The Princess’ Blankets
The scorching hot sun disappeared slowly into the
horizon, painting the sky a brilliant shade of orange. The whole kingdom was as
silent as a sleeping baby was; not a sound could be heard. Then, quiet at
first, heavy footsteps were heard crunching their way across the gravel of the
courtyard.
Growing louder by the second, the great black
boots thudded noisily, shattering the peaceful silence earlier. The newcomer
strode forward, slowly but powerfully, sending chills down the spines of anyone
around. He radiated confidence but in a menacing, arrogant kind of way. His
cold, ruthless and alert eyes gave the impression he was dangerous and his
towering stature made him an intimidating giant. His pale, ashen face with
short jet-black hair would have been handsome, if not for the deep red scars
making his face distorted and monstrous. His crooked mouth was one that snarled
out poisonous words and his rock hard fists had struck many faces. He was not
someone you wanted to meet in a dark alleyway… he was not someone you wanted to
meet at all.
The stranger rapped his knuckles on the great
wooden door of the castle, waiting for someone to answer it. He heard muffled
footsteps hurrying towards him and a moment later the door creaked open. A
thin, immaculate butler peered outside and his eyes widened in fear of this
monster of a man. The stranger gave a small smile: he loved people being scared
of him.
“Y-yes, sir, can I help you?” the butler
stammered, trying not to show his fear.
“I wish to see the king,” the stranger replied in
a deep, spooky voice.
The butler turned pale, “I am terribly sorry, sir,
but the king is busy at the moment.”
“Get out of my way,” snarled the stranger and
shoved the butler to one side. He then strode into the castle as if he owned
it. The King was scurrying down the huge marble staircase as the stranger
walked into the throne room. The King frowned. He did not remember making an
appointment with someone at this time, and certainly not with this grey-eyed man!
“Yes, my good man, how may I be of assistance?”
asked the King in a posh, high tone.
“Your Majesty,” the man said without bowing, “I
have come to cure your daughter, and if I succeed, I want to take her back to
my kingdom to be my wife.”
The King raised an eyebrow, “How are you going to
cure her?”
“I have magic powers that I cannot begin to
describe,” stated the stranger. His face showed no emotion when he spoke.
“Very well,” the King turned to two guards who had
entered the room. “Take Mr… sorry, I didn’t catch your name? And also, where
are you from?”
“That does not matter,” the stranger scowled.
“Take me to your daughter.”
The King nodded and the guards led the stranger to
another marble staircase. He was escorted to the Princess’ bedchamber by
another two brawny guards, both as muscular as he was. The guards were heavily
armed, for the King did not trust this mysterious man with harsh grey eyes. The
guards waited outside the Princess’ door, while the stranger strode in, his
head held high with arrogance.
The shivering Princess sat up in her enormous bed,
wrapped up in a quilt as thick as one of the palace walls. Her big green eyes
flashed with fright as she met the gaze of the stranger’s hypnotising grey
eyes. She started shivering even more, as she could tell that the man that
stood before her was cruel and vicious just by looking at the scars on his
face.
“I am here to cure you, then take you back to my
kingdom to be my wife,” the stranger snarled. The Princess started shivering so
much, her huge bed shook. She desperately wanted to feel warm but she did not
want this cruel man to be the one who cured her.
“How cold do you feel?” demanded the stranger.
‘I shall make it difficult for this arrogant man,’
thought the Princess, so she replied:
“I’m as cold as the Graveyard.”
The stranger smirked smugly to himself, then,
spinning on his heel, he strode briskly from the room.
The Princess sighed with relief, thinking she had
got rid of the cruel-looking man. However, a few hours later, the strange
entered the room once again, clutching an enormous bulky blanket in his strong
hands. It was woven in blacks, browns and greys, creating an atmosphere of
sadness and despair around it. He then proceeded to cover the Princess in it.
She gasped as the stench of rotten corpses and
decayed bones overwhelmed her. The blanket was much heavier than she had
thought and it almost buried her where she lay. The material felt crumbly and
rough in her soft hands. Dead birds were patterned lying still on bare trees;
rats were scampering about near the gravestones. Patches of blood were woven in
the crumbly brown soil; zombies were embroidered stomping around the borders.
The Princess felt sick from the smell curling into her nostrils, and terrified
of the realistic zombies. The blanket moaned with sadness.
“The Graveyard’s blanket,” the stranger declared
triumphantly.
“Warmer now?” he smirked, certain that his blanket
had cured the shivering Princess. However, she was even colder than before and
her fingers were numb.
‘I will never be your wife,’ she thought,
determined to have her way. So she replied:
“No, I am as cold as the Sky,”
The stranger looked slightly annoyed, but he
regained his confidence and, once again, exited the room with a dramatic sweep
of his black cape.
The Princess slumped back down into her bed,
relieved that the harsh man had gone but knowing that he would return. She was
right, for a few hours later; the stranger reappeared, clasping another great
blanket in his powerful arms. The Princess glanced up, almost hidden amongst
all the quilts, pillows and cushions. She was shivering so much that the
stranger could practically feel the floor shaking. He tossed the blanket onto
her.
All the breath was knocked out of her, as the
navy, grey and white blanket swamped her. It smelled fresh, like the wind on a
cold day. Eagles and falcons soared up and down the grey landscape. The blanket
felt chilly and wisps of wind curled around the Princess’ pale, long fingers.
Raindrops were stitched in glittering silver, accompanied by hailstones
hurtling to the ground. It was even heavier than the Graveyard’s blanket.
Rain-filled clouds dotted the sky and lightning was patterned in a flash of
white, jagged lines. The drops of rain danced in the harsh grey sky and the
freezing blanket coloured the Princess’ lips blue. It made her feel dizzy and
light-headed as if she were falling through the air.
“The Sky’s blanket,” announced the stranger
victoriously.
“Warmer now?” snarled the stranger, again positive
that the Princess was cured. However, she was so cold now that her face was as
pale as milk and her legs felt like they were frozen in giant ice cubes. ‘I will not go with you,’ she thought,
holding her ground, even though she felt like she was in Antarctica dressed
only in her pyjamas. She replied defiantly:
“No, I am as cold as Winter is.”
A look of disbelief spread over the stranger’s
face, followed by one of anger. Then he seemed to remember something and
composed himself. He turned his back on the Princess and stormed out of the
room. The Princess hoped with all her heart that the stranger was gone for
good, but he returned once more, with yet another immense blanket draped along
his muscular arm. This one was woven in whites and pale blues, and a strange
sparkly glitter was sewn carefully into the fabric, winking at the Princess as
light bounced off it.
The stranger, pinning the Princess onto her
enormous bed, hurled the white blanket onto her. It drained the entire colour from
her face and sucked all the energy she had left out of her. On the blanket, a
robin was embroidered perched on a bare tree, and a badger was woven in,
padding through the snow. The material was slippery beneath the Princess’ fingers and slithered around the bed like a serpent.
Her face turned deathly white and the stranger was
worried that she was going to faint. However, she remained conscious, but her
energy was all gone, and trying to lift a finger, she could not even do that.
The stranger looked to the ground, knowing he was defeated and know he had no
chance of marrying the Princess.
“The Winter’s blanket,” he muttered mournfully.
The stranger turned to leave the room; all the
arrogance in him seemed to have evaporated. The harsh, ruthless look in his
eyes seemed to have gone too; they just looked empty and sad. As he gently
opened the door to leave – without even showing off any of his strength – he
heard a gasp from behind him. He swivelled the round, to find the Princess – he
huge green eyes wide and a look of surprise spread across her ace.
The stranger looked on in amazement as the Princess
miraculously leapt to her feet and ripped o her woollen jumpers and thick
cardigans. She laughed aloud to feel the wonderful sensation of warmth flow through
her. All the entire colour flooded back into her face, which was now smiling
joyously after a lifetime of shivering and shuddering. Her energy returned and
she felt ready to take on the world.
By now, it was early morning, and even the outside
world seemed to be celebrating. Birds sang and performed fancy flying tricks.
Wolves howled in the distance, dogs barked, sheep baaed on the field and cows
mooed. The sound echoed throughout the valley. The sun rose up majestically and
seemed to almost smile at the castle below.
As soon as the guards standing outside the
Princess’ door heard the Princess was cured, they raced downstairs to inform
the King and Queen. Rushing up the marble staircase, they embraced the excited
Princess. The Queen was crying with happiness and even the King was on the
verge of tears. Unable to contain her excitement, the Princess, dashed around
the castle, helping the servants to put out the immense fires in every room.
The whole kingdom had found out about the wonderful news and were crowded
around the palace, cheering and whooping.
Amidst all the excitement, everyone seemed to have
forgotten about the stranger; the one who had cured the Princess. A few guards
had clapped him on the back, and grumbled ‘congratulations’ reluctantly, but
that was all. He quietly strode to the King and reminded him about the deal
they had made. “Your Majesty, I have done what I said I would do, and now I
want my reward.” Although he never spoke loudly, the entire castle stopped
chatting and turned to face the King.
“Of course, my good man! I cannot thank you enough
for curing my daughter!”
The stranger smirked, “When will the wedding take
place?”
“No, father!” a voice rang out, making the
stranger’s smug smile melt away. It was the Princess. “I do not wish to marry
that cruel-looking man with harsh stony eyes!”
“Nonsense, my daughter,” the King said. “This man
is not cruel, he is kind-hearted. He wouldn’t have cured you if he was cruel!”
He still looked a bit uncertain. The Princess glared at her father. “I don’t
even know his name or where he’s from! I will not marry this man!” she declared
defiantly.
“Yes you will!”
“No, I won’t!”
The King could see that he was getting nowhere.
“My daughter, I made this a promise and I must keep it!”
“I didn’t promise him anything!” The Princess
yelled and snatched a crossbow from a guard. Before anyone could react, she
fired a bolt at the stranger. It caught him by his hood and pinned him to the
wall. The King was too shocked to speak. His daughter winked at him. “I’ve been
watching the guards train every day,” she grinned mischievously.
The stranger yanked the bolt from his hood and
threw it on the floor, breaking it in half. He growled and cracked his
knuckles. Just before he lunged at the Princess, three huge guards surrounded
him, their crossbows pointed directly at his chest. The stranger glanced around
then leapt forward with a roar of fury. He swung his fist and managed to sweep
one guard right off his feet. Just as his knuckles connected with the second
guard’s throat, (knocking him down flat) there was a loud CRACK! A shining
point, bathed in blood, emerged from the stranger’s chest. He looked confused
for a second, then his eyes widened as he stared at the pool of blood expanding
and dripping off his body. With a quiet whimper of pain, he dropped to the
floor with a loud THUD, dead.
The kingdom rejoiced at the defeat of the evil
stranger. (Whose name was still a mystery)The Princess was never cold again but
nobody married her after they heard of how ferocious she had been with the
stranger. The blankets were another mystery; they had disappeared after the
Princess was cured. Now, people all over the world search for the three
legendary blankets that ensured you would never feel cold again. This story has
changed from ‘The Princess who was Never Cold’ to ‘The Blankets that were Never
Found.’
THE END
