The Land of Stories: Gleefully Ever After

The Warbler Council

Chapter 13 – The Warbler Council

Chapter Notes:  In which there aren’t any fairies…  Well, at least not that kind of fairies…

By the time Chris and Darren emerged from the tunnel into the pre-dawn light, the combination of relief from their narrow escape and exhaustion after three nights with barely any sleep had left them giddy.  As they hurried away from the Troll and Goblin Territory, they couldn’t stop laughing.

“Oh my god!” Darren gasped.  “Stoner Brett!  He’s finally found the life he’s always dreamt of, living underground with a bunch of trolls and goblins, getting high!”

“I know – it’s perfect!  And what did you think of King Karofsky and King Sebastian?”

“Couldn’t have cast them better myself!”

“I almost died with the way Karofsky was lurching around, trying to dance!”

“Oh, you got off easy.  I had to spend all night dodging Mr. Grabby Hands the Goblin.”

“Yeah, I noticed.  Did you see how quickly I jumped off of his lap?”

“You should have seen his expression!”

“You should have seen your expression when Trollbecky kissed you!”

“Oh, I am never forgiving you for that!”

“Awww, come on.  Don’t be mad, Butterboy.”

Darren’s eyes flashed in warning.  “Don’t you ever call me that again!”

“What’s the matter, Butterboy?  You don’t like your new nickname?  I think it’s kind of cute.  Hmmm….  Butterboy….  Yep, I think that’s what I’ll call you from now on.”

With a roar, Darren lunged for Chris, who darted out of reach and took off at a run.  Although his longer legs would normally have given Chris an advantage, he was worn out from their previous exertions.  Darren quickly caught him with a flying tackle that sent the two of them sprawling onto the soft grass at the side of the path.

Darren wasn’t a big guy, but he was surprisingly strong.  Chris struggled in vain to free himself as Darren wrestled him onto his back and pinned him to the ground.  

“What did you call me?” Darren growled, his attempt at sounding threatening somewhat spoiled by the laughter in his eyes.

Chris gazed up at him, his own laughter suddenly dying in his throat.  With a supreme effort of will, Chris wrenched himself out from under Darren and scrambled to his feet, brushing himself off and trying to regain control of his breathing.

“Come on, Dare,” Chris said, in as business-like a tone as he could muster.  “We need to stop fooling around and focus on gathering the rest of the Wishing Spell items if we’re ever going to get home.”