The Thirteenth Princess

Terrors of the Castle

Casper lurched forwards and we flew through the maze of trees and roots. How the horse managed to trip over nothing was a miracle. I buried my head in the soft fabric of Zoe's grey argyle vest. Even this was a height that could kill even the best rider. Her hair was slowly coming loose from the bun carefully balanced on top of her head. I shut my eyes as tight as I could, and though the horse's feet fell evenly, Zoe could tell that I was resisting. Her hair fell completely out, and it danced in the wind, streaming out behind her. She let out a howl of joy, and completely let go of the horse's mane. She threw her hands into the air, laughing like a maniac, while I was desperately trying to reach the Casper's mane so that at least one of us was holding on. We splashed through an abundance puddles, and the water cast upwards by our force reflected a shimmering batallion of rainbows, swirling around us in a sparkling aura. I still didn't see the joy about flying through the air on a creature with a mind of its own, but the rainbows were pretty cool. I rose my head just a little, and what I saw was amazing. For a few minutes anyway.

"Uh, Zoe?"

"Yes! Whatever you need to do, we can ride forever!"

"No. We have a problem!" I was trying to sound serious, but she could barely hear be over the wind, which had picked up again in mere seconds.

"No we don't! This is amazing!" She was losing her mind.

By the time she had finally turned her head and snapped out of her trance-like state, the cloaked huntresses were closing in all around us. They were all the things I'd first disliked about Zoe, and none of the things I'd come to appreciate.

"Dear sister! Return to the castle with us and you will come to no harm! Your rugged companion, I'm afraid I cannot say the same." Words we're flooding through my head, creating knots and loops, choking each other to become the ringleader of the everlasting madness. Castle? Sister? Wait, what?

"Do I look like I was born yesterday? I'll never return!"

"Please dearest Zoe! Father is in great despair!"

"He wanted to kill me!"

"Oh, no! He most definitely did not, sister! He was, confused. And he didn't really mean it!"

"He didn't mean it did he? Well then, why did he send the guards to lock me up? And for you to come and get me? And why did he cast me out of the family? Because I was different? Because I was the 13th? Because, because, because I fell in love?"

"Dear sister, you know why!"

"Wait, what's going on?" The mysterious maidens must have finally remembered I was there. The one who seemed like the leader gave me a look of disgust and hatred, as if I was a mouse living behind the flour.

"Oh, didn't my dear little sister tell you? She is the 13th daughter, of a king who wanted a single son."

"Zoe?"

"It's true Ella, im so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I meant to, I really did, but I never got a chance. A pack of what looked like snowy silver wolves began to circle us, their eyes trained on Casper. The girls drew their bows, and aimed them directly at my chest. I had a feeling, that if I made one wrong move, it would be the last move I made. I saw the glint of silver knives in a couple of their pockets. Their eyes flickered around the group, and the leader pulled her hood away from her face. She raised a pale grey tube from her cloak. She held it to her lips, and made a shrill whistle. All hell broke loose.