Excerpt: Untitled

"Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess who lived in the forests of Rothshire..."

"Rothshire? There were princesses in Rothshire Forest?"

"Yes, dear, now be a good little girl and don't interrupt the telling of a beautiful faerie tale."
"Yes, mother."

"Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess who lived in the forests of Rothshire. There was magic and faerie folk that lived in the forests with the princess. But, as it turned out, the princess was very lonely. You see, she longed to know the warmth of true love but she had never even met another person, let alone a man. She knew that she didn't just grow out of the ground like some faeries so there had to be men living somewhere in the forest. When the princess was old enough, she gathered up her favourite dresses in a sack and left the hollow tree that she'd been living in since she was small. Her animal friends told her that it was too dangerous to leave the hollow tree and that she shouldn't go alone. So, the princess took one of the chipmunks with her - a chipmunk named Acre. Acre had always been the princess' constant companion and although the princess had been lonely for other humans, her Acre had always played with her and taken the best care of her."

"I never knew that chipmunks could take care of humans."

"Miriam, please."

"Sorry, mother."

"And so, on the eve of her sixteen birthday, the Rothshire Forest Princess took Acre and her dresses and walked through the murky paths of the forest. IT wasn't an easy journey and there were parts of it that were filled with the greatest peril. They found things like overgrown Oak trees that had gotten off their roots and chased them around the forest before falling into the ravine. They came across a pack of friendly centaurs that thought the princess was a prophecy come true. And when they kidnapped her..."

"... the centaurs kidnapped the princess? Oh no!"

"And when they kidnapped her, Acre came to save the day by distracting the centaurs with song and dance. And as the centaurs watched the chipmunk, the princess snuck away into the shadows of the forest. She waited and waited and waited until it was finally morning. When there was no sign of Acre, the princess began to get very worried and although she'd escaped the centaurs and their encampment, she snuck back to see if Acre was still there, entertaining them."

"And was he there, Mother? He didn't get eaten by the centaurs did he?"

"Would you like to hear the rest of the tale?"

"Yes, mother."

"Then try not to interrupt."

"Yes, mother."

"When the Rothshire Forest Princess saw that the centaurs had fallen asleep and that there was no sign of Acre, she began to weep to herself. Her only friend in the whole world had abandoned her to fend for herself. It was heart breaking and there was no one to tell. But, instead of let the forest defeat her, the princess gathered up her torn up sack and walked on through the paths of the forest, still looking for someone. Anyone. And as the year began to wax from spring to summer and wane from autumn to winter, the princess began to lose all hope. Perhaps she had been wrong all along. Perhaps there was no one to be found in the Rothshire Forest aside from her. The loneliness began to consume her and just as she thought that all hope had been lost, the princess heard the unmistakable voice of one misplaced chipmunk. Acre came scurrying up the forest path and jumped into her arms. The princess so happy to see the chipmunk that she'd forgotten how very cross she'd been at him."

Miriam made a small sound of contentment. She was happy that Acre hadn't forgotten about the princess.

"'Princess,' the chipmunk said. 'Princess, I've found you a prince!' The princess supposed that that's where the silly chipmunk had been for the majority of the year - looking for her prince so that she wouldn't be lonely anymore. Sure enough, trotting up the forest path on a horse, whose mane was brilliant gold and whose coat shone like a pearl in the midday sun, was a prince. A man. Someone come to take away the princess' pain and loneliness. She was so happy that she squeezed the chipmunk tight to her breast and thanked him over and over again for the best present that anyone had ever given her. As the princess ran up the path to meet her prince, Acre couldn't help but to feel sad for her. She was going to get everything she ever wanted... but what was the cost? And, my dear Miriam, this is where we're going to stop for the evening."

"Really, mother?"

"Yes, my dear. Time for you to blow out the candles and crawl into bed alongside your kittens. I'll send your father in to say goodnight to you as well."

Meredith Hartgrove bent over Miriam's forehead and kissed it lightly.

"I love you," she said, placing a caring hand on the child's cheek. "My little sunshine."

"I love you," Miriam replied, mimicking the gesture. "My mother of pearls."