Who's going to help me write this story?
I thought it would be fun to write a Fairy Tale. This might be difficult because we might conclude all the good ones have been written already. But I think you're a talented enough bunch to do it! I'll leave it up all weekend. Will you give it a whirl? Let's go...
Once upon a time, Princess Lilly sat in her castle and gazed across the rare flower gardens of her estate, the fragrant apple orchards, the clear lakes, and the crests of green hills stretching as far as her eye could see, and thought to herself...
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*One would never think such beauty would hold such danger...*
Her normal custom was to gaze upon the garden for a time, drinking in the beauty in the early morning light. But not this day.
With a shiver, she remembered what she had overheard down there the night before.
In one night, everything she knew had changed. Was wrong. She couldn't trust anyone. Not her family, her friends, or her closest confidant, Eli. In one crushing blow, Lilly discovered who she really was -- A mere puppet on strings.
But no longer. Now, she would act.
Her life depended on it.
Maggie had brought in her breakfast. Then dressed her and brushed her hair. Lilly had sat through it all, her mind whirling. She needed to have everything ready by nightfall.
She tucked her morning biscuits into a napkin, along with the apples from the tray and slid them under her chest of drawers. Tonight she'd retrieve them. They'd have to sustain her on the long trek ahead.
Nightfall. Time to put her plan into action. This journey wasn't just to save herself, it was to save her country. God would help her, she was sure of it.
She tucked her hair into a beggar style hat and put on a baggy dark outfit her step-mother would despise---if she ever had the chance to see Lilly in it.
She felt like a sleek cat creeping out the castle into the orchard, the night dew kissing the tree leaves. She was deep into the orchard when she heard a rustle.
Suddenly a hand went over her mouth preventing her scream. The hand turned her. She could barely see her captor. His index finger gestured her to be quiet as he let go of her mouth.
"Richard!"
"I thought you might be planning to try something tonight," he said, his tone half amused, half exasperated.
"I don't have much choice, do I?" she replied curtly, in a hurry to be on her way. Her life and the very future of her country depended on her getting away from here and getting to the admiral. He was the one person she knew she could trust.
And then there was Richard...
Could she trust him?
"I didn't come to prevent your escape, m'lady. You shall need protection on your journey...I offer my services."
How had he guessed her thoughts so well? Uncertainty churned her gut. Dare she? The consequences, if caught, would be grave...but she wouldn't be able to make it through the Misty Woods to the Admiral without help. And of the muscular type.
She sized him up warily. "How do I know I can trust you? Mayhap you will turn me in at the first opportunity."
Richard smiled. His manner was calm. Assured. At ease.
Everything she wasn't.
"Fear not, m'lady. I vowed long ago to protect you. I shall not break my word."
"Very well. Let's be off. We must be far from here when my absence is discovered."
She'd trust him, for the moment. But she wouldn't let her guard down. Too many people she trusted had already betrayed her.
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Woooo... Keep going! =)
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Aided by Richard, Lilly slipped out of the castle without alerting so much as a mouse. Disappearing into the night, she didn't dare cast a glance behind her at the castle. The place where she'd spent her entire life, thinking herself safe and secure.
It was too painful.
Richard grasped her hand, helping her over a fallen log, and appreciation for his presence filled her. "Thank you, Richard, for staying faithful to me."
"You are welcome, m'lady. 'Tis what I vowed to do...though I confess I would do it still, even if I had not given my word." His gaze, so intense, found her's for a few brief moments.
Lilly glanced away, appalled at the blush that had begun to heat her neck.
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