The Northern Kingdom A Choose Your Path Story: Lost in a FairyTale

By Tara Vasser

YOU choose the path!

When your father goes missing, you and your brothers will do anything to find him—including following a mysterious woman down a well found in the woods. On the other side, you find yourself in a fairytale world, and your father cursed by The Winter Queen.  To lift the curse, you and your brothers must scatter to the far reaches of Trueveat Isle to gather three magical leaves. Time is of the essence, and you have seven days to return with the leaf to the well in The Seasonal Forest before your father's cursed state becomes permanent. In this Choose Your Path story, your choices lead Salvatore through the trials of frigid winterscape to retrieve one magical leaf from The Northern Kingdom. Be sure to watch your step, danger lurks around every corner!

And when a deadly fate befalls you, because it most assuredly will, you merely need to choose a different path to continue your adventure!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tara Vasser
• Release date: Mar 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781947882430

Tara Vasser

Tara lives is the frozen north in Minnesota with her wonderful husband and two rambunctious little dudes. She is an engineer during the day, a crazy mom in the afternoon and a wicked writer at night. She enjoys spending her time playing in the dirt when her gardens aren’t covered in snow and listening to a wide variety of music that inspires her writing – sometimes doing both at the same time.    

Book preview

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Look, kid. I’m going to be straight with you here. There’s nothing I can do. There are no signs of forced entry or a struggle. There is no evidence to suggest your dad didn’t just up and leave on his own. Sometimes that happens to people... they just can’t handle things anymore and have to get away for a while.

The detective’s words ring in your ears for what has to be the thousandth time. They plant the tiniest seed of doubt, but you just can’t bring yourself to believe that your dad would leave you and your two brothers without some kind of warning.

Your dad regularly went away on business every couple of weeks, and stayed gone for a week, two at the most. Until you and your brothers hit age eighteen, it was never more than a week. Tomorrow hits the four week mark since his disappearance, well outside the normal range. You tried to explain that to the detective assigned to the case, but judging by the mountain of files on his desk, this wasn’t going to be a priority for him. So, Maksim, Kalem, and yourself decided to do your own digging. Which has turned up jack squat.

The little man on the crosswalk sign flashes white and you take your cue to cross the road. Looking both ways, you step into the crosswalk and roll your eyes. It’s the dead of night and not a single car can be seen in either direction, but the action of looking both ways before crossing is so ingrained it didn’t occur to you not to. You shove your hands deeper into your pockets and step onto the wet pavement. Halfway across, the little man begins flashing, mocking your languorous pace. You’re on your way home from work and in no hurry to enter the apartment. Every moment there seems more dismal than the last. For weeks now, you’ve fallen into a routine of working at the bar until the wee hours of the morning, sleeping in to nearly noon, and then scouring the city chasing down information on your dad’s disappearance. Then doing it all over again the next day, your two brothers doing pretty much the same—sleep, work, look for Dad.

So deep in thought, you splash through a muddy puddle, muttering a curse under your breath. It’s times like these that you think there isn’t any way things could possibly get worse, but then again, you know better than to utter such a thought aloud. Musings like that seem to come true too often for your liking. Turning up the volume on the music blaring through your earbuds, you wipe all thoughts of luck of any kind from your mind, even as you scowl down at your now-wet shoe.

A flash of movement accompanied by a blur of red—somehow bright even in the dim light of the streetlamps—catches your eye, your earlier annoyance morphing to confusion. Now standing on the other side of the street, you glance around for the figure you think you saw, but nothing other than the wind moves in the street.

Heaving out a sigh, you continue the journey homeward.

I must be more exhausted than I thought, if I’m imagining seeing people running around in red cloaks in the middle of the night, you mutter to yourself.

The remainder of the journey to the apartment shared with your father and two brothers is uneventful, but you can’t seem to get the image of the mysteriously cloaked figure out of your mind. Quietly, you enter the apartment, grasping your keys in your palm to keep them from jangling against one another and possibly waking your brothers. Everyone here is exhausted and stretched to the limit, you all need as much sleep as you can get. Creeping silently, you move past Maksim, your younger brother by two minutes, as he lies sprawled on the pull-out couch which serves as his bed when Kalem, the youngest of you three triplets, snores too loudly.

Maksim doesn’t so much as stir as you tip-toe past the living room to the bedrooms. The sound of Kalem’s snoring grows louder the closer you come to the bedroom the three of you share. Your gaze glances to your father’s closed bedroom door, debating if the temptation to get a good night’s sleep in a quiet room outweighs the anxiety of being in Dad’s space. Hesitantly, you decide the cacophony of snores sounding from behind the closed door will be too much to endure, and carefully open the door to the room which doubled as both your dad’s bedroom and study.

Flicking on the overhead light, you take in the room and its scant furnishings. A desk, a bed, and a small dresser wedged into the open closet. With a sigh, you drop your backpack to the floor and strip down to sleep. It won’t do you any good to dig around in Dad’s belongings. You and your brothers had already done that half a million times and never found a single clue as to where he could be. Not a thing. Nada. Either way, it isn’t worth getting yourself worked up over at this time of night, there will be plenty of time to think about it in the morning.

***

Find anything? you ask Maksim when you finally emerge from Dad’s bedroom and pour yourself a cup of coffee in the early hours of the afternoon. It was the same thing you asked every afternoon.

Nada, Maksim answers with a shake of his head. I checked out the bus station like we talked about yesterday, but they didn’t recognize him. Doesn’t surprise me, though. It’s been a month, I doubt they’d remember him.

You nod your head in understanding. Your dad is a pretty average-looking guy who never really stood out in a crowd.

Kalem shuffles into the kitchen from the bathroom, stretching as he lets out a yawn accompanied by what could pass for a growl. Man, I’m exhausted, he groans.

Yeah, maybe you should get that sleep apnea thing checked out, you tell him, sharing a look with Maksim.

I had to sleep on the couch again, Maksim says with a yawn of his own.

My bad, Kalem acknowledges with a frown. At least the thing is comfortable.

All three of you nod in confirmation. You’ve each spent a fair amount of time sleeping on the sleeper sofa.

Where are we at today? Kalem asks, leaning over the map of Minneapolis Maksim has spread over the table.

Checked the bus station, Maksim fills in. Nothing there.

You sigh and slump into a chair opposite Maksim. I’m out of ideas, you admit, meeting each of your brothers’ gazes before turning your eyes to the dark coffee in your mug.

Kalem sighs and moves to stand in front of the window, staring out at the city. Me, too. Without looking back, he sips from his coffee. Hey, there she is again, he whispers.

Who? you ask, standing beside him at the window.

This is going to sound weird, but I saw this girl in a red cloak yesterday when I was walking home from work, Kalem says, setting his coffee on the table and leaning closer to the windowpane. And I think she’s out there again now. Maybe she’s following me.

A chill runs through you when you think about the figure in the red cloak from your walk home early in the morning. I saw someone in a red cloak, too, you tell them both hesitantly, your gaze meeting with Kalem’s before you both turn to Maksim.

I saw her, too! Maksim tells you, his eyes wide as his gaze darts between the two of you. When I got off the bus after work. Do you think she knows something about Dad?

Your gut tells you the appearance of the girl to all three of you has to be more than coincidence. Someone walking around Minneapolis at all hours of the night in a red cloak was noticeable enough, but for the three of you to all see her within the same twenty-four hours and all while on the way home was enough to convince you to consider the possibility that this girl might know something. It could be desperation talking, but you are willing to take the risk of approaching an eccentric girl and sounding crazy if it means it leads to finding your dad.

We have to talk to her, you tell them decisively.

She’s still there, let’s go, Kalem announces as you all rush into the bedrooms to pull on clothing.

It takes you all of five minutes to dress and usher your brothers out the door to where the girl in the red cloak stands just down the block. The smell of wet earth and newly blossoming trees fill your lungs as you jog down the sidewalk, eager to catch up to the girl before she disappears. As soon as she catches sight of the three of you, she takes off running.

Hey, wait! Kalem calls out, running faster.

You kick up the pace to catch up with Kalem, having to push yourself to keep up with the track star. Maksim follows behind at a distance, his distaste for participation in sports showing in his stamina. Kalem gains on the girl, nearly catching her as she ducks into the nearby park.

Your heavy breaths ring in your ears as you trail the girl and your brother, shocked at the stranger’s speed as she dodges trees and leaps over fallen logs. She looks more like a deer running through the woods than a person at this point.

Wait, Kalem puffs out.

At first, you think his request has fallen on deaf ears, but the figure suddenly stops and turns to face the three of you. You all skid to a stop when she holds out her hands in a gesture to halt. Sucking air into your lungs, you focus on taking tentative steps toward her.

You take the few moments it takes to reach Kalem’s side to let your eyes roam over the girl.  She doesn’t look much older than you, but there’s something about her which gives you the impression of someone otherworldly.

My name is Scarlett, she announces, glancing at each of you in turn.

Do you know where our dad is? Maksim blurts out, perching his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Scarlett nods slowly before stepping aside to reveal a well.

You scoured every inch of these woods playing here as a child, and not once do you remember there ever being a well here.

He is on Trueveat Isle. She gestures to the well.

Warily, you look to each of your brothers and see they wear the same expression you’re sure is on your face—confusion.

He’s in a well? you ask, hesitantly.

He is in the land beyond the well. The well is the gate, Scarlett explains.

Without looking to your brothers, you know what they’re thinking. Crazy. You’re crazy for following this girl, who is also, obviously crazy.

Your father needs your help, Scarlett insists. You must come with me. I need you to help me save him.

You want us to go down a well? Kalem asks.

Exasperation bleeds into Scarlett’s tone, her lips form a thin line when she presses them together, then answers with a simple, Yes.

Yeah, no, Maksim scoffs, shaking his head.

You first, you offer, gesturing to the well, something that looks like it would be more at home in a storybook than the middle of the Minnesotan woods.

With a sigh, Scarlett climbs onto the edge of the well and pushes herself forward, disappearing from sight.

No way, Maksim gasps, running to the well and looking down.

You and Kalem rush to his side.

Scarlett? You call down the well, but don’t receive an answer. You exchange a worried look with your brothers. Do you think we need to call someone?

What if... what if she’s right? Maksim asks you, biting his lip.

Kalem shrugs. I can’t explain it, but I believe her.

You felt it, too. Like she was telling the truth. You can’t explain it, but you feel a draw to the well, the same pull you’re sure your brothers are feeling too.

We have to go down there, you agree, peering into the darkness. I’ll go first.

Always playing the eldest card, Maksim jokes, but you can hear the quaver in his voice. Five minutes older and you think you can tell us what to do.  

Cautiously, you climb onto the stone wall, your legs dangling into the abyss. Your gut clenches and your legs tingle with the anticipation of falling. Without a word, you push off. The sensation of falling without end hits you immediately. Blackness envelops you, blocking out all sights and sounds.

***

As soon as the sensation of falling stops, you cautiously peek out of one eye, expecting to see pitch black. Instead, you’re greeted by the sight of tree branches. As you turn your head slightly, you realize you’re lying on your back, looking up through the branches into a midday sky. Scarlett’s face appears above you, her dark hair and blue eyes blocking out the bright glare of the sun.

Are your brothers coming? she asks, holding out her hand.

You take her hand and pull yourself to your feet, careful not to pull her over.

A look around reveals another well, identical to the one you’d just jumped into. In fact, if you didn’t know any better, you’d say it was the exact same well. Moments later, Maksim and Kalem are lying on the forest floor beside the well.

That was terrifying, Maksim says when you help pull him to his feet.

Your father is this way, Scarlett announces, taking up a brisk pace away from the well.

Disoriented, you try not to gawk at everything as you follow the mysterious girl into the woods. But there’s certainly something strange about the trees here. The trees in the direction you’re heading have lost all their leaves, the branches completely bare. A glance to the right of the well shows trees with their leaves just beginning to unfurl. To the left, branches hold leaves with an array of autumn colors barely clinging to the branches.

What is this place? you ask, fighting the urge to turn a full one hundred eighty degrees to verify that the trees on the opposite side of the well would be lush with green leaves.

This is The Seasonal Forest, Scarlett calls over her shoulder. It is the convergence point of the four kingdoms.

You say that like we’re supposed to know what that means, Maksim says.

Not much farther up here, Scarlett tells you, not bothering to acknowledge Maksim’s statement. He is here.

You freeze in your tracks when you see your father lying on the ground, his body crystalline, as if made from glass.

Dad! Kalem calls out, rushing to where your dad lies.

Your brother’s voice snaps you out of your shock and you drop to your knees beside the strange form of your father.

What’s wrong with him? you ask, looking to Scarlett for answers.

He has been petrified, by the Winter Queen, Scarlett states, brushing her hand across your father’s forehead.

There’s something about the sight that reminds you of the fairytale of Snow White. You glance to Scarlett and see her red cloak and a flash of Red Riding Hood crosses your brain. You look to your brothers and see that they are coming to the same crazy conclusion you are.

Where are we? Maksim asks from beside you, his eyes wide and full of fear. Is this some kind of fairytale land?

Scarlett’s brows dip down to form a scowl. I do not know what that means.

How do we un-petrify him? you ask, scared you already know what the answer is going to involve.

To undo the spell, we must gather the three oak leaves and bring them here. One from each of the kingdoms of Northern, Western, and Southern, Scarlett says.

We’re definitely in a fairytale land, Kalem groans, rubbing his hands down his face.

We have until the next full moon to break the spell before it becomes permanent, Scarlett continues, ignoring your brother’s commentary.

How long is that? Maksim asks, looking to the sky for the answers.

One week, Scarlett says, her expression morphing from annoyance to concern.

Seven days, Kalem translates in a whisper.

We’re going to have to split up, you observe, thinking about the way the seasons were represented around the well in the middle of the forest.

Scarlett nods her assent. I have supplies for each of us, she announces, pointing to three packs lined up.

You exchange concerned expressions with your brothers. This is crazy, you whisper.

I know, but it’s real, Maksim acknowledges, his gaze dropping to Dad’s frozen face.

Kalem lets out a deep sigh. We wanted to save Dad, now’s our chance, no matter how insane this sounds.

The three of you nod in agreement.

I’m guessing that way’s north? Maksim asks Scarlett, pointing the direction of the Northern Kingdom.

Yes, Scarlett says with a nod.

Alright, who wants to go which way? You ask, when neither brother answers, you adopt the eldest brother role once more, taking the direction which sounds the most treacherous. I’ll take Northern.

Rock, paper, scissors for Southern? Maksim says to Kalem with a grimace.

Maksim and Kalem count to three, before Maksim displays a fist representing rock, and Kalem holds his hand flat to represent paper.

Western, it is, Maksim announces.

Here, Scarlett offers, handing a pack to each of the three of you.

You slip your arms through the straps and heft the weight onto your shoulders.

What is in these things? Maksim groans as he shifts the weight of the pack on his shoulders.

Food, gold, and other supplies, Scarlett states, handing each of you a piece of a map. Each of the leaves are located in the castles.

You take the piece of parchment she offers and look over the drawing. How will we know where the leaves are?

Scarlett shakes her head. I do not have that information for each of the kingdoms, I only know the location of the leaf in the Northern Kingdom. But the other guides may have more information.

Guides? Maksim asks, glancing around.

Yes, Scarlett acknowledges with a nod. You will have Agostan to guide you, and Kalem will have Soren to guide him. I will be journeying to the Northern Kingdom with Salvatore. Scarlett gestures to a black cat and a horse who were not there moments before.

A cat? Maksim asks doubtfully.

Yes, a cat, Agostan says, jumping onto Maksim’s shoulder.

Holy crap! Maksim shouts, leaning away from the cat on his shoulder. A talking cat.

Indeed, the cat says, lying across Maksim’s shoulders.

Does my horse talk? Kalem asks excitedly.

No, Scarlett says with a smirk, handing Kalem the reins.

Oh, Kalem replies with a huff.

Wait, so he gets to ride a horse? We have to walk? Maksim whines.

He has to cross a desert, Scarlett points out. "You do