A World of Another Kind

Chapter 6 The Urn and the Sword

     "And you," replied Grumpy as he respectfully took his hat off, revealing his bald head, and he dipped his head. "These are my good friends, Aubrey and Kaylee."

     "It is a pleasure to meet you," said the Blue Fairy, turning back to Aubrey and me. "Now, what can I do to help you? I feel you are in great need."

     "It's this," I replied, unwrapping the urn from a cloth.

     Immediately, the fairy's face drew up into surprise. "Where did you get that from? How did you come to have such a powerful and unpredictable object in your possession?"

     We told the whole story in fine detail. "So do you know exactly what this object is capable of doing?" I asked.

     "I may know of this urn, but unfortunately, I do not know of its exact purpose," replied the fairy. "It may have more than one use. I do not know what Rumpelstiltskin plans to use this object for. I am glad you came to me when you did, and I have a solution to rid of it for good."

     "Well, what is it?" Grumpy asked.

     "The solution must be sought out," Blue began. "It is an ancient sword of great power, which is capable of destroying any powerful object. It once belonged to a power sorcerer, Nayu, who hid it away from selfish hands. Legend has it that only those who possess a pure heart, a heart of innocence and selflessness, are the ones who are capable of procuring the sword." Then the fairy turned her gaze to Aubrey and me. "You two are the ones who will be able to procure it since you two are what I sense, purehearted. I know a pure heart when I see one. You must go find this sword, but take heed; do not let Rumpelstiltskin nor Regina get this sword in their possession. Even if the sword contains light magic, good magic, it can still be used for dark purposes. You will have to guard it carefully."

     "How do we find this sword?" I asked.

     Blue suddenly appeared a map into her hand. "This map will be your guide. It will lead you to a sea cave where the sword lies. I wish you both well." Then she handed us the map. "Oh, and take this for protection against any dangers on the way," she added, handing us a pouch full of sand. "All you have to do is throw the sand onto any foe, and it will do the rest."

     "Thank you, Blue," I said, dipping my head. "You have helped us out so much."

     "It is my pleasure to help anyone in need," Blue replied.

     "Anyway, how did you get a map to the sword's location?" Aubrey curiously asked.

     "I actually had a dream of the sword's location a long time ago," Blue replied. "And because I knew this dream was real and very important, I created the map, knowing it would be needed in the future. All fairies have real and prophetic dreams; it's part of our power, and those dreams are never wrong. I believe I had this dream about the sword's location because you two may be the destined ones to find the sword, which makes me the one fated to make your destiny possible, part of my purpose as a fairy."

     "Wow," I responded with surprise.

     "Oh, and there's something else I want to ask," Aubrey added. "I'm just curious, but do you by chance have any magic beans or know if any are located somewhere?"

     "Unfortunately, I do not possess magic beans anymore; for I gave my last one away long ago," the fairy replied. "And about the location of any known beans, I cannot answer. I am sorry that I cannot be of more help. But I wish you the best in finding one."

     "Thank you," I replied appreciatively, but felt disappointed. And I could tell Aubrey was disappointed too by her expression.

     "Now go and do good by destroying this dangerous object," said Blue. "I wish you both much success in your endeavors." Then she minimized her size and fluttered away in a blue, glowing form until she vanished.

     "You know, I was once in love with a fairy, but that is a story to tell another time," Grumpy said, sighing in deep thought. "I also wish you both much success on your journey. I can guarantee it won't be an easy one though. I will keep this urn hidden for the time being."

     We mounted horses and galloped away through the forest. Suddenly, a sound of rolling carriage wheels and the clunking of horses' hooves were heard on the road outside the forest. It was what I thought, the queen's carriage. The carriage stopped and the queen stepped out. Thankfully, we were too far in the forest to be noticed. As we slowed our horses' pace into a walk, I spotted a woman up in a tree, and she appeared to be observing the queen. I halted my horse and stared up at the mysterious woman. She must be hiding from the queen, I thought.

     "What are you looking at?" Aubrey asked, trying to direct her gaze to match mine.

     "See that woman in the tree?" I said, pointing. "She may be the queen's victim."

     Suddenly, Regina started to speak, and we watched her from a distance. She confronted the poor, frightened village members. "Apparently, I caught one of my valuables being stolen, and I know who the culprits are. Fellow people, if you ever sight young, twin girls about this tall and with long, brown hair, report to me at once and you will be rewarded. But if I find out that any of you are hiding those thieving rascals, you will be punished. Do I make myself clear, people?" The people started to nervously murmur to each other. Men cursed the queen and women clutched their crying babies. "At least one of you must have seen them," the queen added, staring around accusingly. The people backed up sheepishly, shaking their heads. "If no one will admit, then I will just have to demonstrate the punishment." Suddenly, Regina started to levitate a man off the ground, using her dark magic, then she began choking him. The people shrieked.

     "Stop, you monster!" cried a woman who was probably the man's wife. "Don't do this! We don't know where they are. I beg mercy, Your Majesty. Spare my husband!"

     "Sorry, woman, I'm not the merciful sort; for I only enjoy watching others suffer," the Evil Queen responded, laughing menacingly. Then she killed the man instantly, and the village people stood back in horror, gasping.

     The woman ran over to her dead husband's side, shrieking and sobbing violently. "How could you! You are a monster!" she cried out in rage.

     Regina laughed. "Is that so? Well, I wouldn't be sparing the rest of you if I was, so that doesn't make me such a monster, does it." The queen then turned around and hopped back into her carriage, and the carriage rolled away.

     "That was dark," I remarked, turning to Aubrey. "She is the Evil Queen after all. We are now her next victim."

     "Regina is so ruthless; just look how she oppresses those people," Aubrey returned, sighing with a sad shake of her head.

     I then looked up, and the mysterious woman hiding in the tree was no longer there. She's stealthy, I thought to myself. "Well, let's get the move on," I urged.

     After journeying a few miles, we arrived at a stone bridge that crossed over a canyon. It was a far drop below. As we were about to cross over, suddenly, some stony-faced creatures started to climb up the sides of the canyon then climbed onto the stone bridge. Immediately, they jumped in front of us which startled us and our horses. Our horses reared, causing us to fall off, and they galloped away. The stony monsters were huge and hideous; they had long, matted, scraggily hair; and they had lower, jutting teeth. They started surrounding us, grunting menacingly. "What are you doing on our bridge?" one asked in a gruff voice.

     "Oh great, bridge trolls," I muttered sarcastically.

     "We do no harm, so please let us pass by," Aubrey pleaded.

     "Pay up first," demanded one.

     "We don't have money, but we have this," said Aubrey, taking out the pouch of magic sand. Then she threw the sand onto some of the trolls, and they immediately transformed into stone. The other bridge trolls, now fearful, stepped back and dropped their weapons. Then they let us by. We crossed and reached the other side. "Phew, that was scary," Aubrey said. "Those trolls are hideous."

"Good thing we had this sand with us," I replied, holding up the pouch.

"Definitely," Aubrey said with relief. "Well, it looks like the horses are gone." She sighed. "We have a long way ahead of us on foot."