Dec 22, 2021
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess named Princess Orchard high up in the Orchids Mountains. Lilacs lined the walls of the castle as ivies climbed its ancient walls. In winter, snow would cover the once-lush lawn with a white, velvety blanket as it glistened in the beaming sunlight, with flakes fluttering in the breezy air. It was a cloudless sky preceded by a blizzard the previous night, and a perfect day for a ski trip into the everglades. "Time to go exploring!" Exclaimed the princess.
Grabbing her pair of favorite skis, purple as the shade of lilacs around her castle, along with the matching pair of ski poles, she took off from her home into the wilderness. The morning air was crisp and refreshing, with a tinge of oaken smoke from nearby chimneys as villagers from afar began cooking breakfast. As her skis glided through the powdery snow, the path cut into a forest of fir trees dressed in white. The sun dimly penetrated through the glade, illuminating the coat of snow on the pine needles. From a distance, a white hare hopped playfully in the frozen expanse like a little white flea jumping on a shaggy, cream rug.
Suddenly, a loud crack broke the serene whispers of the white forest, followed by a loud thud. A thick tree branch had fallen onto the ground. The princess was startled and tipped over her skis as she fell on her side into the snow. She got up slowly, with her ears perked up for imminent danger. Looking around, she spotted an area of the forest where birds flew into the sky en masse, signaling that an unnatural occurrence had transpired in that very location. Hesitant at first, the ensuing silence compelled the princess to ski there and figure out the mystery of the broken tree branch. "I wonder if anyone is in danger." Pondered the princess.
When she arrived, she saw a young man with short, messy hair lying on the ground. He wore a vest that has been stained by blood and dirt among the snow. He tried to get up at first but immediately stumbled. After declining help from the princess, he slowly propped himself up with his arms. Dusting off the debris from his vest, he looked at the princess with his deep, black eyes and said, "Hi, my name is Pumpkin Spice, but you can call me Pump".
The princess was taken aback. Pump had scars on his face and fresh wounds evident of a recent fight. Worried about his safety, the princess asked, "Pump, I am Princess Orchard. I see you've got hurt. What happened? Are you okay?".
"Yes I am fine. Thank you Princess.", said Pump while panting. "I am one of the villagers down in Snow Valley. This morning I was walking my pet dog, Yam, when I was attacked by a group of soldiers from the nearby Kingdom of Sumacs. I was holding some of them off with my mace, just enough time for Yam to flee, but there were too many of them. I ran deep into the woods and found the first tree I could climb, hoping to evade the soldiers."
The princess replied in horror, "Oh my goodness, are you okay now? Were you able to find your dog?".
"Interesting that you asked, Princess. While the soldiers caught up to the tree I climbed from my snowprints, they couldn't climb it. As they surrounded the tree and dared me to come down, a witch showed up. To my surprise, Yam was safe in the cradle of her arms! When the soldiers saw her, they immediately kneeled down and were in a trance. As they remained hypnotized, the witch looked up at me and sighed."
Pump continued, "The witch told me that the King of Sumacs hated dogs and plan to invade Snow Valley, eradicating all of them and imprisoning the owners as slaves. Her magical powers can only temporarily fend off the attackers, but not enough to stop a full-on invasion. Furthermore, she could only cast her magic if she is holding a dog owned by another person, in this case, me. So she said she needed to borrow my dogs in the meantime to ward off the imminent assaults, and promised to return Yam to me once the Kingdom of Sumacs called off the campaign entirely."
The princess was so dejected upon hearing King of Sumacs' plan that she plopped down into the snow. "There must be something that my Kingdom can do to help."
"Oh if you could do what I wish, I would be forever grateful", pleaded Pump. "You see, before the witch returned to her cabin, she left me with a note. She explained that no one has solved what's written on it before, including herself, and that if I could follow the instructions on it entirely, she wouldn't need to hold a stranger's dog to cast her spell. Once the spell is cast without the assistance of a dog, she could send a magical wave across the plains and compel the King of Sumacs to never attack Snow Valley again, and for him to love dogs ever after."
"The witch then waved her hand and the soldiers all teleported back to where they came from. Afterwards, she conjured a scroll and placed it beside the tree trunk and disappeared into the woods. Curious to see the note, I leaned over a branch and it promptly snapped. A minor inconvenience I'd say."
"Oh quit joking around", exclaimed the Princess. "Have you read the note?"
Pump reached out from the pocket inside his vest and took out the parchment. He unfurled the sheet and read it to the Princess, "A gold block from the ancient castle, a petal from a lilac, and a kiss from a Princess..."
To Be Continued...