In the residential suite at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, President Katherine Walker awoke in the middle of the night from a bizarre nightmare. She had dreamed that New York City was under attack by an army of fictional characters. The invasion became so extreme that she was forced to order the evacuation, and eventually the annihilation, of the greatest city in the world. The president sighed with relief when she realized it had only been a dream, but there was something incredibly unsettling about how real the dream felt.
President Walker decided to take a walk to calm her thoughts. She quietly climbed out of bed, careful not to wake the First Gentleman, and snuck out of the residential suite. The president wandered through the long halls of the White House in her slippers and bathrobe, but it was hard to take her mind off all the disturbing images she’d seen in the dream.
Also concerning was how empty 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue seemed. She was used to seeing the Secret Service and staff strolling through the halls at all hours of the night, but for reasons unknown to her, the White House was completely empty.
“Hello?” she called out. “Is someone there?”
All the president heard was the echo of her own voice. She searched the library, the State Dining Room, the Diplomatic Reception Room, and even the China Room, but she didn’t find a soul. Finally, she heard people whispering and followed the sound all the way into the West Wing.
The voices appeared to be coming from inside the Oval Office, so the president gently cracked open the door and peeked inside. She saw a pretty young woman seated on the sofa and a curious young man inspecting the president’s desk.
“Conner, what are you doing?” the young woman said.
“I’m looking for the red button,” he said.
“What red button?”
“You know, the president’s red button!” the young man said, like it was obvious. “The one they’re always talking about in the movies that launches all the nuclear weapons.”
“Why? Are you going to push it?” the young woman asked.
“Of course not, I just want to see—”
The young man froze when he spotted the president standing in the doorway. The young woman jumped to her feet and bowed awkwardly. The young man ran out from behind the desk and stood by her side.
“What are you doing in here?” the president demanded.
“Madam President, it is such an honor to meet you,” the young woman said. “My name’s Alex Bailey, and this is my brother, Conner.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Conner said. “Our parents didn’t vote for you, but it’s still super-cool!”
The president eyed the twins up and down, especially Alex.
“Wait a moment, I recognize you,” the president said. “You were the girl destroying New York City in my dream!”
“Actually, it wasn’t a dream,” Alex said. “But for the record, I was under a terrible curse and wasn’t behaving like myself. But I’ve completely recovered, so you have nothing to fear. Normally, I’m quite a lovely, precocious, and well-mannered person. Actually, I’ve always thought you and I could be friends.”
As friendly as the twins seemed, the president wasn’t in the state of mind to make friends.
“Are you telling me that an army of fictional characters attacked New York City in real life?” she asked.
“You know, there’s literally no easy way to put it, so I’m just going to say yes,” Conner said. “But the army is gone, New York City is safe, and the whole world is asleep right now—so there’s nothing to worry about.”
According to the look on the president’s face, she begged to differ.
“What do you mean, the whole world is asleep?” she asked. “Will one of you please explain what’s going on?”
“Madam President, you might want to have a seat first,” Alex suggested. “There’s a lot we need to fill you in on.”
President Walker took Alex’s advice and had a seat on the sofa across from them. Once she was seated, Alex and Conner sat down, too, and did their best to explain.
“As you probably know by now, this isn’t the only world,” Alex said. “There’s another dimension very similar to this one. We refer to it as the Land of Stories because it’s the home of all the fairy-tale characters we love; unfortunately, it’s also home to all the characters we don’t. Recently, a portal between the worlds opened, and the villains of the fairy-tale world emerged and tried to conquer this one.”
“Once we defeated the army, Alex put the entire planet to sleep while we cleaned up all the damage they made,” Conner said. “You were sleeping for a lot longer than you think.”
“How long was I asleep?” the president asked.
“Two hundred years,” Conner said. “Everyone you know and love is dead.”
“What?”
Conner slapped his knee and burst into laughter. Alex shot him a dirty look.
“I’m just kidding, you’ve only been out for a week,” he said. “Sorry, I’ve had a really serious month, so I’m getting my jokes out where I can. The good news is New York is completely back to normal—well, as normal as it was before.”
“How did you rebuild an entire city in just a week?” President Walker asked.
“With the flames of an albino dragon,” Alex said like it was obvious. “It’s a magic fire that restores and heals everything it touches.”
“It’s also great for getting stains out of your clothes,” Conner said.
“We covered Manhattan in the flames, and once the city was reassembled, we transferred all the sleeping New Yorkers back to their homes—that part took the longest,” Alex said. “Then we erased the entire New York incident from everyone’s memory. The whole world will wake up tomorrow morning and go back to their regular lives like none of it ever happened.”
“If everything is taken care of, why bother telling me? Why not erase my memory as well?” the president asked.
“Because we need your help,” Alex said. “Unfortunately, during the battle a few witches escaped. We thought the majority of them were dead, but when we rebuilt the city, their remains were gone. A secret society known as the Sisters Grimm has agreed to track down the witches. Here’s a list of their names, contact information, and the government clearances they’ll need in order to start.”
Alex handed over a thick stack of papers, and the president gave the documents a quick scan.
“Who are the Book Huggers?” she asked.
“Oh, they’re the Sisters Grimm’s newest recruits,” Conner said. “The Book Huggers asked us to use their alias instead of their real names. They said the government would frame them if we disclosed their identities—you’d understand if you met them.”
“There’s one more thing,” Alex said. “I did everything I could to close it, but the bridge between worlds is here to stay. However, I managed to move the bridge from the New York Public Library into the pages of this book.”
Alex handed the president a thick storybook with a magenta cover. The title was written in gold: The Land of Stories: Volume Two.
“You have to keep the book shut or the bridge will reappear,” she explained. “We figured it was probably best to leave it with the president of the United States instead of leaving it lying around our mom’s house. You have to keep it somewhere safe and quiet so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.”
“Put it next to the flying saucer from Roswell,” Conner said with a wink.
“Why are you trusting the United States with this?” President Walker asked. “I can keep this book as safe and quiet as I want, but if the next president has a different agenda, I won’t be able to stop them.”
“We can cross that bridge when we get to it,” Alex said. “Due to a strange phenomenon, our worlds have collided, and I don’t think something that significant happens by accident. So rather than fighting against it with more secrecy, maybe it’s time we come together? Who knows, it might be what the worlds have been planning from the beginning.”
“And why should I trust you?” the president said. “You say the curse is over, but how do I know the two of you aren’t a danger to national security?”
Alex and Conner looked at each other, and both burst out laughing.
“Madam President, we are absolutely a danger to national security,” Conner said. “But luckily for you, we’ve got each other to check and balance.”
“No matter how far we stumble from the path, we always guide each other back to it,” Alex said. “So you can always count on us to do the right thing.”
President Walker closed her eyes and rubbed her face. This meeting was providing a lot more information to digest than her usual appointments.
“I appreciate your coming here, but I’m going to need to discuss this with the Joint Chiefs of Staff before I can fully commit the United States to such a—”
When the president opened her eyes, the Bailey twins were gone. She looked around the Oval Office, but they had vanished into thin air. The president let out a deep sigh and glanced down at the magenta book in her hands. It was heavy in weight and in responsibility.
“And I thought health care would be my greatest hurdle,” she said.