"What an unpleasant surprise!" Anita sneered whilst glaring at Bree as she walked into the dungeon. Joseph had been sent back to Pirole to be taken care of by a bunch of servants specially appointed by King Adam himself. The poor man's mind had eventually snapped as a result of housing too many memories. Anita, on the other hand, was kept in Villeneuve as more of a grounded guest.

Her dungeon wasn't as upsetting and depressing as dungeons usually were. The room was in fact as lovely as fit for a princess but despite the beauty around her, Anita had still managed to cast a gloom with her aura. Her powers had weakened ever since she was separated from her father thus making everyone believe she had somehow been tapping from his multiple life forces.

Indeed, Anita had begun to age rapidly. She had gone from looking like a teenager to a lady in her mid thirties, although she remained still as petite as ever. She had been compelled to create a portal that would transport Melinda back home and had almost escaped through it claiming afterwards that she only wanted to make sure the portal had opened into the right place.

She refused to reveal how she had done it because the portal had opened right on the wall of the public library where Bree worked connected by Tatum's lollipop painting. Now Bree had to look for another way to make Anita open another one.

"Hello Anita." Bree said. She moved to stand by the door while the guards made a protective shield in front of her.

"I see you are still quite cautious of me, as you should. But why? I am pretty much powerless being stuck in this disgrace of a castle."

"The disgrace you went crazy trying to claim for yourself." Bree said coolly.

"I will grow strong again and i will rip your family apart from the roots. I will send this castle crumbling to the ground and i will make sure every one of you pays for what you've done to my father."

"Don't you mean, what you have done to your father?" Bree asked tilting her head.

Anita waved a hand aggressively but only a few sparks of green came off her fingers.

"I feel so threatened." Bree deadpanned.

"Get out of here. I refuse to speak with you any further." Anita growled and walked over to her bed but refrained from sitting on it. It was made with lemon green sequined sheets and white pillows but the bed had remained untouched.

"Go on, sit! We need to talk!" Bree urged gesturing with her head. With the way Anita glared at Bree, one would think she would pounce on her the next second but Anita was as weak as she was powerless. She was not even strong enough to push a stool from one end of the room to the other. This was the reason Bree had suggested she be left unshackled.

Anita's eyes momentarily moved to the ring on Bree's finger, jealousy flickering across her face. "You might be the wretch's wife now but you're still a commoner and an alien. You will not order me around."

The guards moved their spears in readiness for an attack but Bree motioned for them to be at ease. She walked out from behind them and stared at Anita.

"It doesn't have to be difficult. I need another portal." She said in a low tone.

"No. If you knew so much about this world, you should've known just how to get here and back. I will not help you a second time."

Bree tilted her head and boldly but gently took Anita's hand. The gesture caused the latter to stiffen. "I know you want to leave. You're tired, aren't you? You're going to die soon and you don't want that to happen here."

Anita scowled and glared and fidgeted but Bree could see she had hit a soft spot.

"Are you offering to let me go?" Anita growled and wriggled her hand free then turned to the guards. "Did you hear that? She intends to let me go. Treason! You would betray your so-called family. Why don't you just kill me yourself, you lowly muskrat. I know you desire that more than anything!"

"Anita!" Bree coaxed in a more softer tone. Anita's face relaxed a bit but her fidgeting did not stop. "You want to go and we can let you --- i can let you, if you help one last time."

"You want to set me free? But i'll just come back and wreak my revenge." She roared.

"You can't do that!" Bree said smiling.

"And how are you so certain that i cannot? You know nothing of my powers."

"I know you were never interested in the throne to begin with. I know that as a child, all you wanted to do was travel and see the world. I know Adam's spell broke years ago because a foreigner interfered and i know you can't have your powers back because of me. I've interrupted the flow of events here."

Anita watched Bree intently as she spoke. "Trickery! How do you know all of that?"

Bree paused. "Because i'm a fairytale fanatic and i've spent all my years gathering knowledge about worlds as much as you have. I know that if the Prince had married someone here, even if it wasn't you, history would repeat and you would come back and torment them again. But you sent him to my world and now our fates are connected which means that the order of events in my world has seeped into yours."

"Shut up!" Anita shouted. Her eyes were boiling red.

Bree rolled her eyes and beckoned on one of the guards. He put his spear down and gingerly brought out a small square shaped object to Bree.

"Look!" Bree said flipping through her smartphone. She turned the bright screen toward Anita.

"W---what are those places?" Anita asked peering at the screen. Her face was a mixture of hidden awe, disgust and longing. She repeatedly inched back and forth as if deciding on whether to smash the phone or run away.

"They are in my world. You can go there and live out your days. Your magic is weak now and you can't stay young forever anymore. Go, you can live out your dreams as you've always wanted."

Anita watched the screen for a while where a video of different landscapes was displayed. For a moment, she seemed to have forgotten Bree was there because she began to smile at the sceneries, her face taking on a much happier one then suddenly, her expression hardened more than ever.

"How do i know i am not being tricked right now?" She asked scrunching up her nose.

"You know you're not. You've been to my world haven't you? You know there are places there that match the ones in the video. You just haven't been there yet."

Anita stared at the video again which had been put on repeat. She seemed to be in a conflict of some kind with herself because her expression kept shifting like it was being filtered. Finally, she sighed and her shoulders slumped.

At last, she moved to the bed and sat on it. She buried her hands in her hair. Bree stared at the back of Anita's hands where a disturbing amount of greenish veins had popped up. When Anita put up her head again, she looked fifty.

Bree gasped and inched forward. "You don't have much time. You have to leave before it's too late."

"How can you not --- not hate me right now?" Anita asked standing up slowly and with a bit of effort.

Bree sighed. "I can't say i understand all of what you went through, Anita. But i heard you, back at my apartment, inside that bubble. I was half unconscious but i heard everything. I do understand what it feels like to have people treat you like dirt or an outcast. To feel like you don't belong anywhere and then losing your family on top of it all. I understand that it was difficult for you and all you wanted was to make it right, to give your father what he'd always wanted. I know a thing or two about wanting to please your parent, make them very proud of you, make them happy."

If Bree hadn't known Anita before then, she would have been concerned about an elderly lady crying in front of her but when Anita burst into silent tears, Bree only felt shocked.

"I wish it had been different." Anita sniffed, wiping under her eyes with the back of her frail hands.

"It can be. At least, it's not too late to be different." Bree comforted.

"But what about my father?" Anita asked looking up at Bree. All the hate and rage in her eyes was now replaced by calm and sadness.

"He'll be fine. I can promise to look after him for as long as he remains with us." Bree said.

Anita nodded, more tears streaming down her face. A few moments of silence passed before she finally wiped her eyes and sighed deeply.

"Deep in the heart of the Black Forest, where the trees hang low and the ground is of hardened soil, a portal lies everlasting. The adulterated mind will never glance upon it. Only them with purpose as clear as crystal may find it."

"The Black Forest!" Bree repeated.

Anita was a lot calmer than she had ever been since Bree met her. "Yes. I believe your husband, the Prince may have stumbled upon this once."

Bree raised an eyebrow. Anita had referred to Frances without using the word "wretch". "Aren't portals supposed to, i mean, not be there all the time?"

"Yes but this one is different. It is an eternal doorway from this world to yours. It doesn't go away but only a few can find it."

"Thank you, Anita." Bree said with a nod.

Anita sighed. "No, thank you. For giving me a last chance."

Behind her, green sparks began to stretch across the wall. The magic was obviously weak but it did its job, spreading until a low yet very wide transparent doorway was created. On the other side was a beautiful landscape. Massive rocks lined the ocean where a number of seals relaxed with mini waves violently splashing on them but the creatures did not notice or rather, didn't mind. The salty smell of seawater hit Bree's nose and gave her the feeling she was on the beach.

Anita stared at the scenery which was in fact, a valley. It was so green and full of life that Bree was tempted to go as well. Anita promptly but cautiously stepped into the portal. The wind caught her hair, whipping it back and forth mercilessly. On the other side, she suddenly seemed to grow young again.

She turned to Bree and smiled - a joyful contagious, satisfied smile. Bree smiled back and Anita began to walk along the rock paths. The portal faded until Bree was staring at the wall again.

"Your Majesty, what if she has tricked you?" One of the guards asked.

Bree turned. "No she hasn't."

With that, she walked out of the now empty dungeon.

She revealed all she had spoken of with Anita to Frances who was a little disturbed that the witch had been set free.

"It's nothing to worry about. She won't be disturbing us any longer." Bree assured.

Bree was the one to explain to the King how she had let their prisoner go and how Anita was quickly aging because of her weakened magic. And even farther away from her father, it was possible she had no magic at all. Adam referred to Bree "vivaciously smart".

Meanwhile, Bree and Frances secretly set out to complete their mission in Bree's world. They journeyed into the Black Forest for days without end. Frances mentioned that it had taken him only a few hours to find the portal the last time and Bree commented that it was just like the forest back home. It seemed to elongate on certain days when Bree tried to find Beasley's cave and on some days the cave would be easy to find.

It took them two more days before they stumbled upon the place Anita described. A path in the forest where the trees hung low and intertwined like veins from a human hand. Frances tied Phillipe to a tree trunk while Bree tried to calm the animal's nerves by assuring it that they would bring back an entire bag of sugar cubes and apples. Her words seemed to please Phillipe and the horse kept still. The couple ventured into the trees and was instantly overcome by thick darkness. Frances almost cursed himself for not remembering to bring a torch since the last time he was there, it had also been pitch black.

He gripped Bree's arm, making sure to stay only a few inches in front of her so as to decipher when a branch obstructed their path. They navigated the darkness until they eventually found the portal. It remained as Frances had last seen it. Without hesitation, they went through and found themselves standing on a sidewalk.

"Of course. Where else would a portal take us?" Bree mused looking around. The portal had brought them directly in front of Mayor Gordon's property. The same one Tatum's crew had spray painted and consequently failed to clean.

"Where do we go from here?" Frances asked. Bree looked at him. He was no longer in his princely clothes. He was no dressed in a more modern way to fit the time he was in. Bree was also dressed modern. She began to wonder where her dress had gone.

"Let's take a cab!" She suggested.

"I missed those!" Frances said and took her hand while she led him on.

They hitched a ride back to Bree's home where Melinda was quite shocked but nonetheless very happy to see them. From there, their adventures began. It would take tons of chapters to describe what they all went through to find those caged animals but at last, with a lot of help, they succeeded.

Bree marveled at the kinds of animals Herb had found and captured. There were strange types of fishes that were half fish half hairy mammal, dragons like lizards and snakes like dragons, tuatara, unnaturaly large amphibians, black peacocks and several exotic and dangerous animals. Herb had a base in Scotland where he kept all of them.

Bree made sure to inform the government of his illegal indulgence with wild animals and his harsh treatment of them. Herb with Bruno alongside a lot of his colleagues, rich customers and the likes of Jimothy were apprehended and placed under police custody awaiting further trials.

The said animals were taken by Frances who found a way to convince the government that he had found a natural habitat for all of them. The emergence of these animals not only alerted the rest of the world on the possible existence of fairytale creatures but also on the existence of other worlds thus causing a lot of in-depth analysis by scientists and fanatics alike.

Bree and Frances said goodbye to Melinda one last time at Lake Donna where Bree was finally able to buy off with her enormous wealth as a princess.

The couple located their nearest portal exit and vanished into Villeneuve rarely making appearances in the human world again.

Bree somehow found her old copy of her favorite story (we all know it) which had grown strangely large by subsequently and magically filling itself with this story as i tell it. She placed the huge book on a shelf in Belle's library and walked out of the room with her husband's arm around her.

Now, this is where the story comes to an end.

Dare i say it but Frances and Bree both lived happily ever after after that, away from all the troubles of the 21st century.

I would give anything to live somewhere that isn't in the 21st century for a while but then i wouldn't have a cool uptop --- sorry, laptop.

🌹

THE END