My Sort of Fairy Tale Ending (13 page)

As bits of blinding gold fell all around me, I closed my eyes to keep from seeing stars for the rest of my life.

“Jenny!” Luken cried from somewhere above me. “Jenny, the queen is gone. She is really gone!”

I opened my eyes, trying to smile, but I could still barely see straight. Was there something really wrong with me?

“What is the matter?” Luken said, his smile disappearing. “Are you hurt?”

“Get…get Anthony.”

Luken nodded and ran off. Almost instantly, he came back with the gnome beside him.

“Jenny-girl, are you okay? What happened?” Anthony knelt over me, his face full of concern.

“My head,” I managed to whisper as things started to go black again.

Anthony got to work right away. He yanked off the fairy cuff—which was crumbling to dust on its own—and started working some healing magic on me. A minute later, Dr. Bradley joined in.

Karfum also rushed over and stuffed some shamrocks in my mouth. “These will do the trick,” he insisted. I was so exhausted that I obediently swallowed them down.

A second later, whether it was from the magic or the shamrocks, I started to feel better.

“My parents!” I said, trying to sit up. “Are they—?”

“They're fine,” said Dr. Bradley. “Take it easy, Jenny. You have quite a nasty bump on your head.”

I didn't care about all that. I scanned the room. Nearby, Luken was standing with Mahlia at his side, her arm draped protectively around his shoulders. For the first time, they looked like they were really mother and son.

“Jenny?” Luken said, coming over to me. “Are you all right?”

“I'm great!” I cried. “The queen's gone. Luken, you did it. You defeated her!”

“We did it together,” he said, giving his mother a smile. I couldn't believe the warmth flowing between them. Maybe the two of them could finally figure out a way to get along.

I spotted my parents stirring on the other side of the room, waking up from being knocked out. “Help me up,” I said to Anthony. “Please. I need to make sure my mom and dad are okay.”

Anthony nodded and helped me get to my feet. I was still a little dizzy, but that didn't stop me. When I rushed over to my parents, my dad was looking up at me with puzzled eyes.

“Jenny, is that you?” He looked around. “What happened?”

“The Queen Fairy's gone,” I said.

My mom sat up a few feet away, holding a hand up to her forehead like she had a headache. “How did we get here?” Her eyes went wide at the sight of me. “Jenny. It really is you, isn't it? You look so…grown up!”

I stared at her, afraid to ask the question. “You—you know who I am? You remember what I looked like when you left?”

My mother laughed. “Of course I do! Now help me up so I can hug you! Is that my necklace you're wearing? And my bracelet? Wait, am I seeing things, or do you have a tail?”

I couldn't believe it. My parents knew me! Their memories were back! I pulled my mom and dad into a giant hug, not wanting to let them go. This time I didn't cry. I just laughed and laughed, unable to believe that I had finally gotten my family back.

After a minute, Anthony and Dr. Bradley joined in our group hug so that we became more of a football huddle. I couldn't remember ever being so happy.

Finally, when we could all let go of each other, it was time to figure out how to fix the mess the Queen Fairy had left behind. Luckily, the cuffs on all of our wrists were falling off, and the last of our mousy features were disappearing. My tail was getting smaller by the minute.

“I will check on the Committee,” Dr. Bradley said. He conjured himself a new cane before hobbling over to where the Committee members were starting to wake up. I wasn't sure where all the stolen magic had gone when the Queen Fairy had disintegrated, but I had a feeling it had returned to where it was supposed to be. Which meant…

“The Land of Tales!” I said. “We need to go there and make sure everyone's magic comes back. And Ilda, we need to figure out what to do with her. And my friends—”

“Jenny-girl, relax!” said Anthony. “You go rest up and be with your family. I'll take care of everything, and I'll bring Trish and Melissa home from the Land of Tales when they're ready.”

I threw my arms around Anthony and held him tight. The last of my dizziness was gone. Now I just felt like my body was about to burst with joy. “Thank you!”

When the gnome was gone, I introduced Luken to my parents. I couldn't let go of their hands, at least not yet.

“Now what happens?” I asked him. I glanced over to where Mahlia and Karfum were talking softly with each other.

Luken sighed. “The leprechauns will have their pots of gold returned to them, and all the prisoners will be allowed to go home, though it may take a few days to sort them all out. I am afraid it will also take some time to make Fairy Land run without magic.”

My mom gave him an encouraging smile. “Your world will be very different, but the Committee will help make it right again. We all will.”

“What about the theme park?” I said.

“My mother and I will rebuild it together, using my father's designs.” Luken smiled shyly. “And maybe a few of my own.” He took his sketchbook out of his pocket and showed me a drawing he must have done earlier. It was of both of our families strapped into a Gravitron ride, all of us looking sick, terrified, and totally happy.

I laughed. “It's about time you guys did the amusement-park thing again. It'll make all the tickets and screaming and stuff make a lot more sense.”

“Thank you for your help, Jenny,” he said. “You have your family back now. Enjoy your time together.”

I grinned back at him. “You too.”

I was actually tempted to hug him but was saved from embarrassing myself by the Committee members' demanding voices: “Adventurers! Come here, please.”

The old crones were back to normal.

When my parents and I went up to the table, the women were perched there as if nothing had happened. Even their hair was perfectly in place.

“We are grateful to you,” they said. Their eyes swung toward me. “Giving the Queen Fairy all of our magic was a risky plan. We are glad it worked. Otherwise—”

“Otherwise, you would've been really mad. I get it. Sorry. I couldn't think of anything else to do.”

“No,” they said. “You misunderstand. It was risky, but it was necessary. Nothing else would have been sufficient to defeat the Queen Fairy. We are proud of you, Jennifer. We want you to return to being an adventurer. We would be honored if you would accept.”

I stared at them with my mouth hanging open. Had the Committee members actually said they were proud of me? First they'd risked basically everything to save my life, and then they'd actually complimented me? Maybe there was more to these old women than I'd realized.

“Of course I'll go back to being an adventurer,” I said. “It's what I do.”

“Wait,” my mom said. “Not so fast.”

I frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“I think we all need a vacation first,” she said. “Some time as a family to get reacquainted.”

“Yes,” my dad added. “After that, we can talk about putting our lives at risk again.”

I nodded. They were right. I had plenty of time to be an adventurer. Right now, the most important thing was making up for all those years I'd missed with my parents.

“Very well,” the Committee members said. “Take all the time you need.” I waited for them to demand that we sign some paperwork, or to at least stamp a form or two, but they just smiled at us in unison and waved us away. If this was what working with the Committee was going to be like from now on, I could certainly get used to it! Especially if I had my parents by my side.

I turned to my mom and dad. “Let's go home,” I said.

Aunt Evie had to drink about a gallon of tea before she believed that my parents were really back. She just kept staring at them and gulping down cup after cup of Earl Grey. Finally, she plucked a tiny black kitten off her shoulder and ran over to hug us all. I'd never seen her really cry before.

“What happened?” she said. “Where have you been all these years?”

“It's a long story,” my dad said. “Maybe we'll tell you another time.”

“No,” I cut in. “I think it's time Aunt Evie knew the truth…about everything. She's been so patient with me. It's not fair to keep her in the dark anymore.”

My parents had some sort of silent conversation between them. Finally, they both nodded.

“Well, Sis,” my dad said, leading Aunt Evie back to her seat at the kitchen table. “You might want to prepare yourself for a pretty crazy story.”

It took the three of us a while to explain things to my aunt, starting with the existence of the magical worlds, and then moving on to our secret adventurer identities. When I told her about everything that had happened to me while my parents had been gone, my mom and dad wiped tears from their eyes.

“I wish we could have been there with you,” my mom said. “There's so much we wanted to teach you when the time came.”

“It's okay,” I said. “You're here now. And we've got plenty of time.”

Then we told Aunt Evie about how my parents had given themselves up to the Queen Fairy seven years ago to keep me safe, and how we'd managed to finally defeat her today.

My aunt sat there petting the kitten the whole time, until it started to squirm in her lap. Finally, when we were done, she let out a soft laugh. Seeing its chance, the kitten quickly made a run for it and disappeared into the living room.

“That's a lot to take in,” my aunt said. “And this is all really true?” I realized she was asking me specifically. I guess after all these years of the two of us living together, I was the one she trusted the most.

“Yes, Aunt Evie,” I said. “It's the truth. I'm sorry we lied to you. It'll never happen again. I promise.”

“And you were really a mouse?”

I laughed. “Yup. It was the itchiest time of my life.”

She nodded slowly. “All right.” And that was it. No more explanation or convincing needed. I guess when you spent your life talking to animals, hearing about magical worlds and power-hungry fairies wasn't really that strange.

“So,” my dad said. “What do we do now?”

“Well,” I said, suddenly feeling shy. “There is one thing I've been dreaming of doing with you guys. If you're up for it…”

“Whatever you want,” said my mom. “I think you've earned it.”

The four of us hopped in my aunt's car and headed to a nearby mini-golf course to play together as a family for the first time ever.

Aunt Evie, of course, kept trying to hold her club upside down while a gecko perched on her head. My mom insisted on keeping score with a calculator, while my dad and I both practiced our swings in between turns, trying to outdo each other. During it all, the four of us were talking and laughing as if all that time we'd lost had never happened.

As my family and I played mini-golf with the sun setting in the background, I couldn't stop grinning. This was it. This was exactly what I'd been waiting for all these years. It might have sounded dumb to anyone else, but I couldn't imagine anything more perfect.

THE END

Here we are again. Normally, Jenny would roll her eyes at all this cheesy stuff, but she's feeling pretty grateful right now. In fact, we both are. So let's thank some people, shall we?

To Ray Brierly for reading more drafts of my books than anyone should ever be forced to (and for claiming to like each one).

To my family and friends for the endless hugs and support.

To my writing friends and online buddies, especially Megan Kudrolli, Alisa Libby, Heather Kelly, and Sarah Chessman.

To Ammi-Joan Paquette for believing in Jenny from the beginning.

To Aubrey Poole and the rest of the Sourcebooks team for making Jenny's (and my) journey an amazing one.

And to all the incredible UnFairy Tale readers out there who've made me feel like a real author.

Sedman Photography

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories (especially fairy tales) in both Polish and English. After studying theater at Sarah Lawrence College, she attended the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College. She was named the 2006–2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives outside Boston with her husband and their adorably crazy dog, Emma. When she's not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and shooting hoops with leprechauns. You can visit her at
www.annastan.com
.