The Village Princess

Chapter One

Over the bright and rocky green hills covered in pink, yellow, blue, and orange flowers, over the bright blue rivers flowing with such force that a grown man could hardly stand, and over the massive mountains with their tips covered in snow, was the little village called Stalifouse, in the kingdom of Ankary. In the village of Stalifouse, everyone who was born there was naturally strong, tough, and tall, even the girls. All except Jayla. She was now turning 13 in her small village, but everyone was busy with work. He pa in the mines, her ma in the barn, and her big 15 year old brother Jackson was busy hauling hay to all of the animals. The only ones who were not doing anything in the whole village other than Jayla, were the babies. She would work as hard as Jackson, but pa forbade her to work every time she asked. He always said the same thing.

"You're too small to be working like the rest of us. What if you get lost? And I need someone to watch Jade." Jayla knew better than to argue, so the conversation always ended there. But it was frustrating to Jayla that her pa thought she would get lost in her home village! Jayla stood from her spot by the window and walked into her baby sister's room. The little baby lay swaddled in a pink and gold blanket.

"Hello Jade." She whispered. Little Jade stirred, and Jayla quickly walked out, not wanting to wake her. Jayla picked up a book from the bookshelf in the living room and walked out the back door of her small house. She climbed the hill covered with roses behind her house, and walked to a large Weeping Willow tree. The beautiful tree was Jayla's favorite reading spot. One of the branches hung very low, making a perfect bench for Jayla. It was close enough to the house so Jayla could hear if Jade began to cry. As she sat down, she took a moment to admire the beautiful scenery.

She could see the whole village working hard. She could see the gravel path that led down to what she assumed, other paths. But she could also see the mountains. She longed to go climb the tallest one in the kingdom, Mount Bloom. Their queen, Queen Hyacinth, had named it Mount Bloom, because in the spring, the most beautiful flowers bloom at the highest peak. Jayla had alway wondered why the mountain hadn't been named until a few years before she was born. She looked down at the book in her hands. Her ma had recently gone to the town surrounding the castle, and had bought it for her as a birthday gift. I wonder what it would be like to live in the castle. She thought to herself as she opened the first page. Soon she was absorbed into the book and was not aware of her surroundings. She was reading of a great battle, with a princess who fought alongside her people. She read for what seemed like hours, but knew it was only a few minutes.

"BOO!!" Jayla toppled out of the tree and fell to the ground. There stood behind the bench, was Jackson. His blond hair filled with hay.

"Don't scare me like that!" Jayla yelled at her big brother.

"Well it was the only way to get your nose out of that silly book." He said as he pulled her up. She glared at him, rolled her eyes, and picked up her book that had fallen in front of her.

"Why aren't you still working?" Jayla asked, wiping the dirt from her black wool leggings and red dress.

"Because it's almost time to go eat dinner with your best friend for your birthday!" Jackson said, mimicking how Jayla says best friend. Jayla's eyes widened.

"I almost forgot!" She exclaimed. Jackson rolled his eyes. Just then, a great trumpet sounded through the village. Jayla strained her neck. She knew that the sound of the trumpet meant the village had new arrivals. She stood up on her tree bench to see better. She desperately wanted to know who was coming. She heard the sound of horse hooves stomping their way up the gravel trail. She was about to turn to Jackson when he went running down the hill.

"Go get Jade!" He yelled as he passed the house and gathered with the rest of the villagers. Jayla rolled her eyes, again. She tended to do that whenever he was around. She quickly ran into their house, and walked into Jade's bedroom.