When the Swallows Come | ONC2025

Eighteen-year-old Emily is having a challenging first week at university. Her flatmates are into parties when it's not really her jam, there's a thief in the flat whose favourite target is her milk, and all in all she's rather homesick. In the spirit of new beginnings, she agrees to go to gardening club with a new friend, only to find herself trapped inside a shed with only one way out - a door into a land that shouldn't, and soon probably won't, exist.

Emily's only chance of getting home is to set out on a quest to save the stolen prince from his tower, in the far reaches of Minaria, Land of the Small Folk. But the world is on the edge of hopelessness, and the clock is ticking.

If Emily doesn't fancy falling into oblivion then she should get a wriggle on.

Prompt 1: You stumble across a mysterious door made entirely of briars and thorns. As you step through, you're granted extraordinary powers. But with great power comes great responsibility - it's now your duty to save a crumbling kingdom.

Title and related quotes are from 'The Greater Celandine Fairy' by Cicely Mary Barker.
Partially inspired by Alice in Wonderland and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.