Story by u/PubSociology

"I see four vivid kingdoms," said the Queen of Clubs to the Puffin Knight, bound and guarded by soldiers at her feet, "each connected through love and violence; through visions and stories." Her voice echoed in the open space of the throne room, and shivers ran down the spines of all who heard her cryptic pronouncement.

"This moment marks a nexus… where kingdoms will clash, fortunes will rise and fall, and great loves will die… or come into being…."

It was known by all that the Queen of Clubs hailed from a foreign land--of soothsayers and sorcerers--that she came to the Kingdom of Clubs as a spoil of war, enamored by the battle prowess of the fearsome warrior King, the ruler of the land of clubs whom she now called husband. Now, as she stood considering the fate of the Puffin Knight, her eyes seemed to glow with a dark magic, as if reading beyond the here and now.

The Puffin Knight cowered before the mysterious queen, his breath held, waiting for her to continue in her judgement.

The Queen gave a small shake and seemed to return to herself. She looked down to the knight who sat kneeling in front of her. "You have been charged with a failure in your duties, with allowing a prisoner of the King to escape our dungeon keep…"

Hearing the words, the Puffin Knight thought back to the prisoner--an unkempt knave of a foreign realm, who had seemed harmless enough when he first set eyes on her. She had been brought in shackles to the castle dungeon where the Puffin Knight stood guard. As the soldiers shoved her into her cell, she shared a brief moment of eye contact with the Puffin Knight, flashed above her shaded glasses. A momentary smirk crossed her face, before the barred door had clanged shut behind her.

"Under your watch," continued the Queen, "this prisoner laid waste to our dungeon, cracking the very foundations of our castle and plundering the King's own treasure room before disappearing into the night…"

"Hey Bird Head!," the prisoner had said. "Do you want to see a magic trick?" The Puffin Knight had maintained his composure, remaining silent as he glanced to see what the prisoner was up to. Even as he did so, one eye remained fixed on the passageways ahead of him--something that had been hardwired into him from his many months of training.

In the cell, the scrawny young woman had held up both her hands, showing them to be empty. She placed her thumbs one atop the other, keeping her fingers splayed to make the shape of a bird.

"In the kingdom of Diamante, where I am from," she said, that strange smirk creeping back onto her face, "there is a story of a magical goose…" She began to flutter her fingers like flapping wings. "And it is said that when this goose is spooked," she spread her hands, once again, palms open and empty, "it produces a golden egg!" Saying this, she made an elaborate flourish with her right hand, pointing to it with her left, and produced what appeared to be a small bean.

The Puffin Knight couldn't help but become interested, turning to look into the cell at the disheveled, yet ever-confident prisoner.

"Years ago, this goose was taken from its home, captured by a warrior king who brought it back to his castle…" The young woman set the bean on the floor and surrounded it with four walls of dirt. "He kept it in his treasure room." She scooped up a final handful of dirt, holding it above the four walls and the bean. "…A treasure room that was said to be one…," she let a small amount of dirt fall from her hand onto the bean, "…two…," more dirt fell, "...three floors above the dungeon cells…." She opened her hand fully, letting the rest of the dirt fall.

"…where we happen to be, right... this... moment!…."

The Puffin Knight had felt swept up in this strange story, found himself squinting in to see what the young woman was doing.

She looked up at him, flashing that smirking smile. "My name is Jaclyn, by the way. And I'm super digging your outfit!" She looked back to the pile of dirt. "Please excuse me for being crass…," she said, and spit onto the pile of dirt.

"T-Thomas," stuttered the Puffin Knight, in something of a daze. "My name is…."

At this moment, the ground began to rumble. In the cell, the prisoner stepped back, as something small and green began to emerge out of the spot where the bean had been buried. At first it was only a tiny leaf, then a small stem, but quickly it became a branch, then a trunk. In a loud boom, a giant beanstalk erupted from the ground, reaching the ceiling in seconds and breaking through into the floors above. The Puffin Knight ran to the cell, but already the beanstalk blocked his progress. He saw the prisoner grab a branch of the growing stalk and watched as she was lifted into the air.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Thomas," she said, as she disappeared into the floors above. "I hope we meet again...in different circumstances, of course!" The Puffin Knight stood for a moment in shock, hearing the faint sound of Jaclyn's voice far above him, "I've got to get me one of those helmets...," then he snapped back to his senses and ran to alert the other guards.

The Knight's recollection of these events was interrupted when the Queen spoke once more. "You have been charged with a failure in your duties... But I see in this matter a greater story unfolding, one that a boy such as yourself could do little to keep at bay." She paused, squinting down at the Puffin Knight. "Indeed, you may very well play some part in this...." She paused again before continuing, "Among the items that were stolen were artifacts of importance to each of the four kingdoms of this realm. Their re-emergence after so many years of being forgotten will have grave consequences for the people of these lands. And so... as recompense, perhaps, for your "failure", if that is indeed what it was, I ask that you commit yourself once more to your kingdom and to all kingdoms. I ask that you quest to find this knave of Diamante, and to once more secure the treasures she uncovered.

Story by u/noirclothings

“Oh what a day“ I thought, collapsing on to my seat, my backpack next to me. Slowly the train started to move, and I inhaled deeply. The usual smell of plastic and to many bodies in one place. The exact same smell my day had started with. Actually, if I thought back, the day had started quite well, with me not missing my station although I had been deeply stuck in my head. And like that I even arrived at school on time. What still hadn’t stopped my class teacher Mr. Storn to yell at me later in the day. And me imagining tiny little people shooting with crossbows at him, climbing up with grappling hooks or a warlock shooting spells at him made me laugh in the middle of him shouting at me didn’t make it better at all. It resulted, as usually, in two hours detention after school. Two hours of sitting in a windowless room and pretending to listen to a motivation and discipline program video. But today Mr. Storn decided to give me a personal lecture. Usually, detention meant making up my own TV-program instead of the Video or letting all the walls collapse in my mind leading to a hectic pursuit through school. But today there was only an angry looking Mr. Storn leaning over my desk lecturing me for two straight hours. Or actually it had been two and a half hours, cause midway through he decided I didn’t look interested enough, therefore getting an extra half hour for me to pretend listening to him.

But now it was over, I was heading home, and nothing was stopping me from reading the whole rest of the afternoon. Well actually I had homework to do, but that could wait. I was in the middle of making up an excuse for not having my homework

when abruptly the train came to an abrupt halt, and I found myself flying towards the monitor that showed the next approaching stations. “Guess I don’t need an excuse now anymore” I thought, as the monitor vanished right in front of my eyes, and I crashed down to the floor. “Ouch, that hurt, what the fuck happened?” It hurt a bit on my shoulder when I stood up and something had to be terribly wrong with my vision, because I couldn’t see the monitor anymore, nor the lamps, nor anything else electric. Also, the plastic of the seats started fading away and everything was slightly tinted green. But what shocked me the most, was the utter silence. Of course, I couldn’t hear the train anymore, aa sist stood still, but also the car noises where gone, no people shouting commands, no kids crying, nothing. Therefore, I could hear birds singing beautifully, chipmunks chattering and something that sounded like a moose roaring in the distance, everything sounded much more vibrant and clearer. As I looked outside the window I realized, where the green tint was coming from. The train was surprisedly standing in the middle of a prospering forest. The trees outside the windows shone in a bright green with yellow flowers on soft looking patches of moss and grass, golden rays of light darting through the roof of leaves that were full of red apples and purple plums, pink dragonflies zooming through the air.

Still stunned by the scenery I began walking around, exploring the wagon and shooting looks outside. It was just then, when I realized what else was missing… all the people I had seen before were gone. In the surprise before I hadn’t realized it, but the lady with her kid demanding an ice cream, the boy looking like he played football and even the girl that had, I really do not know why, smiled at me… all gone. I was all alone now. Or actually not all alone. As I wandered farther through the train, I could hear some strange noises. It sounded like somebody humming a song and thrumming on an odd sounding guitar. But I could see no one. There was nobody else in this train, or at least I thought so. Until I spotted him. A tiny little guy sitting on a tree that suddenly grew in the middle of the wagon. A tiny little guy that looked kinda emo, despite being dressed in bright and colorful clothes. With a lyra in his hand he sat there and sometimes I could even hear some words coming from his mouth “you said you don’t love me no more. That made me feel very…” I could hear, and after that some wearily sounding “no no no, that’s not it” “made my heart…” and after a while “Hmm, maybe…” “You said you don’t love me no more. Now my heart is feeling sore.” “Yeah, that’s better”

I was just about to ask him who he was, when he, with panic on his face, looked up, not at me, but out of the window, let out a little shriek of fear and disappeared through a hole in the roof. And then I could hear it, see it too. First there was only a distant sound, swelling up and down. Sounding like a marching song, not the boy scout type, more of an army marching song, without melody, only rhythm. Sounding dark and threatening, bringing back memories of fear and hatred I didn’t know I had. And then the colors started to fade. The bright ones of the forest started diminishing, leaving only a grayish, sad looking lump of wood and leaves. I just stood there, unable to move, to hide, well aware of the danger that came closer but frozen in place. I knew I’d be doomed if I didn’t hide from whatever was coming towards me, but I just wasn’t able to do anything. Could. Not. Move.

Until I heard a quiet hushing sound and a voice whisper in an incredibly beautiful melody “What in Spades name are you doing? Go hide yourself” the soothing sound of these rather harsh words made me flinch and I could finally move again. I turned my head from where the voice had come and found myself looking at a young man, whose clothes were still colorful despite everything else being gray. He had a harp over his back, wore glasses and a hoodie like, colorful robe and looked at me sternly “Come and hide now!” I slipped behind the tree where he stood and quietly asked “Who are you?” ”I’m Jack” he whispered back “Jack Diamond” “Jack what? And who or what is this out there?” “You really have no idea what’*s going on, right?” He said. My answer was a stuttered “N-no, not really” He sighed. “Well then… My name is Jack of the family of Diamond. We are storytellers, and musicians, actors and singers. We are nomads driving from place to place, enlightening people’s minds with our art. Some people might call us poor because we live in tents, but our wealth consist of other things. Our stories and legends make us richer than any gold could make us. We brighten up the world when we come to small villages and entertain the people. I am the grandson of King Diamond. His real name is Kinigan, but everybody is calling him “King” he is the one telling all the legends” And I tell you, he knows bloody every legend you can imagine. When he tells a story it feels so real, that he could make you fly like a goose if he wanted to. He is awesome. And then there is his daughter Quamile Diamond, our actress, my mother. At the moment we are camping in the next town, I just went to the forest to find some inspiration for a new song.” ”And who or what is this outside?” I asked Jack with a thin voice. “Hah” he responded “This is the kingdom of the club family with their army. The most cruel, selfish and heartless family you could imagine. Always on war, always fighting, trying to enlarge their power and territory. At the moment they are on a venture to capture aces. They already got two, the ace of the Hearts family and ours… the ace of Diamond. But at least the Heart family was able to purloin the ace of the Club family themselves, that only prevents them from getting their hands on the ace of the mystical family of spades. And this would give” “But what are aces anyway?” I asked, my head feeling deep fried. Jack sent me a flabbergasted look “You don’t even know what aces are?” I shook my head. “Hm well, the aces are kind of magical artefacts, one for each of the four ancient and noble families, Spade, Club, Heart and mine, Diamond. They each represent their families trades and natures. Karl Club, the king of the Club kingdom wants to use all four aces to gain complete control. Have you seen the colors fade and sound get hollow when they came?” I nodded “This is what happens when you use even one ace in the wrong way. They use they ace of hearts to drain power and energy from their surroundings, usually it would bring love and joy into the world, but not in their hands.” Just as he said this, the colors came back, birds started to sing again and the menacing sounds of the army faded away. ”Come on, we’ll go back to town and I’ll introduce you to the Diamond family.” He stepped out of our hiding place, whistled a short tune and soon after a goose came walking towards us. “This is Blue, also a member of our family” he introduced the goose and he scratched her back. “Come on, let’s go” and he started climbing out of the wagon.

We both weren’t talking much as we walked towards town, I had enough to think about. Only Blue snickered from time to time, exploring everything next to the dirt path we walked on.

As we came closer to town the path started to become bigger more and more people shared our way. As we were in front of the of the walls that guarded the town, the street was full and buzzing like a beehive. I was struggling to stay behind Jack and Blue now sat on his shoulders. We made a little stop at the marketplace and while Jack haggled about the price for some apples at a market stand, I looked around, watching my surroundings with big eyes. There were people everywhere. Bargaining about food and tools, laughing about jokes, sitting on the walls, fighting, talking, stealing, buying, living. As my gaze wandered, I suddenly felt a strange sense of doom. I was looking at a small alleyway and from there, right in the shadows a boy was staring back at me. Dressed in mystical ornamented clothes and weirdly holding a card with an eye on it over the left part of his face. “Jack, who is that? There in the dark alleyway?” I hissed to Jack who just came back to me with some apples in his hands. “Huh? There is nobody there, it is empty, are you okay?” ”Wait what, you can’t see him?” I responded flabbergasted. “Over there in the shadow, he is starring right at us” I told as suddenly, the boy turned around and disappeared in the shadows. “Oh, now he left. That was super weird, he had a card held over his left eye the whole time. But why couldn’t you see him?” I was just turning back to Jack as I heard the sound of apples falling to the ground. “You saw WHAT???” Jack asked me nearly as flabbergasted as me before. “Well, there was a boy in that dark alleyway. Ornamented clothes, relatively short hair and a card with an eye on it in front of his left eye.” I responded. “That can’t be possible, I, they’ve been gone, no that can’t be real” He mumbled to himself. “What, can you please tell me who that was?” Jack frowned “Well, as I told you, there are four families… what I didn’t tell you is, that one of these families, the Spade family is gone. At one point in time, they just vanished and where never seen again. Only sometimes people say that they’ve seen them. The boy you saw was the prince of the spade family. He lost his eye while performing dark wizardry, that is why he has the card. People believe the Spades left to guard our kingdoms and are mysteriously changing the path of our history with magic, only rarely interfering, but often watching. I absolutely do not know what that means, that you can see him. Come on, let us see if we can follow him.” And Jack started running towards the alleyway. I followed him when suddenly an arrow came flying out of the dark...
“Approaching: Kings Cross Station” said a soft voice from the speakers. Darn, my station. That had ripped me right out of the story. But I wasn’t angry, not at all. Cause I knew I could go back…

Back to the Vivid Kingdoms in my head.

Vivid Kingdoms for me could be another word for creativity, fantasy. We all have Vivid Kingdoms in our head and the product of these is what we call art. Whether these are stories, songs, illustrations or any other form of letting these Vivid Kingdoms come to live outside of our own head. Without these Vivid Kingdoms there would be no art.

Vivid Kingdoms is fantasy.

Vivid Kingdoms is creativity.

 Jaqueline of Diamonds - By u/EyesofCy

Jaqueline-of-all-Trades was having serious concerns she was going to become of-No-Trades when the two ravens interrupted her on the way home from the market. She hesitated in the middle of the winding dirt path with these two knee-high birds blocking her way. Their beaks were as big as each of her hands which was quite intimidating despite the very cute noises they were making with them.

The birds hopped around making elaborate displays and she got the odd feeling they wanted her to follow them. Tramping off through the woods after a pair of birds did not sound appealing. Returning home empty handed sounded less appealing. She eyed up the size of the birds, this time considering them for how much meat they would make. She shrugged and slid the slingshot out of her leather belt. The ravens flapped their wings angrily and swooped at her in warning before landing in front of her again. “Hoooooooookay, friends, message received,” she said out loud while tucking the slingshot away.

One of the ravens hopped a few steps off the path, in what was almost but not quite entirely the wrong direction for home. She took a step toward the bird on the path and it snapped it’s beak in the direction of her well worn leather boots. She stepped back toward the other bird and it hopped a few paces away again, as if leading her. She sighed and followed, reluctant but also curious.

Just as she was starting to consider forcing her way through the birds and going home she heard the shouting. The raven in front turned it’s head to look at her in that side-eye considering way that only birds and particularly clever women could pull off. It nodded in way that somehow conveyed “Yes, dummy, that’s where we’re going.” Jaqueline gave a wry frown, condescending looks from a bird was on point for how the rest of her day had gone. It sounded like the noise was coming from somewhere by the old dried up well.

“Look, responding to shouts in the forest just before nightfall is not exactly risk-free behavior,” she said to the birds. “I don’t fancy being jumped by bandits tonight, if it’s all the same to you.” The raven hopped right up to her boot and gently tugged on the rim with it’s beak, pulling her toward the shouting. “Okay, okay,” she whispered, “At least let me sneak up to see what’s going on.” The raven dipped its head in what looked like understanding.

Jaqueline crept up to the commotion to find the shouting man hanging upside down from a tree by his ankles. The ravens flew and landed on the branch by the steel chains binding the old man. He lifted his arms to pull his long white beard out of his eyes before lifting his head to see the birds above him.

“Tell me you’ve brought help, little ones.” His voice cracked, dry and painful from shouting.

“They did.” Jaqueline stepped forward, out of the bushes she was using for cover. The man tried to squirm in a way to see her but clearly struggled against pain.

“Forgive me, kind stranger, but I require some assistance in getting down from here.”

She made her way closer, stepping carefully with a hunter’s instinct, to eyeball the snare trap. “That’s a nightshade trap.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed,” he said dryly, “I didn’t realize they had made it into these lands, much to my current misfortune it’s fair to say.”

Jaqueline wound her way around the thick trunk of the tree until she found a climbing path. She nimbly made her way up to the chains and looked for the latching mechanism. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she mumbled to herself.

“What’s wrong?” The man answered.

“Some bloody monster has gone and put a lock on it.”

“Ah, well that would explain why my ravens couldn’t get me down.”

Her eyebrow raised while she slid some hairpins out of her belt pouch, “They’re your birds then?”

“Aye, get me down from here and I’ll make introductions all around.”

“What makes you think I can unlock it?” She said casually while already fiddling around with the pins, feeling the inside of the lock, seeking for the sequence of pokes to pop the lock without a key. She glanced down off the branch to see him hanging there, his feet much too bright of a white. He must have been there for a while.

“The ravens don’t often make mistakes and they brought you.” He replied.

“Hmmm, smart birds then.” The lock snapped open so she could get to the latch. She considered how best to get him down. “I’d actually really appreciate it if you could, uhm, not mention this particular skill to anyone. Could get me in a bit of trouble and all.”

“I imagine,” he wheezed in way that implied he was accustomed to being more mysterious than this vulnerable state would lead one to believe.

“Alright, my good dude, you’ve got a bit of a ‘pick your poison’ choice to make.”

“Is this the part where you want a reward for letting me down? Because I do not have much but I am happy to share what little I do.” The old man asked her.

“Nope, I’m just not sure if I should try to lower you to the ground or pull you up to me. I think there is a fair chance it’s going to go poorly either way. Mostly I think it might be a choice between falling on the ground where you are versus falling on the ground over there by the base of the trunk.” Jaqueline summarized for him.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to climb, probably best to try to lower me down.”

“Don’t get mad if I drop you partway down! I’ll try not to, of course, but best to go limp if I do. Hurts less that way.”

It was a rough landing for the old man but far better than she’d expected. He lay there, spread eagle in his wanderer’s robes wiggling his limbs trying to bring the feeling back into them. She stepped closer to look at his face and saw one unnaturally closed eye, sunken in like only an empty socket could do.

“If you’ll allow me just a moment to rest, perhaps you could help me over to my meager camp? There is meat to roast over the fire and drink to ease the day’s labors.” The ravens landed gracefully to nuzzle against their man-friend, sidling up to nestle in to his neck while rubbing their heads against his cheeks and jaw. She had never seen anything like it before.

“Who are you?” She said in amazement.

“The wandering bard is known by many names.”

“That’s a rubbish answer, isn’t it?” She asked, leaning into his reluctance.

“You could ask my name as your boon but I’d caution you to wait for one that will suit you better. Please, help me now to my camp. We will eat.”

Jaqueline said nothing but helped him up, having to do the bulk of the work for him. He leaned heavily on her but she half propped him up and half dragged him toward the camp he signaled toward. The day’s light was dwindling and her mother would be concerned after dark. She hauled him as quickly as she could to his cold fire pit next to the crumbling remains of the old well. There was a small tent that eased her concerns about leaving an old man alone and injured in the woods. “I’m going to get this fire started for you but then I’ve got to go,” she said, already striking the flint she pulled from her bag.

“Could you bring me the wine from my tent, kind lass?” He gestured toward the shelter. It was nicer inside than she expected, filled with soft furs and more things than he looked capable of carrying on his own. She found the wine and the small gathering bag next to it filled with berries and other fresh foods. She brought them to the old man and fed the small fire.

“If you stay a bit longer there will be meat to cook,” the man offered, rubbing his legs to get the blood flowing. The color had come rushing back to his feet making them look much too red now but he’d probably be ok in a little while. She’d seen much worse. So had he by the looks of his eye.

“My mother will be concerned about me when night falls full,” she explained.

“Will she forgive you for a backpack full of food?” He asked, “The dogs will bring plenty for us to share.”

“The dogs?” Jaqueline questioned, “What dogs?”

“Ah yes, introductions! Hungry and Greedy are the pups, they’ll be back soon with a fresh kill. The ravens you’ve met - Thought and Memory. As for me, just call me Wanderer.”

“I’m Jaqueline.”

A fierce howl broke the quiet buzz of the woods preparing for night. “Ah, that will be them. Now don’t be alarmed, lass, they’re big pups but they won’t harm ye when you’re with me.”

She side-eyed him something hard but said nothing. She continued to build up the fire and he continued to rub life back into his arms and legs. She yelped when the two bigger than usual wolves dragged a deer up to the Wanderer. “Pups indeed” she muttered under her breath. The wolves sat around the fire like they were used to having guests and didn’t pay her much mind. That was fine with her.

The Wanderer set to skinning the deer and placing some very nice cuts in a backpack for her as promised while slapping some others on a spit over the fire.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the offered bag, “It’s been hard on us since my Pa died.”

“I’m sorry to hear, lass, was it a warrior’s death at least?”

“Plague got him in the end, but he fought it with his last breath. He didn’t want me to have to grow up yet.” She hated talking about it, hated feeling anything inside when she did - but this strange man had even stranger magics and resources, and sometimes pity increased generosity.

His one eye looked her over like it could see more than everyone else, like he could see more to her than she was saying. He seemed to make up his mind about something and gestured toward the fire. “Sit, you will eat and I will give you a gift. Perhaps one that will grow up faster than you.” He dragged some coals flat and put a pan on them. He drizzled some oil in the pan and sprinkled in some garlic before pulling a dull green fruit from his satchel. He quickly sliced it and threw it in the pan to fry. He withdrew another bottle from his bag, a much fancier bottle, embellished with elaborate designs and tiny jewels. He poured a rich amber liquid into a small goblet and handed it to Jaqueline. “This here is a mead the likes of which you’ve never tasted before and will never taste again. Drink slowly and savor the gifts of my family. Let it wrap around your tongue like poetry and sing to you sweet melodies.” He poured a matching goblet for himself and pulled the pan off the fire.

Jaqueline took a small sip and then her mind exploded. The taste was so exquisitely perfect that it felt like feeling everything, like all there ever was, all at once. It was like all of the colors and emotions and flavors and scents and touches that ever existed were all there in her mind at once. She tried to focus on her mouth, wrapping her tongue around the liquid in something near ecstasy.

When the moment passed she found the Wanderer staring at her with his unnerving single eye. “Well that’s certainly uncomfortably delicious.” She said, keeping her face still and emotionless.

“Aye, packs a right punch up front.” He handed her a small tin plate of little round chips, fried to a dull yellow brown. She popped one in her mouth and stared right back at the old man. It had the consistency of the market potato fries but a lighter, sweeter taste that played off the garlic.

“I’ve one last gift for ye, lass, but it comes with instructions,” He handed her a tiny seed sack, “Take these three seeds and plant them under the full moon’s light. I can’t say what will grow, only that it will be bigger than any tree in the forest and it will call to you like Yggdrasil calls to me. The branches will lead you to a new fate.”

She moved to open the little bag but he reached forward to stop her. “Wait till the full moon’s light. Just in case. Now you must return to your mother.” He wrapped some scraps around a stick, creating a quick torch. “I will send Memory to guide you through the woods, he’s more comforting than the pups but just as good protection.”

Jaqueline followed the bird back to the path and quickly made her way home. The soft glow from the windows welcomed her over the last hill before home. It wasn’t much, just a small cottage on a small patch of farm, but it was home. She was relieved to be returning with a bag full of meat, the deer were scant this year from over hunting during the plague.

Her mother bustled over as soon as she opened the door. “Oh thank the stars, you’re alright!” She gathered Jaqueline up in a hug, only then noticing the new backpack. “And you found work!” She exclaimed, excitedly helping her remove it. She looked inside and her face lit up, “Tell me everything!”

She recounted the days events for her mother while they prepped the meat for storage. This meant rerouting the solar generator to the meat locker again, something they hadn’t had to do since Pa died, and dividing the cuts between what they would eat and what they could sell at market. They worked by firelight, conserving energy from their aging battery to make sure the food would keep.

The full moon didn’t take long to arrive and Jaqueline had tenderly prepared a spot in the corner of the farm for the seeds. The meat alone had made them more money than they had seen since Pa, so Jaqueline was anxious to see what would come of the Wanderer’s seeds. Her mother had drifted off to sleep in front of the fireplace but she didn’t wake her. Something felt right about doing this alone, almost sacred.

She knelt by the patch of fresh soil she had prepared and let the moon shine on her face for moment before opening the tiny bag of seeds. She poured it onto her hand and three little purple beans fell into her palm. She looked at them and saw each one had a tiny rune carved into it. She whispered to the beans “Please, help me provide for my mom. I’m not doing good enough.” She choked back tears and planted the seeds with the same tenderness she had tucked her father into bed for the last time.

She waited for a moment but nothing happened. She sat down in the moonlight and tried to think of all the happy memories of her father, the times they went scavenging in the old ruins for parts to rebuild the solar grid, the way he taught her to read over picnics in the wilds from books they found from the old world, and took her on the traveling caravan of merchants before anybody else thought she was old enough. The happy memories that cut like a knife to the heart. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants and went inside to tuck her mother into bed.

She expected something to have happened by morning but nothing grew while she slept. It was silly, of course, nothing grew overnight. Jaqueline laughed at herself and got on with her day. It wasn’t until that evening during dinner when something happened. The ground rumbled and everything started to rattle in place slightly. They looked at each other and ran outside where they could see the moon shining clearly on a beanstalk as thick as she was growing up higher than she could see, right into the clouds. They stood and watched it grow higher and thicker but there wasn’t much to do about it and it was kind of boring watching a plant grow, no matter how spectacularly fast.

They finished dinner and went out to watch it grow some more. It was three times as thick as any tree in the forest and had sprouted bean pods of all different varieties but none of them were like the little purple ones that grew this behemoth. Her mother danced around harvesting the food singing “Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you pick the more you’ll get in loot!” Jaqueline laughed and joined in trying to get as much food as they could before it grew out of reach.

They picked beans until they were too tired to do anything but collapse into their beds. In the morning they found the stalk had stopped growing but there were still plenty of beans to harvest. Jaqueline spent the day working her way up the stalk, climbing higher and higher finding rarer and more exotic beans the further up she went. She kept hoping one of the pods would have the little purple seeds but none did. She climbed down with another full bag and found her mother worrying in circles, shouting up to her before she was all the way down.

“I’ve been shouting for you, why didn’t you answer?” Her mother fretted.

“I couldn’t hear you. I was up pretty high. I’ve never even seen some of these kinds before, no one has, I think. Look at this one, it’s like a rainbow!” She pulled it out of her pocket. She intended to plant that one herself.

Her mother was soothed by the thought of all the money they could make and urged Jaqueline to climb as high as she could and getting as many of the rarest kinds as she could. She packed her a lunch and as many bags as she could carry. “Just tie up the bags and toss them off the side when they’re full. We can collect them later when you’ve climbed back down.”

She did as her mother asked and it felt good to climb. The plant was so big and sturdy that it barely felt like she was up that high, if she fell she’d be caught by the twisting vines and leaves well before it became a problem. She climbed all day, sampling the bean pods when she stopped to rest. They were all clearly magic now, and sometimes not even beans. There were gold pebbles and sparkling diamonds, riches beyond anything she had ever seen. She stuffed a bag full and carefully made her way to the outer branches to hurl the bag down to the ground.

She made her way up higher, harvesting exotic and magical fruits growing alongside the bean pods. She grabbed one that looked like what the Wanderer had fried up for her and tucked it in her belt bag. She wanted that one for herself.

She’d filled most of the bags when she hit land above her. She was overcome with a wave of horrible confusion about the direction of gravity, all of a sudden feeling like she had been climbing head-down toward the ground. She clung to the trunk of the stalk until her senses came to their senses and figured out that she wasn’t turned around at all, there really was land above her. She climbed up and found a grassy plain with a forest on the other side and a castle poking up through the trees. She looked behind her and scrambled away from the edge which very clearly gave the appropriate sense of height now that she wasn’t in the branches anymore. The bean stalk climbed higher still but Jaqueline welcomed the idea of walking rather than climbing for a bit.

She looked back towards this new land and saw a path in the distance. She followed the path toward the castle but paused when she met the edge of the forest. There was a lamppost. It wasn’t on, but the sun was still bright in the sky. There were more streetlights in regular intervals through the forest. These weren’t in ruin and disrepair like the ones she sometimes found with her father.

The forest had given the illusion of being larger than it was because the castle was disproportionately large. She walked toward the entrance which was open and unguarded. The door was ten times larger than any man could need and the handle was out of her reach, but the space under the door was just large enough that she could wedge herself under it. Inside was the most opulent display she had ever seen. She shoved her backpack under the door and then herself.

There were sparkling lights of every color reflecting off of bright colors on every surface. Murals covered every surface, showing fantastic impossible creatures doing inexplicable things with shapes that made no sense. Something clicked in Jaqueline’s brain and she could see the bones of the room, how it would age and break down with time to become ruins like the ones she poked through with her father.

She heard a drum beat start and looked around frantically for somewhere to hide. She had just been standing in the middle of this giant room gaping at everything. She tucked herself into a corner and peered out to watch. The drum picked up and another one added to it, complicating the beat.

“FEE FI FO FUM! I SMELL BLOOD NOT FROM THE VIVID KINGDOM. BE HE ALIVE, OR BE HE DEAD, I’LL GRIND HIS BONES TO MAKE MY BREAD.”

Jaqueline couldn’t help but feel that might be directed at her.

“DON’T LISTEN TO HIM, DEARIE! HE JUST THINKS HE’S FUNNY.”

Music started up, the exciting scratchy electronic noises that sometimes squawked out of the Old World tech if Pa could get it working.

“FREAKY-DEAKY FRY! FREAKY-DEAKY FUM! WELCOME TO THE CASTLE OF TEN HUN! BEEN BAKING FOR DAYS, GOT ANCIENT GRAINS ON MY BRAIN!”

A woman appeared through a doorway on the other side of the gigantic entrance hall. Jaqueline’s brain did a back flip again trying to make sense of the size. The woman was the correct size for her surroundings, but that meant she was impossibly large - a giant!

“Come out, dearie, we know you’re here. Sharkboy really can smell you, but we won’t bake you into bread. He’s actually on this vegan kick lately,” the woman was wandering the room looking around for what Jaqueline could only assume was her. “Really, do come out, dinner will be ready soon and you simply must join us!” She pressed herself further into the corner, trying to make herself as small as possible. The woman turned and her gaze fell downward, landing right on Jaqueline. “Oh! Oh my, is that you?” She asked. Jaqueline felt foolish standing up but there was no sense in trying to hide anymore.

“Uh, hello!” She waved feebly at the giantess, who crouched down putting her face close to the floor to get a better look at her. Every one of her teeth was as big as Jaqueline’s head. She smiled, “Hi! I must admit, I did think you would be taller.”

“THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID” the disembodied male voice shouted from the other room.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just like that. I’m Chelsea.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Jaqueline.” She tried to speak loudly without shouting, it felt both like you should and should not shout at a giant. They chatted like that, with Chelsea laying on the floor and Jaqueline standing in front of her, about as tall as her whole head, for a while before Jaqueline could be cajoled into climbing into Chelsea’s hands for a tour of Ten Hun’s castle.

The whole place was like the OId World made new again, in the height of its glory. Electronics everywhere, more than could possibly run off the hacked and scattered remains tinkered together by Jaqueline’s own people. They had lights running before the sun even set here! Jaqueline couldn’t fathom how they could make enough energy to run this place when she hadn’t even seen solar panels or wind turbines outside.

Dinner with giants kept breaking her sense of proportion again, a bowl of stew was bigger than her bed! The other inhabitants of the Vivid Kingdom wandered in and out to meet Jaqueline, dressed in all sorts of styles and colors that were shocking and fascinating to her eyes. The memory of the Wanderer’s mead rushed over her in waves, the colorful clothes and extravagant everything filling her senses. This was the path that old man had set her on.

The giants insisted Jaqueline spend the night, making a bed for her out of doll pillows and blankets. She knew her mother would be frantic with worry but she wasn’t about to make more than half a day’s climb in the dark while exhausted.

Morning’s light woke her and she followed the sound of voices to overhear the giantess bickering with someone, “No, no, that’s too big - she’ll never be able to carry it.

“I didn’t expect her to be so taaaaaainnnny,” the man’s voice put a strange emphasis on the last word.

“Peter, I’ve been thinking we’re lucky a little one showed up first. Like, what if one of the murals shows up?” Chelsea said.

“Oh. I did not think of that.” Peter said with awkward surprise.

Jaqueline shouted as she came around the corner to make her presence known, “GOOD MORNING, GIANTS!”

Chelsea and Peter froze, looking around for her to make sure they didn’t step on her. Chelsea smiled when she found her and kneeled down to scoop her up. “Good morning! This is my husband Peter, he only returned early this morning and we didn’t want to wake you.”

Peter extended his hand like he wanted to shake and Jaqueline grabbed his pointer finger and giggled. “Nice to meet you!” He said smiling and moving his head all around to inspect her.

“What were you talking about before?” She asked him.

“Oh. I, um, well I painted you. And then you showed up. Chelsea is wondering if the bigger things I painted are going to show up bigger than expected.”

“What do you mean you painted me?” She said, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m an artist and.. it’s kind of a long story, actually. But I ended up helping a goddess in disguise and she put magic into my paintings that are making them become real. The world is growing and expanding like the cosmos, it’s bonkers, man!”

“Obviously that’s crazy,” Jaqueline said, “but I climbed a giant magic beanstalk to a land of giants so there’s not much I can say at this point.”

“Peter, I absolutely forbid you to climb down that beanstalk.” Chelsea interrupted. “We all know how that fairytale ends!”

“Fair enough, wifey.” Peter agreed. “Oh! Jaqueline, come look at these gifts and see what you’d like to take home with you. We’ve been trying to find cool stuff to help you since I gave you such a hard backstory.”

They took her to the dining table again which had a plate the size of a swimming pool of leftover breakfast for her to eat. Next to that was a pile of things almost but not quite appropriately sized for Jaqueline, including a goose that was waddling around in a golden cage.

“I was raiding the dollhouse when Peter got home,” Chelsea explained, “and that’s when he had the idea to paint you up some better gifts.”

“Check this out, it’s so dope!” Peter exclaimed. He used his pointer finger and thumb to gently pick up a tiny harp and placed it next to Jaqueline. “You gotta play this next to the goose, it’s super cool.”

She plucked a few strings and the goose started wiggling it’s butt, not quite dancing. The harp shook itself a little and said “You’re terrible at this! Let me do it.” Jaqueline jumped and turned the harp around to see a tiny little face had appeared on the front.

“Oh! Hello!” She said to the harp, which began to play on its own. Peter and Chelsea had their faces up close to try and see the tiny scene in front of them. The goose began to wiggle and dance to the harp and then popped out a golden egg!

“Oh, yeah, my mother will definitely like that! No doubt!” Jaqueline said loudly to no one in particular.

Peter gently pinched up a pile of dark cloth and offered it her. “Try this on. I don’t know what it will do, I just wanted to paint a magic hood.”

Jaqueline turned it over in her hands. The cloth looked a plain enough green at first glance but if you looked closely you could see iridescent shimmers poking through. It was more of a cowl than just a hood, but she slipped it over her head and put the hood up. “How do I look?” She turned to the giant faces still pressed in close to see her.

“Um, it’s kind of hard to tell but I think you look like a dude now.” Peter‘s voice raised at the end like it was a question. She looked down at herself but didn’t see anything different. She walked over to the pile of dollhouse stuff Chelsea had put together and found a mirror. The face that looked back at her was more like a young man, even a hint of light stubble around her jaw line. She reached up to feel her cheek but it was smooth as ever. She pulled her shirt forward to look down at her chest and saw everything was still in order. “I think it’s just an illusion. I still look like me not in the mirror.”

“Wait hol’ up, I have an idea.” Peter whipped out a flat rectangular slab from his back pocket and aimed the back of it at her. He poked the side of the slab facing him and then said “Ok, I’m zoomed in and recording. Take the hood off now.” She did and he exclaimed “Woah, that’s crazy!” He fiddled with it again and then turned it around to show Jacqueline. It was a screen showing video of her looking like a guy and then taking the hood off and being herself again.

“That’s a pretty handy disguise.” She said approvingly.

They all had a relaxing morning of chatting before Peter and Chelsea carried Jaqueline back to the beanstalk. They filled her bag with tiny portions of giant sized food and carefully crafted a pack to carry the goose down with her. They sent her off with promises to come back for a visit soon.

You can’t always give someone a Happy Ever After, but sometimes you can set them up for a Happy Ever Now.