Chapter 1

 “Come here, you two,” asked Grandpa, an 87 year old man with grey hair, a long beard, and a personality that always gets into mischief. He was a wise man, and could see that Eliza and Thomas were meant to be together. Eliza and Thomas, best friends for as long as anyone could remember. They were both sixteen, and were next-door neighbors. They always had an amazing attitude, especially considering the poor neighborhood they lived in. Eliza looked out the broken window and stared at the grey, sad town, then walked over to Grandpa.

 Grandpa had been working on a series of stories, which he would hand write and bind each and everyone one with his own two hands. He would place book after book on a shelf he had made when he was a young man. Grandpa treated those books with such perfect care, every day he would check to make sure that they were placed in order. The last book Grandpa had written had just been finished. He decided the series was over, his 87th book.

 “Thomas, will you please take out the sixteenth book I had written. I want to read it to you,” Grandpa asked.

Eliza and Thomas exchanged looks, both thinking the same, “We’re too old for story time.”

“The story is about you two,” Grandpa added. Eliza and Thomas both looked at Grandpa with interest as a spark came to their eyes.

Thomas did as Grandpa instructed, but kept his eye on him as he started the task with suspicion. Grandpa stared at them, a mischievous smile on his face. As Thomas pulled out the book labeled “16” on it, all of the other books began falling off the shelves. It was almost as if someone was pushing them! Papers were flying everywhere, and Thomas stepped back in disbelief. The entire bookshelf fell over, and behind it was a large hole in the wall. Before Eliza or Thomas could even process what just happened, an entire village of horses, villagers, creatures, and royalty began pummeling through the hole and out the back door. Grandpa just continued to sit on the couch, with the same fake smile.

 Eliza was hiding under a coffee table, holding back tears to her greatest ability. The entire house was shaking. When the mob cleared, Eliza examined the inside of the house. Footprints, some unidentifiable, covered the ripped, ragged carpet. Then, Eliza realized something, Thomas was gone, he must have been swept away from the stampeding village. In a panic, Eliza ran out the door, but what was behind that door was not exactly what she had been expecting.

 Behind her door was not the poor, gray town she was used to. Instead, it was a medieval village. As far as the eyes could see, soft, green grass hills overlapped each other, carpeting the rich soil. Small bakeries and trading booths were scattered around the village. There was a tall elegant stone castle with a drawbridge and a moat that surrounded the perimeter. The smell of freshly baked pastries filled the air. Townspeople strolled down the dirt roads. At first, it seemed like a utopia. Eliza didn’t want to go back to her old dull life of poverty.

 Eliza and Thomas spotted each other and began running towards the other’s direction.

“Thomas!” Eliza cheered, but her face grew to worry as she realized that he had several bruises, “ Are you okay?” she asked.

“Just a couple bumps, I’ll be fine,” Thomas assured.

Eliza and Thomas’s attention focused on the other side of the road, when they heard a woman scream. All of the towns people were rushing away, and Eliza and Thomas’s expression went to sheer horror.

 A monstrous green creature, covered in warts and fungus, was heading towards them. It reeked of perspiration and had sharp, yellow claws that were at least ten inches long. Eliza and Thomas were incredible close to the beast, their only chance was to run past it. As Eliza and Thomas began to split up, the monster, about eight feet tall, had already made its way even closer towards Eliza and Thomas. Eliza, terrified and shaking, quickly hid under a bench, realizing that the monster was too close to make a run for it. Thomas wasn’t so lucky, though.  As Eliza glanced to see if Thomas was okay, she realized he was backing away from the monster. Already cornered and eye to eye with the disgusting beast. Thomas tried to back up another step, but was already against the tall brick building walls.

 The monster picked up Thomas and held him over its head. It was about to snap Thomas in two. Thomas shrieked in agony, the monster was searing his claws into Thomas’s skin. Eliza stared in pure horror at Thomas, barely being able to process what was about to happen, what she would be forced to watch. Her best friend, who had always been there for her, was about to have his life ended early. A million thoughts were buzzing through her head all at once. For the first time though, she realized something that she never thought she would be able to admit to herself.

“I’m in love with him, “ Eliza whispered, shivering at the burst of reality that had just been revealed to her. This was what she needed, the courage, the instant release of adrenaline. Eliza climbed out from under the bench, walked right behind the monster, and shouted, “STOP. Put. Him. Down.” The monster turned around and stared down at Eliza. She took a step back realizing what she had just done. The monster threw Thomas onto the dirt. He now had a new target, Eliza.

Chapter 2

Thomas layed on the ground, he could barely move, barely breathe, let alone speak. The entire world was spinning. He looked up, and everything was blurry, and getting blurrier by the second.  Thomas made out two shapes, Eliza and the monster. The monster was pushing Eliza, it was looking down on her. She continued walking backwards, Eliza refused to break eye contact with it. Then, Eliza fell back on the dusty path with a thud, a hole in the ground had tripped her. Eliza’s foot was stuck.

 A large group of towns people were forming around Eliza and the beast. They were fairly close, but kept their distance from the dangerous monster. The townspeople started forming closer when the prince of the kingdom arrived with a sword.

“I can’t die this way,” Eliza promised. She took her shoe and threw it directly at the face of the beast. Disoriented, it fell backwards. Then, the prince of the kingdom came behind the monster and thrust his sword through the back of the beast. Realizing that the beast had been defeated, the townspeople formed a circle closer around the prince, the defeated beast, and Eliza.

A royal messenger then pushed through the crowd and stood in front of Eliza. He was short, completely dressed in white, and had a long beard. The messenger unraveled a scroll, held it up directly in front of hos face, and began reading from it.

“Miss Eliza Henley, the prince of thou village is impressed with your rare bravery and fine beauty. He has ordered your immediate hand in marriage!” the messenger proclaimed.

Eliza’s eyes practically popped out of her head. She took a glance at the prince, who was presenting a cheesy ear-to-ear smile towards her. Before Eliza could manage a single word from her mouth, the entire village began cheering.

“Where is my opinion on this?” Eliza thought, but then a sudden occurrence of reality came through to her. This is the medieval times, women are forced into marriage, Eliza had no choice. “What if I never get out of here?” Eliza thought, “What about Thomas?” Still the thought of admitting her true feelings for him made her heart stop. “Wait, Thomas! Where is he?” Eliza gasped. She looked side to side, but couldn’t manage to see over the villagers. No one even noticed she was saying anything at all, the cheers of the villagers were practically ear-piecing.

“So, off to the castle!” the messenger shouted with glee. Prince Scott took Eliza by the hand and led her to the castle. Eliza’s instinct was to smile and wave, at least that’s what they did in the fairy tales.

 Thomas awoke on the floor of a somewhat dirty home.       

“Ugh,” he moaned and rolled over, staring blankly at the wall. Bandage wrapping was secured around his left arm and chest where the beast had seared the claws into Thomas’s skin. As Thomas’s vision focused increased, he noticed six feet standing directly in front of him. As Thomas looked up, he realized there were three dwarves staring directly down at him.

“Ello there fella!” one of the dwarves shouted.

“Pippy, please watch your volume,” a scratchy voiced dwarf nagged, crossing his arms.

“Focus you two,” the eldest dwarf demanded. “What do we do with the thing?” The dwarf gestured towards Thomas.

Thomas coughed, “My name is Thomas, who are you?”

“I’m Pippy!” The high pitch voiced dwarf claimed.

“I’m Argon,” The scratchy voiced dwarf mumbled.

“I’m Ocaes,” the eldest dwarf stated. “We found ya’ unconscious on the ground in the middle of the village. Lucky is what ya’ are to be alive,” he noted.

“Thank you,” Thomas responded, holding his side. As he looked at his surroundings he realized that this home was the inside of a thick hollowed out tree. Thomas tried sitting up, but fell back at the attempt and groaned. He had never felt so vulnerable in his entire life.

 The eldest dwarf shuffled to the kitchen, leaning on his carved wooden cane. He grabbed a thick rag and used it to get a hold of the pot that was dangling over the fireplace. Ocaes dunked a stone cup into the pot, filled it with the potion, and without a single warning poured it down Thomas’s throat.

Thomas gagged and tried to spit it out, but he had already swallowed it. “WHAT WAS THAT!” he shrieked, shivering at the disgusting taste of the drink he was forced to consume.

“Oh, you don’t want to know what’s inside it,” Argon suggested.

“Ugh!” Thomas screamed.

“It will instantly heal you. Remove the bandages,” Ocaes ordered.

Thomas sat up, realizing the excruciating pain he had previously felt was now nonexistent. He unwrapped the bandages and stroked the spot where his wounds once were.

“If you didn’t drink that potion you would have died of blood loss, even with the bandages the wounds were too severe. Beware of beasts, never confront them like you did again,” Ocaes warned.

“Thank you, all of you, you saved my life. Now, I must be on my way though,” Thomas replied, making his way towards the door.

“Good luck on your adventures.” Ocaes wished to Thomas. Thomas closed the door behind him and began walking towards the dirt road trail. He was out to find Eliza, last Thomas had seen her she had tripped in front of the beast. He feared she might be dead, but in his heart he was driven to find her, no matter what he may find, he needed to know if she was okay, and deep down inside, he knew she couldn’t have died. She was stronger than that. At first Thomas wondered, “How will I know where the village is?” but as he looked up and checked his surroundings, he saw the tip of the castle in the distance. “Just follow the castle,” he thought. 

Chapter 3

Eliza looked in the mirror. She had never seen such a beautiful dress. It was white and puffy with ruffles from the torso down. Her hair was done in an elegant braid, and though Eliza felt like the most beautiful girl in the world, she hated it. Her hair was being pulled uncomfortably and the dress was unbearably heavy. Eliza felt so torn apart, never had she thought that any of this would ever happen. She was being forced into marriage, and right after she had finally admitted to herself her true feelings for Thomas.

“Married at sixteen,” Eliza said to herself, practically in shock at the thought of such a preposterous idea.

A knock came from the door, “ Eliza, the celebration is about to begin,” a feminine voice said.

Eliza hesitated, but she slowly went to open the door. Taking a deep breath Eliza twisted the door knob with her nervous sweaty palms. “I guess I’m ready,” she assured the royal assistant, starting to follow her through the hallway and down the stairs. Although the walk was only a short number of minutes, Eliza felt like she was walking in slow motion. She looked at every painting and statue in the castle that they passed.

 Eliza stood in front of the French doors and stared at them. The last thing she ever wanted to do was enter that room. It felt like a nightmare that she would wake up from, and Eliza hoped that any second now she would wake up from this, but it was all too real. Eliza heard the traditional “Here Comes the Bride” song. She opened the doors and began walking down the aisle. Everyone stood from their seats, almost the entire village had to be there, except no Thomas. Eliza wanted more than anything to just run out the doors and find Thomas, wherever he may be. Together they could escape this catastrophe. The only thing that delayed her were the consequences of disobeying royalty, death.

 “You may kiss the bride,” the Justice of the Peace permitted. Eliza closed her eyes and hoped to get it over with. That was a memory that Eliza tried to block out. Her first kiss would forever be with the snotty prince. Eliza’s title was at that very moment “princess,” but Eliza knew she was the last thing from a princess, she as a warrior.

“Now, the traditional ceremonial parade begins!” Prince Scott declared. The village cheered and stood from their seats as the prince escorted Eliza by the arm, down the aisle, through the French doors, and out of the castle. They began circling the perimeter of the castle, outside of the moat. The village danced and sang as they proceded down the cobblestone road. Traditional medieval songs were being played throughout the village.

Eliza tried her best to pose as a happy girl, the kingdom needed to see Eliza as a positive figure. Although she really did try her best, the townspeople could tell she had something stuck in her mind. As the parade began to wind down and the villagers started to depart Scott pulled Eliza in private directly behind the castle. They went behind a large tree next to a steep cliff that led down to a rapid undulating river.

“What is wrong with you! ” Prince Scott snapped, then harshly slapped Eliza on the cheek.

Eliza winced and thrust her fist towards Scott’s face. He quickly grabbed her fist and blocked her before she could strike him. Eliza’s eyes widened and she took a step back.

“How dare you!” Scott hissed, “ What has gotten into you!”

Eliza hesitated, then looked at Scott. “This isn’t worth it,” Eliza thought, then stared at Scott directly in the eye. “I must go,” she spat, then jumped off the cliff and began falling towards the deep, wide river.

 Prince Scott became furious. “GUARDS!” he shrieked. A pair of knights came to him immediately, followed by some curious townspeople.

“FIND ME ELIZA,” Scott ordered, “dead or alive.”

The knights nodded and began on their way to search for Eliza.

“Bring me to the wizard,” Scott howled. A royal carriage was brought to him instantly with perfectly groomed white horses. Scott stomped to the carriage, climbed inside, and slammed the door. As the carriage began on its way Scott looked out the golden lined window. Many townspeople were crowding by him, staring worriedly.

Once Scott arrived at the wizard’s shack, he ran straight up to his door and busted it down. The wizard jumped and put his hands up in the air.                                                                     “I swear I am innocent!” he pleaded.

Scott disregarded the wizard’s reaction. “ I need to find Eliza Henley,” the prince demanded.

“Perhaps I may be able to locate her with my crystal ball,” the wizard mumbled, feeling interrogated and small. The wizard shuffled through his shelf and pulled the ball from the very back of it.

“It is very unlikely to work though, it is five hundred years old, handed down to me from my father, handed down to him from his father, and so on,” the wizard babbled. He placed the dusty crystal ball on the table, a crack in the dead center of it. The wizard placed his hands directly above the crystal ball and began mumbling a spell under his breath. The crystal ball sparked for a split second, but fizzed out.

“I- I- I apologize sir,” the wizard begged for mercy.

“You are no use to me,” the prince stated, then out of anger punched the shelf. All of the potions fell onto the floor, and the prince took a step back. The puddle was glowing bright purple.

“What have you done!” the wizard shouted, trembling with fear. He pointed at the prince with his scrawny hand. “You have just created a mutant potion, “ the wizard began. “Every potion corresponds to the person who uses it and the problems they want solved. Your problem began when a beast was released into the village, which is how you met Eliza. You have just released hundreds of unpredictable monsters into our world!” the wizard warned, “It can’t be stopped.”

Chapter 4

 Thomas had been walking for hours. He was so close to the castle, but it was too hard to tell in the dark exactly where it was. Night seemed like it took forever to come, even though Thomas wasn’t tired. He wouldn’t allow himself to become tired, not until he knew for sure that Eliza was okay.

As Thomas continued traveling through the forest he noticed that the thickness of it was thinning and the dirt seemed to have been traveled by before. Thomas eventually met a cliff that went down to wide, rapidly running river. As he looked down he noticed that a body was washed up on the side of the river. Eliza.

Immediately Thomas started making his way down the cliff, clinging to any indent in the sides of it. He slipped on a rock that crumbled to the touch and a rush of adrenaline came through to him. He had almost fell, he had almost died, again. Once Thomas was near enough to the bottom, he jumped onto a patch of sand on the side of the ricer. He began running towards Eliza, who was unconscious on another patch of sand. Thomas shook her, but she wouldn’t wake up. Thomas checked her neck for a pulse, she was alive and breathing. Silently, Thomas knelt down next to her and drifted off to sleep.

 Thomas woke up the next morning to the sound of growling. On the top of the cliff, on the forest side of the cliff a group of wild monsters were screeching, they spotted Thomas and Eliza, who were about to become a meal.

“Hey!” Thomas cried, “Get up! C’mon Eliza! Wake up!” Thomas ran to the river and cupped his hands, he filled them with water and splashed Eliza. 

Eliza began shifting, then opened her eyes. “ We’re alive!” she yelped.

“Eliza, we’ve got to get out of here,” Thomas warned. He pointed at the group of monsters.

Eliza gasped, “ That’s not our only problem.”

“There she is!” A knight called out, on the opposite cliffside than the monsters.

Prince Scott ran up to the edge of the cliff, “ Seize her! He demanded.        

“How do we get out of here?” Thomas asked, his eyes shifting between Eliza, the monsters, and the army.

“This might be the end,” Eliza replied.

“But, wait, this isn’t how fairytales end. Where’s the happy ending?” Thomas wondered, panicking.

“I love you,” Eliza admitted.

“I love you too,” Thomas whispered, “I always have.” He leaned in and kissed her. Sparks began flying from Thomas and Eliza, which were evolving into fireworks. The entire world around them started dissolving into black nothingness.

Eliza and Thomas released, opened their eyes, and smiled.  They were back in Eliza’s house. All of the books were arranged neatly in the shelf, as always. Eliza and Thomas looked out the window, through it was their poor town, which they had now learned to love.

“True love’s kiss.” Eliza whispered. They both giggled and looked each other in the eye, but Eliza grew a worried look on her face and her eyes tracked off to the side. “Grandpa?” Eliza said, running to his side. He still had the same smile on his face that he had on the moment they were transported into his story.

“Eliza,” Thomas said softly, holding her hand. “You grandpa is eighty-seven. He just finished his eighty-seventh book. He’s… dead…”

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 11.04.2013

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