Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young Princess lived in a shining castle, and although she had everything her heart desired, the Princess was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.
Then, one night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered a...
"Sit, Bon! Good girl!" Lance tossed a piece of bread, watching Bonnie chase after it with a bark. He huffed softly, patting her dark head as he finished the rest of his loaf. Edwin had gone upstairs over an hour ago, and Lance hadn't seen or heard him since, but that didn't surprise the boy. Edwin hadn't looked well when he'd come home, and Lance suspected it wasn't just because of the run-in with Garcelle. No, Edwin was sick again; Lance was sure of it, but what he wasn't sure about was how to help. He knew this illness was somehow caused by Edwin's curse, which meant there was no cure Lance could give, but maybe he could cheer Edwin up. Creeping silently up the stairs, Lance peeked into Edwin's bedroom, seeing the man resting deeply on the bed, the blanket laid over his stomach and the curtains drawn open. Huffing quietly, Lance stepped into the room, closing the curtains and pulling Edwin's blanket up, tucking him in. Edwin looked pale, his brows pinched even in sleep, and to Lance's dismay, he could see two of Edwin's red petals resting on the pillow, having fallen from the man's head. Frowning, Lance left the room again and closed the door, turning to Bonnie determinedly.
"Let's go outside; I've got an idea."
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"He likes plants, especially flowers, see here?" Lance said, pointing at the drawing of a flower in the book he was holding and showing it to Bonnie. It was Edwin's, a book of local flora, and Lance was going to use it to find a particular plant– the lady's slipper orchid. It was one of the few flowers Edwin hadn't seen yet, and Lance was sure it would lift Edwin's spirits.
"You and I are going to go out and find this flower to bring back, got it?" Bonnie barked in response. Lance smiled.
"Good girl! Let's go!" The two bounded off happily deeper into the forest, searching behind logs and through tall tufts of grass. The sun shone brightly, but the surrounding trees gave plenty of shade to keep the two cool as they searched, crossing over a trickling stream. According to the book, the orchids thrived in cool, damp woods with dappled sunlight, meaning the area he and Bonnie were searching in needed to be corrected; There was still too much sun and not enough dampness. Pressing onward, Lance walked deeper and deeper into the forest, determined to find the flower. The further they traveled, the crisper the air became, the trees looking suddenly taller and more sinister. At his side, Bonnie whined, and Lance pet her head in an effort to calm her... and himself.
"It's ok, girl. The flower must be around here somewhere. The conditions seem right," rereading the book, the boy was startled by something cold and wet landing on his nose, and he looked up to see that it had begun to snow. That couldn't be right; it was mid-June! But just up ahead, Lance could see that the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow, the trees frosted over, and birds and squirrels were nowhere to be seen.
"Something isn't right..." Lance murmured, unsettled. Just as he made to turn back there was an echoing howl that made Bonnie's fur bristle, her ears flat against her head. More howls and barking began to the right of them– the shadows of five wolves appearing through the snowfall.
"RUN!" Lance shouted, sprinting in the opposite direction, the wolves following close behind. Lance lept over stones and ducked under a fallen tree, sliding down a snowy hill with Bonnie at his side. Up ahead, Lance spotted a massive looming castle, and he ran toward the gate and pulled on it desperately. Behind him, the wolves caught up and made to attack him, but Bonnie intercepted, snapping at them with her teeth. One of the wolves lashed out, slicing Bonnie in her side, and she snarled fiercely and bit the wolf in the throat, tossing it sideways away from her. With a final shove, Lance pushed the gate open and squeezed through it, watching Bonnie run away with the wolves trailing behind her. He sniffled. Would Bonnie be alright? Turning around, the boy inspected his surroundings, seeing a snowy courtyard to his left dotted with impressive hedges trimmed in all sorts of interesting shapes; hearts, swans, crescents, and more. To his right was more of the black cast iron fencing, and ahead of him was what looked like a conservatory, not unlike the one back home. Shivering, he went inside to see if he couldn't find help. After all, with all of the finely trimmed hedges, someone must be living here. Entering the conservatory, Lance was met with pleasantly warm air and an overabundance of plants that he'd never seen before. Rows upon rows of flowers and ferns, vines creeping elegantly up the walls. Baskets of flowers hung from the ceiling, and even small trees were growing along the right wall. In the center of the garden was a large pond, fish swimming under lilypads larger than Lance's head. It was unlike anything Lance had ever seen before. It was beautiful.
"Wow...!" As he explored, there was something in particular that caught his eye. No, it couldn't be– but it was! The lady's slipper orchid, four of them growing in a row! Laughing delightedly, Lance wondered what to do now. Perhaps he could carefully unroot one of the flowers to bring back home? He didn't want the flower to die, after all. But, then again, he couldn't just take it. Someone clearly lived here. Maybe if he could find them and talk to them, they'd let him take the flower? Or maybe Edwin could come here and see it himself. Lance heard a door slam open, and before he could even blink, a dark form was upon him, lifting him by the back of his shirt with a growl.
