freevortex
03-31-2008, 08:02 PM
I'm not quite sure where this is going, but the characters seem to have minds of their own. If you have any suggestions on plot/character names/anything basically, feel free.
In a large, greying castle by an indigo lake, a girl raced through the hallways, knocking various priceless vases and sculptures to the floor as she ran past. She was a young girl of about fifteen, with sunburnt skin hidden beneath layers and layers of a cloud-like puff of cloth that, upon closer inspection, was revealed to be a dress. Her eyes were a sort of green, although one could never say exactly which shade they were at any given moment. She was not extremely tall, but she was most certainly not short. She might have looked regal enough, had she not at that moment been running down the decorated hallways of the castle with her dress pulled up to her knees and her slippers flapping with each pounding step. As she passed by a quiet-looking man dressed in a navy pinstriped suit, one of her slippers flew off and landed in a corner. She rushed on, pursued by a large woman who was waving about an even larger ladle.
“Come back, you scoundrel! I will flay you this time, and hang what your father might say about it!” the large woman screeched.
“Aww, be a sport, Cook! It was only one small spoonful out of the very large vat; and besides, your expertise with cooking must always be tested before it is served at a royal ball!” the girl replied.
“Princess, you stop running this instant or I swear I will get your brothers out here to chase you, and they will catch you, too!” Cook panted, as she ground to a halt by the pinstriped man. “My, but I am too old for this kind of running. Wulman, go and fetch the young princes. By my ladle, they will run faster than anyone here, including that—that—girl.”
“Yes ma'am. Princes! Prince James! Prince Ferdinand! Where are you?” the man in the pinstriped suit called as he strode back the way he came.
The princess ran on, past several large doors and a stairway or two to a pair of huge wooden monstrosities that may have been doors if not for their truly unmanageable size. To compensate for this, a much smaller door had been cut from one of the large ones to allow access to and from the castle. The girl grabbed the handle of this, twisted, and burst out the door. She continued to run across the drawbridge to the other side, where she turned and looked back to see if anyone had followed her. Evidently, Wulman had not been able to find her brothers, for she saw no one. She strolled past the signpost that read, “To Manor Castle” on one side and “From Manor Castle” on the other (which she thought was no help at all to anyone who happened to be lost outside the structure) and entered the wood by the lake. The lake, whose name had been changed by every princess who had ever lived in the castle, was now simply called “Indigo Lake”. The lake gave way to a river on the wooded side, which in turn gave way to a small stream. This stream was the one that the princess now sat by, gazing into the azure waters.
After a time, she seemed to rouse from her reverie. She stood up and began to untie and pull off most of the puffy dress. Once she was finished, she was simply dressed in a slim white slip with a cerulean satin tie around the waist. She had no shoes on, but her small feet seemed used to walking barefoot among various forest floor detritus.
A squirrel spotted the movement by the stream and scurried along the branches to see what intruder had entered the wood. Seeing the princess, it screeched and chittered at her from its leafy fortress. The girl glanced up and, with a grin, chittered right back at the squirrel. Taken aback, the squirrel raced off among the trees, perhaps to tell its friends about the human pup who chittered like a squirrel.
Although there was no visible path, the princess seemed to know exactly where she was going. In fact, she had traveled this way many times before. Soon, the trees gave way to sparse saplings that ringed a small clearing in the middle of the forest. The princess lightly danced into the center of the clearing and bent down by a flat rock among the flowers. Lifting the rock, she pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows from a makeshift cubbyhole in the ground and slung them onto her shoulder. With easy grace, she dropped the stone and ran to the other side of the clearing, where the stream had bent towards the open space. There was a massive weeping willow all alone on the bank of the waters, and this tree was where the princess was headed. Scratched deep into the wood of this mighty tree was a single name: Emma.
The princess touched the name lightly before stepping back from the tree and taking aim at a knot about halfway up. Although she could barely reach the knot on her very tippy-toes, this was her favorite target to practice on. She let loose two arrows in quick succession- both hit her intended target mere centimeters from each other. Pleased, she reached up to retrieve her arrows and moved back again, farther this time.
Her target practice continued as such until a sudden breeze picked up one of her arrows and set its course above the knot. Dismayed, she ran over and jumped to try to reach the arrow. If only I were but a little taller, she thought angrily as she realized that her best arrow was beyond reach. She slumped to the ground in defeat- and tried to make sense of what she saw next. Two feet had planted themselves in her line of vision; two feet that extended to two legs that were connected to—
“Who are you?” the princess asked in alarm of the boy who was reaching to retrieve the lost arrow.
In a large, greying castle by an indigo lake, a girl raced through the hallways, knocking various priceless vases and sculptures to the floor as she ran past. She was a young girl of about fifteen, with sunburnt skin hidden beneath layers and layers of a cloud-like puff of cloth that, upon closer inspection, was revealed to be a dress. Her eyes were a sort of green, although one could never say exactly which shade they were at any given moment. She was not extremely tall, but she was most certainly not short. She might have looked regal enough, had she not at that moment been running down the decorated hallways of the castle with her dress pulled up to her knees and her slippers flapping with each pounding step. As she passed by a quiet-looking man dressed in a navy pinstriped suit, one of her slippers flew off and landed in a corner. She rushed on, pursued by a large woman who was waving about an even larger ladle.
“Come back, you scoundrel! I will flay you this time, and hang what your father might say about it!” the large woman screeched.
“Aww, be a sport, Cook! It was only one small spoonful out of the very large vat; and besides, your expertise with cooking must always be tested before it is served at a royal ball!” the girl replied.
“Princess, you stop running this instant or I swear I will get your brothers out here to chase you, and they will catch you, too!” Cook panted, as she ground to a halt by the pinstriped man. “My, but I am too old for this kind of running. Wulman, go and fetch the young princes. By my ladle, they will run faster than anyone here, including that—that—girl.”
“Yes ma'am. Princes! Prince James! Prince Ferdinand! Where are you?” the man in the pinstriped suit called as he strode back the way he came.
The princess ran on, past several large doors and a stairway or two to a pair of huge wooden monstrosities that may have been doors if not for their truly unmanageable size. To compensate for this, a much smaller door had been cut from one of the large ones to allow access to and from the castle. The girl grabbed the handle of this, twisted, and burst out the door. She continued to run across the drawbridge to the other side, where she turned and looked back to see if anyone had followed her. Evidently, Wulman had not been able to find her brothers, for she saw no one. She strolled past the signpost that read, “To Manor Castle” on one side and “From Manor Castle” on the other (which she thought was no help at all to anyone who happened to be lost outside the structure) and entered the wood by the lake. The lake, whose name had been changed by every princess who had ever lived in the castle, was now simply called “Indigo Lake”. The lake gave way to a river on the wooded side, which in turn gave way to a small stream. This stream was the one that the princess now sat by, gazing into the azure waters.
After a time, she seemed to rouse from her reverie. She stood up and began to untie and pull off most of the puffy dress. Once she was finished, she was simply dressed in a slim white slip with a cerulean satin tie around the waist. She had no shoes on, but her small feet seemed used to walking barefoot among various forest floor detritus.
A squirrel spotted the movement by the stream and scurried along the branches to see what intruder had entered the wood. Seeing the princess, it screeched and chittered at her from its leafy fortress. The girl glanced up and, with a grin, chittered right back at the squirrel. Taken aback, the squirrel raced off among the trees, perhaps to tell its friends about the human pup who chittered like a squirrel.
Although there was no visible path, the princess seemed to know exactly where she was going. In fact, she had traveled this way many times before. Soon, the trees gave way to sparse saplings that ringed a small clearing in the middle of the forest. The princess lightly danced into the center of the clearing and bent down by a flat rock among the flowers. Lifting the rock, she pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows from a makeshift cubbyhole in the ground and slung them onto her shoulder. With easy grace, she dropped the stone and ran to the other side of the clearing, where the stream had bent towards the open space. There was a massive weeping willow all alone on the bank of the waters, and this tree was where the princess was headed. Scratched deep into the wood of this mighty tree was a single name: Emma.
The princess touched the name lightly before stepping back from the tree and taking aim at a knot about halfway up. Although she could barely reach the knot on her very tippy-toes, this was her favorite target to practice on. She let loose two arrows in quick succession- both hit her intended target mere centimeters from each other. Pleased, she reached up to retrieve her arrows and moved back again, farther this time.
Her target practice continued as such until a sudden breeze picked up one of her arrows and set its course above the knot. Dismayed, she ran over and jumped to try to reach the arrow. If only I were but a little taller, she thought angrily as she realized that her best arrow was beyond reach. She slumped to the ground in defeat- and tried to make sense of what she saw next. Two feet had planted themselves in her line of vision; two feet that extended to two legs that were connected to—
“Who are you?” the princess asked in alarm of the boy who was reaching to retrieve the lost arrow.