Breaking a tale

Dawn - My life has turned brown...

 

It was dark as the cart pulled away from Nullo-Loco, I pulled a scratchy blanket over myself and managed to fall asleep curled up on the hard-wooden bench of the cart even though it was incredibly uncomfortable. I awoke with a jolt as the cart stopped at a gate, blinking the sunlight out of my eyes before quickly hiding Lantern under my skirt again for fear of him being found out, I must have slept the whole night. The gate was large and had been covered in gold leaf however even though it looked grand I could tell it was all a facade. There were gaps in the gold where you could see the rusted Iron and the stones next to the gate. didn't seem very securely attached to each other.

The gates swung open slowly and the cart began to move again. The scene in front of me was incredible.. That was the first time I had ever seen a forest in real life, and it looked just like the ones I had seen in my dreams, I soaked it all in with wide eyes. The trees were tall, and their leaves were bright and full but even though they covered the sky, sunlight still managed to light up the mossy forest floor. I sat in the rickety cart absorbing the view, I was listening to the birds as I finally came to the realisation that this was going to be my home! I was going to rule all of this!

The cart slowed down, and we reached a junction, to the left was a large road through open countryside and in the distance I could see a large gathering of buildings and a castle, I grinned hardly believing that I was finally here, I was going to live there one day. On the right was a dirt track into a dark wood, I didn't like the idea of going through those woods, but I realised that the tower would probably be in there and I impatiently waited for the cart to take that path, but it didn't. Instead, it chose the third path, a narrow-cobbled road. As the cart lurched forward I spun to face the dark forest in confusion, surely that was the route we should have taken?

Things weren't adding up, first the dress, the cart and now we weren't going towards the tower. Slowly, as we drove along that cobbled path realisation dawned on me. Maybe I wasn't the princess, terror started to eat through me, but I tried my best to subdue it, of course I was the princess. I just had to trust the story. In the distance I could see a village emerging, maybe that was where Luna was! I might even see her on my way on the way to the tower!

The village grew ever closer and by the time we reached it the sun had set completely. There was a sign at the entrance that read "Welcome to Hemlock, the oldest village in Aureum." The village was lit by torches so it was hard to determine what was what, but I could make out the outlines of many buildings and I could hear the bustle of small marketplace somewhere in the village. The cart stopped next to a well, which was in a large square in the centre of the village, and I stepped out in confusion. This wasn't right, I was supposed to be in the tower, not here. Maybe I really wasn't the princess after all... Or maybe we were just staying here to rest for a while. Lantern let out a sleepy meow which I covered with a cough. The cart driver took my bags and led me to a small house on the corner of the village. There was a small light on inside and I could see an old woman knitting beside a roaring fire.

The man rapped on the door and I saw the old woman stand up and shuffle to the door before it creaked open, the man strode inside, and I wandered in after him, incredibly confused and overwhelmed, not to mention exhausted. The inside of the cottage was picturesque and cosy. There was a main living area connected by an archway to a small kitchen and three rooms off to the side which I guessed were bedrooms and a bathroom. There was a warm glow inside and the whole house seemed to be alive, even the counters had leaves growing out of them. I couldn't tell whether this was intentional, or whether the old lady was just so bad at cleaning the counters had started growing something, I felt sorry for anybody who had do spend their time in the tale cleaning. I hadn't ever had to clean anything up, Luna and the servants had always done the cleaning for me.