Willow's Magical Escape (standard:fairy tales, 10648 words)
Author: Chancey	Added: Aug 08 2006	Views/Reads: 3853/2775	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Willow finds herself on a magical journey to Fantasy Land to find out who she truly is. On the way, she receives help from all her childhood heroes.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

was no longer acting like a mother.  Willow grew fast, and before she 
could even blink, it seamed that she was approaching twelve years old.  
Her father had always told her that twelve was a very special age in 
the fantasy realm.  He said that fairies came of age at twelve, and 
that there was a huge party celebrating their birthday.  He had told 
her many times that any fairies that were away would be retreived when 
they were twelve years old.  Willow still saw the dark monsters, but 
she had learned not to speak of them to Mary.  It was just wasted 
breath to her way of thinking, since Mary routinely ignored her pleas 
for belief and understanding.  Mary, still ever watchful of what the 
people thought, was in the midst of planning a colassal birthday party 
for her daughter, but Willow was not excited.  She knew that the party 
was in no way for her benefit, but for her mothers sense of propriety.  
Willow simply went through the motions.  The party planning however was 
in full swing, and her mother was very cross the morning of the party, 
for she sent the nanny to wake her daughter, only to be told that her 
daughter had vanished in the night.  Mary searched high and low for 
Willow, to no avail, and finally had to call the party off, calling in 
the police and listing the child on the missing persons list, positive 
it was an abduction. 

Willow, however, having been abducted, was not in the least concerned. 
She had awakened in the middle of the night to a glowing form above her 
bed.  When she had finally come completely awake, she had noticed the 
smell in her room.  The being over her bed smelled of wild violets.  
Willow was amazed.  She wiped the sleep out of her eyes, blinked 
several times, and even pinched herself to make sure she was not 
dreaming.  It was then that the figure above her bed began to take a 
more deffinate shape.  It was the shape of a woman, a beautiful woman, 
and Willow instantly felt at ease with her. 

"Willow, I am Violet, the fairy of the flowers, and I have been sent to
retreive you."  the lady-fairy told her. 

"Retreive me?  Why do you come to retreive me now?" she asked. 

"This is your twelth year, is it not?", the fairy asked the child. 

"It is.", Willow replied. 

"Then it is time you returned home.", she stated. 

Willow was amazed, she had always expected her father had ties with the
fairy folk, or at least with the fantasy world, but she would have 
never guessed that she had ties as well.  The fairy took her hand, and 
Willow felt herself drifting off the bed, out the window, and into the 
night sky.  It seamed like hours passed as she flew, but soon, they 
landed at the edge of a great forrest.  Willow looked to the fairy who 
had brought her with a questioning gaze. 

"Your father promised to prepare you well for this, but alas it is a
test, and only a truely wonderous fairy could pass such a test.  You 
must pass through The Enchanted Forest, over the Mystic Mountains, 
through the Lost Lagoon, and come out in Fantasy Land.", she told her, 
"If you do not make it, for any reason, then you are banished back to 
the land of the humans forever, with only the dimist recollections of 
this land in your dreams.  Now I must leave you to do what you must."  
and the lady fairy disappeared without a trace. 

Willow felt the fear bite into her very soul, and sat down on the grass
outside of the Enchanted Forest and cried.  Her father had never told 
her anything about the test, and she was very doubtful as to whether 
she could pass it or not, but she did not want to return to her world, 
where the only parent she had hated her for reasons she could not 
understand.  Willow shook herself out of her daze slowly and stood, 
trying to work up the courage it took to venture into the dark forest.  
She took one trembling step forward, and then another, and before she 
knew what was happening, she was inside the forest. 

She looked ahead of her, but the trees were so thick that not much light
got through the branches.  She tried to remember all of her fathers 
stories.  There was one about a little girl and a wolf.  In the story, 
all the little girl had to do to survive was stay on the path.  Willow 
vowed not to leave the path, even though there were beautiful flowers, 
and strange creatures just off the path.  Willow decided that she 
should not venture from the path, even though she heard beautiful 
singing, and saw beautiful things hidden by the trees.  She continued 
on the path, and when she emerged from the forest, she realized that 
she must have done that part right.  Her feet were hurting, after her 
long walk, however, and she realized with a squeal that her houseshoes 
were ruined, and the bottoms were mostly gone.  Of course, she had 
always been the type to run around barefoot, just not in the forest.  
She looked back the way she had come and saw that the forest look 
bright and sunny inside now.  She had the overwelming urge to return 
and look around at the things she had passed earlier, but decided 
against it at the last moment, and instead looked ahead.  She removed 
the house shoes, leaving them where they lay along side the path at 
first, and then quickly changing her mind, she picked them back up and 
stuffed them into the large pockets of her housecoat.  She did not want 
to leave a mess here.  Then she continued on down the path to the 
mountain. 

The Mystic Mountains were surrounded by a light mist.  They stood
magestically against the clear blue sky.  The first thing she came to 
was a large wooden bridge.  Two billy goats were playing on the other 
side of the bridge in the meadow and eating the greenest looking grass 
she had ever seen.  She remembered a nursery rhyme like this as well, 
she though with a shudder.  That would mean that there was very likely 
a troll under this bridge.  She lifted her night gown and robe just 
enough so as not to trip over it as she climbed up the steps and 
stepped onto the bridge.  She took hesitant steps across the bridge, 
trying to remember how it was that the goats had gotten accross.  A 
trick, she knew it was a trick, but what sort of trick. 

"I hear the pitter of feet over my bridge, who is crossing my bridge? 
It sounds like a tasy human child!!!", said a deep and raspy voice.  
Willow nearly jumped out of her skin. 

"I-I am Willow, and I seek passage accross your bridge good sir!" she
said. 

"I allow no one passage over my bridge!" he bellowed, and at that moment
she remembered the trick that the billy goats had played on the troll. 

"I shall come up there and eat you all up!" the troll exclaimed. 

"But surely you do not wish to eat me, a small tasteless girl when you
could have a large tasty billy goat instead!" she stated to the troll.  
"If you eat me, you shall have no room for the tasty billy goat who is 
coming this way.  He shall be here any minute for I saw him as I came 
through" she told the troll. 

"You saw this Billy Goat coming, little girl?"  the troll asked. 

"I did, Sir, and he is very large and looks very tasty."  she told him. 

"Fine then, little girl, you shall pass."  he told her, and Willow
continued crossing the bridge. 

She walked through the meadow where the billy goats were playing and
continued up the first of the mountains.  The side of the mountain was 
fairly steep, but Willow knew that she could and would be able to climb 
to the top.  As she approached the top, night began to fall.  Willow 
was afraid that she had not had time to complete the test, she was 
worried that they would send her back, or that there would be no place 
for her to rest or eat, for now she was very tired and hungry as well.  
Just then, she made it over the crest of the mountain.  There was a 
little daylight left, and as she started down the mountain, she came 
upon a cottage made out of gingerbread, candy and cake.  The sweets 
looked soooo tempting, and she wanted to take a large bite out of it so 
bad, but somewhere in the recesses of her mind, her fathers voice spoke 
to her.  "And the children happened upon a gingerbread house and ran to 
eat of the tasty sweets.  Just then a mean witch came out, and locked 
the children into cages!" 

Willow shuddered, it was obvious that this hut was not meant to be her
resting place for the night.  She continued on, not even bothering to 
look back, for she knew in her mind that there was a witch inside.  The 
light was fading quickly now, and willow came to another grove of trees 
on the gently sloping back side of the mountain.  She saw that the path 
went straight into the trees.  The woods here were spookier even than 
the first woods she crossed through.  There were eyes everywhere, but 
the closer she got to the eyes, the more she realized that they were 
not threatening, but freindly eyes.  They belonged to the creatures of 
the woods.  Beautiful creatures they were from deer, to fox, to rabbit, 
they all looked at her curiously and followed her progression.  
Suddenly, when the light was just about gone, the woods opened up to 
reveal a tiny, cozy looking cottage with a roof made of hay and walls 
made of rocks.  A small stream trickled from one side of the clearing 
to the other, and a small foot bridge led across the stream.  Willow 
noticed that everything here was very small.  As she approached the 
hut, she realized that she could not think of anything bad about this 
little hut, and she continued towards it.  In fact, somewhere deep 
inside herself she actually felt like she recognized it and that she 
had been here before.  She strode up to the hut confidantly, and peeked 
hesitantly through the first window.  Inside, there were lots of small 
chairs and a small table.  Everything was tiny, but there was no one 
home.  Willow approached the door and knocked upon it. 

"Hello, is anyone home?", Willow called out.  No one answered.  Willow
gently pushed the door open, "Hello, is anyone home", still no one 
answered.  Willow walked inside, and realized instantly what a mess the 
tiny cottage was.  She decided that the least she could do was tidy up 
a bit.  She began by dusting the furniture, and sweeping the floor.  
Then she washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen.  Next, she went 
upstairs and straightened up the little bedroom.  The names on the bed 
seemed familair to her, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.  
Once she was done, and the house looked presentable, she lay down on 
one of the beds and fell fast asleep.  It wasn't long after she fell 
asleep that something once again woke her up. 

"Ho-Hi, Ho-Hi, Home from work by and by!"  a group of voices sang this
song, to a tune she knew she recognized.  But of Course!  She was in 
the cottage of the seven drawfs!  She threw the covers off of herself 
and quickly remade the bed the bounded down the stairs, almost knocking 
herself cold on the low rafters over the stairs. 

"Look, our house is clean!  Is it Snow White come for a visit???", a
chubby drawf asked suddenly. 

"I don't think it is Snow White, she usually sends messages by the
pidgeons when she is to visit!" a different drawf with glasses replied. 


"I think we have a new visitor!  It may be a monster!!!!", one of the
drawfs shrilled. 

"It may the be wicked witch", another drawf shuddered. 

"I am not a monster or a wicked witch, I am a girl.  My name is Willow,
and I am pleased to meet you all!"  Willow said to the group. 

Most of the drawfs smiled up at her and told her their names, only one
sat back in the corner with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed 
over his chest.  It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who 
that drawf was, Willow though and smiled. 

The drawfs and Willow sat around the fireplace until late in the night,
she telling tales of her father, and the drawfs telling tales of Snow 
White.  It was a charming evening, with some stew for supper, help 
cleaning up the kitchen, and then finally a really good nights sleep 
for all.  The drawfs had even had a bed made just for Snow White, so 
Willow slept quite comfortably. 

Morning dawned early, and Willow got up and made the drawfs breakfast
and cleaned the kitchen as they readied for work.  When the drawfs left 
for the mines in the morning, Willow followed them as far as the path 
took, there they said their good byes and went on their separate ways.  
Willow felt very rested and content after the night spent with the 
drawfs, and was looking forward to being part of fantasy land more by 
the minute.  She reflected back on the words that doc had used to warn 
her before she departed. 

"Be careful, Miss Willow, not to trust strangers, and be sure to take
very good care of yourself, one of these days you come back and see 
us."  Willow had just nodded and gave them each a hug for all their 
concern, and thanked them from the bottom of her heart.  Now that she 
was away from the drawfs, she felt more alone than she had felt before. 


The path continued down the backside of the mountain and up another
mountain, and it was in a crook in the upside that she met the nice 
little old woman with her basket of apples.  The little old lady looked 
a lot like Willow's own grandmother, and she had a sweet voice.  She 
stumbled and Willow reached down and caught her arm before the sweet 
little old woman could fall. 

"Thank you soooo much, dearie, you have been very kind to this little
old woman.  I am on my way to town to sell my apples.  The trek is far, 
but people pay dearly for my priceless apples."  she told Willow. 

"I am pleased to have been able to help you out, ma'am."  Willow told
her with a smile. 

"I would like to give you one of my apples for you kindness, dear."  she
told Willow. 

"Oh, I really couldn't take your livelihood ma'am."  Willow told her, "I
appreciate the offer, but go ahead and take your apples to town and 
sell them, I shall be just fine." 

"Oh, I insist that you take one, dear child."  The sweet little old lady
told Willow.  Willow was afraid that if she refused again, the little 
old lady would be offended, so she took the apple. 

"Thank you so much, Ma'am, it will sooth my hunger for sure!"  Willow
told her. 

"Well, I must be on my way into the village now, to peddle my wares, I
wish you a safe journey."  The little old lady told Willow. 

"You take care of yourself now, Ma'am, and watch your footing on this
slope, it is terribly steep."  Willow told her and with that the two 
waved good-bye, and took their leave of each other. 

Willow was still full from breakfast, and she placed the apple in her
pocket and continued on the path.  The path led down the back of 
another mountain, and at the foot of this mountain, Willow became 
hungry again.  She reached into her pocket and pulled out the apple.  
It looked so good, but just as she brought the apple to her mouth, 
Doc's words came back to her, and a strange ominous feeling she could 
not explain.  Willow looked at the apple in puzzlement, then she 
pitched it to the side of the path, and so she avoided the curse of 
Snow Whites wicked witch by listening to the warning words of a freind. 


Willow continued on her way down the path, growing more tired and hungry
by the minute.  It was growing dark once again, and she wondered if 
once again there would be a trick, she was pretty sure she wasn't close 
to the end of the path yet, and she would have to sleep soon, she 
though.  Suddenly, she came up on a huge, but cold looking castle.  She 
wondered if she would be spending the night here.  She began to 
approach it slowly, when she heard singing from the other side of a 
large wall.  Well, it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.  She approached the 
wall slowly and climbed on a vine that was climbing on the stone fence. 
 Willow slowly peeped over, until she saw a beautiful maiden in the 
courtyard below.  The young maiden had the most beautiful voice she had 
ever heard.  She wore rags and proceeded to scrub the floor of the 
courtyard as she sang a beautiful song about a prince.  Willow saw mice 
running around at her feet, and realized suddenly that she was gazing 
at Cinderella and her little mice freinds. 

Willow did not think that she wanted to spend the night in the home of
Cinderella's step-mother and step-sisters at all, and she continued 
down the trail, hoping that she had made the correct discision.  Soon, 
she came to another clearing, inside there was a huge castle.  The 
outside was white with statues of gold all around.  Willow tried to 
peek over the fence, but could see nothing.  She held her breath as she 
knocked at the door. 

Immediately a short pudgy man with a very distinct french accent
answered the door. 

"Bonjour, Milady, What can I do for you?"  he asked and bowed. 

"My name is Willow, and I am on a jouirney.  I am tired and I wish to
ask for room and board for the night."  she told the man. 

"Well, I am Cogsworth, and I am the head butler here.  Come on in and
make yourself comfortable.  The lady or gentleman of the house will be 
down shortly to greet you."  he told her as he showed her to the large 
sitting room off from the entryway.  "We don't get many visitors, so I 
know that the Master and Mistress will be delighted."  and with that he 
closed the door, and rushed off to fetch the Mistress. 

While she waited, Willlow mulled over the name the butler had given her.
 Cogsworth.  The name sounded so familiar.  Soon, the study door 
opened, and a tall slender gentleman rushed in with a platter of hor 
d'ouvers and a tray of tea. 

"Madamoiselle, I have come to offer refreshment while you wait for the
Mistress.  I am Lumiere.  The Mistress should be down shortly."  He 
told her, with a very french accent. 

He bowed as he left, and Willow sipped on the tea and nibbled on an hor
d'ourve as she waited.  She did not want to appear greedy or starved, 
so she deliberately took her time.  It wasn't very long until the door 
opened again.  This time it was not eased open, it was hurled open and 
Willow almost dropped her cup it startled her so much.  As soon as the 
door burst open a child and a dog came barreling into the room. 

"Hi ya, I'm Chip!" the boy told her. 

"Well, Hi, I am Willow"  she told the small boy with a smile.  Suddenly,
a large plump woman raced into the room. 

"Chip!  Where have your manners gone?!?  Back to the kitchen with you
this instant, and take that mutt with you!"  she told the boy.  "I am 
so very sorry miss.  He can be a bit impetuous at times, but it is so 
refreshing.  I am Mrs. Potts."  she said to Willow. 

"I am Willow, Pleased to meet you."  she told the plump Mrs. Potts. 

"I must get back to the kitchen now, but it was a pleasure meeting you
too, my dear."  The lady told her. 

With that everyone was gone and the door was closed once again.  Willow
retraced all the names in her head.  They all sounded familiar to her, 
but she could not remember where she had heard them before.  Suddenly, 
the door creaked open slowly and a small brunette woman stood in the 
doorway. 

"Hello, Willow, My name is Belle and I am the Mistress of this castle." 

"I am pleased to meet you, Mistress."  Willow told her in awe.  She is
in non other than the castle of the Beast.  By all evidence, though, 
the castle was no longer enchanted.  Willow was delighted. 

"You look exhausted child.  Let me show you to a room so that you can
rest and freshen up before dinner time."  Belle told,  "Oh, and please 
don't call me Mistress, I am just Belle.  I really wish the servants 
would not refer to me as that, let alone anyone else."  she said with a 
small laugh,  "I grew up the daughter of a poor inventor, and it makes 
me uncomfortable to have people refering to me as Mistress."  She led 
Willow up some stairs and down a hall.  The castle was very cheery, and 
Willow liked Belle on contact. 

"The castle is really beautiful.  You have wonderful servants as well." 
Willow said. 

"I am partial to the servants, as well, I am still trying to get used to
them this way, however."  Belle tittered, "It is so nice to have 
someone here to talk to.  The servants stay so busy, they rarely have 
time to just visit."  she smiled as she opened a large door on the 
right side of the hallway.  "I do hope that you will visit with us 
after dinner tonight."  Belle told her with a smile. 

"I would enjoy that immensely", Willow told her.  Belle then took her
leave of Willow.  Willow walked over to the mirror and gasped at her 
appearance.  She resembled a street urchin.  She quickly took the water 
provided and began to scrub her face.  Suddenly there was a knock at 
the door.  She dried her face quickly and rushed to answer it. 

"I am Mimi, Mistress.  I have come to help you ready yourself for
dinner."  Suddenly, two young boys rushed in, plopped down a tub and 
took off.  A few minutes later, several other lads rushed in with hot 
water to fill the tub.  When it was steaming and filled to the brim, 
Mimi indicated that she should climb in.  When Willow did, Mimi poured 
some pretty smelling oil into the water.  Then she helped her wash her 
hair and her back.  When the bath was over, Mimi helped her to get out 
and dry off.  Then she brought her a light house coat. 

"This should be comfortable for you, Miss Willow, to rest in until I
return to help you dress."  Mimi told her as she left the room.  Willow 
wondered at the texture of the silky robe and the ornate design as sthe 
lay in the bed.  The bed was esquisitely comfortable, and Willow fell 
immediately asleep in it's soft confines. 

It was some time later when Mimi once again came bustling into the room.
 "Come now, Miss Willow, we must get you up and ready for dinner."  she 
said, and Willow rolled over and reluctantly opened her sleepy eyes.  
When she had come fully awake she rose from the bed and walked to wash 
basin.  Once there she quickly washed her face as Mimi took a beautiful 
pink gown with rose trim from the wardrobe. 

"This should do wonderfully", she told Willow as she helped her to dress
in it.  Once she was dressed, Mimi immediately tackled her rats nest 
hair.  It did not take her skilled hands long to tame down the unruly 
locks.  She finished quickly, then led Willow back down to the dining 
room. 

When Willow walked in, Belle and her dinner companion stood.  "This is
my husband".  The dinner went lovely, and Willow thought the food was 
the best she had ever tasted.  She ate hungrily, without thought to the 
fact that she must look like a greedy wench.  She was greatly surprised 
to look around and find everyone eating the same as she was. 

When the dinner was over, they all gathered around the fireplace and
talked until late into the night.  Belle told stories about the castle, 
and they all laughed heartily.  At some point hours later, Willow 
begged pardon. 

"I am sorry, but I must be off to bed.  I am quite exhausted and I must
set out again early in the morning."  Willow told them apologetically. 

"No, no that is quite alright.  We shall wake you in the morning for
breakfast, then you may set out from there."  Belle told her with a 
smile. 

Willow was led back up to her room by Mimi, and then she helped her get
ready for bed.  Willow was sleeping peacefully just seconds after Mimi 
left.  She had wonderful dreams, and when they woke her in the morning 
she felt totally rested. 

Mimi came and helped her to dress again that morning, stating that the
Mistress had told her to tell Willow that the dress was to be hers to 
take with her, and in fact that the Mistress had told Mimi to pack her 
a small satchel to take with her.  Willow told Mimi how much she 
appreciated the kindness.  Then she continued on down to breakfast.  
When breakfast was over, Willow told Belle what a lovely time she had 
had, and how much she appreciated her gift. 

Belle looked at her with a smile.  "We have one more gift for you,
child.  We know what a dangerous journey it is that you embark on and 
we wish you the best of luck.  Take this rose and know that it holds 
special powers.  If ever you are in danger simply drop it on the forest 
floor and help will come."  she told her. 

Willow took the flower and told Belle that she was a wonderful freind
and that she hoped to see her again really soon.  Willow once again set 
out on her way.  She had been walking for a while when she began to get 
hungry again.  She reached for the satchel that Mimi had packed for 
her.  There was another dress in the bottom, but up top there was some 
fruit and a couple of sandwhiches.  Willow quickly ate one sandwitch 
and one apple, then she drank some water from the stream.  Once she had 
eaten she started down the path again. 

Suddenly, a rabbit ran across the path in front of her.  "I'm late, I'm
late, for a very important date!"  the rabbit squealed as he rushed by 
Willow. 

Willow remembered the rabbit immediately.  The rabbit from Alice in
Wonderland.  She stared after him until he dissapeared into the trees.  
Suddenly, the bushes opened again and a little blonde girl stumbled 
through. 

"O Drat!  I have lost him again!"  The girl sighed.  "Miss, Have you
seen a little white rabbit?" 

"Yes, he went through the trees  over there", Willow told her. 

"Oh, great, I have been chasing for such a long time.  I am so tired,"
and with that Alice plopped down on the forest ground and began crying. 


"Oh, don't cry, Alice, it will be all right.  I am on a long journey
too, but surely the fun you have had has made it worthwhile."  Willow 
told her. 

"It has been fun.  You have been kind to me, have this as a token of my
appreciation", Alice said, handing her a small vial of potion.  "One 
drop will make you tiny, two drops will make you large again.  Have a 
safe journey" 

"You too", Willow told her as she disappeared into the trees.  Willow
continued on her own little path with the vial tucked into the satchel 
along with the food, rose and clothes that Belle had given her.  The 
path twisted and turned and started up another mountain.  The mountains 
were obviously the longest part of her journey.  Willow continued on 
her path, and soon she came to the top.  From there the air turned hot 
and sultry and the ground turned to sand.  The landscape went from lush 
mountains to arid desert.  Willow shuddered at the heat, and continued 
on.  Soon she came to a small town.  Night was beginning to fall as she 
approached the desert town.  There were several places to buy things.  
She approached the sultans palace, but then remembered the tale of 
Aladdin, and knew that there was evil within the walls of the palace.  
She quickly turned from the palace and started to head out of town when 
she caught a glimpse of a boy and a monkey taking fruit from a vending 
booth.  Aladdin, she thought with a smile.  She walked toward the boy, 
and suddenly the man began to turn toward them.  Willow quickly reached 
out and looked at the melons the man was selling. 

"Sir, How much for your wares?"  Willow called out insistantly.  The man
stopped turning and faced Alice. 

"The melons are two gold peices each."  the man stated. 

"O sir, that is too much for my taste, but thank you anyway."  she told
him, and walked away.  Just as soon as she got out of sight, unseen 
hands pulled her into an alley. 

"Hello, miss, thank-you for that."  said the boy. 

"Oh, your welcome."  she told him. 

"You don't look like you are from around here.  Do you need a place to
stay?"  he asked her. 

"I would appreciate your hospitality.  You are correct, I am not from
around here."  she told him. 

He took her hand and quickly led her up the stairs and into a small
room. 

"This is home, it isn't much, but it's enough for Aboo and myself, and
it has a great veiw."  he sighed wistfully as he pulled back the 
curtain to reveal a perfect picture of the castle. 

Willow wondered what he would think if he knew he would be living there
soon, and courting the princess too.  She smiled to herself, and 
Aladdin motioned toward a pallet on the floor.  "You may take my 
pallet, I will make another over by aboo."  he told her. 

Willow lay down and was immediately asleep.  The next morning dawned
bright and early in the desert, and Willow told Aladdin fairwell and 
set out on her path again.  She hadn't been gone very long when 
suddenly the desert turned into a very dense jungle.  The jungle was 
very frightening.  Willow was scared, it was dark under the canopy, and 
the path was partially grown up and hard to follow.  She was frightened 
that she was going to lose her way, but she forged on.  Suddenly, 
Willow heard an onimous growl from somewhere up ahead of her, but she 
could not turn around.  She continued, even though she was frightened 
of whatever had made the snarling growl, she could not turn around.  
Her tired legs took her down the path a little bit farther, and 
suddenly a huge panther jumped out of the brush at her.  Willow knew 
she was going to die, she would never have time to even get the rose 
out of the bag.  Just as the huge animal went to lunge at her, a large 
man clad in a loin cloth jumped out of the bushes on the other side and 
knocked the beast down.  He shouted and lunged at the animal with some 
sort of handmade weapon.  The fought for a few seconds, then the animal 
ran off into the bushes again. 

"Thank you so much!" willow told the man. 

"Your wel-come.  I Tarzan."  The man said. 

"I'm Willow."  she replied.  The man nodded at her, then dissapeared
into the brush at the side of the path.  How odd, Willow thought as she 
continued on her way.  She emerged from the jungle just at nightfall 
and came to a large grassy meadow in which three houses were situated.  
The first house was made of straw, the second was made of twigs, and 
the third house was made of bricks.  Willow wondered which house she 
should stay in.  Suddenly, she remembered the story of the three little 
pigs, and she went up to the house made of brick and knocked on the 
door.  A large pink pig opened the door. 

"Hello, I am Willow.  I am on a long journey and need room and board for
the night."  Willow told the pig. 

"Oh, I just love company" the little pig told her, "but I must warn you
of two things, first of all there is a mean wolf around here somewhere 
that just won't leave us alone, and second, I don't serve bacon for 
Breakfast." 

Willow giggled, "Well the big bad wolf does not concern me in a house
this strong, and second, I don't care for bacon anyway." 

"Well, then, you and I shall get along just fine.  My name is Wilber
Pig.  My brothers Ralph and Sam live in the other two houses out 
there."  The pig told her.  Then, they had a great big supper of salad 
and beans, and he showed her to the guest room.  It was a very 
comfortable and clean room, Willow thought, to belong to a pig.  Then 
she smiled, anything was possible in fantasy land.  Willow slept really 
good that night, and woke refreshed in the morning.  They had a 
wonderful breakfast of oatmeal and eggs, and Willow thanked her new 
freind profusely, and then set off on her way. 

It was not long before she came to the end of the mountains.  Now she
could see a massively large body of water stretching out before her.  
The crystal blue depths seamed to call her name, inviting her into 
their depths.  She walked into the water, right up to her waist before 
she suddenly remembered that she did not know how to swim.  She walked 
back to the beach, wet from the waist down now, and sat in the warm 
sand. 

"Oh, what will I do now?"  she questioned herself,  "How in the world
will I ever get across this when I can't even swim."  she put her head 
in her hands and let out a very plaintive sob.  "I have come so far, 
why my journey is almost over, and yet I am stuck here", and then she 
began crying in earnest. 

Willow sat like that for a long while before she realized how hungry she
was.  She reached into her bag and pulled out the last sandwitch Belle 
had sent with her.  She began to nibble on it, and then she noticed the 
rose.  If she dropped the rose on the ground, help would come.  She 
reached out, meaning to do just that, but then Belle's words came back 
to her, "if you are in danger, throw the rose on the ground, and help 
will come." 

"Well, I can't very well do that, I am not in any danger, I am just
confused."  Willow wispered to herself.  Then she began to cry again. 

Suddenly a voice spoke up from behind her.  "What is wrong, young
lady?". 

Willow whirled around, wondering if the voice came from freind or foe. 
The man standing before her was tall, with a white beard and white 
hair.  He had on blue britches and carried a long golden staff with 
three sharply pointed prongs on the top end. 

"I am on a very important journey, but I need to cross this ocean to
complete it, only I have no boat and I can not swim."  she told him. 

"My child, I am King Triton, ruler of this sea.  I can give you fins so
that you may swim to the other side, but if I do this you must not tary 
overly long, for the spell doesn't give you much time to dally."  he 
told her. 

"I would appreciate that greatly sir, thank you so much!"  Willow
exclaimed. 

He waved his trident once, and Willow's legs erupted into a burst of
light and when the light had faded her legs had turned to fins.  He 
helped her into the water, and once she got there, she realized that 
fins were super easy to manuever with in the water. 

"Now don't forget, hurry to the other side and do not dally!"  King
Triton called after her. 

"I promise, I will hurry straight to the other side!"  She promised him.
"Thank you, Sir!" 

Willow quickly turned and began swimming toward the other side of the
sea.  She did not want to be stuck in the middle with no fins. 

She had swam for quite some time when suddenly the water in front of her
began to bubble dramatically.  Willow stopped swimming and wondered 
what lay in the depths of the water that she could not see.  She 
suddenly became very afraid.  She could drop the rose here if danger 
were upon her, but how long would it take to reach the floor of the 
ocean, and could her help even swim or reach her out here in the middle 
of this water.  She was very still for a moment before she realized 
that bubbles or no bubbles, she would have to continue swimming, for 
her fins would not last long.  She sqeezed her eyes shut and swam as 
fast as she could through the bubbles. 

She finally opened her eyes, once she was sure she was past them and
looked back where the bubbles had been.  Now there was more than 
bubbles there.  Willow gasped, for floating on the water in front of 
her was a large woman with tenticles instead of legs.  She was easily 
one of the most grotesque creatures that Willow had ever laid eyes on.  
Willow however, knew that she could not base her opinion of the lady on 
her looks alone. 

"Hello, Ma'am", she said, stuttering as little as possible in her
fright.  "I am sorry, you startled me." 

"Hello, Miss.  I see you are heading toward the far side of the lagoon. 
Would you like to know a shortcut?"  she asked. 

"A shortcut?"  Willow asked. 

"You know, a shortcut, a way to get to the other side faster." she said.


"No, thank-you, I think I need to stick to the path King Triton sent me
on" she told the lady. 

"Very well, child, have it your own way, but you would get to the other
side a lot quicker my way!", the ugly creature snarled at her. 

"Well, regardless, I think I will listen to King Triton, since he was
the one who gave me the fins.  Thank you, anyway, Ma'am."  Willow told 
her. 

"Aaaarghhhhh!", she snarled and then she spun around and around as she
sank into the waters, creating a huge whirlpool.  Willow's eyes widened 
as she saw the whirlpool growing in size and started to swim backwards 
as fast as she could, terrified that it would either suck her down or 
turn her around.  She finally turned herself and swished her fins back 
and forth with all her might trying to get away before it could pull 
her down into the depths of an ocean she knew nothing about. 

She finally felt the pull of the whirlpool let up, and she could once
again swim easily on her way.  It was not long before she finally saw 
land, however, she did not think that her journey was over yet, for in 
front of her there was a harbor with one huge pirate ship tethered to 
the dock.  The skull and crossbones on the flag sent chills through her 
small tired body.  She hoped that the last of her test would be over 
with soon, she was extremely tired.  She swam hard to the dock, wrapped 
her arms around the planks, and lifted herself up and onto solid land 
again.  Just as she hoisted herself out of the water, her mermaid tail 
disappeared with the same flash of light as it had appeared.  She 
looked at her dress and the feet poking out from the bottom of it, 
shoes and all, no tell-tale hint of what had been there only moments 
before.  She slowly got to her feet, feeling a little shaky after being 
in the water for so long.  She turned and began to make her way off the 
dock and onto dry land. 

Just when she had almost gotten to the land at the end of the dock, a
large, rough hand clamped down on her shoulder. 

"Aye, Maties, lookie at wha' I foun' o'er here!", a gutteral voice
shouted.  "Who you be, Missy?" 

"I am Willow." she stated with much more bravado than she felt.  He
snatched the bag off of her shoulder and tossed it to one of the other 
men who were on the deck of the great ship. 

"And yer jus' a little snip of a thin'.  Smead, fetch the cap'n.  I say
she one of Pan's Mates!"  he yelled up to the looming ship. 

"Aye, Briggs!  CAP'N, CAP'N, we got us a los' boy, er, los' girl,
CAP'N!"  a squeaky voice bellowed above. 

"Well, What're ya waitin' fer Smead, bring the lass on board, an' give
her a warm pirate's welcome."  an ugly, scornful voice called back. 

"Aye, Cap'n, right away!", the squeaky voice called back. 

With that, the man who had latched onto her shoulder, presumably Briggs,
lifted her, tossed her over his shoulder and began to climb the rope 
ladder to the top.  After being on the ocean for so long, the swaying 
of the ladder, and the stench of the man holding her, made Willow's 
stomach turn flips inside her.  She had to clench her teeth together 
and swallow hard repeatedly to keep from vomiting all down the evil 
pirate's back.  Once he got to the top of the ladder, the pirate swung 
his leg over the siding and climbed on the deck of the ship.  Once 
there, he tossed her to the ground like a bag of potatoes and sneered 
at her as a short, fat pirate with white hair and a dirty cap quickly 
bound her hands together, and then tethered them to the a large wooden 
post that held up the sails, a mast Willow thought it was called, but 
she was not sure.  Once they had her trussed so, she could move about 
three feet in any direction, but no more, and her bonds held her tight 
even while she fought them. 

Suddenly, the cabin door was thrown open and a tall man stepped out.  He
had coal black hair that hung down past his shoulders, and a mustache 
and beard as well.  he wore a red coat over tight black pants, and a 
hat that had a ridiculous feather sticking out of the top of it.  
Willow might have laughed out loud, might have if it weren't for the 
pure evil shining in his eyes.  She almost vomitted once again upon 
seeing his eyes, for they struck a cold dark terror inside of her soul, 
and made her fear for her very existance.  She almost wished that she 
had never come on the trip to begin with, but then she looked back over 
the wonderous adventure that it had been, and suddenly instead of 
giving up, she began trying to figure a way to get out of her 
predicament.  If they had only not taken her bag, then she could have 
dropped the rose, and help would have come to her.  Tears tracked down 
her face, tears of fustration and fear, but no tears of defeat could be 
found, for it was not over until it was over, and she would know it was 
over because when it was over she would be back home in her bed, or 
dead, and whichever one, she was not yet. 

"Hello, my dear, I am Cap'n Hook, ruler of this lagoon, and all the land
around."  he told her and smiled a big toothy grin that somehow held no 
happiness whatsoever. 

"I am Willow, and I do not think that you are the ruler of the lagoon or
the land surrounding it!"  she barked at him, for even though she was 
afraid, she would not let him see that, not in her eyes or her voice. 

"Oh, little Willow, I suppose you think the ruler is Peter Pan, do you?"
 He asked with a sneer which held no more or less happiness than the 
previous smile had.  "I shall show you, Little Princess, who the ruler 
of this lagoon is.  SHE WILL WALK THE PLANK!!!!"  Hook thundered.  
Suddenly, three men rushed over and cut her loos of the mast.  They 
drug her to the captain who jerked the rope from there hands and 
partially drug, partially jerked her toward the plank.  Willow gulped 
for her breath, which it seamed difficult to catch, for she could not 
swim even a lick.  Hook shoved her out onto the narrow, shakey board 
they called a plank, and it jiggled and warbled under her slight 
weight.  She began to shake, and she quickly turned around, so as to 
put the water, which she was now deathly afraid of, to her back, and so 
that she could face her true enemy, which was the evil captain of the 
pirate ship. 

He had approached the plank as she had, and now that she was out on it,
and he had released the rope, he smoothly drew out his sword and 
pointed it toward her chest. 

"You will walk the plank, child and you will do so at once!  Peter Pan's
freinds have no place in the decent pirate world!" he snapped at her. 

She looked at him and stated coolly and calmly as she could, "I do not
know Peter Pan, but I will warrent he is more of a gentleman than you 
will ever be Captain Hook", she stated, her last two words filled with 
sarcasm, then she arched back and came forward, spitting right into the 
captain's face. 

"YOU LITTLE WRETCH, I HOPE YOU CAN'T SWIM!" he bellowed as he thrust the
sword toward her.  Willow jerked to avoid being skewered, and when she 
did, she pitched off the plank, falling quickly toward the water.  She 
felt the water hit her feet, and splash into her face, but her body 
never actually made it to the water, because someone had caught her 
under the arms and was holding her suspended just above the water, so 
close in fact that her feet were still in the water. 

Quickly, the boy who held her turned her around, "It is dreadfully hard
to hold you extended from me as you are, would you hold on to me a 
little, too, and I shall take you and set you down.  Willow agreed and 
lifted her bound hands over his head, putting her arms around his neck, 
and he pulled her close to him and he glided lithely back up to the 
deck of the ship. 

"Hook, you know the rules!", Peter Pan told snapped at Hook, "You may
try to detour her from her destination, but you can't do anything to 
her that she does not allow!" 

"Rules, Smrules, Pan, you know I don't follow rules!  Now, I shall run
you through like the coward you are!" Hook yelled at the boy. 

"Try if you dare, Hook!"  Peter yelled back at him, then they
immediately commenced to a dramatic sword fight, with Hook first 
retreating, and then coming back and making Hook retreat.  It swapped 
back and forth like this for several long minutes, until Peter pushed 
him far enough back and then one final shove landed him in the waves 
below the ship. About that time a very loud ticking sound could be 
heard echoing off the lagoon, followed by a terrified shreik from the 
water below. 

"Smead, it's the croc, get me out of here.  Smead quickly lowered a
rope, which Hook quickly and thankfully grabbed on to.  Smead began 
hoisting him up and other crew members came to help.  Just as they 
pulled Hook far enough up to keep him out of the jaws of the crocidile, 
it lunged up, just inches from Hooks hind quarters.  "I'll get you for 
this, Pan!"  Hook screamed 

Peter lifted off the deck of the ship and swooped down the side until he
was right between Hook and Smead, probably four feet from either, then 
he removed his knife from the sheaf at his side. 

"I could end it now, Hook", he called over the side. 

"No, Pan, Please, I beg of you, NO!", Hook screamed in pure fright. 

Peter flashed him a disarmingly innocent smile as he ran the blade
slowly and softly ran it over the rope until one of the fibers broke, 
leaving two of the thick fibers holding Hook up and away from the 
hungry Crocadile. 

"Well, well, if it isn't a codfish on a string!"  Peter laughed down at
him. 

"Please, Pan, you already fed the monster my hand.  Please don't give it
anymore of me!", Hook pleaded.  Peter just smiled as he slid the knife 
over one of the remaining two fibers of the robe.  It snapped just as 
the first one had. 

"Good luck Hook, I sure hope that one fiber is enough to hold you up
until you get back up here!", Peter laughed down at the terrified 
captain.  Peter then flew over to the side, emerging with Willow's bag 
that Belle had sent with her and then he flew effortlessly over to 
Willow, lifted her up and flew off with her. 

When they had landed once again, Willow looked up at the boy who was
probably about the same age as her, "Thank you Peter!  You saved my 
life!"  she said. 

"I know I did!" he said, and then crowed out to the night, "Er ru er ru
er ru!"  Then he smiled at her and pointed toward her path.  "Don't go 
and get yourself in trouble anymore, Willow.  That is about all girls 
are good for, you know, getting themselves into trouble." 

"Why Peter, that is simply not true!"  Willow told him. 

Peter just shrugged, handed her the bag, and turned and walked away. 
Willow felt strangely deserted as he lifted into the sky, so she 
quickly waved at him and called "Bye, Peter, thank you very much!" for 
even though he was very conceited, he was also very charming. Willow 
sighed as she turned and continued her journey.  As she came around the 
next turn in the path, just in front of her there lay a huge dragon.  
Willow gasped as it spit flames at her and bent to.  She backed up and 
looked for a way around the dragon, but found none.  This was her last 
obstacle, and she could see no way to defeat it.  She quickly raced 
around the side of it, trying to run around it, but she was not fast 
enough and the dragon managed to trap her in a tiny cave in the side of 
the rock clif.  The cave dead-ended about ten feet from the mouth, and 
it was only about five feet hight and about three feet wide, but in the 
very back she was safe from the flames.  She quickly took out the rose 
and dropped it to the ground, as once again the dragon belched flames 
into the mouth of the cave. 

Suddenly, outside there was a great commotion and the dragon backed up,
and in fact turned away from the cave altogether.  Willow edged toward 
the mouth of the cave, and when she realized that the dragons attention 
was diverted, she bolted to the path on the other side, then looked 
back to see what had diverted the dragon. 

Another dragon was at the clearing with the first dragon.  She had
dropped the rose, and her help had been another dragon to divert the 
first one.  She guessed it was mating season in dragon land, because 
they seamed to be making eyes at each other.  She smiled and continued 
down the path. 

It was only another few minutes until she stepped out into a huge grassy
clearing with a rainbow arching over it.  The trees in the meadow were 
in full bloom, and a stream ran through the middle of it.  There were 
rocks in the stream that shown like diamonds, and beautiful flowers 
growing all around.  Suddenly in the middle of the meadow a small 
pinpoint of light appeared and got bigger and brighter, until it was 
even bigger than Willow herself, then out of that light stepped the 
most beautiful lady Willow had ever seen.  She was wearing a dress of 
gold, and willow was sure that the dress was actually spun gold, and at 
the hem were stones that very much resembled diamonds.  The lady had 
long golden hair that hung almost to her hips, and a crown sat upon her 
head, golden with jewels of all sorts attached to each spike.  Her 
figure was perfect, and her eyes were merry and twinkled with 
amusement.  From her back, two shimmering, golden wings protruded, 
almost transparent, but not quite.  Willow gasped, on some of the 
figures she had seen, and some of the pictures of fairies, the wings 
had sometimes looked awkward and ill-fitted, but on the beautiful 
creature before her, it looked as if the wings had been made for her, 
or as if she had been made for the wings, and it just added to her 
overall beauty. 

The lady-fairy approached her gracefully and gave her a gorgeous smiles.


"Charles did well by you, you knew exactly how to conquer everything
that they threw at you", and the lady beamed down at her.  "Of course, 
the fact that you are my child probably added to you inherent 
intelligence."  she told Willow with a smile. 

"But, how can that be, my mother was . . ."  Willow began. 

"Ah, Mary, yes, it was very important that you beleive that Mary and
Charles were your mother and father, mostly for your safety, but also 
for the future of Fantasy Land, for you are the first child born of 
both worlds.  Both the Fairy World and the Pixie World.  I am not a 
fairy, but a Pixie.  In fact, I am the Pixie Queen.  My husband is a 
Fairfolk, and actually the King of the Fairfolk, and we have merged the 
two bands together to create on huge band of Fairies.  You as their 
future ruler are a very important part of keeping this clan together.  
Without you to lead them, the evil that surrounds us all the time would 
tear them all apart.  You will be a good leader." 

"So, Mary was not my mother.  This I do not find hard to beleive, but
Father?  I loved Father dearly, and I felt so very close to him before 
he died.  I can not beleive that he was no kin."  Willow gasped. 

"Oh, my child he was kin.  He was a Pixie, my brother.  He made a lot of
sacrifices to keep you safe from harm, for although evil tried to take 
you away, they can not harm a child, your Uncle Charles however was an 
adult, and they could and did harm him."  She said. 

"I always knew the dark monsters had killed him.  Even when I was just
tiny, I knew it was the dark monsters that got him."  Willow told her. 

"Yes, well what you are calling dark monsters are really just the
villians from this world.  You see, they can not show themselves in 
their true form in your world, they may only come over as shadows of 
their true selves.  This is why so many children are frightened of 
closets and beds, for they are the places with the most shadows, and 
whereas adults can't see the shadows for what they are, the children 
they can.  They know that some of the shadows hold dark and sinister 
spirits, they are just not aware of the evil spirits the dark shadows 
hold.  Captain Hook actually killed Charles, and he tried to kill you 
too.  Thank goodness for Pan.  Of course, we had warned Peter that he 
might, just as we warned everyone else.  They have all been waiting for 
you for some time now, and in fact, all of your new freinds will more 
than likely attend the homecoming feast and coming out party we shall 
have for you tommarrow evening.  For now, I know that you are tired, 
and I should take you someplace where you can rest.  By the way, I am 
glad that you did not use the rose when you were simply confused, or 
when you were confronted by Ursela, the sea witch, because the rose was 
meant only to help you conquer the dragon.  It showed intelligence and 
courage to hold it until the proper time to drop it came.  It was also 
smart of you to stick to the path, toss the apple, and choose the 
places you did to sleep.  It seams that, although Charles taught you 
well, you also have much intelligence and courage.  I am very proud of 
you, and I know that your father will be as well."  She smiled at her.  
"By the way, my name is Raina, but you may call me Mother."  and with 
that the beautiful fairy led her away, gave her a place to sleep for 
the night and kissed her on the cheek before she turned to leave.  
Willow slept peacefully, glad that the journey was over, but glad to 
have made.  The next day, true to Raina's words, there was a great 
coming out/birthday party, and all of Raina's new freinds were there, 
as well as some that Raina had not met on her journey.   They were all 
as beautiful as she had imagined they were when Charles had told her 
the fairytales, and for the first time since Charles had died, Willow 
felt she belonged where she was, and they all lived happily ever after. 


The End! 


Tweet