This is a collection of short stories, featuring crystals, crows, soccer fields, bloody skies, and more. Most stories will be based off prompts from writing contests across Wattpad, and some may be based off the splinters of my soul and the waltzing...
From outside the temple, the king and queen could hear it -- the screaming of their villagers as the enemy troops marched in with their spears and swords, the wailing of the children, the horrific squelch of daggers being stabbed into hearts.
From the dungeons beneath the temple, though, there wasn't much they could do.
Especially since they were all dying. Slowly. Painfully.
The king and queen, their four sons and three daughters. The royal guard, their most loyal soldiers. Their favourite priest. Even the little lamb that slept on their youngest son's bed.
All of them had been tossed down the stairs by the enemy, left at the heart of the chambers as a sacrifice to the gods. Steam poured from all around them, the sweet smell of roses and pine carrying them to their death. Though there was a thin stream of light only from the doorway atop the stairs, they could all see one another clearly.
They were clustered together in their white shifts that clung to their skin. Their hands were all bound together. No slippers on their feet, no crowns on their heads.
But, all over their arms and wrists, was gold that glistened through the steam.
It was painfully amusing -- all that gold could have won them enough allies to overthrow the enemy. If they hadn't been so selfish, if they hadn't been so foolish--
Movement.
They all turned to the side, where there was the soft hum of chains rattling.
And, to their absolute amazement, one of the princesses was standing up.
Her skin was flushed. She was stumbling almost drunkenly, her eyelids fluttering open as she fought for her breath.
Still, with her chest tight and her breaths shallow, she glared at them all.
"We do not die here," she hissed.
One of her brothers snorted. "We're nothing, sister. There's no hope."
It was true. With chains on their wrists and hundreds of stairs between their death and escape, it was pointless. The door at the top would be guarded, and they were all so damned weak from the steam.
"We are not nothing," she snapped. "And we do not die here."
And she began her climb.
One step. Then another. Then another three.
The staircase was shattering. Endless.
Still, she pushed on, not daring to look back, panting up the narrow stone. With each step, the chains felt tighter and her heart felt slower.
But she didn't stop, even when she reached the top. Even when she thumped the door and screamed, even as blood dribbled down her knuckles as she begged and cried and--
Behind her, she heard a wheeze.
And, as she turned, she realised that she had been followed by her two sisters.
"We are not nothing," one of them whispered. "And we will not die here."
Then, together, they turned towards the door.
It stood no chance against the raging hearts of three princesses who were ready to fight for their kingdom.
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Exactly 500 words. Crazy.
This short story was for a prompt by WattpadDisney for a bit of fun. I'm a massive Disney freak, and I'll never pass up an opportunity to respond to their prompts. Edit: This story was a winner! Woohoo!
The prompt was: It's not always the prince who slays the dragon. Write a 500-word story about a princess saving the day.
