Poppies (the Untold Fairytales series)

Chapter 1

Katherine lived in a house at the edge of a village that was at the edge of a kingdom that was at the edge of a forest. She was not quite a princess, but the daughter of the king's dear friend, a powerful lord. Her family kept her in nice clothes, and eating enough food, but they also kept her within the gates of her home. Katherine longed for adventure, but was always denied the chance. For she was engaged to the prince, who she had known since her early childhood. Even so, she was not happy.

It was a day in early May, and the morning of her wedding. Her maid's had just finished getting her ready and left to get her mother, leaving her unattended. Her window was open, facing out to the forest. Her house gates were open to let in visiters. After taking a deep breath, Katherine climbed out the window, shakily using the rough stonewalls as footholes. after making it to the ground, she gathered up her wedding dress and ran, straight to the forest.

After a while of running Katherine began to tire. She could faintly hear voices calling for her, but if she didn't even know where she was, how would they know where she was? She came across a sudden clearing in the trees. "Thats strange," she said, realizing from a few steps back she couldn't see anything but trees, and now facing her was a meadow of poppies. She inhaled the lovely scent of the flowers and grew even more tired. Every step she took foreward became even harder, until she finally collapsed onto the ground.

Anyone who had been into the woods before would know that if they came to a sudden clearing like this one, especially if filled with poppies, they should turn and run. For the poppies guard a fairy village, and the scent will put anyone who can smell it to sleep for as long as they breath the fumes.

But of course Katherin was oblivious to that fact as she drifted off to sleep.