A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(82)

All the rulers appeared befuddled by their unexpected journey. Queen Little Bo Peep looked a tad intimidated at being among the legendary rulers on the balcony. It was the first time she had been called to participate in the Happily Ever After Assembly.

“Hello, Your Majesties,” Alex said. “Thank you all so much for coming.”

“Alex, I’m sure we’d all like to know: What is the meaning of this?” Cinderella asked. “And what happened to the Fairy Godmother? Why didn’t she send for us herself?”

“Because she’s fallen ill,” Alex informed them. The royals took the news exactly as the twins had—they didn’t even know it was possible for the Fairy Godmother to fall ill. “It’s only one of many problems we face, I’m afraid, so if you please, quickly follow me into the hall so you can join our discussion.”

She led the parade of monarchs into the Fairy Palace and down the stairs into the hall where Conner, Mother Goose, and the other fairies waited. They were all very surprised to see Conner there, especially Cinderella, who had witnessed the Fairy Godmother close the portal to the Otherworld right in her own kingdom. It didn’t take them long to understand something was seriously wrong.

Froggy, Red, Bree, and Emmerich came down the stairs to see what all the fuss was about. Although Bree and Emmerich had never met any of the kings and queens in person, it didn’t take them long to realize who they were looking at; Snow White’s pale skin and Rapunzel’s long flowing hair were dead giveaways. They stopped in their tracks and sat at the top of the stairs, admiring all the beautiful royals.

Red’s first instinct was to join them, but seeing Little Bo in the group of her former peers was a painful reminder that she didn’t belong anymore. She sat next to Bree and Emmerich on the stairs and glared at her nemesis from afar.

Froggy rushed down the stairs to say hello to his Charming brothers.

“Charlie, what’s happened to you?” Chandler asked.

“Why are you a frog again?” Chance asked, just as curious.

“It’s a long story,” Froggy told them. “We’ll explain everything, I promise.”

Alex decided to explain before any more confusion filled the room. “The Fairy Godmother is very sick and her magic is fading,” she told everyone. “Her spell on Prince Charlie has worn off and the portal into the Otherworld has been partially re-opened. An army from our world has crossed over and plans to dominate this world, but I’ll let Conner tell you about the army since he’s seen them up close.”

Alex gestured for her brother to take the floor but Mother Goose suddenly rose from her seat.

“No, I’ll do it,” she said. “It’s my fault they’re even here, after all.”

Alex and Conner looked at each other—they were impressed that she was willing to take responsibility in front of the entire Happily Ever After Assembly.

Mother Goose informed the kings and queens about the Grande Armée and how it was her fault that they had traveled through the portal into the fairy-tale world. She told them how they had raided Pinocchio Prison and recruited its criminals. And last, Mother Goose had the unfortunate task of telling the royals they could be at war very soon.

Alex sat in her chair as the monarchs were informed. She continued thinking of the horrors the future might bring and how they could best be prepared for them.

“So this army of five thousand men now has hundreds of additional soldiers—criminals that we put behind bars?” Snow White asked with a hand over her mouth.

“Correct,” Mother Goose said. “And we have a suspicion that it will inspire all the criminals on the loose in the Dwarf Forests and throughout the other kingdoms to join the Armée.”

“And how many criminals total would we say are currently unaccounted for within our kingdoms?” Sleeping Beauty asked.

“We’ve estimated around three thousand or so,” Emerelda told the room.

Rapunzel quickly did the math in her head. “Then that gives the Grande Armée a total of close to nine thousand,” she said. “That’s more than all our armies combined.”

“How many soldiers are in your armies?” Conner asked.

“The Northern Kingdom has an army of two thousand men,” Chandler said.

“The Charming Kingdom has one thousand,” Chance said.

“Many of the Eastern Kingdom’s men perished trying to fight off the Enchantress’s curses,” Chase said. “We only have around one thousand five hundred soldiers left.”

“The Corner Kingdom’s army is very small as well, consisting of only five hundred men,” Sir William said.

Little Bo Peep was the only one who hadn’t responded. “I don’t know the exact number, but I would say somewhere around—”

“Eight hundred and twenty-eight men!” Red called down from the top of the stairs.

Little Bo shot her a nasty look. “Yes, thank you, former Queen Red Riding Hood,” she said.

The twins were shocked by the low numbers.

“Unlike your world, we’ve never had a real reason until now for large armies,” Mother Goose said.

Conner added these numbers in his head. “So that means with all your armies together the Happily Ever After Assembly has roughly five and a half thousand men. That’s five and a half versus a potential nine thousand—the Armée could grow up to twice the size of our forces!”