Monsterland Mayhem (Fairy Tales With A Monstrous Twist)

5. Ailsa

5

AILSA

There are purple trees everywhere, their leaves decorated in a crimson shade. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I don’t have time to evaluate their strangeness. Because I’m trying to find Beast.

He ran off a few minutes ago, disappearing into this area of the woods. Yet now I can’t see him anywhere. I push myself harder and faster, trying to find him, all while that strange skull-faced man— Craze —follows.

Monsterland, I think, passing mushroom-like clouds hovering between the abnormal trees. I’m definitely in Monsterland .

Beast must have followed me through that portal hole. However, his stark white fur wasn’t red from the water. He hadn’t been wet at all.

Just like me and my dress, I realize, frowning.

I shake my head.

None of this makes sense. But then, it’s not supposed to.

I’ve always been fascinated by the Monsterland realm, just in a morbid kind of way. The others often spoke about it with reverence, hoping to one day be invited into the Silver King’s court.

That was never my desire. I simply wanted to experience something different.

And, well, I’ve experienced enough.

I’m ready to go home now, I think. I just need to find Beast and ? —

The ground falls out from beneath me, drawing a yelp from me as I start spinning down, down, down.

My hair whips around my face, making it hard to see and breathe. My arms and legs pinwheel, much like they did when I went through that strange portal. Oh, not again!

Everything moves faster, the air swirling all around me until everything stops.

And I find myself suspended in… in… Gods, what even is this? It’s sticky, like that glue substance from before, except it’s… it’s stringier. My limbs are all tangled in it, like some sort of weird, gooey web.

Ever so slowly it begins to stretch, my weight pulling me toward the black ground below.

Where Craze is standing with his hands on his hips, legs braced, expression bored. “While you’re hanging there, let’s chat,” he drawls. “You’ve landed in Monsterland, sweetheart. Nothing is what it seems. Everything’s a trick. And you, my darling rabbit, are a beacon for trouble.”

I glare at him. “I’m not your sweetheart or your darling rabbit or any of the other nicknames you’ve given me,” I inform him. “And the only trouble I seem to be in is related to… to… well, I don’t know. But I’m not your anything. I’m just me. Ailsa. Human. And ohhh, let me go!”

That last part is for whatever has a grasp on me, my complaint coming out winded as I struggle against the elastic holding me captive in the air. All that does is stretch it a little more, but not nearly enough to reach the ground.

This is ludicrous, I think angrily. Absolutely mad!

“You’re definitely my something, Ailsa,” he replies, his voice the epitome of calmness. Which is so unfair, given the situation. Because I am definitely not calm.

“I don’t even know you,” I tell him.

“No, you don’t,” he says. “But you will.”

“I won’t.”

“You will,” he counters. “Because we’re playing a game.”

“What game?” I say through my teeth as I once again struggle to release myself. It’s useless, but I can’t just hang here. It’s… it’s too much like defeat.

And I will not be defeated.

I’ve lived through too much to accept that fate.

“You obey my commands and I answer a question, remember?”

“Obey?” I echo. “I don’t recall agreeing to obey anything.”

He grins. “I may be altering the phrasing a bit. Regardless, I owe you an answer.”

I blink at him. “What?”

“I asked you to run and you did. Albeit not in the direction or the manner in which I intended, but you did run. And therefore, I need to tell you how I know your name.”

Oh. I… I don’t know what to say to that, so I just stare at him. I honestly didn’t expect him to tell me anything. Supernaturals typically act as though I don’t exist, and the humans I’ve known haven’t been much better.

“Your pet told me your name,” he says with a lopsided grin.

Right. That’s on par with the type of condescending response I’m used to. I roll my eyes and return to fidgeting with the glue-like substance holding me captive.

“It’s highly amusing, by the way,” the unhelpful male continues. “You calling Krolic a pet , I mean. There’s no one else in all the realms who could ever refer to him as such and remain living. But you’re not just anyone, are you?”

“Krolic?” I echo, stilling once more.

“Your Beast,” Craze murmurs, drawing my gaze down to him again. “His name is Krolic.”

My brow furrows. “Is he… your pet wolf, too?” Did Beast often travel back and forth between Monsterland and my realm? Is that why he took me to the cave, to help me escape?

Or… or did he lead me there to take me to my fate?

Did Beast betray me?

Craze laughs, the sound skittering down my spine. It’s not an unpleasant sound, but it is slightly unsettling. Perhaps because I don’t find anything funny about this situation.

I’m half naked and hanging upside down in Monsterland, of all places, after finding out I’ve been wrongly marked as an Omega.

Oh, and my one friend—a wolf—may have betrayed my trust.

Definitely not humorous.

“Krolic is my best friend,” Craze says, still chuckling. “And his wolf is most certainly not my pet.”

“His wolf?” I repeat. “Beast is your best friend’s pet?”

Meaning he belongs to Krolic?

Why…? Why did he visit me, then? If he already had a home?

“I suppose that’s accurate,” Craze utters slowly, then shakes his head. “Nevertheless, I answered your question regarding how I learned your name. So what’s next, Ailsa? What else do you want to know?”

I frown at him. “What are you going to ask me to do in exchange for an answer? Because I’m a little stuck up here.”

“Yeah, that’s usually what happens when you run into a Gum Tree.”

“A Gum Tree?” I look at the strands holding me in the air. They’re pink, and I suppose they resemble branches, only rubbery. And sticky like… gum.

“Yes. I took the cloud slide.” He points to a fog off to the right. “That’s a much faster route when running off a cliff.”

Running off a…? I glance up and realize the “tree” I’m hanging in is rooted maybe a hundred or so feet above me.

Gods… “I didn’t even see it,” I whisper aloud.

“I know.” Craze’s voice draws my attention back to him as he folds his athletic arms across his chest. “Want to know how to get down from there?”

“I… yes. Yes, I do.”

He smiles. “Excellent. Laugh.”

I stare at him. “What?”

“Laugh,” he says again.

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s an action typically inspired by something funny,” he explains, like I’m some sort of idiot. Although, he doesn’t say it condescendingly, just matter-of-factly.

“No, I know what laughing is; I don’t understand how that’ll help me get down,” I tell him, somewhat exasperated. Not necessarily by him—well, maybe a little because of him—but mostly from this whole wild experience.

“Try it,” he tells me. “Try laughing and see what happens.”

“I’m not sure I’m in a laughing mood,” I return through my teeth.

“Hmm.” He taps his chin. “Well, a song might do. Can you sing?”

“Are you serious?”

“Typically? No. Right now, though, yes.” He gifts me with a quick grin. “Want me to sing to you instead?”

This man is insane, I decide, just gaping at him.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” he murmurs, then tilts his head back and… and begins to sing .

My lips part as the haunting melody reaches my ears, his voice deep and borderline hypnotic. I’m so transfixed on him that I don’t even realize I’m moving until I feel the sticky branch slither against my wrist.

Startled, I glance at it, then gasp when I realize it’s releasing me. But I’m still a good twenty feet in the air.

“Craze…”

He doesn’t acknowledge me, too lost in his song to hear me. I can’t understand a word he’s saying. It’s some language I don’t speak.

“Craze!” I try again, louder this time.

He ignores me, his voice seeming to grow louder.

I quiver, the dark tune weaving some sort of enchantment over my being. I’m practically transfixed on the male below, his voice stirring an unhealthy fascination inside me.

“Craze,” I manage as the Gum Tree releases one of my arms. My left leg almost immediately follows, leaving me hanging haphazardly in the air. “I’m going to fall!” Which I know is the point, but not from this height!

I shriek as my other arm goes free, the branch only loosely around one ankle now.

Shit, shit, shit!

I cover my head as the sticky substance lets go of my final limb, sending me straight toward the ground.

And into a pair of waiting arms.

I startle, surprised to feel Craze’s hold around me again. It’s different from the water, mainly because I’m aware of him now. Of his voice. His smile. His violent cards.

But as he smirks down at me, I don’t feel fear. I just feel… relieved.

Because I didn’t break my neck.

I’m still alive.

And for a moment, I simply breathe.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he says with a twinkle in his dark eyes. Then he winces. “Sorry, I mean, Ailsa .” He frowns. “But you really are beautiful.” A note of reverence underlines his words, his gaze tracking over my features.

“Thank you.” The two words just sort of tumble from my mouth. I’m not sure if I’m thanking him for the compliment or for catching me or for everything thus far. But I… I mean the sentiment.

“No need to thank me, Ailsa. I’ll always catch you,” he promises me, his declaration eliciting a shiver from deep inside. Because that almost sounds like a vow of protection.

Although, I suppose that may also be a threat.

The dark glitter in his irises makes it impossible to tell.

“Why are you helping me?” I ask, studying his expression for any tells. But all I see is the skull makeup, his features utterly masked.

Although, I do catch a slight hint of dimples as he grins at me. “How about a new game, hmm?” He starts walking while he speaks, carrying me as though I weigh nothing at all. “Quid pro quo—I answer one of your questions and you answer one of mine. And you let me lead for a bit.”

I frown. “Lead for a bit in what way?”

“I want to carry you for a while,” he clarifies. “The Hot Chocolate Fields are dangerous, and I don’t want to risk you stepping on a fudge bomb.”

“A…?” I almost repeat that last part but shake my head. Because what’s the use? If I keep echoing every strange thing he says, I’ll simply become a parrot. So rather than ask what the heck a Hot Chocolate Field is, I opt for a different path. “Where are we going?”

“That’s two questions,” he murmurs. “Agree to my game first and I’ll answer one.”

“Why does it have to be a game?”

“That’s now three, but I’ll answer this one as a freebie,” he says, glancing around before taking a large step.

I don’t bother looking down to see what he’s doing. I keep my focus on him and not the subtle tic in his jaw.

“Games are enjoyable,” he tells me. “But honestly, I want to play this one so I can get to know you better.”

“Why?” I ask, baffled by this man. “Why me?”

“That’s another question, Ailsa. I believe you owe me an answer first.”

“I haven’t agreed to your game,” I point out.

“Which is why I’m not obligated to respond to any of your inquiries,” he returns with another smile. “So the choice is yours. Do you want to play a game with me or not?”