Chapter 22 – Friends Close, Enemies Closer
In which many characters reappear, for better or worse…
…
As Chris released his grip on the saber, he felt a cold, clammy hand grab onto his, hauling him and Darren out of the pit.
“Froggy!”
“Hello again.”
“Good thing I was right about you,” Chris panted. “You really are a hero.”
Darren struggled to his feet and clasped Froggy in a hug. “Yeah. Thanks, man!”
“No problem,” Froggy replied, beaming.
As soon as he let go of Froggy, Darren wrapped his arms around Chris and held him close. Both men were trembling slightly. Darren hooked his chin over Chris’s shoulder and murmured in his ear, “Thank you, too.”
Chris gave him a final squeeze before stepping back and aiming for a casual tone. “Well, that’s what friends are for, right?”
Darren’s eyes seemed to dim a little, but Chris told himself he was just imagining things.
“How did you find us?” he asked Froggy.
“The Cheermaids pointed me in the right direction. I’ve been trying to track you two down all week. The Fairy Godfather wants to see you. He promised to change me back to my original form if I’d bring you to him.”
“Fairy Godfather?”
“Yeah. He’s a good guy, but he can be kind of intense. I don’t want to cross him. You’ll come with me, right?”
Chris hesitated, glancing over at Darren. “Well, we just collected the final item for the Wishing Spell. We were planning on –”
“Of course we’ll come with you!” Darren cut in. “You just saved our lives.”
Chris nodded. “Yeah, it’s the least we can do.”
Froggy’s wide mouth grew even wider as his face broke into a smile.
Suddenly the air was split by a piercing scream. Chris, Darren, and Froggy all turned toward the sound. A familiar buckskin horse galloped into view – it was Rum Chocolate Soufflé, with Kurt Hummelocks on her back. And being dragged along the ground behind them, caught in a rope tied to the horse’s saddle, was a loudly protesting Queen Red Riding Hood.
Although her trademark hooded cape, over myriad cushioning layers of fancy clothing, fully protected Rachel’s body, she was clearly suffering a dreadful injury to her pride. As she bumped along in the dust raised by Rum Chocolate Soufflé’s pounding hooves, she let out another ear-splitting shriek.
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The Land of Stories: Gleefully Ever After
FanfictionChris Colfer, bestselling author of The Land of Stories, finds himself (along with Darren Criss, who is unwittingly responsible for this perplexing state of affairs) transported into the world of his imagination…with a few Gleeful differences.
