Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)(83)
“No matter how far we stumble from the path, we always guide each other back to it,” Alex said. “So you can always count on us to do the right thing.”
President Walker closed her eyes and rubbed her face. This meeting was providing a lot more information to digest than her usual appointments.
“I appreciate your coming here, but I’m going to need to discuss this with the Joint Chiefs of Staff before I can fully commit the United States to such a—”
When the president opened her eyes, the Bailey twins were gone. She looked around the Oval Office, but they had vanished into thin air. The president let out a deep sigh and glanced down at the magenta book in her hands. It was heavy in weight and in responsibility.
“And I thought health care would be my greatest hurdle,” she said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
HAPPILY EVER AFTER, AFTER ALL
Once the Otherworld was finally put back in order, the twins and their friends returned to the Land of Stories to do the same. The flames of the albino dragon burned through the fairy-tale world until every brick the Literary Army had misplaced was restored. The kings and queens reclaimed their thrones, and their kingdoms entered a much-needed period of peace and prosperity.
Alex and the Fairy Council waited until all the other kingdoms were finished before turning their attention to the Fairy Kingdom. Once the gardens were replenished, the fairies hosted a service for Rook Robins. His grieving father watched proudly as a large statue was erected in his son’s honor beside the statue of the late Fairy Godmother.
“There’s nothing in the world I could do or say to ease your pain,” Alex told Farmer Robins. “But I wanted to thank you. If you hadn’t raised such an extraordinary son, I wouldn’t be alive right now. I’ll think about him and his sacrifice every day for the rest of my life.”
“And I’ll spend the rest of my life making peace with it,” Farmer Robins said. “Rook was a stubborn boy, but he always followed his heart. And that’s more than I can say about most people.”
After the Fairy Palace was reassembled, Alex hosted a huge reception on the grand balcony to thank all the people who had helped her and Conner defeat the witches and the Literary Army. Characters from fairy tales, literature, and Conner’s writing mingled while they enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeuvres. The pirates of Starboardia told the royal families tales from the Caribbean Sea, the Merry Men flirted with the Fairy Council despite their blatant disinterest, and the Traveling Tradesman taught the Cyborg Queen how to arrange her galaxy so the planets would always be aligned in her favor.
Once everyone was settled in, Alex tapped the side of her glass to announce a toast. Seeing all the happy faces of her friends and family made her emotional before she had even said a word.
“Four years ago, a twelve-year-old bookworm and a sixth-grade class clown stumbled into this world by accident,” Alex told the crowd. “They were both in desperate need of an escape—and boy, did they get one. Year after year, my brother and I have had one adventure of a lifetime after another. However, the more I immersed myself in this world, the more I learned a tough lesson: the fairy-tale ending I spent my whole life working toward didn’t exist. But recently, someone very close to me redefined what a happily ever after actually was. As I look around the balcony, I think I finally understand what they meant.
“Happily ever after isn’t a finish line, it isn’t a paradise, and it isn’t a phenomenon that makes all your dreams come true. Happily ever after is about finding happiness within yourself and holding on to it through any storm that comes your way. And nothing has helped me grasp that happiness more than having friends and family like you. Knowing I have so many people to love and support me is the most magical feeling in the world. Now I’m certain that happily ever after exists because you are the happy ending I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl. So, to quote that bookworm when she departed this world for the first time, ‘Thank you for always being there for me, you’re the best friends I’ve ever had.’ And now, four years later, I still mean every word of it.”
The conclusion of Alex’s toast was met with passionate applause. She raised her glass to the people who gave her life joy and meaning, and they raised their glasses in return.
Soon the sun began its descent toward the horizon and the time had come for the Bailey twins to say good-bye to their friends from the worlds beyond the kingdoms. Conner laid out all his short stories and all the books of classic literature on the floor and the characters lined up behind the stories they belonged to.
“So long, my fellow explorers,” Beau Rogers said. “Don’t forget to write!”
“It’s been an unforgettable voyage,” Auburn Sally said. “I hope we cross paths again.”
“Stay super!” Bolt said. “And don’t be a stranger!”
“Good-bye, humans,” said the Cyborg Queen. “Please don’t bother us again.”
“IT’S WITH THE HEAVIEST OF HEARTS THAT WE LEAVE ALL THESE ATTRACTIVE DAMSELS BEHIND,” Robin Hood said. “FAREWELL, FAIRIES, MAY THE MEMORY OF MY HANDSOME FACE KEEP YOU WARM AT NIGHT.”
After saying good-bye, the Merry Men and all of Conner’s characters stepped through the beams of light shining out from their stories and returned to their home worlds. However, the remaining characters from classic literature had a difficult time leaving.