Disclaimer, I do not own The Land of Stories. This was written by Chris Colfer.
A/N:
Greetings everyone!
I'm back. I love all the characters in The Land of Stories. They are all special in their own ways, but this character holds a special place in my heart. He loves books, is kind, polite, and will always be a prince at heart.
Enjoy!
Chapter Six: A Helping Hand
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Connor was falling rapidly into nothing. He was no longer in his bedroom, but was descending deeper and deeper into a void that led to who knew where. Faster and faster he fell, his vision blurring. Was he still alive? Was he dead? Was he dreaming?
All around him, he could hear trees rustling in the wind and birds chirping. At last, he landed hard on a muddy floor, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough that Connor realized he was alive and not dreaming at all. Even though he was slightly dizzy and very disoriented, it was a relief to finally stop falling. Connor stood up carefully, testing his limbs for injury. Looking around, he could see thick tall trees looming all around him. He had no idea where he was, and alone and lost, fear was steadily setting in. In a desperate attempt to find his way home, Connor began jumping up as high as he could, expecting to find some sort of opening that would lead him back to his bedroom. But all his jumping was fruitless, and it had tired him out very quickly. Upon looking down, Connor discovered that the ground was strewn with the pencils he had put into the book and among them, were his dirty socks. He had no idea where the books were, but not being much of an academic, he shrugged it off. Not knowing what else to do, Connor began walking around the unknown forest he was in. He was sure he had never been here before, him and his parents rarely went camping, but somehow, the place and atmosphere felt familiar. Just then, the forest floor shook beneath him. Fearing an earthquake or some other threat, Connor hastily took cover behind some tall willow trees doing his best to stay in the shadows. The clattering sound of horse's hooves was rapidly approaching and a troop of about two dozen horses and soldiers came galloping by obliterating the pencils in their path. They had grey shields with a design of white lotuses, and their swords were sheathed in their belts. They wore grey helmets and grey armour. It reminded Connor of the history lesson Mrs Peters had taught on the medieval era. As soon as all the soldiers were out of sight, Connor stepped out of his hiding place. Upon closer inspection of the trees around him, he discovered that several posters were pinned to their trunk. Curious, Connor took one and was aghast by what it read,
"GOLDILOCKS. WANTED, dead or alive. For burglary, thievery and running from the law."
Connor's eyes widened to the size of saucers and comprehension of his whereabouts began to sink in.
"I'm in grandma's book," he thought.
"I'm in The Land of Stories. I'm in the Fairy tale World."
His head spun with a million questions. Did his grandma and parents know? Surely they would've told him if they did. Right now, Connor wasn't sure how he felt about the discovery he'd made, but for now, he needed to find his way home somehow.
"Excuse me," said a proper voice behind Connor.
"Are you lost? I'm quite good with directions."
Connor turned to see who the speaker was and immediately wished he hadn't. In front of him, stood was what could only be described as a frog-man. He was tall with a wide face and big glossy round eyes. Utterly terrified, Connor dove to the ground curling up into a small ball.
"Please don't eat me!" Connor cried, rolling around frantically on the muddy floor.
"Young man!" the frog-man exclaimed.
"I have no intentions of eating you or harming you in any way. I wish to help."
Just then, sounds of piercing wolf howls echoed through the trees.
"I know I may look scary now, but I promise you, those wolves are much much worse. Please, follow me. We must hurry. My house isn't far."
The howls were getting louder now, as the wolves grew closer. The frog-man began to walk briskly through the trees and despite fearing the frogMan, Connor followed not, wanting to be shredded by a pack of hungry wolves. Also, the frog-man had such kind eyes, and his genuine expression of concern made it hard for Connor not to trust him.
After several minutes of walking, they arrived at a tangle of overgrown ivy. The frog-man reached his hand through the tangles, and hidden behind it, was a small door.
"Come in," the frog-man said, leading Connor inside.
"Please forgive the mess. I wasn't expecting company."
Connor walked in, and was not expecting to find what he did. He was in a small underground hole with a dirt floor and ceiling. On the shelves were various jars, and a fireplace stood in the corner. Tall bookshelves bursting with books of various sizes lined the walls making the room look like a mini library.
"Please sit down," the frog-man said, gesturing to a lumpy looking sofa.
Connor sat as the frog-man lit a fire and boiled water.
"Lily Pad tea?" he asked.
"Sure," Connor said uncertainly.
"Do you take flies?" he asked.
"No thanks," Connor replied watching the frog-man drop three into his own cup.
When he was done making the tea, the frog-man sat across from Connor and handed him his mug. Out of politeness, Connor decided to at least pretend to drink the tea, almost gagging in the process.
"So, what's your name? You look awfully young to be in the forest by yourself."
"My name's Connor, and I'm kind of lost."
"Connor! Are you Connor Bailey?" the frog-man said excitedly.
Connor nodded.
"You mean, these books belong to you!" he exclaimed.
Again, Connor nodded.
"It was the most bizarre thing. I was out collecting flies and a book fell from the sky and landed on my head. I found a few more the next day."
"So, have you always been a frog?" Connor asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Oh no," the frog-man replied,
"a very aggressive witch cast a terrible curse on me. I suppose she wanted to teach me a lesson. You see, I was a very arrogant young man who took many things for granted."
The frog-man spoke with sadness in his voice. Clearly, this was a subject that cut deep.
"Wow, that must've been some curse. Sorry for freaking out back there. It's just that where I'm from, there aren't very many frog-men. Hey, can I call you Froggy?"
"Of course," Froggy said,
"I find that the more people embrace their disadvantages, the less disadvantaged they become."
The two sat in silence for a while, watching the embers in the fire.
"So, where exactly am I?" Connor asked.
"You're in the Dwarf Forests," Froggy said gravely.
"The Dwarf Forests?" Connor asked confused.
Froggy looked at him intently, expecting some kind of worried response, but when none came, Froggy's expression turned thoughtful.
"You're not from here are you?" he said slowly.
"If you were from here, you wouldn't be near this place."
"Why is this place so dangerous?" Connor asked.
"It's the only part of the Fairy tale World with no ruler to govern it. It's full of criminals and outlaws."
"There are other kingdoms?"
"Yes of course. You mean, you don't know?"
Connor shook his head totally out of his depth. Froggy jumped up, and literally hopped to one of his bookshelves. He took out a large scroll and unrolled it, revealing a large map. The Fairy tale World looked beautiful. It was bordered by mountain ranges, and there were rivers, lakes and streams.
"There are six kingdoms," Froggy said pointing,
"The Northern Kingdom ruled by Queen Snow White, The Charming Kingdom ruled by Queen Cinderella, The Sleeping Kingdom led by Queen Sleeping Beauty, The Corner Kingdom by Queen Rapunzel, The Red Riding Hood Kingdom by Queen Red Riding Hood, and the Fairy Kingdom ruled by the Fairy Council. There's also the Elf Empire, and the Troll and Goblin Territory. Altogether, these rulers make up the Happily Ever After Assembly."
"The Happily Ever After Assembly," Connor said with a touch of sarcasm.
"They're all the rulers who signed the peace treaty."
"Who's on the Fairy Council?"
"Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, Mother Goose and all the fairies who blessed Sleeping Beauty."
Connor's head was spinning at all this new information. He pulled the map closer to him for a closer look. The biggest kingdom was the Northern, then the Charming Kingdom, then the Sleeping Kingdom. The Troll and Goblin Territory had large boulders around it, keeping people from going in and out. The Fairy Kingdom was the most beautiful. Everything in it seemed to sparkle even on the map. At the very centre of it all was the Red Riding Hood Kingdom with a large wall encircling the kingdom.
"How come there's a wall around the Red Riding Hood Kingdom?"
"The wall was built due to the CRAWL Revolution, Citizens Rallies Against Wolf Liberty. Formerly, the Red Riding Hood Kingdom were villages part of the Northern Kingdom, but wolves kept attacking them. They pleaded with King White to help, but at the time, the Northern Kingdom was going through a famine and their concerns were tossed aside. So they revolted and built their own kingdom, building a wall so no wolves could get inside."
"And Red is the queen?"
"Yes, well, she has the title, but her grandmother makes all the decisions. Red was a symbol for the people, and her story suited their needs. The CRAWL Revolution also started the Big Bad Wolf-pack."
Connor's head spun. There was so much new information and his brain was struggling to process it all.
"So, where exactly are you from?" Froggy asked.
"Well, it's practically another world," Connor said.
At this, Froggy's eyes filled with excitement.
"Another world," he breathed.
"Have you heard of another world?"
"I have, and by looking at your clothes and in not knowing the history of this world, I can easily believe you are from another world."
Connor sighed with relief that Froggy believed him.
"Do you know how I could get home?" he asked hopefully.
Again, Froggy hopped to the bookshelves and pulled out a small leather journal.
"Have you ever heard of The Wishing Spell?"
Connor shook his head.
"It's a collecting spell where a person travels and collects certain objects. After they've gathered all the items, that person is granted one wish no matter how extravagant. From what people know, it's only a myth, and I thought so too, until I found this," Froggy said, handing the journal to Connor.
"It contains the journey of a man who collected the items to travel into another world."
"Did he make it?"
"It doesn't say."
Froggy flipped to the last page which read,
"Where ever you're from, this spell will bring you home."
Connor held the journal tightly. Right now, this was his only hope of getting home and he was determined to do everything possible to get there.
"It's getting late," Froggy said.
"Why don't you sleep on it. You're welcome to stay as long as you need."
"Thanks Froggy," Connor said yawning.
He felt exhausted. Who knew travelling to another dimension was so draining.
Froggy gave Connor a large blanket and a few cushions. He put out the fire and they went to bed. For a while, Connor lay awake, his mind full of thoughts of The Wishing Spell. He knew there was no decision to make. No matter what it took, Connor would find his way back home.
—
To some, The Dwarf Forests were an intimidating place especially at night. The tall trees loomed like menacing giants and the darkness played tricks on the eye, giving the illusion that a log was a vicious dog. Every creak or rustle would startle anyone who wasn't use to the forest, but to Ezmia and Emilia, walking through the forest in the dead of night was a thrilling excursion. They made their way soundlessly through the thick trees, moonlight guiding their way. Soon, they past a creek that seemed to ripple and churn in an unpredictable manner. The two crept on, towards a small tavern in the distance. With a casual flick of her finger, Ezmia opened the doors easily and they made their entrance. Inside, three witches were seated together, clearly having some kind of discussion.
"Good evening," Ezmia said in her cool voice.
As one, all the witches turned and froze upon seeing who the new-comers were.
"What do you want?" a witch with long fingernails asked.
"We wish to ask you about the prophecy you foretold in our cottage."
An intense silence fell over the room as the witches considered.
"You mean the one you called utter nonsense!" a witch with a face full of warts cried indignantly.
"If you think our prophecies are nonsense, why ask for more knowledge now?" the third witch asked.
"Ladies, ladies," Ezmia said, her voice calm.
"By giving us information on your prophecy, you and the entire witch population will benefit greatly."
"What do you mean?" the warty witch asked.
"You see, I have grand plans for the Fairy tale World, and not only for the Fairy tale World. I'm planning to get my hands on The Wishing spell objects. Now, you may be thinking it's just a myth, but I assure you, it is as real as you and I. When the items are in my possession, I will conquer both worlds and I can't think of better people to rule with than the three of you."
As Ezmia spoke, she paced, her eyes never leaving the witches.
"You can avenge yourselves from the fairies who treat you like outcasts. No longer will you have to be outlaws, criminals and refugees, instead, you'll be living a life of pride, dignity and prosperity. Your wishes will be the people's command. My daughter and I are empathetic to your situation. You see, what all of us in this room have in common, is how the world has treated us, with brutality, cruelty and with no love or compassion. By helping us, you help yourselves become the people and nation you are, powerful, strong and proud. By helping us, you show the fairies and this harsh world that you deserve the best."
Total silence followed Ezmia's words. The witches looked dumbstruck. No one had ever offered to help them before. But in the corner of their minds, they couldn't help but be suspicious.
"I know you are wary of my motives," Ezmia continued, as if reading their minds.
"But if I betray you, my plans will be wrecked. None of us can do it alone and I'm no exception."
The witches looked at each other their faces pensive. At last, they said,
"Alright, we'll help you. What do you want to know?"
"I'd like to know what my twin brother looks like, and if possible, where I may find him."
The witch with long fingernails stood and walked over to a small chest in the corner of the room. She reached inside and retrieved a round glass sphere clear as water.
"We shall look in the crystal ball."
The witch gazed at the ball intently, her body utterly still. Her eyes began to lose their focus, and her posture began to sag. In the quiet tavern, they could hear her breathing, steady, but slightly ragged. With a start, the witch opened her eyes and looked at Emilia.
"Your brother is with a cursed frog who lives in the Dwarf Forests in a hole underground. He has strawberry blonde hair, bright blue eyes and a round face."
The witch lowered the crystal ball and sat back looking exhausted. Her face was ashen and beads of sweat were sliding down her face.
"Thank you for your assistance," Ezmia said,
"you will be rewarded."
"We won't forget your promises," all three said in unison.
Ezmia and Emilia made it out of the tavern, in high spirits. Together, in a cloud of mist, they vanished, reappearing in front of a large patch of overgrown ivy. After feeling inside, Emilia found a small door in its depths.
"Are you ready Emilia?" Ezmia asked, her face contorted into a manic smile.
"I was born ready."
"That's my girl. Don't let me down."
"I never do."
With a swirl of mist, Ezmia vanished leaving Emilia alone under the starry sky. Her heart was racing, every beat determined to complete her life's mission. She'd help her brother, and when she'd gotten what she needed, he'd never know what hit him. With a flourish, Emilia waved her hand around her body, making herself blend in with the surrounding trees, unaware that she herself didn't know what would hit her.