Young Writers Society

The sun rose, and broke over the majestic purple mountains bordering the kingdom . It shone on a small village full of quaint little cottages, and farmland spreading as far as the eye could see. It shone on a sparkling blue stream, winding its way through a great emerald green forest, and it shone on a beautiful stone castle in the far north of this majestic kingdom.

Through the highest window, of the tallest tower, Princess Robin was fast asleep in a lavish gold bed with two fluffy mattresses, and a beautiful down comforter, embroidered with illustrations of all the kingdom’s legends.

Even when the church bell rang in the little village, and the courtyard of the palace became alive with all sorts of noises, Princess Robin remained in Dreamland.

It was only when her personal servant, Patty bustled in with a fresh load of laundry that she finally awoke. “ Wake up, please Princess Robin, I’ll be scolded if you aren’t at archery in fifteen minutes.” Robin yawned, and stretched.

“Too early” she grumbled, but she didn’t want Patty to get in trouble, so she dragged herself out of bed, and allowed herself to be fitted into a suit of lady’s armor for her training.

Unlike most kings and queens, her parents expected her to be able to fight well. “I really love archery,” said the Princess excitedly, “But I do need more practice.” Patty tried to hold in giggles.

“If you don’t mind my saying so-” she started, and then stopped and cleared her throat, “I know you’ll improve” Robin laughed. Patty had such a strange way of wording her sentences.

“That’s alright” Robin said “You don’t have to pretend, everyone knows that I’m trash at it!”

Soon, the armor was fully on the princess, and they headed down to the kitchen to grab a snack before archery. In order to do this, the princess was escorted by Patty down three flights of spiral staircases, to the grand staircase, and down to the entrance hall.

“Good morning Princess Robin!” came a friendly voice. Robin turned to see her mother, Queen Elisa, who greeted her with a warm hug. “How was your sleep?”

“Well your in a good mood!” remarked Robin

“Oh, and do you know why, sweet daughter? The royal ball is in only four days! It is to be held in the forest castle, and it will be such a grand time. I simply can’t wait! Anyways,” said the queen getting back on track, “Off you go to archery this instant!”

The princess, and Patty, then walked across the courtyard, and down another flight of stairs, to a place the princess very rarely went: the servants quarters.

“Why can’t I just have a regular breakfast in the dining hall?” she complained to her humble servant.

“Dear Princess,” said Patty nervously “Uh. . . Beautiful Jewel of Grace” she continued, trying to recall the training she had received only a week before on how to be exceedingly polite to a figure such as the princess.

“Just get on with it, would ya?” asked an annoyed Robin.

“Okay,”said Patty, more comfortable now, “The rest of the royal family, and the nobility will be having a feast this morning during the same hours that you will be practicing your archery.”Robin groaned.

“They always have to leave me out!” she said, but then shut up, realizing that poor Patty had never had a single meal after which she had been full in a very long time.

There was an awkward silence as the walked, until they reached the kitchen. “Here is the princess” Patty said, addressing the cook.

“Wonderful!” said the cook kindly “And you’re just in time too!” she exclaimed, pulling a freshly baked apple pie from the oven. Robin smiled. The pie looked, and smelled so delicious. Steam was still rising through the top as the cook cut a large slice and handed it to Robin, “How do you like the size of that piece?” She asked, and chuckled a warm laugh. Her plump cheeks grew rosy, and her blue eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Can’t let poor Patty go hungry this morning, now can we?” she said, and cut a piece even bigger than the Princess’s, and handed it to Patty.

“Thanks!” Patty exclaimed, and dug in, savoring each morsel. Robin frowned to herself. Why should a servant be treated better than her?

Soon, they were finished eating , and Robin, who was eager to get out of the plain servants quarters which, by the way, were quite stuffy, said “Let’s go get my bow.”

Patty agreed, thanking the cook once more for her kindness.

The two girls hurried up to the back door of the castle, and quietly slipped out. “I hope we aren’t late,” said Patty, as they approached the archery grounds. As it turned out, they were just on time.

“Welcome, Princess Robin,” spoke her instructor as he got her bow out of the small shack next to the archery range.

The archery range itself was a very nice place, a wooded little area next to the Great Emerald Forest. There were three targets set up in a row.

“Do you remember how to string a bow?” he questioned.

“ Not really”, Robin admitted. Her last class had not gone too well. She had lost seven arrows to the Emerald Forest. She hit the target once, but on the white part, that counted for zero points.

Her instructor spoke up again, “This time,” he said, “ You must not lose any arrows. We are running low!”

“I’m not getting any better!” Princess Robin reminded her instructor.

“That is my point”, he explained. “Whenever you miss, you must go into the forest and find an arrow to replace it. You have lost so many that there should be an abundance. “

Princess Robin smiled. It was true. She had lost a lot. Once her instructor got her beautiful bow ready for her, he handed her a quiver full of beautiful arrows with red feathers at the ends.

“Aim for the middle.” he said

“Got it!” said Princess Robin, with confidence. She took a step closer and closed her left eye. She held her bow, wobbling for a minute, and when she was sure that she had it aimed right for the center, she released it. The arrow whizzed through the air and, sadly for Robin, hit the ground a few feet away from her. She looked at her instructor, who was just finishing eating a big red apple. He tossed the core into the woods and spoke.

“Princess”, he said. “You have to point the bow a bit more up. And how many times do I have to tell you that you are left handed, and you must close your right eye.” He shook his head. “Practice makes perfect, so try again.”

This time, our princess pointed the bow high up, and pulled the string back with all her might (which she had a lot of). Sadly, she forgot to aim, and the arrow shot right past the target, and into the Emerald Forest. Robin looked at her instructor.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked, “Run and get it!”

So Robin was on her way, running into the Emerald Forest. “I should probably be off,” said Patty, who had been watching the girl try, and was now bored.

“Bye!”called Robin over her shoulder as she ran. Her eyes scanned the trees and floor of the forest, but she saw no arrows. So she did what anyone would do and ran further into the forest.

“I should be finding something by now,” Robin said to herself. Just then, when she looked up, she saw an arrow on a pine tree. However, it was not her arrow. It was longer, with expensive jewels on the shaft, and the tip was made out of a sharpened diamond.

Whoever had been shooting here must have been rich, Robin thought, and then something caught her eye. A little slip of parchment was tucked into one of the feathers.

Curiously, Robin pulled the arrow out of the tree, and looked at the parchment. It read:

If you are prepared to go on a quest,

You must pass this simple test.

Find the four lost Princesses,

And rescue them from bondage.

Once you have done this,

You will be

A hero among all.

In order to do this,

You must acquire

The Stolen Locket,

A king’s desire

It holds the next great clue.

The rest,

My friend,

Is up to you.

The lost princesses? Thought Robin. She had heard a tale of them before. They had ruled the kingdom in peace and harmony for many years. Then, one day, they were taken captive by some mysterious person, never to be seen again.

All Robin knew was that she needed to go on the quest. She sat, studying the arrow. How do I know that this isn’t a trap? She asked herself, but she shook her head.

She hated being a princess. She longed for adventure. This was just what she needed.

Robin would go on the quest, find the locket, use it to free the lost princesses, and then they could rule in the place of her parents. She could do what she had always dreamed of doing, move out to the country, where she didn’t have to do archery lessons, or any of that nonsense.

Robin nodded her head, and snatched the beautiful arrow. She tucked the piece of paper into a pocket of her armor, and ran at top speed back to her lesson.

“Where have you been, your majesty?” questioned her instructor strictly when she got back.

“I found you the most beautiful arrow in the whole entire kingdom.” exclaimed Robin, hoping that this would make up for it. She handed the diamond arrow to her instructor.

“Wow!” he breathed, marveling at the wonderful arrow. “Oh yeah,” he said, regaining his composure, “ I was about to say that it took you so long to fetch the arrow, that by now your lesson is over. You are expected in the royal hall for lunch. Patty will be here to take you any minute.”

Robin smiled to herself. Perhaps Patty would accompany her on her quest.

Soon Patty arrived, and took the princess to the dining hall. “Patty,” said Robin, “I have something to ask you”