A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(7)

At the end of the week, Conner discovered exactly what Bob was talking about as he struggled to shut it with the new addition of pants. After three good pushes that almost threw out his back, he surrendered to Betsy.

“All right, maybe just six pairs of socks, four T-shirts, five pairs of underwear, two sweaters, pajamas, my lucky poker chip, a toothbrush, and one lucky rock will be enough,” Conner said. He removed the excess items from the suitcase and finished packing.

He was overdue for bed but Conner wanted to stay awake for a little while longer. He wanted to feel the excitement as long as he could. Thinking about the trip to Germany had been a great way for Conner to ignore the other thoughts he had been having lately. As he looked around his bedroom and listened to the absolute silence of the house, Conner couldn’t fight off the loneliness he had been suppressing. Something was missing from his life… His sister.

Conner opened his bedroom window to break the silence around him. Sycamore Drive was just as quiet as the house and did little to comfort him. He gazed up at the stars in the night sky. He wondered if Alex could see the same stars from wherever she was. Perhaps the Land of Stories was one of the stars he was looking at but it hadn’t been discovered yet. Wouldn’t that be an uplifting discovery? That he and his sister were only separated by light-years and not dimensions?

When Conner couldn’t stand the solitude anymore, he asked himself, “I wonder if she’s awake?”

Conner snuck down the stairs and into the family room. A large golden mirror hung there, on a wall it had all to itself. It was the mirror their grandmother had given them the last time they were together—it was the single object that allowed the twins to communicate between worlds.

He touched the golden frame and it started to shimmer and glow. It would glow for a few moments until Alex appeared in the mirror or return to its normal shade if she didn’t—and tonight she didn’t.

“She must be busy,” Conner said quietly to himself. “She’s always so busy.”

When he first arrived home from his last adventure in the fairy-tale world, Conner talked to his sister in the mirror every day for a couple of hours. She told him all about the lessons their grandmother was teaching her and the magic she was learning to use. He told her about his days at school and everything he had been taught, but her stories were always much more interesting.

Unfortunately, as Alex became more and more involved with the fairy-tale world, the twins’ daily conversations happened less and less often. Sometimes more than a week passed before they spoke. Sometimes Conner wondered if Alex even needed him anymore. He had always known that one day they would grow up and lead separate lives—he just never imagined it would happen so soon.

Conner touched the mirror again and waited, hoping his sister would arrive. He didn’t want to leave for Germany before having a chance to talk to her.

“I guess I’ll have to tell her about it when I get back,” Conner said, and headed to bed.

Just as he reached the stairs, he heard a small voice behind him say, “Conner? Are you there?”

Conner ran back to the mirror and his heart jumped. His sister was standing in the mirror before him. She wore a headband made of white carnations and a sparkling dress the same color as the sky. She seemed cheerful but Conner could tell she was very tired.

“Hi, Alex! How are you?” he asked.

“I’m great,” Alex said with a big smile. He could tell she was just as excited to see him as he was to see her. “You’re up late.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Conner said. “Too excited, I guess.”

Alex scrunched her forehead. “Excited about what?” Before Conner could say anything, Alex had answered her own question. “Oh, you’re leaving for Germany tomorrow, aren’t you?!”

“Yes,” Conner said. “More like later today. It’s super late here.”

“I completely forgot! I’m so sorry!” Alex said, disappointed in herself for letting it slip her mind.

“No worries,” Conner said. He couldn’t care in the slightest, he was just happy to see her.

“I’ve been so busy with magic lessons and preparing for this silly Fairy Inaugural Ball,” Alex said. She rubbed her eyes. “I even forgot about our birthday! Isn’t that crazy? Grandma and Mother Goose made a cake and I had to ask them what it was for!”

It was Conner’s turn to scrunch his forehead. “Fairy Inaugural Ball? What is that?”

“It’s this big party the Fairy Council is throwing to celebrate me joining the Fairy Council,” Alex said, as if it were just any old fact.

“That’s amazing, Alex!” Conner said. “You’re joining the Fairy Council already? You must be the youngest fairy that’s ever joined!”

A proud and eager smile grew on her face. “Yes,” she said. “Grandma thinks I’m ready. I’m not sure I agree with her, though; I still have so much to learn—”

“You know how protective Grandma is. She would protect the ocean from a raindrop,” Conner said. “If she thinks you’re ready then you must be!”

“I suppose,” Alex said, still very unsure of herself. “It’s just a lot of responsibility. Being part of the council means I’m automatically part of the Happily Ever After Assembly—which means having to give my input on so many decisions—which means so many people and creatures will look up to me for guidance—”