Challenge: Fairytales. I think I've accomplished that.
"And he swept her into his powerful arms as took her away-"
"Did they live happily ever after?" Sabriel interrupted, raising her 7-year-old hand high.
"Oh, yes. They loved each other and lived happily ever after," answered sixteen-year-old Allistrae with a kind smile.
"Yay!" applauded Sulyn, also seven, and Ellimere, still six. The distant look in Sabriel's eye let her friends know that her mind was somewhere else entirely.
"Could I be a princess?" Sabriel wondered aloud. "My daddy's not from here."
An immediate look of puzzlement spread onto the faces of the 3 others at the mention of the Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom was an odd place, full of magic and mystery, a place that Ancelstierrans didn't bother themselves with. It was much too confusing.
"Ask your father," Allistrae suggested, reaching up to help the little girls up off the floor. Story time was over.
Sabriel remembered the days she would dream of being whisked away by a Prince. Even at 15, she believed anything was possible. Sabriel's father, Abhorsen, willed her to believe in Princes and Princesses, because that was the history of the Old Kingdom, where Sabriel came from. Sulyn, one of Sabriel's two best friends, knew exactly what Sabriel was thinking.
"If a Prince comes to save you, I hope he has a brother," joked Sulyn, laying a hand on Sabriel's shoulder. Sulyn was sweet and empathetic, and always knew what her friends were thinking, and the wistful look in Sabriel's eye was all Sulyn needed. Sabriel didn't often think about Princes and Princesses, do the two didn't often talk about them.
Glancing over at Sulyn, Sabriel was jealous of her friend. Being such a sweet girl, Sulyn was well-liked and popular, goals that being from the Old Kingdom stopped. Sulyn was loved by younger kids, and was sure to become a Prefect. If Sabriel was to become a Prefect, it would be her good marks that willed that.
"You'd never love a Prince, only a politician," Sabriel teased. Sulyn's orange hair bounced cheerfully as she nodded in agreement, eyes alight with amusement.
"Agreed. You are the Prince type," Sulyn agreed, plopping down on the sofa in the Common Room. Her smile was hopeful, though Sulyn didn't believe in Princes and Princesses the way Sabriel did. Sabriel sat down beside Sulyn.
"What? Is it because I believe in them?"
"No, you just seem like a Prince person."
"For what it's worth, you are, too."
"Thanks."
Sabriel remembered the days when she'd dream of Princes and believe that she would be a Queen, like in the old days of Ancelstierre. Of course, when Sabriel was fifteen, she had known that she was only willing herself to believe that Princes were real. She hadn't really believed in them. Oh, how wrong she had been.
When Sabriel's father, Terciel, had told her that Touchstone had been a son of the Queen, she didn't believe it at first. But Touchstone's simple three words, "I love you" taught Sabriel that Princes do exist. They were real, and Sabriel could tell herself that she truly loved a Prince.
Sabriel woke up as if from a pleasant sleep. As she moved to stretch, a sharp pain pierced her side and she cried out. When she came to her senses, Sabriel saw bleak walls and the type of equipment seen only in hospitals. Sabriel looked to her side and saw that her side had been bandaged, leading her to believe she was in an Ancelstierran hospital.
"Sabriel!" a male voice cried out in response to here failed stretch. Touchstone was at her side in an instant.
"Nurse, she's woken up!" Touchstone alerted the young woman waiting outside Sabriel's room. It was less than a moment later before the sound of shoes shuffling away could be heard.
"Oh, Sabriel! You're alive!" Touchstone breathed, throwing his arms around the Abhorsen, careful not to hurt her wounds. Touchstone's strong arms gripped her with enough strength to hold her barely healed body, but not too strong to hurt her. Sabriel felt so loved, knowing her Prince had come.
"Touchstone! You're alive!" Sabriel responded, hugging him back, joy in her words.
"Abhorsen," the nurse called, interrupting the little love fest by entering the room. She saw that Sabriel and Touchstone were sharing a moment, and stepped back in embarrassment. "There's someone her to see you."
Instantly, Sabriel and the Prince leapt apart, trying to look normal. Touchstone exited the room hesitantly, casting a worried look back at Sabriel before leaving in a short rush. A moment later, Sulyn entered. At the sight of Sabriel's gaping wound, Sulyn's eyes widened to the size of moons and she threw her arms around her best friend lightly. The hug was a gentle, friendly hug rather than the amorous hug Sabriel had received from Touchstone.
"Sulyn!" Sabriel cried, throwing her arms around her red-haired friend as Sulyn sat at Sabriel's bedside.
"You're alive!" Sulyn responded, hugging her back. "Oh, I was so afraid-"
"I know," Sabriel consoled, her midnight hair falling and mixing with Sulyn's orange hair. "I miss Ellimere."
"She will be remembered," Sulyn promised. "She was brave, but it was not her time."
"It was not. I will name my first daughter after her."
"A daughter?"
"Yes. Princess Ellimere."
"Princess?"
"The Prince is my love."
"A Prince?"
"Prince Touchstone."
"The man that left your room when I came in?"
"No other," Sabriel responded, and Sulyn screamed.
"Your Prince has come!"
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