All characters are owned by George Macdonald except whatever OC s that I manage to come up with, purely fan made and inspired after reading all the great PatG fanfics
Irenie sat quite board by the windowsill of her room, staring up into the clouds and seeing the face of her miner-boy in every one of them, a flock of beautiful doves, or possibly pigeons as the princess took a second glance at them, fluttered across the sky before taking their roost in the large tower across from her window. Turnip sat beside her, seeming to stare at the clouds as well though it wa doubtful he was thinking of the miner-boy as well.
Irenie heard the latch of her temporary prison cell lift and her kindly though strict nursemaid came to bid her good morning. She strode into the castle and smiled genuinely, "Well hello Princess, What are you- gahh- ahhh. Help!" Irenie turned around quickly at the sound of her nursemaid screaming and watched as she thumped onto the floor, a pile of blankets twisted up in her legs and one falling on top of her head.
She began to fumble on the ground and Irenie couldn't help but laugh a little, "Irenie! Irenie, where are you?" The nursemaid seemed as frightened as last night when the princess had gone missing.
Irenie, kindly lifted the sheets from her head to relax the poor nursemaid from her frightened state. "Hello Lootie," she smiled softly, bringing a little light to the nursemaids temporary darkness under the blanket, "don't worry, I'll help you. Come on up you get."
Turnip had been rather disinterested with the whole affair and had taken to sitting on the edge of the bed.
Irenie grab be her arm and together they hoisted one another steadily to their feet, and Lootie, though slightly shocked from the fall, grabbed up the blankets in her stupor and began to place them on the bed.
"You really should be more careful Lootie," Irenie smiled gently. Lootie smiled softly as she turned away from the Princess and began to lay the blankets where turnip had situated himself.
Turnip begrudgingly gave up his place to the sheets and blankets, deciding to curl up at the base of stairs, another one of his favourite past times. "Well, what are you going to do today?"
Irenie smiled lightly, "Oh Lootie can't I play ou-"
"No you can't!" Lootie answered sternly giving the princess a hard look for the way she had scared her by running off the previous night. "Not after last night."
Irenie bowed her head in shame but continued, "But Lootie, now I know what to do if I meet some goblins."
"Oh, don't talk to me about goblins," Lootie shook her head at the Princesses' silly notion of the horrid fairytale creatures and continued rearranging the sheets, "they don't exist." however, as the pile blocked Lootie's view, she accidentally stepped upon turnip's tail causing the poor kitten to screech and shock the nursemaid as well.
For a second Lootie had heard so much talk of goblin's the screech from turnip had almost sounded like what she imagined a Goblin would sound like.
Turnip on the other hand, was much more frightened and leapt at the drapes of one of the near by walls, while Lootie fell backwards and landed with a thump upon the hard rock floor.
"Are you hurt?" Irenie gasped in surprised and went to her nursemaid's side, smiling softly; however, Turnip who had not been looked after, began to tear a large seam in the curtain, only to behold a door with majestic red rose, glowing atop it's mahogany surface.
The kitten pawed at it, perplexed by the light, however before he or Irenie knew it, the door opened and he disappeared through the hole.
"You know Lootie," Irenie spoke kindly as she offered a hand to her nursemaid to once again help her up, "you work too hard. Why don't you take a little rest. I'll be alright."
Lootie stood up still carrying around the troublesome blankets, and let herself be led by the princess to the door.
"Oh- well yes," Lootie managed to murmur as she thought of all she had done this morning alone, "maybe you're right."
Irenie smiled excitedly, and immediately Lootie became suspicious, raising a finger, "Now don't you try and sneak outside to see that boy."
Irenie immediately feared her nursemaid was onto her scheme and shut the door quickly to hide her guilty face, however as she shut the door she heard the grunts and shouts from her maid as she must have fallen once more.
She heard Lootie cursing slightly which quelled the Princesses' fear that the nursemaid was hurt and began to look around the room for a means of escape.
Irenie was glad Lootie had wished her good morning but if she was to go out and see Curdie that day she would have to keep everyone in the dark until she came back.
But she wouldn't leave her room without Turnip, it seemed as if he was the only one who understood her, and the Princess remarked that was very sad indeed if her only friend was a cat, no matter how kind a cat he was.
She needed to go out and meet real friends, like this boy Curdie.
Irenie began to look around the room, under desks and behind a lone vase of fresh daffodils "Turnip, ttuuuuurrrnnniiiiipppp," she almost sang sweetly, trying to coax him out but to no avail.
Irenie turned around quite quickly when she heard a pitiful mewing on the other side of the wall, but that had to be impossible.
"How did you get in there," Irenie spoke softly, her eyes widening as she stared at the strange rose emblem on the wood surface. Clearly Turnip had been there since the curtains were torn to bits and it was only turnip who enjoyed the activity of clawing up the drapes, no matter how much Lootie hated it.
As the young princess approached the wall, the rose began to glow a deep red. Irenie couldn't help her curiosity and pressed a finger to the wooden rose, slowly opening the door.
"A door," she whispered to herself in awe, hardly believing the things she had just witnessed, "a magic door," it almost seemed silly, the thought of a magic door, though it all didn't seem that far fetched after the encounter with the goblins, it seemed magical things were just happening all around her lately.
Suddenly Turnip jumped out from the dark place behind the door, startling Irenie at first until she saw her poor kitten was far more terrified than she had been.
He mewed and chirped at her pitifully for a while until Irenie pet him softly and held him in her lap.
"Oh turnip, it's alright, I'm here don't worry," the kitten began to pur however Irenie was immediately grabbed by the door's presence once more and began to crawl through an opening only a small child could fit through.
"Now what have you found."
It was quite obvious that Turnip had no mind to go back into the small dark cramped area lined with spider webs and dust, nor did he much care what it was for or what it was, but his mistress seemed dead set on following the old wooden hallway, so he had little choice but to follow in her footsteps.
Irenie began to search through the long corridor, glancing over the loose boards and quickly quickening her pace as the scenes began to change before her very eyes.
This had to be an older part of the castle, closed off for one reason or another, there were old statues of gargoyles, Irenie had seen plenty of these so she was accustom to their hideous appearances. The gargoyles were protectors, they guarded things, special places, or people.
As Irenie continued, the way became less terrifying and lighter as she climbed the long winding set of stairs, until finally upon reaching a platform, seemed to lead her to a window, hidden behind a long ragged curtain.
It was stained a dark purple colour, and as Irenie pulled it away, cobwebs fell; it had obviously not been touched in a while.
However before Irenie could remark on how to get passed the window, the stained glass too began to shine with an almost ethereal presence. Irenie touched this as well, and it disintegrated like fire into sparkling dust, before her feet.
Now Turnip had been a faithful companion up until this point, however his limits were tested and being only a little kitten at the time could not force himself to go any further after witnessing the magical glass before him.
Turnip was like many animals and though humans seemed to be open to the ideas of magic, given that they had a natural curiosity of the special and supernatural, it was difficult for an animal, such as Turnip to face it for the first time.
"Turnip," Irenie whispered, looking over her shoulder as the kitten began to back away, "come on you scaredy cat."
However with that he dashed down the stairs, back to the base where he awaited his mistress.
Irenie on the other hand, simply could stop when she had come this far, and stepped through the open window, "alright, see if I care. I'll go on my own"
A little frightened now that she was truly alone, Irenie came to a set of stair, leading even higher as she climbed them, up till the rafter and into an open room leading to three doors.
A bird passed over head and she flinched, however as soon as she laid her eyes upon one of the doors, the little princess began to hear an odd sound, like that of clothes being woven.
The door pushed open suddenly and revealed a bright yellow light, like the light of the sun, staring into her face and calling her name.
However as Irenie went through the door, she began to see it was not light nor the sun at all, but a woman, who looked very old judging by the length of her silken grey hair, but seemed to be working at a spinning wheel as golden thread slipped delicately through her long porcelain fingers.
"Who's that," Irenie remarked to herself as she often did, "she-she looks so strange."
But it was not her strangeness that seemed to speak to Irenie, but her warm familiarity.
"There's no need to be frightened of me, Irenie," the gentle voice called to her softly as Irenie walked towards it,
'She knows my name,' Irenie reflected once more, stopping to gaze at the figure who was bathed in golden sunlight and looking directly at the little princess.
"I know your name because it's the same as mind," smiled the white lady, her hands still weaving the splendid silver strands, "Irenie."
Suddenly, Irenie was very unnerved, how could she know her name, why was this women in the castle, as her duty as princess, she knew everyone in the farm castle by name, there was no one she didn't know.
"Well I'm not talking to you, Lootie never told me to talk to strangers."
The woman smiled sadly but nodded as if she accepted the bold and yet wise statement. "But I'm you great great grandmother."
Irenie smiled widely and leapt a few steps nearer to her, "But... I haven't got a great great, great, great, um... great-"
The kindly old woman put up a finger and laughed gently, "I am not all of those great my child."
Irenie peered up at her, though the woman was beautiful she had to be older than the elders in the castle, given her long hair and the colour it was. "But you have to be terribly old..."
Again the woman smiled at her, "Oh yes, older than you can imagine." The woman stopped spinning thread and stood up walking to the other side of the room, and her hair, gliding behind her and shining like star dust.
"Well, if you are really my great great... grandmother," Irenie stuttered slightly, "why haven't I heard about you before."
Slowly the old woman began to disappear and reappear in a different spot in the room, causing Irenie to stare in wonder. "Not everyone knows that I'm here."
"You're not just a dream are you grandmother?" Speaking a little timidly, worrying that she had just imagined her.
The old lady disappeared once more and Irenie felt a tap at her back as she turned around quickly. "Oh, I guess not," the woman smiled kindly again, a star twinkling in her silver eyes, "-then you must be... a ghost!" Irenie spoke excitedly as she stared upon the figure, her eyes alight with adventure.
"There's nothing to be frightened of... I'm not exactly a ghost, but, I'm not real in this world iether."
"You mean-like magic?"
"Yes in a way I am, like a memory, if you prefer, one that is real in this form and this place." She began to spin and lovely flowers fell from her gentle silver hair.
"Like the rose, in the window that burst into flames."
"Yes," she spoke gently, "I used the roses to lead you to me, for when you need my help."
"I suppose I need help sometimes, for homework from my tutors," the white lady laughed softly again.
"I don't mean that sort of help," she smiled gently again, however a slightly worried expression falling onto her face, "
Irenie watched as a dove which she had seen earlier in the other room fly and land upon the white ladies hand, cooing as Irenie picked up one of the roses that had fallen from her hair.
"What sort of help... do you mean?" suddenly Irenie pricked her finger, a few drops of blood falling from her middle finger.
"The help you may need if you should find yourself in trouble my dear," the dove flew off and the white lady gently clasped Irenie's pricked finger in her soft silken hands.
"Am I...am I in danger?" Irenie whispered softly, she had heard of such awful things happening to royalty even though her father tried to protect her from the horrid rumours, she had heard of assassins and poison and death but never had she thought to actually fear that happening to her. After all she was only a princess, she had no responsibility, who would wish to harm her?
"I'm afraid you will be, my child," but the white ladies expression softened and she smiled at Irenie who noticed her pricked finger had been healed. "But that is awhile from now; until then, I will protect you, remember you are always safe as long as you are in this castle."
Irenie's eyes fell and she looked sadly upon the floor, "you mean, you mean I shouldn't ever go outside again..."
"No, that's not it at all Irenie," smiled her grandmother softly, "but should you be afraid, or if you need me you need only stay in the castle and I will be with you." She began to fade away into the clouds, her voice trailing off as if it too were just a memory.
"After all I do believe you have an engagement to keep, I do believe you will find what you are looking for at the base of the mountain. I was a bit of an adventurer when I was your age too, do not be afraid to go outside the castle walls Irenie, you have the power to be strong and face what scares you when you want to, all you need to do is try."
Irenie smiled happily, closing her eyes for just a second and then opening them to reveal that she was out in the royal garden, beside the gate which was open.
Irenie smirked to herself as she picked up her skirts and ran through the gate, "thank you grandmother."
In the sky she could hear the soft cooing of doves as they fluttered over head and into the the tower.
Irenie ran for as long as she could, as fast as she could, not quite knowing where she was going but just happy she could, adventuring on her way.
She stopped eventually once she reached the very bottom of the mountain, short of breath and slightly panting which Lootie would have said was very improper for a Princess, but Irenie was so happy she didn't care.
Suddenly, if by magic, she saw a dark brown shape slowly come into her view and recognized it immediately.
"Curdie," she smiled to herself, again breaking out into a dash as she ran in his direction.
Curdie turned around slowly his eyes lighting up with joy as he saw the little girl he had me from last night run up to him.
He had actually been walking around at the base of the mountain by chance, something had told him to be there and he was glad he had listened.
"Princess!" he stopped himself and bowed to her slightly. "Why are you so far away from the castle?"
"You can just call me Irenie," the little princess curtsied and smiled up at him. "I wanted to see you again."
Curdie's smile broadened and he held out a hand for her to take, "would you like to take a walk with me." His eyes twinkled gently and Irenie blushed as she reached out and took his warm hand in hers.
"I would love to."
And so began the story of the Princess, Curdie... and the Goblin.
Sorry this took awhile, mostly because I have too many projects that I really just should have rethought about and this had to be the most boring however necessary chapter but it's done, now we're going to have a huge jump to when the characters are young adults, as per usual in my stories.