My Sort of Fairy Tale Ending (7 page)

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of nothingness, and finally it was night. I tried to stay awake so I'd be ready when Luken came, and also to keep from having any other weird dreams. No such luck.

My eyelids got impossibly heavy, and I slipped into another dream that felt like real life.

This time, I was in the middle of the very first adventure I'd ever been sent on. I was in a charred forest, trying to convince the dragon king to stop fighting with the pixies over pieces of furniture. Suddenly, Aunt Evie appeared and accused me of hiding my adventurer identity from her. I begged her to forgive me, but she was so hurt that I'd lied to her that she refused to listen to my apologies. Then I got that feeling again, the prickling at the back of my skull that made me think someone was rummaging around in my brain.

Before I could wake myself up, I heard somebody calling my name and a quiet knocking nearby.

My eyes flew open. It took me a minute to totally wake up and realize I was in my fairy room, sprawled on the bed, wearing the ridiculous cream-puff dress. Since the guards had taken my regular clothes, it was the only outfit I had.

I let Luken out of the closet, still feeling shaken by the dream. It had seemed so real, like I'd actually been in the forest talking to my aunt. But that didn't matter now.

“Is the leprechaun strike starting already?” I said, fighting back a yawn. It seemed way too dark outside to be anywhere near morning.

Luken shook his head. “Not until dawn, but this could not wait.”

“What is it? What's wrong?” I was wide awake now.

“There is a meeting in the Magical Village that we must attend. Someone there might have information about your parents' location.”

I remembered the cluster of narrow streets we'd passed by on our way into the city, where Pryll had delivered his warning. “What kind of meeting?”

Luken just shook his head and claimed it wasn't safe to give me any more information.

“When the leprechauns go on strike, we need to search the lower level,” I said, thinking of the guarded door I'd seen earlier. “I'm pretty sure the queen is hiding something there.”

He nodded and waved me into the closet. As we crawled through the hidden panel, I held my breath, half expecting my cuff to go off like it had before. Luckily, whatever Luken had done to disable the tracking device worked, and we got to the hallway near the elevators without a problem.

Luken felt around in the corner for a minute before a panel popped open. “The tunnel entrances often run alongside elevator shafts,” he whispered.

I peered down into the panel and chuckled. I'd been imagining the tunnels as actual, you know,
tunnels
. In fact, they were more like slides.

“Wait, I know what this is,” I whispered as we climbed in. “We're in an old water ride.”

“A water ride?” said Luken.

“Yeah, it's a—ahhhhhh!” Some kind of magic grabbed me and made me whoosh down the slide, twisting me this way and that, until I thought my stomach might turn inside out. I heard Luken sliding down behind me. My poufy dress tried to blow up over my head the entire way. Fairy fashion was
not
designed for adventurers.

Not that I was an adventurer anymore, I reminded myself. The Committee had probably filed all the official paperwork to have me fired by now. That meant I was just a regular girl again…a regular girl who was trying to rescue her parents from a delusional, glowing fairy.

Finally, we rounded a sharp corner and crash-landed onto a mattress that was tucked behind what looked like an oversized air-conditioner.

I staggered to my feet and smoothed down my gown, feeling like I'd just been sucked through a tornado. “How come you have to take the tunnels at all?” I asked. “Can't you just use your magic to transport yourself around the kingdom?”

“No,” he said flatly. “I cannot.”

I wondered if I'd stumbled on yet another touchy subject. Apparently, everyone in Fairy Land had tons of them.

Luken quietly shut a panel in the wall. “The panels that lead to the tunnels are the same throughout the palace,” he whispered. “They blend in easily with their surroundings, but once you know their size and shape, they are simple to find.”

“Thanks,” I said, hoping I'd never have to locate one of the panels on my own. Luken could claim they were easy to find, but I could barely see the door even though I knew exactly where it was. “Where are we?” The air in the tunnel was so damp that it smelled like seaweed.

“Deep under the palace,” said Luken, “in a system of passageways left over from the days when this land was a theme park. They have all since been sealed off, but the fairies once used them to go between attractions without being seen by the public.”

“Oh, like at Disney World,” I said. “I heard that's how they keep people from seeing Mickey wandering around without his head on.” I smiled, thinking of how terrified Anthony had been of the troll in the headless troll costume.

Luken stopped and, not surprisingly, pulled out his sketchbook. I was willing to bet whatever ride he was drawing, it had to do with headless creatures.

Sure enough, when he shyly showed me the drawing after he was done, it looked a lot like the “It's a Small World” ride at Disney. Except that in Luken's version, all the little kids were headless. It was totally creepy.

“This is, um, interesting and all, but didn't you say we have a meeting to get to?” I asked.

“Right.” He put away his sketch pad and waved me down a corridor that felt especially damp. I held up my dress to keep from getting slimy water all over the hem. Why, look at that. I was turning into a real lady.

“So,” I said, finally asking the question that had been hanging in the air between us ever since he'd appeared in my room, “why didn't you tell me Mahlia was your mother?”

He sighed. “I knew you would not trust me if I told you her identity.”

“It's not that. But it does kind of change things, you know? I mean, how can I be sure you won't take her side?”

“Because she is wrong!” he cried. “My mother has turned her back on everything my father believed in. He used our ability to see into people's dreams to help make Fairy Land the most amazing theme park in the magical worlds. And now all that is gone.”

“Wait. Fairies can see into people's dreams?” Honestly, the idea didn't really surprise me. After all, the dreams I'd been having the past couple of days had clued me in that something strange was going on.

Luken sighed. “I should not have told you that.” Then he hurried his steps so that I had to run to keep up with his long legs.

We wove our way through the tunnels, passing pieces of old rides and sections of faded theater sets until finally we came to a ladder that ran along the mossy wall. Luken went first and then helped pull me through a manhole. We emerged into the night air behind a bakery that could have been right out of a storybook. This had to be the Magical Village.

We tiptoed down one shadowy alley after another, until Luken stopped behind a small cobbler's shop and knocked on the door. Instantly, the door flew open, and Pryll glared back at us with his one eye.

“What is
she
doing here?” he said, pointing at me.

“Jenny is here to help,” said Luken. Then he sauntered past Pryll as if the people eater were a stuffed animal instead of a menacing beast. I held my head high and followed Luken. Pryll grunted in annoyance but didn't try to stop me.

Inside the shop, I spotted pixies, trolls, mermaids, a few leprechauns, and even a couple of fairies crowded together. On the other side of the room, Karfum was standing next to another leprechaun guard. He caught my eye and gave me a small nod. I guess our conversation in the elevator had helped to change his mind about helping Pryll and the other rebels.

I expected Pryll to step forward and start the meeting. Instead, Luken was the one who stood in front of the crowd and said in a strong voice, “Thank you all for coming. Before we begin, I must report that Belthum has gone missing.”

“Missing?” someone said with a gasp. “Does that mean this group has been compromised?”

“No,” said Luken. “I am confident that Belthum did not give up any information about us. However, we must act quickly before our plans are discovered.” He cleared his throat. “That is why the leprechauns will go on strike at dawn, and I would like you all to join in. This will be an opportunity for the creatures of this land to stand up to the queen together.”

“It's too dangerous,” one of the pixies squeaked. “The queen will punish us.”

“Not if we team up,” said a leprechaun. “We are her work force. She depends on us. If we all gold on strike at once, she will have to listen.”

“Perhaps we can reason with her,” one of the fairies said. Her thin shoulders were stooped, and her green skin was old and weathered. “She used to be a great leader.”

Pryll snorted. “I don't care how many promises she made after the king died. Now all she thinks about is controlling everything we do. Forget striking. We need to attack!”

“That's foolish,” said Karfum, stepping forward. Everyone turned to look at him, obviously surprised to hear him speak up. “Fighting won't get us anywhere. We don't have enough magic.”

“No,
we
don't,” said Pryll, with a snarl. “She took ours away, but you leprechauns still have magic. You just won't share it with us.”

The crowd erupted in whispers. Obviously, the fact that only the leprechauns and fairies were allowed to keep some of their magic in this land was a big issue.

Luken raised his hand, and the creatures quieted. He was younger than everyone else in the room, but it was obvious they respected what he had to say. “Even if all the leprechauns and fairies on our side used their magic at once, it would not be enough to bring down the queen. Resisting peacefully is the only way.”

Pryll grumbled to himself, but he didn't argue. I guess that meant Luken was right.

“We have come too far to turn back now,” Luken continued. “The leprechaun strike will start at dawn as planned. If others care to join in, they are welcome.”

The room erupted in heated whispers again. Beside me, Luken sighed. “I have tried for a long time to encourage everyone to band together against the queen,” he said softly to me, “but they are unwilling to cooperate.”

“Don't worry,” I said. “I can handle this.” After all, getting magical creatures to work together was kind of my specialty. Once I got the bickering under control, then I could finally ask if anyone knew where the queen was keeping my parents. “Hey, guys!”

Everyone turned to look at me.

“I know standing up to the queen is scary,” I said. “Obviously, she's pretty powerful. But if you all work together, it'll pay off. I know it.”

Pryll scrunched up his purple face. “How do you know? The leprechauns can strike all they want, but that doesn't mean it'll help the rest of us.”

“It will pay off if you help each other out. Remember, there's no ‘I' in team!” I waited for my cheesy saying to work its magic as usual, but everyone just kept staring at me.

“Um, no pain, no gain!” I tried again.

Still nothing.

“Er…you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?” I said, desperate.

“What's honey?” one of the mermaids asked.

Wow. Tough crowd. Was I starting to lose my touch? Or had all those citywide announcements made the residents of Fairy Land immune to my cheesy sayings?

Before I could try anything else, pounding erupted at the door to the shop.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
“Queen's Guard. Open up!”

Everyone's faces turned panicked.

“We have been discovered!” cried Luken.

I started to run toward a nearby window, thinking we might be able to climb through it, but someone grabbed my arm before I could get there.
Pop!
The chaos around me faded, and I was sucked into a whirlpool of glittery green.

When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was back in my room in the palace. Karfum was holding on to my arm with one hand and Luken's wrist with the other.

“Thank you for bringing us to safety,” said Luken. “If we had been caught…” He didn't need to finish that thought. No doubt we would have been swiftly turned into woodland creatures. Or worse, made to reenact scenes from
Cinderella
.

Karfum nodded briskly. “Try to get some rest.”

“Wait,” Luken said. “Will you join the strike in the morning?”

The leprechaun sighed. “Yes. Not because I think it will help, but because I know it is what Belthum would want me to do.” Then he gave us a tight-lipped smile, twirled the shamrock between his lips, and slipped out into the hallway.

Luken turned to me. “I shall return at dawn, and we will explore the lower levels.” Then he disappeared into the closet.

My heart was still beating at twice its usual rate. I didn't think I could fall asleep anytime soon. Instead, I sat on my bed, staring out the window at the shimmering haze that glowed even in the middle of the night.

Bing!
I got ready for another one of the chipper announcements. Apparently, the fairies liked to make them at all hours. But the voice that chimed in over the intercom wasn't the one I'd been expecting.

“
Hey
there, Fairy Land folks!”
Anthony's voice rang out from the speakers. “
Just
a
reminder
that
tomorrow
is
Official
Candy
Day, so make sure to bring candy with you to work!
”

Then the intercom fell silent. What was Anthony doing? At least he'd sounded okay, but was he actually on the queen's side now? I couldn't imagine there was enough candy in the universe to convince him to help her.

As I spread out on the bed, the queen's ultimatum kept bouncing around in my head. I had less than two days to decide whether or not to reveal the Committee's location. Less than two days to find my parents, get home, and put this entire glittering nightmare behind me.

•••

Just as light was starting to come through the window, voices erupted in the hallway right outside my room.

I pressed my ear to the door and heard shouts, grunts, and marching footsteps fill the corridor.

“What are you doing?” I heard a fairy ask.

“Tell the queen we will not work until our demands are met,” a leprechaun answered. “She must return our pots of gold, pay us real wages, and let us return to our land whenever we like. Until then we will not gold back to our posts.”

The strike had officially begun.

A minute later, Luken appeared in my room. “Are you ready?” he asked.

I nodded and followed him toward the tunnels. Instead of using the same tunnel as the night before, we darted past the elevators to a tunnel entrance on the other side of the building. This time, as we climbed onto the slide, I made sure to wrap my full skirt around my legs so it would stay in place. We whooshed down until we were spit out onto a cold floor in the lower levels.

Luken took my hand with his thin fingers and pulled me toward a dark hallway as if he thought we didn't have time to waste. And he was right. Even if the fairies were distracted by the leprechaun strike, who knew how long it would be before they realized we weren't in our rooms. We had to find out what the fairies were hiding before they discovered we were gone.

Finally, we came to the same mysterious, guarded door I'd seen earlier. This time, there were no heavily armed fairies in front of it. They were probably off trying to force the leprechauns back to work. Not surprisingly, though, the door was locked.

“Now what?” I whispered.

Luken smiled and took out a homemade device that looked like a multipronged toothpick. He pushed it into the lock and gave it a few twists. A minute later, the door clicked open.

“One of my father's designs,” he whispered, slipping the lock pick back into his pocket.

We crept into a dimly lit hallway with rows and rows of small, glass cells on either side. It was cold and deafeningly quiet. Something about the hushed atmosphere made me think of a hospital ward, but no hospital would ever be humming with this much magic. I could feel the hair on my head trying to stick up on end from the static pull of all that power.

“Where are we?” I whispered.

“I have heard my mother refer to a lab,” said Luken. “She must have meant this place.”

As we crept down the hallway, I realized that all of the cells were occupied. In each one, a prisoner lay on a small cot, perfectly still except for the steady rhythm of his or her breathing.

“Are they all asleep?” I said as we went from one pane of glass to the next.

“Their breathing is synchronized,” Luken said. “It seems too unnatural to be regular sleep.”

He was right. Everyone we passed was inhaling and exhaling at the exact same time. If we'd been in a cartoon, I would've expected them to be snoring in unison too. But this wasn't a cartoon. This was something much, much weirder.

Suddenly, the hallway filled with the sound of laughter.

Luken and I both whirled around, ready to run. Then I realized that the laughter had come from inside the cells. All the sleeping people had laughed at exactly the same time. What was going on here?

“Perhaps they are all having the same dream,” said Luken as the laughter died down.

That was impossible, wasn't it? The prisoners weren't hooked up to any wires or tubes that I could see. Then again, if the fairies could see into people's dreams, maybe they could control them too. I shuddered, remembering how strange my dreams had been the past couple nights.

The hall filled with echoes again, but this time the sleeping figures weren't laughing. They were whimpering.

“We have to get everyone out of here,” I said.

Luken shook his head. “There is nothing we can do, Jenny. This place is secured with the strongest kind of magic. We must keep exploring, before we are discovered. Perhaps we can find something that will help them.”

I hated to admit that he was right. There was no way we could compete with the amount of magic that was coursing through this place. The cell doors were sealed with so much magic that they were actually glowing. If we so much as touched them, we'd become two deep-fried mozzarella sticks.

Leaving all these prisoners behind felt wrong, but we didn't have a choice.

We hurried down the hallway, passing more and more cells. They were mostly filled with fairies and leprechauns, but I spotted a few gnomes, sprites, and humans. What had these creatures done to get themselves locked up here? Could they be the adventurers who'd gone missing?

Then we came to a cell that was twice the size of the others. Inside, two cots were set up next to each other. On one cot, a small woman was spread out, her long hair pooled like a halo around her head. On the other was a thin man with a short beard covering his angular cheeks.

I stared at the two people. And stared and stared.

“Jenny,” I vaguely heard Luken whisper, “we must keep moving.”

I didn't move a muscle. I couldn't. My legs felt like they'd been stapled to the floor.

After all this time, after all these years, I had finally found my mom and dad.