|🌴| Shipwrecked Princess |🌺| A Novel |🌺| Complete |🌴|

🌴 Chapter Twelve 🌴

Meanwhile, Essa and her animal family had walked away from the castle, following a path to who knows where. The poor girl was still hurt by what she had been told. It wasn't something she could get over. What they thought about her was worse than anything she had experienced before. The look they gave her. She felt awful. She felt dirty.

She ran a hand through her hair with a gentle sighed. "I can't believe I was so foolish to even think they would agree to help me. I was too optimistic about other walking sticks. Why would anyone accept me?" She stopped and sat down on a rock, then she rested her cheek in her hand. She was feeling so down, so hurt by what had happened, it was saddening.

Shylar rubbed against Essa's legs, purring and acting like a typical kitten. "Oh Essa, I am truly sorry you have to go through this. I was so sure they would be happy that they would want to help you find your family after rescuing the prince. They are very ungrateful." She sadly spoke. She felt bad that she had to endure that.

Indigo nodded, for once he agreed with what the feline had said. "They do not act like true royals. I act more like a royal than they do. They should have been welcoming and happy you saved their son. I would never act as they had. That was uncalled for." He ruffled his feathers, just the thought of what they had done to Essa made him mad.

Essa sat down in the grass, out of view from the palace. She sighed heavily as she ran her fingers over the lush green grass. "Even if it was. They have every right to act that way. Who has ever met a girl raised on an island by animals? It is unheard of. For all people know, I'm a wild girl who has no manners nor dignity, who acts like a common animal - no offense." She knew what it looked like and how people could come to that conclusion.

Roki curled his tail around his front paws as he sat beside her. "I understand what you are meaning. You still have help from that walking stick, Jayme. He promised to help you fit in and I doubt he would ever break his promise to help you. He seems trustworthy." He could just tell that this boy would do all he could to help her.

Essa nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I know, and if he does still help me, I am forever grateful. I can't face the others. What am I supposed to say to them? I feel humiliated by what they had said and done to me. They made me feel like I was going to wreck the wedding or something. I have no plans to have any of those feelings towards them. I don't even know what feeling feels like. I have never liked a walking stick before. I think I only feel - I am not sure, it's complicated." She huffed, pushing her hair from her face.

Misty wrapped her trunk around the girl's hand. She knew this would happen. Why would any walking sticks from civilization want to accept an island girl? "Don't listen to them, Essa, they are wrong. They don't know you as we do, and this is a sign for us to go home. Normally they would be willing, it is obvious they aren't. So, let's go back home while we can before we get attached to this strange world beyond our island." She was dead set on going back home.

Bananas looked up at Misty and crossed his arms. "Oh no, Misty, we have come too far to turn back now. Going back now with having nothing to show for would be like eating only the banana peel and not the banana inside. It would be silly. We have Jayme. He was a great walking stick. On the way here, he gave me a lot of bananas." He said, licking his lips at the fond memory.

Toki nodded, gently pecked Misty's head. He could tell she was homesick but there was something else going on with her. He couldn't quite put his wing on it. "Silly elephant. We can't go back home until we exhaust every means of finding Essa's family. She deserves to know where she came from like we all know. That is our whole reason we came here. Not to fit in and play as they do." He wanted Essa to be happy and know about her past.

Misty frowned a bit but nodded knowing she was not going to win. "You have a point. We came here to find her family. I am worried about Essa, that is all. You heard what happened. I may not have been there but I heard it from Bananas, I don't want it to happen again to her. She doesn't deserve that type of treatment." She truly cared about the island girl and only wanted the best.