The Legend of Princess Wildheart (10 page)

F
IFTEEN

  Princess Wildheart looked up from her crying to see the tiny figure who was barking the command.  Anger filled her as she stood up and pulled out her Princess Sword.

  “Your prisoner you say!  Look what you have done to my love and my friends Elf!  I shall slay you right here!” 

  Princess Wildheart raised her Princess Sword to strike a blow.

  “Don’t move or you will befall the sleeping fate of the others!”

  Many more elves began to come out from behind bushes with tiny arrows notched in their bows.  With that many arrows pointed at her, the Princess had no choice but to agree to the elf’s commands. 

  “I am Chelsi, leader of the Wood Elf Army in the Dark Forest,” said the elf.  “Make one move with that sword and we will unleash many arrows into your flesh.”

  “Oh?  While I may take a few arrows to my flesh, you will have no head elf!” 

  The Princess still held her Princess Sword raised up high to strike a death blow.

  “Princess Wildheart will be no one’s prisoner, especially a small forest creature as you!  Having killed all those I love here, it would be only fitting for you to feel the vengeance of my Princess Sword!”  

  “Wait!  You say you are a Princess and your friends are dead?  No!  They are alive!  Not dead.  Those are sleep arrows!  They only make you sleep!” 

  Chelsi stepped back from the enraged Princess Wildheart as she prepared to strike with her Princess sword.

  “Sleeping?  Only sleeping you say?  Thank goodness, my love and my friends are still alive!” 

  Princess Wildheart sheathed her Princess Sword.

  “Sleep arrows huh?  So when will they awake from this sleep?”

  “They should all awaken in a couple of hours when the potion wears off.  They have not been harmed aside from a few small puncture wounds they got from the arrows,” said Chelsi.  “You are still my prisoner and will have to come with me to our village and stand before the queen.  Then you will be judged by her,” said Chelsi. 

  “Did I not make myself clear Elf?” 

  Princess Wildheart glared at the elf while tapping her sword.

  “I am Princess Wildheart from the great Rose Kingdom north of here.  No one will be judging me or taking me as a prisoner!”

  Princess Wildheart drew her Princess Sword once again as the elves continued to hold their bows aimed at her.

  “Must I take your life to convince you Chelsi?” 

  “No!  Please!  Just follow me to meet our queen.  We will bring your friends and your belongings.  Please!  Just follow me Princess Wildheart,” said Chelsi.

  “Alright Chelsi, I will follow you.  You better just watch your step though!  Anything goes wrong and you will be the first to die,” said Princess Wildheart.

  The elves put the Princess Wildheart’s friends and Prince Morgan onto small wooden handmade sleds.  Then the elves tied the sleds to their horses, along with their belongings.  The elves led the horses, dragging the sleds and occupants behind them.  Princess Wildheart who towered above the tiny three foot tall elves walked with Chelsi in front of the group down the path. She glanced back to see that everyone was still out cold being led along by the many elves.  There were close to a hundred elves following behind her by her best guess.  She became aware of the amulet that Prince Morgan had given her.  The merchant woman had called it the “Amulet of Protection.”  This must be why she had not been harmed.  Princess Wildheart noticed that all of the elves were female.  All were dressed like Chelsi in clothing fashioned from leaves with the tree bark sandals.  Their leafy skirts and tops covered their small pixie bodies which appeared to have the same attributes as her body did.  She looked closer at Chelsi as they walked along.  Her skin had a mild greenish blue tint to her otherwise milky white complexion.  Atop her slightly pointed ears her hair had a light blue tint.  Chelsi packed a small bow on her back with a quiver filled with tiny unused arrows like the ones that struck her group.  A small vine like belt held a brown pouch hanging by her side. Chelsi, like the other elves who were all dressed the same, made no noise at all as they walked along the forest path.  The only sounds Princess Wildheart could hear were the sounds of her own footsteps and the horses as they drug the sleds behind them.  She could hear birds and the trees leaves rustle in the slight wind as they walked but not one sound from the elves.  She looked at the other elves following them.  All looked different in the face from each other and had different sized and bodies but all were very close in size to each other. 

  “How much further Chelsi?” 

  Princess Wildheart had now calmed down and was eager to get on with things to tend to her mission.  Chelsi looked straight ahead as she continued to walk.

  “Not much further, the village is just there ahead of us.”

  The pathway began to wind as the forest cleared out a bit allowing more light through the trees.  Up ahead a small village came into view along the path.  They came upon a clear small stream with a small wooden bridge arching over the top of it.  Across the bridge she could see that there were many beautiful plants and flowers on the other side.  This was a very beautiful land with many flowers, plants and lush vegetation everywhere.  There were many animals running around such as rabbits and deer that stopped to look at them as they passed by.  Bees and butterflies were darting from flower to flower gathering their pollen.  The filtered light from the trees cast a faint golden glow to the entire surroundings.  Looking further ahead, Princess Wildheart could see many tiny cottages on the ground and in the trees above.  The ground cottages were grouped together. In the trees the cottages were connected by a series of tiny wooden bridges which formed pathways through them.  All of the buildings looked sturdy and well cared for.  Very cute and cozy thought Princess Wildheart to herself.  As she drew even closer, she could now see that the tiny buildings were constructed of wood, vine and other forest products that had been gathered by the elves.  There were bits of forest plants and some animal hides woven into the shelters.  The village was teeming with life as hundreds of tiny female elves went about their daily lives.  Some would stop for a moment and glance at the group as they passed but they quickly returned to their tasks at hand.  The procession continued down the path through a fruit orchard and some grapevines which were being tended by the elves.  There were many small huts along the way with elves busy at work, making wine from the grapes or filling baskets fashioned from long grass blades with fruit from the orchards.  They passed more huts where elves were making carts and tiny furniture from forest wood.  As the path widened a larger, more substantial dwelling appeared before them.

  “This palace is where the Queen lives,” said Chelsi.  “We will put your horses and belongings next to that spring pond over there,” said Chelsi, pointing at a clear water pond off to the side of them. 

  Chelsi instructed the other elves to make some soft beds for the sleeping group near the pond and care for their horses and belongings.  There was a large canopy by the pond made of animal skin and the elves fashioned soft moss beds under it for the sleeping group.  They gently placed their bodies onto the soft beds under the canopy.

  “The sleep potent will wear off soon and your friends will be awake,” said Chelsi.

  Some of the elves cleaned and bandaged the wounds left by the tiny arrows. The rescue group continued to sleep under the effects of the knock out powder.

  Chelsi and Princess Wildheart walked to the front of the palace.  It had a few tiny steps in front leading up to a large porch with a half a dozen chairs and an elaborate wooden throne.  The throne was made of some sort of wood which appeared to be different than the other wood in the village.  The entire palace was under guard by many elves.  A giant tree stood behind the palace, guarding it from the elements with its huge limbs towering above it.

  “Wait here please, while I announce you to our queen,” said Chelsi.

  Princess Wildheart did as she asked.  Soon six elves emerged from the palace and stood behind the chairs on the porch.  They wore short skirts made from animal hides and small furry tops.  Their hair was long and each had small crowns on their head.  The Queen emerged with Chelsi and took her place, sitting on the throne as the others sat in the chairs on either side of her.  Two guards with small swords stood at the ready on either side of the throne to protect the Queen from harm.  The Queen was dressed in what appeared to be a long green dress made of suede.  She had leather boots which were tall and went up under her dress.  She wore a golden crown on her head with some colored jewels embedded in it.

  Chelsi went down the steps to the Princess.

  “This is the one I spoke of your highness.  She claims to be Princess Wildheart from the Rose Kingdom to the north.  Her companions are sleeping on some moss beds over there by the pond,” said Chelsi pointing to the pond.

  “So you are a Princess.  What business do you have passing through our forest?  I must know what brings you here,” said the Queen.

  “Yes, I am Princess Wildheart from the great Rose Kingdom to the north of here and those sleeping over there near the pond are my friends.  We needed to cross your land in order to save my brothers who have fallen into the hands of a Barbarian army which attacked a Rose Kingdom outpost.  We were unaware of your Wood Elf Kingdom and trying to save time by cutting through the Dark Forest.  That was when we were attacked by your elf army,” she said.

  “I understand Princess and apologize for the attack.  However, we elves must protect our Kingdom and way of life by whatever means needed to ensure our survival.  We intend to keep intruders out of our forest and protect our way of life here.  I am Queen of the elves and these ladies to either side are all Princesses not unlike you Princess Wildheart.  We elves lead a quiet and simple life.  Our intention is to just keep to ourselves, only engaging intruders when needed.  I grant my permission for you and your group to pass through our lands unharmed.  Chelsi will lead you to the other side of the forest when your companions awake.  I only ask that you keep secret our existence here and tell no one of us.  We would like to remain secret and unknown to the outside world,” said the Queen.

  “I will honor your request for secrecy your highness,” said Princess Wildheart.

  “Very well then, I hope you have success in finding your brothers Princess Wildheart,” said the Queen, rising from her throne. 

  The other Princesses also stood and followed the Queen back inside the palace.  Princess Wildheart watched them go inside.  She thought it may be nice to have some knock out powder to take on their journey.

  “Chelsi, would it be possible for me to have a pouch of your sleep potent?  I would like to take some on our mission.”

  “You can have my pouch of powder Princess Wildheart,” said Chelsi, handing her the small brown pouch filled with white powder. 

  “It can be put into a drink or tipped on swords or arrows.  The powder only needs to get inside of the body somehow for it to work,” said Chelsi.   “Let us see to your companions now Princess, they should awaken at any moment.”

  The two of them walked over to the canopy where the others were sleeping.  Princess Wildheart kneeled down over Prince Morgan and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

  “Wake up my love,” she said.

  His eyes opened and he smiled seeing her beautiful face.

  “What happened?”  The last thing I remember was lying on top of you, shielding you from the attack.  Where are we?” 

  Prince Morgan was confused from the knock out powder that put him to sleep.  Princess Wildheart explained what happened to him.

  “Your body protected me along with the amulet,” said Princess Wildheart.

  “The tiny arrows were dipped in a sleep potent which knocked you and the others out for a couple of hours.  One of the elves named Chelsi gave me a bag of this sleep powder to take with me.  We are now inside the Wood Elf Kingdom, deep inside the Dark Forest.  I thought you were dead, along with the others but learned that you had only been knocked out.  I am so glad everyone is alright,” said Princess Wildheart, giving Prince Morgan a deep kiss. 

  The others began to awaken from their sleep.  They all wondered what had happened.  Princess Wildheart explained to everyone the current situation.

  Chelsi came over to them along with a few of her elf friends.  They brought some hot elf tea and cakes.  Everyone drank the tea and ate the cakes which seemed to revive them.  Very soon they all became awake and alert.  The group studied Chelsi as she scampered around them serving the refreshments. 

  “When everyone is ready, I can lead you out of the Wood Elf Kingdom and you can continue your quest in search of the Princes from the Rose Kingdom,” said Chelsi.

  The group readied and mounted their horses.  They followed Chelsi as she led them down a path in the same direction they had been going. The path followed a clear water stream lined with lush grasses and flowers through the dense forest.  There was a mountain with a waterfall ahead and Chelsi led the group around and behind the waterfall.  They came to a small cave which required everyone to dismount their horses and lead them through one at a time.  The cave went through the mountain and opened up into a small meadow on the other side of the mountain.  The group exited the cave and walked toward the meadow.  Princess Wildheart looked back and saw that the cave was hidden from anyone’s view by shrubs and bushes.