“Fairy Council?” Alex asked. This world was almost too good to be true.
“Yes, they’re a group of the most powerful fairies of the kingdoms,” Froggy explained. “Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother is one of them, and so is Mother Goose, and all the fairies that blessed Sleeping Beauty when she was a baby are on it, too. They rule the Fairy Kingdom and are the leaders of the Happily Ever After Assembly.”
“Is the Red Riding Hood Kingdom under some sort of punishment, too?” Conner asked. “Why is there a huge wall built around it?”
Alex looked down at the map and back up at Froggy, equally curious.
“That was a result of the C.R.A.W.L. Revolution,” Froggy said.
“What was the crawl revolution?” Alex asked.
“The Citizen Riots Against Wolf Liberty,” Froggy explained. “The Red Riding Hood Kingdom used to be a group of villages in the Northern Kingdom that were constantly under attack by wolves. They begged the Evil Queen—Snow White’s stepmother, who was on the throne at the time—to help them. But the Evil Queen was too occupied with her vanity, so they revolted and started their own kingdom. They built a huge wall around it so no wolves could get in.”
“And now Red Riding Hood is the queen?” Alex asked.
“Yes, she’s the only elected queen in history,” Froggy said. “The villagers figured her story was the most symbolic of their struggle, so they chose her to lead them.”
“But isn’t she just a little girl?” Alex asked.
“No, she’s a young woman now. A very self-obsessed young woman, from what I hear. After all, she named the kingdom after herself! Her grandmother does most of the decision-making while she takes all the credit,” Froggy said. “Unfortunately the C.R.A.W.L. Revolution only led to the rise of the Big Bad Wolf Pack.”
“The Big Bad Wolf Pack?” Conner asked.
“Yes, they’re the descendants of the original Big Bad Wolf. They travel around terrorizing villages and attacking unsuspecting travelers,” Froggy said.
“Oh joy!” Conner said sarcastically. “I’m sorry I asked.”
“But besides that, things are very peaceful throughout the kingdoms,” Froggy said. His voice drifted off, and uncertainty grew on his face. “That was, until a week ago.”
The twins leaned forward.
“What happened a week ago?” Alex asked.
“The Evil Queen escaped from the dungeons of Snow White’s palace,” Froggy told them. “I thought everyone had heard.”
“It’s news to us,” Conner said.
“That can’t be good,” Alex said. “How’d she escape?”
“No one knows,” Froggy said. “She just vanished, along with her Magic Mirror. Snow White’s army has been searching throughout all of the kingdoms for her. They pass through these woods at least twice a day. So far they’ve found nothing, not even a footprint, to lead them in her direction.”
“Do you think they’re going to find her?” Conner asked.
“I hope so,” Froggy said. “She’s a very dangerous woman. She’s the only queen in history to lose her throne; I couldn’t imagine the revenge she must be seeking. Who knows what she’s planning to do next?”
Alex suddenly became very tense. It had just occurred to her that, along with all the characters she had grown up loving, all the ones she hated and feared actually existed, too. It made her feel very uneasy and very unsafe.
The fire in the fireplace began to fade, and Froggy got up to add another log. The twins’ eyes and mouths were wide open, and their heads were spinning from all of this new information.
“Exactly how far away do you live from here?” Froggy asked as he sat back down across from them.
The twins looked to each other, back at Froggy, and then back at each other. They didn’t know what to tell him. Would he believe them if they told him the truth?
“It’s practically a different world,” Conner said. Alex shot him a dirty look and then nervously laughed, trying to make light of what her brother just said.
Froggy wasn’t laughing. He sat straight up in his seat and his face grew very still with an intensity in his eyes, as if he had found the solution to a mystery.
“Interesting,” Froggy said, eyeing the twins back and forth. “Because, if I didn’t know better, just from the way you dress and the way you speak—and the way you were so surprised at basic history—I would say that there was a very good chance you are indeed from a different world.”
They didn’t understand what he was trying to say. Did he know something that they didn’t?
“Just out of curiosity, have you ever heard of another world?” Alex asked him.
“Or, preferably, how to get back to it?” Conner added.
Froggy studied their faces even more intently for a moment. He got up again and went to a bookshelf on the far side of the room. He rustled through the books, looking for something of special interest. Finally, he found it: a small leather-bound journal with a red band around it.
“Have either of you ever heard of the Wishing Spell?” Froggy asked the twins.
Alex and Conner shook their heads. Froggy flipped through the pages of the journal.
“I assumed not,” he said. “It’s a legendary spell comprised of a list of items, and, apparently, when you put the items together, you are granted one wish. It doesn’t matter how extravagant the wish is, the Wishing Spell will grant it. Many people believe that it’s only a myth, and I did, too, until I found this journal.”
“What does that journal have to do with anything?” Conner asked.
“It was written by a man from the Charming Kingdom,” Froggy said. “He managed to discover what these items were, and he recorded his journey to find them. His one wish was to reunite with the woman he loved, and in the journal he claimed she lived in ‘another world.’ ”
Alex and Conner sat straight up. They were sitting on the edges of their seats without realizing it.
“I thought the man writing the journal was crazy. I didn’t believe another world could exist, until I began finding your books, Alex. And then when I saw you bickering in the forest, I knew you two were different,” Froggy said. “I knew you had to be from the place that the man had written about.”
The twins were happy the truth was out. Froggy seemed genuinely excited about the whole thing.
“Did he make it?” Alex asked. “Did the man cross over into the other world?”
“He must have,” Froggy said. “The journal ends when he found the last item.” Froggy handed the twins the journal and took a seat in his chair. “Wherever you’re from, if it’s home that you wish to go back to, I think your best chance is by following this journal.”
The twins went silent for a moment. They stared down at the journal in his hands with immense hope.
“What items does the spell require?” Alex asked.
“All sorts, from all over,” Froggy told her. “But the journal gives great instructions on where and how to find them. Some of them are very dangerous to get to.”
“Of course they are,” Conner said. “Typical.”
“If the spell will grant whatever wish you want, why didn’t you search for the items and wish to be human again?” Alex asked Froggy.
Froggy thought about this for a moment. It was a question he had asked himself many times, and he was ashamed of the answer.
“I’ve kept the journal all these years in case I ever decided to,” Froggy explained with difficulty. “But searching for the items would mean I’d have to face the world looking like this and, frankly, children, that’s something I’m not ready to do. It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do.”
He spoke from a place of deep sadness. Clearly he wasn’t finished learning the witch’s lesson yet.
“It’s getting late,” Froggy said. “Why don’t you sleep on it and decide what you want to do in the morning. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”
“Thank you,” Alex said. “I hope we a
ren’t a bother.”
“No bother at all.” Froggy smiled earnestly.
Froggy got them a large blanket to share. He blew out all the lamps and put out the fire in the fireplace.
Alex and Conner tossed and turned with thoughts of the Wishing Spell all night, but there was no decision to make. If the journal offered a possible way home, they would have to do anything and everything it instructed them to. They had no choice.
They were about to embark on the greatest scavenger hunt of their lives.
CHAPTER SIX
THE DWARF FORESTS
I packed you some food, a couple of blankets, and a few gold coins I’ve been saving,” Froggy told the twins, and handed Conner a sheepskin satchel.
“Thank you so much,” Alex said. “It’s so kind of you!”
“Now, when you say food, what exactly are you referring to?” Conner asked, holding the satchel a safe distance away from him.
“Some rolls and apples,” Froggy told him.
“Oh, good,” Conner said, relieved.
Froggy handed Alex the map and journal they had been looking at the previous night.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Froggy asked them. “You’re both awfully young to be going on a quest like this.”
Alex and Conner looked to each other, each thinking the same thing. It was hard enough to navigate around their own world at their age; could they really travel around a different world altogether without the help of an adult? But the twins found reassurance in each other’s eyes; they knew that, through it all, they’d at least have each other.
“We really don’t have any other choice,” Alex said. “Thank you so much for all your help, Froggy. We would still be lost in the woods without you.”
Froggy smiled widely and nodded.
“Of course,” he said. “I should be thanking you. I rarely have an opportunity to feel so useful.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Alex asked. “A map is great and all, but a tour guide would be better.”
At first, Froggy’s smile grew with excitement as he was tempted by the idea. The thought of traveling out into the world and leaving his hole-in-the-ground home was so alluring, it was clear he could feel the temptation throughout his entire body. However, his fears and insecurities about the outside world seeing him and what he had become erased the opportunity from his mind.
“I can’t, children,” Froggy said with a heavy heart. “But I wish you the best.”
The twins were disappointed, but they understood. It was difficult for them even to go to school with just a small blemish on their faces; they couldn’t imagine the stress of facing the world as an enormous amphibian.
“It’s very important that you get out of the Dwarf Forests by sundown,” Froggy instructed. “Go to the path and travel south into the Corner Kingdom. It’s a few hours’ walk, but you’ll be safer there. Travel as quickly and quietly as you can. Promise me.”
The twins promised. Alex gave Froggy a big hug and kissed his cheek. Conner shook his hand and then wiped it on his pants.
“I hope we see each other again,” Alex told him.
“That would be lovely, but for your sakes, I hope we don’t,” Froggy said, and winked.
Conner clapped his hands. “All right, those items for the Wishing Spell aren’t gonna find themselves,” he said. “Let’s go.”
The twins pushed open the door and climbed up from inside the underground home. As they headed into the forest, Froggy waved good-bye until he was out of their sight. Soon, they were back on the dirt path they had landed on the previous day, and they headed south as they had been instructed.
It was very unnerving for the twins to be alone on the path now that they understood the dangers of the forest. They regretted not trying harder to persuade Froggy into coming with them. They jumped at every tiny sound the trees made.
Alex and Conner remained silent for the first hour or so as they walked, afraid that their voices would attract unwanted attention from some of the creatures Froggy had warned them about.
“We’re very brave,” Alex finally said to her brother, breaking the silence.
“Or very stupid,” Conner said.
The path curved through the forest, revealing new trees and bushes every few feet. After some time had passed, the twins could feel their nerves and tension calm. Their pace became slower and slower the more they walked, as they become more comfortable with being in the forest.
Conner let out a long sigh.
“What’s that for?” Alex asked him.
“I was just thinking,” Conner said. “Alice went to Wonderland after she fell into a rabbit hole. Dorothy’s whole house was scooped up by a tornado that dropped her off in Oz. The Narnia kids traveled through an old wardrobe… and we ended up in the fairy-tale world by falling through a book.”
“Where are you going with this, Conner?” Alex said.
“I’m just saying, it’s kind of lame compared to the others,” Conner said with another sigh. “I wonder if there’s a support group for people like us? You know, people who accidentally travel into other dimensions and whatnot.”
Alex was appalled.
“Do you not get how lucky we are?” she said. “Think about all the things we’re going to see! Think about all the people we’re going to meet! We’re going to be experiencing things no one else in our world ever has!”
Conner rolled his eyes. “I’ll feel lucky as soon as we get back home.”
Alex reached into her bag and pulled out their map. Her eyes became fixated on it, and she only looked up every minute or so to make sure she wasn’t about to walk into a tree. Every few seconds she’d snicker or smile when she discovered something new. She looked like a tourist.
“Shouldn’t we be reading the journal?” Conner asked. “We need to make a list of the Wishing Spell items and find out where we can find them.”
“We will,” Alex said passively. “There’ll be plenty of time for that.”
Conner was getting frustrated with her. Did she not realize how serious the situation was?
“We need to go home,” Conner said. “What are we waiting for?”
“There are just a couple things I would like to see before we go home,” Alex told him.
“What are you talking about?” Conner said, his volume and temper rising.
“We’re in the fairy-tale world, Conner. We should make the most of it while we’re here!” Alex said. “Who else gets the chance to see Cinderella’s palace or Jack’s beanstalk or Rapunzel’s tower in person?”
Conner’s mouth and eyes were wide open. He couldn’t believe what his sister was saying.
“We’re stuck in another world, and you want to go sightseeing?” he said. “Are you hearing yourself right now? Do you know how crazy you sound?”
She stopped walking and turned to face her brother. There was seriousness and desperation in her eyes.
“Conner, the last year of our lives has been horrible. We’ve lost everything but Mom and each other,” Alex said. “Every night, I’ve wished for a fairy godmother to magically appear and make everything better, and now we’re in a place where that is a possibility! I don’t have friends to go home to like you do. The only friends I’ve ever known live here, and I’m not going home until I meet them!”
Alex continued walking down the path. Conner was absolutely dumbstruck.
“Why am I being the logical one?” Conner questioned. “You’re always over-thinking everything! How are you not out of your mind with worry?”
“What’s there to be worried about?” Alex asked with a laugh.
“For starters, what’s Mom gonna do when she finds out we’re missing?” Conner pointed out. “She’ll think we were kidnapped! And she has enough to worry about already!”
Alex knew he was right, but her desire to see the fairy-tale world was so strong that she was able to ignore him.
“All I need is a day or two,” Alex said. “That??
?ll give us plenty of time.”
“How are you so sure these worlds run on the same time schedule?” Conner panicked. “Think about it, the stories of Cinderella and Red Riding Hood have been around for hundreds of years in our world, but it only seems like a decade or less has gone by here since! A couple days here and Mom may be in her eighties when we get home!”
Conner rubbed his head; it hurt from thinking so hard. Alex was listening more than she wanted to. He was practically repeating word for word what the logical voices in her head were saying.
“What if something happens while we’re gone?” Conner asked. “What if we get back and apes or aliens have taken over our planet? If I miss that, I will never forgive you!”
Alex stopped walking and looked up from the map. A very odd expression appeared on her face.
“Didn’t think of that, did you?” Conner asked her, but Alex wasn’t listening to him. Something else entirely had caught her attention.
“Do you smell that?” Alex asked.
“What?” Conner said. “All I smell are trees and dirt.”
Alex took a couple steps further. “No, it’s something else. It’s sweet, like something’s baking.”
Conner sniffed. Sure enough, a scrumptious smell was drifting through the air.
“It smells like… gingerbread!” Alex said. She looked at her brother with large, excited eyes.
“Oh no,” Conner said.
Before he could stop her, Alex took off running into the trees, away from the path, toward the direction the aroma was coming from.
“Alex, wait!” Conner ordered. “Come back! You don’t know where you’re going!”
Alex bolted through the trees, jumping over boulders and bushes as she passed them. The scent became stronger and stronger the farther she strayed from the path. Conner was right behind her, urging her to turn around. Finally, Alex came to a halt, and Conner bumped into her. She had found exactly what she was hoping to see.
A small gingerbread house sat in between two large trees. White frosting covered its pointed roof, gumdrops were clumped around like shrubbery, and candy canes lined the path to the front door like a picket fence.