Our story begins in a land far far away in a time long long ago. It is a tale about friendship, adventure and maybe even love.
It all started in the big castle where a young princess lived. She was always packed with energy and happiness, always looking for her next adventure. One day it was climbing the highest tree in de garden, the other it was trying to skate across all the little streets of the nearby village.
The servants had to run from left to right and up and down to clean up the mess she made behind her. Once it was washing all the linen in the castle after her mud adventure. Then another time it was clearing up the streets because of her unplanned horse race with the neighbouring King. As narrator I must say that was a show to watch, and definitely because she gave the old man a run for his money. Of course not all the people in the village were as happy as she was at that time.
The Queen couldn't laugh with it. She would rather see her daughter sitting behind books and behaving like a proper princess, than having her behave like an unstoppable bouncing ball. So she would make plans that involved studying from dusk till dawn. No wonder the little princess would sneak away so often to the Enchanted lake.
It wasn't always called like that. The original name was called Swan Lake. named after the gracious swans that made it their home. The surface of the water would sometimes be coloured white due to all the feathers. Every morning they would sing their ballad but now…
A few years ago some horrible accidents started happening in the forest, that reached the lake. anyone that stepped a foot inside, disappeared. People grew fearful, no one dared to come near. Rumours started rising amongst the people. Even in the castle hung a cloud of anxiety. On the walls of castle stood guards day and night and on each entrance to the village stood a person on guard for monsters.
The path through the thick trees was only used in necessity to reach the village on the other side of the eerie lake. Some who stopped heard noises others heard voices calling to them from within the bushes.
There was one person who dared to go beyond the first trees, little princess Elly. It took all the servants plus cook and guards to keep her away. But at times when her mother's lessons got so dull there was only one option, leave and discover the mysteries the forest offered.
And today was a day like that. She had just woken up and a maid was already at her door with three ball gowns for her dance classes. First it was traditional dance then folks dance and after that ball etiquette on the list. She hadn't yet finished putting on her first dress or her mother was busting in through her door. She gave her daughter a glance and then focused her attention on the maid that helped her. With a sharp voice she spoke,
"Can you be anymore slower than that? Don't you know what time it is? Eleanor should have been in the lesson two point four minutes ago! What is the point of making a schedule if your two can't even follow it?" She sighted and threw her hands in the air.
She kneeled down next to the little princess and kissed her cheek and in a softer voice she said, "In another two minutes I expect you to be down stairs in the dance hall…"
And with an ice cold voice she threatened the maid, "…don't be late, you wouldn't want Us to get angry now would we?" She stood up patted her skirt and walked away, her head held high and shoulders broad. The door closing behind echoed a little after. The princess and the older maid could only stare.
After the dust settled they both sprung to work. Eleanor hasty put on her dress and the maid put the finishing touches on her hair. The two ran after the Queen, through the door, down the lively castle halls, and glided over the grand stair cases to the main ball room. The older maid had forgotten a stair tread and came tumbling down. The little princess stopped abruptly in her path, gave a quick glance at the clock and scurried to her older friend. She knelt down, took her arm and ran further to the nearest chair. She made sure she was alright before storming off.
The last second ticked could just be heard when Princess Eleanor stood in the opening of the grand doors to the room. Her mother stood waiting next to the pianist looking on her monocle. She put away and stared deadpanned at her daughter.
"Well, I'm glad you do have a sense of time." She nodded at the pianist and the music began immediately. A boy that she hadn't seen earlier swooped her up in his arms and they began their dance. She gave a surprised look at her mother before she exclaimed,
"Where does he come from? Mommy?"
"My name, my pretty love, is Prince Andrew. I'm the Prince of the country by the sea." He said extending his arm making her do a spin. She gave a quick glance and then back at her mother's smug facial expression.
"Nice to meet you but I'm afraid my mother is planning things that she shouldn't meddle with." The little princess bowed to him and stormed off without warning. The queen gasped at her words, while the princess her little dance partner could only laugh. "My Your Majesty I 'can't help to think where she got that attitude." A blush rose up the face of the Queen. With hasty worlds she spoke, "Well I don't know what you heard but I can assure you I wasn't as remotely as bad as her." She emptied the wine glass she was holding and stormed of as well.
Before she stepped across of the threshold of the room she looked back at the prince and with a velvet like voice she spoke, "I will make sure that side will be gone before you will return." After that she was gone as fast that you could blink.
Meanwhile in the completely different side of the palace a little princess was sneaking around as usual. She had momentarily hidden herself behind a closet to avoid a butler walking in the opposite direction. When he was enough behind her she gave quick glace around before escaping her hiding place and fast walked to the kitchen.
There was a small door under the broom closet that lead to a shed at outer wall of the castle gardens. Via that door you would escape to the edge of the forest. No one in the entire castle had discovered the path way yet. A few cooks had been a little suspicious of the odd hatch on the floor, but most of them discarded as place to keep rice or grain dry. No one had caught on the fact that there was a certain wild little princess that liked to use it as a route to escape her duties and mostly her mother's schedule.
When the Princess reached the door the kitchen, she noticed a few of the maid, footmen and cooks still there to prepare lunch. She made sure to avoid them seeing her by crawling on the floor between their legs. By the time she had reached the door to the broom closet, was her face and hair covered in dropped flower and pieces cut lettuce for the salad. She closed the door behind her as silent as she could and waited till there was no one close to the door. When everyone was away she started moving the boxes and opened the hatch. She waited and gave a quick glance to the door and room behind it. She could only just hear some of the maids talking. She ignored them and went through the hole in the floor.
In the underground tunnel it only got worse. Her feet were soaked, a cold shiver ran across her back. With the lantern she had prepared she shone behind her. After a quick glance at the cold stone walls, she decided there was nothing out of the ordinary and ran to the exit. She might not have seen anything weird but she was certain that there had to be at least one rat that she missed. Or maybe something else… Another shiver ran through her spine at the thought. She remembered the maid's words, "There was this morning another body found. I heard it from the guards earlier. What do you think it could have been?"
She hesitated for a minute but decided that it might be better to go through the tunnel than confronting the danger that was her mother.
Back above the ground, the sun had started shining, casting a beautiful glow trough the crooks and nicks in the wooden walls of the shed. The outside breeze gently made the dust swirl in the light. The big door had rusted even more than last time and the old gardening tools were covered in weeds, and even though there was an ant nest right next to the hatch to the tunnel she loved to come here.
She gently closed the hatch behind her and made a way through the in ages not used materials to get to the big old rusted door. She could only just reach the door knob with her head. On hand clung to the handle and the other pushed with all the power her little body had. It took a moment but after a few tries the door finally budged and with a swing she was met by the bright light of the warm summer sun. In the distance she could hear the birds chirp and the rustle of the leaves were like an echo that spread through the forest.
She took a deep breath and stepped from the wooden panels in the shed over on the mush warm grass. And like that it was as if the castle and her responsibilities faded away in the background. Her first step led to the next and before she knew it she was capering about the forest ground. She passed the old oak tree, then stopped to pick a rose from the assortment of bright coloured wild roses and finally stopped on the familiar path to the lake.
You could still see the old stones of the path that used to connect the castle and the lake. the marble shimmered under the thick layers of moss. It was a bit slippery but Eleanor managed not to fall. Her ballerina slippers were obviously not made to go running through the forest with. And she was probably going to have to explain how they got dirty to her maid again.
She made her way down the rocky and overgrown stairs to the old square. It used to be a part of the castle's gardens. Its main purpose was to entertain guest from all-over the land with the big and grand festivities that were held at the lakeside. They would party from evening to dusk. And there would be fireworks set of over the Lake. Small boats would fire them and their candles lit up the entire surface. It was a party of colour to behold and al held a sense of fun. In the evening people would gather around a bon fire and tell stories.
Eleanor couldn't quit remember it. She was only so small back then and now, now there were only ruins. The docks that used to be filled with merchants and fisher men enjoying a booze, were pushed back in the sand; some pieces of the food stalls lay on the bottom of the lake together with the name plates that they held. The grandiose statues that decorated the pillars around the square that lit up on evening dances were now covered in ivy and climbing flowers. Nature had claimed back what was his again and all and every piece of marble was covered in moss or weeds. The linen robes that were used for shade in the hot summer were all gone and a deck of leafs and sticks replaced them in their task. But even though it looked like a forgotten world over run by plants, it still held a certain grace that it used to, maybe in another way but grace none the less.
The little princess moved her hand over the old railing of the stairs, gently as to not disturb the little insects that made the moss their home. She could not with al her power see the bad in this place. To her it was a place filled with memories. When she looked at the path to the water she could see all the people that had taken the path before her. She could see the old governor try to dance on the square and some of the towns folk stuffing themselves full of food at the what used to be a buffet table. It brought a sense of sadness to her to see how many memories were lost. From where she was standing she could just see one of the high towers of the castle. It made her think if her mother ever visited this place like her. Probably not. Was what she thought thinking back at this morning.
She went to the lakeside and splashed some water on her face. the cold temperature did wonders on her warm skin. The sun was still shining bright and the temperature was only rising. She held up her skirt and stepped in the cold water. It did wonder on her bare feet. She leaned down and looked at her image on the surface of the water. Her hair and dress were a mess due to the adventure in the kitchen earlier and her hands were full of mud because of ladders in the tunnel. She leaned over and cleaned her hands in the water. A cold gush of wind rushed towards her, originating from the forest. She turned around only to be met by big green eyes.
A boy stood right in front of her, only a few dozen centimetres from her. A screak left her throat and she tumbled backwards, landing on her bum in the cold water. Her dress was instantly soaked. she stared at him with wide eyes, for a moment she was scared that he was the person behind the disappearing. But after a closer look she realised that there was no way. He looked like a simple peasant kid. He was dressed in basic clothes, brown pants and a linen shirt, noting special for a village boy.
She felt a bit embarrassed by the way she was startled and gave him an angry stare.
The boy could only laugh for he has made a royal princess almost wet herself. Feeling a bit sorry for her he offered his hand to help her, but she declined, pushing his hand away from tried to get up on her own. He gave her an annoyed look because of her decline and placed his arms behind his shoulders. "Well, I'm sorry I only wanted to help." He huffed.
Her head shot up to look at him, angry eyes peered through his skull. He tried to look away but was trapped in the intensity that the two blue eyes held.
Growing angrier and angrier she spoke, "You wouldn't need to help me if you hadn't pushed me in the water in the first place." She started walking off back to the castle but was stopped by him saying, "Hey, I didn't push you, you fell in yourself."
She turned around and walked back dawn the first steps of the stair to face him. With her head held high she spoke, "That might be but it was still your fault I fell in." The boy's face grew red with anger and he stamped on the floor before yelling, "I only wanted to have some fun, I'm sorry if you can't take a joke."
A gasp left Eleanor's mouth before she yelled back, "I'll have you know I have a great sense of humour, and you could hardly call that a joke." A curious look flashed across the boy's eyes before daring her, "Then what to you call a good joke? Oh master of fun." He made a little bow before letting her speak.
She thought a for a moment about his question. She had come up with a lot of practical jokes but none came to mind, not when he was staring at her with those bright green eyes. She got so nervous her mind drew a blank. After a minute she confessed that she didn't know any at the moment.
"What was that?" he asked her, making her feelings of shame even bigger.
"I told you I don't know any now, oke! I swear I know good ones; I just can't remember any now." The boy noticed her blush and change in posture, he thought that she might cry and dropped the subject.
A grin spread across his lips and he extended his hand for the second time that day. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. My name is Darius." She lifted her head and wiped away the tear that had almost fallen. "I wasn't going to cry."
"Oh, please. You would." He huffed.
"Would not!" She placed her hands on her hips and stared deep in his eyes. The boy named Darius did the same before he too started tearing up, but this time because of the lack of blinking.
She smiled when he gave up and started wiping his eyes.
She gave a little bow to him and announced her name, "My name is Eleanor, princess of this small kingdom." Darius looked up and surprise spread across his face.
"Wait, you… you are the… the…" He stammered.
"…The princes." She finished for him, "Yes I am, so that will learn you not to play a joke on innocent girls."
"Innocent huh? If you are then what are you doing here?" He asked. A drop of sweat glided down her cheek and a nervous tone presented itself in her voice, "I… I'm aloud here. And what about you? Huh are you supposed to even be here?"
"No, but I wouldn't lie about it." He said proud, as if declaring to have won in the game who could be the most rebel, or that was Eleanor thought anyway.
"Than what are you doing here, if I might ask?"
"I wanted to see if the rumours were true." A cold feeling surrounded her again and made a shiver run down her spine. After all her adventures she knew the forest inside and out she hadn't noticed anything weird. Yes, the forest had that constant eerie feel but there was no way there were actually monsters were there? She glanced at the boy sitting next to her again, he looked as if waiting for her reaction. With a soft voice she spoke, "Don't get your hopes up, I have come her a lot before and I haven't seen anything."
He stared at her for a moment and for a while she thought she might have hurt him by saying that. He interrupted her line of thought and said, "Alright, but what after dark?"
She gulped looking in his eyes, searching for the fact that he might have made a mistake, but alas, he was sincere.
"you don't actually want to do that do you?" she asked a touch of fear lingering in her voice.
"and what if I do? You said it yourself that there was nothing." It was true that she had said that but sometimes she herself didn't belief her own words. Going to the forest at night was one thing but actually going at night was something completely different.
"I know but what if there is?" she asked.
"Then that's even better, don't you think? Then we'll finally find out if the rumours are true or not." The enthusiasm in his voice scared her more than the actual danger of the forest held at night. Wait did he just say WE?
"Oh no! I'm not going with you at night!" she exclaimed standing up. There was no way she would go out there at night, even though it might promise a wonderful adventure, she had made a promise to her mother and father. Besides this guy was crazy he didn't know anything about the forest.
"Why not princess would it not be a great adventure." He nudged her side as a way of convincing her. But she was to determined. She tried to convince him against but like her would change his mind. After a while the little princess decided to go against her fear, and promise, "Fine I'll go with you, else you'll only get lost and then I'll feel guilty about it." He already started cheering before she interrupted huis parade, "But only if you promise to listen to me and not to run off to somewhere else."
"Don't worry Princess, I'll protect you." He said grabbing her hand and holding it close to his heart. A blush crept up her cheeks and made her look away.
"We will meet here tomorrow evening at dusk, oke?" he nodded and they both went their separate ways.
The next morning when Eleanor went to have breakfast, she heard two footmen talk about yet another missing person, only this time they had a name. Darius.
She stopped dead in her tracks and walked to the two men. They were both startled by the little voice. They looked down and saw her standing there, big round eyes filled with worry. "Where can we help you with Your Majesty?" One of the two men asked kneeling down to face her at her eyelevel. "You said Darius? What were you talking about?" The man exchanged a look with his partner and gave a small sigh.
"You know how some people don't come back from the forest?" The little princess nodded and the man continued, "This morning they found a man at the side of the road. It was the baker from the village at the other side of the lake. He and his son were traveling via the road yesterday evening. The forest took them away from us, like the other victims."
"You shouldn't say those things to a child." The other man interrupted, patting the shoulder of the other man. "Where are they, is Darius with his father." The princess asked, scared for her new made friend.
The men exchanged some looks again before one spoke, "He wasn't with his father. He is still missing…" She gasped and stumbled back, before she could ask for Darius the man continued, "The man died, he and his son might have been attacked by wolves, by the look of his wounds."
Tears started to pool in Eleanor's eyes and before soon she was crying, her hands went up to stop them but it only got worse. The fact that he might be hurt brought sadness to her and the feeling of uselessness. She wanted to go help them but the footman grabbed her arm. Even with all her strength she couldn't escape the hold on her arm. She started yelling and hitting him, causing such a commotion that soon the entire castle was gathered in the hallway.
The king and Queen came storming through the layers of personnel, pushing them aside to see their daughter. Eleanor was nestled in the arms of the footmen on the floor. He softly whispered that it will be alright in her ear but the tears wouldn't stop. The other footman that was with the two filled in the King of what had took place while the Queen took the little princess in her arms.
They brought her to her room and the servants all went back to work after a lecture from the main maid.
In the room of the princess, tried her parents to calm her down but to no avail, ending in leaving her alone. Eventually she stopped when she had no more tears to cry. A day or two had passed after she came out of her room again. But she wasn't the same, the happy boll of energy that she was before was gone. All the maids tried to cheer her up but nothing worked, for every time she almost smiled she also remembered the grin on the green eyed boys face the moment she fell in the water.
But, even though it took her at least 2 years to regain her smile, that fire that she once held was gone forever.
Well forever, I wouldn't say for it is true that they might meet again.