Once upon a time, in a far far away land (far in distance and in time), there was a kingdom.
It was winter, a winter that seemed would never end, and the whole country was going
through a cold and snow wave.
Away from the town and the white forests, right in the middle of the kingdom, there
was a Castle, protected by high walls and lots of eyes watching day and night.
In it lived a very special being, little princess Alexa.
She was a very smiling and bright little girl - she loved playing with her dolls and watching
the stars.
But what she liked the most in this world was laying on her mom’s arms, the queen,
while she told her fantastic fairy tales, which sometimes had a terrifying ending that
made her tremble.
She also had an older brother, called Alexander, a happy boy with a great sense of justice,
tho he also loved making pranks, especially on her sister.
One day, during that winter, the queen came back from a long trip, and Alexa went out
to meet her.
She was surprised not to see her dad, the king, as well, but she imagined he probably
was taking care of other matters.
In order to celebrate she had come back, the queen suggested to the kids the three of them
should go for a walk around the street fair that had just started next to the castle.
Alexa was having a good time, going here and there, watching the minstrels and the fire
breathers.
But when she held her mom’s hand to follow her, she had a strange feeling, as if it were
colder than usual.
She calmed her down with a smile, and pointed to another ride, far from the rest - An old
and shabby marquee, tho it still looked bright.
The queen invited her kids to go in and said goodbye from the entrance.
The inside was a maze of mirrors, also covered with dust.
At the end of it, Alexa and her brother found a beautiful gift box.
The kids pulled the ribbon and opened the box.
Pink and blue smoke came out of it.
Suddenly, the whole place came to life, everything looked new and shiny, and two more boxes appeared.
Two jesters, a boy and girl, dressed in blue and pink, came out of them.
They started pirouetting, beautifully, around the kids, who looked at them fascinated.
They sang songs and showed them some magic tricks that captivated them.
In the end, they gave each of them a little music box.
They explained that, from that moment on, they were at their disposition and would be
with them always to entertain them whenever they needed.
But they also warned them that those boxes were for them to share with each other, and
that only those with pure hearts could use them.
And just like that, the jesters disappeared.
Alexander, still astonished, wanted to see his sister’s box, and took it from her.
When she tried to get it back, he slapped her and ran towards the castle, leaving Alexa
bathed in tears.
Days went by, and Alexander never left his room.
From hers, Alexa heard every night her brother’s uncontrollable laugh.
She was worried she didnt see him anymore, she missed him, and she wanted to play with
the jesters as well.
So, one night, she gathered her courage and went into his room.
What she saw in there made her blood run cold.
The lights went on and off, revealing the blood on the walls.
In the center of the room, on the floor, laid the 2 music boxes, open, playing a strange
melody, of a lullaby, both sweet and sinister.
Alexa looked up and saw her brother’s body, wounded, writhed against the ceiling.
The girl shrieked in pain, and suddenly, the body started to burn.
She managed to run out of the room, yelling for her mom.
She found her in her room, in bed, and she tried to explain what she had just witnessed.
The queen’s reaction was a grotesque laugh, and Alexa stepped away from her, scared.
She bumped into her dad, who held her in his arms.
But the pressure in the hug kept growing and growing, until it was almost impossible to
bear it and he started to choke her.
The girl managed to free herself and scaped running.
She tried to hide in one of the closets in the hallway, pero she felt a presence behind
her.
When she turned around, she saw, horrified, her parents’ corpses.
Their eyes were out of their sockets, and their tongue, purple, sticking out of their
mouth.
Alexa didnt know what to do.
Those creatures that were not their parents, were chasing her closely.
The fire in the room had turned into a great fire that was burning down the whole castle
and was blocking her way.
She ended up going to her room.
The walls in there had been destroyed, leaving the room open to the cold and the snow.
At the door, she saw the two grotesque versions of her parents, walking through the smoke.
Slowly, they went back to their original shape, the two jesters.
Alexa then understood everything.
Her brother’s selfishness and meanness had freed them from their miniature jails.
The jester got close to her, with an evil smile.
A huge colored mace appeared from his back - it was so big that it was impossible to
hold it in the air.
He took a deep breath, took it above his head and let it fall on Alexa.
She was paralyzed and could only watch the snow flakes moving away as it got closer.