"Get out of here!" Constance screeched, and before anyone could move, she waved her wand quickly and the four disappeared from the home, leaving Constance and Entropy alone.
There was a moment of darkness before the group felt themselves falling. Sadie remembered this feeling from when her and Noah first arrived in Utopia. She thought briefly that perhaps Constance was sending them home, but remembered that this was impossible.
The group landed in a heap on the forest floor. Noah helped Sadie up quickly, glancing her over to make sure she was okay. The prince flailed around blindly while Ella struggled to help him to his feet. Noah grabbed one of the prince's arms and yanked him up.
"Okay, we're somewhere in the woods, and we don't know how far from the house we are. We need to work fast," Noah began. The group nodded and looked expectantly at Noah. "Alright. Constance said she doesn't have enough power to open the portal. So...let's find her some."
"How do we get her more power?" Sadie asked.
"We can't. But there is more power in this sector that we could try to combine." He explained.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember the wizard, who made you that dress?" Noah reminded.
Sadie was silent for a minute. "You mean, you think he could help us?"
"I think he, and any other witch or wizard in this sector could help us. He can't be the only one. This is Disney, for crying out loud. It's full of magic. We just need to find it." He explained.
"And how do we do that?" Sadie asked.
Noah sighed. "We split up. We look for them. Convince them to help us fight a greater evil. Remind them that if Entropy wins, we die." He explained.
"Oh my," Ella sighed worriedly.
Sadie frowned for a moment before nodding slightly. "Okay. What's the plan, chief?" She asked.
"I think you and Ella should try to find the wizard. You know what he looks like. I'll go with the prince to look for others." He explained. Sadie nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's go," he said, beginning to walk away.
"Wait!" Ella cried, grabbing onto her prince. She gazed at him sadly. "My prince, it seems we have only just gotten together and now we must part ways already," She said, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Noah crossed his arms as he looked over at Sadie. "You sure you're ready for this? We can't mess this up. Like, no forest fires or anything."
"Thanks for the confidence," Sadie snapped.
"My dear Ella, we will fight the enemy and be together again soon enough. I must fight for my people." The prince explained, stroking her hair.
"How noble!" Ella wailed, dropped her head onto his chest.
"Wanna hear a joke?" Noah asked.
"Uh, sure," Sadie said.
"Knock knock,"
"Who's there?"
"Not you, if you mess this up."
Sadie punched him in the arm.
Ella pulled away from the prince, her cheeks tear stained. She sighed. "Well, my prince, in case I never see you again..." She said, and pressed her lips against his.
"Get off of me!" Sadie cried, as Noah had wrestled her to the ground.
"You punched me, you asked for it." He replied, sitting on her.
Ella pulled away and gazed once more at the prince before turning to the teens. Her mouth dropped open as she saw that Noah now had Sadie in a headlock.
"Okay okay, enough goodbye's," Sadie snapped, and Noah let go.
"Is that what was happening?" The prince asked, confused.
Noah straightened up and glanced up at the sky, which seemed to be darkening. "We need to go. Good luck." He said, and walked away, the prince running after him.
"Ready?" Sadie asked Ella, brushing herself off. Ella nodded hesitantly. "Let's go."
***
"Okay, when I met the wizard, he was by the river. He just kind of appeared, but it's the best place to start looking," Sadie explained as she and Ella made their way through the woods. They were still unsure as to where in the forest they were, but Sadie hoped they were not too far away from where they needed to be.
"There!" Ella suddenly cried a few minutes later. Sadie squinted and caught a glimmer of water through the trees.
"Good job!" She praised Ella, and the two ran toward the river. They stopped at the bank to catch their breath, and then looked around.
"What now?" Ella asked, glancing around.
Sadie frowned. "I don't know. Maybe we could try calling him?" She suggested. Ella nodded. "Oh wizard! Please...we need you?" She called timidly, not sure if she was just being ridiculous. "Please, Wizard Man! We need your help!" She tried again.
"Then help I shall," a gravelly voice said suddenly behind them. Sadie and Ella jumped in surprise and whirled around to see an old man standing there. Sadie recognized him as the same wizard who had taken her hair.
"You came! It worked!" She cried.
The wizard shook his head. "No, I was just there picking berries," he pointed to a bush not three feet from the girls. "and I decided to see what was up." He commented.
"Oh," Sadie blushed. The wizard glanced at Ella and then his eyes widened.
"Ella?" He asked. Ella, who had gotten distracted by a passing bunny, focused her eyes on the wizard.
"Wally!" She cried, and leapt over to the man to hug him.
"You know him?" Sadie asked, scratching her head.
Ella beamed. "Oh yes, Wally Wiz and I often pick berries together when I am trying to avoid seeing mother. Oh, Wally, I have so much to tell you!" She cried.
Sadie jumped in. "Wait! Ella, we don't have time for that now," She reminded. Ella pouted but nodded. "Wally, your world is in danger, and we need your magic to help."
Wally raised an eyebrow. "My world?" He asked.
"Um, our world," Sadie amended. Wally frowned. "Anyway, an evil queen named Entropy is trying to destroy our world. She loves power and will do whatever it takes to get it. Including taking magic from people like you." She explained.
Wally sighed. "I always knew someone would become greedy." He said sadly. Sadie raised an eyebrow. "There is endless magic here. Many people with magic powers. Most of us have decided to use it for good, to help people. Others, however, have realized the glory that comes with having such power, and they have used it for evil." He explained.
"So you understand how important this is! You can help us!" Sadie cried. Wally shook his head.
"I'm afraid I cannot. I took a vow, when I became a wizard, that I would only use my magic for good. I cannot use my powers against anyone, no matter how evil." He explained. Sadie groaned while Ella smiled admirably at him. "However," the wizard continued, and Sadie perked up. "I can give you some of my own magic."
Sadie's eyes widened. "You can? How does that work?" She asked.
The wizard grinned. "Easy," He commented, and waved his wand a few times. A wooden box, similar to what a music box would look like appeared on the ground. "In that box is something that can help you. It will become whatever you need it to be, in the moment in which you need it. It can only be used once, though, so be wise in when you use it." He explained. Sadie picked up the box carefully.
"How does it work?" She asked.
The wizard smiled. "Well you see, dear, on the side of the box, see that handle? You wind it up and-" The wizard paused. "Now wait just a minute, I may have given you the wrong..." he trailed off as he snatched the box out of Sadie's hands and began to wind up the box.
"Wait, no!" Sadie cried, covering her face. After a few more winds the top of the box sprung open and a clown bounced out of it, swaying back and forth on an accordion spring. Sadie gaped at the jack-in-the-box while the wizard skipped happily.
"Ooh-ho-ho I do love these toys!" He cried happily, but stopped at Sadie's expression. "My mistake." he said, coughing slightly. He handed the box quickly to Ella, who 'oohed' at it, and waved his wand again. This time, a similar box with intricate gold designs appeared in his hands, and he handed it gracefully to Sadie.
"You're sure this is the right one?" She asked seriously.
"Pretty sure," The wizard offered.
Sadie closed her eyes for a moment, taking a breath. "Okay, how does it work?" She asked, not seeing a handle. The wizard shrugged.
"Beats me!" He cried, and did a heel kick. Sadie frowned.
"Isn't this, like, indirectly using your magic for evil?" She asked skeptically.
The wizard shrugged again. "The way I see it, I am helping you to do something good for others." He explained. Sadie rolled her eyes but didn't question him further.
"Well, thank you very much." She said earnestly. She and Ella turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Wally called, and trotted over to them. "I still need something in return from you." He reminded.
Sadie sighed. "What do you want?"
Wally grinned.
***
"Do you think he'll like it?" Ella cried as the girls ran through the forest.
"Who, the prince?" Sadie asked. Ella nodded. "Sure. I mean, it looks good." She complimented.
"I've never had short hair before!" She cried, and turned to wave at Wally, who was doing a jig far behind them, holding locks of Ella's long blonde hair.
"Thanks for doing that, Ella," Sadie said honestly as they slowed down when they reached the bridge to the village. "You've really surprised me on this trip." She explained.
"In a good way, I hope." Ella said. Sadie smiled and nodded.
"Let's go find Noah and the prince. Maybe with this box, we won't need any other magic," She suggested. Ella nodded in agreement and the girls began to search.
***
"Well, that was a mistake," Noah grumbled, stomping out of the large cave that he and the prince had chosen to inspect. His shirt was torn and a cut above his eyebrow bled steadily. The prince was looking pretty worse for wear. His already damaged body was now limping on both feet, as his other foot had been stabbed with a stick.
"The ogres do like to be left alone. I should have mentioned that." The prince said, shrugging.
"Yeah, you should've," Noah snapped, tearing off a piece of his shirt to press to his wound. He winced at the sting. "Man, that guy can swing a club." He muttered.
"Now what?" Prince Charming asked as they made their way down the hill leading back to the forest.
"We keep looking." Noah said determinedly.
***
"This is highly inappropriate for a prince to be doing," Prince Charming called to Noah as they sprinted across a wide field. His vision had finally improved and he could see much better now, but his hurt feet provided an odd, lopsided run.
Noah ran in front of him and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry dude, but this is the fastest way. Don't worry, I've done it before," He commented, and then focused his gaze on the big animal before him. "Okay, when you get close enough, jump!" He cried, leaping onto the back of the Furgafoon with ease and climbing higher onto its back. The prince followed behind, giving his best leap, but rather than landing high enough on the back to climb up, he simply smacked into its behind and fell to the ground. Noah clenched his jaw to keep from laughing and slid down the Furgafoon to offer the Prince a hand. "Try again!" He called.
The prince backed up and ran at the animal again, leaping a little higher and managing to grasp Noah's outstretched hand. Noah gritted his teeth as he pulled the prince up while trying to keep his footing on the animal's back. "I did it!" The prince cried when he was firmly standing atop the animal. Noah fell back and tried to catch his breath.
"Yeah, you did, good job. But dude, you weigh a ton," He commented, shaking out his arm.
"A prince needs to eat," the man said simply, lifting his head in authority.
"Apparently," Noah grumbled. "Okay, this thing speaks English, so let's get it to take us somewhere. Do you have any idea where we might find someone with magic powers? And let's avoid the ogres this time." He asked.
The prince thought for a moment. "Ah, my castle, probably."
Noah frowned, taken aback. "Uh, what?"
The prince nodded. "We have hundreds of magic beings in our jails. They are a danger to society." He said simply.
Noah gaped at him. "Why didn't you say this before?!" He cried.
"It did not occur to me at the time." He said simply. Noah stared at him a long while before taking a deep breath.
"Okay," he said, trying not to sound too frustrated. "Let's go to the castle."