My Dream

Main Street

After breakfast, Gwen and Grim made their way to Main Street with their cleaning supplies. "Amazing. So this is Main Street." Grim said, looking around. "I didn't get a good look yesterday but what's with these statues? All seven of them look pretty scary."

Gwen blinked, looking at the statues carefully. Grim walked to the first statue. "This granny looks especially snobby."

"You don't know about the Queen of Hearts?" A disbelieving voice came from behind them.

Gwen turned around to see an orange haired boy behind them. He had a red heart painted over his eye. "Queen of Hearts?" She repeated, blinking slowly.

She looked back up at the statue. "No... no... that's not right... she's..." Gwen dropped the broom and clutched her head. For just a moment, the statue seemed to flicker. She could see someone else there instead. A long staff with a crystal heart. An elegant red, white, and black dress.

Gwen whimpered as the statue flickered back to normal. "Hey! Hey! Are you okay?" It was the boy.

Gwen looked up at him. Wait, up? Gwen blinked as she realized she was on her knees. The boy was kneeling besides her, hands on her shoulders. Grim was looking up at her, concern in both their faces.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You looked up at the statue and freaked out!" The boy explained. "Are you okay?"

Gwen nodded, pushing herself up off the ground. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Golly! I don't know what came over me!"

The boy looked suspicious. "You sure you're fine?"

"If my henchman says she's fine, then she's fine!" Grim said.

"I'm going to ignore the henchman comment." Gwen said, dusting off her outfit. "Now then," she said, turning back to the boy. "What's your name?"

"Yeah, and what about the Queen of Hearts? Is she important?" Grim asked.

"I'm Ace Trappola." The boy introduced. "In the past she was the queen who lived in the rose maze."

Gwen took another look at the statue. Nothing happened. Everything was normal. Had she actually seen something?

"She was someone who valued rules and discipline above all, strict in all things from the march of the card soldiers to the color of rose bushes." Ace continued his narration. "It was a land of madness where all submit to her rule."

"Why?" Gwen asked, picking her broom back up.

"Why you ask?" Ace replied. "Because or else it was off with your head!"

Gwen and Grim shivered. "That's terrifying!"

Ace shrugged. "It's cool! I like it." He defended. "Nobody would listen to a queen who's just nice all the time, right?"

"I suppose. A strong leader is better." Grim agreed.

Gwen shook her head as she started to sweep. Something about that conversation didn't feel right to her at all. "She sounds suffocating." Is all she said.

"You think so... uh, you?" Ace trailed off awkwardly. Gwen realized they hadn't told him their names.

"I am Grim. A genius who'll become the greatest magician. The girl over there is Gwen. She is my henchman."

"I'm not his henchman." Gwen said. "But it's nice to meet you." Gwen moved down to a statue of a lion.

Grim floated over to her. "Hey, Ace. The lion over there with the scar, are they famous?"

"Of course!" Ace grinned, following after them. "This is the King of Beasts who rules over the savannah. However, he was not born to be king, but he took the throne through effort and elaborate planning. After becoming king, he even allowed the loathed hyenas to live in his kingdom without discrimination."

"Ooooh! I guess he was a rock not held captive by his status!" Grim said.

Gwen moved along to the next statue, an octopus mermaid holding a contract. "Who's the lady with octopus legs?" Grim asked next.

"The Sea Witch who lives in a cavern in the deep." Ace started, "Her purpose was to help all the unfortunate merfolk. As long as you could pay the price she could transform you, help you find love, anything. And if it was within her power there wasn't anything she wouldn't do. They say her prices were pretty high, though. That's what is costs for anything."

Grim laughed. "So what you're saying is I can get rich if I become a great magician?!" He said excitedly. "The what about this man in the big hat?" Gwen looked up at the next statue as she cleaned it. A tall man with a beard holding a snake staff.

"The Sorcerer of the Sand." Ace said. "He was a cunning vizier to a foolish sultan and saw through the fake prince that was actually a street rat trying to deceive the princess. Then he got a magic lamp and became the most powerful sorcerer of all! With that power they say he became sultan."

"Ho hoh!" Grim laughed. "So it is important for magicians to be the center of attention! Ooh! This lady sure is beautiful!" Gwen looked up at the next statue. She was very beautiful, but there was a harsh coldness to her face. An apple was in her hand.

"She is the Beautiful Queen." Ace said. "Everyday she checked the 'beauty ranking' in her magic mirror. And when it looked like she might fall from the number one spot, she never hesitated to do anything to get it back. I guess she had the strong will to remain the most beautiful in the world? So freaking amazing. They say she was even adept at making potions."

Grim shivered. "She's pretty but... no thanks..."

"You think? But it's cool that she has something she'll never give up." Ace said.

"Sure, that single-minded drive is pretty cool." Grim agreed.

"Beauty isn't everything you two." Gwen warned, moving onto the next statue. It was a man in a toga, with fire for hair.

"Over there, what's with the guy on fire?" Grim asked. "Just looking gives me goosebumps."

"Lord of the Underworld!" Ace announced. "He rules a land crawling with evil spirits on his own. No doubt he is extremely skilled. Even though he's got a scary voice, he did that detestable job without ever taking a vacation and his sincerity won over Cerberus, the hydra, even the titans, to fight for him."

Grim hummed. "So having talent doesn't mean you get to be haughty." He realized. "And the last one, with the horns?"

Gwen looked at the final statue. A tall woman with horn and holding a staff. There was something draconic about her appearance.

"This is the Witch of Thorns from the Magic Mountains." Ace said. "Noble and elegant, even within the seven she is top class in magic and curses! She can summon lightning and storms, cover an entire country in thorns, her magic is on a whole other level. There was even a time she transformed into a huge dragon!"

"Ooh!" Grim had an awestruck look on his face. "A dragon! All monsters look up to them!"

"They're all so cool~" Ace agreed. A malicious look appeared on his face, giving Gwen a bad feeling. "Unlike a certain raccoon."