Once Upon A Time

I decided to write this short story in which my friends and I are portrayed as animals and fantastical characters according to our personalities.  I myself play the cat, hence my name Kat.  Even if you do not know my friends, this sure makes for a good story anyway.

 Once upon a time, in a kingdom not too far away, two dragons and a cat sat upon a hill overlooking the palace.
     "I say, what is all the bustling going on at the palace?" the cat questioned as her whiskers bristled in curiosity.
     "Hast thou not heard?" one dragon answered. "The princess is to choose a suitor for marriage. Princes are arriving from all parts of the kingdom just to win her hand."
     "If you ask me," the other dragon huffed, "I can not possibly comprehend the reasons for her tolerance with them. Men are just so�demanding, you know." A small puff of smoke floated decisively out her nose. "But she still can not fail to fall for them."
     "Whom will thee choose?" the cat persisted.
     "Find out for thyself, Chloe, and come hither when thou knowest," the first dragon suggested to the cat.
     "That I shall!" the eager cat called as she bounded towards the palace walls.
     The horrid sound of claws scraping stone rattled her small frame as she made her way up the surrounding cobblestone wall. The usual solitude of the castle courtyard was engulfed by the stir of thousands of anxious suitors and their humble servants.
     Each prince looked as if he had brought every item within his possession, from jewels to peacocks to toothbrushes with silver bristles, though these made up only a tiny portion of the actual wealth.
     So Chloe hitched a ride upon a white, horse-drawn carriage as she admired the beautiful belongings. No one seemed to notice her leaping from the carriage and making her way through the labyrinth; they were too consumed in their own vanity to really care which High Lord or another was searching for her amidst the chaos.
     Many a time have princes like these thought they could impress the princess by their extravagant riches and thus proving their manhood. None could hardly conceive the fate that awaited them. Their arrogant hopes would be crushed to pieces, but only to come back twice as strong once they brushed away this mere misunderstanding because they would realize it was actually the princess�s loss.
     But the cat knew their mistake.
     She leaped across one last resplendent robe and landed in an alley that softened the deafening volume of boastful voices. Only a quiet murmur echoed down the hall which she traveled. It came from a dimly lit room in which suitors await the princess.
     "�But I just think she won�t like me. Did you see the others? They seemed to have brought everything they owned. That�s why I�ve always been turned down before. And this is going to be no different."
     Chloe stopped in front of the half-open door and cleverly hid behind it. She scanned the scenario and perceived only two individuals.
     "Lighten up, Braden," a youth encouraged. He sat on a wooden stool in the center of the room while the other paced about him. "You may not be the richest amongst them, but you�ve more sense than all of them put together. They think they can win her, but you, my friend, you can love her."
     Braden, the one pacing about the room, stopped and pondered these words. He carried no expensive possessions nor wore any elaborate robes. Only a simple golden crown adored his dark brown head.
     "Those are powerful words, Craig, but if she�s like all the other princesses she�s not going to see the real me. She�ll just see a plain prince with hardly any lavish material belongings." Braden frowned at the ground and continued his pacing. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but there�s just nothing you can do."
     Craig shrugged but kept silent. He dare not try to reassure the prince when there was no use.
     Chloe took this as her signal to depart. She left the two behind her as she proceeded to search for the princess. Up a flight of stone steps she leaped just as a form flew by the open window at the top, followed by a shout of delight.
     "Samantha?" Chloe called as she jumped upon the windowsill. Yards of garment, as deep blue as the sky just after sunset, glided behind the princess as she rode her horse, straddle, of course.
     "Iris!" the cat yelled. The horse looked around with her hazel eyes, and she recognized the familiar face in the window.
     "Hello, Chloe!" Iris neighed, and she flappEd her chocolate brown wings harder towards the window. She was always as giddy as the swirling winds that blew past her.
     The princess diverted her gaze to the small tabby cat sitting very proper on the windowsill.
     "Chloe!" she greeted. "What brings you to the palace on such a hectic day?"
     "Why, to see if thou hast chosen a suitor."
     "Goodness, no!" Samantha cried. "Nearly every one is rich and arrogant, and I certainly do not need these qualities in a husband."
     Iris took the chance to jump in the conversation. "One in particular, Prince Harry of Bumblemoor, made every attempt to woo her. But the way he stumbled about the room led me to believe he came straight from the vineyard!" She whinnied a laugh but maintained her balance.
     Chloe inquired, "When will thou meet the next prince?"
     "In just a short while," Samantha replied. "I was taking a break because I�ve been stuck in that room all morning."
     The cat hesitated, then asked, "Forgive me for intruding, but may I join you and Iris to meet the next suitor?"
     Samantha lightheartedly laughed as if the question was silly. "Of course you may!"
     Chloe jumped upon Samantha�s shoulder, and the three flew to a grand balcony outside the sitting room.
     The cat said into Samantha�s ear, "I�ll have you know that you may be quite fond of the next suitor."
     "How do you know?"
     Chloe grinned mysteriously. "Oh, I have my ways."
     Samantha swiftly dismounted Iris, and Chloe hopped onto the ground. "Would you like any refreshments before we begin?" the princess asked courteously.
     "A bowl of milk would be satisfying, thank you."
     All at once, the glass balcony door flew open, and white curtains parted. Servants rushed to tidy stray blonde wisps of Samantha�s hair, and it soon fell neatly to her shoulders. The head coordinator handed a parchment to the princess as she seated herself on her throne at the side of the room.
     All Chloe cared about was the delicious taste of the milk set before her.
     "�Open one of the balcony doors before you leave," Samantha commanded. Then only the horse, the princess, and the cat were left sitting at the side of the room.
     Samantha pulled out her small spectacles and scanned the parchment.
     "His name is Braden," Chloe echoed Samantha�s thoughts. "Tell me something I don�t know."
     Samantha read from the paper, "He is also seventeen, and his interests are reading, playing the fife, and occasionally traveling."
     "Let us meet him, already!" Iris urged.
     With anticipation at her fingertips, the princess pulled a golden rope dangling from the ceiling. An enormous door across the room promptly opened. A dark, lengthy figure stepped out from behind the shadows, and he jumped a little as the door quickly shut behind him.
     "Good morrow, Prince Braden," the princess greeted.
     Braden looked about the room as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. He recognized the beautiful princess and for an instant disbelieved what his eyes perceived. He walked the length of the red carpet and arrived at the foot of the throne.
     "It is an honor to meet you, Princess Samantha," the prince said as he deeply bowed. Then he stood upright and gently kissed her hand. Samantha mildly blushed, and Chloe smiled at the romantic sight of the two.
     "Please, have a seat." Samantha motioned to an empty armchair at the side of the red carpet, and Braden stiffly sat in it.
     The princess went on. "I hope the chaos in the courtyard has not been too much for you." She smiled half to herself and laughed a little. "I have never understood why they try to impress me with such shallow extravagance."
     The thought occurred to her that maybe Prince Braden was one of them. Her eyes searched around him as she tried to find some kind of materialistic possession he was hiding. He carried nothing more than himself.
     "I assume you are not one of them," she said. "You look as if you are all you have."
     Braden looked away, and for an instant a glimmer of sadness flashed in his eyes. "I only have my page, three servants, and myself." He lowered his head as if ashamed, but he knew better than to avoid eye contact with the princess.
     And of course he didn�t mind.
     "But what does it matter?" His voice sprung back up. "I�m alive, aren�t I? And I live with people I love, and I am very thankful for what little I have."
     Iris could hardly contain herself. "What happened?"
     Giving a hard look at Iris, Samantha attempted to cover Iris�s eagerness with politeness. "Yes, Prince Braden, please tell us of your troubles."
     He blushed a bit. "Well, I�m no storyteller�"
     "Please," the princess asked. "We are anxious to learn more about you."
     Braden closed his green eyes for a moment as memories surged through his consciousness. He slowly opened them, and then he began, speaking as though it was hard to remember.
     "It all started when Prince Harry of Bumblemoor,"� Samantha, Iris, and Chloe exchanged meaningful glances�"felt the need to extend the boundaries of his subdivision. He took my sister captive so as to ignite a spark between our families. She escaped a month later, but she was in foreign territory and knew not where to go, so she spent some time wandering the land between his subdivision and our kingdom.
     "My mother had died a few years before because she had a�" He hesitated as if he was carefully choosing the word. "�Disease. My father was heart-stricken. So when Prince Harry sent a messenger declaring war, my father felt it was his duty to preserve the castle because my mother loved it so dearly.
     "I was only a boy, yet I still remember the arrows flying and men screaming. Brave men�afraid.
     "My father stepped out on a gallant white horse. I still remember the courageous expression on his face. He was prepared to defend what memory was left of my mother.
     "I was only a boy�My page led me into the forest as my father had told him. I was so hesitant to leave my father.
     "As we entered the forest, I heard a gut-wrenching cry followed by shouts of sorrow�I turned back. My father lied on the bloody earth, and several men crowded around him to see if their well-respected king was, in fact�dead.
     "I saw my sister across the battlefield. She had finally made it out of the forest. She ran towards my father.
     " I screamed for her to stop, but nothing I could say or do could stop my sister from running towards her fate�An arrow struck her heart like one had struck my father�s. I looked to see where it had come from, and Prince Harry lowered his bow and smiled hideously.
     "The men on our side took this as a chance for revenge. They ran to attack Prince Harry as my page and I went deeper into the forest.
     "We came back later and the castle still stood, though partly in shambles. Three servants, the three I have today, had stayed to defend the castle. They recalled that men on Prince Harry�s side had tried to damage the castle, but they fled along with Prince Harry when he had no more soldiers left.
     "My father had spent his fortune on the war, and although he had died, he still succeeded.
     "So my page, three servants, and I now live in what is left of the castle. I always remember how lonely we are when the castle creaks and moans, just as my father grieved and moaned when he lay dying on the battlefield."
     The painful recollection was evident in his face. Braden sighed and hung his head at these last words.
     Everyone fell silent, even Iris. Chloe even had tears in her eyes. Samantha walked over to Prince Braden, and to his surprise, she hugged him.
     "I am terribly sorry for you," she whispered into his ear.
     "Looks like we have a winner!" Iris exclaimed a little too loudly, for a voice at the doorway answered her.
     "If there is any winner, it�s me."
     Everyone turned to face a horrible, grinning Prince Harry of Bumblemoor. His plump, stout figure was, in fact, covered in dark hair from head to toe.
     Braden instinctively stood and gasped, "Prince Harry!"
     "Do I know you?" Prince Harry flashed his beady eyes towards Braden. "Ah, yes. You look so much like your father."
     "You know you can not force the princess to marry anyone, especially yourself."
     "Is that an insult?" Prince Harry narrowed his eyes. "Do you mean to say that I have no control over women?"
     Princess Samantha lost her properness as she charged towards Prince Harry. "You little�" But Prince Braden held her back.
     "Ha, ha. Temper, temper," Prince Harry teased as he wagged his stubby finger at her. "This is between me and the boy."
     "Boy?" Braden looked at him in disgust. "Is that what you think of me?"
     Prince Harry chuckled again. "Why, yes. A cowardly little boy whose father I killed."
     Braden�s face grew red, and he clenched his fists. "Forget the insults."
     Prince Harry skipped around him in circles chanting, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
     "What do you want?" Samantha�s impatience burst Prince Harry�s mischievous bubble.
     Prince Harry suddenly stopped and turned to Braden. "I want to challenge you to a race. Whoever wins�" His smile grew all the more sly. "�May marry the princess." And his voice transformed into an elfish giggle.
     "But we need Princess Samantha�s approval because sheisthe one who is choosing a suitor." Braden stared into her sky blue eyes. "Is that okay with you, princess?"
     Momentarily, she was perplexed. Then her worry lines cleared. She announced, "I hereby decree a race between Prince Braden and Prince Harry down Old Blackberry Road in the forest, promptly at noon tomorrow. I will supply the necessary transportation on which you will race."
     Prince Harry smiled satisfactorily. "I will see you tomorrow," he smirked to Braden. Then he turned and stubbornly marched out the door through which he had come.
     "Are you crazy?!" Iris shrieked. "You may be stuck married to Prince Harry for the rest of your life!"
     Samantha sneakily smiled. "That�s why Prince Braden is going to ride you." She laid a finger on Iris�s nose.
     Iris returned the smile once she understood Samantha�s plan. "Then who must Prince Harry ride? Whoever it is must be willing to purposefully lose the race."
     "Charon would," Chloe added.
     "But Charon is a wolf, for heaven�s sake," Iris argued.
     Chloe just grinned. "Well, we don�t know any other horses that would be willing to lose. Besides, Samantha said she would providetransportation, she didn�t specifically say horses."
     "You two go into the forest and ask Charon," Princess Samantha chimed. "I�ll go tell Father of the race. Besides, I need to spend some time with Prince Braden." She winked at them as she laced her arm around Prince Braden�s and led him out of the room.

     "Whoa, Iris!" Chloe yelled to tame Iris�s excitedness as they landed in the outskirts of the forest.
     "We must go tell the others!"
     Chloe�s paws hit the soft ground. "Then Harry would be humiliated in front of an entire audience!" she agreed. "Let�s go!"
     As Chloe raced to keep up with Iris�s giant gallops, they heard a piercing voice.
     "Well, look who it is!"
     Chloe already recognized the well-known voice. "Daisie! Have we got news for you!"
     The brown bird suddenly landed on a moss-coated log in front of them. "Let me guess. Did you-know-who finally talk to you?"
     Chloe lifted a paw to her face to hide her mild embarrassment. "No, not yet."
     Iris could not wait to get the point across. "There�s going to be a race tomorrow at Old Blackberry Road between Prince Braden and Harry. Whoever wins will marry Samantha."
     Daisie quickly took all this in. "You don�t say? It�s about time she got married! Well, count me in!"
     "We need to tell Rosy," Chloe told her. "Hast thou seen her recently?"
     Daisie pointed her wing towards a green lump of ground. "She was right over that hill when�" But she stopped when a small, brown bunny rapidly hopped over the hill towards them.
     "Hello!" Rosy called. She arrived right beside Chloe. "What�s happening?"
     "A race between Prince Braden and Harry to win Samantha�s hand," Iris explained. "Will you come?"
     "Sure!" Rosy exclaimed.
     "We still need to ask Charon," Chloe reminded Iris.
     "Ask him what?" Daisie inquired.
     Iris again did the explaining. "We�re going to let Prince Harry ride Charon. Then we�ll tell Charon to purposefully lose the race so Prince Braden, who will ride me, will win."
     "Sounds like a good plan to me!" Daisie commented.
     "And we better go tell Charon the plan," Chloe said again. As Iris and Chloe departed, everyone said her farewells.
     "Where are we supposed to find him?" questioned Iris.
     Chloe checked the position of the sun then nodded her head. "He usually goes to the tavern with his friends around this time of day. We should try there first."
     The enormous, deformed tree mangled its knotted branches. An arch of bright, orange flowers blossomed around the entranceway.
     "Stay here," Chloe told Iris. "I shall bring him out here so we may tell him." Chloe bounded up the dark, spiral staircase until reaching the top. A large pack of wolves occupied most of the smoky room.
     She searched for him among the loud, laughing strangers. Then she saw him. A spot of blonde was set upon the gray fur on his head. His smile drew his lips back to show his sharp fangs.
     Chloe dare not go across the room to fetch him, for fear of the obnoxious remarks the strangers would direct to her. Rather, she called his name and waved her wheat-colored paw in the air.
     Having heard his name faintly among the chatter, Charon scanned the scenario until his eyes came to rest on the little, brazen cat at the entrance. He wiggled his way through the maze of figures until nearing her.
     "Hey, Chloe," Charon greeted. "What do you need?"
     "Iris and I have to ask you a favor, and we would rather like to ask you in private."
     "No problem." He followed her down the stairs.
     Iris met them right outside the doorway. "Hi, Charon."
     "Chloe told me you need to ask me something."
     She told him of the circumstances. "�We know that whoever Prince Harry rides should be willing to lose, so�" She glanced quickly at Charon to see if he knew what was coming. "We were wondering if Prince Harry could ride you."
     A mysterious blue flame flickered within his slate gray eyes. "You want me to lose?"
     "Please, Charon," Chloe begged. "For Samantha�s sake. We know we can count on you."
     He smiled amusingly. "I will for Samantha."
     Chloe could almost kiss him! "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried.
     Iris, on the other hand, just said, "Great! We�ll see you at noon tomorrow, then."
     "Bye!" Charon turned and leaped back up the steps.
     "I need to go tell my sister," Chloe told Iris. "I shall see thou tomorrow. Good luck!"
     "Thanks!" Iris called over her shoulder as she made a galloping takeoff.
     Chloe crept past the trees toward a small, winding creek. She hated getting her paws wet, but she did not have to go across the creek at all before her friend, Fern, followed by Chloe�s sister, Ivy, leaped across the creek.
     "Ivy! Fern!"
     The two deer caught sight of Chloe at the bank and said hello in return. Chloe told them of the race and also of the plan.
     "Very sneaky," Fern said as she laughed a little.
     Chloe asked, "Will you both come?"
     Ivy shrugged. "I guess."
     "You guess nothing. You�re coming whether you like it or not," Chloe teased. She gave Ivy a nudge.
     "I�ll come," Fern said. "Although we already know who will win."
     �That is if everything goes according to our plan,� Chloe thought. �And hopefully it will.�

      Meanwhile at the tavern, Charon raced up the steps and wriggled his way back to the table.
     "What was that all about?" a friend asked him once he took a seat.
     "Oh, there�s just going to be a race at noon tomorrow."
     Another overheard. "Who�s racing?"
     "It�s Prince Harry and me against Prince Braden and Iris."
     "Princess Samantha�s horse?!" someone gasped.
     "You�ll beat her for sure!" His friend confidently patted him on the back.
     "Yeah," Charon mumbled. "For sure."

     Chloe looked out among the crowd. It had multiplied nearly three times in size since an hour before. The two dragons now arrived, and one had brought her brother. They settled on an empty area next to the racetrack.
     She recognized a few of the stray suitors roaming amidst a large pack of wolves.
     �Bragging to each other, I�m sure.�
     The vast majority seemed to be composed solely of animal strangers, birds and bunnies in particular.
     "Hello, there." Daisie hopped on a branch next to Chloe.
     "What did you and Rosy do, tell the whole animal kingdom?"
    Daisie cleverly smiled. "Well, you know I can�t help singing about it in the treetops." She sailed off into the canopy when Craig, Braden�s page, came bounding out of the stable.
     "How is he doing?" Chloe asked him about Braden.
     "A little nervous," Craig replied. "Charon hasn�t shown up yet, but Braden is still getting Iris saddled up. They were practicing yesterday afternoon since he�s never been on a horse before, nonetheless one that flies."
     "Just as long as he knows how to ride her, he doesn�t have to worry about anything else. Where�s Harry?"
     The unroyal use of Prince Harry�s name did not even strike Craig as surprising; he had learned that Chloe in no way respected Prince Harry. "He�s eating lunch in the palace dining room. A four-course meal nonetheless."
     "We know who will be sick after the race," Chloe commented with bitterness. "So much for what he knows."
     A slight rustling among the blackberry bushes gave way to a small, meek figure departing the forest. Charon stepped towards them, slowly.
     "Charon!" Chloe cried. "You need to prepare for the race! Prince Harry is outside eating,"�she rolled her eyes�"but the stable boy will saddle you up for him. Iris and Prince Braden are already inside the stable."
     Charon stared at them silently, as if some other thought were restraining him from understanding what Chloe had told him. He hesitated before leaving.
     "What was wrong with him?" Craig asked when Charon had left.
     Chloe shrugged. "I have an inkling that things may not go as we planned." She slightly shook her head as if returning from the depths of her mind, and then she skillfully clawed her way down the tree.
     "We are allowed to sit in the tower with the king," Chloe explained, "because we are friends of Samantha. Come hither. The race will commence at any moment!"
     Then she and Craig bounded off towards the watch tower.

     Many a manservant and handmaiden�whom were eager to spread rumor of the palace�s most recent, and indeed most eventful, occurrences�inquisitively peeped into the grand sitting room from which surged an unusual amount of uproar.
     The butler hurried to fan the queen, who had clearly fainted upon the parlor loveseat. The king lashed out quite a scolding while muttering something about his dignity, and his three advisors anxiously paced about the room shrieking extravagant remarks. Even Iris was utterly appalled.
     "What crazy idea of Chloe�s did you follow this time?" she cried as she restlessly pranced around the rigid figure of a fearful maiden. "I turn my back on you for one second, and you�ve gone turning yourself into a horrid monster! Exactlyhowwill you show up at the wedding looking like this?"
     At her last words, the entire congregation fell silent, and a thousand pairs of angry, anxious, and eager eyes stared at Princess Samantha. Having paused from lapping her saucer of cream, Chloe took it upon herself to explain the situation. It had, of course, been her idea in the first place.
     "Do not fret!" the cat coaxingly convinced them. "It will only last until Prince Braden professes his perpetual love for her."
     "Preposterous!" exclaimed the Executive Advisor.
     "Absurd!" cried the Head Coordinator.
     "Ridiculous!" shouted the Chief Administrator.
     "In the meantime," Chloe continued while glaring at them scornfully, "Prince Harry will be scared and disgusted out of his wits."
     "To tell you the truth," the king admitted, "I have never been fond of that boy Harry."
     "It�s just as I told you," the Executive Advisor said haughtily. "The young prince is only eager to obtain the dowry, which traditionally includes half the kingdom."
     "And as everyone knows," the Chief Administrator boasted, "the Kingdom of Enchantmentis, undoubtedly, the largest kingdom in the country."
     The king heeded their words, and before the Head Coordinator could include his own observation, the king declared, "Chloe, you have formulated a most imaginative conception! You have saved not only my daughter�s doom of marriage and of my relations to such a man as he, you have saved the fortune of the kingdom and the absolute fates of us all!"
     Never in her life had Chloe heard such an honorable speech, or such an astounding applause, on that day in the palace. She performed her most elegant bow while she grinned from ear to ear. "My most merciful gratitude, My Lord."