Briar's breath came in ragged, heavy gasps. Her mind whirled with the realization that she had been nothing more than a puppet, dancing on strings controlled by the Wicked Fairy. The magical objects she had risked her life to collect—the ones that had brought her and her friends to the brink of death—had all been for nothing. They had nearly been devoured by the witch. Leon had narrowly escaped the deadly poison of the monstrous snake, and countless other perils had beset them. All for nothing. She felt like such a fool.

Her shock quickly transformed into a seething anger. She turned her furious gaze to Evalina, who had not only betrayed her but also her father, her kingdom, and everything she had fought to protect. "You!" Briar's voice trembled with fury as she lunged at Evalina, her hands closing around the fairy's neck. "Why did you do this?"

Evalina barely flinched. With a dismissive flick of her wrist, she tossed Briar aside effortlessly, as if the princess weighed no more than a feather. "To reclaim what is rightfully ours," she said coldly.

Before Briar could scramble to her feet and launch herself at the fairy again, an invisible force slammed into her, pinning her to the ground with a crushing weight. It felt as though a giant was standing on her back, pressing her deeper into the earth.

"Your place is in the dirt," the Wicked Fairy spat, her voice a venomous hiss. "You are born to serve us."

The more Briar struggled, the more the pressure increased. Her muscles screamed in protest, and she could barely breathe under the weight.

The Wicked Fairy, with a cold, satisfied smile, sauntered over to the fairy queen's statue. She gazed up at it with eyes full of contempt. "Tara failed to be the rightful ruler," she said. "She failed to teach the world to bow to our power. We are superior beings."

Evalina nodded in agreement, her expression mirroring the Wicked Fairy's hatred. "She was never the right one, Mowena. She seized your place. It should have been you all along."

A wicked smile spread across the Wicked Fairy's face. "I can fix that, sister," she said, raising her wand. A bolt of lightning shot from the wand's tip, striking the statue of the fairy queen. Cracks began to spiderweb across the stone surface, starting at the head and rapidly spreading down the body. With a final, ear-splitting crack, the statue shattered, the pieces tumbling to the ground in a cloud of dust and debris.

Briar watched helplessly from the ground, despair flooding her heart. This destruction, was all because of her. She had unwittingly enabled these monsters to wreak havoc.

"It won't be her statue standing here next time," the Wicked Fairy said, her voice filled with cruel satisfaction. She pointed her wand at the spot where the statue had stood moments before. With a rumbling sound, the earth split apart, and a new statue began to rise from the ground. It was taller and grander than the fairy queen's statue. It depicted the Wicked Fairy herself. The fairy queen's crown sat atop her head, and the Wand of Elements was clutched in her hand.

Evalina clapped her hands in glee. "Much better."

The Wicked Fairy turned her attention to the statues of the elder fairies, her eyes blazing with hatred. "They always criticized me, always sided with Tara," she snarled. "When I am queen, I will banish them from Fairyland. I will create my own rules."

"The elder fairies could be useful, sister," Evalina suggested. "They could serve as your advisors. You're going to rule the world. You'll need many servants."

"There is no place for servants in my shrine," the Wicked Fairy hissed. Her eyes flashed an ominous red, and with another lightning bolt from her wand, the statues of the elder fairies exploded into countless fragments.

Having demolished the symbols of her enemies, the Wicked Fairy turned her attention back to Briar. "Do you see what I have done to the fairy queen and the elder fairies?" she sneered.

"It was just some statues," Briar yelled. "The fairy queen has defeated you twice already. You are nothing compared to her!"

A powerful force yanked Briar from the ground, sending her hurtling into the air. She soared hundreds of feet above the earth, her body flailing helplessly, before the force released her, letting her plummet to the ground. She hit the earth with a bone-crunching impact, every nerve in her body screaming in agony.

The Wicked Fairy strode over and grabbed Briar by the hair, jerking her head up to face her. "Where is your fairy queen now?" she taunted. "She hasn't come to save you, has she?"

Briar tried to speak, but the pain was too overwhelming. She could only gasp, her vision blurring from the pain.

The Wicked Fairy laughed cruelly and let Briar's head drop back to the ground. "Don't worry, princess," she said mockingly. "I'll teach you to obey me. After all, you will be serving me for the rest of your life."

Briar mustered her strength and managed to croak out, "Never."

The words had barely left her lips when a searing bolt of lightning struck her, the pain like a million needles piercing her skin. She writhed on the ground, unable to scream, the agony too intense.

"No matter how much you resist, girl, it is your fate," the Wicked Fairy shouted, her voice echoing through the shrine. "You are my slave now. Get used to it. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be for you."

"She will learn, sister," Evalina said. "Briar, you will follow Mowena's orders. She is the fairy queen now."

Briar shook her head weakly, refusing to give in, refusing to surrender to these monsters.

Suddenly, thick cords of lightning materialized out of thin air, coiling around Briar's neck like serpents. The cords tightened, cutting off her air supply. Her lungs burned, her vision darkening as she struggled to breathe.

"Now you will learn to never disobey me," the Wicked Fairy yelled, pulling the cord tighter. Her eyes gleamed with a sadistic satisfaction as Briar's struggles grew weaker.

The cords choked the life out of her, and the world darkened around the edges of her vision. Briar's thoughts became hazy, and she felt herself teetering on the brink of unconsciousness. Was this how it would end? Would she die here, a helpless pawn, in the grasp of the Wicked Fairy?

"Mowena!" Evalina's voice cut through the darkness. "You want her alive, remember?"

The cords loosened abruptly, and Briar collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. She sucked in huge gulps, her lungs burning as they filled with air. Her vision gradually cleared, and she found herself staring up at the two evil sisters.

"We will deal with her later," Evalina said dismissively. "Go take your wand, sister." She pointed toward the glowing Wand of Elements, floating within the sacred circle.

The Wicked Fairy's eyes lit up with a malevolent gleam. "My wand," she purred.

"Yes, your wand," Evalina echoed. "I can't wait to see it in your hand, sister."

The two sisters turned their backs on Briar and began walking toward the sacred circle.

Panic surged through Briar's heart. She knew that the moment the Wicked Fairy laid her hands on that wand, it would spell disaster for Fairyland—and then the world. And it was all because of her. She had been the one to bring together the magical objects, to summon the wand. She had handed the Wicked Fairy the very power she needed to bring about untold destruction.

Briar's mind raced. She had to stop the Wicked fairy. But how? The Wicked Fairy was one of the most powerful fairies in existence, and Briar was just a human, powerless against such overwhelming magic. Despair clawed at her heart.

But no, she thought, shaking her head vehemently. She wasn't just a powerless human. She had summoned the wand. She had magic within her, even if she didn't fully understand it yet. She couldn't give up. She wouldn't.

But what could she do? She had no weapons, no magic spells at her disposal. Her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. Please help me, she screamed silently, her plea echoing in the depths of her mind.

A gentle breeze stirred, ruffling her hair. And then, as if in answer to her desperate prayer, something rolled toward her and stopped just within her reach. Briar squinted at the small object, her eyes widening in recognition. It was a tiny glass vial, filled with a shimmering liquid.

Briar's heart leaped as a memory flashed before her eyes. Lavonna had given her this vial. "Use this against your enemy when the time comes," she had said. Briar had almost forgotten about it in the chaos of their quest. But now, hope surged within her like a beacon of light piercing through the darkness.

Maybe, just maybe, she still had a chance.

With trembling fingers, Briar grasped the vial and pulled herself to her feet. Her body screamed in protest, every muscle aching, but she forced herself to stand. She had to try. She couldn't afford to mess up this time.

___