The Land of Stories ☆ The Not-So-Happily Ever After

Chapter 4

*Walks in and sits down*
So, *sips hot chocolate* I'm alive.
All will be explained at the end, don't worry. For now, just enjoy the chapter.

Who made these woods? Charlie thought as she ran between the trees. Once again lost, the trees around her seemed to get thicker and thicker no matter what direction she went in.

It gave her some time to think, at least.  Where was she? Those goats had given her the chills, and she had a feeling this wasn't the last she was going to see of them.

These thoughts whirled around in her head so much, that she wasn't looking where she was going, and crashed head first into a wall.

But it wasn't a wall- it was a tree. A huge tree, that she should've seen for miles away. Except from the tree itself, which looked as old as time, it looked really futuristic. There were glass elevators, houses that looked like neon blue bubbles, and bridges made from glass and steel, connecting everything together.

People busied themselves with phone calls and being fired, while children zoomed around on... baby flying geese? The elderly sat back on deck chairs, being served drinks and entertainment by those in their youth.

"Woah," Charlie mumbled, her eyes open wide.
Then she heard the sound of a goat behind her, probably about 5 minutes away. She needed to hurry.

She jogged around the tree, until the found the bottom of an elevator. She pressed the button, and the doors instantly opened. Inside the lift was a young man wearing a butler's outfit, and long, pointy ears.

"Welcome to the-"

"Cool costume! Uh, quick question- what is this place?" Charlie butted in.

"Welcome to the Elf Empire. Have you got a reservation or a fast-pass?" He recited in a squeak, as if he was reading it from a book.

"Neither," she looked behind her, and saw some very angry goats on their way, "Uhh, any chance I can just..."

She stepped inside the elevator, slammed a random button urgently, and hoped the doors would close in time.

"Miss? I'm not very short- I mean, I not very sure that's a good idea!"

The goats were getting closer and closer, and they were nearly 3 feet away by the time the doors began to shut.
Come on, doors. Close faster!  Charlie thought.

As soon as she blinked, Charlie regretted it. All she saw was the face of a mutant goat crying desperately, as if it had just lost everything, before the doors shut in its face.

                                  •○●○●○•

Aladdin regretted agreeing to this "bonding session" as his father called it. Right now, he was walking across a huge plain of sand he didn't even know existed, and he hated it.

There was sand in his shoes, rubbing against his feet to make blisters, and even more of it kept flying into his eyes.

"Where are we going?!" He asked Mustapha.

Why should Aladdin care about this man? It's not like he was there his whole life. Maybe he should just grab whatever he could from his dad and make a run for it.

"A place with treasures beyond your wildest dreams! It'll be a little bit challenging, but we should be able to do it," Mustapha replied with a toothy grin.

Aladdin was beginning to like this less and less.

"So how did you survive, father? I saw you... I saw you dead on the ground with my own eyes."

"All in time, child. Look, we're almost at the cavern- if you can wait a little bit longer, I can tell you."

"Cavern? And why can't you tell me now? Why can't you answer all  of my questions now?!" Aladdin yelled. He was getting annoyed now.

Mustapha raised his voice, "Be quiet, you insolent little-" He took a moment to calm himself.
"I apologise, my child. I tend to lose my temper quickly- something we seem to have in common."

From then on, the two of them were silent, as they marched through the desert.

"Here we are, my boy. This is it." Mustapha said with his arms wide open, as they came to a halt in front of a mound of sand. Mustapha recited a few words in some other language, and the ground began to rumble.

Seriously, did it have to be so dramatic?

The sand jumped around from the shaking ground, and slid away to reveal a huge sand statue of a Sphinx, twice as high as Aladdin.
It glittered in the hot desert sun, making it seem almost golden, and deep blue accents were dotted around the statue.

Aladdin's jaw dropped to the ground, and his face moulded into a dumbfounded expression. His dark chocolate eyes widened, while his body tensed up, unsure of what just happened.

"Was- was that you? Did you do that?!" He asked his father in awe.

Mustapha just smirked, and said, "The show isn't over, son."

A deep voice suddenly ran through the air, chilling Aladdin to the bone. All of a sudden, he has an urge to turn around and run away like he always did.
"STATE YOUR- pardon me, I-" he coughed, spewing wet sand into Aladdin's eyes, then resumed his sentence. "STATE YOUR BUSINESS." The Sphinx thundered.

That's right- the Sphinx spoke.
"Woah." Aladdin said under his breath.

"We wish for passage into the cave!" Mustapha yelled in reply.

"ONLY ONE MAY ENTER. CHOOSE YOUR VICTI- I mean, CHOOSE YOUR CHAMPION."

It was obvious to Aladdin what he meant to say.
"You were about to say 'Victim', weren't you?"

"No! I was about to say vict... ior..." The Sphinx trailed off, "Ok, just go in already- but only one of you!" He opened his mouth to reveal a set of steep stairs leading into the darkness.

Aladdin hid a small smile, and looked to his father.
"I am but an aging man, son. I will have difficulty climbing down all those stairs- you go."

Glancing down the sphinx's throat, Aladdin felt a sense of dread. Why should he trust this Sphinx? Why should he trust this man? Even if he was his father (an idea that was slowly disappearing from Aladdin's mind), he'd never been there for Aladdin. He left when the boy was two, and suddenly came back to take him on a walk?

Looking up at the sun, he wondered when he would next see it.

Giving his father a look that said here goes nothing, Aladdin began to descend down the stairs, into the unknown...

A/N: I'm not dead! No need to call the fairy-tale police!
I'm sorry I didn't update for, like, FOREVER. I just came back from a camping trip, and that mixed with a whole load of Discord server responsibilities and a pinch of laziness...

= no update.

Next time I don't update for this long, feel free to bug me. I don't mind.

Tell me what you like/ don't like about this story, and remember to play nice in the comments!