I'm sorry I was gone for so long. There was a little bug in my house. First my 10-year-old sister gets sick for a month, then I got sick for the month, then my 4-year-old sister gets sick (although I feel bad for laughing because her coughing sounded like a duck quacking) and now my smallest sister Emily is sick. And to top it all off, my mom seems to be getting sick. All that's left is for my dad to get sick. Sheesh! As a sorry for being sick, I'll mash 2 chapters in one. Hope you like it.
Reby Montana- well at least your happy your not getting married.
T.G- I actually was thinking about it. And I just might. If not then it'll most likely happen during a one shot after this story.
J.p - true those are what the fairy tales say but…. I like to put a twist to things… and yea I feel awkward too.
Let's go!
"Out of all the times we could've done this, why are we doing this so late at night?" Gallus mumbled under his breath. If he even had any breath left in him. All 5 of his friends were now on his shoulders trying to get over the wall in the garden.
"We helped Suki escape so it makes scenes that we get her back," Ocellus was at the very top. She hopped onto the top of the wall and helped Silver up.
"Oh, this is going to be so exciting!" Silver cheered only to earn herself a harsh hush from everyone.
"You'll get us caught," Sam hopped onto the top of the wall. The three girls kneeled down and onto Anna. Being the heaviest of them all, the three girls struggled to get her on the wall.
"Anna still not sure if we should be doing this," Anna pushed herself up until he made it on top of the wall," What if nasty queen finds out we left? Anna don't want extra chores."
"Don't worry," Sander raised up his hands as a signal he needed help getting up," T.G will cover for us."
"I will?!" T.G shrieked in surprise. He was keeping watch, making sure the teens left without anyone noticing.
"Yea, your going to cover our chores for us so Chef doesn't get suspicious. You know how feisty she gets with the smallest details," Sander pulled himself up with the help of the girls.
"I'm still convinced this is a bad idea," Gallus didn't even bother asking for help to get on the wall. He grabbed onto the vines on the wall and used them to climb up the wall," Suki is probably miles away by now. We'll never catch up to her."
"Oh don't be such a downer Gallus," Silver playfully said in her usual cheery tune," We can just ask people in town if we ever need help finding her."
"I don't do help," Gallus mumbled under his breath. He placed one arm onto the top of the wall but before he can lift himself up, the vine that was supporting his leg snapped under his weight. The sudden change suddenly made him slipped off the wall but instead of falling, he felt a pair of hands grab onto his arm.
"Everyone needs at least a little help," Silver comment as she held onto him. Gallus just rolled his eyes and made his way to the top with her help.
"Why couldn't we escape the same way as Suki?" Gallus tried to get to another topic.
"Chef has Jp guarding that area," Ocellus answered," She's going to double the guard's tomorrow morning for the ball. Not to mention she wants the competition preparations done before morning. So that's why we need to escape now. To give us more time to find Suki and when we come back, it'll only look like we came back from shopping for Chef."
Ocellus looked down to see how they were going to reach the ground without getting hurt. Her worried look didn't go unnoticed.
"I got you," Sam jumped down and stuck the landing like nothing. She reached her arms up signaling the small girl to jump.
"Oh boy," Ocellus jumped down letting Sam catch her with no problem.
"Wow, impressive strength," Sander smiled.
"Nice that someone notices," Sam smirked. She reached her arms out again signaling for Sander to jump," If only Chef did. If it wasn't for that stupid law of hers I would've been training to be a knight by now instead of a maid."
"You mean that law that says girls can't join the royal guards?" Sander asked as he jumped down.
"Yea, that one," Sam scoffed at the thought. For years she wanted to join the guards. It was her dream job. In fact, she willing went to the castle as a little girl looking for a chance to join, but all she got was a place in the kitchen as a scullery maid. Washing dishes and keeping the kitchen clean," Just wish I had a small chance to really express myself. Show what I got, you know."
"I understand," Ocellus started," all I wanted was to study my books and maybe make an important discovery or become an author. Not a regular laundry maid."
"Anna would love to stop cooking for evil queen!" Anna slammed against the floor startling her friends," And travel around the world through the seas like my ancestors!"
"Anything would beat this dump," Gallus jumped down with no problem," If I were free, I would run far from this place as far as possible."
"I would too," Sander added on to his friend's comment," Maybe then I would be able to see my family. It's been so long. I haven't seen them since I left to find a job."
"What about you Silver?" Ocellus asked, turning around expecting to see her friend. Only she wasn't on the floor yet. All 5 of them looked up to see the tan girl still on the wall, looking up at the stars, as if she was reading them," Silver?"
"What would I do if I was free?" Silver whispered to herself. She slowly looked down at nothing particular but even from a distance, her friends can see she was beginning to trigger her ptsd again.
"Oh no," Gallus whispered to himself," Silver get down before you hurt yourself!"
"I…. I would go off and find my family…. Maybe reunite with my…. My…." She jerked her head down as if a sharp pain just hit her. T.G looked from the other side of the wall. He wasn't sure if he should call out for help or not.
"Silver! Get down!" Sam carefully cried out as well as her friends. It didn't help, the girl on the wall started to groan in pain, her breath became rapid and she could feel the world start to spin.
"Run…. Run…. Run…" Silver kept whispering to herself. Each word she uttered, it got louder and louder.
"Silver! Snap out of it!" Sander tried to tell her. She still couldn't hear him. Screams echoed in her mind, cries of people wouldn't leave her ears. Before she knew it, tears began streaming down her cheeks.
"We need to get her down, help me up," Gallus told his friends. Sander locked his hands together and pushed Gallus up.
"Water…. Water…. I'm going to…. HELP! HELP!" Silver started shrieking.
Her voice was so loud; it could be heard across the garden. Not too far, Jp was walking by doing his night shift until he heard the girl screaming. Not needing to think twice if someone was in trouble, Jp pulled out his sword out and ran towards the screams.
"Silver! Silver! Relax," Gallus made it to the top and held onto her shoulders.
"Everyone is gone! No one's left!"
"Nothing's going to hurt you. I'm right here." Gallus kept trying to reach her.
"You guys might want to hurry," T.G spotted Jp emerging from the trees.
"Oh boy, please forgive me Silver…. Heads up!" Gallus grabbed onto his friend and pushed her off the wall. Everyone below caught her and wrapped their hands over her mouth trying to muffle her screams.
"Hey! Who's there!" Gallus heard Jp voice. He jumped off and urged everyone to start moving away from the wall.
"Jp! Heeeey," T.G put on an awkwardly wide smile as he leaned against the brick wall," What are you doing here?"
"Um…. I have the night shift. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed, it's almost midnight," Jp told him.
"Oh you know, just going for a late night stroll across the garden,"
"Right…. I thought I heard a girl screaming here," Jp scanned the area trying to see the source of the screams.
"Screaming… I didn't hear screaming," T.G gave out a nervous laugh.
"Really? I was sure a girl was screaming help here,"
"Help?... Uh… that was me, yea," T.G stuttered on his words every now and then. Jp on the other hand wasn't buying it.
"You? You were screaming help?"
"Yep…." T.G said in an oddly happy tune for someone who was screaming help like bloody murder.
"Why?"
"Why?... It's…. It's a play I'm planning on audition for. You know that theater…. In that one place?" T.G felt his heart start racing like crazy," They're doing that one play…. Where a…. Teenage girl is crying for help."
Jp looked at his friend as if he lost his mind.
"Well… good luck on getting that part…. But it's almost midnight and you know how the queen hates people walking around past midnight."
"Yes sir!" T.G saluted and ran off. Jp just rolled his eyes at his weird antics before going back to his position.
In the town, all the stores were closed and the group of teens kept trying to calm Silver down.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't…. Don't know what happened…." Silver was breathing into a paper bag Ocellus provided for her.
"It's all right, we're out, now we just need to find Suki," Sander told them. He looked at the empty streets where the lamps were barely illuminating the streets. The clouds covered a majority of the moon, limiting their natural light. It was nearly pitch black. He can barely see what was a 10 feet away from him," I just hope she didn't go too far."
In town at 5 am
"How much longer," Sander was on the ground with his face in the dirt. Pulling onto his leg, Gallus groaned in annoyance.
"Don't start complaining, you're the one who suggested looking for Suki so early in the morning,"
"It's been almost 5 hours, I'm sure we're close," Ocellus looked over the map they had," We checked downtown, uptown, all we have left is the central, makes sense, that is where all the markets and stores are at."
"I just hope we find her before anyone at the castle realizes she's missing," Sam thought about what would happen if the queen found out one of her nieces had run off.
In the center of the town, people were running around, decorating the place with colors and flowers. No doubt to welcome all the suitors that were coming that day. Food was everywhere, everyone was wearing good clothing, and even cleaned up the place to make it look decent.
"Here are the dancing slippers that you needed Biggie," Branch came out of the shoe shop to tell his friends. They had a stand set up near their shop and displayed everything they had. Biggie took the shoes and put them on display hoping to sell them.
"Honestly Branch, how do you make such beautiful slippers. They're so smooth and such beautifully detailed," Biggie complimented his work.
"When you make 12 pairs of dancing shoes every month for 12 princesses, you get a lot of practice," Branch always felt proud of himself when he gets his friends to smile. For the past 7 years, business has improved. With Jps new job and the extra work like deliveries made them enough money to support their business. The one downside was that Cooper was no longer allowed near the castle walls and they rarely ever see Jp. He lived in the castle now due to work schedules but they were thankful for what he did. Working and gaining them money. He only had 3 years left of his contract with the queen, meaning once it's done he'll be coming back to the shop to help again. If they saved up the money and used it wisely, their business would continue running and they'll have enough money to support them for a generation or two. But just because they had a happier life didn't mean the world around them was happy. Not everyone had the luxury of working for the queen. People still had to over work and many had to steal to live. Sometimes he wished there was a way to improve this kingdom he lived in.
"Alright!" Cooper came into the scene with a barrel full of supplies," I just finished helping my family with their fruit and veggie stand and I'm ready to work! who's ready to start making shoes!"
"You got all the supplies?" Branch asked.
"Yep, fabric, metal, nails, polish, it's all here," Cooper chimed.
"What about scissors?" Branch asked. Cooper's body froze in time for a split second.
"The what?"
"We wore the scissors out remember? We needed new ones," Branch reminded him. Cooper looked inside the barrel for a while before backing up slowly.
"Anyone have some coins that I can borrow?" He asked. Branch rolled his eyes at his friend's forgetful nature. He grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the store.
"We'll be back from shopping soon," Branch told them as they left.
Walking by all the stands, Suki made sure her face was hidden from everyone. She swiped her curly hair away from her eyes to get a better look at all the things they had for sell. It was fascinating for her. They sold everything here, jewelry, dresses, toys, food, you name it. And to make things better, everything seemed so alive. People put colored decorations on their houses, many people were happily fixing their homes, everything looked so much happier than the day they first came. Chef must have done something wonderful for the citizens to be so happy.
(song, Bold for actions)
Town people
"Happiness,
Happiness oh happiness,
Happiness,
Happiness oh happiness,"
The town folk all sang in great harmony, each voice working well with the other.
"Here in our land, our home,
Everyone will know the creative feeling of happiness!
Happiness oh happiness,
Happiness,
Happiness oh happiness,"
Suki was amazed at the cheerful tone of everyone. She has never seen anyone in this kingdom so happy in her entire life. She couldn't believe it, for the past seven years, it was a miracle to see a single smile on anyone's face. Now here she is, experiencing happiness for the first time in this kingdom. She just had to know the reason why.
"The festival is coming!
It's coming!
The festival of Freedom
From all around, come running!
To celebrate together!
The first ever one
Is coming
The Festival of faith and hope,
Is coming
So make some good weather
The Festival is almost here!"
Talk
"Would you like some fresh fruit my dear," an old man stopped Suki.
"Oh, no thank you sir. I don't have money," Suki denied the offer.
"That's alright, I'll give it to you for free," The man placed a yellow apple in her hands.
"Thank you?" Suki tilted her head in confusion," But I couldn't really. You need the money to…."
"I insist my dear. In just a few weeks our lives are about to change for the better," the man revealed to her.
"Really? Is that's why the town is so colorful today. Their making a festival to celebrate?"
"Yep, we're all so excited we couldn't resist putting a celebration," the man laughed in pure joy. This put a smile on Suki's face. She always enjoyed watching others feel joy and happiness.
"If you don't mind me asking, why is the town setting up a festival?"
"You haven't heard?" The man said in a surprising but cheerful tune. Suki only shrugged indicating she didn't get the memo," The princesses are going to court with some suitors soon."
"Oh," Suki's wide smile melted into a slightly sad but mostly surprised expression," And…. How is that good news exactly? I mean not that I don't think it's good news or anything but…. What does the princesses arranged marriages have to do with all this?"
"Everything dearest," an old lady came into the picture," You know that war we've been having against Bergen town. The prince from that kingdom is coming by to ask one of the princess's hand in marriage. If all goes well the war will finally end and then our little boy will finally come home."
"War? I didn't know we were at war," Suki was surprised by the sudden news.
"Oh we are. The queen sent a lot of young men, including our son, to go fight," The old man said in a downer tune," With him gone, we've been having financial problems as well."
"We won't have to worry about that soon either," the lady placed a hand over her husband's shoulder for comfort," I heard the prince from the Evergreen kingdom is willing to share his wealth with our kingdom in exchange for a princess's hand in marriage. With his wealth the citizens here won't have to worry about money for the longest time."
"Well…. That sure sounds great, but I don't know if the princesses like the idea of marrying a stranger," Suki tried to make them see this in her eyes.
"Oh we know," The lady said shocking Suki," Being a princess isn't easy. Sometimes she has to make tough choices to keep her kingdom happy. Which is why we are so grateful for the princesses."
Suki forced a smile on herself. She couldn't believe her ears. She never thought about the arranged marriages actually fixing a problem or being a good thing. All her life she has read books about how a princess should be free to marry who she wants to marry and live happily ever after. At that moment she can feel guilt build up on her chest on running away. Can it be she was being selfish about her situation? Was she only thinking of herself and not about the citizens?
She could think later. In a split second, Suki felt her hand get pulled into the celebration by some happy town folks. They had turned on the fountain and let the blue water spill beautifully against some kids hands. Everyone was having the time of their lives, dancing around the place.
"Cooper hurry up," Branch was practically dragging his friend through the crowd.
"Hold on, can't we stay and see the festival," Cooper kept getting distracted by everything. The food they were giving out, the events they were setting up, and just the sight of everything being so bright and happy. He whirled around to take a good look at everything until he felt a harsh push on his back.
"Whoa, sorry," He heard a female's voice pass by him. Cooper looked at the direction the voice came to see a curly red haired girl picking herself up from the floor," I'm not use to these types of dances."
"No no, my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going," Cooper helped the girl up. The moment he saw her; he couldn't help but feel something familiar. Her curly hair, freckles, purple eyes, what was it? "Have I seen you before?"
"Not that I remember," Suki shrugged her shoulders before taking off to join the dance again. The boy looked back at Branch to see he was almost at the shop then glanced back at the festival.
"Ok Cooper we have to…." Branch turned around to find that his friend had completely disappeared. No doubt to have fun," You got to be kidding me."
Barely entering the festival, the young 6 teens ran in and looked around.
"I don't see her, do you see her," Silver asked.
"Let's split up in pairs," Gallus suggested as he took ahold of Silver hand and pulled her to the right.
"Anna know best way," Anna pulled onto Sander to the left. Ocellus and Sam glanced at one another and shrugged. They both fled to the middle in hopes to find the missing princess.
(sing)
Town folks
"Happiness,
Happiness oh happiness,
Happiness,
Happiness oh happiness,"
Everyone spun around in circles around the fountain in pure joy. While Suki was distracted at the fact that this was to celebrate the arrange marriages, she still wanted to have some fun. She jumped onto the side of the fountain to do a couple twirls and jumps. Not too far, Silver looked behind her to spot the red haired girl. She nudged onto Gallus arms, getting his attention, and pointed at Suki. Within a second, the two ran towards her.
"Here in our land, our home,
Everyone will know how to celebrate the feeling of happiness!
Happiness oh happiness,
Happiness,
Happiness oh happiness,"
Her moves caught a lot of attention of the crowd. Many of them stopped to look at the princess leap high and spin with a lot of energy. This didn't go unnoticed by both Anna and Sander. When they landed their eyes on her, they quickly made their way through the crowd to get to her.
"The festival is coming!
It's coming!
The festival of Kindness
From all around, come running!
To celebrate together!
The first ever one
Is coming
The Festival of Beauty,
Is coming
So make some good weather
The Festival is almost here!"
With the music still going on, Sam saw the princess and immediately pulled onto Ocellus arm and dragged her across the floor. Without looking, all six teens rammed into each other causing one another to stumble and fall.
(scratch music away)
One by one, the six fell with Ana slamming her back onto a stand, knocking the wooden poles over. The stand began to tilt towards where Suki was.
"Suki lookout!" Sander called out. Suki looked over her shoulder to see the incoming polls. She gave out a yelp and jumped away. Only she didn't really look where she was jumping. A man with his cart of items was passing by until Suki landed onto his cart and knocked everything over, breaking the cart in the progress.
"What was that for?!" The man screamed at the princess.
"I'm so sorry!" Suki stood up to her feet and apologized. She kneeled down and started to pick up all the items that fell.
"You better pay for all this missy!" The man grabbed her arm and pulled her up violently causing her to drop everything.
"I… i… I don't have any money on me sir. I didn't…." Suki felt herself get pulled away by the man.
"You think you can just hop around destroying other people's property?!" The man pushed her against a wall and raised his first. Suki didn't need to ask what was gonna happen. She shut her eyes tight and embraced for pain," Why I outta…."
"Thank you sir!" Right when the man was about to hit her, Suki got pulled out of the way causing the man to smack the wall instead. He screamed in agony and held onto his injury. Suki opened her eyes and realized she was no longer in danger but being pulled away by two people, "I've been looking all over for her. Honestly, she can be a real trouble maker."
She looked behind her to see Cooper was blocking her from the man. Next to her was a little girl with slightly slanted eyes and pale skin. She was pulling her away from the situation.
"You know this girl?" The man asked with some anger still locked inside him. Cooper took in a deep breath as if he was sad.
"Unfortunately, yes. She's our sister. She's a little crazy in the head," Cooper tried to whisper that last part.
"Hey," Suki heard that. The little girl then pulled onto her hood so Suki can hear her.
"Play along," she whispered.
"You two are siblings?" The man said suspiciously as he looked at their different skin color.
"I know I know, we come from a mix family," Cooper gestured towards the little girl, "She's my cousin Sushi. She was adopted and comes from a Japanese origin. One of my aunts is half swedish, one of my uncles is Swedish, my…..."
"I still need to get paid for all this damage!" The man grabbed Cooper by his collar shirt and pulled him in with a threatening face.
"I'll pay for the damages,' A white man with blond hair came into the scene. He pulled Cooper away from the man and pushed him with the girls. He took out a bag of coins and handed it to the angry man, "I'm sure this will pay for the damages."
The man took the bag in a rough manner and took a peek inside.
"It's all there, don't worry," The blond man began pushing Cooper and the girls away, "I'm sure my kids here won't bother you again."
"You better make sure they don't," The man angrily mumbled before gathering the bits of his broken wagon. Once they were far enough, the white man looked towards Suki.
"Don't mind him dear," He told her, "We run into him every day we come here. He's just one of those lonely grumpy old men with anger issues."
"Thank you all for saving me," Suki said.
"Don't mention it," Cooper shrugged it off. Again, he took a glance at her and noticed how clean and neat she looked compare to everyone else, "You not from around here are you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Suki pulled her hood over her face even more. She couldn't afford anyone recognizing her.
"Well, you kinda do stand out….. In a good way I mean," Cooper cleared his throat causing a giggle from the princess.
"Stick with us pretty lady," little Sushi chimed like a child, "We'll show you around the market and how to avoid trouble like that meanie."
Suki let a small smile form on her lips. This girl looked like she was around 12. Her hyper and kid like personality reminded her of herself as a child. She use to skip around in joy and play all day with her sisters. Speaking if which, how were her sisters doing with her out of the castle?
At the castle
"No…. No… no… NO!" Poppy was running around the room, pulling the covers from all 12 beds.
"What are you looking for?" Rebey asked her. Poppy checked under the beds before running to the balcony.
"Not what? Who!" Poppy scanned the garden but saw no one. She slammed her palms on the railings in frustration before knocking on the bathroom door. When no answer came, Poppy opened it and checked inside the shower and even under the sink.
"Who? Who's who?" Jo asked while she watched her panicking sister.
"Suki that's who!" Poppy went back to the bedroom and let herself plop on her bed.
"Maybe she's already down stairs? Chef did say she would busy today. Setting up for the suitors to come," Wisp added in a possibility.
"Uge, don't remind me," Satin groaned, "Getting married to a spoiled horrible prince! I just can't imagine my life being happy anymore."
"Tell me about it. The castle is going to be boring without you girls here to boss me around a lot," Rebey joked as she made her bed.
"Ha-ha, very funny Rebey," Jo went to her wooden chest and took out a small box. She pulled out a pair of round glasses with a thin, gold colored frame.
"Since when do you wear glasses?" Harper asked.
"Jp noticed I was very clumsy when I helped him with his training yesterday. He suggested I wear these from now on," Jo answered, "He said to think of them as a Birthday Day gift since I'm turning 19 a couple of weeks."
"Well whoopees for you!" Poppy cried out sarcastically, "Are we all just going to forget one of our sisters is gone!?"
"She probably went to have some alone time. She was rather upset yesterday," Bridget gently sat Poppy back down.
"I guess. I just want her to be here. With us. Before we…. I just can't believe we're actually getting separated like this,''
"It's our duty as princesses to serve our queen and follow her commands. If we must marry, we will," Jo told all her sisters before mumbling, "I just wish Chef didn't marry me off in my teens."
"You can't be considering this, could you?" Karma couldn't believe her ears.
"I wouldn't mind…. At least not too much… I mean we are princesses," Wisp said shyly and twirled with her bangs.
"Well I object to such actions," Chenille claimed," Making choices for me. I should decide who to marry!"
"I'm with you there," Karma agreed.
"No one's tying me down," Smidge claimed.
"I know for a fact I deserve better than a stuck up prince," Maddy backed them up.
"It would be nice to choose," Bridget thought out loud.
"We can't girls," Poppy stood back up, "We can't go against Chefs wishes. Let's try to look at the bright side. Once we're married then we won't have to live in this poor town."
"I guess," Smidge crossed her arms and huffed, "But that's only if we get picked as a bride… wait…. Only if we get picked as a bride…."
"Smidge?" Maddy noticed that look on her face.
"We can't get married if a prince doesn't pick one us!" Smidge jumped onto her feet in glee," All we have to do is scare off the princes and then they won't be interested in marrying us."
"Smidge that is brilliant!" Maddy clapped her hands together at her idea.
"Scare off the suitors? I think that sounds a bit mean does it not?" Wisp asked with her shy voice.
"I agree, I'm not happy with this arrange marriage either but sabotaging the princes and scare them off…. doesn't seem right or nice," Jo added into the conversation.
"Please, what is mean is Chef making this arrangement in the first place!" Chenille comment," I say Smidges idea is brilliant."
"I second that!" Satin raised her hand.
"It's worth a shot," Bridget shrugged her shoulders.
"Ain't nobody stealing my sisters away from me!" Rebey chimed.
"Oh boy! Those suitors better look out cause here come Karma!" Karma rubbed her hands in excitement.
"That's 7 yeses and 2 nos'!" Smidge happily said. She then turned to the eldest sister," Poppy? What do you say?"
Poppy sat in her bed, thinking over what Smidge just said. This seemed a little extreme in her eyes. Scarring off the suitors? How would they do it? Would Chef get mad?
"If you girls are so sure about it…. And promise nothing too extreme…. Then I guess it can work," Poppy agreed. All the girls cheered and hopped around.
"Ladies, breakfast is waiting for you," they heard T.G call to them. All the girls excitedly ran out and made their way to the dining room.
At the garden
After breakfast, Chef opened up the castle and the garden to everyone who wanted to see the competitions. The girls watched from a platform that was set up out in the garden and watched as everyone came in. Of course, suitors from all over had to answer the call. The girls couldn't believe how many there were. There must've been at least one suitor from each kingdom.
"Sheesh, I knew we were some of the fairest princesses out there but this right here is ridiculous," Maddy tried to count how many suitors came.
"Oh, I don't like this," Wisp shivered in fear.
"Welcome peasants! I'm so glad you all came to witness the competitions I have set up. Now here are the rules. I know many of you men have come in hopes to gain a princess hand in marriage. Well I only have 10 girls open for the position, and too many of you men. So here's the deal, We will hold 10 competitions today. Each one will have a certain princess as his prize. Starting from youngest to oldest. Each winner will win the hand of one princess and take her as his bride." Smidge nearly gagged at the mention if being a bride. As Chef continued with the announcement, the girls all huddled to talk.
"Anyone seen Suki yet?" Poppy asked.
"No, and I worry that she may actually not be within the castle walls," Jo told them with worry.
"She couldn't just run away… could she?" Poppy thought about her younger sister. She was quiet rebellious. More than anyone she knows. But it was that rebellion that sometimes led her to make dumb decisions.
"If she did, someone better find her or else Chef will…" Jo couldn't finish her sentence. She felt her aunt's hand grab her arm and pull her front and center.
"The first princess on display is my 18 year old niece here Jocabed," Chef announced. The crowd cheered in delight while the girl awkwardly smiled at the thought of being a prize, "First up, horse riding and archery. The competitor that hits the most bullzy in the race and crosses the finish line with their horse first, will be crowned the winner. Get your horses ready because the race will start in 15 minutes."
One by one, all the suitors walked up to their horses and prepared for the race. Unexpectedly, one of them decided to walk up to the girls.
"Ladies," he bowed to which the girls politely bowed back, except for Smidge. Noticing this, Poppy gave her a nudge.
"Ow," Smidge looked at Poppy who mouthed the words ,be nice, to her. Smidge rolled her eyes and forced the fakest and biggest smile before bowing down too.
"I'm prince Jabez. And I must say what an honor it is to marry one you fine ladies," the moment he said that, Poppy had to put a hand in front of Smidge to prevent her from attacking the guy. The girls looked at each other with confused or shocked looks. Did he really just assume that he was gonna marry one of them?
"How….. ludicrous for you to say," Jo told him in her usual polite tune.
"Thank you your highness. I must say I am rather ludicrous aren't I. What was your name?"
"Jo," she answered.
"Jo?... A bit of a man's name don't you think?"
"It's short for Jocabed," She answered with a hint of embarrassment from her name, "My mom picked it."
"Jocabeth?"
"Jocabed," she corrected him.
"Josabeth?" she couldn't believe he just said her name even worse.
"Jocabed,"
"Ah yes, Yathabeth,"
"You are butchering my name in ways I didn't even know it can be butchered," Jo resisted the urge to smart talk this guy.
"Well names aren't too important for a womens image anyways," this caught the attention of all the girls.
"Excuse me?" Wisp gasped.
"A woman's image is much more important than her name. And I must say, quite a few of you are beauties,"
"What is that suppose to mean?" Smidge rolled up her sleeves ready for a fight.
"It means not many of you catches my eye. I like my girls…. Taller," He said as he glanced over at Smidge. That was it. Smidge charged at the prince ready to beat him to a pulp. Right when she was only a few feet away of ripping him apart, her sisters pulled her back.
"Let me at him! Lemme at him!" Smidge cried out.
"I believe the race is starting in just a 10 minutes sir," Poppy said with a fake smile on her face and a wild Smidge in her arms,'' Shouldn't you be getting ready?"
"Of course," Jabez started to walk away before looking over at Jo," Don't worry darling, When I win you as my bride I'll make sure to change that name of yours to something more feminine."
Jo simply nodded at his comment and watched him leave.
"What does ludicrous mean," Bridget asked her
"Foolish, unreasonable and ridiculous," Jo said in her same calm voice.
"Oh," Bridget plainly replied.
"What are the chances of that guy winning?" Smidge mumbled in anger.
"Fifteen sixteen,... There's 30 guys in total," Jo counted, "So he has 3% chance of winning this race."
Looks like he's increasing his chances," Harper tugged into Rebeys dress and pointed at the prince. Rebey looked to see the prince was cutting one of the other mens saddle. Once it was nice and loose, he left.
"Why that little cheat…." Rebey mumbled under her breath.
"What if he does win?" Harper asked in worry.
"No he is not," Rebey hopped off the stage and ran to the very back of the castle. She ran into the entrance of the castle at the back and sprinted up the stairs. She had at least 10 minutes to get ready. She knows this may be against the rules but there were times when a princess had to take risks. Especially if it was for her sisters sake. She deserved her freedom, not a life time with a jerk. Rebey ran into her room, grabbed her archery supplies, tied her long hair into a high ponytail and ran out of the room. She slid down the railings of the stairs
"Now remember! Across the kingdom and back again! First racer to cross the finish line with their horse wins!" Chef announced. At the back, Rebey charged out the doors and ran towards a stable near by.
"Now here we go, on your marks….." As Chef was about to let the racers go, Rebey placed a saddle on her horse and tied it well," Get set…."
With only a second to spare, Rebey hopped on and broke down the stable door that held the horse in.
"Go!" the second Chef said this, all the horses began running out the garden gate. Including the princess who was only a few seconds behind everyone.
"Rebey!?" All her sisters did a double take when they saw her race by. They all stood in shock and stared at her until she disappeared into the distance.
"What is that girl doing?!" Chef was just as confused as the girls.
"FREEDOM!" They heard Rebey cry out from a distance.
"I think she's racing for Jo's freedom," Poppy concluded right after that shout.
"Racing for her own sisters….. That can't be allowed!" Chef cried out.
"Let's check the rule book," Jo suggested.
Going across the streets, Rebey can feel the summer air in her face. Well, whatever summer air there was. This kingdom was known for being cold all year but during this time, it was a nice 60 degrees. At a near distance, Rebey can see the first target. She pulled out her bow and arrow, and aimed it towards the target. She pulled the arrow back and steadily aimed it, making sure she got the best shot. Once the moment was right, she let go and shot the target right in the middle.
"Yes!" Rebey fist bump the air. This was gonna be a piece of cake for her.
( song )
Rebey
"When the cold wind is calling,
And the sky is clear and bright,
Misty mountains sing and beckon,
Lead me out into the light,"
As the horses ran into the forest, Rebey spotted a second target on a high branch. She looked to her left then to her right. There she spotted some ground going up. She pulled onto the horse and went up the slant. This gave her an advantage but she still wasn't high enough. Just a couple seconds away was a small cliff. She smirked at the idea that this can be useful. At the very edge, she had her horse bend and jump i to the air, getting her closer to the target. She took the opportunity and shot the arrow, nearly missing the red dot in the middle but she still made it. She landed near another racer, nearly knocking her down.
"I will ride, I will fly,
Chase the wind and touch the sky I will fly
Chase the wind and touch the sky,"
Back at the castle, all the girls and Chef went inside. While half of them were at the balcony, looking through a telescope so they can see their sister race, Ji and Poppy were looking over the rule book with Chef.
"See, right here," Chef pointed out, "All competitors must come from a different kingdom. You all live here in my kingdom meaning Rebey can't possibly compete."
"But Rebey is from the Rainbow Kingdom. She was born their giving her citizenship to our kingdom," Jo explained.
"But she's your sister!" Chef claimed, "She can't possibly compete for you."
"The rule book only says competitors. It doesn't say anything about who can't join or that a family member can't compete," Poppy pointed out pleasing her sister.
"Rebey hit another target! She's almost at first!" Bridget cheered on her sister. Poppy and Jo gasped in delight and joined the others to watch.
"oh….. Who says she'll win," Chef told herself.
"Where dark roots hide secrets,
And mountains are fierce and bold,
Deep waters hold reflections,
Of times lost long ago,"
They came to a rocky part of the kingdom. This part had slight snow in it but overall still beautiful. It had little flower buds popping from the snow and rocks covering almost every inch of the ground. Rebey looked ahead to see they were now at the bottom of a canyon. At a turn she can see that many riders stopped and hopped off their horse. They all looked up to see the next target was pinned way to high up for anyone to reach. It was pinned about 20 feet up to the left of them. Rebey looked at the target while still riding her horse. She looked around to see they were in a bowl like canyon. Her eyes lit up when an idea came to her. She rushed her horse to move faster. When all the other riders heard the footsteps of the horse, they all looked back only to get startled at the sight of her coming at full speed. Everyone ran to the sides, not wanting to get ran over by the girl. As they all scrambled to get to each side, one man couldn't seem to decide. He ran to the left then to the right. He kept slipping side to side until he finally decided on letting himself fall on the ground and cover his head. Rebey went faster and faster with each second until she commanded her horse to jump up and avoid hitting the man. The horse had enough speed to go up on the rocky wall and go high enough for the princess to aim and shoot. She may have been slightly off the middle but she hit it either way.
"I will read every story,
Take hold of my own dream,
Be as strong as the seas are stormy,
And proud as an eagle's scream,
I will ride, I will fly,
Chase the wind and touch the sky I will fly,
Chase the wind and touch the sky,"
At a field full of grass with bits of snow decorating it, Rebey had to find the targets hidden in the tall grass. Just up ahead, Jabez aimed at three targets. He hit them perfectly one by one.
"Perfect," He smiled at his accomplishment. His enjoyment was short lived when he felt three arrows pass his head. One by one, each one sliced his arrows in half," What the…."
He turned around to see Rebey sprinting away with her horse. The girl looked back at him with a smile before saluting him goodbye.
"And touch the sky,
Chase the wind,
Chase the wind,
Touch the sky!"
(End of song)
At a cliff, Rebey jumped a gap and made it to the other platform ahead. She entered a more snowy area. While it did have green grass and flowers, snow was more plentiful here. Just up ahead, she can see the last target. It was pinned against a tree that was on the other side of a lake that was partly frozen. She slowed down her horse so he didn't run right into the frozen cold water. She studied the area to see the ice was cracking and some parts had already been broken apart.
"What am I supposed to do here?" She asked herself.
"Move it or lose it little girl!" she heard Jabez behind her. He swooped right by her and hopped from ice to ice. Still full of determination, Rebey commanded her horse to do the same. Each jump was a risk at falling. The ice would break apart from a bigger chunk or would simply unbalance and nearly trip the horse the rider.
"Easy boy," Rebey petted her horse to calm down. She carefully hopped from ice to ice, nearing the target.
"Hey kid!" Jabez called out to her. When Rebey looked his way, she saw him getting ready to aim and shoot. Once he was close enough, he let the arrow go, causing it to hit the target," Save yourself the embarrassment! Your just a naive little kid after all!"
The prince laughed. He pulled his horse so he can keep moving forward. Rebey grumbled in frustration.
"I'll show him," Rebey carefully jumped closer to the target before taking her shot. Bullzeye! The girl applauded at her success. She moved her horse to start moving forward as well. She hit all the targets, now all was left was to race to the finish and get there first.
"Hope you won't be too disappointed girly," She heard the prince from a distance.
"I'm not gonna let you win," Rebey replied back to him, "I know I can do this!"
"It's so sad seeing you live in denial. Even the mentally ill are smarter than you," this last comment from him made Rebey gasp in disbelief. What kind of guy thinks and talks like this? She kept jumping from ice to ice, hoping she'll make it to the prince.
"Stop trying little one. You can't force yourself to the top with your stupid fantasies and…." Before he can finish his sentence he took one wrong step causing him and the horse to fall straight into the water.
"Oh no," Rebey gasped. She hurried her way to where he fell. She hopped off her horse and helped the prince out of the water, "You alright?"
"Yea…." The prince spat out some water. He looked down at the girl and gave her a small smile. Rebey returned the smile until it got washed off. Literally. The prince shoved the girl into the water before making a run for it," Like I said! Naive little girl who should go back to kindergarten!"
"Why that little no good son of WHOA!" Rebey slipped back into the water before she can cuss that guy out. Once she lifted herself onto the floating ice, Rebey prepared herself to hop back onto her horse, that is until she heard a horses cry for help. She looked over her horse to see the prince had left his horse in the water. The animal pulled itself up on a piece of ice only for it to break and fall back into the water. Seeing it couldn't get out on its own, Rebey looked into her sack and pulled out some rope. She tied a knot and made it into a lasso. The princess carefully approached the horse, trying not to crack any ice and fall in as well.
"Easy girl, easy," Rebey whispered to the panicking horse. The animal was in such a panic, it broke many pieces of ice around it. She was about 10 feet away from the poor animal but Rebey knew at this point she couldn't get any closer without falling into the water. She twirled her lasso around in the air before throwing it. She missed it by a couple feet.
"Darn it," Rebey cussed to herself. She pulled it back and tried again, the again, then again. Until finally on the 7th try, she wrapped that lasso around the horse, "Yes! Now get over here."
Rebey pulled onto the rope but she couldn't budge. She pulled and pulled but it was like moving a mountain, "Why couldn't I be stronger!?"
Rebey pulled and moved her feet as fast as she can creating the image of a cartoon running in place. She went like this until she finally let herself fall. She blew some hairs away from her face and looked at the sky with a grumpy face.
"What else can I do?" She asked herself. The sound of her horse neighing caught her ears. She looked back at her horse and smiled. With in seconds, Rebey tied the other end of the rope to her horse and had him pull the other horse out of the ice," There we go. Good boy."
Rebey hugged her horse before running up to the other one and examined it.
"You look like your ok. Just wet. Come on," Rebey hopped onto her horse and rode him away with the second horse still tied to hers.
At the finish line, Rebey can hear cheering and clapping for the prince that made it. She felt a great amount of disappointment fall on her. How could she lose?
"Ah there's my horse," Jabez pulled the rope off and walked away with the horse, "I must say Princess Rebey. I'm impressed with your determination. But you lack one thing. And that's common sense. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how much you wanted to win, You would have never beat me in this race. Cry yourself to sleep tonight with that thought alright?"
Rebey bit down on her tongue so hard she could already taste her blood. Who does this guy think he is?
"It's ok Rebey," she felt a hand over her shoulder. She didn't need to look to know who was talking to her. Jo simply rubbed her sisters shoulders for comfort," I appreciate you trying."
"I'm sorry," Rebey looked down in shame. Poppy felt her heart break for her two sisters. Not only is Jo stuck with this guy but Rebey feels like an utter failure, "I could've won…. I could've…. It's just that he left his horse to drown and I…. I couldn't just leave it…"
Wait a minute!
"Hold on now," Poppy called out. She went on stage where the prince was about to be awarded a blue ribbon. She looked at the people and announced, "Chef said the first racer to cross the finish line with their horse wins!"
"Poppy what are you doing?" Chef glared at her.
"Jabez came on foot. But Rebey crossed the finish line with her horse," the crowd began to mumbbel at Poppys statement.
"It's true! She did say you had to cross the finish line with your horse!" Smidge cheered.
"You can't be serious princess," Jabez couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I am," Poppy took the ribbon and jumped off the stage. She walked over to Rebey and handed her the ribbon, "Which is why I announce Rebey as the winner of this race!"
With that, the crowd bursted out in cheers.
"Smart move," Jo complemented Poppy.
"I do have a smart sister," Poppy complemented back. While the sisters had their moment of happiness, Chef felt angered at the thought that she had been cheated by her own nieces.
Hope you all liked it. I know we didn't see the main characters that much but believe me, with a story as big as this, every little detail needs to be done. I'm really happy because I went to San Francisco for a My Little Pony convention! So happy! I always wanted to go to one since I was 12. Now with the final season, that was my last chance and it actually happened! I cried tears of joy and couldn't stop! I'll also be uploading the mlp version of this story in an hour so keep an eye out you mlp fans.
And for that prince Jabez, I based that guy off of a… toxic, rude, idiotic, close minded, disrespectful, soooooo hated by many, 20 year old women! Who so happens to be in the mlp fandom with me. She's so mean to every Fluttercord shipper ( you'll only know what that means if your into my little pony. It's a ship) to the point where she calls us autistic pedophiles with no life. She screams "Pedophilen lesbian Horse F****" and "Mentally Ill idiots who should go to a mental hospital and die!" and so many other things I can't say in a rated k+story. But it wasn't pretty. It got on my nerves so much I had to write a character based on her to let my anger out….. I feel much better.
Well, songs are "Touch the Sky" from brave.