Once Upon a Hallow’s Eve Page 4

  She glanced down, her eyes widening when she caught sight of the pinkish, purple, sparkling fin that was where her legs had been moments ago. “Holy crap! I’m a mermaid?” she asked aloud, lifting her head to gaze around at the sea world around her. Schools of fish swam by, coral reefs were around the perimeter of the area, and sea shells were scattered about on the sea floor. “Whoa…”

  “What’s the deal, lady?” a yellow and blue clown fish asked, yawning from where he was trying to nap on the other side of the rock. His eyes widened when he caught sight of her. He jumped, quickly swimming away and hiding behind a large boulder, shivering in fear. “Who are you?”

  “Holy crap! You can talk?” Julie swam forward, feeling as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She swam around the boulder, eyeing the fish. He looks so familiar, she thought, poking him.

  “Hey! Ouch! Of course I can talk. Just like you can. Now, who are you?”

  “My name’s Julie,” Julie finally said, gazing around the sea floor once more. “And I am very far away from home.”

  “I’d say. You look nothing like the people who live here,” the fish muttered.

  “And who are you?” Julie asked.

  “I’m Flounder,” the fish said, still eyeing her warily. “Sebastian!”

  “I’m right here, Flounder! Jeesh, you don’t have to yell!” A red crab cried, scampering across the sea floor and glancing up at Julie. “Hello, Julie.”

  “Hello…” Julie trailed off. Flounder? Sebastian? Am I stuck in the Little Mermaid? Why would a demon send me here?

  “So, what brings you to the seas of Atlantis?” Sebastian asked, scrambling up on top of the boulder and standing on his rear legs. He crossed his claws in front of his small body.

  “Magic,” Julie said, softly. “A demon sent me here.”

  “More magic?” Sebastian growled, smacking himself in the head with his claw. “I’ve had enough of that stupid stuff! First…” He trailed off, turning his head as voices sounded nearby. “They’re coming! Come on! We have to hide!”

  “Hide? Hide from who? Who’s coming?”

  “Shh!” Sebastian smacked her with his claw. “They’ll hear you! Be quiet!” He quickly led her and Flounder to a coral reef. Julie peered around it, watching, as two eels swam by.

  “We got another straggler today,” one of the eels was saying.

  “Someone not understanding the new laws to the seas?”

  “Nope, and boy, did they learn the lesson the hard way.” The eels laughed.

  “Ursula will be pleased.”

  “You heard about the intruder?”

  “Yes. Ursula is not happy about it. It seems someone has been tinkering with magic down here… and you know what that means.”

  “There’s a traitor in the seas, and they must be dealt with.”

  They disappeared, and Julie frowned, glancing at Sebastian. “Okay, I am so confused! How did I end up here, of all places? The demon who sent me here said something about no happy endings.”

  “That’s because there are none here,” Flounder said, bowing his head and looking depressed.

  “What do you mean? Where’s Ariel?”

  “Dead.”

  “What!”

  “How do you know about Ariel?”

  Julie laughed. “Right. I forgot, I’m from a different world.” She laughed again. “In my world, your story is kind of famous, and one of my favorites. It tells about a young woman, Ariel, who longs for adventure, to see the world outside of the sea. She falls in love with a prince, takes out the evil sea witch, and lives happily ever after.”

  “Hmm. What a world you live in,” Sebastian said. “I assume the prince you talk about is Eric?”

  Julie nodded.

  “Your story is definitely one I wish I was living,” Sebastian said, softly. “You’re right, Ariel did fall in love with a prince, Julie. They were to be wed, when Ursula interrupted the ceremony. But instead of Ursula being killed, Ariel was killed. She died, saving Eric’s life.”

  “Oh my God!”

  “And now King Triton is a prisoner to Ursula, and Ursula rules the seas now.”

  “What?” Julie’s eyes widened. “That’s terrible!” She paused, thinking. “So, the demon who sent me here must think that if he sends me to a world with no happy endings, I’ll never find my way home?”

  “Sounds about right.”

  “And if there are no happy endings here, what about my world? Are there no happy endings there too?”

  “I would bet on it.”

  “This demon needs to go down!” Julie cried. “Come on!”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To put things back the way they’re supposed to be.”

  “You mean… you’re going to help us?” Flounder asked, hurrying after her. “You think that if we fix the story, put things the way they’re supposed to be, that Ariel can come back to life?”

  “I’d bet my life on it,” Julie said, as they swam.

  “But where do we even start?”

  “With Eric.”

  “Cinderella!”

  “Cinderella!”

  “Cinderella!”

  The voices rippled through the air, and Jade groaned. She creaked an eye open, pulling the sheet around her, and snuggling in the bed. Birds chirped outside the window, and she pulled the sheet even tighter around herself. Let me sleep! she thought, then she stopped, quickly sitting upright in the bed. Wait! What am I doing in bed? I was at the masquerade and there was…

  “A demon!”

  “Demon?” A voice sounded nearby, and she frowned, lowering her eyes to gaze at the mouse sitting on the bed in front of her. She squealed, jumping, and smacking the rodent with her hand. “Mouse!”

  “Hey! Stop that!” The mouse cried, scrambling, avoiding her hand. Adjusting his yellow vest and hat as he scrambled up on top of the bedpost. “I’m not the enemy here!”

  “You’re a mouse! A disgusting rodent who carries all kinds of diseases!” Jade cried, jumping up from the bed and wiping her hands down her body. “Wait. You can talk?” she asked, frowning. “Where the hell am I?”

  “In your favorite fairytale,” another mouse said from where he was sitting on top of the dresser. He crossed his small paws in front of his chest, the red hat he wore drooping over his eyes. He pushed it up, irritatingly. “Hello, Jade. We’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Waiting for me?” Jade frowned, still confused. She scratched the side of her head, thinking. Her favorite fairytale? Then her eyes widened. “Holy crap! I’m in Cinderella? And you…” She pointed a finger to the mouse on the dresser. “You’re Jaq, aren’t you?”

  “The one and only.”

  “And you. You’re Gus!”

  “Well, at least she knows her fairytales,” Gus said, snorting, eying her warily. “You’re mean!”

  “I’m not mean! I just don’t like mice. Or rats…” Jade shuddered. “But that doesn’t answer my question… what am I doing here?”

  “Hopefully to help us,” Jaq said, hopping down off the dresser and scrambling across the carpeted floor. He jumped up, racing up the white sheets of the bed, and climbing up the gold bed post. He stared up at her. “We need your help, Jade. Cinderella’s in trouble.”

  “Cinderella?” Jade’s eyes widened. “But I thought she married the prince!”

  “You know the story?” Gus asked, drawing a block of cheese from behind him and taking a bite.

  “Of course! It was my favorite growing up!”

  “Then you know how it ended?”

  “Of course I do! Cinderella went to the ball, met the prince, and they lived happily ever after. Everyone knows that!”

  “Figures,” Gus muttered, rolling his eyes. “Sorry to break it to you, Jade, but that’s not what happened. At least not here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What you said is true, Jade. At least most of it. Cinderella did go to the ball, she did meet the prince, but after she lost her
slipper, the prince never found her.”

  “What? How?”

  “Her step-mother,” Jaq said, narrowing his eyes. “The evil wench. When Cinderella got back, she was waiting for her, and boy was she not happy! She’d seen Cinderella at the ball, seen how she and the prince looked at one another and she vowed that Cinderella would never know happiness, so she cast a spell on her. Keeping Cinderella locked up in this mansion until the day she dies, doing the one thing she hates the most. Cleaning. She’s a slave to her own family.”

  “That’s terrible! She’ll never…” Jade trailed off, her eyes widening. “Get her happy ending. Oh my God! The demon! He said he was sending us to a place with no happy endings. So if there’s no happy endings here, there are no happy endings in my world?”

  “I think so… yes.”

  “And that means there’s no true love, no children, no families, no marriage. Everyone’s alone? Oh my! We need to fix this!”

  “We were hoping you would say that,” Jaq said, grabbing the cheese from Gus and eating up the rest of the block.

  “Hey!”

  “You have to share sometimes, bro,” Jaq said, laughing, before scrambling down from the bed. “Come on! Let’s go find Cinderella!”

  “Wh-who are y-you?” Josslyn stammered, pressing herself back against the wall as far as she could. Fear rushed through her as the wolf marched toward her. “H-how do y-you know who I a-am?”

  “Because, you know me too, Josslyn,” the wolf said, laughing, shaking its big head as it stepped back. “Don’t you recognize me, Joss? I mean, we have been through a lot. Remember? That night we ran into each other at the bar? And of course, let’s not forget our date… oh and the fact that I know you’re a witch.”

  Josslyn gasped, jerking her head up. Staring into familiar, hazel eyes. “Tyler?”

  “Hello, Josslyn.”

  “Oh my God! Tyler! I have been so worried about you!” Josslyn cried, walking toward him. She reached a hand out, touching his long snout. “I was so afraid that evil witch would find you. That she would hurt you. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to you. We may not be soulmates. We may not be in love, but you’re still important to me, Ty. Wait… Brandon?” She swung her head around, back toward the bedroom to where the armoire and dresser were peering out of the doorway. “They said something about a curse. The evil witch. She found you, didn’t she? And Brandon! She took him away from you?”

  “I see the furniture has been talking again,” Tyler swung his head around, glaring at the pieces of furniture. “Do you remember the last time you opened your big mouths?”

  “Burn us. Lock us up. Do whatever you will,” the armoire said, shaking as it talked. “But you don’t scare me.”

  “Oh yeah? You wanna bet on that?” Tyler asked, turning from Josslyn and walking toward the doorway.

  “Sir…”

  “Awoo!”

  He opened his mouth, letting out a loud, chilling howl. The furniture jumped, disappearing into the room.

  “Tyler!” Josslyn jumped in front of him, holding a hand out. “What are you doing? They’re your friends. Your servants. Don’t be mean to them!”

  “I’m sorry, Josslyn, but the mean, angry, old wolf is exactly who I am,” Tyler said, turning and walking down the hallway. “Follow me.”

  “And why should I do that?” Josslyn asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

  “Or I’ll tear you to shreds!” Tyler shouted, swinging around and letting out a loud roar. Josslyn jumped, closing her eyes as the air whipped around her. The banister next to her shook, and she glanced at the pictures as they too shook, toppling to the floor. “Okay. I’ll go with you,” she finally said, following him down the hallway. “But Tyler, what’s going on? Why are you like this? What the hell happened these last four months?”

  “A lot,” Tyler said as he started down the dark, purple carpeted steps. They crossed the foyer and headed up another set of stairs. “The most important being that I’ve come to grips with who I am. A beast. Ugly. And who isn’t meant for happiness.”

  “What? Tyler!” Josslyn grabbed his big paw, swinging him toward her. “Now, that’s not true! Everyone’s meant for happiness, especially you!” She smiled, touching a hand to his cheek. “Tyler, you’re the most loving person I have ever met. Even in high school, you had this calmness about you. This kindness. You were never mean to anyone!”

  “Things change.” He jerked free from her grip, continuing down the hallway.

  “Like hell they do!” Josslyn cried, hurrying after him. “Tyler! You’re a police officer. A detective. You care about people! You’ve put bad guys away. You helped us, remember? That can’t all be for nothing!”

  “That was a lifetime ago, Josslyn.”

  “It was four months ago!”

  “No. It was four months ago for you. For me, it was a lifetime ago.”

  “What are you talking about?” Josslyn asked as they continued through the castle. She glanced around, staring at the darkness, the gloominess. “It’s so dark in here!” she cried. A single ray of light shining through the large windows to her right, bathing a picture of a young, dark-haired girl in light. “Who’s the girl?” she asked, staring at the portrait.

  “My daughter.”

  “You have a daughter?” Josslyn’s jaw dropped open. “How?”

  “I told you, time moves differently here, Josslyn,” Tyler said, turning into a doorway and starting up the steps to the next level. “When I left you, I had one goal in mind. To find Brandon, and I found him. In a small town in Wisconsin. He was working at a coffee shop and had no memory of me. The witch had taken his memories.” He shook his head. “I had to start over. We started off as friends and became so much more. When we kissed… the curse was broken. He remembered everything! And I was no longer a wolf. We were both back to our normal selves, that is until she arrived. She was furious that we’d been able to find one another and said that if we were determined to be together there was only one place that could happen. Here. In this castle. But…” He paused at the doorway, pointing to the girl lying on the bed. “She means everything to me, Josslyn. She’s my world. Only, in two days she’ll be gone.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The witch, she didn’t just curse me and Brandon, Josslyn. She cursed Sophia too. A sleeping curse, that she will never wake up from. All because of the witch’s insane jealousy.”

  “That’s insane! She’s just a kid!”

  “I know. When the witch came to visit years later, she was so sure that being thrown in this castle, would tear us apart. But it didn’t, in fact it made us closer and we decided to start a family. You know the armoire you met back there? Maria? She’s more than a servant. More than a friend, Josslyn. She was our surrogate. She carried our baby. But when she was born, of course, the evil witch paid us a visit.”

  “She was furious that you were so happy?”

  “Bingo. So she put another curse on us. I was once again a wolf… deemed to be the beast of the castle. The unwanted. The ugly. Brandon… he was ripped away from me. I don’t know if he’s even still alive, and Sophia…”

  “Was cursed that on her thirteenth birthday, she would fall into a deep sleep and never wake up. I got it.”

  “And all the servants were turned to furniture.”

  “Just like in the fairytale,” Josslyn whispered, as they continued through the castle. They descended the stairs and turned into yet another doorway. She squinted, brushing cobwebs to the side as she walked. Staring at the rubbish lying around the room, her eyes catching sight of something glowing in the middle of the room. “Tyler, what’s that?” she asked, as they drew closer. “Is that… a rose?”

  “Not just any rose, Josslyn,” Tyler said, lifting the lid and gazing at its beauty. “A blue rose.”

  “It’s so pretty!”

  “It’s not pretty, Josslyn. It’s a death sentence. Each day I’m here, alone, unwanted, unloved another petal falls from
the rose. With each petal that falls, my heart becomes darker. Soon, there will be no love left in my heart. Soon it’ll be all black, and I’ll become the monster I really am. I will forever be the beast with no chance for love.”

  “Like I would ever let that happen,” Josslyn closed the lid, placing her hands over his large paws. “You’re my friend, Tyler, and you helped us when we needed help. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a damned witch destroy the goodness inside of you. I may be alone here, but I’m a good witch, Tyler! A good witch who is going to help you get your happy ending. Come on!” She wrapped her hand around his arm, dragging him through the castle.

  “Wait! Josslyn!”

  “No! There’s no time to wait!” Josslyn cried, as she raced through the castle. She trotted down the stairs, racing through the foyer and headed for the large door. “Your very life depends on it!” She pushed the door open.

  “Josslyn!”

  Tyler let out a shout, and she jerked her head around as he jerked his arm free from her grip. He stumbled back, a cry of pain escaping his mouth as the sun seared through his paw. Burning him.

  “Tyler!”

  “You bitch,” Tyler lifted his head, his eyes flashing black, and Josslyn gasped. She stumbled back, and he lunged forward. He slammed the door shut, grabbing her by the arm and slamming her back against the wall. “I never asked you to come here, Josslyn! Now look! Look at what you’ve done!” He swiped his paw out, his claw catching her in the cheek and Josslyn screamed. Lifting a hand to her cheek, staring at the blood smeared across her hand. What just happened?

  “You witches, all you want to do is cause trouble for me. Well, I’ve had enough trouble from your kind! You, will be sentenced to death!” he shouted, dragging her through the castle.

  “What? Tyler! No!” Josslyn gasped, his grip tightening around her hand as he dragged her through the castle. “What are you doing? Why are you acting like this? Dammit, Tyler, I’m trying to help you!”

  “This is who I am, Josslyn,” Tyler said. “And it’s best you remember that.” He hurried down the stairs, entering the dungeon, and throwing open the door, tossing her inside. “You will have your last meal tonight, before your sentencing tomorrow. Goodbye, Josslyn.”