George had locked me in a grand bedroom. I didn't pay too much attention to the details. It all looks the same. A room fit for royalty. I laid on the bed and cried. How could that monster have killed him? He was my friend. I wanted to grab the key and wish for him to come back. But I knew it wasn't possible. My body just wanted to lay here and surrender to my fate. Once I got back home, George will be my husband. He'll bring me back here to finish destroying everything magical about this place. My mind couldn't bear to picture how this place would look after he redecorated it. I slowly sat up. It felt like all the energy was being drained out of me. I dragged my body out of bed and over to the mirror.
Gazing at my reflection, the blue dress was now covered in black from the smoke. My face was dirty and red from crying. My sad eyes just stared deeply into the mirror. The mirror suddenly began to glow. As I backed away, an image appeared. It was of the jail cell. April was curled up in a corner crying. Sam was in a corner opposite of her, depressed. His face looked like he was ready to give up. Before I could speak, a voice came from the mirror.
Is this what you really want? You want everyone to feel hopeless? To give up? Fight Clara! Call on your allies!
My allies? Who could I possibly call on the help me? My mind thought of the sweet fairy. She helped me before. I'm sure she would be glad to help again. I closed my eyes as my hand grabbed the key. "I need you again. Please hear my call." I slowly opened my eyes. All I could see in the mirror now was my reflection. Tears fell as I took in a deep breath. Maybe she can't hear me? A small pink light started glowing behind me. I turned around. The sweet fairy was there, smiling at me. She had a couple of friends with her. "I need your help." She smiled and nodded. "April and Sam are trapped in the dungeon." The fairies squeaked to each other, then rushed over to the door. I used my body to block them from leaving! "It's not safe for me! He will spot me." All three of them had a small meeting with themselves. Then turned towards me and threw pink dust at me. They danced in a circle around me. As the dust hit me, I shrunk to their size. The leader flew up to me. "Where is Eric? You didn't mention that he was in the dungeon as well."
"Ellie." The other fairy spoke up. Ellie held up her hand. I dropped my head. "He... was burned alive." Tears ran down my face.
Ellie looked away from me. "No tears. We need to save our Princess." She looked back at the two girls. "Caramel and Ally stay with Clara. I will follow ahead and be the look out. They both nodded. I turned to the door and held out my key. A small door was made. I opened it up and walked out. The fairies flew above me. "Where's the dungeon?" Ellie whispered. I pointed in front of us. As they flew away, my mind started thinking of a tune. I remembered it well. Without even realizing, I was dancing instead of walking. My legs leaped in the air and were twirling around in a circle. Faster and faster, I spun. My heart was beginning to fill with joy. Dancing always lifted my spirits up. As we made it to the stairs. Ally picked me up and flew me to the bottom. As she set me on my feet. I lifted my leg in the air and twirled in a circle. We had made it back to the goblins. Ellie was about to charge in front of them. I quickly ran and jumped into sight. They both noticed me on the ground. I started dancing around the floor like a ballerina. They were both hypnotized by my dance. I got on my tip toes and twirled.
Two loud thuds could be heard. When I turned around, they were both on the ground and the door was wide open. Caramel picked me up and carried me down to the dungeon. Ellie grabbed the keys off the wall and flew towards the last cell. I sprinted and leaped towards the end of the dungeon. Twirling around in a circle. This has gone a lot smoother than I expected it to. Once I got to the last cell. Pink dust was sprinkled around me. As I grew to my normal height, I took the keys from Ellie. April quickly stood up. "Clara! You found the sweet fairies!" Her face was full of hope.
Sam stood up and wiped his jacket off. "Good. Ask them if they could spare a gum drop or two. I'm starving." April rolled her eyes at him. I unlocked their cell door. April quickly got out. "We need a plan fast. He's going to know we've escaped." Looking around, if we went back the way we came. We would be sitting ducks. My eyes went to the bare wall next to us. I aimed my key at it. A door appeared. Sam checked behind us. Goblins began rushing towards the dungeon. Their amour clashing could be heard echoing in the stairwell. Ellie flew to April's ear and spoke to her. "What do you mean..." April's voice sounded confused. Ellie started speaking again. April quickly nodded. "Lead us there. Hurry!" The door flew open. The fairies flew down the steps. Sam rushed in front of us. April and I shut the door behind us. Aiming my key towards the door, it vanished. "We don't need to give them hints." I mumbled. The goblins charged into the dungeon.
"Clara, come on." April pulled on my hand. We fast paced down the steps. Once we got to the end, there was a Viking style boat in a river waiting for us. The front of it was in the shape of a sea dragon. My eyes widened. "What is this?"
"My father built it. It's a secret route for us to get out in case of an emergency. This is where I went once the guards and Alexander showed up." We slowly climbed into the boat. Sam went to the front and stood by the head. April and I sat in the middle. The fairies flew ahead of the boat. My mind went to Eric. I remembered when I first came here, I sat next to Eric as we watched April dancing with a prince. My eyes met April's. "When I first came here, who was it you were dancing with?"
She silently pointed at Sam. "He was young then. But he's still a handsome guy. He has more wisdom, I think." Her eyes looked sad. She must have been worried about the King. We weren't able to save him without us running away.
My hand went over hers. "We will get the King back." She gave a small smile. I was going to help them. Even if we had to build up an army to try and knock down his walls. Hopefully we could do this without any bloodshed. The river started to get fogged up. April stood up. "We are close." There was a waterfall up ahead. But instead of water, it was all fog. Sam held on tight to the neck of the boat. We passed under the fog. The sun was shining in our faces. Large mountains covered around the area. The villagers were preparing for war. They had launchers, horses, pistols. The other villagers were going about their day as normal. The sweet fairies were standing by the solders squeaking pointing at something. April saw my face and laughed. "The sweet fairies are giving them spicy gumdrops. If the goblins eat them, they will explode." I raised my eyebrow at her.
Sam glanced back and held his stomach. "Worst thing they can do to us is make us stay close by the can." He shuddered as he turned his head back. April slowly rolled her eyes. The boat stopped at the dock. A guard stood there and held out his hand. April took it. They bowed before her. "Your highness, everything is going to plan."
"Excellent. Sorry it took us so long. Someone had to regain their hope again." April turned around and winked at me. Sam climbed out of the boat. A guard held out his hand for me. As I was pulled out of the boat, something familiar caught my eye. I squinted to try and get a better look. My eyes couldn't believe it. Eric was standing by the horses, feeding them carrots. I took a single breath then started running. My heart was pounding in my ears. Eric turned around and smiled at me. My legs wouldn't stop running. I was too relived to see him. I ran straight into him and caused him to fall to the ground. Eric held me in his arms. I cried into his wooden vest. "I thought you were dead. I've never felt so guilty."
He smiled and laughed a little. I pulled away from him confused. "I thought you knew." I turned around; April stood there. "She thought you were dead. That's why it took us forever."
Eric stood up. Then pulled me to my feet. I wiped my tears away. "It looked like the flames engulfed you. I thought that George had won."
April raised her eyebrow. "Who is George?"
"Alexander and George are the same person. George is her arraigned marriage." Eric spoke as if he was annoyed by that. April held a piece of her hair in between her fingers. "Are we almost ready?" They started walking together. There was a tug on my sleeve. Ellie pulled me away. She smiled at me. A couple of woman villagers walked up to me. They were holding a dress. They quietly passed it to me. Before I could thank them, they left. I held it up. It was the same dress I had on when I faced Astra in the woods. Except this time, it was torn on the bottom. For me to be able to move easier. The sleeves were torn off halfway. I quickly got an idea. I raced over to the soldiers. "Do you guys have an extra pair of boots?" They stared at me silently.
I stepped outside of the building wearing my torn-up dress. A hat that reminded me of the nutcrackers, which I used the key to make and the black boots. I also had to create a belt so I could have a sword hanging off of it. Two guards saluted me when I stepped out. Everyone looked prepared. Well almost, everyone was moving quickly. Sam ran past me. "Clara!" I quickly caught up to him. His eyes met mine. He kept running. I tried to keep up with him as best as I could. He leaped over a barrel. I did the same. I didn't even know why we were running. Out of the corner of my eye, was April. She was riding a horse. She was holding reins to a second one. Without stopping, she passed me the reins. I jumped and hoped up on the horse. We raced around the village. She took a couple of sharp turns, but I was still able to keep up. A hanging sign was about to knock me off, so I jumped and landed on the ground. Over by a gazebo, Ellie was dancing in the air. She motioned for me to join her. Which I did. I danced my way over to her. On my tip toes, I twirled, leaped. My arms went up into the air as I twirled. I wish I could keep dancing. The world started shaking. I closed my eyes, trying to get everything to go back to normal.
"Wake up! Clara!" My body was shaking. April was leaning over me. I sat up; my head was hurting. "What happened?"
Sam stood there with his arms crossed. "You ran into a barrel and passed out." April helped me stand up. "What happened before that?" I asked.
"We were racing, I tried to cheat by hopping over a barrel. I didn't expect for you to do the same thing." Sam shrugged.
April crossed her arms. "This isn't a time to play anyways. We are at war." From across the river, Eric was talking to a group of men. My thoughts began to wander. Did I feel something more with him? Or was it all just my imagination getting to me? I was so worried that he was dead. But over thrilled to see him alive. Shaking my head, I snapped out of those thoughts for now. April led me over to a bed where I could rest for the night. It was getting darker. The villagers began lighting their torches. April led me to a tent. She smiled at me. "I like what you did with your dress. I just hope you don't lose your faith again."
I nodded. "Thank you, April. I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you are." She shook her head. Sam was heading our way. Eric came up behind him and touched his shoulder. Sam turned around and they started talking. April was smiling. "I think he's turning back to the prince I first knew and loved." I couldn't keep my eyes off Eric. How I wished he was human again. How I wished George would just vanish. Everything would be normal again. April saw my face. "What's wrong Clara?" I waved my hand. It seems silly to have a crush on someone made out of wood. Was it a crush? Did he feel the same as well?
"I just want things to go back to before. Without Alexander here." I had to say his real name. George was just a name in my world. April raised her eyebrow; her index finger was on the side of her mouth as if she was thinking. Sam touched her shoulder. "Council wants to meet us." April nodded. They left together. Eric walked up to me. Our eyes met. My cheeks started blushing. He's been my friend ever since I saved him from the mouse king. Yet here I am, wishing he was human...
Eric cleared his throat. "How is your head?" Before I could answer his question, the ground began to shake. The villagers were waiting. The ground beneath our feet began to crack. Screaming could be heard. People were running in panic, was all I could hear over the crackling. The ground parted at our feet. Eric grabbed me and pulled me over to his side. Some of the houses were cracking. April rushed over to the center and held up a staff made out of sweets. She twirled it and jammed it into the ground. The cracking went on for another minute before stopping. A light glowed in every crack as they were sealed up. April pulled the staff out of the ground. She glanced over at us, then at her people. "We need to prepare for tomorrow."
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