The Land of Stories: Gleeful Days Are Here Again

The Wand of Wonderment

5. The Wand of Wonderment

In which an unlikely alliance is forged...

"You!" Rachel cried, glaring at Kurt Hummelocks. "What are you doing in my kingdom? What are you doing in my castle? What are you doing in my library?!?"

"Good afternoon, Red," Blaine greeted her, charming as ever. "Kurt and I were in the neighborhood, and thought we'd stop by for a visit."

"How did you get in here? Where are my guards?!?"

"They're the ones who let us in," Blaine replied, unfazed by Rachel's dramatics. "I grew up with most of them, remember? And we all parted as friends, so I thought you'd be glad to see us."

"Yes, well, apparently you thought wrong."

Kurt gave Red his best bitch glare. "Do you have a problem with us, Grandma's girl? I thought after helping me escape, you had changed, but I guess not."

"Well, I thought that helping you would make me feel better, so I suppose we were both mistaken."

Froggy cleared his throat. "Let's keep our eyes on the big picture, here. We've got to find a way to defeat the Enchantress. I'm sorry, but we just don't have time for petty quarrels."

Rachel looked shocked that he'd dared to speak to her that way, but she held her tongue.

Froggy turned to Kurt and Blaine. "Chris might have a plan. If you'd like to help, you're welcome to stay."

"Of course we want to help," Blaine said quickly. "This curse is as hard on us as it is on anyone," he added, casting a longing glance at Kurt's lips.

Kurt nodded vehemently. "Count us in. If the Enchantress comes within range of my sai swords, I'm ready to show her exactly how I feel about not being able to kiss my boyfriend!"

Chris stepped forward. "I appreciate your spirit, but I don't think that violence is going to solve our problem."

"Maybe we should go with the motto 'Make Love, Not War,'" Darren suggested. "We could just kiss the Enchantress, and put her to sleep. After all, we know that it's safe to be the one who does the kissing, so long as you don't get kissed back, since Quinderella didn't fall asleep when she kissed Princess Beth on the forehead."

"I wish it could be that simple," Chris answered. "But the Enchantress must be immune to her own curse. Remember when Mother Goose was telling us about how she put the Fairy Godfather to sleep? She demonstrated by kissing Zach right on the lips. So having his lips touch her obviously had no effect."

"Well, if we can't kill her, and we can't kiss her, what can we do?" Rachel asked irritably.

"The Enchantress has cast an evil spell over the world, and I think only magic will be able to reverse it," Chris predicted.

"You mentioned a book," Froggy reminded him. "Will it give us the counter-curse?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for," Chris admitted, "but I think I'll know it when I see it."

While Rachel stood huffing in the corner, Froggy, Darren, Kurt, and Blaine began searching the shelves for potentially helpful books. Chris glanced at and rejected a dozen titles before Darren handed him a volume that seemed promising.

"Myths, Legends, and Collecting Spells," Chris read. "There might be something in here that we can use."

Chris sat down on the sofa and opened the book. Darren plopped down next to him, and Kurt and Blaine squeezed in on his other side. Froggy and Rachel stood behind the sofa to peer over his shoulder.