It was a sunny Sunday in Willow Crest California, and Bree Campbell was sitting in her bedroom reading one of the many mystery books she had already read a million times each.  However this time she wasn't into the mystery in her books, because the thing she wanted to read wasn't in her house.  Her family wasn't into fairytales as Conners was so there was nothing to satisfy her need.  It had been 5 months since her trip to the fairytale world, and she was missing it terribly.  She also wasn't able to borrow or buy a book online since her screen time was limited to only school work.  She also couldn't venture to borrow a book the old fashioned way, at the library. 

Just then Bree's younger sister Jessica came into her room and opened her closet.

"Who said you could come into my room?"  Bree asked.

"I need your red leather jacket, I have a date tonight,"  Jessica said and grabbed the jacket from her closet.  Jessica was only 2 years younger than Bree but acted way older than her older sister.  She wore her long brown hair down, wore a white tight crop top and a pair of black ripped jeans.

"With who?"  Bree asked.

"Zack Dylan."

"Zack Dylan?  The Zack Dylan that's a junior at my high school?"  Bree asked with a worried look.

"Yup.  He works at Starbucks and we talked for hours about our favorite drinks and how school sucks."  Jessica said and put on the jacket.  "He's taking me to the movies."

"Well have fun,"  Bree said and proceeded to read her book.

"Oh my God Bree.  You really need a boyfriend, maybe then you wouldn't be so dull and boring."

"Well at least I don't date a new guy every week and dress like a..."  Bree said under her breath.

"What was that?!"  Jessica said interrupting her last word.

"Nothing, what are you doing in my room anyways?  Get out of my room and give me my jacket!"  Bree said and pulled the jacket off her sisters back and pushed her out of her room.

"You know, I really don't like you,"  Jessica said through the door.

"Feelings mutual,"  Bree said and walked back over to her bed, then suddenly her door reopened.  "I told you to get out!"

Bree turned around and saw her mom standing in her doorway, wearing a pair of pink nursing scrubs and her dark blonde hair in a high ponytail.  Bree's mom Arianna was a part-time nurse at the children's hospital, a job she enjoyed but her other part-time job included being a stay at home girl mom and dance mom.

"Excuse me?"  She asked her eldest daughter.

"Sorry, thought you were Jessica,"  Bree said.

"You really need to be nicer to your sisters."

"I would if they weren't such nuisances,"  Bree said and crossed her arms.  "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you're coming to the hospital with me,"  Arianna said.

"Why?"  Bree asked.

"Because I'm signing you up for the volunteer program,"  Arianna said.

"Great another thing added to my already long list of chores and homework,"  Bree said.

"It also looks good on a college application and you need the hours.  Get in the car."

Arianna then walked out of Brees room and downstairs, Bree grabbed her mini backpack that held her wallet, headphones, and notebook and walked downstairs, out the front door, and into her mom's car in the driveway.

"If I sign up for the program, can we go to the bookstore?" 

"The bookstore?"  Arianna asked her daughter like she was asking to do something illegal.

"Yes, the bookstore, or we can go rob a bank.  Your choice."  Bree said.

"Fine, after we finish at the hospital you'll have 5 minutes." 

Arianna then drove them to the hospital.  She parked in the parking lot and the 2 walked into the hospital.  Standing at the front desk was Charlotte Gordon and she smiled once she noticed Bree was with Arianna.

"Hi Bree,"  Charlotte said.  "What are you doing here?"

"Signing up for the volunteer program.  It looks good on a college application." Arianna said and turned to the lady working at the front desk.  "Can we have an application please Katy?"

Katy the front desk lady handed Arianna the application paperwork and handed it to Bree.

"Go fill this out over there, then you can start,"  Arianna said.  "Charlotte could you show her what to do?  I have to check on a patient upstairs.  Just don't lose her or send her away somewhere."

"I will and I won't.  She'll be fine with me."  Charlotte said.

Katy handed Arianna a clipboard with some papers attached to it and she walked down the hallway to the elevator.  Charlotte and Bree then went to sit down in the waiting area across from the desk and Bree started filling out the paperwork.

"So how are you?"

"As good as I can be,"  Bree said and sighed.

"I've seen that look way too many times,"  Charlotte said.  "Alex looked like that when she came back the first time.  Conner not so much."

"You should be proud, Alex seemed to be doing a pretty good job replacing her grandmother,"  Bree said.

"I am.  I'm very proud.  Just wish they both would call me or pick up more often."

"You haven't heard from them?"

"Nope.  I know how busy they are, but I just wished that they would call once in a while."  Charlotte said.  "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll come back and you'll see that world again."

"I hope so,"  Bree said while signing her name at the bottom of the application.  "Well, I'm officially a volunteer. What do I do?"

"Well, you follow me or your mom or another nurse around and just help out and hang out with the kids."

"Sounds fun,"  Bree said and stood up.  "Let's go, what's first?"

"I need to give this medicine to little Timmy,"  Charlotte said and stood up and took out a pill bottle from her pocket.  "Follow me."

Charlotte walked down the hall and Bree followed and they walked into a hospital room and found a little boy who looked very tired, he was about 8 years old, with thin brown hair and brown tired eyes.

"Hi Timmy.  How are you feeling today?"  Charlotte asked Timmy.

"I'm not feeling well,"  Timmy said tiredly picking up his Nintendo switch.  "Who are you?"

"Oh, hi I'm Bree.  I'm the new volunteer."

"Hi, do you like Mario kart?"  Timmy asked tiredly.

"I do,"  Bree said and walked over to his bed.  "Can I play with you?"

"Yes please,"  Timmy said weakly and handed her a blue joy-con.  Bree sat on the bed next to him and he set up the game. 

"Wait before you play the game you need to take these two pills,"  Charlotte said and handed him the pills and a glass of water.  The little boy took the pills with the water and went back to focusing on the game. 

"Charlotte can I have pudding?"  Timmy asked.

"Sure. I'll be back."  Charlotte said and left the room.

"So what's your name?"  Bree asked.

"I'm Timmy."  He said while focusing on the switch's tiny screen.

"So what else do you like besides Mariokart?" 

"I like Mariokart, but Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is my favorite game.  I've played and finished it like 100 times."

"Really!  I can't get passed thunderblight ganon!"  Bree said shocked.

"He is hard to beat, but it gets easier when you've played as much as I have,"  Tommy said.  "There's not much to do when you practically live in hospitals."

"How long have you been here?"

"In and out for 5 years,"  Timmy said.

"Oh wow."

"Yeah.  I like the game because it's like I'm going on my own adventure.  I wish I had Links life."  Timmy said.

"Me too Timmy, me too,"  Bree said.  Timmy reminded her of a lot of Emmerich.  He had the same ambitions and she recognized the same loneliness Emmerich has when she first met him.  Hanging out with Timmy, made her miss her little travel companion more than she already did.

"There used to be a group of ladies who came and read Fairytales to us.  I like fairytales, they give me hope for my future.  I haven't seen those people in a while."  Timmy said.

"I remember those people.  I knew one of the lady's grandson and granddaughter.  Last I heard they moved to Europe."  Bree said.

"Aw, man.  I really hope they come back."  Timmy said and slouched.

"What if I told you stories?  I'm a writer, telling stories is my specialty.  You know no one ever tells the stories about what happened after their happily ever after.  Which character is your favorite?"

"I really like Sleeping Beauty's story with the evil enchantress."

"Nice!"  Bree said and thankfully the royals loved telling their stories while they were traveling on the secret road, so she could tell this story to Timmy.  "Ok, let me tell you what really happened."

Timmy put down his controller and gave his full attention to Bree.  Bree told Timmy the story and he hung out her every word.  He definitely looked a lot happier and healthier than when she first stepped into the room.  Telling this story was actually very therapeutic for Bree.  She had been dying to talk to someone about Fairytales and now she did.  She had Emmerich but there was never a good time for them to talk with the major time difference.  At the end of the story, Bree's mom came into the room.

"Bree it's time to head home,"  Arianna said.

"Ok, Bree can you come back tomorrow?"  Timmy asked enthusiastically.

"I can't tomorrow, but I will on Saturday."

"Ok, I can't wait!"  Timmy said and hugged Bree.  Bree smiled and hugged her new little friend back.  She walked towards the door and waved goodbye and Timmy waved goodbye as well.  Bree closed the door and sighed and Charlotte then walked past.

"Hey how was it?"  Charlotte asked.

"It was really good.  He's the sweetest kid."  Bree said.  "Thanks for signing me up mom, I can't wait to come back Saturday."

"What did you guys do?  I haven't seen that kid smile in years."   Arianna said.

"He smiled?!"  Charlotte said surprised.  "That's amazing.  Maybe that'll help with his treatments, he's always been a very sad and weak kid."

"What's wrong with him?"  Bree asked.

"He has a pretty rare type of cancer.  He's practically lived here all his life."  Arianna said.  "Whenever I see him, it breaks my heart.

"That's terrible,"  Bree said.

"Yeah, but I'm glad your here to brighten up his day,"  Charlotte said. 

"Good job Bree.  That was the first time I've seen him that happy."  Arianna said.

"Well, I've got to get to my next patient.  We'll see you next week."   Charlotte said.

"See you next week,"  Bree said.  "Ok, bookstore."

"Fine, let's go,"  Arianna said.  She then drove her daughter to a lot of the book stores in town, but they were all closed due to it being 8:00 at night.  Arianna's patience was wearing thin, but Bree pleaded for them to try another.  They soon drove up in front of the last bookstore in town, and it was called Bernstein's Books.  Thankfully, it was open.  "You have five minutes."

Bree quickly lept out of the car and into the bookstore.  It was a quiet little place with only a few rows of books, separated by category.  On the left of the shop was kid's books, on the back wall was teen books and on the right was adult books.  Bree walked over to the front desk.  The man at the front desk had a black mustache, with black hair and dark brown eyes, pale skin, and wore an AC/DC shirt.

"Hi I'm Barney Bernstein, how can I help you?"  He asked.

"Hi Barney, I'm Bree.  I'm looking for a treasury of Fairytales.  Do you happen to have one?"

"We have several.  Follow me."  He said and led Bree into the kid's section and into the fantasy aisle.

"How long have you had this store?"  Bree asked.

"Only like 4 years.  The original owner of this store died and his wife sold it to me, but only if I kept it running as a bookstore.  You know, to keep her husband's spirit alive."  Barney said.  "And I've been doing it ever since.  Good thing I have a strong love for books, or else this would have been really boring."

"That's great, is business good?"

"Considering the internet is currently taking my job away, business is actually really good.  The original owner definitely lived in a good town to open a book store."  Barney said and picked up a book from the shelf.  It was pretty thick and was brown and gold with the title Classic Fairytale Treasury.  "Classic Fairytale Treasury, here you go."

"Thanks, Barney,"  Bree said and took the book from him.  "Can I have one more?  It's for a friend."

"Sure,"  Barney said and handed her another copy.  "Follow me, I'll check you out."

Barney and Bree walked back over to the front desk and Barney scanned each book.  Bree's eyes then landed on a photo on the wall.  It was a picture of a man with a kind smile, light brown hair, and bright blue eyes.  The man looked strangely familiar.

"Who's that?"  Bree asked.

"Oh that's the original owner I was telling you about.  Name was John Bailey." 

Bree's mouth dropped in shock.  This couldn't be.  The day she suddenly wanted to go and get a fairytale book, all the bookstores in Willow Crest are closed, except for the one that Conner and Alex's dad owned.  This couldn't be just a coincidence, it was fate.

"So why are you the only one open so late?"  Bree said and swiped her credit card.

"I usually close at 7, but something told me to stay open a little later than usual.  Good thing I did or else you wouldn't have been able to buy your books."  Barney said and put her books in a bag and handed it to her.

"Yeah, I'm glad too and now you've got a lifelong customer,"  Bree said and took the bag.  "Have a good night Barney."

"Thank you and have a good night Bree,"  Barney said and Bree left the store smiling.  This had to have been the best day she had had in a long time.

Arianna drove them back to the house and Bree ran upstairs to her bedroom.  She closed and locked the door and sat at her desk.  She opened her backpack and grabbed a little key from inside.  She put the key into one of her desk drawers and unlocked it revealing a small silver camera inside.  Bree took the SD card out of the camera and put it into her computer.  The file showed up and she clicked on it. 

Suddenly a million pictures showed up on the screen.  First the ones from Germany, then her adventure with a Conner around Europe and then pictures from her time in the Fairytale World started to appear.  She knew that she shouldn't have taken the pictures, but they were the only thing she had left.  Pictures of the Fairy Palace showed up, the room she stayed in, pictures of Red (That Red made her take once she figured out what the camera was).  There were selfies of her and Emmerich, selfies with Coral (who she ended up being really good friends with since they were close in age).  More selfies of her and sweet princess Hope, all the royals and Goldilocks and Jack.  Lastly, a picture showed up of all of them together.  All of them were smiling and laughing, which was the only time Bree saw them being happy.  She started to tear up as she remembered the memory, the moment they got that picture and it was a moment she would never forget.

She printed out the picture, and wrote a little note on the back of it...Hey Timmy, keep on fighting.  There's a whole world out there waiting for you.  Pick out a good story for us to read on Saturday.  Your Friend, Bree. Bree took one of the books she bought at the bookstore and put the picture in the book writing side up.  Bree squeezed the book into her mini backpack and opened the window.  She climbed out of the window and hopped on her bike.  She then peddled all the way to the children's hospital.  Once she was there, she got off her bike and walked into the hospital and she ran into Charlotte.

"Bree, what are you doing back here?"  She asked.

"Um, I just came to give something to Timmy.  Please don't tell my mom I'm here."

"I won't.  I think he's sleeping just set it on his nightstand, so he sees it when he wakes up."

"Great thank you,"  Bree said and continued to walk down the hall but turned around to talk to Charlotte again.  "Oh and Johns bookstore is in really good hands."

Bree left Charlotte with that and she continued to walk down the hallway.  Charlotte smiled at what a Bree said and went back to her work.  She was glad that her late husband's bookstore was still doing well.  She would never tell Bob this, even though he would understand why she did it, but sometimes she even took the long way home to take a look at it, but she never could bring herself to walk in.  Charlotte brushed that feeling off her shoulder and went back to her work.

Bree walked down the hall and slowly opened Timmy's door.  She saw him sleeping soundly in his bed.  She walked over to his nightstand, took the book out of her bag, and set it on his nightstand.  She then quietly walked back out of the room and ran back to her bike and peddled all the way home.  She quietly climbed back up the tree and crawled through her bedroom window and just at the perfect time too because her mother entered her room.

"Ok, Bree I was thinking.  You can have your phone back."  Arianna said and handed Bree her phone.

"Really?  Why?"  Bree asked.

"I was really proud of what you did today with Timmy.  Plus I'm not going to be working weekends, now that dance competition season has started.  I signed your sister up for extra privates."  Arianna said.  "So you're going to need your phone to call me when to pick you up or if anything happens."

"Wow, ok thanks,"  Bree said and reached for her phone but Arianna didn't let her have it yet.

"But, just so you know, I put a tracker on your phone.  One that I control, so if you decide to escape again, I will know about it.  Also, if you do that again, this phone will be gone forever."  Arianna warned.  "Understood?"

"Understood,"  Bree said and took the phone from her mom.  "Thank you."

"Your welcome,"  Arianna said and walked out of her daughter's room.

Bree smiled and plugged in her phone to charge.  She knew the first person she was going to talk to was Emmerich.  She would call him right now, but it was currently 5:30 in the morning there and he was for sure sleeping.  She sat on her bed excited for her phone call tomorrow with the only other person in the world who knew of the Fairytale Worlds existence.
..............................
Meanwhile, in the Fairytale World, Conner was walking the halls of the Fairy Palace, when he saw a familiar face outside.  It was Rook with a bouquet of flowers.  Conner got so mad, he stormed down the stairs and to the front steps of the palace.

"You must be Alex's brother.  Hi I'm Rook."  He said and went to shake Conner's hand.

"What are you doing here?"  Conner asked from the top of the steps.

"I'm here to see Alex and apologize again." 

"Dude, from what I've heard, you've apologized a million times.  You also almost killed everyone and my friends 5 months ago! Good thing my sister and I showed up in time."  Conner said.  "Now leave this kingdom and don't come back or else!"

Rook knew that there was no arguing with him, so he put the flowers on the steps and left.  Conner walked down the steps, grabbed the bouquet, and walked back into the palace.  He walked up to his sister's room where he found her at her desk with a map of the Fairytale World.

"Hey what are you doing?"  Conner asked and dropped the flowers on the floor.

"Looking at a map and seeing if the last-known locations of the Masked Man or our father, and the locations of the missing children match up,"  Alex said and turned around in her chair to look at her brother.  Her eyes then fell onto the flowers on the ground.  "What are those?"

"Oh Rook came by again,"  Conner said.  "Can that dude not take a hint?"

"Um, anyways.  I think we should head to the Witches Brew near Dead Mans Creek." 

"Why?"

"I heard that the witches are holding a meeting there tonight, and the Masked Man might show up.  I think we should go to the meeting.  In disguise of course."

"Ok, let's go,"  Conner said.

"Let me send word to Sir Lampton telling him where we'll be just in case we need backup,"  Alex said and took out a piece of paper.  "Then we'll leave and go get the others."

"Ok, let me know when you're ready,"  Conner said and left the room.

Conner walked down the hallway heading towards his room to get his sword when he stopped in front of one of the many bedrooms in the Fairy palace, but this room wasn't any other room, it was the room Bree stayed in.  He hadn't walked into the room since Bree had stayed there.  He walked inside for the first time in 5 months and he didn't know why but being in there made him feel closer to her, even though she couldn't have been farther away.  Just then his eyes landed on a folded little piece of paper on the nightstand and his name was written on it.  He unfolded it and read it.

Hey Bailey,
Thanks for the awesome adventure and thanks for letting me and Emmerich stay in this amazing and really fancy palace.  This is a time I'll never forget.  Thank Goldilocks, Jack, Red, Charlie, and the others for being amazing and making Emmerich and I feel so welcome.  I don't think I could tell you everything I'm feeling right now in person, so I'm writing everything down and hopefully you find this.  I know what happened was really bad and it may get worse, but you and your sister are probably the luckiest people in the world.  Not everyone wakes up one day and discovers they actually are the grandchildren to a really powerful Fairy, and end up ruling a world full of magical creatures and fairytale characters and going in countless adventures.  Not everyone gets that opportunity you know.  Once I get home, I'm going to be grounded, doing a million chores, and will probably be sitting in detention.  Ok fine I admit, I'm really jealous, and I'm very impressed with how you handled everything.  You've definitely come a long way from being the kid who took naps in class.  You're going to be a great ruler, or king or fairy, whatever your title is.  I know your thinking that being a fairy is probably the most embarrassing thing in the world, but I don't think it is.  If you don't like that word, call yourself something else.  Like, the Sorcerer or Wizard, they're practically the same thing, right?  Whatever just know I'm really proud and your parents must be too.  Knowing you, you can't wait to come home and play Fortnite with your friends, but you're where you need to be and where I want to be right now.  So go on some pretty great adventures for me ok, and don't worry I'll hold down the fort here and continue spreading the stories.  Your secret is safe with me, and it's a secret and memory I'll hold onto for the rest of my life.  Now go fix the Fairytale World and kick some butt.  I hope we'll see each other again in the future, and if we don't I'll leave you with this...I like you Conner Bailey.

From, your crush

Ps. There is no such thing as a sodium allergy.

Reading this made Conner miss Bree even more, but it gave him the strength to defeat the Masked Man and get home to the Otherworld because he really missed his TV and Fortnite.  He walked over to his room and set the letter down on his nightstand.

"Conner let's go,"  Alex called out.  He picked up his sword and was ready to fight some witches.