CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A BITTERSWEET REUNION
Alex sat by her grandma’s bedside holding her hand. The Fairy Godmother had been sleeping peacefully since she got there. She didn’t look like she had a care in the world, but Alex knew this was her favorite fa?ade to keep; even as she slept she couldn’t be trusted to show her true feelings. Something was very wrong and Alex could sense it.
“Are you going to tell me what’s the matter with her?” Alex asked. “Or are you just going to sit there and make me figure it out on my own like everything else?”
Emerelda and Mother Goose sat on the other side of the bed keeping to themselves. Red and Froggy were there, too; they stood at the foot of the bed wishing there was something they could do to comfort their friend. The week had proven to be a difficult one for all of them.
“Your grandmother has been feeling very tired for a long time,” Mother Goose said. “She asked me not to tell anyone—and then today she didn’t wake up.”
“Today is the first time I’m hearing about this, too, Alex,” Emerelda said. “She was keeping it from everyone.”
“But what does tired mean?” Alex said, becoming frustrated. “Does she just need to rest? Is there anything I can get or give her to wake her up? Or is she… is she…”
Alex couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing any of us can do,” Mother Goose said.
“So she’s dying,” Alex finally said. “If that’s what’s happening why can’t either of you just tell me?”
Emerelda sighed, not for Alex, but for herself. “Yes,” she confirmed. “We believe the Fairy Godmother is dying.”
Tears immediately ran down Alex’s face. She had always known her grandmother wouldn’t be around forever, but she’d never expected to lose her so soon.
“I am so sorry, Alex,” Red said.
“Please let us know if there is anything we can do,” Froggy said.
Alex didn’t say anything. Of course there wasn’t. The only thing that would comfort her now would be if her grandmother woke up.
“I haven’t even lived here a full year yet,” Alex said through her tears. “My grandma is the only family I have. I just don’t understand why this is happening.…”
Mother Goose hoped it would supply the young fairy with a little comfort if she explained.
“Your grandmother has been around for a very long time, Alex,” Mother Goose told her. “She’s worked very hard to make the fairy-tale world what it is. She knew she wouldn’t be around forever and over the past couple of centuries she’s looked for someone to continue her work when she’s gone. She’s had many apprentices and all of them have failed but you. In you, she finally found someone she knows will continue her legacy and continue it well. And knowing this, she’s given her soul permission to move on.”
This only made it much worse for Alex. “So what you’re saying is, it’s my fault,” she said. “Had I never come to live in the Land of Stories or joined the Fairy Council, she would still be looking for a successor and wouldn’t be in this bed. I’m killing her.”
“Good heavens, no,” Mother Goose said. “I’m trying to tell you you’re saving her. You’re giving your grandmother the freedom to pass on, and that’s a right every living creature deserves when it’s their time to go.”
It was a very hard thing for Alex to hear. Had she known that with every lesson or test she passed she was getting closer to losing her grandmother, Alex would have given it all up in a heartbeat. But she also knew that was the last thing her grandmother would have wanted.
“How much time do we have left with her?” Alex asked. “Will she wake up before she goes?”
“It’s hard to say,” Emerelda said. “There’s always a chance. She could very well pull through this and live for another hundred years—it all depends on how much magic she has left in her. But given the information she shared with Mother Goose, we think it’s very unlikely.”
“And that’s why Froggy turned into a frog again,” Alex said, starting to make sense of it all. “As she dies some of her magic starts to die with her, so her most recent spells and enchantments will slowly start to fade and wear off.”
“Correct,” Emerelda said. “And it’s our job to make sure the work she put into this world never fades away completely.”
Alex gently touched the side of her grandmother’s face. She was such an extraordinary woman; she wouldn’t be surprised if there was still a bit of magic in her somewhere.
“Froggy, I’d be more than happy to change you back into a man,” Alex said. “It may take me a couple tries but I think I can do it.”
Froggy was touched by the gesture, especially given the situation, but he surprised the whole room with his answer. “No, that’s all right,” he said. “Red, my darling, I hope you can understand this but I’ve thought it over and decided to stay a frog.”
They all were shocked to hear this, especially Red.
“What are you saying?” Red asked. “What would make you come to that conclusion?”
“Because no matter how many times I become a man I always change back into a frog,” he explained. “I think the universe is trying to tell me something. And although I put on a good show, each transformation is more exhausting than the last. Constantly having to re-train yourself to walk and to eat and to function takes a heavy toll. I’d much rather just choose one form and stick with it, and it appears being a frog is what’s meant to be.”
Red tried her absolute best to take this news well, but after so recently losing her throne she couldn’t put on a brave face.
“Forgive me,” Red said, blinking back tears. “I don’t mean to look as disappointed as I do. Charlie, you stood by me even as I lost my kingdom—I know I can support you through something as trivial as this—it’s just going to take some getting used to, I suppose. Please excuse me; I’m going to get some fresh air.”
Red left the Fairy Godmother’s chambers intact but once she was out the door they heard her burst into tears. Alex gently placed her grandmother’s hand on the bed and rose to leave.
“I need some air, too,” Alex said.
“I’ll walk out with you,” Mother Goose said.
“I’ll stay with the Fairy Godmother,” Emerelda said.
“Me too,” Froggy said, and took Alex’s seat.
As Alex walked with Mother Goose through the halls of the Fairy Palace she could tell the news about her grandmother had spread. Every fairy who passed looked at her somberly, expressing sympathy and respect as she walked by.
“This is going to be so hard to get through without my brother,” Alex said. “I would give anything to have him here with me.”
Mother Goose’s eyes darted up and down the hall. When they reached a vacant part of the hall, she quickly pulled Alex behind a pillar and out of sight.
“Alex, I need to tell you something,” Mother Goose said. “It’s about your brother.”
“What is it?” Alex asked.
“When your grandmother first told me how she was feeling, I immediately contacted Conner,” she explained. “I didn’t tell him she was sick, but I sent him on a little errand for me—to check on something.”
“To check on what?” Alex asked.
“Froggy’s spell isn’t the only bit of your grandmother’s magic that might wear off,” she said. “The spell she cast to shut the portal between the worlds may fade away as well. And I asked Conner to check it out.”
A roller coaster of emotions ran through Alex’s body. Was it possible a bit of good news could come with this tragedy? After all, if the portal could be opened, she might see her brother again.
“How long until we know?” she asked.
“I’m still waiting to hear from him,” Mother Goose said. “Your grandmother’s magic may be fading, but as long as there’s the smallest bit left in her, there’s no way of telling which of her spells will stick. It could take weeks, months, or even years before we know about the portal.”
Red suddenly stormed down the hallway but stopped when she saw Alex and Mother Goose talking behind the pillar.
“Red, what’s wrong?” Mother Goose asked her. “Are you just sad about Charlie being pro-frog or has Clawdius swallowed one of the pixies again?”
“I was on the balcony feeling sorry for myself when I spotted something,” Red said with bright eyes. “I may be hallucinating from all the misfortune, but I could swear I just saw Conner running toward the palace!”
Mother Goose jerked her head back to Alex. “Or perhaps the portal’s open and we’ll know in a matter of minutes,” she said, finishing her previous thought. “Let’s get to the balcony!”
The three of them ran down the hall and emerged onto the grand balcony of the Fairy Palace. They scanned the gardens below until they saw a familiar young man running toward them.
“Conner!” Alex screamed down at him. Seeing her brother running through the gardens put her in a state of complete shock, as if she were seeing a ghost. Was she really seeing him or had the misfortune of the day caused her to hallucinate, too?
“Alex!” Conner yelled up at her. He was wheezing and sweaty, like he had been running for hours. “I have to tell you something—” His voice faded away, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and Conner fainted on the spot.
Without missing a beat, Alex ran off the balcony, through the palace, and into the gardens to her brother’s side. She kneeled on the ground next to him and placed his head in her lap. Mother Goose and Red arrived right after her.
“Is he dead?” Red asked, hiding behind Mother Goose.
“Conner, can you hear me?” Alex said to her unconscious brother. “Can you hear me?”
Mother Goose removed her flask from her hat and splashed his face with the liquid inside. Conner stirred to life and quickly sat up.
“Ahh! That burns!” he said, wiping the liquid out of his eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Sorry, but that usually does the trick,” Mother Goose said.
Alex instantly broke into tears upon seeing that he was all right. She had spent months convinced she would never see him in person again—and now here he was, sitting on the ground in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his ribs and cried into his chest.
“Conner! You’re here! You’re actually here!” she sobbed. “I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my entire life!”
He was panting but still found the strength to hug her back. “It’s good to see you, too, Alex,” he huffed.
Mother Goose interrupted their reunion. “Kid, if you’re here I’m assuming that means—”
“The portal’s open!” Conner said breathlessly. “And the army—they’re here, too!”
Mother Goose suddenly went pale as a ghost. She tipped her head back and drank whatever was left in her flask. Alex didn’t understand what they were talking about.
“Conner, what army?” she asked. “And what have you been running from?”
“It’s a long story,” Conner said. “But first, I have two friends with me from the Otherworld who helped me find the portal. They’re in the woods somewhere behind me; they couldn’t run anymore so I left them behind—we have to find them and send them home as soon as possible.”