| Subject: First couple chapters |
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By Zo
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Date Posted: 17:02:37 02/19/06 Sun
Star-blessed
What do a spoiled princess, a generous servant and a clever thief have in common? They're Star-blessed!
Chapter 1, The Cottage
The icy winds blew over the land, making the lush greenery sway heavily. The foggy day only seemed normal, but behind the swirling clouds of mist, anything was possible. The Cottage lay on the left side of a long dirt road that stretched all around the St. Moss mountain range. About five feet away from the entrance was a cobblestone path lined with fresh cabbage and lettuce heads. At the start of the path were two cement walls, inlaid with a pattern made of bedrock and, in the center, a large, five-spoke wheel. The garden was filled with colorful flowers of every size and shape imaginable. Large Weeping Willow trees loomed over the bright green grass and tiny maple trees sprouted all about the garden. But perhaps the most fascinating part of the whole cottage was the rose garden. Delicately carved arbors stood over the vibrant roses. There were red roses, white roses, peach, yellow and pink roses. And, in the midst of the roses' beauty and fragrance, was the giant waterwheel. It spun continually; dropping water from bucket to bucket as hardly a drop was spilled. Inside the Cottage, many fairies flew around silently, attending to their duties. The cottage housed the entire species of fairies. Each fairy was born into a different group: Water Fairies, Land Fairies, Fire fairies, Fairies for the Protection of Society (FPS) and Fairies of the Night. Also living in the cottage were hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs and other flying insects, plus the artistic elves, who rarely showed themselves and, in the stables, the magnificent steeds; reindeer. It may seem as if the cottage would be bursting at its seams with all of the creatures inside of it, but remember that all of the beings (excluding the reindeer) are very tiny, and that there is a huge backyard and an entire underground series of tunnels, caves and rooms in which the elves dwell. Many fairies garbed in deep blue robes, the Water Fairies, attended to the wheel, gasping as a drip hit the floor -though that hardly happened- and seeing that there was plenty of water for all of the residents. Tending to the garden were fairies in light green robes, The Land Fairies, and they did so with precise measurements of water and with extreme care. Gathered around the huge fire place, settling gently on the hearth and mantle, were the Fire fairies, wearing bright gowns of orange. They tossed logs into the fire and made sure that it was warm enough for all the creatures to bear the cold. Lastly, the FPS fairies, wearing plain robes of light brown were gathered in the center of the largest room in the Cottage, some filing through paperwork, other training young FPS' to fight. It was the leader of these fairies, Galena, who got up and spoke, breaking the hanging silence.
"All creatures please gather to the speaking stone. There is a message of importance awaiting your arrival."
The creatures obeyed and soon the room was filled with excited whispers.
"Silence please. Thank you. I would like to say that They have been chosen and notified." Gasps arose from Galena's audience. One fire fairy raised her delicate hand,
"You mean the Star-blessed ones?"
Galena replied, "Yes Them. One is the lovely princess of Bellsbury, Willa. She has a bit of an attitude, but we can fix that. The other is a wonderful person. Her name is Anita, and she is a servant for the Wizard Inn. Lastly is a clever thief named Armon. He is currently in the dungeons, but he is a good chap. E' was in the prison only for stealing food so a group of children living on the streets could survive. With your approval, I'll gather them and bring them here."
In unison, the entire crowd shouted "Aye!" And so Galena set off to Bellsbury first, then Wizard Inn and lastly the Correctional Institute for Criminals. Grabbing a small sack, she left the cottage and set off, hoping that her colleagues had chosen the right children to be Star-blessed.
Chapter 2, Willa
Orange flames lapped at the cold air, with the children gathered around the fire, singing and laughing merrily. One by one, the adults paid their respects to the King and Queen with gifts and shouts of "Long live throne! Merry Christmas!" The jolly fat king, thoroughly drunk with each gulp of whiskey, shook with mirth as the gifts were presented to him. The queen stood elegant in a trailing, scarlet red dress trimmed with fresh lace weaved in intricate patterns. Her long black hair flowed down to her waist-line and her dazzling green eyes flicked around the room, kindly greeting all of the guests entering. The long line of peasants veered in the direction of the king, though they each knew that it was the beautiful Queen Martha who did all the work while King Peter lazed around in a chair. But both Martha and Peter were very kind and loved to throw elegant parties for the people of Bellsbury. Sitting next to her mother and father was the Princess Willa, who looked just like her mother, but acted neither like her mum or dad. Willa sat atop her chair, looking wearily at the small line of peasants gathering around her. First in line was a Spanish vintner wearing a large festive hat with a peacock feather tucked in at the top. He wore his best suit and a rather worn tie. The vintner pulled off his hat and bowed romantically.
"Ah, senorita, Merry Christmas!" he said, "My name is Carlos Montello. I present to you this gift, and although it is small, its purpose is big." He leaned closer to her, his breath smelling of putrid grapes, "Do not tell anyone else this, but you are star-blessed" With that, he thrust a small box into her hand and walked off into the darkness, away from the cheer of the party. Willa looked scornfully at the box then threw it into a pile behind her. Scowling, she turned to the next peasant in line.
"Watcha got fer me?" she snapped. Queen Martha grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her firmly.
"Willa Festia Mygothy! Behave yourself!" Then she turned to the gift givers, a look of apology on her face. Slowly, the guests began to leave until the grand Bellsbury palace was empty but for the royal family. Tiredly, Willa slipped into her pajamas and crawled into bed. Her mother came to tuck her in.
"What gifts did you get, dear?" she asked
"They were all awful" Willa replied
Reprovingly, Martha said, "Now Willa, be nice. Did you get any interesting gifts?"
"Yeah, this vintner guy said I was star blessed and he gave me a glass, green star"
"Hmmm," the Queen pondered, "Well, the vintners spend much time out in the hot sun, and it clearly gets to them. He was probably just trying to stun you. Don't be frightened by him"
"I'm not! Good night mummy!"
"Good night Willa"
The lights were switched off and Willa was left lying in her bed, fighting for sleep. She would chase after it, and just as Willa thought she had caught it at last, it would escape her and get a large lead. This continued for quite awhile, until Sleep finally slowed down enough for her to catch it and drift into it. But sleep came with a strange dream. A little person with wings -a fairy perhaps- was standing on her bedpost, smiling strangely. The little fairy spoke, and her voice was so faint that Willa had to strain her ears to hear it.
"So you are the star-blessed one" he/she/it said, "follow me" The little fairy strode out of Willa's room and fluttered down the stairs. Outside it was raining, and with a loud clap of thunder, Willa was awake. She was startled to find the little fairy still there. Rubbing her eyes to be sure if she was awake, Willa stared in disbelief at the fairy. It spoke again.
"Well, I haven't all day, hurry up!"
Willa shakily replied,
"You said I was star-blessed, that is what a man named Carlos Montello told me"
The little fairy sighed happily, "Ahh Carlos, bless his soul! He was right, you are star-blessed. You will find out what it means later. Follow me. I have three more houses to visit before we get back to the Cottage. "Willa was puzzled, but she restrained herself from further questions as she silently followed the fairy into the darkness outside.
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