Sabrina opened her eyes. Her grandfather was gone and so were her parents. The Everafters were alive and well and gathered around her. The Queen of Hearts was still filling the air with her angry tirade and the Jabberwocky was still dead at their feet. The Blue Fairy stood next to her, smiling. "Thank you, Sabrina," she said, and then she transformed into a glowing orb and zipped away.
Uncle Jake stepped over to Red Riding Hood and snatched the magical ring off the little girl's finger and tucked it into his pants pocket. Granny frowned but Uncle Jake just laughed. "Don't worry, Mom. It's going straight into the Hall of Wonders for safekeeping."
"Hello, Grandmother," Red Riding Hood said, waking up and climbing to her feet. "My kitty is dead."
"Child, I am not your…"
"Play along," Sabrina suggested.
Granny looked unsure, but nodded. "We don't need the kitty to play games. We can play without him."
Red Riding Hood looked to the ceiling as if debating what the old woman was saying. A smile crossed her face and she clapped her hands. "Okie-dokie!"
"But before we play games, we need our whole family together, right?"
The little girl nodded.
"So we need to find the mommy and the daddy and the baby brother and then we'll all go and get the puppy and then we can play house. Does that sound good?"
"Yes, I want to play house," the child repeated. "But, the master will be mad if I tell."
"The master?" Sabrina cried.
"Yes, he would be very mad. He wants to keep the mommy and daddy and the baby brother. He wants me to paint the red hands everywhere I go. I try to be good. The master can get angry."
"She's not the leader of the Scarlet Hand," Daphne said. "Well, I don't think the master would mind if we all played, would he?" Granny continued. "I guess not," the little girl said.
*
Sheriff Hamstead had Henry and Veronica's sleeping bodies transported to Granny's house in an ambulance. Now they both rested on a queen-sized bed inside the room that also housed the magic mirror.
"Are they sick?" Daphne asked as she held her mother's hand.
"No, liebling.
Just sleeping," Granny Relda said.
Sabrina put her head on her father's chest and heard his heart beating. Then she reached up and kissed him on the forehead. "Did they find the baby?" she asked.
"No sign of it," Sheriff Hamstead said. "All that was there was an empty bassinet."
"Why won't they wake up?" Daphne asked.
"It's a sleeping spell," Granny explained.
"And a strong one at that," Mirror said as his face appeared in the reflection. "I'm sure we don't have anything in the Hall of Wonders that can break it."
"Then what can we do?" Sabrina said.
"These sleeping spells… some of them are fairly normal potions, sometimes poisoned flowers or apples, but overwhelmingly they are cast by someone with a vendetta against the victim," Uncle Jake said. "Luckily, even bad magic has a backup plan, and in nearly every case I've ever heard, the spell can be broken with a kiss."
Elvis hopped up on his back paws and licked Veronica on the face.
"Elvis, this is my mom," Daphne explained to the big dog. "You're going to love her."
"I kissed Dad on the forehead. Why didn't he wake up?" said Sabrina
"It has to be a romantic kiss from someone who truly loves them," Granny Relda explained.
"If one of them was awake then this would be no problem," Mr. Canis said.
"Wait, if that's how you break the spell, how are we going to wake them?" Sabrina said. "My parents love each other. They are the only ones that could wake each other up."
When no one answered, Sabrina thought she might cry.
"We'll find a way," Granny said as she took Sabrina into her arms.
"In the meantime, we should address the problem with Puck," Mr. Canis said. "He is growing weaker. If we can use the Vorpal blade to cut a big enough hole in the barrier, I'd like to take the car and get the boy to his people."
"I'll go with you," Hamstead said. "I happen to be between jobs at the moment."
"The Queen of Hearts won the election?" Daphne cried.
"By a landslide," Hamstead grumbled.
"Oh, dear," Granny said.
Sabrina stared down at her parents. She knew they would understand. "I'll go, too. Puck would never have been hurt if he weren't trying to help us find Mom and Dad. I owe it to him."
"Me, too!" Daphne said.
"Jacob, can I trust you in the house all alone?" Granny asked her son.
Uncle Jake smiled. "Probably not, but I'll keep the place safe."
*
Mr. Canis helped Granny Relda put Puck in the front seat of the car and then helped her in as well. When everyone had
squeezed into the jalopy, Uncle Jake waved and wished them all the luck in the world.
"You be careful among the Faerie folk," Uncle Jake said. "If you think this town is full of nuts, you haven't seen anything yet."
"We'll be careful," Sabrina said.
"Take care of my Elvis," Daphne said. The big dog leaped up to her window and gave her a farewell lick on the face.
Mr. Canis started the car and backed it out of the driveway.
"We're an odd group of people for an adventure, don't you think?" Hamstead squealed.
Granny smiled. "Pig and Wolf and Grandma. Who would have thought it?"
Even Mr. Canis laughed. Sabrina hoped he would never do it again. It was an obnoxious snorty sound.