That Dancing Princess

Chapter One

A/N: This story is based on a fairytale, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". I actually found two different versions of the story: one from the Brothers Grimm, and one from Andrew Lang's "The Red Fairy Book". They're mostly the same, but I'm going with the one from "The Red Fairy Book" for this story, but I personally like that one better.

~~~~~~

 Tommy had the heart of an adventurer. He had grown up listening to stories about far-off lands and grand adventures, and all sorts of things like that. He would play the words over and over again in his head, and then look around him at his own home. And everything would seem all the more dull.

 Tommy's family lived quite deep in the countryside, far away from any large cities or other important landmarks. Grass, hills, farmlands, and little houses were the only home he knew. As he grew older, he became all the more restless where he was.

 There has to be more to life than this, he often thought to himself. Maybe not like the stories I've been told, but something more exciting.

 Tommy tended to daydream quite often. He could usually be seen with his head in the clouds, staring off into the sky rather than focusing on his any of his work. That was how some people began calling him the 'stargazer'.

 But not everyone was amused. His parents became increasingly concerned about him. None of is brothers or sisters acted like this, only he. They didn't know what to do about it, but they at least made sure he understood what his daily work was and made sure he actually did all of his chores.

 Eventually, Tommy grew into a man, old enough to go out and make journeys on his own. It could be his chance, he realized, to finally be able to go have his adventures. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was still willing to take any chances.

 One night at supper, he announced to everyone that he was planning to leave. That, of course, did not go over well. Being the oldest, he had more responsibilities than any of the others had, and his parents didn't want him riding off to parts unknown.

 Tommy went to bed that night feeling rather down after that argument. He knew he had responsibilities, but he wasn't an only child; they could be split among the rest of his siblings. They were all getting older and stronger, and could handle it.

 He waited until late into the night, when the rest of his family had gone to bed and were asleep. He had already packed whatever he would need, so he got up, grabbed his bag, and crept out of the house, being as careful as he could not to wake anyone. 

 Once he was out of the house, Tommy hurried down to the road. But when he got there, he stopped, and turned around to look at the house again. He felt terrible, running away in the middle of the night in such a way, but it didn't seem like there was any way that anyone around here was ever going to understand his adventurous heart.

 "I won't be gone forever," he said to the house. "I'll come back, I promise. I just...need to leave  for a while. I wish someone understood, but no one around here seems very adventurous."

 He looked at the long road ahead of him, realizing he didn't know how far it actually went, or where he would be when it stopped. He called on whatever courage he had to start walking down it, away from home.

 Tommy had no idea where he was going, but he was going somewhere, and he felt that was a good first step.