Word Count: 724

*****

After weeks upon weeks of begging and not receiving a straight answer, the queen finally let her daughter know that she would not be attending the next visitation to Earth. In the heat of the moment, the princess thought it would be a good idea to run away to Earth. She was tired of being treated like a baby by her brothers, tired of being left behind, and tired of the dumb old castle rules. So the princess waited for the perfect chance to escape.

Nightfall.

She knew the castle considerably well even in the shadow of night, but she'd never managed a full-blown escape. Determined, however, the princess knew exactly what she was looking for and intended to find it. She needed the help, however, of someone on the inside. She knew just the creature.

Twiddle.

The princess had always been kind to the gentle creature Twiddle while her brothers had always bullied him for his funny appearance. When the princess came to Twiddle in need of his help, he was happy to oblige. He instructed her to wait silently for his post.

So she did.

*****

There is no turning back. The ship has departed and the storm gives the crew all the more reason to keep a straight path. Beryl would like to sleep off the nerves but the man sitting beside her looks at her in such a way that she doesn't feel comfortable giving way to the vulnerable state of sleeping. So Beryl curls her knees to her chest and lets her mind meander with the same staggering waver as the ship.

The thoughts (and the intrinsic pain with them) ranges from up, down, to sideways. She thinks of her home, lost to her now. She thinks of her shoes, waterlogged and plagued with holes in the rubber soles. She thinks of the man to her right, smelling strongly of sweet smoke from a pipe and overpoweringly bitter alcohol. The mix of apprehension, fear of the dark unknowns, noxious smells in the air, and the wild jostling of the ship as it sails, sends her toppling into the throes of seasickness.

No chance of sleep. Beryl's logical brain forbids it. If she could sleep, however, she might be able to have a bit more hope. She might be able to better visualize the green landscape and clean cities, filled with friendly people and surely no one would ever go hungry in such abundance. As if to punctuate the idea, even as she doubles over, Beryl has no food in her stomach to yield.

*****

Disembodied voices echoed through the halls. Flora was the only person in the house. The only living person, at least. Along with the moaning and groaning of voices that had no owner, the voices in her memories joined the noise.

"Bet she won't do it."

"She's too chicken."

Flora was not a chicken however, in fact, she was up to the challenge.

"What you mean you'll actually go inside the haunted house on Halloween?"

"Pretty princess and her dolly won't last a second. She'll come running out in no time."

But Flora was not daunted. She was determined to prove her worth to the older kids. She would take her doll, matching fairy princess outfit and all, and she would go into the haunted house and take a picture of the second floor backroom, thus proving her adventure skills.

That was the idea anyway.

The voices echoing around the hall were suddenly no longer just moaning and groaning. The moment Flora stepped onto the first stair, shadowy figures began to emerge from the walls. Flora didn't wait to see them better. She dashed upward and prayed the creatures would not follow. Each stair felt harder to climb than the last. It occurred to Flora suddenly, that she was not moving anywhere. She swallowed hard and gathered her strength for a desperate leap into the air. Incredibly, this strategy seemed to work.

Flora clambered up the stairs in a whirlwind of dust. It wasn't until she reached the top that she realized she'd dropped her doll. Torn, Flora considered going back for the thing. Her mother would be very angry if she came home without it, Flora knew. But the voices, the shadowy figures screamed and protested when she moved to go back for it.

If you'd like to take from this concept please credit me! This is here for the picking and it is in my garbage can but please respect my intellectual property!