A Summer Of Missing Princesses

A short time later, Korallee is pressing buttons and pulling on a lever again. Everyone else, including myself, watches carefully.

“We’re coming in for a landing! Let’s hope the landing gear are good!” Korallee says.

“Landing gear? I don’t remember seeing the landing gear?” Mór comments.

“...I’m pretty sure we have landing gear...” Korallee says.

Out the window, we see a large dark shape forming on the horizon growing larger and larger as we approach. Then, with a thud, the ship lands like an anchor being thrown from a ship.

“Ouch!” Sìneag whines, “You hurt me!”

“Sorry! I thought we had landing gear!” Korallee says.

“Oh great...” I say.

We unstrap ourselves from our seats and Korallee opens the door. Everything is dark here and cold like being in the woods in the middle of the night.

“Hello? Anybody here?” I call out.

As I am saying this, a bunch of caped figures emerge from the darkness and surround our ship.

“We are friendly visitors! We mean no harm!” Korallee says.

The other three princesses peer around Korallee and I. The assembled people part and another figure comes through the crowd to us.

“Visitors? And what planet do you come from? Blood? Piro?” the new figure asks.

“Earth, actually,” I say.

I hear many gasps of surprise and shock as well as people murmuring about humans invading their planet.

“Earth! And why have you come all this way?! Surely we have enough problems as it is!” the figure says.

“You see... I’m on a quest to find and rescue princesses. I was told there were 7 that needed saving and I’ve only found 4 so far. Korallee here says you guys may be missing a princess,” I say.

“...Come with me at once. Don’t worry, nobody will steal your ship,” the figure says.

The crowd disperses, still talking anxiously amongst themselves. The princesses and I follow the figure who was speaking to us. He leads us to a castle lit up by little balls of magic, or something. He pauses at the door and knocks.

“Who’s there?!” a voice calls from the inside.

“King Zesty! I’m back already!” the figure says, “Might I come in?”

“Of course, Your Majesty!” the person on the inside says.

“You’re the king?” I ask.

“Sure am!” the figure says with a chuckle.

He turns briefly to look at us, a twinkle in his eyes. Seeing him now in the light, I must say, he’s rather charming. He’s got this shiny green hair and sparkling blue eyes. He’s got a bit of stubble, but it actually looks good on him.

“If you’re the king, why do you have to knock before entering?” I ask.

The door begins to unlock and opens with a loud long creak.

“Ah, you know, habit,” Zesty says, tossing his hand.

“Pleased to meet you! I’m Princess Aleena!” Aleena says.

Zesty grins and enters his castle. The inside of the castle is lit up with more of the magical light balls that are floating about.

“Whoa... I want those kinds of lights in my castle!” Sìneag remarks.

“They are gorgeous, aren’t they?” Zesty asks.

“Yeah!” the princesses and I agree.

Zesty stops at another door and knocks.

“Who’s there?!” another voice asks.

“King Zesty!” Zesty announces.

“Come on in!” the voice says.

The door opens and Zesty waves us inside. A young looking woman is holding the door. Her hair is green just like the king’s and nearly touches the floor. I also notice her skin is not nearly as pale as the king’s which is pure white.

“Who are these people? Are they witches or werewolves?” the woman asks.

“These are humans, Vanessa... They say they are searching for princesses,” Zesty says, holding the woman’s hands gently.

“Humans! How did they get here?!” Vanessa asks.

“They have a spaceship,” Zesty says, “Not a very professional one, but it must have worked.”

“There aren’t anymore coming, are there?” Vanessa asks.

“No, ma’am. Just us five,” I say.

“Honey, I know you’re nervous...but these people might be able to help us out...” Zesty says.

“Can they find Wisdom?” Vanessa asks, her blue eyes wide in wonder.

“Can you?” Zesty asks us.

“I will do my very best,” I say, “But I cannot take the others with me. Do you have anywhere they can stay? They are royalty.”

The king glances at the four princesses and nods.

“Sure, they can stay in the castle. Whoever kidnapped Wisdom will be too busy with her to bother trying to capture these new princesses,” Zesty says.

“Thank you, I will return with your daughter as soon as I can!” I say.

“Ehh... Just one more thing... I have good reason to believe that Terro is behind this...” Zesty says.

“Who?” I ask.

“The most terrifying beast ever! Terro the mega werewolf!” Zesty says, “He showed up out of nowhere one day and has been causing trouble ever since!”

“Oh dear... I’ll still try my best!” I say, nervously.

The princesses wave goodbye to me as Zesty escorts me back to the entrance of the castle. Now I have to figure out where this giant werewolf is. If he really is so large, then finding him should be easy... I walk the strange planet alone. It’s incredibly dark and I can just barely make out where the path is. Every once in awhile, a magic glow ball will float over and shed a little light on the path.

I’m guessing that it is also very cold. It’s a good thing I have a space suit on or else I might freeze! How can anyone stand to live on such a planet?

I keep on walking on and on until suddenly, I feel like I’m being watched.

“H-hello?” I call out, stopping my walking.

I look around, but of course I cannot see anything. I tremble a bit and keep walking. The feeling that I’m being watched does not go away no matter how hard I try to ignore it. It’s as though a hundred eyes are staring at me from the darkness and they can see me while I cannot see them.

Suddenly, I see a dark figure standing in front of me. Looking around, I realize I am surrounded.

“Excuse me... I’m looking for Terro...” I say.

“Terro...?” the figures murmur, “Terro is our master!”

“Really...?” I ask, “Can you take me to him? He has someone I am looking for.”

“We will take you! As our prisoner!” the figures growl.

The circle closes in on me and one member of the group grabs me with his furry mouth. I scream a little, but they silence me and drag me off to a waiting space craft...

From what I can tell, the place the furry creatures took me to is very close to where we started from. We’re only in the air for a short time before landing again without even needing hyper speed. This new place is slightly better lit that the previous place, but with long shadows as an effect. I then see that my captives are wolves. I think we can logically conclude that they are werewolves based on what King Zesty said.

“Master Terro will be so proud!” one werewolf says, drooling.

“Yeah, proud of me! Not you!” another werewolf states.

The entire group of wolves then begin arguing amongst each other, eyes flashing red.

“SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!” a loud voice cries out, shaking the ground.

The werewolves fall silent as a humongous one steps forward, shaking the ground with every step.

“And might I ask why you’ve brought a human into my presence?!” the huge wolf asks, snarling at the smaller wolves.

The smaller wolves all bow before the larger one without a word.

“...and she smells of vampire...” the large werewolf says after sniffing at me with his nose which is larger than my body, “...A spy, perhaps...? I’m surprised the vampires didn’t drain her. What a pity!”

“Are you Terro...?” I ask.

The giant werewolf glares, “What’s it to you?! Human?!”

“I believe you have someone I need,” I say.

“...definitely a spy... Minions, carry her in! I will not be letting her return to where ever she originated!” Terro declares.

“Hey, I wasn’t about to leave without Wisdom anyhow,” I say.

The smaller werewolves argue over who gets to carry me in until Terro glares at them. The slightly biggest one of the minions steps forward as grabs me by the arm.

“Ouch! That hurts!” I cry out.

Terro turns and enters a very large castle. The small werewolves escort me in after the large one.

“Lock her in the dungeon. And don’t even think about touching her again after that!” Terro growls.

“Yes, master,” the smaller werewolves say and drag me away.

Here we go again... More being trapped in dungeons...

“I bet the master wishes to eat you himself,” one werewolf remarks.

“Why? What good would it do him? I’m but a speck to him, for sure!” I comment.

“Good point...” the werewolf says and sighs, “I’d eat you myself, but he’d eat me!”

“I’d prefer to stay alive, thank you,” I say.

The small werewolves attack each other and squabble a bit until Terro growls again, summoning them back upstairs. One werewolf remains.

“Why are you still here?” I ask.

“I’m your guard. I’m here to ensure that you do not break out and escape,” the werewolf reports, red eyes twinkling.

“Like I said, I’m not going anywhere until I get Wisdom back,” I say.

“You are a fool,” the werewolf says, drooling.

“Stop looking at me like that. Nobody is going to be eating me. Not this time!” I say.

His long spiky tongue rakes me through the bars. The ground shudders and he pulls his tongue away from me quickly. Terro once again appears.

“YOU TOUCHED MY PRISONER!” Terro growls.

“S-sorry! P-please don’t be mad!” the little werewolf says, curling up.

Terro approaches, causing the ground to shake even more. The werewolf whimpers and tries to get into my dungeon cell to escape from Terro, but the bars are too close together. Terro snarls and clamps his jaws down where the small werewolf was sitting. When he lifts his head again, the small werewolf is gone.

“Did you eat him...?” I ask.

Obviously he did, it’s so obvious that that is exactly what just happened. Terro doesn’t answer, but glares at me.

“Look, I’ve already been in enough dungeons and enough stomachs for a life time... Could you please let me out?” I ask.

“Why should I?! You’re a spy!” Terro barks.

“I’m not a spy. I didn’t even know about vampires or werewolves until today!” I say.

“That’s dumb. Did you grow up in seclusion or something?!” Terro asks.

“I’m from a little island,” I say.

“Then you must know nothing... What a waste...” Terro grumbles.

“Can you let me out and let me find Wisdom?” I ask.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Terro bellows.

“That’s all I came here for. I don’t want any trouble; I just want to save the princess,” I say, “But if you force me to fight, I can and will.”

“Fighting will bring no harm to me,” Terro says.

“What do you even need with the princess anyhow?” I ask.

“Entertainment. I get bored,” Terro says.

“Even with all those minions of yours?” I ask.

“Yes!” Terro shouts, “My minions are boring!”

“Maybe because you keep eating us?” a muffled voice calls out.

“SHUT UP, YOU!” Terro yells.

“But is the princess actually amusing?” I ask.

“Usually. But I like it when Jack tries to save her so I can smack his pitiful self out of the sky and crush him beneath my paws!” Terro says.

“Jack?” I ask.

“Yes... JACK!” Terro says, his red eyes glow in excitement.

“I don’t know who this Jack person is,” I say.

“Most pitiful monster to exist! He’s so tiny and crushable!” Terro says, “And infuriating!”

“Wow, okay...” I say.

Terro drools all over the floor, creating huge puddles. If it weren’t for my spacesuit, I’d probably be soaked!

“Seems this Jack person is important to you,” I say.

“NO! NOT AT ALL!” Terro yells.

“What if Jack were to show up right at this moment?” I ask.

“ENOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT JACK!” Terro growls.

“Okay, I just was curious...” I say.

“Curiosity killed the mutt!” Terro grumbles.

“I’m not a mutt, I’m pure bred!” the same voice calls.

“Then maybe...” Terro says with a growl, “I wasn’t talking about you!”

“Oh yeah?” the voice asks.

“DIE!” Terro snarls, thrashing about.

In his wild thrashing, the giant werewolf broke the door of my cell without realizing it.

“YOU WORTHLESS BEING! I HOPE YOU DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH!” Terro bellows, still attacking himself.

While he’s distracted, I slip away and make a mad dash for the exit.

“Wisdom! Wisdom, where are you?!” I call out, running down the hallways.

The smaller werewolves notice me and start chasing after me, snarling and growling.

“Stay back! I’m looking for the princess!” I say, drawing my sword.

“Ooh... shiny...” the werewolves say, staring at my blade.

“You want this?” I ask, my heart racing.

Drool oozes out of their muzzles, making puddles on the floor.

“Give us the shiny stick!” the werewolves chant in unison.

They keep chanting so I toss my sword down the hallway. All the fluffy monsters dash after it, leaving the way forward clear. I’ll just have to remember to get the sword on my way out.

I poke my head into a few now unguarded rooms and look for the princess. I assume she’ll look like her parents. After a few wrong guesses, I find a room with a cage in it. Cautiously, I approach and find a small green bat huddled up inside.

“Huh, interesting... I wonder what this is doing here...” I say.

The bat opens a little blue eye and looks at me. Frantically, she grabs at the bars.

“You’re not a Wyfwolf are you...?” she whispers.

“A what now?” I ask, very confused.

Seriously, though, what is a Wyfwolf?

“Oh never mind... I was afraid you were one of them...” the bat says.

“No, if you mean those hairy brutes, no. I’m looking for Princess Wisdom,” I say.

“That’s me!” the bat says.

“Oh! I’ll break you out then!” I say.

As I am fidgeting with the lock, Wisdom suddenly shrieks in fear.

“Watch out!” Wisdom cries out.

Before I can turn to see what the matter is, one of the hairy brutes bites down on my wrist very hard. His sharp fangs are so long they pierce right through my suit and into my tender flesh.

“OWWWWW! GET OFF OF ME!” I yell.

He remains clamped onto me for some time, drooling into my wound. I let go of Wisdom’s cage and remove my helmet with my free hand. KLONG! I smash him over the head and he lets go, running off whimpering. I turn back to the cage, my wrist throbbing in pain. Wisdom stares at me with wide eyes.

“I’m okay... I’ve been in worse situations...” I say, wincing.

“This is very bad! You have no idea what you’re in for!” Wisdom says.

I replace my helmet. What I’m in for? Oh, whatever... I can handle anything.

“I’ve nearly got the lock broken,” I say in response.

“You’re not listening, look, when a werewolf or wyfwolf bites a person...” Wisdom begins.

The lock pops open and I help her out of the cage.

“There’s no time, let’s go!” I say.

“Alright! But you better take care of that wound!” Wisdom cries out.

She flies along as I make a mad dash through the castle.

“Wait! My sword!” I cry out.

“You’re unarmed?” Wisdom asks, sounding a little concerned.

“I tossed it to distract the guards...” I say.

“Be quick...” Wisdom says.

She flies and hides in a vase and I turn around and run back to where I left my sword.

“Play time’s over, boys!” I say, rolling into the cluster.

“SHIIIIIIIINY...” the brutes growl, still staring at my sword blade.

Swiftly, I snatch up my sword and sheath it. Then, before the monsters wake up from their trance, I make a run for it.

“SHE GOT THE SHINY STICK!” one of them cries out.

By now, I’m already back to where I left Wisdom. She pops back out of the vase and perches on my shoulder.

“Here we go!” I cry out.

We escape the castle as the werewolves are howling for back up.

“Now how do we get back to Vamp?!” Wisdom asks.

“The werewolves took me here in a ship,” I mention.

“Oh, that one!” Wisdom announces, pointing excitedly.

“Can you fly it?” I ask.

Wisdom hops off of my shoulder and transforms into a humanoid.

“Yes, of course! They teach this in first year!” Wisdom says, grinning.

The wolves bellow close by.

“Let’s go!” I say.

Wisdom and I run to the ship and she climbs into the driver’s seat.

“Strap in,” Wisdom says, strapping herself in.

“Okay,” I say.

We take off just as the werewolves are arriving to where the ship was parked.

“Wisdom?” I ask.

“Yeah?” she answers, not turning to look at me.

“Why don’t the vampires and werewolves get along? Why are the werewolves such savages?” I ask.

“We used to get along... Terro started a war and we have not finished it yet... He’s mind controlling all the others to do his will...” Wisdom responds.

“Oh...” I say, “Now I kind of feel bad for abusing them...”

“No, they can take a beating... And it is the only way, after all. They cannot listen to reason,” Wisdom says, “They are strong creatures, they have less weaknesses than us vampires.”

“Well, anyhow, I’m glad I could help you out,” I say.

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry... There are dark times coming...” Wisdom says, growing quieter.

She falls completely silent as she flights the ship back to her home planet pretty close to the castle. The other vampires gather around once again. Wisdom opens the door and steps out.

“Home again!” she says, laughing.

“Wisdom! We were so worried about you!” Queen Vanessa says, running up and hugging Wisdom.

“And the other princesses?” I inquire.

“Safely tucked up in the castle with the king,” Queen Vanessa reports with a nod.

“Thank you so much! Hey, I have two more princesses to find,” I say.