Many years ago, in a place far, far away, there lived a pair of siblings who couldn't have been less alike. Every day, Jack would explore a new place in the huge city they lived in or have rowdy fun with a large gang of friends, while his younger sister Rose stayed inside on her own, reading and writing. When they were together, they constantly fought and argued. One day, their mother had had enough. "Go outside and spend some time together," she said. "Be back before lunch. And please do try and get on." Jack took Rose to a scrapyard. "I hate this place," she whimpered. "It's scary." Jack ignored her and went off to explore while she read the book she always carried with her. A short while later, he called her over to a tunnel in the wall. "I'm going inside," he told her. "I'll be back soon." Rose begged her older brother not to go in. "There could be snakes, or spiders, or scorpions," she said desperately. "I'm not afraid of those," he said firmly. "I'm going in." And he crawled in.

The tunnel was wet and slimy, but he was curious to see what was at the other end. Soon it emerged into a silent forest. No birds were chirping. He walked along the path for a few minutes, but then something a few metres off caught his interest, and for close to an hour he explored, not thinking about his sister or anything else. It was only when he had come across the same patch of trees three times it dawned on him that he was lost. Suddenly, two people jumped out in front of him. He screamed, then imagined Rose's laughter in his head. "Who are you?" he said defiantly. "No time for that," said the girl in a hushed voice. "There's someone dangerous around. We'll take you somewhere safe." Jack was suspicious, but followed them to a pretty clearing about five minutes' walk away. "It's safe here," said the boy. "Thanks," replied Jack gratefully. "It's what we do," smiled the girl, giving Jack a dazzling smile. He felt himself blush. Just then, he heard another voice. "Page 112 or 113, Tristan?" it asked. It was a girl's tone, a slightly posh-sounding one. "Not now!" said the boy- Jack realised he must have been Tristan. "We've got someone here." The girl who had asked Tristan about a mysterious page number walked out from behind a tree. She looked like she belonged of Rose's fairy tales, with perfectly brushed blonde hair in a long plait, pale skin and a puffy, pink, princessy dress. However, she was holding a very evil-looking book. Its cover was completely black, and the pages looked ancient- they were brown and looked as if they would crumble if a fist was slammed onto it. Before Jack could say a single thing, the girl picked something off the ground - a stick? - and pointed it at him. She muttered a few words, a laser of yellow light came shooting at him, and everything went black.

Jack opened his eyes, but his surroundings remained colourless. He was finding it difficult to breathe. It felt as if his feet were made of stone. Or perhaps they were! Maybe he had been turned into some kind of statue by the fairy-tale girl. The stick could have been a wand, and the girl some kind of sorceress. But how? As far as Jack was concerned, magic was another thing which belonged in Rose's stories. In desperation, he tried to move his arms. They crashed painfully against some kind of barrier; so he definitely still had arms, ones that were now throbbing and would probably be covered bruises within a few hours. Wincing, he moved his foot cautiously. He couldn't shift it more than an inch or two. How was he going to get out of this fix? He found the pain in his arms was the only thing keeping him awake, due to the heat of his prison and the lack of oxygen. As it ebbed away, he found himself drifting into slumber.

The next thing he knew, he was back in the clearing. Tristan, the sorceress-girl and the other girl were gone. Rose had his arms around her. A warm sense of freedom started in his legs, then spread up into his chest. Happily embracing his sister, he took in great gulps of the fresh air, still feeling somewhat dizzy and weak after his entrapment. "Rose," he said, smiling at his sister for the first time ever. "I just knew you'd come." They travelled back to the tunnel and into the scrapyard. Then they returned home, where their mother was setting the table for lunch. She expected to see a crying Rose and an angry Jack, but instead she saw two happy siblings, content in each other's presence for the first time in their short lives.