the center.
Maryann returned to consciousness and found herself literally trapped in a gilded cage that was rather like a large bird cage. She was in a large room made of dark stone and illuminated with candles along the walls that gave off a dim and sickly orange light. Squinting, she could make out pillars and arches but she didn't get a good idea of the size of the room.
"Hello?" she said. "Is anyone there?"
"You are a bubble-headed princess, aren't you?" said a slightly echoing female voice. The level of light increased to reveal a throne about thirty feet from the cage. A tall, unnaturally thin woman was standing one of the two steps to the throne. She was wearing a very dark purple dress that oddly covered over her head, hiding her hair. The dress seemed to have a pattern of spiderwebs woven into it with silver thread. Her skin was a grayish-white and her eyes were black with a purple sheen; the black was from edge to edge. Her high cheekbones were clearly visible but she didn't seem to have any eyebrows. She was holding an eight foot tall staff made out of dark, twisted wood and the top looked almost like a claw holding a violet crystal.
"What I am doing here?" Maryann asked the odd woman.
"You're the princess. You're obviously going to get rescued by Prince Charming. Isn't that how the story goes?" she asked snidely as she moved towards the cage. Her steps were so even her movement was more like gliding than walking.
"Um, I'm not a princess."
"Then why are you wearing that?" she asked, gesturing the top of the staff slightly to the pink dress.
"I was at a ball."
"Yes, the Fairytale Ball, full of fairytale princesses."
Maryann frowned. "I think you don't understand. We're not really princesses. We just dress up and pretend. It's supposed to be fun, that's all."
"And where is your shoe?" the fairy asked.
"Oh, I tripped when I fell into this world. It must be sitting outside the door," she answered. "But that doesn't mean anything."
"Have you no understanding of the stories? There are princesses who start out as such, but there are many more who become princesses either by marrying the prince or finding out they were secretly princesses all the while. Your world is confused about the true nature of the fairytale princess. But I am not."
"Who are you?"
She smiled and showed slightly pointed teeth. "Ah, that is the first intelligent thing you have said. I am the bad fairy of course. Isn't it obvious?" she asked, spreading her hands slightly and gesturing at the room. "Unwholesome, dim lighting, cold stone arches, the twisted staff and of course my charming self. Should I have worn black? I thought the dark purple would be dark enough to convey my evil and malice."
"Okay, maybe I am confused," Maryann said. "Every woman was dressed up like this."
"You have a crown, do you not?"
"Well, yeah, but I figured hey, when I am ever going to get a chance to wear a crown? But it's not real. Just rhinestones and glass. And some of the other women wore crowns too."
The bad fairy was now standing in front of Maryann's cage. "I really have no interest in explaining the story to you if you don't understand it. I'm not surprised, of course, as so many fairytale princesses seem to lack the least modicum of intelligence."
"Then how come you lose and the princesses live happily ever after?" she asked sharply.
Ugly purple flames enveloped the fairy. "And you said you didn't know the stories!" she roared.
Maryann backed as far away from her as she could.
The fairy held up her hand for a moment and the flames subsided. "How indeed? It is a question I often ask myself. I think I wouldn't mind losing so much if I didn't lose to such unworthy idiots." She paused. "No, I would still mind losing but at least I would be dignified in my loss."
"So why am I here?"
"To be rescued," she snapped. "Honestly, you are more bubble-headed than many. You will remain there until your Prince Charming comes to rescue you, and then I will destroy you both."
"But, um," Maryann started, and then shut her mouth.
The fairy rolled her solid eyes. "You were going to ask why I thought I would win this time, weren't you?"
"Um, no."
"Oh, yes, you are quite the catch for a Prince Charming. Fortunately, I suppose, they tend to be no more intelligent than princesses. As to your unasked question, well, I'm not going to tell you why I think I can win. It's not as though I think you can thwart me, but I don't feel any need to enlighten you. Anyway, it will all become clear soon enough. Based on past experiences, I anticipate your prince will arrive in about an hour or so, so make yourself comfortable. I'll be back when my trap is sprung," she said with a manical laugh, and then vanished in ugly purple flame.
Maryann started to look over the lock. "I'm not going to wait for some non-existent prince to come rescue me," she thought irritably. She heard a hissing sound and looked up.
Isabella was peering around an open archway at the end of the room opposite the throne trying to get her attention. She had a questioning look.
Maryann deduced she was asking if the fairy was gone, so she nodded.
Isabella, followed by Leah and Nora, jogged up to the cage although they were hampered by the dresses.
"Are you alright?" Nora asked. "That fairy or whatever was pretty terrifying."
"Yeah, and ugly," Leah said. "I've never seen fire the color of severe bruising."
"You saw all that?"
"Yeah," Leah said. "Isabella got the door open really fast. We had to get through the castle, but we heard you talking and knew we were on the right track."
"It was really easy," Isabella said. "Maybe too easy."
"Or maybe this fairy really thinks the dashing prince is really that stupid," Leah offered.
"Can you get me out of this?" Maryann asked.
"I don't know, but I'll try," Isabella replied, looking the lock.
Leah handed Maryann her shoes. "If we have to run, you will totally fall and break your ankle in those."
"Oh, good idea," she said, and immediately exchanged her high heels for sensible shoes. "My feet were killing me anyway. Those look so pretty but I can't wear them for long."
"Leah, is there a screwdriver in that backpack?"
"What? Yeah, I brought the emergency toolkit. Here you go," she said, and handed the small box to Isabella.
"Why did you bring that?" Nora asked.
"I was just trying to bring stuff that could be useful. I just kept thinking of all those horror movies my brothers watched and how if the people had just had some gear maybe they could have lived. I mean, I know they wouldn't have because that's how it goes, but I still thought maybe they could have done better."
"Let me guess; you ended up watching those same movies because your brothers were babysitting you?"
"Yeah. They got in trouble for that, too."
Isabella was busy taking the screws out of the hinges of the cage. "So what are we dealing with here?"
Maryann told them about the fairy.
"That's weird," Leah said. "I mean, it is, isn't it? I actually have no idea if this is weird. I mean, it is. But I don't know if it's weird in context."
The other three stared at her for a moment.
"Well," Isabella finally said, "fairies' motivations don't always make sense to us."
"But she thinks this is really a fairytale?" Leah asked.
"Isn't it, though? You don't have fairytales without fairies," she replied mildly. "There. Help me with this door." She put the screwdriver back, handed the kit to Leah, who put it in the backpack, and then they all carefully opened the door. Maryann hopped out and they set it back so it wouldn't fall and make noise.
They had nearly made out of the throne room when they heard a terrible screech behind them and the open doorway suddenly turned into a solid rock wall.
"What is this! What is this?" the fairy demanded, marching up to them and glowing with fire. "This isn't
right."
"I thought you said I had an hour," Maryann stuttered. The other three were too stunned at actually seeing the fairy to reply.
"Oh, well, yes, so did I, but I decided to come back and torment you a bit more. And here you are sneaking out! Where is the Prince Charming? You-you are being rescued by other princesses?" she snapped, looking completely aghast. "No, wait, they are not princesses, despite their dresses. However, this is absolutely not how the story is supposed to unfold!"
"So can we go?" Maryann asked.
"What?" the fairy stammered. "You can't go! She's supposed to be in that cage until her stupid prince comes bumbling along to save her!" she shouted, pointing the staff at Maryann.
The room erupted in ugly purple fire and suddenly the band found themselves standing in front of the throne, upon which the fairy was now lounging.
"What the hell?" Leah blurted in Spanish, and turning around to see the now open passage well behind them.
"Magic, child, it's magic," the fairy said. "Now, what makes you think you three can come in here and interfere with the story?"
"Um, because there's no story?" Leah said.
The fairy slammed her staff down on the ground with a harsh crack. "No story? No story? Stupid humans. There is nothing but the story! The princess is put in harm's way by the evil fairy and then rescued by the Prince Charming. That's how the story goes. I am the evil fairy and you are the princess."
"But-but you were going to mess up the story yourself!" Maryann protested. "You set a trap and everything!"
"Of course I did, because that's what I do," she replied irritably. "And as much as I detest losing to the inevitably