Snippet #1951916

Pan stared blankly into the glowing portal. His hands were clasped together in front of him. His posture was stiff and still. He watched as his sister, Lissa, bravely went through first. As she vanished into the blinding light, there was cheering all around. Pan looked around him. It looked like every fairy in the kingdom had gathered to send them off. This didn't exactly brighten his mood though. It was Pan's turn to step through, but he was not looking forward to this trip at all. As the crowd watched in silence, anxious to see what the prince would do, he just stood there, staring into the light. Every one knew about Pan's rebellious nature, and they knew he opposed this whole idea. There were bets going around that he'd find a way out of this. Naturally, they were all sitting on pins and needles, looking to see if he'd step through, or turn and take flight.

Pan contemplated his next move. The portal was right in front of him, nearly blinding him with it's light. His sister had already stepped through, and he needed to make a decision. But what was he going to do? Run? Hide? Cry and complain until he got his way? None of those choices seemed very dignified. It appeared that he had no choice. He had to go through, though he was in no hurry. And besides, Lissa was already through. And who's going to protect her if he isn't there. He knew things were going to get ugly, and things may even get violent. She couldn't protect herself, not like he could. He had to go through, not for the sake of the kingdom, not for the sake of peace, and not even for the sake of saving face. He had to go through for her.

He could hear his sister call to him. "c’mon, Panny! It’s beautiful out here!" He knew he couldn't keep her waiting much longer.

At last, he made his first step, with the whole kingdom watching. He made another step, closer and closer towards the portal. It was slow and agonizing, but finally, he made it through the portal. The kingdom cheered.

On the other side, the first thing Pan noticed was the sun. Then he could make out the figure of his sister, and then he saw her face looking back at him. That was the only sight he knew that could fill him with joy, true joy. He smiled back at her. "So we're here. No turning back now." He turned to face the portal, but it was already fading away. There really was no turning back. They were stuck there until they could reach some sort of resolution, and he knew it.


Marie crawled onto the shore from the ocean. She was the first of her family to reach it. As she crawled, she could feel her mermaid tail splitting apart into two human-like legs. She's never done this often, but she was excited about it. She began to kick her legs to get the feel for them. It was very different than controlling a tail, and walking on dry land was very different than swimming. She almost felt like an infant as she stood and tried to stand herself up straight, but she eventually got the feel of it. The island they were now on was a small island with no life and only a couple of trees. In the middle of it was a big glowing portal. She knew she was in the right place. It was smart to place the portal on this nearby island than to have it appear in their home at the bottom of the sea so that they can get accustomed to their legs and get a fresh change of clothes before arriving on the island.

Speaking of which, on the island, Marie found two bags, one with her name, and one with her brother's. She opened up hers and found a set of dry clothes. She was so excited. She'd never had to put on clothes before. The most she'd ever worn was a bra fashioned from seashells and kelp. She immediately put on the clothes, pants and shirt, and then ran through the portal without waiting for the others. They had already said their good byes earlier, and Marie was looking forward to seeing her new temporary home.

When she stepped through, she landed on the beach. She looked around her. It was beautiful. The sun, the beach, and of course, the mansion itself. "This is wonderful!" She shouted. "We get to live here?" She asked, unsure if her brother was right behind her. She knew Vincent was a bit apprehensive about this whole thing, but she had hoped he would change his mind after seeing the place. As for herself, she couldn't be more excited. This whole island was full of new things and new people. It was her greatest fantasy come true. She looked up ahead, and could already see several people arriving through portals and heading towards the house. She wanted to rush over and introduce herself to all of them at once, but decided she needed to wait for her brother.