A Fairly Twisted Tale Collection

The Pea Under the Mattress

The Pea Under the Mattress

The carriage bumped along the dirt streets toward my supposed future. The heat from the sun above radiated in the small enclosed box. I slumped in my seat waving my fan heavily.

"Cassandra, darling, don't slouch. A princess never slouches." My mother said coldly. "And stop waving your fan so hard, it's not lady like." I rolled my eyes and did what I was told but not before I got a disapproving glare for my eye rolling. My father, the king, chuckled beside my mother but it quickly turned into a coughing fit. Mother gave him a glass of water to sooth his ever growing sickness. I began to fidget uncomfortably in my corset. The dry heat of the day was making this trip absolutely unbearable. Even the forest outside seemed too tired to make much noise. My thoughts drifted to the mysterious prince I would be meeting. Would he be tall? Handsome? I sighed deeply breathing in the dust from the outside world. I could feel myself growing weary from the heat. My eyes felt heavy to the point where I had no choice but to close them. But rest did not come because as soon as they shut they were flung open as the carriage came to a sudden stop.

"What in the world is going on? Why have we stopped?" My mother scolded at no one in particular.

"I don't know, darling." My father said dryly. A sudden thump from the outside sounded then everything fell silent. I tried to steady my heavy breaths which seemed loud in the growing silence. The only thing to be heard was the snapping of twigs in the woods surrounding us. Then another thump sounded but this time from above, on the roof.

"What's going on out there, driver?" The queen demanded.

"Mother! Be quiet!" I whispered firmly. Then with a jolt we began to move again.

"Sorry, ma'am. Just the horses acting up." The tension my parents held seemed to evaporate and yet mine grew ever more intensely. His voice seemed deeper than it had this morning.

"See, nothing to worry about," She said with an arrogant tip in her voice. My eyes met with My fathers and I pleaded for back up with my eyes. He just shrugged and shook his head, returning his gaze to the window. His eyes grew wide. I looked out the window to see a horrific sight. About twenty rough men stood outside. They were covered in muck as if they hadn't washed in weeks. Most wore tattered rags while others wore dirty, mixed matched articles of royal clothing. My heart began to beat faster. Bandits. The carriage stopped again and a man hopped off of the drivers seat. He gave an exaggerated smile showing off his yellow teeth. He took off his cap and gave a long, slow bow and I was thankful when he put the cap back over his greasy head.

"Come on out ya highnesses. We won't hurch'ya" He said in a gruff voice. He opened the door. When we didn't move he said."Right, we can do this two ways. Either you get out on ya own or we force ya out with pointy objects poke'n ya.Your choice." He began to laugh but it sounded more like one of fathers coughing fits. I gathered my strength and stepped out into the open air. I heard my mother start to protest but she didn't say anything. I kept my head high and my chin up. I avoided all eye contact except with yellow teeth. I gave him the coldest glare I could manage.

"What do you want?" I said through clenched teeth. Yellow teeth approached. He towered over me but I did not waver. He stood up close and personal.

"What do you think we want, Princess? I want your gold, you jems, your riches." His foul breath stained the inside of my nostrils. He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear "I want you." At that I stepped away. My confidence falling. "Now, princess, don't you go jump'n to any conclusions." I tried to regain my composure but my shaking hands gave me away.

"We will give you what you want just let us go."

"Please explain to me why I would do that, why would I?" I stood grabbing for words but nothing came. "Thought so." He grinned that nasty yellow grin. "Tie her up and the bags of wrinkles over there. Three men came rushing toward me. One of them was a young man who looked to be only a few years older than I. His golden hair shined in the evening sun.