Beyond the KingdomsAn Author's Odyssey

Emmerich sat quietly in his seat, trying to inch away from the Masked Man. He didn't want to get too close to the dangerous and possibly psychopathic man. Luckily, he was too busy glaring at Bree to notice.

He had been cramped in the small plane for hours, and he was starting to feel sleepy but he forced himself to be awake. He also felt hungry, but the more he thought about the emptiness in his stomach, the hungrier he became until it became almost unbearable. It felt like it was deliberately torturing him.

He missed home, he missed his mother, he missed his warm bed and clean sheets. Once upon a time, Emmerich would have given anything for an adventure, but now, he would give everything just to go back home. Just thinking about his mother made tears of guilt form in his eyes.

Bree lost the staring contest, only because she noticed Emmerich was crying. The Masked Man smirked triumphantly but stopped when he noticed Bree wasn't focusing on him. He spun around and put on his evil grin, facing the child. Tears were spilling out of his eyes rapidly but he didn't seem to care. He wiped them away hastily and glared defiantly at the Masked Man.

"You monster!" he sobbed angrily. "Not only you threaten me, but you threaten my friends too! Why will you do that? Do you even have any feelings?" He went as far as to pointing at the Masked Man accusingly. "Ich..." Emmerich gulped, then screamed loudly, "Ich hasse Sie! (I hate you!)"

Emmerich's scream echoed around the plane. As the echo faded, the message sunk in. Bree and Cornelia, who knew a bit German, understood. The Masked Man was surprised that the kid was yelling at him in a foreign language, but he knew from his tone that the message was offensive. The whole plane was eerily silent after Emmerich's outburst. The only sound was Emmerich's sniffs, and he was glaring at the Masked Man through his tears.

The Masked Man's face darkened, Emmerich continued to glare at him but the expression in his eyes quickly changed to fear as the Masked Man raised an arm.

"HEY!" Bree yelled, but she was too late.

SLAP!

Emmerich stared at the Masked Man in shock as his hand slowly travelled up to his cheek, gingerly massaging the red mark. The Masked Man shook his hand as if it was something he did everyday.

Something snapped inside Bree. Instinctively, she tore her seat belt off and lunged for the Masked Man like a tiger pouncing on prey. She lost any logical thoughts she used to have. She screamed, "You son of a-" but then she cut herself off, as she didn't want to expose any rude language to Emmerich, so she punched his face as hard as she could.

It didn't hit his nose as she hoped, but it hit the side of his face. Less than a second later, the Masked Man retaliated, pushing Bree. They continued to wrestle in the middle of the plane, making it rock dangerously.

"You jerk!" Bree hollered, choosing to say the most offensive things she could without cursing. "You spawn of Satan! You miserable excuse for a human!"

"Stop it!" Cornelia yelled, eyebrows furrowed. She was having an even harder time controlling the plane as she jerked the controls. Emmerich stared at them, wide eyed. This wasn't the Bree he knew- this was something different, more feral, more violent. Then he remembered Bree was fighting because of him.

Bree pushed the Masked Man back, spun around and jabbed her elbow in his gut. Her long blonde hair whipped the Masked Man in the face. He saw her hair and grabbed a fistful of it, yanking it. Bree yelped and kicked his chest, trying to free her hair from his grasp. As the two struggled, she saw the gun peeking out of his sling. She tried to reach it, but the Masked Man saw what she wanted, and pinned her to the floor.

Emmerich had been staring at them for the past minute, but then he decided if Bree was doing something, he should do something too! He was tired of being the victim. He was tired of people trying to protect him, yet doing nothing himself.

The Masked Man was trying to hold Bree steady, but with one broken arm and the fact that she was fighting with all her might, it was hard to do so. He tried to reach his gun, but Bree was repeatedly kicking him in the face, while screaming, "You overgrown cockroach!"

Cornelia, in charge of flying the plane, was tempted to turn around. But she couldn't, or else she would risk their lives if she didn't control the plane. She prayed that Emmerich and Bree would be safe.

Emmerich inched closer to the Masked Man, horrified yet filled with determination. If he got the gun and dispose it, he couldn't threaten them anymore. Slowly, he stretched out an arm, his hand trembling. The gun was so close, and he was so close to freedom... his fingertips brushed past the surface of the gun-

It was yanked abruptly away from him. Emmerich and Bree gasped as the Masked Man drew his gun from his sling and pointed it to Bree in one swift motion. Emmerich, behind the Masked Man, saw Bree's terrified expression. Then the Masked Man spun around and pointed the gun at Emmerich.

It was no use. The Masked Man had regained control.

After what felt like forever, the plane began its descent. Bree was in charge of landing, and seeing her town made her want to break down and cry. She had only been away from her home for a few weeks but it felt like years. Like Emmerich, she was so close to home but she couldn't go back. She blinked back tears and focused on landing.

It was night time back in the United States, and they all felt a bit jet lagged. Emmerich always wanted to go to the United States, but this wasn't how he wanted to go there. The Masked Man's eyes were gleaming with delight, he was finally reaching his goal.

The moonlight illuminated the houses in the distance. They were landing in a large field. Conner's house was a couple blocks away.

The landing was smoother than Bree's first one. She had a feeling Cornelia was going to clap her proudly on the back, but under the circumstances, she didn't. There was nothing to congratulate about. They had assisted the Masked Man, even if they were forced.

Bree thought she was on the verge of breakdown. She had tried to stay strong for both Emmerich and Cornelia, but sometimes, one can only take so much. Seeing her hometown made memories come to mind. Her parents, her sisters, school, Conner. She saw her tired and pale face in the reflection of the glass. What did I even do... is this even me?

Silently, she exited the plane along with the others.

"This is the place?" the Masked Man asked gruffly.

Bree nodded wordlessly. She had been awake for 24 hours straight, even though fear and survival instincts kept her going, she was nearly falling asleep as they walked to the house. All the way, she was begging please don't let them be there, please don't let them be there. She was in luck, as the house was completely silent and dark.

"But there's no one here." the Masked Man said softly.

Bree knew that this soft voice was more dangerous than him yelling. "I guess they're not home," she said with a shrug, which caught herself by surprise. How could I be so casual in such a situation?

Then she remembered: if the twins and their family weren't there, it meant that they could survive. They could fight the Masked Man. She nearly smiled in relief, it was the first good news she heard in a while.

The Masked Man walked to the window and peered inside. He saw pictures of Alex and Conner and he knew that the blonde girl told the truth.

He pointed the gun at her. "Where does their mother work?"

Bree squinted at him. "You want their mom?" It was weird. With the Bailey twins being the Fairy Godmother's grandchildren, she thought he would want them.

He didn't move. "Just tell."

Bree just glared at him in response.

The Masked Man pointed at Emmerich and mimed slitting his throat.

"Fine." Bree almost growled through her teeth, trying to intimidate the Masked Man by staring at him without blinking.

In 10 hours, Bree and Emmerich went from Germany to the United States to the operating room of Saint Andrew's Children's Hospital. It was at times like these Bree cursed herself for the ability to observe and listen everything. Why did she had to overhear Conner telling his friends where his mom worked?

You actually eavesdrop a lot... especially eavesdropping on Conner... a little voice in Bree's brain whispered to her.

Shut up, she said to the invisible voice. This isn't the time for that!

"Listen," the Masked Man said, pacing back and forth in front of them. "This is what will happen."

"The twins' mother is a nurse. I need for a special operation, a blood transfusion. She will transfer my son's blood into mine until all his blood is in my veins. So basically, I will kill him." the Masked Man said the last sentence so casually, everyone was disgusted.

"Wait," Cornelia asked. "Who's your son?"

Bree looked between the Masked Man and Emmerich and something clicked in her mind. Information whirled in her brain, and her heart beat fast...

"Emmerich isn't my biological son- he was adopted..."

"Should the father learn of his son's existence, the child will be in grave danger..."

"They could cross through the portal without problems because they had magic in their blood! Meaning you and I must have magic in our blood, too! It's the only explanation!"

Little Bo died of a broken heart because the Masked Man didn't love her anymore...

Emmerich wasn't killed by the Masked Man yet because he had some other use for the boy...

Some other use...

"No." Bree whispered, and her face turned completely pale. "No."

"Bree?" Emmerich asked worriedly. Bree's heart broke when she saw that he was still concerned for others when he should be worrying about his own safety.

"I won't let you!" Bree screamed shrilly at the Masked Man. He laughed coldly, malice glinting in his eyes.

"What?" Emmerich and Cornelia looked back and forth between the Masked Man and a hysterical Bree.

"Emmerich..." Bree sniffed. "You're the Masked Man's son."

All colour drained from Emmerich and Cornelia's cheeks. "No..." the old woman muttered.

"You're... my... father?" Emmerich stuttered slowly.

The Masked Man gave a curt nod.

"No..." Emmerich looked down at his hands. That disgusting man was his father... he was a part of him. "NO!"

"You're not my father!" Emmerich shrieked. "We were never family! The only family I have is my mom... not you!"

"Your so-called mother adopted you," the Masked Man said stonily. "Your real mother is Bo Peep- and she's dead."

Emmerich collapsed to the floor. Everything he knew was a lie... his life was a lie. He was never meant to be born... he was a mistake...

"No..." he sobbed to the floor. Cornelia knelt by him and rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"You're... going... to kill... Emmerich." Bree muttered, half to herself. "NO! I don't believe it! I won't believe it! I won't... I won't..." she also collapsed, sobbing hysterically.

The Masked Man smirked coldly. Now those two were broken, they wouldn't try to resist him.

Cornelia stood up and stared at the Masked Man in the eye. She had never been so livid in her whole life. This person was going to kill his son... just for his own personal gain.

The Masked Man pointed his gun at Cornelia. The old woman stood in front of Bree and Emmerich.

"Don't come closer, I'll shoot!" the Masked Man snarled.

"Then shoot!" the old woman retorted angrily. "You are disgusting and pathetic- and you are willing to sacrifice an innocent child for yourself! I hope you burn in Hell!"

The Masked Man placed a finger on the trigger, but Cornelia still glared at him angrily.

"No!" Bree sobbed. After everything that had happened, she couldn't lose Cornelia too...

Just then, footsteps were heard running towards the operating room.