The Missing Princesses

         Once upon a time in the land of many kingdoms, the king of Artaria who adored his daughter above everything in his kingdom. For her sixteenth birthday he planned on throwing her a grand birthday party. He had every prince and princess for miles and miles around invited to her birthday party. The six princesses who were friends of the princess were invited to spend the week before and after with the princess.
         As the sun rose on the day before the day before the party, the sun rose on to the bluest skies seen in many a week. The princess’ birthday was in the rainy time of year. The princess decided that since it was a beautiful day that they would go down to the lake and have a picnic. So the princesses, their maids, the six strong guys to carry the food went down to the lake. The guys set down the baskets and return to the castle not needing to stay since there were not bandits nor evil creatures in their land in many a decade. The princesses fluttered about playing on the grass in their bare feet, as the maids were laying out the blankets. Some of the princesses in only slightly fancy dress and some of the princesses in play clothes that somewhat resembled the maids’ clothes. (The king being the kind of king who never lets any of his servants walk around in shabby clothes. Each servant got two new sets of clothes each year. One for summer and one for winter.) But anyway as they were playing, Rose thought that she saw tiny crystals the size of dust particles floating on the wind. Just then she started to get sleepy so she laid down with the other girls who were also falling asleep.

                Un-noticed by sleeping princesses and maids a man in a brown lace-up doublet, black knee length breeches, and a black cape approaches where they sleep. He sprinkles a pinch of dust over seven of the girls and tells them to rise. They do so and he leads them down a path and into the forest. He did not stop long enough to noticing that the last girl slightly drug her feet as she walked. After they had been traveling through the woods for about half an hour they came upon a spot where the trees were older and the roots stuck out of the ground in places. The last girl with her shuffling feet stubbed her toe into one particular root and the pain woke her up. Rose stared around blankly for a second until she realized that she was in the woods and the princesses were being lead away by a man in a black cape. She ducked behind the nearest tree to collect her wits and decided to go for help. After the princesses were out of sight she started heading back the way they had come but the light was fading fast. This confused her because it had only been early afternoon when they had lain down to sleep. But she kepts walking in the direction that she hoped was the right direction back to the castle. Seeing a light in the distance Rose started walking in that direction thinking that it might be a farmhouse. When she reached the light and walked into to a clearing, she found not a farm house but something better.