The Blessed Curse

"Wake up, Amaya!"

I blinked my eyes open. My name isn't Amaya; I'm princess Elanore. And my servants never shout at me. Yet the lady hovering above me still did so as she shook me awake.

"Be in the kitchen in ten minutes!" She marched away, slamming the door behind her.

I was on the floor in rags. I slowly stood up, catching my image in a mirror. I saw that my hair was black instead of blonde and that my skin was dark. I rushed over, examining myself.

"Is this a dream?" I muttered. I pinched myself, confirming otherwise. I began breathing fast, my heart pounding. "I'm in someone else's body!"

I clamped my mouth shut, not wanting someone to hear me. What should I do? I should go to the castle and find my father, I thought. No, he won't believe it's a curse; no one will. Maybe I should sneak out, and ask around? I turned to the only window in the room and looked out. I saw the royal family gathered in a graveyard, close to the enchanted forest.

I quickly decided to leave, jumping out the window. I fell into a bush outside and started listening, trying to figure out what was going on. A man, probably a priest, was talking.

"We don't know what happened to our dear princess. We believe she is dead. There was no trace of her body, and not a soul can find her."

Do they mean me? I'm right here. . . well, my body's not here, but the rest of me is.

". . . so we will send some knights tomorrow morning at dawn to the wizard Drevaldi, but until then we can only assume that princess Elanore has been killed or worse."

I felt distraught. My family thought I was murdered or taken for ransom. They wouldn't believe me if I came to them and said I was the princess. My thoughts started racing. Drevaldi the Wizard would believe.

I gasped. Why hadn't I thought of it before?! If I reached the residence of Drevaldi before the knights, he would know who I am, and lift this curse. And if he couldn't lift it, then he could tell me how to get rid of it myself. I snuck back through the window and hurried to the kitchen to get food for the journey.

"Amaya Haba, you are late!" The woman (probably my "mother") shouted behind me.

I spun around. "Hebetudinous!" I quietly cursed to myself. I should have stayed outside and gotten food from elsewhere. Maybe I should pretend I'm sick...

"I'm sorry Mother, but I wasn't feeling well." I replied hoarsely, pretending to cough.

As she squinted at me, her eyes softened. "Go rest, then. I'll get you some soup later."'

As soon as she was gone, I raided the pantry, using my ragged blanket as a sack. I grabbed a small amount of food (though it was probably a lot for this family) and water, as well as salt to ward off ogres and fairies, just in case. Once I was myself again, I'd repay this family with more food than I'd taken. I ran away from the house, into the forest. I didn't need a map since I had visited Drevaldi a few years before.

I marched for hours, resting only twice to eat. I wanted to walk through the night, so I caught a fairy for light. She wriggled, but I held her tightly, walking until I found the small cottage I sought. I rushed up to the door, and released the fairy before knocking three times. The door opened, and I stepped inside the dimly lit house.

"Who enters the abode of Drevaldi the Great?" a voice boomed through the darkness.

"It is I, Princess Elanore Setelbrinck!" I waited for a reply, wondering if he'd believe me.

All of a sudden, Drevaldi materialized in front of me. He was wearing long, blue robes, and his silvery gray beard flowed down to his navel. The door closed behind me; the lights came on. He looked me up and down. "So it is. Come, sit. What happened to you, Ela?"