A Summer Of Missing Princesses

Upon exiting the castle, I suddenly realize that I’m going to need a ride again. I figure Erik-James has already returned to his rightful owner.

“Well, Princess Aleena, it seems Erik-James has left already,” I say.

Right as I am saying this, out of the corner of my eye, I see dust flying up in a big billowing cloud. Princess Aleena sees this too and points excitedly.

“He’s right there!” Princes Aleena cries out.

I turn all the way around towards where the dust is coming from and instantly regret it as the dust flies and stings my eyes. Erik-James rears up excitedly, wiggling his front hooves in the air. He lets out a loud neigh before planting his front hooves back onto the ground.

“Erik-James! Why have you returned?!” I ask.

Of course, Erik-James is a pony and ponies cannot speak human languages. He snorts and then nuzzles me. Princess Aleena has this huge grin on her face as she realizes she can ride on a pony again.

“Well, since you’re here, can we ride you down to the docks?” I ask the pony.

He nods his head yes, which surprises me because I didn’t know he could respond in such a human way. He waits patiently, so I scrambled my way up to his back again before reaching my arm down to help Princess Aleena up. Once again, Princess Aleena wraps her arms around me. I hold onto a bit of Erik-James’ mane right as he bursts out running across the field. I honestly would be surprised if any pony was faster than Erik-James.

It isn’t until we reach the docks that I remember I haven’t had a bath and I smell horrible from being inside of The Monster’s stomach. Princess Aleena doesn’t seem to notice or care and neither does Erik-James. I dismount and help Princess Aleena dismount as well.

Much to my surprise, Ruadh and Rider are both at the docks talking to each other. I kind of suspected that Ruadh would return to wherever he came from.

“Hey! I thought you were taking the princess home! Why is she still with you?” Ruadh asks.

“Well...she convinced her parents and I to let her come with me on my journey,” I say.

“I’m so excited! I would have given anything for this kind of adventure, but now I can actually have it at no cost at all!” Princess Aleena says.

“She’ll probably get kidnapped again,” Ruadh says.

“I won’t. I promise not to wander off, this time,” Princess Aleena says, giving Ruadh a huge smile.

I hear a horn and I turn to face the direction the sound came from. A sailboat with large blue sails is heading straight for the docks. Princess Aleena waves excitedly as the ship crew toss an anchor into the water to hold the boat in place. Next, they throw down the gangplank which lands with a thud.

“Ahoy!” someone calls out, walking down the gangplank towards us.

“Hello!” I call back.

He studies the group of people waiting at the docks and grins.

“So, how many of you are wanting to sail the seas?” the person says.

I suddenly realize he must be the captain.

“I am, and her too!” I say, waving my hand at Princess Aleena.

“Very nice, very nice indeed! So...I’m going to assume you guys have no money, seeing as you are Fairwooders,” the captain says.

“Well, I may not have any money, but I’ve been told you may accept this?” I say, holding up the bag of stones and flowers.

The captain eagerly accepts the bag, eyes filled with joy.

“Come aboard! You are welcome to sail with us!” the captain says.

“Good luck out there!” Ruadh calls out.

“Thanks! We will return!” I call back.

I take Princess Aleena’s hand and lead her after the captain to the sailboat.

“Goodbye!” Rider calls.

“Goodbye!” I call to Rider and Ruadh.

Once we are aboard the sailboat and a few other people have gotten off, some of the sailors pull the gangplank back up.

“Alright, crew and passengers! We are now about to head off for Mycono Kingdom!” the captain says.

“Yes, sir!” the crew calls out.

I watch as the crew scrambles around, making sure everything is prepped and ready. After the final check through, they lift the anchor.

“And we’re off!” the captain calls.

“This is my first time being on a boat!” Princess Aleena squeals.

“Last time I was on a boat was when I was a baby,” I say, smiling.

“You mean you weren’t born in Fairwood?” Princess Aleena asks.

“No, I was born in Tellis,” I tell her.

I would tell her about Tellis Kingdom, but I don’t remember anything at all. I suppose I was too young to form any memories of the place. Princess Aleena looks over the edge of the boat, looking back towards Fairwood.

“Wow! That’s the entirety of Fairwood?! I wish I could explore it all!” Princess Aleena cries out.

I look out at the island as well. As large as it seemed, Fairwood is tiny in comparison to the rest of the world. I still can see the small dots on the shore waving goodbye to us. I wave too, but I know they probably can’t see us.

“You two make yourselves comfy. It’s a long trip!” the captain says, appearing to speak with us.

Curious, I ask him how long it will take us to reach Mycono Kingdom. He replies with a laugh and informs us that it might take 10 days.

“Ten days?! Are you kidding me?!” I ask.

“No, ma’am! The distance between Fairwood Kingdom and Mycono Kingdom is greater than the distance between Mycono Kingdom and Tellis Kingdom!” the captain says. “Probably because Fairwood is smaller and takes up less room on the sea.”

“I’m on a mission to rescue princesses that have vanished, probably kidnapped, they could be killed at any moment, and you’re telling me it will take ten days. I can’t believe it!” I say.

“I’m sorry; it’s a sailboat. We can only go as fast as the wind can take us,” the captain says before going to check on his crew.

“Well, Princess Aleena…what do you think?” I ask.

“I’m just excited to go somewhere new, see new stuff. Just look how gorgeous the sea is! It’s far more beautiful than all my dresses combined!” Princess Aleena says. “And maybe there still will be time to save the others. Who knows? At least we’re trying.”

“Good point! For a four year old, you are awfully brilliant,” I say.

“Thank you,” Princess Aleena says.

I look out of the boat again and realize we’ve already traveled so far. Fairwood is just a speck at the edge of the horizon now.

“Goodbye, Fairwood. I hope to live long enough to return,” I say.

I realize I’m still dressed up in my armor so I carefully remove my helmet, sheathe with sword, and my shield. I take a deep breath, relaxing under the hot summer sun. I close my eyes and sit down. The next time I open my eyes is because I hear little feet running around the deck. Apparently, Princess Aleena got bored waiting for me and decided to run barefoot on the deck.

“Hey, isn’t the deck hot?” I ask.

“Sort of, but this might be one of the only times I get to do this! My father would never let me get away with this!” Princess Aleena says. “Not even my mother would, actually!”

“Okay, well, have fun, but please be careful and don’t burn your feet,” I say.

“Yay! Wheeeeee!” Princess Aleena cries out, running around some more.

A few more minutes pass and Princess Aleena has finally exhausted her energy supply and comes to sit next to me.

“Sometimes, I wish I wasn’t royalty,” Princess Aleena says.

“Oh?” I say.

“These simple pleasures are things I could never find back home. Things common folk do daily are things I never do. I feel like I’m going to learn a whole lot through these new experiences!” Princess Aleena says. “Back home it’s always, ‘Do this!’ ‘Do that!’ ‘Stop running in the hallways’ ‘Sit up straight!’ I always have to be on my best behavior, wear uncomfortable shoes, and go to sleep on time!”

“I understand. Sounds like a hard life,” I say.

“It really is! And I bet everyone thinks I’m sitting on a throne being hand fed chocolates every few minutes. I don’t even get to eat chocolates!” Princess Aleena says.

“If we find a shop that sells chocolates, I’ll buy you some,” I say.

“Really?! You’d do that for me?!” Princess Aleena asks.

“If I can find money. I wonder what currency they use in Mycono,” I say.

Princess Aleena squeals for joy and runs around in circles again. The captain returns again and nearly gets hit by Princess Aleena.

“Oh! Excuse me!” Princess Aleena says.

“No, excuse me. I apologize for interrupting your twirling. I just came over to let you know I do have lodging rooms below deck,” the captain says with a grin.

“Oh, I think we’ll check it out once the sun starts setting,” I say.

“Very well, then!” the captain says and continues on his way, walking along his boat.

As I said, as soon as the sky begun to be painted red with the sun on the horizon, I take Princess Aleena’s hand and lead her below deck. There is no one else on board. My guess is that it’s because nobody else from Fairwood wanted to go to Mycono. Anyone who wanted to go to Fairwood from Tellis has already left as Fairwood is long gone on the vast sea.

“No! I don’t want to sleep yet!” Princess Aleena wails as I find her a suitable bed.

“Here, you should take this bed. It looks the most comfortable of them all,” I offer.

“But I don’t wanna sleep! Mommy and daddy always forced me to go to bed on time. I wanna stay up for once!” Princess Aleena whines.

She’s pouting and I can just sense a temper tantrum is on the way.

“Sleep for at least a little bit, then I’ll show you the stars,” I promise.

“Oh! That’s a good deal! But what if I sleep too long?!” Princess Aleena asks.

“I will wake you,” I say.

“Thank you!” Princess Aleena squeals.

The instant the princess climbs into the rickety old bed and closes her little eyes, she falls asleep. I smile and make sure she’s properly tucked in. I sit in the bed next to hers, thinking about my own mom and dad. They probably miss me very much.

At about moon high when the air has cooled, I gently nudge the princess awake. She yawns and looks at me sleepily.

“You wanted to see the stars, right?” I ask.

She nods eagerly and leaps from her bed, no longer sleepy.

“I want to see them!” Princess Aleena cries out.

I smile and lead her back up to the main deck. The sky is filled with thousands, or millions, of little lights. Some are larger than others, some shine brighter than others, and some even are different colors. Princess Aleena falls silent, staring in awe at the light filled sky.

“I’ve always thought the night sky was dark!” Princess Aleena exclaims, finally coming up with something to say.

There are so many stars shining that you can barely see any sky. There are far too many to even count. I attempt to count the stars, but I give up at about 531.

“I don’t think I’d ever see this many stars just watching from home,” I say.

“Me neither, mostly because I am not allowed to leave me room at night other than to use the bathroom,” Princess Aleena says.

We sit on the deck and watch the stars for quite awhile. Eventually, Princess Aleena falls asleep with her head on my arms.

There isn’t much, really, for me to say about the voyage. On most days, all we could see was water everywhere as the sailboat bobbed over the waves. There was one moment where a few whales decided to breach near our boat. That encounter went a little something like this:

“Captain! There’s something peaking at both sides of the boat!” a voice calls out from the crow’s nest.

“Ay! Is that so?” the captain asks, raising an eyebrow.

Princess Aleena lets out a terrified, yet excited screech and points over and over again at one end of the boat.

“There! There! I see it too!” Princess Aleena squeals.

The big sailboat begins to shudder and tip as a large silvery lump emerges from the sea.

“By golly! If it isn’t a pod of rare bottlenose whales!” another crew member exclaims.

“Great! So now we are being tossed around by a bunch of 22-foot long sea creatures!” the captain replies.

The whales begin to breach the surface and the boat rocks dangerously. A few barrels of supplies roll overboard.

“My stuff! No! Not my stuff!” the captain wails.

The whales hum to each other, warning each other that there is a boat blocking their breathing space.

“SELIMA!” Princess Aleena cries out.

I whip around quickly and find her sliding towards the edge of the boat in a wave of water that was thrown at us by the whales.

“PRINCESS!” I cry out.

I run, slip, and slide after her, trying to stop her from falling into the ocean with the whales. The captain sees my attempts and runs to get a life preserver to help with the rescue. I grab Princess Aleena’s hand right before she falls off the boat and she just dangles there dangerously.

“A-are they going to eat me?!” Princess Aleena asks, looking at the whales circling the boat.

“Well, you’re not Jonah, so I doubt it,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

I must point out that the majority of Fairwooders are Christian in one form or another.

“Not funny, Selima!” Princess Aleena wails.

I try to hoist her back up into the deck, but then the boat begins to rock again as the whales splash around again.

“Ah! No!” I cry out.

My foothold loosens and I end up falling into the water while still holding onto Princess Aleena.

“Ay! MAN OVERBOARD!” I can faintly hear the crew shout from under the water.

I reach my free hand up, trying to get out of the water. With my other hand, I hold onto Princess Aleena. If I lose her, I lose everything. Besides, she’s still so young; it’d be a shame if this was her death. I keep reaching and, eventually, my hand touches something hard and I grab on.

“PULL! PULL!” I hear from above the water.

I pull myself out of the water and take a big breath as I heave Princess Aleena up so she can hold the life preserver as well. She lets out a squeaky noise as she breathes in the air. The captain and his crew start reeling in the life preserver, bringing us back to safety. The whales hum and start submerging again, leaving us alone.

“I assure you, ladies, this is not the kind of stuff that usually happens on our boat!” the captain says.

“It’s not your fault, don’t worry, captain,” I say, still trying to fully catch my breath.

Princess Aleena starts coughing up water. One of the crew members goes below deck and, at first, I’m a bit confused as to what he’s doing. My confusion is cleared up when I see him come back up, a few minutes later, with blankets off of the beds.

“Here you go! If this won’t warm you up, then the tropical sun should!” the guy says, handing the princess and I each a blanket.

“T-thanks,” I say, wrapping myself up.

Princess Aleena’s teeth chatter loudly and I hop over to her and help her bundle up. She sighs, becoming warmer already.

“On the bright side, we’re already about halfway to Mycono Kingdom!” the captain says. “If you look closely enough, you might be able to catch a glimpse of the tower!”

There is something out there and I suppose it is the tower, but I can barely tell it is there because it is far away.