The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (19 page)

The twins walked down to the main street. They followed the traffic of carriages toward the palace. The closer they came to the palace, the larger it grew and the more real it became.

Many of the coachmen glared at the twins with bewildered and judgmental looks. A few passengers leaned out of their carriage windows to see what the twins were doing.

“Take a picture—it lasts longer!” Conner shouted at them.

“Conner! They don’t know what that means!” Alex said.

They reached the palace just as the sun was setting. As each carriage neared the front steps of the palace’s entrance, its footman would run around the carriage and gently help the passengers out.

Alex and Conner had never seen such beautiful clothing. All the women wore long ball gowns of various colors, fabrics, and stitching. They wore gloves and diamonds; some wore bows and feathers in their hair. The men all dressed beautifully, too, some in formal armor and some in suits with broad, fringed shoulders and square cuffs.

All the effort and flair that the guests had put into their appearance made the twins feel very insecure about their impromptu robes. They stuck out like sore thumbs. They were the youngest people there, they were the only ones not dressed in lace or satin, and they were the only ones carrying bags. They looked exactly like what they were: a couple of kids sneaking into a ball.

An extensive row of steps led up to the palace’s entrance. Alex and Conner began climbing them with the rest of the attendees. It was such a climb, they wondered if they would ever reach the top of it.

“This world has goblins and fairies, but where’s an escalator when you need one?” Conner said.

“Conner!” Alex gasped. “Look at this!”

She pointed to a silver star placed in the steps underneath their feet. It said:

THIS MARKS THE VERY PLACE
WHERE CINDERELLA LEFT HER
GLASS SLIPPER BEHIND
ON THE NIGHT SHE MET
PRINCE CHARMING.

“Can you believe that’s the very spot Cinderella left her glass slipper?” Alex said with both hands pressed against her heart.

“Absolutely,” Conner said. “I wouldn’t have climbed these steps again if I had left my shoe, either.”

The twins caused quite a scene at the entrance. Everyone was absolutely appalled by their clothing. Alex could feel herself blushing from the way everyone was staring at her; she felt like she was back at school.

One palace guard in particular couldn’t stop staring at them—not in a judgmental way, but as if he had seen them somewhere before and couldn’t remember where. He was standing just a step inside the palace entrance, and he greeted all the guests as they passed him. He wore more badges on his uniform than any other of the guards, and he had a very thin, dark beard.

Another palace guard was collecting invitations at the doors. The twins began to panic.

“What are we going to do?” Alex whispered to her brother.

“Let me handle this,” Conner said. “I saw this in a movie once. Just go with it.”

“Invitations, please,” the guard said.

“Our parents have our invitations, but they’re already inside,” Conner said.

“And who are your parents?” asked the guard snootily.

“Who are our parents?” yelled Conner, causing a bigger scene than they had already. “You mean, you don’t know who we are?”

All the guards and guests looked among one another.

“Conner, calm down!” Alex said. What was he thinking?

“This man doesn’t know who our parents are, Alex!” Conner continued. “I’ll have you know that our parents invented wishing wells! How dare you show us any disrespect!”

Alex wanted to slap him. She looked apologetically at the people around them. They all scowled in the twins’ direction, except for the guard with the thin beard. He was actually smirking at them with gentleness in his eyes.

“I’m afraid you two have to leave now,” said the guard collecting the invitations.

“Leave? You’re making the heirs to the wishing-well fortune leave?” Conner exclaimed loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“Conner. Just. Shut. Up,”
Alex whispered directly into his ear.

“Is there a problem?” the guard with the thin beard asked as he approached the twins.

“Not at all!” Alex said, and began backing up, forcing Conner to move with her.

“They don’t have an invitation,” the other guard said.

“We were just leaving!” Alex said. “Sorry for the confusion.”

“Nonsense,” the guard with the thin beard said. “I just saw your parents inside the palace. Why don’t I take you to them?”

Alex and Conner froze.

“You did?” Conner said, and then quickly remembered that he had to keep up with his own lie. “I mean, of course you did!” He threw a dirty look to the other guard.

“Come with me, and I’ll take you straight to your parents,” the guard with the thin beard said.

Before they knew it, Alex and Conner were being escorted into the palace. They were completely in over their heads. Did this guard know they were lying, and was he now escorting them directly to the dungeon? Or perhaps Conner’s lie was truer than they thought, and they were about to meet a couple that were definitely not their parents.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the guard said. “I’m Sir Lampton, the head of the queen’s Royal Guard. Welcome to the palace!”

“Thank you,” Conner said. “I’m Conner
Wishington
, and this is my sister, Alex.”

“Where are you from, Mr. and Ms. Wishington?” Lampton asked.

“Upstate Northern Kingdom,” Conner said. Even he looked surprised by the words coming out of his mouth. “But our parents have a summer home in the south of the Sleeping Kingdom and a condo in the Fairy Kingdom.”

Alex’s eyes opened so wide that she had to remind herself to blink.

“Ah… I see,” Lampton said with a curious look. “Would you like me to take your bags for you?”

“No, that’s quite all right,” Alex said. “We’ll manage.”

Lampton led the twins down a long hallway behind all the other guests. There were many large portraits of past rulers on the walls, and a red carpet ran under their feet. Alex and Conner were all eyes; they had never been inside a royal palace before. There were so many shiny things to look at.

Lampton seemed to be enjoying their excitement. He leaned between them and softly said, “You’re sneaking into the palace, aren’t you?”

Alex desperately looked to Conner, but he was out of lies for the night.

“Please don’t throw us in the dungeon!” Alex pleaded. “We didn’t mean any harm.”

Conner looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow. Did she mean no harm
besides
breaking into the place and stealing a cherished item?

Lampton chuckled. “I’ve seen a lot of youngsters try to sneak into a royal ball before, but never have I been so entertained by such an attempt,” he said.

“So, you aren’t going to throw us in a cell and hang us upside down by our toenails?” Conner asked.

“We stopped doing that ages ago,” Lampton said. “On the contrary, it would be my honor to show you two around.”

“Really?” Conner said.

“That would be lovely!” Alex said, clasping her hands together. “Thank you!”

At the end of the hall, Lampton led the twins through a pair of golden doors into the ballroom.

At first, the sight was overwhelming. There were so many things to look at, it was impossible to focus on any one thing long enough to comprehend what it was. There was so much movement and color.

The biggest chandelier they had ever seen, with thousands of candles, hung from the ceiling above an enormous dance floor. Hundreds of formally dressed men and women filled the space. Some mingled on the sides while others danced to the music played by a small orchestra in the corner.

Everything from the archways to the accents on the walls was golden. A grand staircase descended in the back of the room just behind two empty thrones.

Conner knew it would only be a few seconds before Alex started crying.

“It’s so beautiful!” Alex said, with teary eyes. “Is this where they had the ball where Cinderella and the prince met?”

“Indeed,” Lampton said. “I’ll never forget it. I was just a simple guard back then. The prince was meeting all the young women in the kingdom in hopes of finding a bride. Cinderella was the last to arrive that night. She entered the room, just as we are now, and everyone stopped to look at her.”

“How did she look?” Alex asked.

“Magical,” Lampton said with a smile, lost in his own memory. “She wore a long, violet dress that sparkled as she walked. I remember hearing the soft taps of her glass slippers as she walked past. As soon as the prince saw her, it was love at first sight; the whole palace could feel it.”

Suddenly, a man blew a trumpet at the foot of the grand staircase.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the man with the trumpet announced. “It is with great honor that I welcome you to the royal ball this evening. Now, please give a warm welcome to Their Royal Majesties King Charming and Queen Cinderella!”

The guests cheered and burst into applause. The royal couple entered the ballroom, slowly making their way down the grand staircase. Alex grabbed on to Conner’s arm.

“Conner,” Alex gasped. “It’s Cinderella! It’s Cinderella!”

Although the twins had only seen illustrations of her, Cinderella was more beautiful than they had ever expected.
Her hair was auburn and styled up behind a crystal tiara. She wore white gloves and a long, turquoise gown flowed down around her, accentuating her pregnant belly. Despite all the gold and the glorious chandelier, her eyes and smile were the brightest things in the room.

King Charming was the definition of dashing. He was every bit as handsome as any description ever written about him. He had a mesmerizing smile and thick, wavy hair under a large, golden crown. He could easily have been a movie star back in the twins’ world.

The king and queen took their seats on the thrones, and the guard with the trumpet blew the opening notes of another announcement.

“Let the ball begin!” the guard with the trumpet proclaimed, and was greeted with another round of excited applause.

The majority of the guests rushed to the dance floor. The orchestra began playing a fast-paced symphony. All the guests paired up and began waltzing around the room, each looking lovingly into their partner’s eyes the entire time.

The king and queen remained seated. You could tell Cinderella wanted to join the dance, but her pregnancy was preventing her from doing so. King Charming only had eyes for his wife; he was enjoying her watching the dance more than the actual dance itself.

At one point, each of the dancing men collected a shoe from their partners and circled them with it before placing it back on their feet—a Cinderellian tribute, no doubt.

Time flew by as the twins watched the ball.

The unborn child Cinderella was carrying must have been kicking from all the excitement. Cinderella appeared to have some discomfort, and had been rubbing her belly and shifting in her seat for some time. She eventually whispered something into King Charming’s ear. King Charming took his wife’s hand and carefully helped her back up the grand staircase.

The guard blew his trumpet again. “The queen is tired and wishes to rest, but she and the king welcome you to continue this celebration without their presence.”

The crowd happily obliged and continued their fun.

“Would you like a tour of the palace?” Lampton asked the twins.

“More than anything!” Alex said.

Lampton escorted the twins out of the ballroom and down a hall similar to the one they had first entered the palace through. It, too, was home to several portraits of past rulers and a long, red carpet.

“This palace was built over five hundred years ago,” Lampton told them as he walked. “It’s been home to the Charming Dynasty since then. This is a portrait of King Chester Charming, Cinderella’s late father-in-law.”

He referred to a large painting of an old, bearded man with a crown. He looked exactly like his son, but much older.

“How many King Charmings have there been?” Conner asked.

“We’ve lost count,” Lampton said. “There are three currently. King Chester had four sons: Chance Charming, Chase Charming, Chandler Charming, and Charlie Charming.”

Each of the Charming brothers had his own portrait on the wall.

“King Chance Charming is the oldest and is married to Queen Cinderella,” Lampton said, and gestured to the portrait of the man they had just seen in the ballroom.

“King Chase Charming is the second oldest and is married to Queen Sleeping Beauty,” Lampton continued.

Chase looked exactly like his brother, except he was a bit taller and wore a goatee.

“King Chandler Charming is the third oldest and is married to Queen Snow White,” Lampton said.

Chandler looked like his brothers, but had the longest hair of all of them.

The last portrait in the hallway caught the twins’ eye the most. It was hung slightly away from the rest and depicted the youngest of the Charming brothers. He was young and had a big smile. A single candle was lit beside the portrait; it appeared to be a memorial of sorts.

“Who is that?” Conner asked Lampton.

Lampton’s happy expression faded away. “That’s Prince Charlie, the fourth son of King Chester. He’s the long-lost Charming prince,” Lampton said. “He vanished one night many years ago, and no one ever saw him again.”

“That’s horrible,” Alex said.

“His brothers led massive search parties throughout all the kingdoms, but they never found a trace of him,” Lampton said sadly. “Fortunately, some good came out of the search. While on the road, Prince Chandler came across Snow White in her glass coffin, and Prince Chase discovered Sleeping Beauty asleep in her castle, and they both broke the spells put on them and were married.”

“That’s incredible!” Alex said. “So if Prince Charlie never went missing, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White would still be unconscious!”

“That may be,” Lampton said. “And since his brothers took all the eligible princesses, Prince Chance had to put on the ball where he met Cinderella. Everything happens for a reason, I suppose.”