A Tale That Could Not Be

Selvina didn’t know for how long she had been crying but when she finally stopped she looked up to see that night had fallen and the forest had transformed. Each flower glowed with white light and streaks of blue energy resembling lightning zipped down the tree trunks every few seconds. Some of the leaves glowed dully in a myriad of different colors and tiny specs like miniscule stars floated through the air. The wildlife itself gave off its own light. The fireflies of Wonderland left trails of flame behind them as they flew through the air. Each flutter of large moths’ wings flared pulses of light, reminding Selvina of camera flashes. She looked down and noticed that the mushroom she stood on was also emitting its own light, glowing dully like some of the solar-powered lawn ornaments her mother had in her garden back home. The forest was beautiful and enchanting but despite its splendour Selvina was still diminutive and stuck at the top of a mushroom cap.

“Help!” she called out, hoping someone, anyone, would hear her. “Can anyone hear me? Is anyone out there?”

A moth fluttered by, forcing Selvina to squint her eyes at its flashing wings, but it offered no aid and simply kept flying. Selvina called out again, as loud as she could, but there was no reply. She examined the area around the mushroom but there were no nearby plants that she could climb onto and descend to the ground. Her only hope was to jump off but at her current size a fall from the mushroom would kill her. Her situation looked impossible.

Her hopelessness multiplied when directly ahead of her she noticed a long, hairy stick rise up from underneath the mushroom. It reached up, over the mushroom’s edge, and then angled downward at two points along its length. As its clawed tip gripped the top of the mushroom another of the sticks rose up. Selvina soon realized that they were legs and as a third and then a fourth rose up she had a sinking feeling that she knew what came next. A massive bulk was then hauled on top of the mushroom, covered in coarse hair. The massive creature would have been as big as Selvina’s hand had she been her proper size. It fixed its round head, dotted with eight beady eyes, directly at her, bringing a piercing chill through the young girl’s entire body. Long mandibles that ended in fangs, moist and glistening with hunger, curved out from the sides from its maw. The eight-legged creature clicked them expectantly, coming right for Selvina.

Her cries for help apparently had attracted attention but of the most despicable and unwanted sort.

The huge spider moved closer to Selvina as the girl kept backing away. It approached cautiously, clicking its mandibles and moving its eight hairy and clawed legs patiently, each movement carefully considered and strategically planned. Selvina assumed it had never seen someone like her before and was perhaps wondering if she was food or something to be feared. In another life Selvina might have bravely fought the creature and chased it off, despite her size, but at the moment the only thought in her mind was to run.

Except that there was nowhere to do just that.

The spider lunged, eventually deciding to take its chances, and snapped its mandibles at Selvina. She screamed and leapt aside, only to fall on her side and begin rolling toward the edge of the mushroom. She clawed at its surface in an attempt to slow herself down and stop from falling and succeeded but had no time to celebrate as the spider was upon her again. Selvina rolled aside, clawed the top of the mushroom, and then rose up to her feet. The spider shot one of its legs out and hit her in the chest, slamming her to the ground. It then bent its head down and snapped at her but Selvina only just managed to roll away again. She then rose up and burst off running but was suddenly pulled back violently and fell backwards. She looked up and noticed that the spider had snapped its mandibles over her hair and was dragging her to the edge of mushroom. Selvina assumed its web was underneath the mushroom cap and that the arachnid was going to stick her to it, making her a much easier meal to feast upon. She pulled on her hair, hoping to rip it out of the spider’s mandibles and not caring how much of it she lost. The frightened young woman tugged as strongly as she could but the spider continued to drag her, getting ever closer to the edge of the mushroom cap. Panic began to set in and Selvina screamed with all her might for no better reason than to simply showcase her terror to the world.

Why did she have to listen to someone as clearly insane as the Mad Hatter? She knew better than that. It was her fault she had become so small and insignificant. A vision of the blue caterpillar appeared, the smoke of its hukka streaming out of its surprisingly human-like mouth.

“I take no orders from someone who does not exist.”

Someone who does not exist…

Selvina reflected upon the words. Did it matter if this spider ate her? Rapunzel, Red, Jack, Hook, and all the other people she cared about in this world would miss her but they’d eventually move on. Would her death have any impact on the everyday life of this world? If she didn’t exist then her death would change nothing.

Tears found their way on Selvina’s face again and she wept as she let go of her hair, giving into her fate. “Just kill me quickly,” she sobbed, knowing that the spider couldn’t understand her.

Then, as if the spider had changed its mind, it let go of her hair and hissed loudly. Selvina snapped her eyes wide open, wondering what was happening, and then rolled over on her stomach and eyed the spider. It was gazing up at two fluttering beings with translucent wings, feminine bodies, and brightly-coloured hair. Sparkling dots of light cascaded down from their wings and tumbled over the spider, irritating it and forcing it back. The winged women landed on top of the mushroom, still facing the spider, and the arachnid eventually turned around and left the area, brushing the bright dust off of its fur with two of its legs. The two women then shifted their gazes to Selvina.

“Fairies?” the blonde teen asked aloud. She had remembered spotting a few fluttering about in Tortug but they had been dully coloured and drab in appearance to the two she eyed right now. One of them had large, slightly angled eyes and the other had round ones which were quite human. Their faces were smooth and completely unblemished. One of them had red hair, long and wavy, and the other’s golden hair was up in a bob. Their only garments consisted of bits of leaves sown together in the form of crude skirts. The two fairies walked, barefoot, toward Selvina and looked down at her curiously.

“Where are your wings?” asked the golden-haired fairy.

Selvina stood up slowly. She was grateful to be saved from the spider but wondered if these fairies were good or wicked. She straightened her dirty dress and then herself and said, “I am Selvina. I’m not a fairy.”

“Not a fairy?” asked the same one as before. “Then you must be like her.” She pointed a thumb at the fairy standing beside her.

The redhead fairy walked closer to Selvina and eyed her up and down. She seemed intensely curious and Selvina noticed that her face was slightly rounder than the other fairy and her eyes weren’t as large. “Were you born in a flower?”

“Me? No… I’m a human. I was born…from my mother.”

“Humans are huge. You’re not.”

“I used to be regular-sized until I ate a piece of this mushroom we’re standing on.”

The blonde fairy laughed. “Now why would you do that?”

Selvina sighed. “A hatter told me to…”

“You must not be from around here if you listened to that fool.”

“I’m not, actually. I was brought here by Peter Pan.”

The blonde fairy suddenly, and shockingly, launched herself at Selvina, grabbed her by the collar and then shoved her face in hers. It was etched in an expression of sheer fury and her bright eyes were flaring red, much like Bigbad’s did when he became angry. “Pan is here?!”

The other fairy pulled the enraged one off of Selvina and stood between them, spreading her arms to keep them apart. “Ease up, Tink. I know what he did to you and all the other fairies but that’s no reason to attack Selvina like that.”

“Tink?” Selvina asked, recognition quickly dawning on her. “Tink as in Tinkerbelle?”

The blonde fairy frowned and snarled. “How do you know that?”

“How do you know that?” asked the other fairy, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

Selvina quickly recited to them the tale of how she arrived to Faeryum, how she met Red, Hook, Sinbad, Cindy and all her other friends and companions and how she was eventually kidnapped by Peter Pan and brought on Skull Island and ultimately Wonderland. The fairies listened intently, Tinkerbelle tensing angrily at every mention of Peter Pan. When it was all over the two fairies exchanged glances and the redhead tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully.

“I want to trust you,” she said. “I really do. You seem honest enough.”

“I have no reason to lie,” Selvina told her. “I just want to get back to my normal size and be returned to my friends. I’d like to go home too but I’ll take it one step at a time.”

“I had a home once,” continued the redhead fairy. “I also had a mother that loved me. She was human, like you, but regular-sized. I didn’t have my wings then and mostly lived on her windowsill but it was as good a life as she could give me and I was truly happy. One day the fairy prince visited me and showed me the outside world. I was fascinated and wanted more of it. He brought me to his family and they were as cautious of me as I am of you now but they eventually embraced me and allowed me to stay. I would visit my mother from time to time with my newly grown wings until one day the Red Queen expanded her kingdom and tore down mother’s house. The shock was too much for mother to bear and she passed away soon after.”

Selvina soon realized why she was telling her all of this this. “You’re…you’re the fairy princess!”

The redhead nodded and smiled. “My name is Thumbelina and this is my greatest of friends, and bodyguard of sorts, Tinkerbelle. We were coming back from a patrol as there were reports of a Bandersnatch in the area and we heard your screaming so we decided to investigate. You are lucky we arrived when we did or you would have suffered many weeks of slowly getting your bodily fluids sucked dry.”

“Well, thank you!” Selvina exclaimed. “Although, I don’t know how I can repay you. I have nothing to offer you.”

“King Oberon and Queen Titania always enjoy a good story. Puck, our royal jester, has been lacking in good stories lately. He hasn’t been the same since….well, since Pan found our first kingdom.”

“Pan did what?”

Princess Thumbelina and Tinkerbelle exchanged a solemn glanced before the princess said, “Just come with us to the castle. We’ll get you fed, washed, and then we’ll answer any questions you have.”

“You trust me now?”

Thumbelina shrugged. “I have no reason not to.”

Tinkerbelle nodded and winked. “Any enemy of Pan is a friend of mine.”

“How do you plan on getting me off of here, though?” asked Selvina, glancing about for a way off that she may have missed.

Thumbelina ran her hand along one of her four wings, collecting golden dust as she did so, and then sprinkled it over Selvina’s head. “Now you can float. With enough practise you can fly but for now I suggest you just hold on to my hand.”

Selvina felt her body begin to lift off of the ground and she smiled at the sensation. It reminded her of the fall into Wonderland except that now she was going up instead of down. She saw Thumbelina’s outstretched hand and reached for it, clenching it tightly. The princess of the fairies and her bodyguard then fluttered their translucent wings rapidly and flew off. Selvina was hauled along for the ride and she held on with all her might, watching as gargantuan trees, bushes, flowers, and other plant life zoomed by her. The myriad of glowing plants passing by melded together into a vortex of colour and light, reminding her of an old kaleidoscope she used to look into as a child. The fairies flew quickly and within a few short minutes they slowed down and arrived at their destination.

“Welcome to our kingdom,” Thumbelina said, waving her free hand from right to left. “Its name is Celustaria and it is the last one. There used to be many but Pan saw an end to that.”

Selvina bore witness to a wondrous sight. Celustaria was situated within a copse of large trees and boulders with a glittering pool at its center. Pathways made of wood or thin, intertwined vines spiraled around the trees and spanned the branches overhead with hundreds of bridges. The homes, resembling little huts, were built by large leaves, a collection of twigs, grasses, or a combination of all three and were mostly situated along the branches of the largest trees. A scant few were dug into the trunks of some of the trees but a rather large number of the homes were balls made of grass that hung down from the branches. Selvina smiled at the sight, her thoughts going to Christmas trees and the ornaments that hung off of them. Whenever she decorated the tree she would try to hang as many balls as she could. Had fairies been present during her Christmases she could have housed an entire civilization of them in the amount of ornaments she managed to find room for.

Flying within the copse was many a score of fairies, fluttering about every which way. Some had translucent wings that resembled dragonfly wings, such as those of Thumbelina and Tinkerbelle, while others had wide and colourful wings like those of butterflies or moths. Some were dressed in garments made of grass blades, pieces of leaf, moss, leather and some weren’t dressed at all. There were women, men, and children occupying the airspace and as they caught sight of Selvina they stopped whatever they were doing and stared. Some whispered to one another while a few others followed their princess and the girl she carried.

Flying through colourful Celustaria went mostly undisturbed until a large bumblebee suddenly sped into view. Sitting atop of it was a young male fairy with a handsome face, wavy brown hair, and glittering green eyes. Upon his forehead was a crown and on his lips was a smirk.

“My dear Thumbelina!” he exclaimed, spreading both arms wide. “Where have you been off to? You do know that we have soldiers that partake in evening patrols, do you not?”

“Yes, dear,” she replied with a smile. “You also know how much I love to spread my wings, do you not?”

“Ah, that I do, my most brilliant of stars.” He furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin curiously. “Say, what have you there? Did this unfortunate soul lose her wings?”

“She isn’t a fairy,” Thumbelina replied. “She’s human but she ate a minimizing mushroom.”

The man gasped in shock. “My love, you know the rules of this kingdom. Humans are strictly not allowed near it, let alone inside it! My father is going to be furious! He’ll take your wings for this!”

“He can try over my cold dead hands!” Tinkerbelle growled with a shaking fist. “No one is touching Thumbelina! King Oberon is nothing but a grumpy old geezer anyway. He gets furious at everything.”

“Tinkerbelle, you know that this is a serious offense. I would have expected better from our finest champion.”

“Don’t talk to me about following rules, Prince Cornelius. You’ve broken your share of them.”

“I have nothing to counter that,” the prince said with a chuckle. “Not only can you win in combat but you win with words too. Is there anything you cannot do?”

“Don’t mock me, prince!”

Prince Cornelius laughed. “I would never dream of doing such a thing.” He turned his attention back to Princess Thumbelina. “My dear, I understand that you want to help but I warn you that you might be making a grave mistake.”

“I’m not going to hurt anyone,” Selvina said with a frown, growing irritated of all this talk about her while she was clearly present. “All I want is to get back to my proper size and I will leave you all alone. I promise.”

“Promise, eh?” Prince Cornelius said with a raised eyebrow. “The last time we accepted a promise from a human our entire race was nearly wiped out.”

“Do I look like a killer to you?”

“You look rather pretty for a human, to be honest, but even the prettiest of roses bear thorns.”

Selvina sighed angrily as she hovered in midair. The prince sat upon his bumblebee, blocking their way, and watched her closely. She frowned at him deeply, her face flushing red. “I swear to you and your kingdom and your people that all I want is to get back to my regular size.”

“Once that is done, what shall you do?”

“Find my friends and rescue them from—”

Princess Thumbelina slapped her hand over Selvina’s hand, effectively cutting her off. “From the Red Queen,” she finished for her as she held her husband’s gaze. “Now please, dear, let me take them to your parents. They will know how to help her.”

Prince Cornelius narrowed his eyes in suspicion and pondered for a few moments. His translucent wings, which sat against his back, fluttered once and he then sighed and nodded. “Very well, my love, I can never deny you audience with my mother and father. They love you so very much, even if father rarely has anything nice to say about anything.”

Prince Cornelius then turned his bumblebee around and waited for Thumbelina and Tinkerbelle to lead the way with Selvina in hand. Fluttering around a few large trees, the fairies flew Selvina to a massive castle made of white stone, covered in moss, flowers, and vines. Had Selvina been her proper size, it would have been about as tall as she was and as wide as a car. It sat at the edge of the large pool and was orbited by many fairies outfitted in armour made of insect chitin. They carried long spears and blades but as formidable as they seemed they offered no resistance. Selvina assumed that Prince Cornelius’s bumblebee was simple enough to identify that he needed no inspection.

Once Selvina’s feet were on the floor of the landing platform, Thumbelina and Tinkerbelle vigorously tussled her hair, much to her displeasure. Thumbelina ensured it was to remove any last bits of fairy dust left on her head. Once the ordeal was over her hair was neatly brushed, Tinkerbelle quickly retrieving a brush from a nearby room, and she was guided into the castle and down the halls toward the throne room.

“I wish I had a change of clothes,” Selvina said, eyeing her stained and dirty blue dress. “I don’t look very presentable…”

“Your ugly look will help with the decision of whether to help you or not,” Tinkerbelle said assuredly. “The more pitiful you appear the easier it is to feel the need to aid you.”

Selvina rolled her eyes. “Thank you for that… I feel much better now that I know I look pitiful.”

“Bah, nonsense!” Prince Cornelius cried out as he walked with them. He had left his bumblebee steed at the platform and, according to him, wanted to be there to help his beloved if his father exploded in a tantrum at the sight of Selvina. Selvina assumed he just wanted to be there to see if his father exploded into a tantrum or not. “I did not fib when I said that for a human you look rather exquisite. You could use a bath, however…”

Selvina blushed in embarrassment. “I am sorry…um, your highness.”

“Be kind, Cornelius,” Thumbelina said, placing a comforting hand on the teen’s shoulder. “She is a guest here.”

Cornelius pursed his lips and shrugged one shoulder as he shook his head. “I don’t think my father will see it that way…”

Selvina tried to remain strong but Cornelius’s expression did not help matters. What would the fairy king do to me? she wondered. Tinkerbelle opened the double doors of the throne room and Selvina took a deep breath. There was only one way to find out…