The Numberland Princess

Prologue

"I! Am! One!"

    This declaration sounded out across the hills, and the little red block who had made it smiled as her song came to a close. "That was fun." She had only gained sentience a few minutes ago, and was already loving life, despite the fact that she was seemingly all by herself in this place. She hoped to soon meet somebody aside from all the animals she'd counted.

    As One strolled around, exploring the land that was now her home, she began to hear faint crying in the distance. It didn't sound like an animal, and One broke into a sprint towards the sound, hoping nobody was hurt. When she finally found what was crying, she gasped at what she saw.

    It was a human. A very small, very young human, who looked as new to the world as One was, lay on the ground all by itself. It was clutching at the blanket it was wrapped up in, and its hands resembled the giant wooden hand One had climbed on top of, only smaller and stubbier. It was also wearing a necklace with a pink star charm. As the infant babbled, One slowly approached it.

    "Don't cry," she whispered. "I'm here for you." She gently picked the bundle up, and was relieved when the baby stopped crying. Instead it looked at One with curiosity in its wide eyes, and began poking at her face. One giggled. "Hey, watch the eye!"

    One looked around and saw no other humans in sight. Where were this baby's parents? Surely nobody would be so cruel as to abandon their own child, right? Perhaps they had just lost it, and were desperately searching for their precious bundle of joy. Whatever the case, One knew that she had to take care of this baby.

    "What to call you..." She took a closer look at the star charm and realized it had a name engraved into it. "So your name is Brooke?" The baby smiled a bit, as if responding positively to hearing her name. Gently cradling Brooke in her arms, One carried on with walking.

---

    "I am Two! How do you do?"

    It was the next day, and One had found both a small tennis court and a magical mirror that made another One. However, both Ones had just collided with each other and been replaced by a new Numberblock, who was orange and wore a pair of purple glasses. Wanting her caretaker back, Brooke began to cry, which Two noticed instantly.

    "No! Don't cry!" He looked around. "Where did they go?" When he split back into the Ones for a second, he understood. "Oh... not to worry! One and another One turned into me! They didn't go anywhere!" Two tried splitting apart so he could meet One for himself, but there just couldn't be one Two and two Ones at the same time... unless...

    "The magic mirror!" Both Ones raced to the mirror, one tripping over and landing face-first onto the grass. The other One made it to the mirror and duplicated herself, combining to make Two.

    Now that One and Two were formally introduced, One showed Two Brooke. "I found her all by herself yesterday," she explained. "Now she has someone else to help take care of her!"

    "Aw, she's so cute!" Two gushed. "Me and One will always be here for you, Brooke." As the infant was embraced by both Numberblocks, she felt truly safe and loved.

---

    Three more numbers were soon discovered, and each of them fawned over Brooke just as One and Two did. There was Three, the boastful yet playful entertainer, Four, the fellow who obsessed over squares, and Five, the rockstar who more often than not acted as a motherly figure to not just Brooke, but the other Numberblocks.

    The six of them had so much fun together. The Numberblocks put on a performance of "The Three Little Pigs" for Brooke, took her out on an adventure into the jungle, protected her from the Terrible Twos' antics, and played hide and seek with her. They never did find her parents, but at this point they never wanted to part ways with Brooke.

    A year passed, and with the new year came new friends. The rhyming Six, the lucky Seven, the heroic Eight, the sneezing Nine, and the high-flying Ten all came into Brooke's life and made it even happier. Within another year she met Zero, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen. The only ones in Numberland who ever treated Brooke badly were the Terrible Twos, and yet they never did any worse than play harmless tricks on her. The Numberblocks did their best to keep Brooke away from Octonaughty at all costs.

    At four years old Brooke could speak, walk and do math, and thanks to her upbringing she proved to be far more capable at mathematics than the average person her age. At five she understood a lot of math concepts, and even found solving equations fun.

    Years and years passed, and Brooke never once felt dissatisfied with her life in Numberland. The Numberblocks had given her the best childhood one could ask for, and she would forever be grateful for her ever-growing family. She never wanted to leave this wonderful world and its amazing inhabitants... and yet fate had other plans for her.