April 11, 2006.
It was cloudy day and it looked like it was about to rain. I, Violet, was just getting out of school and going home. My mother worked at the Mount Sinai as a nurse, so she always got home from work late. Ever since my father died on a business trip, Mom has had to work extra hard for money to help the family. I have a little brother named Zack and a golden retriever named Butterscotch. So when I got home my brother was watching my favorite Disney movie, Aladdin, so I started watching too. It is the best Disney movie ever, in my opinion.
Everything was normal until the TV got blurry and turned off. Then it sprung back to life but it was on a channel that neither I nor my brother had seen before. The man on the screen was tall and wearing a black cloak. He reminded me of Jafar the evil sorcerer from Aladdin the Disney movie. He was carrying a staff with a snake head.
The strange man started speaking in some kind of foreign language and then he said “You will never stop me, Grimm family.”
Then I got scared. Grimm was my father’s last name. How did that man know me? I momentarily forgot that my brother was still in the room. I kept watching until he screamed. I looked back at him, and he was petrified and pointing behind me. Then I heard a crash, so I turned around and I saw a red parrot holding a book in his beak. Then I noticed that the book wasn’t just any book, it was the last gift my father left for me before he died. He said not to open it until the secret was revealed. I realized that the parrot looked like Iago, also from Aladdin. All of this was so weird I just wanted to collapse on my bed and wake up and this would all just be some nightmare like the ones I got when I was younger. Then the ground started to shake and my brother started crying. I wished my mom was here to comfort me. I ran over to Zack’s room, but he wasn’t there anymore. Then a creepy shadow appeared behind me and I screamed. The figure covered my mouth and tied my hands, and then took me away. Blackout!
When I woke up I wasn’t in my room and I couldn’t see Zack. I recognized that I was in a rose garden. I heard someone talking so I decided to go ask where I was. I walked inside a castle and I found the person who was speaking. I soon realized she was not a person but a teapot, like the one from Beauty and the Beast.
I was desperate to find my brother, so I asked the teapot anyway, “Hello, have you seen a little boy with brown hair and hazel eyes?”
The teapot looked at me and shrieked, “Aren’t you a Grimm descendant?”
This is crazy, I thought. Even a teapot knows my last name. “How do you know my last name?” I asked the teapot.
“Because your father was the king of Fairyland, duh.” And that was the end of the line for me. First a creepy man communicates to me via TV channel, then my brother disappears, and then I find out my dad was a king of a make-believe land. I wished I was at home in my bed watching TV with Zack and Mom and laughing over Zack trying to catch popcorn in his mouth while Mom frantically tried to clean it all up.
I asked the teapot who the king of Fairyland was currently and she said, “The sultan of Agrabah, or as most people know him, Jasmine’s father.”
“Mrs. Potts,” I heard a singsong voice call, “may you please help set the table?”
I thanked the teapot and set off to find my brother. I had a strange feeling someone was watching me, but when I turned around no one was there but a snake with glimmering emerald eyes. It was strange, but I had no proof that someone was watching me.
***
I got so tired after walking for an hour. I had seen many famous fictional landmarks such as Sleeping Beauty’s palace and Rapunzel’s tower. When I saw Rapunzel’s tower I heard a strange noise. It’s probably nothing serious, I thought. It’s Fairyland. It was amazing but I was exhausted. I saw a little cottage that looked very cozy and decided to knock on the door and ask if I could stay the night.
When I knocked on the door a young little girl with blonde hair answered with a whimper. She said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know who owned this house. I did not mean to intrude.”
“Wait, did you say ‘intrude?’” I asked suspiciously. “Because this isn’t my house.”
Her eyes got big. “So the so-called rumor that people were speaking about, with the bears, was true?” she asked, frightened.
“Possibly,” I said reluctantly. I did not want to scare the little girl.
Then I hear a loud growl and a stomp and I rushed to hide but the little girl was not quick enough. There were three bears standing in the doorway and they started chasing the little girl, which I figured out was Goldilocks. While that went on for about a few hours I decided to look around for a bit. I was looking through some drawers, and then found a book that looked very familiar. It was my father’s book!
How did it get here? I wondered. I quickly shoved the book in my bag and took off. I felt kinda bad for leaving Goldilocks there to deal with those bears. But that feeling wore off soon enough. When I looked at the note on the notebook it had changed. Now it said, Open me. Now is the right time.
I opened the notebook and a piece of paper fell out. I picked it up and saw that it was a map of Fairyland. It showed every place in all of Fairyland, even secret passages. I was very hungry so I went to the ice cream store. I ordered a mint chocolate chip ice cream and continued on my journey to the palace of the sultan.
I was walking when I ran into a lady with a fur coat and a weird accent. She was chasing some poor puppies all around the cornfield. So I just crept away. I was getting really nervous. What if they had killed Zack already? What if they were torturing him? It was too gruesome to think about. I wish it was me who was taken, and not him. He was too young to deal with this kind of stuff. I just wanted to get to the palace, tell the king what happened, and get it all fixed. So I finally reached the palace.
“It looks exactly like it does in the movie,” I muttered. The palace was big, white, and very welcoming. I felt like a princess.
“What was that?” A familiar voice said. It was the teapot.
“Oh hi,” I said in a less than enthusiastic voice. The teapot was very bubbly and talkative (not my favorite qualities).
She said, “I was thinking, how ‘bout if I was your guide to the palace?”
I was in a horrible mood so I said the worst possible answer. “Sure.”
So the teapot and I kept on walking to the sultan’s castle. Mrs. Potts talked about every landmark we passed. Luckily we got there before I took dire measures. I practically ran to the castle door. But that seemed too easy. I was right. There were two rows of guards once I entered the castle.
“Halt. What is your name, madame?” said the guard.
“I’m Violet Grimm,” I replied in a confident voice. The second I said my last name all of the guards gasped. They all bowed and apologized for doubting me, and I requested to see the king. The head guard personally escorted me to the king’s throne room. Once I saw the king’s throne room it was my turn to gasp.
Oh my gosh. The whole room was covered in turquoise and diamond jewels. If I had less than half of those jewels it would solve our family’s money problems. Then I heard a deep voice which broke me out of my “trance.” I quickly came back to reality and rushed to ask my question.
“Excuse me, I was wondering could you help me find my brother. Someone kidnapped him. My name is Violet Grimm and my brother is Zack Grimm. A man in a tall black cloak and holding a snake staff took me here but I don’t know who took my brother or where he is.”
His face turned from smiling to a big worried frown. “That person that took your brother was a group of fairytale villains called the VKN (Villain Kidnappers) and the head of that society is Maleficent but she makes Jafar do all the work.”
“Ugh, that Jafar. What a traitor,” said the king, disgusted. “I will definitely help you find your brother. In fact, those villains have been capturing people all over Fairyland. I’ve been trying to stop them for a long time.”
“I have a map of Fairyland so if we need it, we can find shortcuts,” I said.
The sultan was very surprised. “I thought there were only two copies of those! And I have one of them…. How did you get it?”
“My father was the old king, so I got it from his notebook,” I said.
The sultan had a look of surprise on his face, but then quickly shook it off.
“I heard a rumor that Jafar’s hideout was in the Cave of Wonders. Luckily that’s not very far from here. I can arrange some transportation.”
One hour later….
I couldn’t believe we finally reached the Cave of Wonders! The cave looked exactly like it was shown in the movie –– a giant tiger head with an opening mouth for the entrance. The cave was as big as the palace. I was feeling overwhelmed.
When we entered, we heard a deep, scary voice that said, “Only the Chosen One can enter.”
The king told me to enter and when I did, the cave said, “You are the Chosen One.”
When I entered, the cave collapsed and the opening closed. I felt very alarmed.
I tried to make the most of it, but there was nothing to see the positive side of anything in here. All that was left to do was wait until someone came to save me from this evil cave. So I decided to look around, I mean I was in a cave full of gold.
I was looking around when I tripped over something. When I looked down I found a lamp. I almost cried tears of joy. I wouldn’t be trapped here for the rest of my life. I rubbed the lamp and out came the infamous blue genie. I shouted as fast as I could have, “Genie I wish to get out of this cave.”
“Your wish is my command, madame,” said the genie in a mocking voice. And with a snap of his fingers we were back outside.
Genie said, “You only have two more wishes left.”
“Okay,” I said cautiously. I rushed back to the palace, eager to tell the sultan who I had found. When I got back to the palace, the sultan looked like he had some good news to tell me too.
“We caught Jafar and asked him where your brother was. He told us the location. He is in Rapunzel’s tower. We can head there tomorrow.”
“I also have some good news. I found the genie!” I said.
“Genie, can you help us?”
“I would get your brother, but there is a shield that blocks my magic around the tower,” said the genie. “It’s practically impossible to get in. If you want help to find a way to get into that tower, you should ask Rapunzel herself.”
I said, “That’s a good idea! We will find her tomorrow.”
They headed into a limo to go to Rapunzel’s palace.
***
When they walked into the door, there were a few guards standing in their way.
The guards all stood in a semi-circle, blocking the doorway. One of them said, “No one can enter but Rapunzel’s relatives, or if you have been requested.”
The King whispered to Violet, “I got this.”
The King walked up to the guards and said, “I am the king of Fairyland. You must let me in.”
Some of the guards looked scared but the head guard stayed put. The sultan got very angry and ordered him to leave. Finally, Rapunzel walked out of her door and said, “It’s okay. They must come in.”
Rapunzel had very long, blonde hair and was wearing a light purple dress and a flower crown. She invited them in with a smile.
“So what did you want to talk about? I have a very busy schedule.”
I said, “We wanted to know how you were supposed to get into your old tower.”
Rapunzel’s smile slowly changed into a frown. “Why would you want to get up there?” she said.
The sultan replied with a grim frown. “Her poor brother is trapped up there by Maleficent and Jafar. Luckily we captured Jafar but Maleficent is still loose. We want to get her brother out of there before he gets hurt.”
“I of all people would know how that feels. I will come with you. And you’ll need a rope.”
“Thanks a lot for all you have done for me,” Violet said gratefully.
***
We (the sultan, genie, Rapunzel, and I) finally reached Rapunzel’s old tower. I remembered that weird noise that was coming from Rapunzel’s tower. It was Zack. I called his name and I heard a muffled reply. I deciphered his words to be saying, “Help me, Violet!”
I yelled for Rapunzel to help set up the rope. I told Zack to catch the rope when he hears the word “CATCH!”
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
“CATCH!”
Zack caught the rope and slide down.
When he got down, I gave him a big hug.
I told him about everything that happen and at the end his facial expression was so funny. It was a cross between scared and relieved. I was so happy to have him back. I remembered about my two wishes left. “Genie, my second wish is to make Zack forget about everything that happened in Fairyland,” I said. “I will miss you guys so much. I had so much fun here in Fairyland.”
The sultan said, “I just realized something. You are the rightful heir to the Fairyland throne.”
“Oh my gosh. I didn’t notice that,” I said. “We can be co-rulers” I said with a smile. “But I will need a way to transport here without being kidnapped,” I said.
“Of course,” said the king. He handed me a snowglobe with a mini map of Fairyland in it. “Whenever you shake the snowglobe, you will transport here.”
“Genie, my last wish is for you to transport us home.”
Blackout. When I opened my eyes we were home. It was my happily ever after.