The Princess with the purple tongue
Since the beginning of lockdown, over two years ago, our very own Evie from Alpha Club has emerged as a very talented story teller. She's entertained us throughout the last couple of years which several spine chilling tales of witchcraft and wizardry. Here's her latest offering....
The Princess with the Purple tongue
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, where dragons roamed, fairies lived and mermaids swam, lived a princess. She lived in a magnificent white castle with her father- the beloved King- and her elder brother. The Princess was loved by all. She had a lovely singing voice, was very well-read and was blessed with a kind heart. But she spent all of her time in the palace with her mouth closed tightly, sewing or gardening or reading. She never spoke to the people. She waved and smiled and hugged them when she went on royal duties but she never once opened her mouth. Many wondered if she even had a tongue. But she did. Her tongue was purple. And it was forked, like a snake’s. And her pointy teeth were mint green. It contrasted ugily with ivory skin and her ruby-red ringlets.
The King was afraid of what the people think of the Princess if they saw her strange mouth. They kept her tucked away in fear the citizens would turn against her. The Princess was very lonely and so the King and Queen asked for a pixie to come and be her friend. The pixie’s name was Flutterglamsparklydoodles, so it is best just to keep calling her the pixie. She had beautiful chestnut skin and long silky black hair and rainbow wings. She and the Princess became the best of friends. Pixies are tough things and she was unafraid of the Princess’s bizarre purple tongue.
When her father passed away, the Prince came to the throne. His heart was as shrivelled as the Princess’ hair was red. He was jealous of the worried attention his parents had paid his sister in hopes of concealing her from the outside world. He had a Kingdom to run too. People were growing suspicious. Where was the Princess? Why was she hiding away? What did she have to hide? “You are no Princess. A Princess is beautiful. You are not beautiful.” he said to her when she was dragged to his throne room in chains. “You bring disgrace to the family. The people will be told you died. Take her away!”
The Princess was taken far away, to the mountains, where a 100-foot stone tower and been built for her. Covered with ivy and light frost, it was beautiful. But it was isolated. And it was far far away from her kingdom. The Princess was more alone than ever before. Nobody would ever find her. The tower only had one room with a small bed and a stove to keep warm. But there was no blanket and there was no coal and there was no food. There was only a large wooden log and a small piece of rock.
.jpg)
A 100 foot stone tower had been built for the Princess
“I will freeze!” the Princess wailed. Her tears only grew more desperate as the brother paid a werewolf from the wood to patrol the tower. Werewolves were notorious for their violent ways. There was no escape. Well, almost no escape. The pixie had come with her. The new King had stolen the pixie’s magic away so she couldn’t spirit them out of there. But the pixie had her rainbow wings and her stony resolve. She first flew away and brought back the Princess bird eggs and herbs and roots and fruits and nuts from the forest to eat. Then she whispered a cunning plan in the Princess’ ear. “Don’t cry, Princess.” said the pixie. “I will find you help. And you are intelligent and strong. You will find a way to survive.” she kissed the Princess on the forehead and went flying off in hopes of finding aid. The Princess swallowed and clenched her fists as she watched the pixie leave from her cramped tall tower. The pixie went flying over vales and valleys, forests and fields, rivers and ravines. She flew past ogres and trolls, imps and elves, warlocks and witches, poltergeists and vampires. She flew and flew until she found the next kingdom. She went to this new castle’s gates and begged to see the Queen. They let her in to the throne room and the pixie threw herself at the Queen’s feet, begging for help. “This Princess sounds like a noble woman.” the Queen said. “But if we took her in, your own kingdom may be insulted.” The pixie’s face fell and her wings drooped. She had flown such a long, exhausting way and all for nothing! The Queen saw this and her coldness thawed a little. “My eldest son is a prince, but unlike his brothers he had not yet gone on a quest. If we claim we thought the Princess had been kidnapped and portray this rescue mission as a quest, we may be able to save her and bring her here.” The pixie sprang up and flapped her wings excitedly, thanking the Queen in ecstasy. “But I must warn you, whilst your Princess has a happy if ugly smile, my son has no smile at all. He lost his smile when he lost his dog many years ago.” But he was the only help the Queen could send. The pixie met the Prince and was practically flabbergasted by his appearance: he had the face of an Angel but his eyes were cold and sad. He did not want to rescue the Princess. Princes and Princesses were supposed to fall in love. He suspected that his mother had sent him on this quest for this reason. He was certain he would never love again. But he did not want the Princess to be as lonely as he was (and he wanted he wanted good publicity amongst his subjects), so he agreed.
The journey was hard and perilous and long- especially as the pixie could no longer fly: she had to lead the Prince. He met deranged vampires, battled vicious ogres and tricked grumbly trolls. As the journey continued, the pixie told the Prince all about the Princess. How kind she was, how clever she was, how funny she was (and she also warned him never to wake her up too early on a weekend). Slowly he began to fall in love with her. He had magical images that sprang into his mind- that showed her in the tower, tired and growing cold but gorgeous and gracious. He began to wonder if the Princess would understood him, as his dog had. When he thought of her, he found himself almost... almost smiling. Well, his lip curved upwards. Meanwhile the Princess had been working hard. She had used the small sharp rock to work away at the wooden log and had fashioned herself a bow with half a dozen sharp arrows. She took a long ribbon to make the string that would fire the arrow. Woodwork lessons came in handy, she though slyly. She took the flint and slashed at her shimmery hair that reached her waist until it was short, so she could not be recognised in her escape. She breathed in deeply. I mustn’t be afraid, she thought, for fear will cage my strength and I am very strong. Late one night, when there was a bold white full moon in the inky dark sky, the Princess sung to the wolf- lullabies, lyric poems, shanties, limerick, melodies, tunes and ditties. Her voice was beautiful and she was a passionate singer, as any Princess with a heart of gold should be. She enchanted him. She sung so softly and carefully he fell asleep. Taking her roughly whittled bow just in case, she picked the lock with a hairpin and slipped out into the snow. She walked through the mountains and into forest, eventually summoning the will to call out for the pixie. Not so far away, the pixie awoke from her sleep and heard her. She shook the Prince awake. “The Princess!” and they went running after the voice. They ran through the enchanted forest... until they found the Princess, standing bold and proud, holding her bow and arrow, watching a whimpering wolf flee into the distance. The Prince saw the Princess. She smiled at him, showing her green teeth. It was an odd smile but it was happy. And it was so happy it wasn’t just pretty- it was absolutely radiant. He took her in his arms and helped up upon his steed. “I’m Bastian.” he said. “I’m Willow.” she said. When she spoke he saw her forked purple tongue. He smiled to her. She had the sweetest voice he had ever heard. The Prince and the Princess spent many weeks and months together in the wilderness, making friends with the fairy folk and battling monsters and sleeping under the stars and falling in love. They returned home to his kingdom. “I love you, Princess.” he said. “Will you marry me?” she said yes and they were married a few months later. The Princess was never afraid to smile again and the Prince now always had a reason. They were the happiest couple any kingdom in the magical realm had ever seen. And they lived happily ever after.
If you'd like to read more of Evie's short stories, click here; http://www.sycamoretrust.org.uk/latest/article/Isadora-the-Demented-Vampire-Detective-
