The Clockwork Princess

5. Trapped in the Scarlet Dungeon

The Princess flew out of the window and fell through the air outside the tower. In four seconds the Princess hit the ground, showering tiny metal parts out, like a tiny clockwork volcano. Cogs, screws and springs littered the ground like confetti after a couple who got married after years of running a confetti shop. Once all was still, the Princess lay on the ground, unable to move.

The Queen lent out of the window.

'You gardener' she shouted to one of the palace gardeners 'collect up those bits and put them in the prison!'

After some time, a gardener came over tidy her up. He picked up all Princess's parts and 'dang', 'thurp' ,'plock' dropped each one into a box. Sergeant Mumble came to collect the box, he bent down and turned the Princesses' face away from him and walked slowly to the dungeons where he dropped the box in a prison cell.

The Princess awoke to find herself at the bottom of a box. She couldn't get out as she had lost an arm. She complained, then screamed at the top of her voice, but no one came.

'I'm not real, I'm not real' she kept saying to herself.

The Princess lay in the box for many long dark hours. While she did she was miserable. The prison was cold, only the˙ princesses sadness were smiling. She cried for four days and for four nights until finally the little sack, which fed her tears ran dry. It was as if all her importance ran out like sand leaking a sack. Finally her clockwork ran down and she fell into a miserable sleep, where she dreamed of flying in a grey balloon made from a huge heart.

When the Princess awoke she could hear the sound of clockwork being wound up. Tick click, tick click, her eyes opened. It was cold, and damp in the bottom of the box in the bottom of the dungeon. She could feel something cold running down her back. She reached up to grab whatever was, but she had no hand to hold it. Struggling to catch it only succeeded in rocking the box she was in. The struggle was so bad the box fell over. It made a big thumping noise as the box hit the ground lifting up a curtain of dust around it.

The Princesses sneezed and suddenly a tiny yellow cog flew from the nose and sailed over to the far side of the prison cell.

'What's wrong doesn't anyone ever clean down here?' the Princess demanded.

'Regrettably not your highness' a small squeaky voice said as something jumped off her ear and landed in front of her left eye. It took a moment for the princess it to focus, but then she saw that she was face to face with a small brown rat. They both shrieked.

EK!' said the princess and the rat at the same time. The rat stood up before her on its back legs and tried to smile. The princess had eyes like two open parachutes.

'Easy now, easy now, they say take long deep breaths' the rat said.

The Princess stammered in shock.

'You're, you're, you're...'

'Forgive me highness, may I have the pleasure of introducing my self I am Roe D. Ent PhD - that is personal highness detective'. The Rat bowed, he was pure white, with a tail like a worm and a black patch over his eyes like a mask.

At this formal introduction the Princess regained the manners her dance instructor had taught her.

'Um hello Mr Rat. I'm sorry, I've never met a talking rat before.'

'That is quite alright your highness, I am at an equal disadvantage, I have never met a talking machine before' said the rat warmly if a little strangely.

There was a banging of a tin mug on the bars behind the rat from a prison cell.

'And this is our fellow, if rather quiet, inmate. If the guards are to be believed his name is 'Grot' but I can't be sure, he never speaks' the rat said.