I ran down the hall heading straight for the loud cheerful noises, when I came upon a large, locked door. The door was over twenty feet tall and made of solid oak, with silver locks near the golden handles. I stood on my front legs and kicked the door with my hind legs, like a stallion would kick down a barn but it didn't even dent. The music from the party was so loud that not a single guest noticed the sound of a horse trying to kick down a door. I ran around in circles sniffing the ground and neighing, my horse brain was starting to confuse me, and I couldn't think clearly.

Suddenly I heard the music stop and the band began to play the wedding march song I ran to the door and peeked through the keyhole. A huge party had been set up in the middle of a beautiful garden surrounded by cherry trees and a crystal blue river. A long velvet red carpet led up to a bright white gazebo where a young boy dressed in a black suit was standing, the boy was wearing a white mask over his face with two black eye holes, and he held a black umbrella to shade himself from the sun. He looked more suited for a funeral than a wedding.

Dozens of benches were set up in front of the gazebo filled with all sorts of creatures mostly humans and ghosts but there were a few trolls and cat people dressed to the nines. I recognized a group of beautiful women dressed in fancy dresses as some of the witches from Bethany's party. Bambi sat on the end of the bench twiddling a curly branch in her hand, she looked over her shoulder and winked I could have sworn she was winking at me even though it would be impossible for her to see my eye in the keyhole from so far away. 

The band continued to play on their shiny golden instruments and three girls came out onto the carpet they were short and plump with big noses and pointy ears, I figured they must be trolls dressed in bright pink and carrying flowers I assumed they were the bride's maids. The bride's maids walked onto the gazebo, and everyone turned to look over their shoulders. The music changed and was played a little slower and a little louder.

Suddenly I saw my sister she was taller than I remembered, she was dressed in the most beautiful white dress with a huge poofy skirt covered in light pink rose petals. Her dark brown hair was put in a fancy bun and held together with dozens of pearls. She was wearing fancy golden slippers to match the golden trim on her dress. Her shoulders were bare and covered in hundreds of little freckles. Her lips were painted red, and her cheeks were powdered pink. She looked like a woman I couldn't believe my eye.

Brandy walked slowly and gracefully making sure not to trip on her dress's large skirt. She was walking so slow if she went any slower, she would have been going backwards. I could tell she was really upset and about to cry I couldn't even imagine how nervous she must have been. The people in the crowd were starting to get annoyed with her slow walking, they had been waiting all morning to see the wedding and she was only dragging it on. Eventually Brandy had no choice then to step onto the gazebo and take her place next to the masked prince.

Suddenly everyone froze as a chill grew in the air, the ghost queen flew up from the ground materializing right out of the grass. She was just as creepy as the last time I saw her, glowing bright blue with no face and tall hair topped with a golden crown, she was wearing a very fancy gown almost fancier than Brandy's and took her place right next to her son. An angel dressed like a priest came up to the gazebo and stood behind the stand he was holding a little black book and adjusting the spectacles on his nose, then he began to read the vows. The vows were very strange and some of them weren't even in English.

"Do you prince Edward take Brandy to be your princess and rule the kingdom of Luminari at your side for the rest of eternity?" he asked, and the prince nodded.

The priest then read Brandy her vows which were more or less the same, I began freaking out I started to bang the door again, but no one heard me, or they all just ignored me.

"Do you Brandy take prince Edward to be your prince, and rule the kingdom by his side for the rest of all eternity?"

"I do," she mumbled, her head hanging down.

"I now pronounce you prince and princess you may kiss the bride!" the priest said happily with a smile on his face, apparently marrying two children that were way too young to get married didn't bother him in the slightest.

The prince looked over his shoulder at his mother who gave a single nod, he handed the umbrella to her and used both his hands to slowly pull the mask off of his face. The whole crowd gasped as it was removed the boy's entire face had been badly burned. All his skin had been melted and twisted into strange formations blackened and deformed, he only had one blue eye which popped out of his head the other had been burned away. He had no eyebrows and only a few wispy strands of black hair that grew out of the back of his head burned and deformed like the rest of him. His ears were gone, and his lips were missing revealing his little white teeth and black gums his cheeks were burned on the inside and his tongue was scarred. His nose was gone and in its place was a little black triangle. Strings of flesh hung off his chin like little tassels from the bottom of a curtain.

The whole crowd freaked out, some screamed, some threw up, some passed out, some very weak people did all three. I felt like passing out myself I couldn't believe Brandy was still standing there if I was her, I would have run screaming. Brandy didn't even look scared she had a sweet smile on her little face and approached the prince without fear. she stood on her tiptoes and planted a small kiss on his burned cheek. The prince quickly put the mask back on and snatched the umbrella back from his mother.

A tall elf woman with long black hair walked up to the gazebo holding a large golden punch bowl full of a steamy red liquid, she set the punch bowl on the podium and pulled a golden goblet out of her pocket, she handed the goblet to the queen and bowed hurrying away. The queen dipped the goblet in the golden punch bowl and held it high in the sky as she approached Brandy.

I stood on my front legs and began kicking the door as hard as I could with all the strength I had, but it was no use they were solid as rocks. I quickly turned back around and stared anxiously through the keyhole, the queen handed Brandy the goblet and she nervously looked down at it then around at the crowd. I looked around for anything that could help me when I spotted the witches Bambi was looking over her shoulder pointing her twig at me with a flick of her wrists the doors burst open.

The crowd gasped in shock as I charged out of the doors, people from the crowd sprang from their chairs to try and stop me from approaching the royal family but I knocked them out of the way like they were only ants. Brandy's eyes lit up when she saw me, and her mouth hung open. I hopped up on the stage and spread out my wings, knocking both the prince and the priest off the stage. I stared at Brandy who stood there in shock the goblet still in her hand. I bent my front knees and she climbed onto my back.

She had just sat down on my back when the queen grabbed her by the shoulders and attempted to pull her off of me. Brandy screamed then the queen accidentally splashed the goblet onto herself. The red liquid landed on the queen and burned tiny holes into what used to be her flesh. The queen disappeared into the ground melting into a weird florescent liquid. Everyone began freaking out and screaming their heads off.

I jumped off the gazebo and began running. I ran from the castle through the gardens. I ran past dozens of trees and trampled over flower bushes. I charged through a stream splashing water over me and Brandy. 

"That way!" Brandy shouted pointing to the right.

I began to hear the sound of hoofs approaching us from behind and turned to see the prince riding on top of a black horse followed by two men dressed in guard uniforms. Their horses were really fast, and they were gaining on us.

Brandy continued shouting directions until we ran straight into a wall. I started freaking out worried that we were trapped then Brandy led me to a hole in the wall just big enough for me to slip through covered in a curtain of vines. On the other side of the wall was miles of beautiful blue sky. The castle had begun floating once again and had taken its place back in the sky, miles above the ground.

"Fly!" Brandy shouted nudging me forward, but I couldn't move.

My heart was pounding like a drum and my legs were frozen and shaking, my head felt dizzy, and my vision went blurry, when I looked over the edge of the island down to the ground, I thought I would pass out. All that lay beneath us was a big shimmering lake full of cool blue water, I heard from my dad that landing on water from this high up made the water feel like concrete. 

I heard the pounding sounds of hoofs from behind me and the prince burst through the vine covered door, the mask on his head had been blown off revealing his horrid face a single stream of tears pouring from his one eye. The prince was even scarier up close, and I found myself walking backwards in fear trying to get away from him.

"Wait," the prince said through his raspy burned voice he was almost impossible to understand.

I took one step too far back and my foot fell over the edge, and I went tumbling and spinning through the air. Brandy was screaming in my ear her arms wrapped around my neck in a choke hold, my wings were flapping aimlessly and all four of my legs kicking the air. We were spinning in circles heading straight for the ground. I quickly thought of the eagles we saw at the lake with my grandfather and spread my wings out and held them in place getting ready to dive. I pulled my legs in and held my wings out the whole time Brandy was screaming in my ear. 

My wings caught the wind and I started to glide, I started flapping them as hard as I could, and we began to ascend into the air. Brandy was cheering and patting my mane telling me I was a good horse. I flew back up towards the island and Brandy waved at the prince, who had found his mask and put it back on. The prince screamed something at Brandy through his deep and scraggly voice, I couldn't make out what he was saying it was like listening to a static channel on the radio.

"I'm sorry," Brandy shouted and she sounded as if she really was, then she nudged me forward and I flew towards the sun.

We flew right over the village of Luminari and everyone stared at us with their mouths hung open. Some were screaming at us and making threats and others were chucking fruit and tomatoes. I flew higher in the sky to avoid their flying fruit, up above the clouds. I wished I could see Brandy, but she was riding on my back where my eyes couldn't see, and I could only hear her voice as she cheerfully sang to herself. And feel her very small and light body riding on me with the sharp points of her slippers gently stabbing into my sides. 

The clouds began to clear, and I saw that we were now flying over a meadow full of light pink grass the color of cotton candy. And in the distance, I was barely able to make out a giant daed tree with long scraggly branches surrounded by a small forest of green trees. We were home free.

Suddenly my wings began hurting and it became harder and harder for me to flap them. My skin began stinging and my horse tail started shrinking back into my hips. The purple color of my mane began to return back to its normal yellow color and my perfect horse vision began to fade and get blurrier. I started coughing and hacking and began falling towards the ground.

"Horsey what's wrong with you?" Brandy asked patting my head, then she began screaming.

I straightened my heavy shrinking wings as much as I could and crashed landed into the pink grass. I had scratches all over my front legs which were turning back into arms and the air stunk of a sweet perfume smell like roses and maple syrup. I shrank down to my original size and my horse skin turned back into pale human skin my clothes grew back over my skin and covered me, I found myself laying face first on the ground exactly the same as when I took the potion.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes lightly coughing and noticed I wasn't wearing my glasses. Everything else I had been wearing was still on me, so where were they it only made sense that they still be on my head. I began feeling around on the ground in a panic I needed those glasses I was practically blind without them. I felt a pair of soft hands grab the edges of my face and gently put my glasses back over my eyes.

Once the lenses were in front of my eyes again, I could make out the person as Brandy standing tall above me dressed in her wedding dress torn in several places. She was holding her hands to her mouth and little tears were pouring from her eyes.

"Bailey is that really you?" She asked and I nodded coughing too hard to answer her.

She fell onto her knees and threw her arms around me sobbing into my shoulder.

"I thought they killed you!" She cried, holding me so tight I almost couldn't breathe.

"Where's your inhaler?" She asked wiping the tears from her eyes with her decorative sleeve.

"I, cough, cough, don't, cough, cough," I was crying now and coughing at the same time I was a complete wreck.

Brandy searched around the grassy field and found my inhaler sitting no less than ten feet away from us. She brought it back to me and showed me that it had been cracked on a rock and most of the medicine had spilled out. I grabbed it from her anyway and used it cutting my lip on one of the cracks. There was only one dose left and I used it quickly. Once I could breathe properly again, I tossed it away. I pulled myself off the ground and stood proudly and awkwardly on my two legs.

"You'll never believe everything I went through to find you," I told Brandy then threw my arms around her "I missed you so much!"

I first told her about the witches and the tree, then we began heading towards it. I told her about the elves, and the dragon, I made sure to mention the giant dog eating cat and little pixies, I even told her about Seth (I didn't mention the fact that he was our uncle, I didn't want to make her upset that she couldn't meet him). 

We were approaching the very big and majestic daed tree. We were close enough to see a little door carved in the side with lots of tall green trees growing around it shimmering with golden sunlight. Brandy told me about the horrors in the castle, she told me about how terrible the prince's life had been and how sorry she felt for him. From the way she talked about the prince and what a wonderful person he was on the inside (if I didn't know better) I would have thought she had wanted to stay with him. 

We came up on the tree staring at its beauty with wonder in our eyes.

"Thank you so much for coming to save me," Brandy said kissing my cheek.

"It was nothing you would've done the same for me," I was sure Brandy would've saved me and she probably would've done it quicker not having to stop and take asthma breaks and get help from every creature around her.

"How does the tree work?" She asked curiously running her hand along its long mossy roots sticking feet above the earthy ground.

"I think we just step through the door," I suggested.

I walked through the pile of fallen leaves that had landed all around the tree and up over the roots. I grabbed the brass handle of the door and pulled but it was stuck. I used both hands and pulled with all my strength the door flung open and I fell backwards onto the pile of leaves next to Brandy who stood there watching me. At the same moment a bright golden light poured from the door the ground moved from beneath us. A loud snapping sound rang through the air as I was thrown into Brandy and the ground flew up. We were trapped inside a large handmade net suspended from a tree, leaves raining down to the ground.