Finding Alex | TLOS

Ch.3

The Happily Forever After Assembly gathered in the main lounge of The Fairy Palace, AKA the new library. Bree and Conner were exhausted after delivering the letters, but they were able to come down after a nap.

On the other side of the room, Queen Cinderella cradled her eight month old daughter, Destiny. Hope, Ella's eldest, sat unhappily beside her mother. She wasn't yet adjusted to all the attention placed on her sister.

"Emerelda?" Cinderella called with a frown on her face. "Are we going to start? Or are we just going to sit here doing nothing?"

Gasps erupted across the room. No one had ever seen Cinderella be so demanding...so rude!

King Chance laughed nervously and patted Cinderella on the back, which tearfully accepted his acknowledgement and leaned in close to him. "Destiny has been crying a lot lately, and we haven't gotten much sleep. Sorry about that everyone."

Everyone nodded in understanding; a couple of them have already gone through that.

Emerelda cleared her throat, getting ready to speak. "To answer your question, Ella, we will get started. As you all know from the letter we sent out to your fine homes, Alex Bailey has gone missing. Bree, Conner, care to explain more thoroughly?" she glanced at the adolescents.

Bree nodded, taking the lead. She knew Conner was too deep in thought to even listen to what Emerelda was saying, let alone speak about Alex. "It was just a random day, really. Alex had been very moody lately, but I suspected it was just school struggles that were keeping her down.

"Alex, Conner and I always walk home from campus together, but that day, however, she hadn't showed up. We suspected something was up, and that's when the storm hit. Lightning struck right above our campus and people screamed.

"We realized that this wasn't any ordinary storm, Alex had created it!" Bree gulped, the sudden attention overwhelming her. She took a deep breath and continued.

"When we rushed into the dormitory we realized her door was locked! We were afraid she was hurt! Conner and I already suspected she was going to do something rash, but when we broke into her room we were shocked.

"The window was wide open and cracked, and books were sprawled across the floor. They were all ripped and open and also we found this-" Bree fished through her pocket and pulled out The Portal Potion.

"It was open and almost all of it was used. Conner noticed that it was the potion that The Masked Man had used to travel into the literary books." Bree sighed in relief, she was done.

The tension in the room was incredibly thick. No one spoke. Everyone was too surprised to even comprehend what was going on. The Greatest Fairy Alive was now missing. How was this possible? How had they let her slip under their grip?

Destiny started wailing, and Cinderella immediately filed out of the room. It was good Destiny had begun to cry, although it did startle most monarchs. King Chance stayed with Hope.

Red suddenly raised her hand, as if she was back in school. "What are we going to do?" She asked. Her voice was filled with worry for her friend. "How are we ever going to find Alex?"

Conner stood up, now attentive. "I say we order up the armies of the kingdoms and send them to search for Alex in the literary books! It may take a long time, but someone ought to find her sooner or later." He suggested, determined to find his sister. He hated feeling like this. He didn't know if Alex was hurt, or if she was okay!

Emerelda shook her head, her hands up. "Before we go to extreme measures, I suggest we wait."

"But for how long?" Conner interrupted. "I'm not waiting any more than a week for Alex! If she wants time alone, fine, she'll just need to stay put while she's at it!"

Emerelda gave a slight glare in Conner's direction. She was getting to that. "Say a week," she said. "If we don't hear from Alex by then, I believe that Conner's idea isn't bad."

The rest of The Happily Forever After Assembly agreed that that was the best thing to do. They all trekked out of the room and to their respective chambers.

****

Conner roamed around the palace, his frustration growing with every step he took. It had already been three days, and still no sign of his sister. He had tried to call her, to signal her somehow, but his call went on deaf ears. Alex wasn't listening. Conner's eyes drooped, and he realized he was getting tired, so he went to his bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. He was a little lonely, and he felt quite sad. Conner hadn't talked to Bree for a while, and he didn't even know where she was wandering about. A sudden determination filled his body, and Conner sprung out of the room in search for Bree.

On the other side of the palace, Bree found herself in a dark hallway. She had been walking around the palace to clear her thoughts. She hadn't been able to sleep. Bree found this hallway whilst looking for the kitchen.

Bree slowly walked down the hallway, until she came to the door at the end. The door was a dark brown, with a golden knob. Turning the knob, it squeaking delightfully, Bree entered what seemed like a deserted library. It was terribly dusty and made Bree cough. Bree knew that the library was being renovated, but she had never known of an old one. It seemed like no one had been there for a long time, or hadn't bothered to clean it.

Bree spent a little while roaming around, checking out the titles and descriptions of books that sounded interesting. Finally, she made her way to the last bookshelf in the corner of the library by a dusty old window. Bree ran her fingers along the top of the bookshelf, when a big bang sounded and a book fell on her head. Groaning, Bree picked up the book that had fallen on its back on the floor. Bree blew, and the dust came off of the book. She dropped the book in surprise, her eyes growing wider. On the cover, it read; Alex Bailey

Bree scanned the room to look if anyone was watching her. She carefully flipped the delicate page to Alex's first diary entry.

Dear Diary,

Today was boring. I went to school. I learned some interesting facts, which I wrote down, of course. But I won't bore you with them, because you're a gossip journal, not a school one.

Sincerely, Alexandra Bailey

Bree stared at the writing of her friend for a while. It didn't seem like anything was wrong then. She flipped to the middle of the book.

Dear Diary,

Today was his birthday. I cannot believe I missed it. I wish on all the stars that I could be with him today. But that's not possible. I miss him so much, though. I told him to leave me, and I'm stupid for that. But I was young, and I had my whole life ahead of me. If I could re-do anything, I would stay with him forever. All I want to do is leave my world and go into his. I'll do it someday, don't you worry, diary. I just have to wait for the right time.

Sincerely, Alexandra Bailey

Bree's thoughts were swarming in her head with all the new information. Where does Alex want to return to? Who is he?

With one silent promise to be back in the morning, Bree hid the book and left the room.