"No!" Daphne cried. She couldn't do this. She just couldn't. Just because she was the princess didn't mean she could rule. Though her world was very small and wonderful, she couldn't rule it.
"Why ever not Daphne?" Her mother said.
" I . . . I . . . I don't know!" Daphne cried.
"Daphne, listen here, girl! You're our only hope. If you don't rule, our kingdom will fall!"
Tears fell down Daphne's cheeks.
"Keep your head up princess, if you don't, your crown will fall," her mother whispered. She turned and left the room, leaving Daphne to think about her decision.
♠️
The kingdom of the teacup was very small, very small indeed. On the east side it had a forest. On the west the castle and the only village. The south had the Great Lake. And the north, well, nobody ever went there. It was the Everlasting Shadow, full of darkness, doom, and death. Anyone who went--or was even brave enough--never came back.
♠️
Daphne ran faster than she had ever run before. Tears were streaming down her face. She soon got to the border of the forest. Her stream of tears slowed. Wiping her face with the back of her hand she started through the forest.
"Prancer," she called, "Prancer! There you are!" she exclaimed. She ran over to the merry go round horse. It appeared whenever she called. "Sweet, O, sweet!" she sang. The horse suddenly came to life. Its pole disappeared, its saddle became leather, and its eyes became full of sparkle and life.
"Oh, my sweet little Prancer!" Daphne suddenly began to cry again and buried her face in the horse's mane. It neighed sweetly and nudged her arm. Between sobs she smiled and kissed the affectionate horse.
"What would I do without you, Prancer?" The horse did nothing.
Daphne rested her head on the horses neck. It felt warm and comforting. The horse suddenly stood up. "Prancer! Where are you going?" Daphne called. It turned around and looked at her. "Do you want me to follow you?" She asked. The horse made a motion like a nod. "Okay," Daphne replied unsurely.
♠️
"Where could she be?" said Daphne's mother. "She's been gone for hours!"
"I wouldn't worry about her. She's got nerves of steel!" The King remarked.
"Yes, but she doesn't have a body of steel! What if the wolves killed her, or what if the trolls kidnapped her!" The queen started pacing.
"Emily, my dear, there is no need to worry! Those things don't come out when it's raining."
"Yes, I know, but what if she gets pneumonia, or she gets struck by lightning?!" The queen started to name another number of tragic things. The king sighed and gazed out the castle window.
♠️
"Prancer! Where are you taking us?" The horse continued walking. It had started pouring on their way to wherever they were going. Suddenly the horse stopped. A drenched Daphne looked up. She gasped. "You don't expect me to go in there, do you?" Daphne asked. She was looking right at the Everlasting Shadow. She could hardly see the dead trees inside of it. The horse nudged her forward. Daphne thought about it. If she went in there she might die. But why did she need to in the first place?
"Will you come with me, Prancer?" The horse nodded. "Ok." She took a step forward and entered the shadowy darkness.
She gasped. There were hundreds of dead trees. Crows grew about minding there own business. Mucky ponds and streams ran about, and millions of mosquitoes roamed.
A loud howl filled the air. More howls followed. They became closer and closer until they seemed to be only a little ways ahead of her.
Prancer started to cower. Daphne turned around to find that she did not remember which direction she came from. She turned back around to see the largest wolves she had ever seen.
♠️
This a story I wrote for Loren's writing contest called Creating World's Writing Camp. I added a little bit to it. I hope you liked it!
Can't wait to see what happens next! Great story, Danielle. :)
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