“Yes, perfect!” the Snow Queen screeched, and turned to Alex. “Lead the way!”
At the witch’s command, Alex clapped her hands and all the remaining soldiers went flying out of their way. She snapped her fingers and all the Hummers, the police vehicles, the lampposts, the street signs, the trash cans, and everything else in their path disintegrated into piles of ash. In one swift procession, the witches, the lion statues, and Alex marched up Fifth Avenue toward Central Park.
Once they arrived, Alex waved her hand through the air and a massive force field surrounded the entire park like a shimmering, rippling dome. The Marines tried to follow the witches into the park, but Alex’s shield electrocuted anyone who got near it: No one was going in or out.
Alex, the lion statues, and all the witches continued their march into the heart of Central Park and disappeared from the Marines’ sight. The soldiers had thought they’d seen just about everything with the moving statues, but clearly, the spectacles had only begun.
“Your orders, sir?” a soldier asked the general.
General Wilson didn’t respond. He was just as stunned by the night’s events as the rest of the Marines. He was going to need help with the situation, and there was only one person he could get it from.
“Sir? Your orders?”
“I’m thinking, Sergeant, I’m thinking!” the general snapped, and paced as he thought. “The whole island of Manhattan needs to be evacuated at once! Call the Pentagon and tell them we need backup! We need as many boots on the ground as possible!”
“Yes, sir!” the soldier responded.
“Oh, and Sergeant?” the general said. “One more thing—and this is the most important order of the night: Find Cornelia Grimm—immediately!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A MIRRORED ESCAPE
After a thorough inspection of all the mirrors in the Center Kingdom castle, Froggy and his mysterious young companion discovered that the castle was as empty as the mirror dimension itself. Judging by all the damaged furniture and broken artwork, the Literary Army had swept the castle and taken all the servants to the Northern Kingdom during their invasion. Most concerning of all, however, was how little Froggy recognized his former home. They peered into the chambers where he used to sleep, the dining room where he used to eat, and the library where he’d spent hours each day reading—but nothing sparked the tiniest inkling of familiarity.
“I know I used to live here, but no matter how many times I remind myself, it still seems like the home of a stranger,” Froggy said.
“Where else could your friends be hiding?” the little girl asked.
Froggy tried to think of an alternative hiding spot, but he had a difficult time remembering the names of other locations altogether.
“Let’s search the village outside the castle,” he said. “Perhaps they’re hiding somewhere less conspicuous, like one of the shops or farms.”
“What are their names? I forgot to ask.”
Froggy opened his mouth to respond, but the right words never emerged.
“I suppose I forgot,” he said with a deep sigh. “But I’ll recognize them the moment we see them. They’ve got strawberry-blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles. The boy has chubby cheeks and the girl always wears her hair neatly behind a headband—or at least that’s how they looked when they were twelve. I know they’ve matured since then, but I can’t picture it.”
“It’s all right,” the little girl reassured him. “How many twins can there be who match that description? We’ll find them soon enough.”
A new cluster of mirrors manifested in the distance, and they hurried to inspect them. Froggy and the little girl checked all the homes, shops, bakeries, taverns, and barns in the Center Kingdom village, but they were just as empty as the castle. They were certain the Literary Army had rounded up all the villagers, too—but an unexpected noise told them otherwise.
Froggy and the little girl followed the sound of sniffling to a mirror hung inside a small cottage. They peered inside and found a short, frumpy woman with curly red hair and a large nose. She looked at her reflection in the mirror like it was someone she despised. The woman tried smoothing the wrinkles on her forehead, flattening the bags under her eyes, and stretching her double chin as if the skin on her face were made of clay. Naturally, the adjustments never lasted, and the woman cried harder after each failed attempt.
Froggy stayed out of sight so he wouldn’t frighten the woman, but the little girl was drawn to her like a magnet—desperate to help.
“Why are you crying?” she asked.
The woman screamed at the strange little girl appearing in the mirror. She quickly turned to look over her shoulder, expecting to find the little girl standing behind her. When she realized that the girl was only a reflection, the woman screamed again.
“How did you get inside there?” she asked. “Are you a ghost?”
“No, just cursed,” the little girl replied. “I’ve been trapped inside the mirror for a very long time. And from the looks of it, so have you.”
“But… but… but what is that supposed to mean?” the woman asked.
“I saw the way you were looking into the mirror just now,” the little girl said. “You looked at your own face with such hatred and heartbreak. You nearly hurt yourself trying to change your appearance with your hands. If you dislike your looks to the point of hating and harming yourself, I’d say you’re just as cursed and trapped in the mirror as I am.”
The woman was still shocked to be speaking with a reflection, but even more overwhelmed to be analyzed by one. Tears formed in her eyes again, but this time from embarrassment.
“You’ve caught me in a very vulnerable moment, my dear,” the woman said. “What is your name?”
“I don’t know,” the little girl said. “All I know is what I see, and someone should never be so distraught over something they can’t control.”
“I agree, but it isn’t right to make judgments over one moment of weakness, either,” the woman said. “My appearance has always given me grief, but that isn’t the only reason I’m unhappy. My whole family was recently captured by that terrible army and taken to the Northern Kingdom. I was crying because I miss them dearly and am worried sick.”
“Then why were you trying to change your looks?” the little girl asked.
“Because I desperately want to save them, but my looks are holding me back,” the woman confessed. “I’m the only one in our village who escaped the army, but there are others like me in the towns nearby. I believe if we joined together we could create a plan to rescue our loved ones. However, I’m afraid no one will take me seriously because of my appearance—and I have a lifetime of experiences to validate that fear.”