The Book Freak (#1 in "Forbidden Aldoria" series)

        *Zoey’s note* Hello people of Reedsy! I’m back! Geez, it seems like forever since I’ve posted anything on here! In case you didn’t read my old bio, I had to take a break from posting stories because my mental health and grades were both really bad, so I kind of just needed to take a break to become a little healthier for myself. I hope you all understand! I sadly lost many followers during my break, but I also gained a few so that makes me very happy! Thanks so much to those of you who are still following me, you have no idea how much I love and appreciate you. Now, I hope you all enjoy the story! As always, make sure to leave feedback in the comments. Love you all!

     The young prince bared his weapon before the large, menacing, winged beast standing before him, which showed its own yellow, sharp fangs. He could feel its hot, steamy breath beating against his own damp, oily skin. He had never slain a creature quite this horrific before, but he knew he had to for her sake. He glances over towards the castle to see the beautiful, young damsel in distress, peering wide eyed through the open window. The palms of her pale, fragile hands are pressed flat against the glass. He glances back at the dragon, ready for combat.

       “Alexandra,” a nasally old woman’s voice calls out, “Alexandra! Put the book down! Are you even listening to me?”

      “It’s Alex,” I mumble, “and I’m not putting my book down until I finish the chapter. Just give me a minute, okay?”

       She gives me a thoughtful smile on her tragically wrinkled face, but I know it’s fake. Ms Emily Leech isn’t capable of feeling remorse. She slams the book closed right in my face, and her smile fades away.

        “Next time, I take it,” she threatens, walking back to the front of the room. She then continues teaching the lesson about dumb, confusing stuff like geometry.

        I hear stifled laughter coming from behind me.

        “Ooo, I would be more careful, little rat,” the honeyed voice of the apex predator herself whispers, “devour one more book and you might get smooshed!”

        I’ve learned to ignore all the petty little things that Ivy Brooks says to me. She only targets me to make herself feel powerful. I just wish the whole school would see this. They all kneel down before her Louis Vuitton heels like she’s some sort of goddess. If her tiny little waist and sleek, shiny, balayage white-blonde hair didn’t mesmerize them so much, I might actually have a chance at having a friend or two. Instead, I spend my days in my cold room reading books that I wish I lived in.

        I can feel her big, cold blue eyes staring through my bones, analyzing every wrong feature on my body. I wish I could do the same, but there are no imperfections on “Little Miss Model’s” body. From her flawless tanned skin to her perfect button nose, Ivy’s everything that the rest of the school wishes they could be. Gosh; I don’t think she’s ever even sprouted a pimple!

      I try paying attention to Ms Leech’s lesson, but it all sounds like gibberish. I sigh. If I take my book out again, I know that Ivy will report me to the teacher. 

     Instead, I envision the battle between the dragon and the prince in my mind, the princess watching helplessly through an open window. He swishes his sword from side to side, the dragon fighting back with it’s horrible, flaming hot breath of fury. The dragon grazes the prince's cheek with it’s large, sharp talon. Blood leaks out of the open wound. He sees the dragon flaring her nostrils to gear up, and, afraid of being burned to a crisp, the prince steps away as the dragon breathes out another wisp of fire. He finally aims for the heart of the dragon with his silver blade of death, and thrusts it into the dragon’s thick skin. The dragon makes a loud and unforgettable screeching noise, and- 

      The bell rings, carrying me out of my fantasy world. Bummer; I was at the best part. At least it’s the end of seventh period, so I get to go home and finish my book. I might even check out another two or three from the library! I throw on my backpack, cradle the book in my arms and I’m out the door. 

      Once I come outside to the gloomy aftermath of a rain storm, I find myself tripping over someone’s expensive, long, rose-gold high heels and back onto the ground. Pain shoots up my right knee and left elbow, and the book falls out of my arms. Someone picks it up. I hear laughter from above surrounding my whole body.

     “Watch where you’re going, geek,” a girl’s voice quipps.

     More laughter. I look up to see the alpha herself (Ivy) standing beside her large pack of wolves. She holds my book firmly within her grasp, gripping onto it so tightly that it folds. I stand up to retrieve it, but she pushes me back down. What did I ever do to her?

     “Give me back my book,” I fume, forcing myself back to my feet.

     “Aw, we made it mad,” Jared Fowels pouts sarcastically.

     Everyone else cackles.

     “Are you going to cry?” a girl says with fake sympathy.

     I ignore their voices as I pry one of Ivy’s long pink acrylics off of the book, but she smacks my hand away and raises the book up even higher. She smirks as if this were only a game to her. 

     “Hey, Lilly,” she calls out, “catch!” 

     She throws my book over to a short, skinny girl with long, dark braids who catches it, crinkling the cover. I chase her, desperate to get my book back, but she swiftly passes it to Clarice Woods. The group of kids continues to play a game of Monkey In The Middle with me, until the book falls into a mud puddle. I feel like crying.

      “Oops,” Ivy drawls, “I hope that wasn’t a library book!”

       Her and the rest of her crew walk away, wheezing with laughter and mockery. It was a library book. I blink back the tears surging through my eyes out of frustration. Frustration that I wasn’t able to save the book from this preventable, untimely fate. 

        I pick up the crippled, brown book, soaked in muddy water. Yup; ruined. I wish I could’ve taught “Little Miss Perfect” a lesson while I had the chance. I can almost see the articles: Teenaged Fugitive Punches Young Model In Face: Fugitive Testifies To Jury That “She Had It Coming”. 

       I stare at the torn-up library book and realize that I cannot walk straight to the library since I now have to pay a fine. I sigh. This is gonna be a long walk.

                                                    §§§§§§

        After paying the librarian the ten dollar fine that she asked for (the book was also overdue), I scout around each and every shelf for a new book. I’ve read many of the books here, but I suppose I wouldn’t mind reading them again. Every one of these books has something in store for me, after all.

        I’m about to pick up the legendary Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, when something out of the ordinary catches my eye. It’s a brown, old-fashioned-looking book with italicized letters filled in with pure gold. The Forbidden Palace of Aldoria: Read At Your Own Risk, it’s called. It has a peculiar scent for a book, almost like the rain that had been pouring down outside, only this is much more pungent. I flip over the book to the other side to read the summary, but there is none.

         How enticing, I think to myself.

        I run my fingers across the brown, leathery cover, hungry to begin reading. I draw the book closer to my face to take another whiff of that strong, earthy smell from within the pages. Gently, I flip to the first page of this perfect storybook to come up with a better idea on what the book might be about. I take a deep breath, and begin to read.

        “Millions of years ago in a far-off kingdom called Aldoria, there lived a kind king and a valiant, beautiful queen in a magical castle. They cared for the kingdom more than life itself, and they hoped to have children who would care for this land as much as they did. Unfortunately, the doctors were afraid that the queen would never bare children, for she had grown extremely ill. This saddened the couple so much that they could no longer bear it.”

         The story is so familiar, and yet I begin to feel for the characters. A tear rolls down my cheek. Maybe it’s just written well, I assume. I want to keep reading, so I read on.

        “The royal couple knew that they had no other choice, so they came to the evil witch next door for help. She told them that she’d cast a spell in order for the wife to become with child, but for a price: the king and queen would bow down before the wicked witch after sixteen years of the child’s life. The king and queen knew that they must accept to have a baby, so solemnly, they signed the scroll.”

       No, I think to myself, what if this is the wrong idea? What if it doesn’t work? I remember that this is just a story, and read on.

       “As soon as the couple walked into their castle, the queen had become very sick. This meant that the spell must’ve worked! Overjoyed, the two of them had declared that the kingdom of Aldoria came together to hear the news.”

       “Nine months had passed before a beautiful little princess was born into the world. She had rosy cheeks, tufts of tender, brown locks, and green eyes like emeralds. It was love at first sight for the king and the queen, for they had brought a human being into the kingdom! They named her Nova, meaning new.”

       “The wicked witch, however, was happy for another reason. She knew that as soon as dusk struck on the child’s sixteenth birthday, she would take matters into her own hands.”

       Ooo, another greedy, unhappy villain I see! You’ve got to love them with their unfair deals and utter destruction! This is, however, the first time I’ve feared a book character. How weird!

      “Sixteen years later, the beautiful, not-so-little princess blew out the candles on her big, sixteen-layered birthday cake. “What did you wish for?” voices asked. Nova just pursed her perfect, pink lips and smiled, for her wish was a surprise.”

      “Suddenly, the doors bursted open, and a tiny, ugly old woman bursts through the door. She apologized with her soft, shaky voice for making such an entrance. No one knows her name or who she is, but no one wants to; she makes them feel uneasy. The king and the queen begin whispering to each other, for they had an idea on who the frail, little old woman was.”

     “Twilight came over the night, and the princess had decided to play night games with her friends while it was cool and misty. 

      “They were playing a simple game of hide and seek, when the young princess (the seeker) turned around to see a strange, tall, beautiful woman standing over her, her mother’s crown on her head.”

      Take the crown and run, Nova! Take the crown and run! Do it while you still can!

      “What are you-” Nova began, her voice quivering.”

      “No more questions, princess,” the woman smirked, “well, technically you are not the princess anymore.”

     “Excuse me?” the princess squinted, “I think I would know if I were no longer the princess.”

     “Oh, but you wouldn’t,” cackled the witch, “because I am the queen now.” 

     “The princess gasps. “You’re lying!”

     “I’m happy to say that I am not lying, Nova,” the new queen informs her, “Your parents made a deal with me before you were born that I could take over their job if I could cast a spell to make your mother pregnant. I did, and you’re living proof of it! Now, none of it matters because you’re all going to die.”

    “Confused about why her parents couldn’t tell her this sooner, the princess stares fearfully at the queen. “What did you do to them?” she asked. The queen tells her that her parents had been locked up, and would soon be executed. She explains joyfully that the girl would be tied up to a tree, devoured by the beasts that roam the forest.”

    “Choking back her tears, the girl tried to protest, but alas; how can you say no to a queen? 

      “Guards,” the queen beams, “now’s your cue!”

      The servants look sadly upon the princess that they had always loved as they carry her out in the wilderness, a rope in their hands. They ignore her pleas to free her: that would only make it worse.”

     With tears in my eyes, I gulp. I keep a hand on my throat to secure it from the beasts in the forests. 

     “They lay the rope on her chest and tie it to an oak tree far from the village. Many genuine “sorry”s were heard from the servants. Sorry would not save her, and they knew it. They wished they could’ve saved her, but the new queen was not gentle. She would have their organs on a silver platter if they had not left the child out to die.”

    “Knowing that her life was on the line, the young princess kicks and screams for help. Tears stream down her face. For one moment in her life, there was no one who could help her. No one to save her. She would have to be slain. The princess made one last squirm in frustration, hitting her head on the tree hard. Everything fades to black.”

    “A kind, poor woman from the village takes pity on the old princess, who is now passed out against the tree. She unties the child, and takes her into her home to care for her. She knew that the queen will never leave the princess alone until she’s dead. She, after all, knew her better than anyone else.”

     “The poor girl's parents are dead now, the woman thought to herself, I cannot leave her to suffer! But, then again, she knew that the kingdom of Aldoria would need Nova to overthrow the queen one day. The woman transforms into her true form - a beautiful enchantress - and put the child into a long, timeless sleep like death. She would remain young and beautiful until awoken by the touch of a mysterious child who would wake her.”

    “Meanwhile, the kingdom continues to grow in the sorceress queen’s darkness. Many villagers are dead due to the cruelty and carelessness of the evil queen. No more happily ever afters.”

     Disbelief fills my mind. This isn’t the end, is it? It can’t be! My eyes trace down the page until they see a message.

     “This story may have been written on an unhappy note, but it is your chance to change it!”

     I reread the last eight words: “but it is your chance to change it!”

     “I don’t understand!” I protest allowed, “I-”

     Suddenly, the pages of the book begin to eluminate! The light burns so bright that I fear I will no longer see again. The book stands up and chases me. I try to run away, but the book is pulling me in like a magnet! I grab onto a nearby shelf and grip tightly onto it. I cannot allow myself to fly away into the world of paper and ink! I do not trust it! 

     To my horror, the book jumps up high towards me, and begins gnawing at my clean-shaven legs. It continues to crawl up to my body until it is up to my chest. At this point, I cannot hold onto the shelf any longer. The book pulls me in and swallows me whole.

                                                   §§§§§§

    I open my eyes and find myself in a place far from home. Millions of dark, gloomy, black trees surround me, and the sky is a foggy shade of violet. The grass I lay on looks black, like the particles of ash in a fireplace. I’m clearly in some twisted sort of forest.

      I look into the distance and I can see a village filled with scarce, almost skeletal looking people in tiny brown cabins, and a tall, dark castle standing behind them. I freeze to look at this horror show. It’s like a fantasy world led by Scar from The Lion King!

      A cold, wrinkled hand touches my shoulder, making me shriek. I flip around quickly and see a very old woman wearing a black hood. She holds a basket full of bread.

      “Oh, I’m sorry, dearie,” the old woman heaves, “I didn’t mean to startle you!”

      “You’re alright,” I say cautiously.

      “Welcome to Aldoria, dear,” she smiles warmly, “would you like to come with me? The forest is a very dangerous place for a little girl like you!”

      I freeze. The book actually suctioned me into the story.

     Thanks for reading! Please make sure to leave feedback in the comments below, and let me know if you want me to work on part two. Let me know what you thought! I hope you all enjoyed! I love you all!