CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE TEARS OF MEDUSA

Froggy hopped around the abandoned dwarf mine and poured Medusa’s tears into the eyes of all the statues. He was surprised to see there were just as many stone animals in the mine as there were men, women, and children. The statues were pale, solid as rocks, and frozen with such terrified expressions that Froggy didn’t recognize any of the faces. He prayed the teardrops would reverse the magic and the Bailey twins would appear among them.

Once he finished pouring Medusa’s teardrops into each pair of stone eyes, Froggy took a step back and waited with bated breath. Like chicks hatching from their eggs, the statues slowly started to wiggle and crack. Arms and legs began moving, heads began turning, and the stone chipped away like it was nothing but a thin shell. The men, women, children, and animals brushed themselves off and cleared dust from the back of their throats.

Froggy was relieved to see so many familiar faces appear around him. He saw his brothers, Chance, Chase, and Chandler; their wives, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White; and his nieces, Hope and Ash. Froggy also recognized Empress Elvina, Queen Rapunzel and Sir William, Hagetta, the Traveling Tradesman, Red’s granny, the Little Old Woman from the Shoe Inn, Rook and Farmer Robins, Sir Lampton, Sir Grant, and soldiers from the Charming and Northern Kingdoms. He even saw Cornelius, Porridge, Buckle, and Oats once they uncovered themselves.

The people and animals looked around the abandoned mine in a daze. The last thing they remembered was the bright eyes of a horrifying monster, and now they were brushing layers of stone off their bodies.

“What happened to us?” Snow White asked.

“You were turned into stone by a creature named Medusa,” Froggy explained. “I poured her tears into your eyes and it reversed the spell!”

Everyone’s confusion doubled when they realized Froggy was standing beside them.

“Charlie, is that you?” Chance asked in disbelief.

“Hello, brother!” Froggy said. “Words can’t describe how wonderful it is to see all of you!”

Froggy gave his brothers and their wives enormous hugs and kissed his nieces on the cheek.

“You’re out of the mirror!” Cinderella said. “But how did you escape it? Red told us it was impossible to free you!”

“That’s what I thought, but I’ve happily been proved wrong,” Froggy said. “Getting here was an awfully big journey, and I promise to tell the story one day, but right now it’s urgent I find Alex and Conner.”

Froggy looked around for the Bailey twins, but they weren’t inside the crowded mine.

“Wait a second, where are the twins?” he asked.

“They aren’t here,” Chandler said. “They went into the Otherworld.”

“And what about Red? And Jack and Goldilocks?” Froggy asked.

“They’re with the twins,” Chandler said. “Don’t worry, they’re safe as far as we know.”

“I don’t understand,” Froggy said. “Why would they all be in the Otherworld?”

The Charming brothers looked at one another with very concerned expressions. They wanted to fill Froggy in but didn’t know where to begin.

“Oh, Charlie, so many terrible things have happened since you’ve been gone,” Chase said. “The Masked Man stole a potion from the late Fairy Godmother’s chambers and used it to travel into the books from your library. He recruited a terrible army that attacked our world and imprisoned the citizens from every kingdom. He almost executed all the royal families, but thankfully Jack and Goldilocks saved us and brought us to the abandoned mine. After we escaped, the Masked Man’s army turned on him, and now three horrible emperors are in power!”

“Unfortunately, I’m quite familiar with the emperors,” Froggy said. “I saw the Wicked Witch, the Queen of Hearts, and Captain Hook through a mirror in the Northern Palace. I overheard them making plans to invade and conquer the Otherworld next—that’s why I need to find the twins immediately! I need to warn them the emperors’ army is coming!”

“The twins went into the Otherworld to recruit their own army,” Sleeping Beauty explained. “Jack, Goldilocks, Red, and Trollbella went to help them assemble it. They’ve already enlisted people from the worlds of literature, like the Tin Woodman from Oz, the Lost Boys from Neverland, and the Merry Men from the Sherwood Forest.”

Froggy thought his ears were deceiving him. “Did you say Oz? Neverland? The Sherwood Forest?” he repeated. “Well, they’ve certainly had quite an adventure without me. What sort of army are they assembling?”

“The twins are recruiting characters from Conner’s writing,” Rapunzel said.

Froggy’s mouth dropped open. “That’s remarkable,” he said. “But why go to such extremes? Aren’t there enough people in this world to fight the Literary Army? Surely, the Fairy Council could do something to help—”

“The Fairy Council was turned into stone long before us,” Sir Lampton said. “The Literary Army attacked the Fairy Kingdom first before ambushing the others. They came so quickly in the middle of the night, there was nothing we could do to prepare ourselves.”

Froggy had known things were bad, but he had no idea they were this bad. He sat on a boulder as the magnitude of the situation sank in.

“Just for the record, I’d like to remind everyone that I predicted all of this,” the Traveling Tradesman said. “Remember when I was using the Lost Boys’ marbles to foresee the future? I specifically said worlds would collide, and now look what’s happening—worlds have collided, all right!”

Hagetta rolled her eyes at the silly man. “Oh, shut up, you old geezer,” she said. “If you’re such a gifted psychic, then where was the warning about the Literary Army? Or the monster who turned us all into statues for a week?”

Regardless of the challenging times, Froggy still needed to warn the twins about the Literary Army’s next conquest. He leaped to his feet, more determined to find them than before.

“I need a way into the Otherworld,” he said. “How do the twins manage to get back and forth?”

Hagetta looked around the mine and retrieved the emerald-green Land of Stories treasury from the ground.

“They’ve been using this,” she said, and handed Froggy the book. “It’s been splashed with the Portal Potion. When the book is opened, a powerful beam of light projects from its pages. Step through the beam and you’ll enter the Otherworld.”

“Thank you,” Froggy said. “I just hope I’m not too late.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” Sir Grant asked.

“No, this world needs you more than I do,” Froggy said. “Once the Literary Army has crossed into the Otherworld, the rest of you should use their absence to liberate your people from the Northern Kingdom. There’s also a cottage just a few miles east of here by the river. You’ll find the missing children from the Corner Kingdom and Charming Kingdom in the basement. Take them with you and reunite them with their families.”

The royal families and the soldiers nodded—eager to finally be of service to their people again.

Rook stepped forward. “I want to come with you,” he said. “If Alex is even remotely in danger, I’m willing to do whatever I can to help her.”

“That’s out of the question,” Farmer Robins said. “An enormous army is headed for her world, Rook! It’s too dangerous! I won’t let you put yourself in harm’s way!”

“You don’t understand—I have to!” Rook declared. “I’m partly to blame for this whole mess. If I hadn’t led the Grande Armée to the royal families, the Masked Man would never have had the opportunity to steal the Portal Potion! I betrayed Alex and I’ve had to live with the guilt of a hundred men because of it. The only way I can redeem myself is by making things right. This may be my last opportunity to make it up to her—so I’m going and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

After seeing the determination in Rook’s eyes and hearing the passion in his voice, Farmer Robins knew there was no arguing with his son. Instead of debating him any further, the farmer clasped his son in a tight embrace.

“Be safe,” he said tearfully. “You’re all I’ve got left, Rook.”

“I will,” Rook said, and hugged his father back.

“Your father is right about one thing,” Sir Grant said. “The Otherworld is going to be significantly more dangerous once the Literary Army enters it. Even if the twins have secured an army to fight them, the two of you shouldn’t make the trip alone.”

Froggy couldn’t have agreed more. “We’ll take the Fairy Council with us,” he decided. “I have just enough tears left to free them. But we need to hurry—as far as we know, the army could already be headed to the Otherworld.”

“Then we’ll take Cornelius to the Fairy Kingdom,” Rook suggested. “He’ll get us there three times as fast as any horse could.”

Rook whistled and the chubby unicorn stepped out from the group of animals. Cornelius loved being singled out and neighed arrogantly. Porridge, Buckle, and Oats grunted—there was nothing more annoying than a big-headed unicorn.

“Splendid,” Froggy said. “We’ll leave at once.”

Froggy and Rook climbed aboard Cornelius and steered him out of the mine. The unicorn galloped as fast as a race car. They charged through the Dwarf Forests and sped across the Charming Kingdom, and within two hours of their departure, they were already approaching the Fairy Palace in the Fairy Kingdom—or at least what was left of it.

The destruction was a devastating sight. The golden pillars and arches of the majestic palace had been blown to pieces by the Jolly Roger’s mighty cannons. The vibrant gardens surrounding the palace had been burned to a crisp and were covered in debris. In the center of the ruins, Froggy, Rook, and Cornelius found the statues of Rosette, Tangerina, Xanthous, Emerelda, Skylene, Violetta, and Coral. The colorful Fairy Council was just as pale, stiff, and frozen with fear as the people had been in the abandoned mine.

“What kind of monster is capable of this?” Rook asked.

“It wasn’t her fault,” Froggy said. “It was the monsters behind the monster—they’re the ones to blame.”

Froggy jumped down from Cornelius’s back and approached the statues with his bottle of Medusa’s tears. Just as he was about to pour the first teardrop into Emerelda’s stone eye, the sound of approaching footsteps came from behind him. Froggy turned and saw a group of strange men walking toward them.

“Quick,” he whispered. “We need to hide.”

Froggy, Rook, and Cornelius dived behind a fallen pillar—although it was much more difficult for the chubby unicorn to crouch behind it. They watched the strange men as they entered the palace ruins. There were eleven men in total, each wearing the armor of a knight. They inspected the damage with their swords raised. The men also carried large shields, but Froggy didn’t recognize the crest painted across them.

“Who are they?” Rook whispered.

“I have no idea,” Froggy said. “They aren’t from any kingdom I’m familiar—”

“DON’T MOVE!”

Froggy, Rook, and Cornelius cautiously looked over their shoulders and saw that a twelfth knight had snuck up behind them. He was a very handsome and muscular young man. He held his sword just a few inches from their faces.

“I’ve found a couple of scoundrels hiding in the debris!” he called to the other knights.

“I beg your pardon,” Froggy said. “Who do you think you’re calling a scoundrel?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” the knight asked.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Froggy repeated.

“I happen to be a king, thank you ever so much,” the knight declared.

“Well, so am I!” Froggy announced.

“Then you must be responsible for damaging the palace!” the knight said, and raised his sword, preparing to strike.

“ARTIE, CUT IT OUT! HE’S WITH US!”

A split second before being sliced open, Froggy was saved by a familiar raspy voice. He looked into the singed gardens and saw an elderly couple approaching the ruins. Froggy recognized the woman the moment he laid eyes on her.

“Mother Goose!” he yelled.

“Hey, Charlie!” she said. “Long time no see!”

Mother Goose gave Froggy a hard but friendly pat on the back.

“Hey, Merlin,” she called to the old man behind her. “This is the guy I was telling you about—the prince who was cursed as a frog, then got kidnapped at his own wedding, and then got thrown into a magic mirror!”

“Oh, my poor tragic fellow,” Merlin said, and vigorously shook Froggy’s hand. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you! And my condolences, you know, about your life.”

“Hey, Charlie, how’d you get out of the mirror?” Mother Goose said.

“I escaped,” he said. “It’s a long story—where have you been all this time?”

“Oh, I moved to another dimension,” Mother Goose said. “Alex and I got trapped in the world of Camelot while we were chasing the Masked Man. I took one look at this handsome devil and knew it was time to settle down.”

Mother Goose winked flirtatiously at Merlin, and the wizard kissed her hand.

“Wait a moment, you mean that’s the real Merlin?” Froggy asked in disbelief.

“The one and only,” Mother Goose said. “And this is our squire, Artie—oops, I mean King Arthur! Sorry, Artie, old habits die hard.”

“You’re King Arthur?” Froggy asked.

Arthur became defensive. “Yes,” he said. “Is there a problem?”

“Not at all,” Froggy said. “You just seem so…young. I always imagined King Arthur as an older man with a beard and an unpleasant scowl.”

“Artie wasn’t supposed to be king until he was much older,” Mother Goose explained. “He started having nightmares about Alex and wanted to come check on her. I told him if he finished his training I’d take him to the fairy-tale world to see her. Well, I didn’t think he was serious about it, but the kid pulled the sword from the stone and founded the Knights of the Round Table in just a couple of days!”

“Knights are much easier to persuade when they’re teenagers,” Arthur said.

“We had never heard of a round table, but we didn’t have anything else better to do,” one of the knights said with a shrug.

“Right—what was your name again?” Arthur asked him.

“It’s Lancelot, Your Grace,” he said. “Anyway, a crusade sure sounded like fun—so here we are.”

Rook looked Arthur up and down, instantly intimidated by the young king.

“So you and Alex are friends?” he asked.

“I’d say we’re more than just acquainted,” Arthur said with a telling grin.

“Well, I was her first kiss,” Rook bragged.

“Well, I’ll be her last,” Arthur quipped.

Rook roared and charged toward Arthur, intending to tackle him. In one swift motion, Arthur threw Rook over his shoulder and pinned him to the ground under his boot.

“Boys, knock it off!” Merlin said. “We don’t have time for an adolescent love triangle—there are much bigger issues in this story.”

“Speaking of which, what the heck happened to the Fairy Palace?” Mother Goose said. “This place looks like New Year’s Eve at Pompeii! And the Fairy Council is as stiff on the outside as they were on the inside! Charlie, what’s going on in this world?”

Froggy let out a deep sigh. “It’s been attacked by an atrocious army of literary characters,” he explained. “The Wicked Witch from Oz, the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland, and Captain Hook from Neverland have joined forces and taken over the kingdoms! And recently, they’ve set their sights on the Otherworld. I’m on my way there to warn the twins the army is coming!”

“Then it wasn’t a dream,” Arthur said. “Alex really is in trouble! We’ve got to save her!”

“All right, all right, all right,” Mother Goose said. “Artie, you can say I told you so later—but right now we’ve got to get our keisters into the Otherworld and help the twins! Lead the way, Charlie—we’re coming with you!”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Froggy said. “But first, I need to loosen up the Fairy Council.”

“Good luck,” Mother Goose said with a snort. “I’ve been trying to loosen up those broads for centuries.”

Froggy hopped to the statues in the center of the destruction and placed two drops of Medusa’s tears in each of their eyes. Just like the people in the mine, the Fairy Council began to wiggle, shake, and crack. With seven bright, colorful blasts, the stone covering their bodies exploded and the council was finally free. The fairies looked around at their ruined home in shock. Emerelda, however, remained as stoic as ever. As if she had been deep in thought during her entire time as a statue, the leader of the Fairy Council emerged from the spell knowing exactly what needed to be done next.

“Alex,” Emerelda said sharply. “We need to find Alex.”