The Land of Stories: Rewriting the narrative

Chapter 1: The Discovery

Aurelia woke up with the sun, as always. She forced herself out of bed and glared up at the light streaming through the branches of the cherry tree which grew just outside her room. It was a pleasant room, on the first floor of the Fairy Palace. It was roughly square, with a column at each corner and creamy walls in various stages of dilapidation (she had been assured it was meant to look like this). There was a large archway in one wall, with a purple curtain hanging across it like a door. At the other end of the room was Aurelia's bed, and her bookcase filled with books from both the otherworld and the land of stories. A full-length mirror stood against one wall, with a smaller communicating mirror hanging next to it. An exceptionally large cherry tree with long branches hung over the ceiling-less room, doing its best to keep out the sunlight. It had been Aurelia's mother's before it was hers, and there were still traces of her there; a mark on one of the walls from an experiment gone wrong, cracks on the spines of some of the books, and a family photo magically mounted to the wall beside the door.

"Aurelia, are you awake?" A gentle voice came from the other side of the door. "Your mum wants to see you before she leaves for the Charming Kingdom."
"Yes, I'm awake." Aurelia replied, wiping sleep-dust from her left eye.
"Oh good. Can I come in?" The silhouette of a woman was visible through the curtain.
"Yeah, sure." Aurelia quickly spun around and her pale blue nightdress - inherited from her mum - became a white blouse with flowers on the collar and dark blue jeans. It was her favourite outfit and incorporated both her fairy and otherworldly heritage.
She faced the door just as Skylene, one of the fairies on the Fairy council, entered.

"Oh, good morning. I don't mean to sound rude, but... are you sure that's what you want to wear today?" Skylene asked, glancing at Aurelia's choice of clothes.
"Of course. Why, what's wrong with it?" Aurelia fiddled with her blouse.
"Oh, nothing, dear, nothing. It's just... you know your mother prefers you to wear more... traditional clothing." Skylene said. Aurelia rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"Well, mum's going away so it's not like she'll even see me going around in this." She replied. "And anyway it's not up to her what I wear."
Skylene sighed. "Aurelia, I know you're upset that your mum isn't taking you with her, but-"
"I'm not upset about that!" Aurelia exclaimed indignantly. Skylene gave her a look. "Well, maybe a bit. But I'm mostly upset about how she's trying to control me."
"Your mother isn't trying to control you, she's just..." Skylene was interrupted by Xanthous, the yellow Fairy Council member, appearing in the middle of Aurelia's room. He took no notice of Aurelia and instead spoke to Skylene.
"You need to come downstairs now!"
"Panic and worry filled Skylene's face. "Why? What's happened?" She asked.
"You'll see." Xanthous replied. "Come on!"

☆

Aurelia raced down the stairs of the Fairy Palace, wondering what on earth the problem could be. Her mind instantly jumped to the worst conclusion - another thing inherited from her mother. She entered the council chamber, where fairies came with requests and trials were held, and immediately noticed something was wrong. The seven statues at the back of the room - each depicting a different council member - looked different. The fairies looked angry, doubtful and sad in turn, and there was another statue in front of them, resembling a shocked and saddened girl about fourteen years old. The girl looked eerily like Aurelia, and she knew it must be her mother. Aurelia rushed outside to tell the council.

Outside, a statue of the late Fairy Godmother on a pedestal stood by the main entrance to the palace. It had showed her with wand raised and determination in her eye, depicting the moment before she had struck the Masked Man's dragon. Now it showed her cowering in fear, her wand snapped in half and her eyes full of terror.
"Who could have done this?" Rosette asked, pacing backwards and forwards. "Surely none of the fairies would dare do such a thing!"
"Perhaps one of the witches?" Coral suggested. "But why? And which one?"
The seven Fairy council members stared at the statue that had once been a source of pride. It was disheartening to say the least, seeing their beloved leader portrayed as weak and scared. Emerelda shook her head.
"We'll have to notify Alex about this. I know she's going to the Charming Kingdom today and has lots on her plate, et cetera, but she should know."
"I'll fetch her." Violetta said, disappearing in a shower of purple sparks.
"Alex will know what to do." Emerelda declared confidently. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Alex will know what to do. There's nothing to worry about." Aurelia heard Emerelda before she saw her. She arrived outside panting and out of breath, to the surprise of the stunned council members.
"Aurelia! What are you doing here?" Xanthous demanded. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something important?" Normally Aurelia would have argued with him, but she stopped herself.
"Statue... council chamber... changed..." She panted. Xanthous rolled his eyes and Skylene offered her a glass of water, which she refused.
"You have to listen to me! Someone did something to the statues of you in the Council Chambers! You all look angry or sad and there's a statue of mum there too, and she looks shocked and angry, and..." Aurelia trailed off as she noticed the deformed statue of the late fairy godmother. "Is that... Great grandma? I've never seen her look so frail!" Xanthous rolled his eyes again.
"As you can see, we are already aware of the... change that has come over many of the statues in the palace."
"But thank you for telling us." Emerelda smiled, placing a hand on Aurelia's arm. The energy deflated out of her like air from a balloon. She'd finally felt helpful, and they were still treating her like an overexcited child. Her shoulders slumped. From her left came a shimmer of blue and purple as Violetta reappeared with her mum.

Alex was more surprised to see her daughter standing with the council than she was to see the statue.
"Aurelia? Why are you here?" She asked. Aurelia stared at her defiantly.
"I'm helping." She insisted. Xanthous snorted. "I was just telling the council about another statue that's been changed."
"Right, the statues." Alex nodded and focused on the task at hand. "Violetta said something happened to them." The Fairy Council nodded and Coral stepped to the side to allow Alex a better view. She gasped. Seeing her powerful, determined grandmother reduced to a fragile old lady reminded her all over again of the previous Fairy godmother's death, or 'return to magic' and a tear came to her eye. However, she had to keep a brave face for the Council.
"Do we know who did this?" She asked. The council shook their heads. "Well, try and find out. This is vandalism." Tangerina nodded vehemently.
"What should we do with the statue?" Rosette asked.
"I'll just change it back. Don't worry." Alex said, extending her right arm. Emerelda smiled encouragingly. Alex concentrated on the statue and restoring it to its former glory. She felt the magic tingling down her arm, but nothing happened.
"What's wrong?" Skylene asked. Alex breathed heavily, staring at her hand.
"I can't do it."

☆

In all her life, Aurelia had never seen her mother like this. The silver dress she was wearing ceased to shimmer and a strand of strawberry-blonde hair fell out from behind the elegant silver diadem she had been gifted by Queen Cinderella.
"I don't understand. Why can't I change it back?" She kept repeating, staring at her hand like she'd just discovered it was poisonous. The other fairies tried to comfort her, but none of them knew. Aurelia looked at the statue, searching for a clue. Her great-grandmother seemed to be looking over Aurelia's shoulder, at the dwarf forests in the distance. Then, like a bolt of lightning, Aurelia was hit with an idea.
"What if..." her voice came out quieter than she meant it to and nobody heard. "Esteemed council members," she began, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "I have an idea." Alex looked at her daughter oddly, but said nothing. "What if... whoever hexed the statues put a charm on it to stop it from being turned back? They must have realised you'd just immediately change it to normal otherwise."
"You know, Aurelia, that's not a bad idea." Emerelda said thoughtfully. Alex shot an experimental bolt of light at the statue and, just for fraction of a second, there was a burst of black sparkles where the bolt was fired.
"It certainly looks like some kind of protection charm." She said. "But I've never heard of one that meant spells couldn't be cast on it." She snapped her fingers and a pile of leather-bound books appeared. "I'll research it on the way there."
"The way where?" Aurelia asked, to the confusion of her mother.
"The Charming Kingdom, of course. Had you forgotten?"
"Oh, right." Aurelia's heart sank and she felt foolish. She had forgotten her mother's trip. "Have a nice time." The words sounded hollow. Xanthous rolled his eyes and Alex gave her daughter an almost pitying smile.
"Thanks, sweetie. You too." She clicked her fingers again and a carriage bearing the Fairy Kingdom crest - a shield with a crossed wand and flower - appeared on the lawn. It was drawn by two snow-white unicorns and had golden wheels. Alex smiled.
"I could just teleport there, but I do love carriage rides. Plus, I'm picking up a friend along the way." She winked and stepped into the carriage. With a wave of her hand, the door slammed shut and the carriage made its way over the grassy fields of the Fairy kingdom, heading north-west.