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THE
LOST PRINCESS
A
long time ago in the land of Montini, the royal
family were attending the coronation of Prince
Julian, who lived in the neighbouring kingdom of
Lalia. The celebrations were very special to one
member of the Montini royal family, Princess
Menezza, who was destined to become Julian’s
bride.
The Montini royal family were returning home
from the festivities when King Zacharia suddenly
fell ill. Realising that it would take another
three days to reach the palace, the royal guards
decided that his only chance of survival would
be to take a short cut through the forest of
Fingusta. This would allow them to reach the
palace before dawn.
The
guards knew of the terrifying stories told by
those who had entered the forest, of thieves and
murderers, witches and ghosts. It was true of
all the people known to have entered the forest,
few had returned safely. Despite their fears,
the royal guards knew that unless they took this
route, the King would surely die.
The
entourage ventured into the forest reluctantly.
Surrounded by trees so tall they almost blocked
out the sun. The chilling silence only
interrupted by the sudden movements of creatures
lurking in the undergrowth.
Anxious
to reach the safety of Montini, they kept a
steady pace through the overgrown carriageways.
They continued for several hours when suddenly,
the Attacoltians, a barbarian tribe whose evil
deeds were legendary throughout Montini,
ambushed them. A vicious battle ensued and many
a brave knight lost their lives. The horsemen
led the Royal Carriages in different directions
in order that at least one heir to the Montini
throne would have a chance of surviving the
attack. The Queen and Prince Marcus headed west;
The King and Princess Menezza went east.
The royal guards held their ground and fought
courageously, but they were so heavily
outnumbered that before long, the last knight
was slain.
Realising
the reward they could expect from their evil
emperor Felix, for the capture of a member of
the Montini royal family, the barbarians set off
in pursuit of the fleeing carriages.
The
Queen and Prince Marcus’s carriage eventually
escaped the forest and raced towards the safety
of the palace, the King and Princess Menezza’s
carriage was not so fortunate. Unable to outrun
the barbarians any longer, the royal horsemen
made a stand in a desperate attempt to protect
their King and Princess but they were no match
for the savage Attacoltians.
Realising
his fate, the King lowered his daughter into a
secret compartment in the floor of the carriage.
It was from there she witnessed Felix, the evil
Attacoltian emperor thrust his sword into the
heart of her father, the King died instantly.
Unable to contain her terror, Princess Menezza
let out a scream that pierced the deadly silence
of the forest. Captured by Felix, Menezza was
taken and imprisoned in the castle dungeons of
Attacolti.
Meanwhile,
in the kingdom of Montini, the Queen and Prince
Marcus had sent an army into the forest to look
for the King and the Princess. Their search was
in vain. They returned with no news, good or
bad. As the weeks passed, the Queens’ health
began to suffer. With each day, she grew weaker,
but refused to give up hope that one day soon
she would again see her husband and daughter,
sadly it was not to be. On her deathbed, the
Queen made a last wish to her son, Prince
Marcus. “Search the forest,” she said in a
whisper. “Don’t ever give up until you find
your father and my lost Princess.” With those
words the Queen passed away.
Not
long after his beloved mother had died word
reached Marcus that the King was dead, and
Princess Menezza was being held for ransom in
castle Attacolti. To secure her release, Marcus
was to renounce his throne and pass his title
and kingdom to Felix. If he failed to comply
with these demands, the Princess would be
executed. Marcus had until the next full moon
before his sister would meet her fate.
Princess
Menezza lay weeping in her dungeon. The guards
took great pleasure in telling her that both her
parents were dead, and that if Felix didn’t
get his way, she would be hanged. Princess
Menezza was very frightened. She knew Prince
Marcus would never relinquish his throne; this
was his birthright, a legacy their father had
died protecting. Knowing this, Princess Menezza
could only pray that Prince Marcus would attempt
to rescue her, and soon Prince Marcus gathered
his War Council. There was no time spare; the
next full moon would appear in five days. The
citizens of Montini would be told that the
Coronation of Prince Marcus would be postponed,
and that he would be travelling to Attacolti to
negotiate the release of Princess Menezza. He
knew that this news would reach Felix and
convince him that Prince Marcus intended to bow
to his demands.
That
night, Prince Marcus put his plan into action.
He would once again venture into the Fingusta
Forest. If all went well, they would reach
castle Attacolti within a few days. Many of the
guards were superstitious and feared that if
they entered the forest they would share the
same fate as their fellow guardsmen had. It was
only the strength and determination shown by
Prince Marcus that gave them the courage to face
their fear. If they were unsuccessful, they
would not only lose their Princess, they would
loose their kingdom and ultimately – their
freedom!
The
army had been marching for several hours when
they were set upon by a flock of Dragmans, these
beastly creatures were half dragon, half man.
They could lift a person straight off the ground
and carry them away. To where, no one knew,
because no one had ever survived or returned
after being captured. The guards fought off as
many as they could, slaying several of the
monsters, but not before many of the Dragmans
had succeeded in securing their prey. Then as
suddenly as they had arrived, they were gone.
The terrifying screams of the captured soldiers
echoed through the forest, fading until the
eerie silence of the forest returned.
The
soldiers that were left regrouped and carried on
nervously edging deeper into the forest. As
darkness fell, the army decided to set up camp
and rest until daylight. Prince Marcus posted
guards to watch over their camp and changed them
every hour to ensure that everyone would be
fully rested by morning.
It was very cold in the forest and Marcus was
finding it difficult to sleep. Suddenly, he
thought he could hear something moving in the
bush. Lying very still, he stretched out an arm
and reached for his sword, it was gone! At that
moment a guard raised the alarm. It was too
late, Snatchers had raided the camp, a tribe who
lived in the trees and survived by stealing from
anyone who entered the forest.
Their
approach was so silent and effective; they
rarely ever came into conflict with their
victims. When they did, they were able to escape
through the trees, knowing that the armour-laden
soldiers would not be able to pursue them.
This
time though, one of the Snatchers was not so
lucky. In a vain attempt to flee, the Snatcher
had become entangled in the heavy undergrowth
and was soon captured. Marcus was surprised at
the sight of the Snatcher; it was small and very
dirty. He was even more shocked to discover that
this Snatcher was in fact a girl. When spoken
to, she stubbornly refused to give her name or
explain her actions. Prince Marcus decided that
he could use her to guide his army through the
forest, so he gave her the name Dusty and
instructed her to show them the quickest way out
of the forest. In return, Prince Marcus would
release her when they reached Attacolti.
Realising she had no choice, Dusty pointed out
the quickest and safest way.
Once
again Prince Marcus and his army set off through
the forest. The more time Prince Marcus spent
with Dusty, the more her grew to like her. It
wasn’t long before he persuaded her to talk.
She explained that the Snatchers fled from a
small village just outside Attacolti. They had
been invaded by the Attacoltians, those that had
managed to escape had been living in the forest
ever since.
Prince Marcus assured Dusty that if the
Snatchers came to Montini, they could once again
live normally and freely. There would be no need
to steal or live in the trees like animals.
Although they had only known each other for a
matter of hours, Dusty could see that Prince
Marcus was a man of his word. She admired his
honesty and courage, she also thought he was
very handsome!
It was almost mid-day by the time Prince Marcus
and his army reached the edge of the forest. Far
in the distance they could see Attacolti castle.
It was so huge it seemed to reach up through the
clouds. At that moment, Prince Marcus gave Dusty
the opportunity to return to her people and
assure them that they could start a new life in
Montini. Dusty smiled, wished him luck, and
disappeared back into the forest.
Prince
Marcus, accompanied by six of his guards set off
towards the castle. The army would follow a
short distance behind them, carefully keeping
out of site. Once he had secured Menezza’s
release, Prince Marcus would give his army the
signal to attack.
Before
long, Prince Marcus and his soldiers reached the
castle gates, where they were escorted into a
great hall. It was here that Prince Marcus came
face to face with Felix for the first time. The
atmosphere was very tense and Prince Marcus let
it be known that until Princess Menezza was
released and allowed to leave the castle under
the escort of his soldiers, he would not concede
to Felix’ demands. The evil emperor agreed,
although he made some conditions. In exchange,
Prince Marcus was to remain in the castle and
would be released when the Attacoltians had
taken control of the kingdom of Montini. Felix
would then allow the citizens of Montini safe
passage to Lalia.
Prince Marcus was wise, he knew that Felix had
no intention of releasing him or allowing his
people to leave Montini safely. As soon as the
Attacoltians reached Montini, they would kill
everyone and burn the city to the ground. Prince
Marcus hid his fears and decided to go along
with Felix’ plan. Only when he could be
certain that Princess Menezza was out of harms
way, would he alert his army.
Prince
Marcus was then escorted down to the dungeons.
Knowing that he had no time to loose, he
suddenly made a lunge for one of the guard’s
swords. The stone stairwell soon echoed with the
sound of sword striking sword. Prince Marcus was
a skilled and fearsome warrior, and was soon
standing victorious over the bodies or the four
slain barbarians. He carefully made his way to
the top of a turret and signalled for his army
to attack the castle.
A
vicious battle began. The Montini soldiers found
it difficult to penetrate the castle’s
defences; they had to consider a retreat in
order to avoid certain defeat.
Suddenly,
a great army emerged from the forest; it was
King Julian of Lalia. He had heard of Felix’
evil plan and knew that if he was to succeed in
capturing the throne of Montini, it would only
be a matter of time before he made an attempt to
invade Lalia. As a fierce battle raged outside
the castle, Prince Marcus was searching
everywhere for Felix. He was nowhere to be
found. He was almost ready to give up when Felix
emerged from the shadows of the Throne Room.
Without warning, he caught Prince Marcus off
guard and thrust his sword deep into his
shoulder. Prince Marcus reeled away in agony he
could barely stand and was in no position to
defend himself. As Felix struck again and again,
Prince Marcus could feel himself getting weaker
and weaker, until he could no longer raise his
sword. With a vicious swipe, Felix knocked the
sword from Prince Marcus’s grasp. Taking a
step forward, a cunning grin etched on his face,
Felix raised his sword above his head, pausing
briefly to tell Prince Marcus “It was I who
killed your father!” he exclaimed. “And it
is with as much pleasure that I take your life
too.” Unable to move, Prince Marcus stared
past his tormentor. Suddenly, Felix let out an
excruciating gasp. With a look of disbelief in
his eyes, he dropped to his knees and fell
forward to reveal an arrow sunk deep into his
back. Felix was dead. Prince Marcus, weak and
bloody, strained to focus on the figure emerging
from the shadows, crossbow in hand; it was
Dusty. She gently helped the Prince to his feet
and guided him through the dark corridors of the
castle until they reached the outer walls.
Prince Marcus could scarcely believe his eyes
when he looked down from the towers at the
raging battle below.
The
sight of King Julian’s army powering through
the ranks of the Attacoltians was breathtaking.
At the heart of the battle, King Julian could be
seen. Sword in hand he surged towards the castle
gates, slaying every barbarian who stood in his
path.
It
wasn’t long before the battle was won and King
Julian’s army secured the castle.
Marcus
and Julian returned home to a hero’s welcome.
The people of Montini lined the streets singing
and dancing to celebrate the victory.
Prince
Marcus was now free to take his place on the
throne of Montini, and what a fine King he would
be. He held a magnificent banquet in celebration
of King Julian and Princess Menezza’s wedding.
When Menezza, the new Queen of Lalia, threw her
bouquet into the jubilant crowd, everyone
cheered for the beautiful girl who caught it.
As
she emerged from the crowd, Prince Marcus
couldn’t believe his eyes; it was Dusty. A
flowing gown had replaced the rags she once
wore; her long hair glistened in the mid-day
sunshine. She truly was the most beautiful woman
he had ever seen, he just hadn’t realised
until now. He put his arms around her, embracing
her softly and gave her a tender kiss.
THE END.
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