From the author: This story is based off real life. I wrote it as an assignment for Writer's Craft. We're supposed to take a story from our life and use it to create a personal myth involving archetypes and the archetypal quest. Therefore the plot can't be much changed as it is based on my life. Please critique and enjoy. Thanks.
Once upon a time in a faraway land where dreams and reality mesh, there lived three kingdoms. The first Kingdom was the wealthiest and the King and Queen who ruled it had a very handsome son who would one day inherit their wealth and land.
The second Kingdom was best known for its generosity. The King and Queen there gave as much to their people as they could and often went without because they gave so much. This King and Queen were blessed with three lovable daughters. The eldest daughter was a lover of knowledge and spent most of her days singing and reading. The middle child shared her sister’s love of the arts, was incredibly intelligent, and enjoyed having a great amount of friends. The youngest daughter was magnificently talented when it came to athletics. She enjoyed playing in the woods and participating in many sports competitions through the Kingdom. All three daughters enjoyed rather different activities but still they all came to love each other very much and would often spend as much time as possible with each other and their parents.
The third Kingdom was more specifically known for its grand selection of books. The Queen, who remained unmarried, was the most knowledgeable person in the land. This Kingdom was also known for its academies and schools.
On that note, it is at this point in the story that our main focus comes in to view. In the second Kingdom, the Kingdom of Generosity, a time came when the eldest daughter had exhausted the reading materials. She had read every book in the land and then reread them fifty times over. Though many of the King and Queen’s subjects expected her thirst for knowledge to be satiated it was not.
At first the eldest daughter was convinced that she would be able to quench her thirst by taking up one of her sister’s activities instead. She attempted the middle sister’s socializing but felt that she was always unable to talk about anything except what she had read and that many people found her references to be dull and uninteresting. Then she attempted to join her youngest sister in her sports competitions but came in last place in every single one and after the first day of it was so tired and sore that she could not move or speak for a week thereafter.
Finally, her parents helped her to realize that the best and only course of action was for her to leave home and travel off to the Kingdom of Knowledge. Hesitantly the eldest daughter agreed and preparations were made for the journey. The Princess was given a black horse to ride but the generous family hadn’t enough money to pay for anyone to protect the Princess. They merely bestowed her with a carrier pigeon so that, if she were ever in dire need, she would be able to contact them. After a tearful goodbye to her parents, sisters and Kingdom, the Princess set off.
She rode through many dark forests, up hills and down hills, until finally she came to a straight and narrow path that was only defined in the yellowy-green grass because it had been walked so many times. She rode down the path until she came to the Kingdom of Knowledge’s entrance and after disclosing her name and title she was admitted entry.
Once in the Kingdom she headed to a royal bookshop, which held millions upon millions of books. There was one book that the Princess had been waiting through her all her travels to read and it was the first one she looked for once inside the shop. She looked everywhere in the shop, on every shelf, in every stack, beneath every table but nowhere was this book to be found. She was almost ready to give up and move on to another book when she spotted it, across the room on the highest shelf. It seemed to glow amidst the others in the evening light. She hurried across the room, went on her tip-toes, and stretched her arm out to grab it but another hand intercepted hers.
She had been so close, she thought, and turned to demand that the hand that had grabbed it should indeed hand it over, when she noticed the hand that had grabbed her book belonged to a very handsome Prince.
As she found herself at a loss for words and rather abashed at even thinking of demanding anything of this Prince, the Prince did something odd—he smiled and she returned the smile. He explained that he had also been looking for the same book and quickly apologized for taking it. Perhaps, he offered, he could purchase the book and later they could read it together. She agreed.
He was staying at a simple country inn, at a village nearby. Upon visiting it, the Princess noticed that it indeed was simple, but pleasant at the same time. They spent the night eating together and reading the book and eventually became so engrossed in one another that they lost all discussion and reading of the book in a conversation over dinner.
By the end of the night, the Princess was completely taken by the Prince, confiding in him that she had never been able to discuss anything but books in her life with anyone except her family! He smiled and replied that this was perfect because, to be honest, he was incredibly taken with the Princess.
Kudos to you! 
