A Work Of Art

Little Hope

Hope looked around the corner, curious as to why the painting was there. No one was allowed near it. No one dared go near it. 

Little Hope smiled and crept around the corner glad that the guards were taking care of more... pressing matters... 

Some child had set off a smoke bomb in the main hall and had drawn on the walls in the process. Hope didn't do that no, it wasn't a ploy so she could see the painting.

Hope slowly walked towards the painting creeping over ever so slowly. She reached it rather quickly, and brought one finger to the painting. the rough surface as she touched the building slowly seemed to change to a more liquid state. Hope leapt away with a small squeak, her hand drying off the minute it was removed from the painting. 

Hope took a deep breath, and crept back towards the painting slower than before. It took at least 3 minutes to reach the painting that was only 5 feet away. She touched it again and this time it immediately changed to a watery texture her hand went through and then her arm. She didn't feel the wall behind the painting but merely the watery substance the painting had transformed into.

Hope took another breath before sticking her other hand in she leaned forward stuck her head in and fell through.

She didn't fall for long but just flipped upside down and shrunk to fit the size of the village in the painting. 

Nothing looked painted anymore though. No it was all solid people and buildings that looked as real as her kingdom. 

An old woman approached her, "Hello Little girl. Might I ask who you are?"

"I am Hope. Most people around the palace call me Little Hope, since I am so petite."

The woman looked startled as she looked down, "Little Hope? That's a wonderful name. May I ask, Little Hope, where you are from?"

"I am from..." Hope paused to think about it, "Well the kingdom is called Kritl... but I am from outside of the painting..." 

The old woman gasped, "So, you are the new princess of the arts..."

Hope tilted her head to the side, "Princess of the arts?" 

The old woman nodded for a second, "Of course you wouldn't know about that.... excuse my rudeness..." She looked up at the sky Hope following her glance. This made her realize instead of a sky there was the world she was from.

"Would you mind following me?" The old woman asked. Hope took a second to think before nodding.

"Miss, what is your name?" Hope asked.

"I am Lucia..." The old woman said, "Queen of Art... Long ago I failed the people here but I wasn't the first to fail... I just hope I am the last..."

Hope tilted her head,  "What do you mean 'Failed'?"

"Well you see, Little Hope. Every couple of years the painting picks a new heir to the throne... The first person that young girl meets is the queen. while princess you have to ability to travel in and out f the painting at will... Once you are queen though you can no longer travel through the painting at will." Lucia looked up at the sky her eyes filled wth wisdom and something else a negative emotion that Hope had only seen once before. She had not seen it since her mother died.

"Your job as princess is to find a way for everyone to leave. My job as queen is to tell you how and to train you in the arts." Lucia stopped walking for a second. "May I ask, what kind of peasant were you before landing here you wear a gown to elegant for a Blacksmiths daughter, your hands are to fragile to be a musician and your face is more hopeful and happy than any I've seen."

"Peasant? " hope questioned, "I am no Peasant, nor maid. I am Little Princess Hope. I am the Princess of my kingdom."

The negative emotion left Lucia's eyes and instead a hopeful look filled them. A look that resembled that of a mother hoping for the child to grow and flourish like the tree's that sprout from the ground. "From what I have heard you are the second true princess. The first was the first to enter this world. Hopefully you are the last. Maybe that is why your parents named you Hope... Because they Hoped that you would do something great for your kingdom."

They arrived at huge palace doors, that intimidated Little Hope. Hope was determined to be the last princess and to free all the people trapped here.