, there didn't seem to be a way out, so he tried to hit the wall with a fireball. As he probably should have guessed, he didn't have his powers in this world.
Julian kicked one of the chairs in frustration and spotted something behind the table. He circled around and kneeled down to check out a small hidden door. It was barely large enough for a mouse, though it did trigger a memory. Growing up, Elizabeth had often sent Julian to the mansion library, as she demanded he'd read demonic tomes and classic literature for his education. Most books were not suited for a child, but she had missed one that he could actually enjoy in secret, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was the only fairy tale he ever read, as he kept it hidden under his bed until Elizabeth finally found it and punished him for it.
If he remembered correctly, there had to be something in the strange room that would allow Julian to go through the door. He looked at the table and saw a tiny key and a potion bottle with a note to drink it. Seeing no other option than to play along, he took the key and drank the potion. It caused him to instantly shrink down to the size of a mouse.
"Down the rabbit hole we go." Julian remarked.
Julian used the key to enter the next room, where everything was normal sized, which meant that to him, it seemed giant. There was another door, though he needed to regain his original size to open it. He started climbing the table and eventually reached the top, where he found a cake with a sign to eat it. Annoyed with this little song and dance, he grabbed a piece and ate it, instantly turning him back to normal. He then opened the second door, which opened to a path leading into a colorful and strange-looking forest.
"Once I'm out of here, I'm going to vanquish that damned witch for this." Julian noted.
Julian entered the forest, where he soon ran into a rabbit wearing a blue waistcoat. It started running the moment it spotted him, though it dropped a pocket watch in the process. Julian sighed as he realized he had to play out the entire story, which meant he was heading to a tea party.
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As the sun blazed above them, Wyatt and Reed rode through the desert on a camel, still following the mysterious blue parrot. Their ride had mostly been silent so far, as Wyatt still wasn't really in the mood for a friendly chat. Although Reed had told him he had left that night due to an emergency, he had a feeling that there was more to the story.
"We're running out of water." Reed noted.
"I know, we just have to trust this parrot is leading us to the Cave of Wonders." Wyatt replied. "I'm sure we'll find it soon."
"How can you stay so optimistic?" Reed asked.
"We're in a fairy tale." Wyatt replied. "Good is supposed to defeat evil here."
"Real life isn't a fairy tale." Reed noted. "Not everyone gets a happy ending. The world is a cruel place. I've seen too many things to believe otherwise."
"Being optimistic isn't always easy, you know." Wyatt said. "I'm just doing my best to see the good in everything."
Reed started to say something, but decided to remain silent. Wyatt let it go and focused on the task at hand. As he looked up, he saw the parrot fly around in a circle above a rock formation that seemed to appear out of nowhere. As they reached the rocks, the parrot landed on one of them.
"Cave of Wonders." The parrot cried out.
"Where is it?" Wyatt asked.
The parrot did not respond. Instead, it flew up and dissolved into cloud of blue smoke. Wyatt and Reed decided to split up to search the rock formation for an entrance. However, after a few minutes of searching, they hadn't found anything. Wyatt sat down and finished the last of this water as the sun began to set in the distance. Reed sat down next to him.
"Okay, I'm starting to think following a bird into a desert wasn't the smartest move." Wyatt noted.
"You believed in it." Reed said. "If the stories mean anything, that must mean there is something here."
"I've been wrong before." Wyatt replied with a shrug.
"You mean about me?" Reed asked.
"That wasn't what I meant." Wyatt said.
"I think it was." Reed replied. "You're wondering if you were wrong about me. But then why did you decide to trust me back on that rooftop?"
"I know you're a good person, but it's pretty hard to believe in someone when they disappear just like that." Wyatt remarked. "So tell me the truth, why did you leave?"
"I told you, it was an emergency." Reed said.
"Maybe there was, but that's not the reason you ran away." Wyatt replied. "I know there has to be more to the story than that. Just say it."
"Fine!" Reed snapped at him. "You want to know? I got scared, alright?"
"Scared?" Wyatt asked with a frown. "Scared about what?"
"Look, I've never done this before, Wyatt." Reed admitted. "I've been with a lot of different people, but I never actually had feelings for someone."
"So what happened that night?" Wyatt asked.
"I don't even really know." Reed replied. "I woke up and you asleep next to me. You looked so peaceful and content and that made me nervous, because I knew it was only a matter of time before..."
"Before what?" Wyatt asked.
"Before something went wrong." Reed said. "Before we'd hurt each other, or something horrible happened or you'd…"
"Leave you?" Wyatt finished his sentence. "That's it, isn't it? That's why you decided to leave before I had a chance to leave you."
"I honestly don't know." Reed admitted. "Maybe."
Wyatt looked at the agent and finally started putting the pieces together. He didn't know much about Reed and his past, but it was obvious that he had been through a lot. He might be a brave agent, but he was scared of being vulnerable or being abandoned by someone he cared about.
"I'm sorry for pushing the issue." Wyatt said. "That couldn't have been easy to admit."
"No, but I'm glad I did." Reed replied. "I'm sorry for disappearing."
"Lincoln." Wyatt said softly.
The agent smiled at hearing his first name and pulled Wyatt closer for a kiss as the sun completely set. The ground underneath them suddenly trembled and the rock formation rose from the ground, revealing a cave that was carved out like a tiger's mouth. Wyatt looked at the sky and realized the Cave of Wonders only appeared at night.
"Did we just…?" Reed asked.
"You might be a good kisser, but not that good." Wyatt replied. "It just needed the sun to set."
Reed smiled and they entered the cave, heading down a long and small staircase into the darkness. When they reached the bottom, the cave entrance closed and torches magically lit to reveal its secrets. There was gold and jewels as far as the eye could see.
"We can't touch anything." Wyatt said.
"I know, I remember the story." Reed replied.
They continued further into the cave and reached an underground lake, where they quickly refilled their water bottles. Wyatt saw a small platform in the middle of the lake, where the genie bottle stood on a pedestal. They just needed a way across the lake, so Wyatt looked around and saw something. He walked over to a rolled up carpet and hoped it was the flying kind.
"I thought we couldn't touch anything." Reed said.
"We're not going to take it, just use it to get across." Wyatt replied. "I've always wanted to fly one of these."
Wyatt rolled out the carpet and it started to float a few inches off the ground. He got up with a smile and extended his hand to Reed.
"Care for a ride, princess?" Wyatt asked.
Reed rolled his eyes before getting on the flying carpet on his own. Wyatt told the carpet to take them to the platform and it instantly shot across the lake at high speed. Reed grabbed onto Wyatt as the carpet made a loop above the water, causing them both to laugh. When they reached the platform, Wyatt jumped off and took the genie bottle. The moment he rubbed it, blue smoke rose from the bottle. It formed into a young man dressed entirely in blue, with a parrot on his shoulder.
"Wait, you sent the parrot?" Wyatt asked.
"I did." The man replied with a smile. "I am the Keeper of the Fairy Tales. I managed to place myself in the stories to help you fight the wicked witch."
"So can't I just use my wishes to end this?" Wyatt asked.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." The keeper replied. "You must defeat the witch in this story before you are able to reach your family."
"How do we stop her?" Reed asked.
At that moment, a laugh sounded through the cave as a whirl of green smoke crossed the lake. The wicked witch manifested through the smoke, wielding a golden staff with the head of a cobra. She waved it around, telekinetically knocking them to the ground. Wyatt dropped the genie bottle and it rolled across the platform.
"You can't stop me." The witch said. "In fact, you brought me just what I needed."
The witch walked toward the genie bottle, though Wyatt and Reed jumped up to stop her. As Wyatt ran to the bottle, Reed grabbed the staff and tried to get it away from the witch. However, she managed to free it from his grip and used the staff to hypnotize Reed into falling asleep. As Wyatt picked up the bottle, the witch aimed the staff at the unconscious agent.
"Hand over the bottle or he dies." The witch threatened.
"She can't kill him just yet." The keeper said. "She is still bound to the rules of the story."
"You're really making this difficult, keeper." The witch hissed. "Fine, if you want your prince back, bring the bottle to the palace. Don't keep us waiting too long."
The witch smirked as she and Reed disappeared from the cave in a swirl of green smoke. Wyatt turned to the keeper and realized that while he had the genie bottle, he had three wishes to get Reed back and defeat the witch.
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As the howling grew louder and closer, Melinda and Ryan ran through the dark forest. Melinda felt exhausted, but she knew she couldn't stop. She had to protect her baby from the wolf.
"Over there!" Ryan called out.
Melinda looked over to where Ryan was pointing and saw a small cottage. She nodded and they ran toward it as the wolf leaped out from the trees. Ryan opened the door and Melinda ran inside. She screamed at her husband to get in as the wolf charged at them. Ryan attempted to shut the door, though the wolf managed to lash open his arm. Melinda aimed an arrow, striking the wolf in the chest. It cried out and leaped back, allowing Ryan to shut the door before he collapsed. The wolf howled and seemingly retreated for the time being.
"Ryan!" Melinda cried out.
Melinda rushed to his side and saw his arm was bleeding heavily. He was too hurt to move or fight back against that monster. As she cut her dress to bandage his wound, Melinda knew she couldn't run and hide any longer. It was time to be brave and protect her family.
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As the carriage came to a halt, the door magically swung open and Penny stepped out in her beautiful dress. The castle in front of her was quite literally out of a fairy tale, beautiful and majestic. Using her glass slippers, Penny headed up the stairs. The keeper had said something about finding her prince, which was how probably she could end this story. She wondered who her prince would be, though she had a sneaking suspicion.
As Penny entered the ballroom, all eyes turned to her. People gasped and whispered who she was. Feeling self-conscious, Penny rushed to one of the tables and picked up a goblet of wine. She quickly finished it and saw DJ walking toward her. He was dressed in a white and golden military-style uniform. He looked so handsome as a prince, though after what happened in the club, she wasn't sure if she could trust him.
"Penny." DJ said. "What the hell is going on? Where are we? I feel like I'm going crazy."
"You don't know?" Penny asked.
"All I know is waking up on a throne in the middle of a ballroom." DJ replied. "Every time I try to leave, everything seems to reset and I'm back on the throne."
"I guess the story couldn't progress without me being here." Penny noted.
"Wait, what?" DJ asked confused. "Does this have anything to do with that green woman?"
"You weren't supposed to see that." Penny said. "You're not supposed to be involved in any of this."
"What does that mean?" DJ asked.
"You weren't frozen like everyone else." Penny replied. "Every mortal at the club was frozen except you. You have to know something."
"I don't." DJ said. "What do you mean, mortal?"
"DJ, please. We're in danger." Penny said. "You need to be completely honest here."
"That's rich coming from you." DJ scoffed. "You've been lying and keeping secrets from me since the moment we met. I'm being honest when I say I don't know anything."
Penny looked into his eyes and tried to figure out if he was telling the truth, which would have been a lot easier if she had her powers and they worked on him. She just had to trust her instincts on this one, and they were telling her that he was being sincere. He truly didn't seem to know anything about magic. That made him being was immune to their powers even weirder.
"Alright, I believe you." Penny said.
"Thanks." DJ replied. "Now you have to give me a reason to trust you. Tell me what's going on."
Penny was about to explain when the orchestra started playing music. The attention of everyone in the room turned to them and Penny realized why. This was a ball, which meant the prince was expected to perform the opening dance. DJ seemed to realize the same thing, so he reluctantly extended his hand and they moved to middle of the room. Despite having no practice, their movements seemed completely in synch as they started dancing. If they weren't arguing a moment ago, it would have been romantic.
"Tell me what's going on." DJ said as he dipped her. "You said something about a story."
"Doesn't all of this feel very familiar?" Penny asked. "Like you read about it in a fairy tale?"
"I guess it does." DJ admitted. "So we're trapped in a fairy tale?"
"Exactly. We were trapped here by the wicked witch." Penny explained as he spun her around. "She is after my family's magic, so she is using the stories to get them."
"So you're a witch too?" DJ asked. "So that is why you keep getting involved in these strange cases?"
"A good witch." Penny replied. "The cases I'm involved in can't be solved by police work, DJ. You were right to be suspicious, but I'm only trying to help."
"It's a lot to take in, but I guess I believe you." DJ said.
"There is still one thing I don't understand." Penny noted. "If you don't know anything about magic, then how are you immune to my powers?"
Before DJ had a chance to answer, the doors of the castle were slammed open and the wicked witch walked in. The music stopped instantly and all attention turned to her.
"Did you really think I would just stand by and let this little story play out?" the witch asked.
"You're part of the story just like us." Penny replied. "You can't change the ending."
"No, I guess you're right." The witch admitted. "But I'm getting more control over the book the longer I'm here, which means I can change the story we're in."
The witch held out her hands and green smoke descended down from the ceiling, which quickly engulfed the entire ballroom. Once the smoke cleared, the witch was wearing a long black cloak and a horned helmet. Penny looked at her own dress and saw it had turned from blue to a soft pink, while DJ was now wearing a brown riding outfit with a red cape. The witch smirked as a long black staff appeared in her hands. Penny quickly realized which story she had chosen.
"We need to run." Penny said.
"I don't think so." The witch replied.
The witch waved her staff and Penny was dragged across the floor toward her, while green smoke rose from the ground and formed into a large spinning wheel. The witch grabbed her arm and forced Penny to prick her finger on the needle. She instantly felt the curse take effect and fell down. DJ screamed something and drew his sword, though the witch simply smirked and teleported him away in a puff of green smoke.
"Time for a beauty sleep, dear." The witch remarked as Penny drifted away into darkness.
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