Young Writers Society

This story is being written and posted in whatever order I write it in. Wondering why?

Visit this thread for more information.

- - -

By the time John had finished plastering all the faces onto the post, the sun was high overhead, and he was tired from all the trips he’d made to gather more mud and grass from the stream. As he slumped against the base of the post, John wished he’d brought a bottle of water or a box of juice and wondered if the stream was okay to drink from. He was already covered in mud, so a little more mud wouldn’t make a difference, and it would get him away from the post, which hadn’t stopped chattering since he stuck the last of the faces on.

If John had known how noisy the post would be, with all the faces talking at once, he would have saved putting in the last face for when he wasn’t too tired to talk to anyone.

John rested his forehead on his knees and tried to ignore all the voices.

“Did he fall asleep?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hey, kid! Are you sleeping?”

“If he’s sleeping, he’s not going to answer, stupid!”

“I’m not stupid!”

“Yeah! I’m Stupid!”

“Of course you’re stupid, Stupid, but I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Then why were you calling them Stupid?”

“Because—”

“That’s enough!” shouted the formidable face, and all of the other faces grew silent.

“Thank you, child. At last, we are whole again.”

“And now we’ll tell you the way to the safe place like we promised!”

“Is it far?” asked John, still tired from hauling the mud and lifting all the stones.

“No.”

“It is, perhaps, ten minutes’ walk from here, if you maintain a consistent pace. First, you will want to cross the stream at the fallen tree fifty strides from the peaceful face and thirty to your left. Twenty strides straight ahead, you will see a wall made of bear stones.”

“Bear stones?” John asked, his brow furrowing. “Are they shaped like bears or are they the same size as them?”

“Both.”

“Do some of the bears look like they’re dancing?”

“You sound as if you know of the stones.”

John nodded. “They sound like the stones Princess Emmaline used to find her way.”

A surprised face flashed past before the excited face appeared. “You know Princess Emmaline?”

“No,” said John, and a disappointed face appeared. “But I know about her.”

“That’s great! If you know about her, maybe you can find her!”

“How do you know of Emmaline?” asked the thoughtful face.

“My mother tells me stories about her.”

“Interesting… Perhaps you should bring your mother here. She may know of the Princess’ whereabouts.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” demanded the formidable face.

John looked down at the ground. “She’s sick.”

“We are sorry to hear that, child.”

“Perchance you could ask her about the Princess’s whereabouts.”

“That’s a great idea! Ask her!”

John thought about it and realized that the only thing he’d ever asked his mother about Princess Emmaline was to hear her stories. “I will. But how do you know about Princess Emmaline?”

“The place you’re going to is her kingdom! Isn’t that great!” said the excited face.

“Alas,” said the sad face, “her kingdom is in a poor state as of late.”

“Of course it is. She abandoned it, after all.” The formidable face looked crosser than usual.

“‘Abandon’ is hardly the correct term to use,” said the thoughtful face. “‘Neglected’ would be more apt. Regardless, the King is most responsible for his kingdom’s welfare, even more so than the Princess.”

“Yeah! She just fixes his mistakes! It’s not her fault he keeps making them!”

“Did something bad happen to the kingdom?” asked John, his heart beginning to pick up speed with worry.

“‘Bad’ is not the correct term to use, though the kingdom’s current state could hardly be considered ‘good’, either,” said the thoughtful face. “At the very least, the kingdom is stable, albeit to the point of invariability.”

“I don’t understand…”

“You shall once you arrive, child.” The sad face smiled its saddest smile.

“You should leave soon,” said the thoughtful face. “The day does not last forever, and these woods are not safe at night.”

“Yeah! It would be really bad if you got lost in the dark! And it gets really cold!”

“You should not tarry too long, child.”

“I won’t,” promised John as he stepped around to the peaceful side of the post. “And I’ll fix you up right next time.”

“That would be great!”

“Do you know your way from the bear stones?” asked the thoughtful face.

“I think so.”

“Well, if you get lost, just come back! You have to come back here to get back home anyways, so see you soon!” The excited face bobbed up and down, as if it were waving with its entire head, and so John waved back before turning to the journey ahead. He ignored the sounds of arguing that picked up again once he was out of sight to focus on the directions he was given.

First, cross the stream at the fallen tree…