This book, or the Keeper of it actually, had just promised me that I was never going to have to worry about dad ever again. That was a good enough reason for me to give this whole thing my best shot. I mean, what was the worst that could happen to me in here? I was going to live in a fairytale world for a little while and I had to play the damsel to some misogynistic man. I could pretend long enough to make it through all of that. Well, I hoped I could anyway.
"Now, Alex, if you are willing to listen, I will explain a few things to you. You know that I am the Keeper of the Tales, but I am also here to help you. I will give you hints and clues when you are stuck within your story. I will not outright tell you what story you are in, but I will help guide you to the answer. You need to figure it all out on your own. You asked earlier if the people will be able to know who you are, the answer is yes. They will see you as the character that they know from the story. They will not know that anything else is different. And to them, you will look just like the character. When you see yourself in the mirror during these stories, your appearance might change just slightly, but to them it will be completely different. Does any of this make sense to you right now, Alex?" The Keeper was making sure that I was able to keep up.
"Yes, I understand. You haven't said anything overly complicated yet."
"That is good." I couldn't see the voice, but I got the impression that it had just nodded at me. "The stories will not be like the fairy tales that you know from your world. At least, not entirely. They will be different in some way. The difference might be subtle, or it might be major. Whatever the difference is, though, it has the potential to alter the story completely. If you can figure it out, you might be able to make the story work to your advantage sooner rather than later. However, if you are unable to figure out the change or changes, they can work against you. I advise you to keep your eyes open while you are traversing this literary world."
"Great. Thank you for something else to make it even harder to finish all of these stories. Are you sure you aren't just trying to trap me in here forever?" I said the words sarcastically, but I had a feeling that the answer was going to scare me.
"No, Alex. I would never want to trap you forever. I can't educate others if you are here permanently. I need to make people see the errors of their ways. Rest assured, you can and will make it out of here." That was not what I was expecting her to say.
"Fine. I get it. I will look for the clues. I will figure out the story that I am in. And I will make sure that I find the difference that alters the story. I will do it all. However, you know there is something that you have not told me yet, right?"
"And what is that, Alex?" I could hear the curiosity in the Keeper's voice like they were certain they hadn't forgotten anything.
"How do I get out of the stories? How do I move onto the next one? When will the stories be over?" This was the most vital of all the information.
"That all depends on the story. Some might have more requirements than others. However, if you get as close to the true story ending as possible that will usually work. I am not saying that this method will work for each story, but it is a good place to start. Some of the stories could very well be so different from the original tale that there is no way to get the true ending. Those will be the times that you will need to use your imagination. You are a writer after all, you should have no problem getting creative with the stories that you are in. And most of all, Alex, try your best to have fun and find your true love."
"Ugh!" I scoffed at the voice. "There is no way that I will find my true love in a fairytale. They are not realistic at all. And they teach little girls to wait to be saved by the big strong man. I am a fan of doing things on my own, as you very well know."
"Hmm. That is true, I do know that about you. Alright, well, your explanation is over. Please, walk straight ahead for a few moments and you will be out of these woods. Now that you know what to do, your story can officially begin."
With that, the voice disappeared and so did the presence that I had felt with it. I was now alone, once again, in these woods. Well, it was time to stop being sorry for myself and to get to work. I needed to figure out what story I was in so that I could finish it as soon as possible. Then I can work on the next story and then the next and the next and so on until I am done here.
I did as the voice told me. I stood up and continued facing the direction that I was in. With that, I walked in that direction. On and on I went for maybe five minutes or so. I was starting to think that the voice had lied to me and that I wasn't going to be able to get out of here and that I was indeed stuck in the woods. But that didn't last.
After just a few more seconds of walking, I could see the light and some buildings on the other side of the trees ahead of me. I was almost out of here. Finally, I could start working on identifying the story that I am in.
When I broke through the trees, I saw that I was on the edge of a village. There were a lot of large manor houses nearby and in the distance there was a castle. Well, that meant that this was a prince and princess based tale. The castles usually were not in the stories without royalty.
In my immediate vicinity there was a large house, a barn, a pasture full of horses, a large and beautiful well, and a country road that led off in the distance. This house seemed to be one of the largest and nicest, but it was also the farthest from the castle. If anyone needed to go into town for something, it would still take them a decent amount of time. Well, only because they couldn't travel by car. If they could do that, it wouldn't take them more than twenty minutes.
This place looked like it was filled with nothing but rich nobles or something like that. Were there no commoners or whatever they were? Where could they all be? Were they scattered here and there among the large manor homes? Or were all these people considered to be the commoners and this was some strange story where all of the residents were rich?
Well, if the latter were true, then I wouldn't need to worry about my living conditions. No matter what story I was in, if these were the poor homes, then I would still be living in a decent amount of luxury. I was starting to feel pretty good about this story. The Keeper had obviously started me on an easy one.
As I walked onward, I was once again struck by the fact that it was so beautiful and peaceful. Only the clean air was a little less clean now. This close to the horses I was able to smell their waste that they just let drop behind them in the fields. That was not the nicest smell in the world.
I noticed something else as well. As I had walked through the trees, my clothes had changed. I was now wearing a worn out dress that went all the way down to my shoes. It looked like it was something that a peasant would wear. Well, isn't that just great. I hated dresses. I could never wear one again if I didn't have to. And especially one that seemed like it was going to be so bothersome. Why did this story have to start out so difficult for me. Right off the bat like this. Also, my backpack was missing. Not that I needed it here, but it would have been nice to have with me. For comfort reasons.
"Well, I guess it's time for me to find someone that knows who I am." No sooner had I said that then someone called out to me.
"Ashenella! Where have you been?!" The voice that called out to me sounded very angry with me. What had I done to them? And was that really my name? What fairytale character had a name like that? This was going to be harder for me to figure out than I thought. I had hoped that just my name would reveal that detail for me.
Well, I guess if it was going to be that easy, then the Keeper wouldn't have been so intent on telling me that I needed to figure out the tale on my own. They wouldn't have told me to look for clues if they were going to tell me what was going to happen right off the bat.