Wolf stared at me wild-eyed from the other side of the cage. “I thought we were goners!” After the initial leap into the air, the cage had stopped moving. The voices of the guards could be heard in the distance. “Do you think it’s done?” The bean stalk responded by exploding up through the floor and out the ceiling, shattering the confinements of our cage. I didn’t even have time to yell as my glass bubble was thrown into the open air. I heard Wolf call for me. The rest was drowned out by the howling of the air around my bubble as it picked up speed. “So this is how an acorn feels,” I thought. Miraculously, the ground was not what I landed on, a leaf was. The bright green net bowed under my weight, rolling me toward the edge like a drop of water.
I waited for the plunge. But instead of releasing me into the abyss below, the leaf slung me up again like a toy ball. “Help!” I screamed, passing the part of the stalk Wolf clung to. I looked up as my bubble broke through the clouds, giving me a second to gaze around before my descent. The surrounding light was blinding. But it wasn’t the sun that caused the glow, it was a city. The bubble hovered for a minute. Before the clouds could break my vision, I had time enough to read the sign. “Casino City,” it said. I tumbled back down, feeling more and more like I was trapped in a yo-yo than a glass ball. There was a blur of movement beneath me. Wolf shot out from his perch on the stalk, mouth open to reveal a row of jagged teeth, and caught me deftly in his mouth.
I cringed at the sound of teeth on glass. “Whatever you do, don’t swallow!” Wolf’s hot breath fogged over the glass, making it impossible to see what was going on. The most I could tell, we were traveling up. After what felt like forever, Wolf finally dropped me. I landed with a soft bounce, like settling on a pillow. When the glass became transparent again, I saw we were on top of the clouds. Wolf fell to his side, panting and staring off toward the city. “So that’s heaven?” He mumbled. “No sir, this here is Casino City!” Came a small voice to our left. Wolf sat up with a jolt. The voice giggled. “No need to be so jumpity!” From behind a large pile of cloud appeared a diminutive man. “The name’s Melchior! I’m the greeter for this fine establishment.” “Great, another dwarf.” Wolf grumbled.
“Oh no, I’m no dwarf. I’m a Manikin.” He bowed low, tipping his tall green hat toward us. “And you are?” Wolf cut him off. “Unimportant. What exactly is this place… er,” “Melchoir,” the Manikin replied with a smile. “Right, Melchoir. Who runs this place?” “The Ogre King,” He answered with exaggerated awe. “An Ogre?” “Ogre KING, sir.” “Excuse me for a second.” Wolf turned toward me. “An OGRE?” “It’s Ok,” I assured him. “I think they only eat humans.” “What do you think I am?” “Right now? You’re a wolf.” Wolf’s eyes lit up with understanding. He turned back to Melchoir, who was amusing himself by rocking on his heels and humming. “We’d like to have a word with this Ogre King, if we could. We have a situation on our hands that he might be able to help with.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. He’s very busy, all the time. You can see his assistant though.” “And what’s his name?” “Or hers?” I cut in. A crease formed between Melchoir’s eyebrows. “Name? I don’t know his name. We call him R.” Melchoir leaned in conspiratorially, a hand cupped around his mouth. “Not even the Ogre King knows his real name.” Wolf shrugged. “I don’t care what he calls himself, as long as we can see him quickly.” The Manikin nodded happily and turned on his heels to lead. Wolf picked my glass bubble up in his mouth and began to follow. “Exciting, don’t you think?” Melchoir called cheerfully over his shoulder. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had customers from solid ground.” “Customers?” I asked. But Melchoir didn’t respond.
Once we’d entered the gates of the city, Wolf set my bubble down. “I figured you’d want to see this.” As the fog lifted from the glass I was taken aback by the sight of so many people and creatures. There were Trolls drinking mead by the barrel and Hobgoblins running in and out of buildings, hands overflowing with gold coin. One bar window showcased a large tank with a mermaid in it. She posed alluringly as gentlemen jeered at her from the other side. When they turned around she made funny faces at their backs. “What is this place?” I whispered in amazement. “The place where bad people come to play.” Wolf replied. “Step right up! Pull the slot. Win a free look at the Phoenix!” A woman in a gold dress shouted from atop a podium.
“The Phoenix!” I hissed. “A ploy, Fae.” Wolf shook his head sadly. “A stuffed replica or something. The Phoenix has been dead a long time.” As we followed Melchoir through the city, I watched for signs of the enchanted bird. Maybe he hadn’t been killed by the hurricane. Before I knew it, we’d arrived at the door to a miniature castle. “Is this some kind of joke?” Wolf asked incredulously. Melchoir grinned. “No, sir. This here is R’s castle!” “But it’s only six feet high!” “It’s Manikin-size. The Ogre King had it built to scale. He’s rather stingy. I’ll let R know you’re here.” And with a bow he disappeared. Wolf paced angrily in front of the door. “I didn’t realize the assistant was a little person too! What are they going to do against the Queen, throw pebbles?”
“Things aren’t always what they seem, Wolf.” I said, suddenly reminded of my conversation with Mirror Mirror. What had that crazy mirror meant, anyway? “Maybe that Ogre can help. Do you think he has friends?” Wolf was rambling to himself, not paying me the least bit of attention. I rolled around for a few minutes, wondering if the other fairy was somewhere nearby, or if she had met her end at the hands of Queen White. I was surprised to realize my anger toward her had been replaced with something closer to fascination. I still didn’t trust her, or like her, but she made me curious. I knew how she’d been created, magicked up by the Ginger Bread House Witch. But where had she come from? Was she me? Did she have the same memories?
The door to the castle creaked open and Melchoir reappeared. He was practically dancing with anticipation. “R will see you now.” We followed him into a narrow hallway. “It’s a very big honor!” He grinned from beside us. “He usually doesn’t agree to see anyone.” On the walls were small oil paintings. Most depicted scenes of battle, Men against Creatures of Magic. The pictures were drawn in such a way as to not hint who was winning. I shivered, chilled from the inside. “R painted those himself,” Melchoir announced proudly. It dawned on me, there probably weren’t many Manikins in positions of power. Of course Melchoir was proud of his commander. At the end of the hall was a heavy set of wooden doors. Melchoir knocked three times and they swung open.
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