The Fairytale Life of Doris McQueen [#1] ✓

TWENTY-SEVEN

Chapter 27

"Adam! Adam!" Doris jumped beside the wall, unable to catch hold of the top.

"Doris, we need to go," Alexander pointed at the guards who had alighted at their side of the wall.

Doris didn't take notice of the man and the woman who were advancing towards them with shouts of "Intruders" and "Vandals". "Dad," she said, "they'll kill him. He won't survive out there. We need to get to him. The rain will burn him. The hailstones might kill him. The roots could strangle him. He could drown in the swamp. I can't leave him, Dad. No!"

Alexander knew the symptoms. His daughter was close to a nervous breakdown. He took her hand and said as calmly as he could, "The only way we can stop all this is if we get to Arabella. Right now, that's our priority. Adam can manage himself. Don't underestimate him. Even he wants you to find Arabella because if we don't not only would we all die even his family would die a painful death."

Doris nodded and breathed out, "You're right." She brushed the stray strands of her hair back, "What was I thinking? We need to find Mom." She called up on each and every ounce of her power and even Alexander took a step back as her eyes lit up with the silver light. Her whole body glowed with the strange light and when she looked at the two guards, they froze in their steps.

"Let's find Mom, Dad," Doris said walking towards the castle. As she walked ice formed on her footsteps and began seeping all around her. "We should split."

"Yes," Alexander nodded, happy to see his daughter taking control of the matter as she always did. "I'm going to right. You go left."

Doris nodded and ran. They had a few minutes now. After which everything would be over. All their hard work...she couldn't let it go to waste. She extended her power further pushing beyond the limit as she ran through corridors. Everywhere, ice began to form, first following her footsteps and then climbing up the walls. The pain in her body vanished as if it had never been there before. She could see, hear and even feel better now. Every speck of dirt of between the bricks was visible to her. The dull shouts outside were now as clear as the voices behind the hotel rooms.

Doris reached out with her mind to feel the powers of the faeries. She could feel their beating hearts and the way magic pumped through their veins. Somewhere from afar, she felt something familiar. A power that reminded her of something. She ran in the direction, hoping against hope. It was when she was climbing the stairs did the realization suddenly strike her. It was so simple that she nearly stopped running.

The power was familiar because it reminded her of her own power. The feeling she felt when she used her power, the feeling that Gemima's fire emanated and now this power she felt. It had to be her mother. Smiling now she ran up the stair. Up and up she ran, ice crackling over the walls and finally she reached a corridor which looked as if it hadn't been used for years . The power was so close now that Doris felt that if she would reach out she would be able to touch. It was the last room. It wasn't even locked

Doris burst inside and stopped. The room was in total darkness but moonlight bathed the bed through the window and she could see the figure of a woman. She switched on the light with trembling hands and walked to the bed.

It was her. She recognised the high bridge of the nose. The blonde hair that was the same shade as Gemima's. Her skin was snow white but not deathly pale. She looked fine. No bruises, no scars, no injuries.

"Mom?" Doris said in a cracking voice. "Mom?" she tried again.

Arabella didn't stir. She lay there as she had lain for years. Breathing softly but not moving at all. Doris reached out with her magic, trying to break through to her mother's mind through mind-portal but each time she tried a solid wall would stop her.

Doris was near to tears when her heightened hearing picked up Adam's voice. She rushed to the window and sure enough, in the compound below, Adam and Alexander were fighting with guards. She couldn't help feeling a huge weight lift off her shoulders. She looked at the huge clock that stood in the corner of the room, who's ticking made her head bang as if she was being hit on the head with a hammer. They had less than five minutes.

Doris pointed to the three guards in the compound. Immediately they froze. Adam and Alexander looked up to see their saviour.

"Doris!"

"You found her?"

"Yes, she's here but she's not waking up," Doris shouted.

"Wait, we are coming," Alexander shouted back.

"We don't have the time," Doris shouted. An idea came to her mind, which if someone had ever told her would come in her mind, she would have laughed at them but right now it seemed like a highly ingenious plan. She took of her backpack and let her hair down. Literally down, through the window. It uncurled and finally stopped a few feet above the ground. Cutting off her hair from above her shoulders she tied it to a couple of strong icicles she made over the window. Tugging at it, she yelled, "Its secure. Come up fast!"

It took Adam and Alexander around three minutes to climb up the weird rope. Alexander would have taken more than half an hour but Adam kind of pushed him up the hair-rope. Doris kept on strengthening the icicles that held the rope with renewed ice.

They entered the room huffing and trying to catch their breath.

"Dad, we have one minute. Do something," Doris said, tensely.

Alexander walked to his wife and wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead. "I don't know. I can't think. Maybe there's some poison..."

"Can't we do anything?"

"I think-" Adam started.

"Time is running out," Alexander cut his speech.

Doris was trembling, "Do something."

The clock ticked painfully.

"Just kiss her," Adam finally managed to say.

"What?" both father and daughter looked at him with irritation.

Adam nodded urgently, "Just kiss her. Trust me, this is Sleeping Beauty all over again."

Doris and Alexander looked at each other and then at the clock that was ticking away seconds. Twelve...Eleven...Ten...

"Do it," Doris cried.

Alexander leaned over and kissed the woman he had loved all his life.

It must have been a milli-second before the clock chimed that Arabella's eyes opened.

Doris laughed in surprise while Alexander looked totally stumped. Adam smiled and broke into a small jig.

"Alexander?" Arabella croaked. She coughed and looked around, "Where am I?"

Alexander held her hand as tears began dripping down his cheeks, "You are okay now. Arabella, you have been gone for so long...I..."

Doris walked to her mother, knowing that she looked hideous. Her hair was jaggedly cut to a bob. She was wearing a harshly torn gown which had mud splattered across the edges. She didn't even have footwear. Doris smoothened her hair with her hands without having much success as she shyly smiled at her mother.

Arabella looked at Doris and then at Alexander. "Is that..?" she asked.

"Doris," Alexander nodded smiling as he had never done ever since Doris remembered.

"I can't believe this," started Arabella with a smile. Doris mentally winced waiting for some remark on her horrible state but Arabella just said, "You look just like your Dad."

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And that's that....I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing! If you did please VOTEEEE! Thanks for reading till here. Just one more chapter and our journey comes to an end...

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