A Grimm Warning

  “Grandma, I know you think I’m ready to be the Fairy Godmother, but I’m not,” she cried. “How to defeat a dragon is only one of the many things I still need you to teach me! If there is a little magic left in you, I need you to wake up! We need you more than ever!”

  Alex listened for a sound different from that of the chaos outside but didn’t hear one. She waited for a whole minute but nothing came. She wiped her tears on the mattress and looked up at her sleeping grandmother—but her grandmother was gone!

  “Grandma?” Alex asked in astonishment, and looked around the chambers. “Grandma?”

  She glanced at the nightstand and saw her grandmother’s wand was missing, too. The Fairy Godmother had left the room without making a sound.

  Once the dragon had dealt with the unicorns, he sped toward the palace. His wings spread out on either side as he went in for the attack.

  “What do we do now?” Jack asked the men and women around him.

  Conner was the only one to respond. “Pray,” he said.

  Mother Goose took a giant swig from her flask and walked toward the oncoming dragon. “I’m going to distract it—the rest of you run for the forests!”

  “You can’t! You’ll get crushed!” Conner pleaded.

  Mother Goose looked back at him. “It’s all right, C-Dog,” she said with sad eyes. “It’s my fault this even happened in the first place—it’s time I took a little responsibility.”

  Before she could take another step forward, the dragon roared violently and the sound knocked everyone to their knees. As they helped one another to their feet they heard a familiar voice behind them.

  “Step aside, Goose. Slaying dragons was never your cup of tea,” said a woman’s soft and sweet voice. Everyone turned to look at the top of the Fairy Palace’s front steps and couldn’t believe their eyes.

  “Grandma?” Conner panted.

  The Fairy Godmother had appeared, wearing nothing but her nightgown. “Forgive my appearance; I only just woke a few moments ago and didn’t have time to dress for the occasion,” she apologized.

  The dragon stopped in his tracks when he saw the Fairy Godmother. She was the only thing that intimidated him in the slightest—as if it was in his DNA to fear her. He roared at her, knocking everyone back to the ground except for the Fairy Godmother.

  She walked barefoot down the steps and into the gardens toward the gigantic beast with her wand ready. Alex ran out of the palace and joined Conner at the front steps. She gasped and dropped to a seated position when she saw what the others were witnessing.

  The sight was unbelievable—their tiny grandmother gingerly walked toward a massive fire-breathing dragon as if she were taking a trip to the grocery store.

  “Grandma! Wait! You can’t do this!” Conner yelled.

  “Grandma, you’re sick! Please come back!” Alex cried after her.

  Their grandmother looked at them with a twinkle in her eye. “Don’t worry, children, I still have a little magic left inside me and I couldn’t think of a better way to use it,” she said. “This is going to be fun.”

  The men and women, soldiers and fairies, kings and queens, and trolls and goblins watched in disbelief as the old woman walked closer to the dragon. The giant creature screeched at the Fairy Godmother and blew a fiery geyser in her direction. She blocked it with her wand and the fire was sent in all directions except to the palace behind her.

  “You’ve picked the wrong yard to make a mess in,” the Fairy Godmother said to the dragon.

  “Don’t just sit there—destroy her!” the Masked Man demanded from the other side of the gardens.

  The dragon blew his strongest gusts of fiery breath at the old woman, but she blocked every one of them with her wand. The twins clutched each other, terrified they were about to see their grandmother get hurt, but on the contrary, their grandmother laughed as the dragon attempted to harm her.

  “The key to slaying a dragon is to always remember you’re much smarter and more powerful than he is,” the Fairy Godmother called to the men and women behind her. “He may seem scary, but he’s really nothing but a large winged reptile with horrid breath.”

  A long silvery trail erupted from the tip of the Fairy Godmother’s wand. She happily waved her wand in the air as if she were conducting an orchestra and the trail slashed through the air like a giant whip. The trail grew longer and longer by the second. The dragon jumped back and forth, trying to avoid it. Eventually the trail was so long the dragon tangled himself in it when he tried flying away.

  The Fairy Godmother had the dragon exactly where she wanted him. She cracked her wand like a whip again, and the trail that was wrapped around the dragon grew brighter and brighter. The others covered their eyes at the blinding sight and the dragon burst into clumps of ash.

  “NOOOOO!” the Masked Man screamed, and the sound echoed throughout the entire kingdom. He turned back to the Grande Armée soldiers with infuriated eyes—it was a face much more frightening than any the general had ever made. “Don’t just stand their gawking at me, you idiots! We need to get out of this kingdom immediately!”

  None of the soldiers questioned the Masked Man’s leadership, and they hurried behind him and escaped into the forest before the fairies came after them.

  The Fairy Godmother took a deep, satisfied breath and closed her eyes. Her knees gave way and she slowly fell to the ground, landing softly on her back.

  “GRANDMA!” the twins shouted in unison. They ran to her side and propped her head up in their laps.

  “Grandma, are you all right?” Conner asked.

  “Are you hurt?” Alex asked.

  Their grandmother smiled warmly up at them. “I thought I would go out with a bang,” she said weakly. “I knew there was a reason I hadn’t passed on yet, and I’m so glad you got to see your old granny in action before I did.”

  “Grandma, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” Conner said.

  “You’re amazing, Grandma,” Alex said. “Please don’t leave us.”

  “Leave?” their grandmother said, and she made a funny face at them. “Who said anything about leaving?”

  “Aren’t you dying?” Conner asked her softly. “Isn’t that why you wouldn’t get out of bed?”

  The Fairy Godmother put her hands on her grandchildren’s faces. “Yes, children, I am dying,” she said. “But what the other fairies didn’t explain is that a fairy never really dies. When a fairy’s time is up, his or her soul simply returns to magic. They become the very substance that helps the fairies make the world a better place. Even when I’m gone I’ll still be with you both. Every time you wave a wand, or cast a spell, or use an enchantment, I’ll be watching from afar with enough pride to light the sky.”

  Tears spilled out of the twins’ eyes and rolled down their faces. Their grandmother’s voice gradually became softer and softer as she spoke. They weren’t sure if this was true or if she was just trying to make them feel better, but they knew it would only be a few moments before she was gone.

  “We love you so much, Grandma,” Alex said. “I don’t know what our lives would have been like without you.”

  “Boring, that’s for sure,” Conner joked. “You were the most magical grandmother a couple kids could ask for—literally! I think you pretty much have that title in the bag.”

  The twins saw their grandmother’s trademark smile that wrinkled her eyes appear one last time on her face. It was the same smile as their dad’s, and it was their favorite smile in the whole world.

  “I love you, children,” she said. “Take care of each other—and remember, I’ll never be further than a thought away.”

  The Fairy Godmother’s eyes closed for the final time. Her body became weightless in their hands and transformed into hundreds of bright sparkling lights. The lights floated through the air and joined the starry night sky above them.

  Alex and Conner had never seen anything like it. Even as she passed away, their grandmother found a way to l
eave the twins fascinated—perhaps she had indeed returned to magic after all. The twins hugged each other and cried in each other’s arms as the sun rose above them. The Fairy Godmother was gone, but the Fairy Kingdom had lived to see another day.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  RETURNING TO MAGIC

  A beautiful ceremony was held the following night in what was left of the fairy gardens. It celebrated the lives lost during the war and was attended by all the fairies in the Fairy Kingdom and all the citizens who wished to join from the neighboring kingdoms.

  Special tributes were paid to Gator, Queen Little Bo Peep, and the Fairy Godmother. Plaques were placed in the gardens bearing Little Bo’s and Gator’s names and a giant statue of the Fairy Godmother was erected at the front steps of the Fairy Palace. Conner was pleased to see it was an exact likeness of his grandmother, and wasn’t made taller or more muscular like the memorial he had envisioned for himself.

  The ceremony reminded the twins of their father’s funeral, but this time, thankfully, all the attention wasn’t on them. They shared this loss with the fairy-tale world and were able to mourn with everyone they knew. The incredible impact their grandmother had left on the Land of Stories could be seen in the eyes of all the people who attended the ceremony. Gratitude radiated from their faces as much as grief.

  Everywhere Alex went, people bowed to her and referred to her as the Fairy Godmother. It was going to take her time to get used to it.

  Alex asked the kings and queens to stay an extra day so she could hold her first official Happily Ever After Assembly meeting as Fairy Godmother the day after the ceremony. The war was over but there were still so many battles ahead—private and public.

  Bree and Emmerich asked Conner and Alex if they could stay for the ceremony but agreed with the twins that they should go home as soon as it was over. They didn’t want their parents to worry any more than they already had.

  “I am so going to be grounded when I get home.” Bree laughed. “Too bad my parents would never believe the truth—they might go easy on me.”

  “What will you tell them?” Conner asked her.

  Bree shrugged. “That I fell in love with a circus clown and followed him around Europe,” she said. “We know it can happen.”

  “Would you mind letting my mom and stepdad know where I am?” Conner said. “They’ll probably know already—Alex and I aren’t strangers to going missing now and then.”

  “Sure,” Bree said. “Maybe they can talk to my parents and soften the blow of my punishment. They can tell them what a horrible influence you are or something.”

  A playful smile appeared on Emmerich’s face. “I bet all the kids in Füssen are so worried about me,” he said. “I’m going to tell them I was kidnapped by secret agents—which isn’t that far from the truth.”

  “What will you tell your mom and dad?” Bree asked.

  “It’s just my mom and me,” Emmerich said. “I never knew my dad. But when my mother was a little girl my grandfather used to tell her about strange things he had seen in Neuschwanstein Castle. She probably wouldn’t even be too surprised if I told her the truth. I’ll still have to do dishes for months regardless of where I was, but it was worth it! Even though my life was put in danger several times, I’ve never had so much fun!”

  “I agree,” Bree said. “This has certainly been the adventure of my life.”

  That night Conner, Bree, and Emmerich followed Mother Goose to one of the tallest towers of the Fairy Palace. The circular room was very dusty and cobwebs stretched between walls. Clearly no one had been up there in a very long time. An empty archway was the only thing standing in the tower.

  “This was one of the original portals we used to travel into the Otherworld during the heyday of fairy tales,” Mother Goose told them. “Those were the good old days.”

  Conner put his arms around Bree and Emmerich. “You know, now that you two have seen the fairy-tale world, it’s your responsibility to help us keep fairy tales alive in the Otherworld,” he said.

  Both were excited about the task. Having this responsibility made them feel like they were taking a piece of the Land of Stories back with them.

  “I think I’m up for that challenge,” Bree said.

  “Me too!” Emmerich said.

  Mother Goose pulled a lever on the wall and a transparent blue curtain appeared in the doorway. It was bright on the other side of the curtain and Conner recognized the zone of light between the two worlds.

  “Looks like the old portal is back in action,” Mother Goose declared.

  “Where does it lead to?” Emmerich asked.

  “Somewhere in the Netherlands,” Mother Goose said but then second-guessed herself. “Or was it Nevada? Oh well, just ask someone once you get there. Let’s make this quick. I’m not getting any younger despite the potions I drink.”

  Conner hugged his friends a bittersweet good-bye.

  “Thank you both so much for helping me get here,” he said. “I promise to visit you once we get everything straightened out here.”

  “I’ll miss you, Herr Bailey,” Emmerich said. He didn’t want to leave.

  “Take care, bud,” Conner said.

  Emmerich was first to step through the curtain and disappear into the Otherworld. Bree lingered by the archway before following him. Just saying good-bye didn’t seem good enough.

  “I’ll see you around” was all she mustered.

  “Yeah, definitely,” Conner said, and looked around the tower as he blushed.

  Bree kissed his cheek and stepped toward the portal. Conner was feeling a little daring since he knew he wouldn’t be seeing her anytime soon, so he decided to send her off with a secret.

  “Hey, Bree,” he said. “Before you go, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  Conner scrunched his whole face as he told her. “After a lot of thought and self-reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that I might—possibly—maybe—do have a crush on you,” he admitted.

  Bree laughed. “I know you do,” she said. “And by the way, I have a crush on you, too.” She winked at him and quickly stepped through the curtain before either of them could say another word.

  Conner’s mouth dropped open and his heart felt like it was going to flutter out of his chest. He was happy and confused at the same time. If they both liked each other, what happened next? It was an electrifying yet misery-inducing mystery and Conner didn’t know what to do with himself.

  Mother Goose turned the lever and faced Conner with a very serious expression in her eyes. “C-Dog, I’ve got to talk to you.”

  “I know,” Conner said bashfully. “I don’t know how to talk to girls—but in my defense, Bree is the first girl I ever met that I understood whatsoever!”

  She stared at him peculiarly. “Puppy love has nothing to do with what I’m about to say,” she said. “It’s about the portal in Neuschwanstein Castle the three of you traveled through. There was a minor detail I forgot to mention when I was telling you about it.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, trying to think of what she could be referring to. “We were stuck in it for a couple days but once the portal opened all the way we got here pretty smoothly.”

  “That’s the thing—you weren’t meant to,” Mother Goose explained. “I told the Brothers Grimm to lead the Grande Armée into the Bavarian portal because I had bewitched it. I enchanted it so only someone of magic blood could travel through it easily. Any mortal traveling through it would be stuck inside for two hundred years; that’s how we trapped the Grande Armée. You would have traveled here without a hitch, but if Bree and Emmerich were mortal they would still be in it.”

  Conner’s eyes blinked rapidly as he wrapped his head around what she was saying. “Are you telling me that Bree and Emmerich have magic in their blood?”

  “That’s the only explanation,” she said. “Although I don’t know how it’s possible.”

  Conner thought for
a moment. An answer surfaced in his mind, based on all the information he had acquired during their journey.

  “Wait, the lion statue told us you transferred some of your blood into Wilhelm Grimm’s so he could play the panpipe and access the portal,” he said.

  “That’s right,” she said.

  “Then is it possible Bree and Emmerich are descendants of Wilhelm Grimm?” he asked.

  Mother Goose nodded as she pondered the conclusion. “Anything is possible,” she said.

  It was mind-boggling. Magic always worked in mysterious ways but it was astonishing that Conner had somehow crossed paths with the two people out of billions in the Otherworld who had magic in their blood. Bree and Emmerich must have been destined from birth to find the Land of Stories, just as Alex and Conner were.

  “But if they’re not related to Wilhelm Grimm, I wonder how else magic became a part of their DNA,” Mother Goose said. “Someone else may have slipped between dimensions undetected in the past… but who?”

  Alex walked through the halls of the Fairy Palace alone. It had been a very long and sad day and she desperately wanted to find a place she could be by herself. Regardless of her quest, Alex was faced with unwanted company when someone popped out from behind a pillar and startled her.

  “Hello, Alex,” Rook said.

  He was the last person she wanted to see. “What are you doing here?”

  “I snuck into the palace to see you,” he told her. He adjusted his right arm, which was in a sling. He had received an injury fighting the dragon with the unicorns.

  “I heard about you and the unicorns,” Alex said. “How is Cornelius?”

  “He’s fine,” Rook said. “He chipped his horn in the fall but you can’t really tell.”

  “It was very brave of you and I’m thankful,” she said. “There’s a witch named Hagetta in the Dwarf Forests. Take your father to her. Tell her I sent you and she’ll heal both of your wounds—but I can’t help you anymore. I meant what I said in the gardens, I don’t want to see you again.”