Story With A Twist

“Who’s been tasting ma soup!?” Melissa announced in a loud, deep voice. She was leaning towards her brother who was driving. They decided to meet a few of their friends at six flags and were to meet at noon. On the way there, Greg took a short cut and found themselves lost and driving around for an extra hour. Noon was coming up fast and there was no hope in getting to the park on time. Greg tried multiple times to call the others but every time he would go to make the call, he would have no service. Even Melissa’s phone had no service.

“Mel, would you shut up!? I can’t concentrate with your yakking away over there!” Greg called out for the millionth time, hoping that would shut her up.

Like every time she would put her book down and look over at her brother, saying, “We’re doing these stories in my drama class, I need to practice, since I am, after all, the main character in most of the ten stories.” And like every time, Greg heavily sighed and Melissa continued on with her story telling - this time it was about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. “Papa bear cried in a great big voice.” Just then she stopped reading and looked around, “Hey, where are we?”

“Lost.”

“Why don’t we turn around?”

“If you weren’t so glued to that stupid children’s book you would’ve noticed we did that already - twice!”

She stuck her tongue out at her brother and turned back to her book. As the car slowed down to a stop, it was then that she came out of her trance again and asked why they were stopping. Greg’s answer was a simple point at the train coming down the tracks and the gates down in front of the roadway. The driver of the train waved at them as they watched him go by. It was very long and they waited as patiently as they could. Ten minutes went by and the train finally stopped passing, but that wasn’t the only thing that stopped. The car turned off and wouldn’t start back up.

“Great. That stupid hose is acting up again,” Greg said, opening his car door and popping the hood. He walked around the front and began to look down into the engine bay. Melissa got out and followed him, trying to see what he was looking at. “Looks like we’re not going anywhere for a while. The engine’s too hot to touch anything.”

“Then we walk!” Melissa announced, pointing forward and beginning to walk.

“To where?”

She stopped and looked back at her twin brother, “I don’t know. To find people who could maybe help us? Have you tried calling the others?”

“A few times. Our phones don’t have service.”

“Then we walk,” she suggested again.

Greg let out a heavy sigh and took the book from her hands, “Fine, but not with this.” He threw the book in the car and they began to walk away from the safety of their car.

They began to walk down the road and just as they stepped over the railroad tracks, the gates came back down. They turned around to watch another train come down the tracks. They found it odd that so many trains used the track but yet no one was around on foot or cars to help them with theirs. Melissa turned away from the train, telling Greg that they better start walking, but when she did, she noticed something strange. The road faded into a field - a field that wasn’t there before.

“What happened to the road?” she asked, staring at the ground then over her shoulder at her brother, “Wasn’t a road just here?”

Greg turned around and saw the stretch of road gone and nothing but miles and miles of green fields in front of them. “Maybe we should just stay with the car. Someone has to pass by event-” He turned away from the field to pass over the railroad tracks again but stopped.

The train stopped passing by, in fact it stopped all together.

Melissa turned back around to see why her brother stopped talking. The train was frozen in time, it seemed like, in fact it was still in a blur affect. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t go around it. The train stretched up and down the tracks for miles on end. Greg turned away from the train, stating that he just wanted to continue forward until they found someone. Neither of them felt comfortable in doing so, but they began to walk away from the railroad tracks. As they headed deeper into the field, a small yellow, pebbled path appeared beneath their feet. They began to look around their surroundings and noticed people were in fact around. But they were either very odd looking people, or people too far away to start asking questions and leaving the path was out of the question.

A girl with a popped out dress and a blue bonnet on her head was off to the side of the field, singing a familiar song to the two lambs she was dancing around with. After every verse she hummed, she would hit the lambs on their bottoms with her cane. Further behind her, was a little boy sleeping against a stack of hay. He had a horn hanging off the side of him and cows with him. Two of the cows were eating the hay or grass, while the other was eating the little boy’s hair. The boy never stirred and neither did the girl with the bonnet when they passed them.

Just then something flew over their heads.

“Did you see that?!” Melissa shouted, looking up at the sky.

“See what?” Greg asked, looking up with her.

“A witch! I think I just saw a witch on a broomstick fly past us!”

Greg laughed, “A witch, huh?” He poked her side, “Was she saying I’ll get you my pretty!” He began to cackle at his sister, making her cry out for him to stop making fun of her.

“I know what I saw!”

Greg rolled his eyes and continued down the path.

“Apples! Get your fresh apples!” called an old lady, wearing a black cape. She stood at a booth that seemed to just appear down the path. She was holding out red apples to them, calling them over. Greg noticed behind her in the booth was a pot hanging over a fire, green smoke pouring out of the top of it. “Perhaps this nice clip then?” the hag said, holding out a small butterfly clip to Melissa, “Oh yes, this would look beautiful in your hair.”

Greg pulled his sister away from her, telling her no thank you, but the woman continued to call out. As they walked, Melissa noticed something hanging on a tree. She ran up to it then called out to her brother.

“Greg, check this out!” she stood in front of a large mirror that hung on a tree. “I wonder why it’s here,” she said, staring into the black glass. Greg walked up to her and stared at the black glass as well. She turned away at this point and looked behind them.

In the middle of the green field sat a small patch of corn. On a post in the center of the patch was a scarecrow, his arms were crossed pointing in opposite directions, while his head tilted to the side. The scarecrow reminded her of the one from The Wizard of Oz - she pointed this out to Greg.

Greg stepped up to her, not looking at the scarecrow but instead said, “I think I just saw a face appear in the glass.”

Melissa turned around to look at the mirror again and saw nothing. She then grabbed her brother’s arm - she was the one that wanted to go now. They walked for a while, things looking a little more normal. That was until they came up to a little girl in a red cape. She was reaching up to a basket hanging from a tree branch. She was handing whatever was inside a flower from the small grouping of flowers around her feet. Melissa walked up to her, asking where they were.

The girl swung around to them, startled, then smiled. Her smile was sweet and she tilted her head into her brown, curly hair that fell out from under her red hood. “Good afternoon. You’re in Hollow Rhyme, beautiful day isn’t it?” she answered, then turned back to her flower picking. “I’m picking flowers for my grandmother. You see,” she stood straight again and turned back to Melissa and Greg, “my grandmother is ill and I’m bringing her biscuits and cookies to make her feel better.” She smiled again, shrugging her shoulders with a giggle. She knelt down to pick one more flower and asked the two, “Would you like to join me?”

Melissa looked up at her brother for an answer. He shrugged, whispering to her, “Maybe there will be more people where grandmother is.”

Melissa turned back to riding hood and smiled at her, “Sure! Where does grandmother live?”

“This way!” riding hood announced, giggling and skipping ahead of Melissa and Greg. As they walked, little red riding hood went on with stories about how her grandmother fell ill and how flowers always cheered everyone up. She went on about how she helped her mother cook the biscuits and helped roll the cookies to place in the oven. As she giggled her way through conversation, Greg was noticing something following them off to the side. Eventually the thing jumped out from behind a patch of bushes. Riding hood giggled, “Well good afternoon, Mr. Wolf! Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

The wolf moved around the three of them, first smelling Greg, then Melissa, then finally stopped at riding hood. It leaned back to stand on it’s back legs. He was a very short wolf and to Melissa and Greg’s surprise, it spoke:

“Why yes, hood, it certainly is. Where is it that you’re going today?”

“Grandmother’s ill and I’m bringing her biscuits and cookies. Mother says they will make her feel better. I sure do hope so. I picked flowers too! Me and my friend are bringing them to her.”

“Do you know what else will make grandmother feel better?” the wolf asked.

“What?” riding hood asked, her eyes beginning to glow.

“Berries!”

Riding hood clapped her hands under her chin, smiling brightly at the wolf, “Berries!? What a splendid idea!”

“And look, here are some berry bushes!”

Riding hood began to go towards the bushes but stopped when Melissa grabbed her arm. The wolf snarled quietly. “Red, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she said, glancing at the wolf then back at riding hood.

“Why not?” riding hood smiled innocently at her. “I’ll meet you two at grandmother’s. Mr. Wolf and I are going to pick berries.” She turned back towards the bushes.

The wolf grinned with sharp teeth, “Have a nice day.” He then turned to follow riding hood, licking his lips.

“Greg-?” Melissa said, turning back to her brother.

He shook his head, “Come on.” He took her arm and they continued down the path. Melissa turned to look over her shoulder and watched for a few moments as the wolf and riding hood picked berries and sang a song.

“I hope she’ll be alright,” she said, turning back to the path.

“Of course she will be, remember your story. The woodman comes by and saves her,” Greg says, picking up his pace.

“Greg that’s horrible!” she crossed her arms looking to the side, “I hope it doesn’t get to that point.”

“Mel, a house!” Greg said, nudging her arm.

“Is it grandmothers!?” she called after him, running to catch up with him.

They stood at the doorway and looked up at it. A sign above the door read: Papa, Mama, & Baby. Greg shook his head, telling his sister he had a feeling this had nothing to do with riding hood anymore.

“Do we go in?”

“The door’s open,” Greg answered. The door was slightly opened and Greg pushed it all the way. They stepped inside and Greg began to call out, “Hello? Is anyone home?”

No one answered.

They walked in and found themselves in a kitchen. There was a small table set for three people to eat, but two bowls and it’s contents were on the floor. Another bowl sat neatly on the table with a spoon hanging out of it.

“I’m starving,” Melissa said, staring at the bowl of soup.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s home,” Greg answered, looking outside the windows. “Find a quick snack and let’s figure out where we really are.”

Melissa agreed with his suggestion and began to look through the cupboards. It wasn’t until she reached the fridge when she found something. It wasn’t food though, but instead a crystal globe. She took it out and peered inside. “Hey! This thing’s saying something!”

Greg rushed over to her and read out loud what the globe said to them, “The game you are in, it’s time that we begin. Find the golden lock and that room shall be blocked.” He looked at Melissa, “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know! Maybe we have to find a golden lock for a door?” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Do we even have keys for that lock?”

“We’ve got our key chains, maybe one of those will work. It’d be weird if it did, but what’s not weird about this place?”

“True, so let’s start searching.”

They dug into the search right away. The kitchen was the first place they searched, but found nothing. The second room they entered was a sitting room. Greg began to search by the mantel, while Melissa went to the other side of the room. Behind one of the chairs, she found herself backing away, screaming. Greg ran to her asking what was wrong. She pointed to the ground - there was a young girl with golden curls laying on the ground, a pool of red liquid was around her forehead. She was dead. Just then Greg heard the front door slam open, he stepped to the doorway of the sitting room and noticed three bears charging towards the room.

“Mel!” he called out.

She ran up to him and saw the bears. She dropped the globe yelling, “The golden lock,” she pointed at Goldilocks, “the room should be blocked!”

Just as she said this the largest bear pounced forward but fell backwards. An invisible shield blocked the bear from grabbing both of them. The bears continued to charge and throw their claws into the invisible wall. Melissa began to scream at her brother what were they going to do. Greg heard a small creak behind them and turned around to see something skitter out a back door. He ignored his sister’s yells and followed the critter. It was then that he noticed there was a door.

He called to his sister to follow and they left the cottage. “Didn’t Goldilocks survive the three bears?” he asked Melissa, as they stood outside the back door.

“And didn’t little red riding hood go to her grandmother’s alone? Something’s off here,” Melissa said, “If this is about fairytales, they’ve got it all wrong.”

The door slammed shut behind them, startling them. They watched as the house was over grown with black vines. The door and the cottage disappeared, leaving a wall of vines behind them.

“The game you’re in, it’s time that we begin,” an old voice said behind them, startling them to face the other direction again.

Greg stared down at the old woman. She wore a dark blue cape with a bonnet that fell back behind her head. She was pointing at them with crooked fingers and looked up above her small glasses at them. “We were already told that,” Greg said, “Want to explain what’s going on with Goldilocks back there? She’s dead.”

The woman smiled a toothless smile at the two and went on with a nursery rhyme, “Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey,” she stepped to the side, revealing a little girl sitting on a stool. She was eating out of a bowl, rocking her head back and forth in a song. “Along came a spider and sat down beside her,” just then the globe Melissa held before came down from the trees, only this time it had eight legs, “and frightened Miss Muffet away.” The little girl dropped her bowl of curds and whey and ran off into the darkness. “But you should not be scared,” the woman added. The globe then skittered up to them and she continued on with another rhyme, “This globe is the key to your game and throughout you will notice things will not be the same. Death and a twist is what you will find, but at the end keep in mind. Ruby red shoes will bring you home but first each task must be claimed your own.” She smiled another gummy smile and began to walk off, “Good luck, friends, I will see you at the end.”

Melissa and Greg watched as she staggered away from them, a small goose with a bow and hat waddled shortly after her. They looked at each other, confused by her words. What game were they in and what did they have to do in this game? Melissa decided that they just spoke to Mother Goose and whatever she says has to go. She is the mother of all rhymes and she was looking forward to getting to the end and finishing this game. Melissa began to walk forward again after telling her brother this but began to slow down, looking around sheepishly.

“What’s wrong?” Greg asked, looking over at her.

“Doesn’t this forest seem familiar to you?” she asked.

Greg looked around, answering, “Not really.”

“It’s like the one that Snow White ran through in the movie, see the faces?” she asked, pointing at the trees. They did have faces on them but unlike the story of Snow White the branches weren’t reaching down grabbing them. She let out a heavy sigh, preparing herself for the first task, “I hope we don’t have to deal with the Snow White story. Can you imagine it? Seven little dwarfs attacking us looking for blood!” she grabbed her brother’s arm as she tripped on a root.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about the witch,” Greg said, pulling his arm away from his sister, “She was at the beginning of this trip. Remember? Apples, fresh apples!” He laughed but stopped when they came up to a clearing where a coffin was placed. They walked up to it and saw a young girl laying on her back. She was pale like snow with lips as red as blood. Her hair black as ebony and around her coffin stood seven statues of seven little men.

As they peered into coffin’s glass, the globe began to jump. They looked down at it and saw words being displayed inside it again. Melissa picked it up and read, “It was a kiss that failed, the apple is what she inhaled. No evil will come from this, only words of sweet bliss.” She placed the globe back on the ground and looked up at Greg, “I think the apple’s stuck in her throat.”

“And it expects us to get it out, how?” Greg asked.

“I don’t know! We have to come up with something.”

They pushed the coffin’s glass open and stared at Snow White’s face. Her small mouth was closed and both of them seemed skittish to touch her.

“You’re going to have to stick your fingers down her throat and grab it,” Greg answered.

Melissa backed away, “No way am I doing that! I don’t want to stick my fingers down a dead girl’s throat! What if she bites me or throws up!!”

“She’s dead. And we have to get the apple somehow.”

“Then you do it!”

Greg laughed, “You’re such a baby. I have a better way. Help me sit her up.”

Melissa helped her brother sit the princess up and he got behind her the best he could. He wrapped his arms around her torso and began to pull up. He was doing the Heimlich maneuver on the dead girl. After a few more pulls, the apple flew out of Snow White’s mouth and she sat upon her coffin, coughing. Greg went to Melissa’s side quickly and they looked at the princess.

Snow White smiled kindly at them, then asked, “Why, where is my prince?” She looked around, hoping to see him.

“We- We’re not too sure,” Melissa answered. She took a step forward, “All we found were you and these statues.”

Snow White looked over at the seven statues and grew sad. She slipped off her coffin and went to each of her friends frozen in stone, showing them her grief.

“This globe said you would have words of bliss,” Greg said, after she finished making her rounds. “What are they?”

She looked back over at the siblings and smiled again. She went back to her coffin and sat upon the cushion. After brushing her dress off and crossing her ankles, she put a finger up and began to explain. “There are eight task you must complete, mine was the first. Each task has something you need for another, so don’t discard anything.”

“So what’s our next task?” Melissa asked.

“Listen to the rhyme closely, for I will only say it once,” Snow White said, placing her hands in her lap. “Gold is very pleasant, but the wrong king will be present. A wardrobe is what he needs, go to a place where her finger did not bleed.” Confused looks appeared on Melissa and Greg’s faces but they took in her words and right away tried to figure it out. Snow White smiled once more at them and added, “The globe shall be your rhymes, I wish you luck,” and with that she slipped off her coffin again and walked up to her statues again, speaking with each of them.

They left Snow White to tend to her friends and eventually left the clearing. They continued down a path, trying to figure out what Snow White’s riddle meant. Eventually they came up to two gates with signs in the middle. The top sign pointed to the left and said King Midas in script across the board. The sign on the bottom read Sleeping Beauty, and pointed to the right gate.

“I get the rhyme!” Melissa said, staring at the two signs. “King Midas was the king with the touch of gold, right? And Sleeping Beauty is the one whose finger didn’t bleed…”

“But didn’t she prick her finger and fall asleep?” Greg asking, looking down at his sister.

“Yeah, but remember what Mother Goose said? There’s going to be twist, these aren’t our normal fairytales. There has to be something in the King Midas gate that we have to go to first since he was mentioned before Sleeping Beauty.”

“So you’re saying we go into the King Midas gate?”

“I’m pretty sure we have to.”

Greg nodded and walked up to the left gate and pushed it open. They entered the gateway and walked into a dinning hall. In the grand hallway there were golden fruits and golden statues. There seemed to be a party going on before everyone was turned into gold. They made their way to the end of the hallway where they found a gold plated king sitting on his thrown. He was resting on his one hand while his other was pointing outwards at whoever stepped up to his thrown. Greg and Melissa stared at him for a few moments, then looked at the woman in the seat next to him. There was also a young girl standing at his side with her hand on his throne. Surely they were his wife and daughter.

Just then they heard soft sobs coming from the side of the golden jester. The two went to find who was crying and found the only person at the party who wasn’t gold. He was naked - the emperor.

“The wrong king will be present,” Greg let out.

Melissa stepped to the emperor, asking, “What’s wrong, your highness?”

The emperor looked up at the two with sad eyes, “I wish to have garments like these folks. I have been wearing these for so long, I wish to have new ones.” He stood, revealing his nakedness. “Isn’t this outfit wonderful?” he asked, turning around, making Greg and Melissa’s lips raise in disgust. “Too bad I need new ones,” he sat back down, resting his cheek on his hand, saddened again. “Hey!” his eye brightened and he looked back up at the two, “Do you think you could get me new clothes? I wish to have this beautiful gold,” he was standing now, touching the queen’s sleeve. “Do you think you could do that for me?”

“Of course we can!” Melissa said, smiling at him. “We’ll be back as soon as we can!” She began to push her brother away from the king and his guest of gold, telling him, “It’s time for the right gate.”

“Sleeping Beauty makes clothes?” Greg asked.

“I have no idea, but she was the second half of Snow White’s rhyme.”

They left the dinning hall and stood in front of the two gates again. This time they entered the right gate. Once through the gate, they headed up a long stretch of stone stairs. When they reached the top, the globe, that had been on their heels the entire time, began to jump, telling them to read what it had to say. They knelt down to it and read it to themselves, not wanting to disturb the group of people they saw on the landing. She never guessed his name and now her baby is his. The beauty never slept and now does what he says. The emperor needs new clothes and now spinning is all she knows. Greg and Melissa looked at each before looking back into the room at the top of the stairs. At a spindle sat a beautiful young girl, weaving away, staring blankly at the wall in front of her. A little man, who held a baby, danced around a young prince, who laid on the floor motionless. Another girl kneeled off to the side, pleading for the little man to give her back her baby. Melissa knew exactly who the little man was and leaned over to her brother to whisper the man’s name: Rumpelstiltskin. The baby was crying, but that didn’t stop Rumpelstiltskin from dancing around the dead prince and singing a rhyme loudly.

“Take your place and stop the fussing, it’s Sleeping Beauty’s spot we should be discussing! You lost the bet and the deal is set. The baby’s mine - isn’t it divine?” He began to laugh loudly, pleased at his rhyme. “The curse was broke and the prince he did croak- Croak?” Rumpelstiltskin repeated to himself, “Croak!!” He repeated again then began to laugh harder then ever before.

By this time Melissa and Greg went to Sleeping Beauty to see if she would make the garments the emperor asked for. Rumpelstiltskin seemed to ignore them and continued on with his taunting.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Melissa asked Sleeping Beauty.

She looked up at them with blank, sad eyes and told them, “My finger was never pricked but I never knew the pain that would inflict. My prince is dead and I am forced to sit here and thread. Ask your question in rhyme, but keep your eye on the time.”

Melissa looked over at her brother, wondering what time had to do with the rhyme. Just then they noticed a tall grandfather clock in the corner with a mouse trying to climb it.

“Hickory dickory dock,” Greg said, looking back at his sister, “The clock’s almost at one.” They began to desperately try to think of a rhyme to give Sleeping Beauty that would help their situation, but they found this harder than it seemed. Melissa struggled with the rhyme, but once Greg saw the mouse almost making it to the top, he quickly let out, “What we really need is a suit of this tweed. We need it in gold, because that is what we were told.” Melissa stared at her brother, shocked. Greg’s cheeks flushed slightly and shrugged.

The clock struck one and Sleeping Beauty sadly smiled at them again. Her eyes dropped to Rumpelstiltskin, who waved her away, continuing on with his own rhymes. She stared at the spindle and quickly began to spin a suit of gold. When the suit was finished she smiled one last sad smile, then stared blankly at the wall again.

They took the suit of gold and made their way out of the small room. Back outside they entered the left gate again to see the emperor and present him with his new clothes. They found him in the same spot they left him. When he saw them coming, his eyes glowed at the suit in their hands. He took the suit from them and quickly put them on.

“Oh, wonderful! They’re just magnificent!” he called out, dancing and twirling around. He began to sing a song which made his dancing and twirling get more violent. As he repeated the chorus, he stumbled over his foot and fell. Greg and Melissa called out to him to stop, but it was too late. The emperor had fallen into the finger of King Midas and there he froze, in gold.

Just then the room began to shake and the walls fell around them. Everything began to transform after that moment. The walls and ground became grass, the people standing became trees, the tables and chairs became bushes, while the people sitting became animals who ran off, afraid of Melissa and Greg. They looked around and noticed the path was back beneath their feet. The globe began to jump again, then hurried away from them, then back. They began to follow it. Eventually they came to another clearing, but this time there was a large tower with a beanstalk a few yards behind it - the beanstalk stretched into the heavens above.

“I hope this has nothing to do with the beanstalk,” Greg said, then added, “Dealing with a giant just seems out of the question right now.”

“Greg-” Melissa let out, pointing at the top of the tower.

He looked to where his sister pointed to. At the top of the tower was a young girl, hanging out of it with her long golden hair draping down to the ground. It was Rapunzel, but something seemed wrong. She wasn’t moving, in fact, she looked dead. They walked up to the base of the tower and found a young man sitting near the stones, sobbing.

“Who- Who’s there?” he asked, standing up, ready to fight back if he was attacked.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Melissa answered.

“We’re just passing by,” Greg answered, “What happened?”

The prince took his seat again and shook his head, “My love has taken her life. For years I have been visiting my princess, speaking words of love and telling her words of promise, such as how I was going to free her from that witch.” The two noticed a witch dead on the ground off to the side of them. “That witch blinded me so I could not see my love then told my princess that I was dead and so she took her life... When I came back to see her, the witch attacked me again but failed to kill me.” He began to sob harder, making Melissa feel bad. She sat down next to him, patting his back.

Just then the globe began to jump. Greg picked it up and began to read what it said, out loud, “Use the hair as a rope, there is a key there that is your hope. Keep the key close to you, for it will bring you to the ruby red shoe. Is it safe to climb her hair?” Greg asked, looking up at Rapunzel.

The prince raised his head and answered, “Yes, she will not budge.”

Greg looked back up at Rapunzel. He wasn’t looking forward to climbing the princess’ hair, but he knew in order for them to get through this fairytale land, he needed to go into the tower and get the key. He took the golden hair and began to climb to the window that the dead princess laid in. At the window, he gently climbed inside, trying not to disturb the fallen princess. Inside he noticed only three things: a bed, a table with draws, and a vanity. He checked each draw present in the room, then checked the bed. There was no key in sight. After searching a little longer, he decided to turn back to the window and call down to Melissa that he couldn’t find it. As he got closer to the window, he noticed something shinning in Rapunzel’s hand. He looked down and saw that it was the key.

“I have the key!” Greg called out, after removing the key, gently, from the princess’ hand. “I’m coming down!”

Greg climbed out of the window and back down the tower to join his sister and the prince on the ground again. After explaining that the princess was holding the key, Melissa turned back to the prince and asked if he would like to walk with them for a while.

The prince sadly smiled, “No thank you, my lady.” He stood up and took hold of Rapunzel’s hair, “I wish to die here with my princess.”

Melissa understood and told him this. The prince then began to climb Rapuzel’s hair to join her at the top to die near her. Greg and Melissa began on their journey again. They left the tower and followed the path past the beanstalk. Things seemed strange in this land of Hollow Rhyme but the two weren’t expecting to walk up to a young girl going up and down a ladder that rest upon twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. They walked up to her and stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Melissa asked, tilting her head and watching the girl come back down the steps.

“What’s wrong?” the girl spat out, swinging around to them and putting her hands on her hips. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. First off I go to this palace to meet this prince, who I’m supposedly supposed to marry! And his little mommy puts me through these petty little tasks and has now given me forty mattresses to sleep on! How am I supposed to do this!?”

“Climb the ladder and go to sleep?” Greg asked, cutting her off.

“Can I finish?” her eyebrow rose. “Every time I lay down and think I’m ready to go to sleep, something digs into my back. And I can’t figure out what the hell it is!”

Melissa turned to Greg, whispering, “The princess and the pea. Greg - the pea is keeping her awake!” She then looked back at the girl and said, “I’m sure I can fix your problem.”

“Yeah?” the girl asked, “Sure you can.”

“No really, watch,” Melissa said, then walked up to the mattress. After checking a few, she found the pea and showed it to the princess. “There.”

“A pea?”

Melissa smiled, “Trust me. Try to go to sleep again.”

The girl rose her eyebrow again then climbed up the ladder. She laid down, moved two different ways, then grinned. “I can’t feel a thing!” she said, leaning over the edge, “Thanks.”

“Do you want the pea?”

“What am I supposed to do with that?”

“Goodnight,” Greg said, pushing his sister away. As they walked away, Greg sighed, “She was very snappy.”

Melissa laughed, “Grumpy, you should say. I know I would be grumpy if a pea was keeping me awake.” Melissa then followed her brother’s sigh, “What are we supposed to do with a pea?”

The globe began to jump, almost as if it knew Melissa was asking it a question. The two stopped and read the words: True love was to break the spell, one that didn’t turn out that well. A beauty without her prince was surely convinced. And now this magical pea will be the one to agree.

“A beauty and a spell…?” the two let out, staring at the words that began to fade.

“A beauty-” Melissa repeated, “Beauty and the beast!”

“I don’t think we want to see the beast,” Greg said.

“We have to see the beauty and her beast, the rhyme says so.” As Melissa spoke, the two didn’t notice the path becoming dark and foggy. The sound of sudden banging was what made them notice. Large dark gates were rocking back and forth, hitting each other, guarding a large, dark castle. “Too late,” Melissa let out, staring up at the gargoyles with her jaw hanging open.

They entered the castle, both praying that the beast would not notice them intruding his space. Once they entered the castle, the globe jumped once then ran to a side room. Greg and Melissa quickly followed. There were only two candles lit and they weren’t enough for the two to know who sat in the shadows. They walked into the door the globe ran into and right away the beauty jumped from her seat.

“Who goes there!?” she called out.

“We were brought here to complete a riddle,” Greg answered, “Would you know anything about this?”

“I do not. All I know is that the spell failed. The old woman said that if he found true love before the flower died, then he would be free from his beast like form,” the girl told the two, “But the flower wilted and finally fell-”

“He didn’t turn back into his prince appearance?” Greg asked.

The beauty nodded. “I love him with all my being, but it wasn’t enough to break the spell. He will remain a beast now...” She wiped a tear from her eye.

As she spoke, Melissa’s mind wondered off and she began to wonder about the riddle the globe gave them. It was then that she understood it. Love didn’t break the beast’s spell but Beauty and the beast believed it would. “The magical pea will agree,” Melissa let out. Greg and the girl turned to her with a questioned look on both of their faces. “The pea,” she took the small bean out of her pocket, “I know how to bring your prince back.”

She asked where the beast was and if the girl could take them to her. The beauty explained that he was in the east wing, a place she was forbidden to go to. She explained that she had gone their once but that was the only time she ever went. She thought about taking them to the wing for a second, then agreed to attempt the visit once more. When they entered, they found the wilted rose. It had fallen to the ground, each petal resting around it, the brown ends curling inward. As they got closer to the rose, the beast came out of the shadows, growling and throwing a chair at the wall opposite of the three. Melissa right away stepped behind her brother, who’s eyes grew larger at the sight of the beast’s face in the moonlight. He was truly a beast, teeth baring, blue, piercing eyes staring. He took two steps towards Greg and his sister, but stopped when the girl stepped between them.

“This people are here to help us,” she said to him. She took a step forward and put her hand on his arm. His blue eyes dropped to her hand and his breathing slowed. The beauty looked back at Melissa, hinting about the pea.

Melissa looked at the girl, then at the beast. Before stepping out behind Greg, she took one last look at him. She stepped next to the beauty and took the pea from her pocket, then explained, “We were given this pea from a girl on the trail before your castle. I believe it is magical and will transform you into your true form.”

“And if it doesn’t?” he growled.

Her eyes widened. The beast spoke. She gulped then answered, “If it doesn’t work- you can- eat us for dinner.”

His eyes narrowed down on her and the beauty took his arm again, “Oh no, he wouldn’t do that,” she said.

“Give me the pea,” he said, sticking his paw out.

Melissa gently placed the pea in his hand, then stepped back next to Greg. The beast threw it down his throat and waited a few moments.

“It’s not working,” he snarled.

“Give it a moment,” Greg answered.

Just then the beast began to twitch, then green light began to shoot out from his body. He rose from the ground, the light spilling out of him more. He fell to the ground afterwards and the beauty quickly went to his side. He was under his clothing and cape and when the beauty removed these from his face, she saw her prince. The man the old witch transformed into a beast. He looked up at the beauty, his blue eyes becoming soft. Tears filled both their eyes and they embraced each other. After a moment, the beauty helped him to his feet and they thanked the two siblings for breaking the spell. As a greater thank you, the prince handed the beauty a mirror to give to the two.

She smiled up at him and went to Melissa and Greg. “With this mirror, it will protect. Hold it away and let it reflect,” she began to say, holding the mirror close to her chest. “Her powers will not touch, but only if you hold it as such-” with the last few words, she held the mirror out to Melissa and Greg, allowing them to see their reflections.

“You must continue your journey,” the prince said behind her, “And you are always welcomed to my castle.”

The two thanked them and left the castle. It was no longer dark and dreary, for the pea had not only transformed the beast, but also the things that he owned. Only the kingdom transformed, the path the two had entered again was still dark as before. They decided to rest for a while, thinking it would only be a power nap. The nap lasted till morning and Greg’s eyes were the first to open and when they did, he noticed a small house sitting in the woods off the path. He turned around to wake Melissa and share the news with her. But when he did, she was gone too.

“Melissa?” he let out, standing up. “Mel?!” He searched the area then went toe house, thinking she went there.

The house was made out of gingerbread. The corners of the house had frosting holding it together, gumdrops decorated the rooftop and post leading up to the house. There was a candy cane for a chimney and glass candy for windows. It was the house from Hanzel and Gretel and knowing this made Greg worry. What if the witch had his sister? He crept around the house and looked through the red candy window into the kitchen. He saw cages made of pretzels sitting in the large room with children inside of them, one of them being his sister. As he continued to look inside the house, he saw the witch coming in from the other room. He ducked, only to look back inside as slyly as he could. She was talking to his sister and when she left the room and heard the front door slam, he went to the back door and pushed it open.

Oh please free me!

Please!

Oh, me! Me! Free me!

Greg ignored the other children’s calls, but quickly ran to the voice who was familiar to him.

“Greg!” Melissa called from inside a cage, “Get me out of here!”

“How did you get in this mess?!” he asked, tiptoeing to her.

“The globe had a message and I wanted to see if I could do it myself,” she began to explain as Greg pulled on the licorice rope on the lock, “But the witch caught me eating an M&M off her house.” Greg stopped from trying to free his sister and gave her a weird look. “What? I was hungry.”

Finally after a few more tugs, Greg freed his sister then slapped her arm. “Don’t you ever leave my side again!” He began to walk back towards the door, “We need to leave before she gets back and cooks us both for dinner.”

“But what about the riddle?”

“What about the riddle!?”

“A crystal candy shoe can be found inside, but these children are not your guide,” she recited. “The candy shoe has to be the next task.”

I have the candy shoe!

No, I do!

Over here!

The children yelled at Greg and Melissa.

“Candy shoe?” one of the children asked, making the two turn to him. “The witch made it after she ate my sister. I know where it is - let me out and I will show you.”

“You’re Hanzel,” Melissa said, looking down at the boy.

“Why would he lie?” Greg asked his sister, “Maybe he can help us.”

“No, Greg. The riddle-” but before she could stop her brother, the boy grabbed Greg’s arm and began to yell:

“Witch! Witch! Your dinner is escaping! Witch!”

Melissa helped her brother free himself and yelled, “We need to get that shoe and get out of here!”

They began to look around the house, ignoring the children’s calls for the witch. As they came back to the kitchen, they found the shoe. It sat on the counter like it was waiting for them the entire time. It was sitting across from a large oven that was large enough to hold two children at once. Greg grabbed the shoe then ushered his sister to head to the back door.

“Who goes zer!” the old witch called out, making her way quickly to the kitchen.

Melissa and Greg took one look at her and quickly ran the way Greg came in. The witch followed them right to the back steps and watched the two run away from the gingerbread house. She was calling after them, telling them to come back and she would cook them a nice meal. They ran till they couldn’t hear her voice anymore or see the small candy house. They entered another patch of woods and appeared again on another path. After a while another cottage appeared before them, but this time it wasn’t made of candy. It was a normal cottage with a normal picket fence and flower bushes around it. In front of the gateway towards the front door sat a prince in his carriage.

As the two passed the prince and his footmen, they heard him let out a sigh and say, “I will search no more, for I have searched from shore to shore. The glass slipper is broken and my words have been spoken. There is no maiden inside, who I wish to make my bride.” He never took a step up into the carriage, he hung his head low and sighed heavily as he stared at the ground.

“Mel,” Greg said, nudging his sister’s arm. They looked down at the globe. “If the shoe fits her foot, Ella of the Cinder will be freed from the soot.”

Melissa looked down at the shoe, “I told you this was a task. The shoe has to be hers. Let’s hurry inside before he leaves!”

They walked into the cottage and found Cinderella sitting in a room all by herself with yelling coming from another room, “That shoe fit my daughter’s foot last night! Bring the prince back!!”

“What happened?” Melissa asked Cinderella.

The girl looked up at the two and sadly smiled, “My prince brought my slipper that fell off my foot last night hoping to find his mystery princess from the ball,” she looked down at her hands that sat in her lap, “But my step-sister broke my slipper and my other one was stolen as I slept.” She looked back up at Melissa and Greg, “Now the prince won’t marry and I have no proof to show that I was the mystery girl last night.”

Melissa smiled at Cinderella and took the shoe from her brother. “Is this your shoe?” she asked, holding the candy shoe out to Cinderella, who’s eyes began to glow, “We found it in this house down the road.”

“My shoe!” Cinderella exclaimed, looking up at them and taking it.

“One of those children probably stole it,” Greg suggested, looking over at his sister, who was walking out the room, “Mel? Where are you going?”

“I have a plan,” she answered, walking out the door her and Greg had just entered. As she walked to where the prince still stood, she saw the globe following her with another riddle inside. She read the words that appeared inside. She was to talk to the prince only in rhyme, but luckily didn’t have to worry about the clock striking one.

The prince turned to her, as she stepped up to his side. “Do you bring me news about the shoes?” he asked, “Or a maiden who I may bring to see my father, the king?”

“I swear, the maid inside was to wear the shoe.” She paused, trying to figure out how to finish the rhyme, “She is your love believe me- it’s true?” She closed her one eye, hoping that was a good enough rhyme for him to take seriously.

The prince looked back at the ground before looking back up at Melissa and pledging, “If these words are not true from what you’ve said, believe me when I say: I will have your head.”

Melissa nervously smiled at him and motioned him to follow her. They headed to the back of the cottage where Cinderella had sat with Greg. Greg and Cinderella turned to the others once they entered and even without seeing the shoe, the prince knew.

Cinderella held the crystal candy shoe up to him to show him, “I am that girl from last night,” she told him, “The shoe- it will fit just right.”

He knelt in front of her and took the shoe. She held her foot out to him and the shoe slipped on perfectly. The prince looked into Cinderella’s face, both of them smiling at each other. She stood and walked right into the prince’s arms. When the prince announced they would wed that evening, Cinderella turned to Melissa and Greg, thanking them. She asked if they would join the ceremony, but the two thanked her for the offer, then explained that they really should be going.

“There is a town down the path a ways,” Cinderella said. “A friend of mine will have a place for you to eat and stay. Just give her this and she will know I sent you to her.” She went to a cabinet and took down a box. Inside was a diamond in a red pouch. She handed it to Melissa and lead them back to the door. She gave them directions to town and to where her friend was. The two looked outside and saw the town right outside. They looked back at Cinderella, she didn’t seem to see that the town was her backyard. She smiled at them, “Good luck, friends.”

The cottage faded away once Melissa and Greg were on the path to the town. When they reached the town’s entrance, the first thing they saw were egg shells on the ground and a group of men on horses gathering around it.

“You can’t put me back together?” lips asked on the ground, as eyes jotted to each soldiers. “Are you bloody serious?” Humpty asked, in his British tone.

They walked through the gates and were greeted by three men sitting in a bathtub, rowing past them. “Welcome to Hollow Rhyme Ville,” they each said in unison.

The two nodded their heads at the men and continued on. As they walked they saw many familiar nursery rhymes. Peter the pumpkin eater was attending his wife in a pumpkin house. He was handing her pieces of pumpkin pie, telling her that one day he will bring her a real home. On the other side of the street was Mary Contrary watering her garden.

“Excuse me, excuse me- coming through!” the two were pushed to the side of the street, as four men carried a stretcher with a boy on it, a young girl running after the four men, exclaiming, “Dear brother, Jack. We’ll be at the doctor’s soon!”

Greg watched the group run by, mumbling under his breath that he hoped the boy would be alright, while Melissa grinned from ear to ear, “That was Jack and Jill! So it is true, he really did fall.”

“Why of course he did, those children have nothing better to do than crack their crowns!” a small voice exclaimed next to them.

Melissa looked to the side to see a tiny man standing on a sign, while Greg began to wander off, almost in a daze.

“Tom Thumb! What are you doing up there!” another little voice exclaimed from below, this time it was a female’s voice. “What did your mother tell you! The sparrows like to eat little men like you!”

Melissa stepped back to look at the sight that was before her. More voices called at her telling her to watch where she was stepping. Melissa tiptoed around the area where the three blind mice were running around.

“Help!!” the young man’s voice cried out.

She looked to see a sparrow scoop Tom Thumb off the sign post, then looked back at Thumbelina who grabbed one of the mice and demanded they go follow where the bird was taking her friend.

“Greg, did you see that-?” she asked, turning around, then found her brother away from her, standing in a clearing.

She walked up to him and the man and woman on two high horses. The woman was playing a tune on a flute that Melissa and Greg used to sing back when they were in elementary. The man sat straight on his horse, a feather sticking out of his hat. A few girls ran out of their houses, circling around him, singing “Yankee Doodle Dandy”.

“This town is like reading a nursery book,” Greg said, looking at his sister. His eyes were wide.

“It’s called Hollow Rhyme for a reason Gregory,” Melissa stated, crossing her arms and smiling at her brother. “Come on, it should be getting dark soon. We should find Cinderella’s friend.”

They left the musical group and continued into town, naming the nursery rhymes each person was from. Right in the middle of town, they found the shop across from a bakery. They looked up at the sign that hung above the inn’s door, Bed of Roses, this was it. They walked inside. To the left was a staircase and to their right, they noticed a dining hall, but there was only two people eating at the table. A skinny man sat at one end with a lima bean on his plate, while on the other side was a heavyset woman with a plate full of chicken and potatoes.

“Jack Sprat and his wife, that is,” a voice said behind them. They turned to see a pretty young girl standing behind them. “Welcome to Bed of Roses, what can I do for you,” as she spoke, diamonds and roses fell from her mouth.

The two stared at the girl, speechless, Melissa snapped out of it first, pulling the red pouch with the diamond out of her pocket, “Um- we were told to give this to you!”

The girl took it and opened the pouch. “You’ve seen Ella. Which means you have completed your seventh task,” the girl said, a rose falling from her lips. She smiled and continued, “I have the perfect room for each of you. Follow me and watch your step.” She twirled around and the two knew what she meant by watch their step. The girl talked as they walked up the stairs - the diamonds bouncing at their feet. “How is Ella doing? Did she finally get her prince? Oh I hope so, I’m still waiting for mine you know,” she laughed, more diamonds and roses falling around her as they walked. “Usually at night the town is quiet except every once in a while Wee Willie Winkie has his night walks and goes running around knocking on everyone’s doors. If tonight’s the night he does this, ignore him. His mother will eventually catch him and spank him back to the house,” she said this with a smile and she stepped to the side of a door, ushering them in. “This is your room. Breakfast in the morning-”

“Breakfast will be nice but we won’t be staying long,” Greg said, before walking into the room. “With one more task, we would like to hurry.”

Melissa looked over at him, she liked the town and wished to see more, but he was right. This world wasn’t theirs and they needed to finish the final task. They thanked the girl for being so kind, then was left alone. They were given dinner a while later and laid out the things they still carried on them. It was the key from Rapunzel’s dead body and the mirror Beauty had given them. They were still clueless as to what they were used for. After eating, they decided to rest, each thinking about the final task and how each object would be used. As they slept, they heard rapping at the doors and even though it disturbed their sleep, they ignored it. They knew it was Wee Willie Winkie, just like the girl who talked diamonds and roses said it would be. They even heard his mother yelling outside their window.

The next morning they headed downstairs and said goodbye to Cinderella’s friend. She smiled kindly at them and gave them back the diamond Cinderella had given them and wished them good luck. It wasn’t long until they were finally out of the town and in a clearing of apple trees. The trees were talking amongst themselves, ignoring the fact that two strangers had arrived in their presence. The two didn’t bother them, they continued down the path, following the globe, knowing they had to be going the right way. As they reached the end, they came upon a small cottage that had two feet sticking out from underneath it. The globe began to jump up and down.

“This has to be the final task,” Greg said, staring at the feet.

“Are you ready?” Melissa asked.

Greg looked over at his sister, taking in a deep breath, “Only if you are.

Melissa took a second before answering, “Ready.”

They opened the front door and found two people on the floor. They had wings growing out of their backs and crowns above their heads. They still held their wands, which pointed towards another room. They followed where the wands pointed and entered another room. In that room was almost the same scene, only this time it was only one person. It was a young girl, only twelve years old on the ground. She was dead like the others. Only she didn’t look like a fairy like the other two. The girl had a blue dress on with a white pinafore. Her blonde hair scattered around her face, ruby red shoes on her feet.

“Mel, the shoes!” Greg exclaimed, pointing at the girl’s feet, “The ones that will bring us home.”

“Just like in the wizard of oz,” she mumbled to herself.

“Put them on.”

“They’re on a dead girl!!”

“Mel, we need to go home. We’ve been here for too long,” he stared over at his sister, his tone becoming serious. “This is the final task, we need to do this.”

Melissa went to the girl’s body and removed the shoes from her feet. She took her shoes off and began to put on the ruby red ones. Her lip rose in disgust. Just as she slipped the left shoe on, a woman’s voice was heard:

“Who’s in my house?!”

Greg and Melissa stood back, facing the doorway and waited.

A green skinned witch appeared in the doorway, “Who-” She looked down at Melissa’s feet and began to yell, “My shoes!! You’ve stolen my shoes!”

The witch went after Melissa. Her claw like fingers ready to grab her and take her shoes back. The two maneuvered around her and the witch continued to yell, telling them to give back the shoes. They ran down the hallway, past the dead fairies but ran into a dead end. The witch blocked the doorway and huffing and puffing.

“That’s it!” the witch yelled, she held her hands out in front of her. “You’ve left me with no choice. Shoes or no shoes!!”

Just then a green mist of her powers formed between her hands. She pulled it back, ready to push it forward. As she shot her magic at Melissa, Greg quickly grabbed the mirror out of his pocket. He remembered what Beauty had told them. Her power will not touch if you hold it like- He stretched his body out, protecting his sister with the mirror. He faced the mirrored glass at the witch, just as the powers were about to hit them. Once the magic hit the mirror, it was sent right back at the witch, faster this time, giving the witch no time to react. She screamed as it hit her and began to melt into the floor.

Melissa turned to Greg, her eyes wide.

“Hey, you’re not the only one who can follow along with the rhymes,” he said, smirking and putting the mirror on a dresser.

Melissa smiled at her brother then looked around and back at her shoes, “So are these really supposed to get us back home?”

“They better after everything we’ve been through. Why don’t you try the obvious: there’s no place like home.”

Melissa repeated the five words three times, clicking her heels, but nothing happened.

“Great… Is there one last place we need to go?”

“I don’t think so…” Melissa answered, then remembered, “You still have that key!”

Greg patted his jacket then stuck his hands into his pant pockets and pulled out the key he had taken from Rapunzel’s cold hands. “Where does it go?” he asked, holding the gold key up.

The globe began to jump up and down, telling them to pay attention to it. They looked down and it ran to the other end of the house to a back door. It jumped more, which told them the key would unlock the door.

“I hope there’s no surprises behind that door,” Melissa mumbled.

“Should I do it?” Greg asked, before placing the key near the keyhole.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” she said, posing in a karate form.

Greg let out a laugh and shook his head then slowly slipped the key into the hole and the door clicked open. The globe ran out and when the door was fully open the two stepped outside into a dark garden. Mother Goose appeared in front of them.

She smiled her toothless smile and recited, “Congratulations the game is done, congratulations you have won. Each tale was not as they seemed, and now you shall awake and find this was all but a dream-”

“-Land. Hello! Earth to Melissa!” Greg called into his sister’s ear.

Melissa eyes opened slowly, then shot open.

“The car’s almost done being stubborn. Try calling the others again.”

Melissa looked around, she was back in the car. Was that all really just a dream? She dug her hand into her pocket to grab her cell phone, but instead of a phone, she grabbed a satin bag. She pulled a red pouch out of her pocket and opened it. Inside was a diamond. Her jaw dropped and her eyes twinkled at the sight of the diamond.

Greg plopped down in her seat next to him, “Did it work?”

Melissa quickly shoved the pouch back in her pocket and picked up her phone, “Still no service.” She waved the phone at him.

Greg nodded then looked down towards her feet, “Where are your shoes?”