The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (39 page)

“A few months later, I was married to the king, and he was dead a few months after that. I was able to continue my quest to free Mira. Unfortunately, being inside the mirror for so long began to affect Mira. His mind, his memory, and his appearance all started fading away. He began speaking in verse, like his poems when he was younger. He could see things happening in the world that were miles and miles away but couldn’t remember his own name. He was no longer a man; he was a reflection. Had my heart not been turned to stone already, watching the man I loved with all my heart slowly forget who I was would have killed me for sure.

“I was getting older, and Mira barely recognized me anymore. I ordered every beautician in the kingdom to my palace and underwent every beauty regimen possible for years and years to preserve the little youth I had left. Word
of my new activities got out, and the kingdom criticized me, saying I was vain and obsessed with beauty.

“As I got older, so did Snow White. She became more and more beautiful every day. She longed to find some motherly companionship in me, but I had none to give. She used to sneak into my chambers and watch me undergo preservation treatments for hours.

“One day, Snow White snuck into my chambers while I was away and discovered Mira in the mirror. She looked very similar to myself when I was her age, and Mira believed she was me. For months and months, Snow White was all he could talk about. ‘My queen is fair to see, but Snow White is far fairer than thee,’ he would say. He had a new face and name to give all the love he felt for me.

“I wanted her dead. I ordered my Huntsman to take her into the woods and kill her. She escaped, but I tried again and again to kill her myself. I was convinced Mira would come back to me once she was dead, but it was too late; Mira was gone. He faded into what he has become today.

“My entire life has been spent trying to recover something that was taken from me so many years ago. However, I’ll never be martyred for that life. I’ll be forever known as the vain queen who tried to kill the poor, innocent, and helpless Princess Snow White and nothing more,” the Evil Queen said. “But who wouldn’t have gone to the ends of the earth to be reunited with the person they loved more than life itself? Who wouldn’t have ripped their own heart out to stop that kind of pain?”

Alex couldn’t stop the tears rolling down her face. There were so many times after the loss of her dad when she’d wished all the pain would go away; she may have turned her own heart into stone if she’d had the option. She couldn’t help but see herself in the Evil Queen, and it was unsettling.

“I’ve done many terrible things in my time, but many terrible things have been done to me over time as well,” the Evil Queen said. “So, as far as I’m concerned, the world and I are even.”

“But it wasn’t you!” Alex said. “You weren’t thinking clearly! If you had your heart, you wouldn’t have done all those horrible things to all those people. You’re still Evly!”

“Think about how differently people would feel about you if they knew this!” Conner said.

“The world will always choose convenience over reality,” the Evil Queen said. “It’s easier to hate, blame, and fear than it is to understand. No one wants the truth; they want entertainment.”

The Evil Queen turned back to the twins and saw the tears running down Alex’s face. She walked over to Alex and let one of the tears roll onto her finger. The Evil Queen stared down at the tear, just as she had done to the vial of fairy tears.

“A sentimental story always gets the same reaction out of girls like you,” the Evil Queen said.

She flicked Alex’s tear onto the table with the Wishing Spell items. Suddenly, all the items began to glow, and a golden light began swirling above them. The Evil Queen had activated the Wishing Spell.

W
hat?” Alex said. Her head was throbbing from being so confused. “This doesn’t make any sense! It needed a
fairy’s
tear!”

“We can’t let this happen!” Conner screamed. “We have to stop her! She can’t use the Wishing Spell!”

The twins struggled and fought against the ropes, but there was nothing they could do; it was too late. The light rose off the Wishing Spell items and began to circle around the Evil Queen.

“No!” Conner screamed.

“Please, don’t!” Alex yelled.

The Evil Queen took a deep breath. “Wishing Spell, I wish to free the man in the mirror,” she said.

The light shot toward the mirror like lightning. The whole mirror was consumed in the light for a few moments before it faded. The glass melted away like ice on a warm day. The mirror looked like a doorway into a very dark room.

The twins waited with anticipation. The Evil Queen walked over to the mirror, keeping a cautious distance from it, but nothing happened. She got closer to the mirror, so close that the twins wondered if she was going to climb into it.

“Mira?” the Evil Queen asked.

Suddenly, a man fell out of the mirror and onto the floor. His eyes were closed and he was breathing very heavily. He was pale and seemed paralyzed; it was as if he had just awoken from a coma.

The man was the plainest person the twins had ever seen. He had no distinctive characteristics whatsoever. He had spent so much time reflecting others that he had lost himself completely.

“Where am I?” the man said between deep breaths. He had enough energy to keep one eye open at a time, but not both.

The Evil Queen picked up her heart of stone, and the twins could see the change in her face as her body was reunited with its soul. She was a different person…. She
was
a person.

“Mira, it’s me, it’s Evly. You’re free!” the Evil Queen said. Her voice was different while she held the stone. She spoke softly, with love and affection. Tears poured down her face.

The twins could see the reflection of the Evil Queen and the man in the Mirror of Truth. The reflections weren’t those of the pale man and hooded woman who were actually in the room with them. They were of two young people: One was the beautiful girl the Evil Queen had once been, and the other a very handsome young man that Mira must have been before being imprisoned in the mirror.

Evly cradled Mira in her arms and slowly rocked him. “You’re free, Mira…. You’re free,” she repeated softly. “I freed you just like I promised. I’m so sorry it took me as long as it did.”

The man opened both his eyes and stared up at her. She had only freed the very little of him that was left. The rest had faded away a long time ago.

“Evly,” he said, and a slight smile appeared on his face, recognizing the name. The smile lasted only a moment. His eyes fluttered shut, and he stopped breathing.

“Mira?” the Evil Queen asked.
“Mira!”

Mira didn’t move. He was as lifeless as he looked. His reflection disappeared entirely from the golden mirror.

“No,”
the Evil Queen said.
“No!”
The tears were running down much faster now.
“Come back! Please, come back!”

Alex and Conner became emotional at the sight of it. The Evil Queen held the body of the man from her mirror
in a tight embrace. She sobbed into him, still holding on to the heart of stone. She had worked her entire life for this, but she was too late.

The wolves were starting to become impatient outside the castle. Many were pacing back and forth across the drawbridge, others were lying across the entrance corridor, and one was sharpening his teeth with Goldilocks’s sword. They had been waiting long enough for the Evil Queen, and they growled and grunted with restlessness.

Suddenly, Malumclaw’s ears perked up, and he looked to the horizon. The ground was vibrating, as something large was traveling their way.

“What is that?” he asked.

A cavalcade of soldiers stampeded toward the castle at full speed. The soldiers were dressed in silver-and-green armor and came from the Northern Kingdom. They were led by Froggy and Sir Grant sharing a horse. Jack was riding Porridge beside them.

All the wolves jumped up.

“All right, boys! We’re done waiting for the queen,” Malumclaw said. “We’re going inside to get Red Riding Hood and then we’re getting out of here!”

All the wolves obediently howled and they ran into the castle. One of them pulled a lever with his mouth, raising the drawbridge.

The soldiers assembled on the edge of the moat.

“The Evil Queen is in there!” Froggy said to Sir Grant. “The wolves are working for her! They took my friends!”

“Evil Queen!” Sir Grant called out with his booming voice. “This is Sir Grant of Her Majesty Queen Snow White’s Royal Guard. You have thirty seconds to surrender, or we will open fire on the castle!”

The soldiers aligned a row of cannons. Jack hopped off Porridge and found Goldilocks’s sword on the ground.
She was in there.

“Prepare the cannons!” Sir Grant ordered, and his soldiers positioned the cannons facing the castle.
“Fire!”

A cannon blasted the raised drawbridge into pieces. The entire castle rattled from the hit.

“Prepare to fire again!” Sir Grant ordered.

“Hold your fire!” Jack yelled. “There are innocent people in that castle! You mustn’t fire until we can safely get them out of there. I have reason to believe Queen Red Riding Hood may be inside!”

Grant looked fearful; he couldn’t have the death of an innocent queen on his hands.

“You have ten minutes before we open fire,” Grant told Jack. “Get in there and save as many people as you can.”

Jack nodded without hesitation. If the woman he loved was in harm’s way, nothing would stop him from saving her.

“I’ll go with you,” Froggy said, secretly alarmed at his own bravery, which had suddenly swept over him. “You may need a hand.”

He and Froggy hopped onto Porridge. The horse took a few steps back and then charged toward the castle, jumping over the moat and through the large opening where the drawbridge had been a moment before.

The castle’s dungeon was small, but it had a row of several small cells. Goldilocks’s and Red Riding Hood’s ropes and gags had been removed, but they were each put in their own cell (mostly so Goldilocks wouldn’t kill Red before the wolves had their chance). The Huntsman and the Huntress watched over them like father and daughter hawks.

“I just don’t understand why my army hasn’t rescued me yet! Shouldn’t that be their top priority?” Red whined. “If I were Cinderella, none of this crap would be happening!”

“I outran your army because, like most things about you and your kingdom, they’re
slow
,” Goldilocks said. “Besides, they’ve probably already elected a new queen by now.”

“That’s not funny!” Red said. “This has been the worst day of my entire life! I didn’t even know it was possible to be kidnapped twice in one day!”

The wolves stormed into the dungeon. Red went white with fear.

“Soldiers are invading the castle,” Malumclaw said. “We’re not waiting for the Evil Queen any longer! We’re taking Red Riding Hood
now
!”

“Get the queen,” the Huntsman said to his daughter. The Huntress nodded and ran down to the opposite side of the dungeon and up a small stone staircase. She looked
back before climbing it, not sure if leaving her father alone was a good idea.