The Lost Princess

by Gale Ashcroft

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a little princess. She was very lovely, with big brown eyes and dark, dark hair that fell in waves over her shoulders.

The little princess lived in a wonderful palace with all sorts of magical creatures. There were unicorns and mermaids, fairies and dragons, and of course lots of other princesses and princes. The most magical creature of all was her daddy, the King.

The little princess loved her daddy with all her heart. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair just like hers, and a smile that would light up a whole room. He was awfully nice. Everyone loved to be with him because he was so kind and gentle, which perhaps explained why he was so magical.

The palace where the little princess lived was a beautiful place. It had hundreds of rooms, some big, some small, and all of them decorated in the finest silks and brocades, with ornate furniture gilded in silver and gold. There were long halls with polished wood floors for the princess to run and slide. There were wide, marble staircases to climb, and there were hidden places where the princess could tuck herself away and watch without being seen.

One of the princesses favorite places to hide was a high balcony that looked over the grand ballroom. The ballroom was the biggest room in the whole palace. It was oval, and fifty marble pillars held up the balcony which encircled it. The floor of the ballroom was made from black and white marble tiles that shown in the light of millions of candles, arranged in chandeliers which hung from an ornately painted ceiling high above the room.

However beautiful the ballroom was, it was nothing compared to the lovely creatures that danced in it on special occasions. Then all the magical folk and the princes and princesses would put on their finest clothes and come to the ballroom for a night of dancing and feasting. To the little princess, these were the best nights of the year. She longed to be old enough to dress up in a beautiful gown, put on her own dancing slippers, and join the dancing below. Instead, she had to stand on the balcony and gaze down at the lovely sight.

Her daddy, of course, was the host of these parties. He always looked resplendent in a dark coat with long tails, a snowy white shirt with a little white bow at the neck, and white gloves which he wore on those occasions. On his chest gold medals would gleam in the light from the chandeliers above. The little princess was sure that he was the most handsome thing on the dance floor.

She could never choose who was the most beautiful, though. There were always hundreds of lovely princesses who glided over the floor, wearing gowns every color of the rainbow. They would carry gilt fans to cool their flushed faces or hide behind as they fluttered long eyelashes and smiled. The magical creatures were always just as lovely. There would be sleek unicorns with hair that glistened like pearls in the candlelight;  peacocks who strutted about, tails opened to show off iridescent blue and purple designs; Nymphs and Dryads would float through the hall; Centaurs and Fauns would prance; and Pixies and Fairies would flit in and out of the ball room.

The creature that held the little princess's attention most was a magnificent dragon. She could never make up her mind if she thought it was beautiful or awful.  The dragon had glistening purple-black scales that changed color as it moved and light struck them from different angles. It's tale was twice as long as it’s body, spiked with cruel pointed scales all the way down to the tip which ended in a sharp point. It had short legs and webbed feet with black talons that gleamed like ebony. Huge wings folded against it’s broad back. The little princess had never seen them unfurled, but she thought that they must spread out to an enormous size if they were strong enough to lift the gigantic creature. The dragon’s head fascinated the little princess most of all. It rose up from the slithering body on a long, sinuous neck. The dragon swung it’s head back and forth in a continuous movement, as if it didn’t trust what was going on, and it wanted to see everyone all the time. It’s beady little eyes were black and sharp, and they glistened green when they saw something they wanted.

The little princess shuddered whenever she saw the dragon, but her eyes were always drawn back to it by the sparkling purple-black scales and it’s slowly swinging head. Whether the dragon smiled or scowled, she never knew.

to be continues tomorrow......