Summer Love | TLOS

Ch.25

Lloyd paced around his cottage, deep in the forests of The Northern Kingdom. He had sent Puss to capture his niece, and he wasn't sure that the orange cat would be able to pull it off. Frankly, he believed that Puss would arrive empty handed. What he wasn't prepared for, was for Puss burst through the door with a girl kicking with muffled screams.

"Puss?" He questioned, not sure if it was really him. He scratched at his eyes and then looked again. Lloyd's vision hadn't fooled him, it had been right all along. He coughed and tried to mistake his confusion for allergies. "Well, Puss, you're back early. I see you have my niece."

The girl's eyes widened and Lloyd could see realization planted on her face. She tried to say something but frowned when she realized that she had a cloth taped over her mouth. Lloyd could definitely see the resemblance of Alex to his late brother. She was the spitting image of his strawberry-blonde-blue-eyed brother. It startled him so much, he backed away in surprise.

Puss raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I do. It took longer than I expected, actually. This girl is a kicker."

Lloyd nodded. "I see."

Puss threw Alex onto the couch and walked towards Lloyd. "So, boss, you haven't told me the whole plan yet. What're we doing with the girl?"

Lloyd scowled. He couldn't believe he had picked Puss in Boots to be his assistant. He rolled his eyes inwardly, trying to play it cool. It wasn't like he'd need Puss in a few weeks. "You know my plan to take over the Fairytale World. What do you think we're going to do?"

Puss scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know...use her as a hostage?"

"Yes," Lloyd said, "and what else?"

Sweat dribbled down Puss's neck. "Um...cast a spell on her?"

"No, I told you I don't have magic!" Lloyd exclaimed with annoyance. "She's going to lead our army to find the literary villains. It was my plan ever since my mother stripped me from my magic all those years ago."

Puss smiled, relief in his eyes. "Great, I knew that."

Lloyd sighed. He walked towards the desk at the back of the room. It was filled with papers with scribbled notes, hundreds of colorful potions, literary books, and quills. The literary books that were open were Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, and King Arthur. Lloyd scanned his shelf of potions when he found a vial full of a dark blue liquid. He snickered evilly and poured a few drops of the potion onto Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Suddenly, Lloyd ran back to the couch and grabbed Alex. He smirked. "You're coming with us," he claimed, and as she tried to scream, he and Puss placed a bag over her head.

"You ready boss?" Puss asked, staring at the glowing book.

Lloyd took one last look around his cottage, and then glanced back at Puss, who had determination in his eyes. "I'm ready," he said, and they all jumped into the book.

****

Arthur roamed around the Fairy Court House. There was nothing to do, and Alex hadn't gotten back from her 'walk-and-talk' with the head fairy. He turned a corner and gasped when he saw who he saw.

"Conner Bailey?" He cried, and the boy turned around. That's when Arthur realized he wasn't alone. There was Bree Campbell, Alex's best friend. "What are you two doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Bree asked. "You've been gone for so long!"

Arthur blushed and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Alex and I got lost in the wilderness, and then we kind of fell into the portal. We've been collecting items for The Wishing Spell ever since."

"Wow," Bree murmured. "Sounds like quite an adventure." Jealousy rang in her voice, and Arthur noticed how much she longed for adventure. Now he felt bad that he hadn't asked her to come on the hiking adventure.

"It was," Arthur said, sparing the details for Bree's sake. "It would be even more of an adventure if I knew where Alex was." He glanced around, but all he saw was fairy servants fluttering about.

Conner's ears perked up. "Wait, Alex isn't here?" concern laced his voice, and he bounced up and down on his feet. He was scared for his sister.

"Well, no, she's here, but she's not here." Arthur tried to explain, soothing their worries just a little bit. "Anyways, you still haven't answered my question. Care to explain?"

"I will," Conner told Bree, and then turned back to Arthur. "You guys were out so long, we got curious. So we wandered around the forest, trying to get lost. And you know what? That is super hard."

Arthur nodded.

"Anyways, we finally did and found the portal. We literally just got here." Conner finished with jazz hands.

Emerelda, the head fairy of the FAT, rushed towards the group. "Arthur! Do you, perhaps, know where Alex is?" she had a frantic look on her face.

Arthur shook his head. "No, I've been trying to look for her. Why? You don't know where she is?" now he was worried. He had thought that Alex had been with her this whole time! It wasn't like her to just vanish without telling him first.

Emerelda balled her hands together. "No! I left her to process all the information I had told her, and when I came back to the gardens, she wasn't there! I checked all the rooms, even asked the servants and other fairies, but no one has seen her." She yelled, and Arthur could tell how worried she was.

"You lost my sister?!" Conner shouted, glaring at Arthur. "I can't believe you! When we get home, you're totally fired."

Arthur gaped at him. "You can't do that! I'm not in your hotel anymore, sir. And I didn't lose Alex! She lost herself!"

Bree stepped between the two young men before they could throw punches. "Please, just stop. We don't have time for your silly arguments. All we know is that Alex is gone, and I think someone must have taken her."

"But who would have taken her? Nobody knows that Alex is one of the most powerful fairies. Not yet at least." Emerelda queried.

Arthur gasped, and everyone turned to him. "I think I know," he mumbled, dread filling his stomach. "Puss."

"Puss?"

"Puss in Boots."

A/N Hey guys! I tried to make this a successful cliffhanger but I think I just failed. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. We're getting on the right track again! What do you guys think?? Next chapter tomorrow!