Disney at Dawn

“It’s important,” Willa said in a whisper.

Though the company had never publicly acknowledged the work the Kingdom Keepers had done to save the Magic Kingdom, word had spread through the community. There were few that didn’t know the story by now, both inside and outside the network of Park employees. A book had been written and published as fiction, but many knew the truth.

“How important?” Ariel asked.

Willa raised the baseball cap, revealing herself. A shock of recognition overcame the girl. Willa hoped this was the right thing to do. She lowered her voice. “Did you hear about Tinker Bell last night, during the fireworks?”

Ariel’s eyes widened, and she nodded.

“What is going on here?” the handler whispered hotly into Willa’s ear.

“What? I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t give me that! First Captain Hook comes through our line nosing around where he doesn’t belong, and now you? And not fifteen minutes apart? What is it with you people?” She leaned in even closer. “Are you inspecting us or something?”

“Captain Hook?”

“Don’t give me that.”

“What did he want?”

“Captain Hook’s a walkaround. He doesn’t talk, in case you’ve forgotten. How would I know what he wanted?”

“He was just here?”

“They never used to pull surprise inspections,” the handler complained. “And I don’t like it.”

Willa tried to process all that she was being told. The Overtakers? Here before her? Also interested in Ariel? Why?

“You want your picture taken with me?” Ariel asked. “It would be an honor.” She’d opened the treasure chest for Willa: empty.

Willa felt her head spin. She had to beat Captain Hook—or whoever he was—to Mickey’s Philhar-Magic.

“I’m fine!” she shouted over her shoulder, already hurrying away.

27

FINN ARRIVED AT HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS bone-tired, well aware that if he or any of the other Kingdom Keepers fell asleep, they might not be seen again. Ever. Worse, Jez’s disappearance pressured all involved to find her quickly. He was going to be in trouble if this went on much longer. He didn’t put it past his parents to go looking for him at Blizzard Beach. When they failed to find him there…

He hurried down Hollywood Boulevard toward Mickey’s giant sorcerer hat, which towered one-hundred-and-twenty feet over the central plaza. He had his his own cap brim pulled down low over his sunglasses as he kept an eye out for any kids recognizing him—he didn’t need that. He would take evasive action if necessary. He identified possible escape routes in each direction.

While checking out a Kodak shop to his left, he spotted a large black crow on the building’s roof. The bird was certainly big enough to draw attention to itself, but Fi

Fi

Now, hurrying to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, it seemed pretty obvious that the crow was following him. This, in turn, made him search the area to see if there were any other animals nearby. He spotted a group of chickadees in a tree outside the Brown Derby—but they didn’t seem particularly threatening. A solo jay stood watch from a roof overlooking an icecream vendor. Fi

He heard the voice too late. “Aren’t you…him?” A boy of ten or eleven. His parents stood a few feet back, his mother’s face bright with expectancy. Fi

“Do you like the Magic Kingdom?” Fi

“The Kingdom Keepers,” the boy said. “You’re Fi

Fi

The boy’s eye went wide. He shook his head, too awed to speak.

“Good.” Fi

The boy followed. As Fi

The brooms stood facing him.

“Thank you!” the boy said, cherishing his autograph.

Fi

Then something occurred to him. “You see those brooms over there? They look real familiar, but I can’t remember why.…”

“Fantasia,” the boy said.

“Fantasia,” Fi

“It’s a pretty weird movie,” the boy said. “The brooms show up in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,’I think. Mickey, the apprentice, can’t control the magic—you know? It gets all out of hand. The brooms are part of that.”

Uncontrollable magic, Fi

Fi

Were the brooms part of Park Security? Were they going to bust him for being in the Park? Or were they something more sinister: uncontrollable magic?

The brooms swept their way across the street and drew closer.

He walked quickly away. He looked back: the brooms were definitely following.

Up ahead, he heard music from High School Musical. A huge crowd of onlookers formed a half moon around a street show of cheerleaders and basketball players dancing and singing.

Fi

The leader of the High School Musical street show called for volunteers to dance with them. A number of kids raised their hands. Fi

The brooms all were trapped with the crowd.

Fi

The brooms regrouped and moved through the crowd—but they didn’t seem to be in any hurry.

Fi

For some reason, the brooms hadn’t followed him inside.

28

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, with no sign of the brooms, Fi

There was no telling what he might find. Big or small, ordinary or out of the ordinary, it could be anything.

He heard a commotion behind him—the people waiting for the doors to open were oohing and ahhing. Fi