“Mum!” The girl cried, running into her mothers bedroom, tears streaming down her face while lightning crashed outside. When her mother didn’t turn from her place on the bed, she stamped her foot.

“Mum!” She cried again. The mother turned her head and motioned quietly for the child to join her on her bed. “Are you scared of the storm, my love?” She asked gently.

The child nodded tearfully. 

“Ah, well, would you like to hear a story? Perhaps it’ll make you feel braver?” The mother asked, brushing a lock of hair away from her daughters pale face. The girls blue eyes shined from the tears as she nodded her head vigorously.

“What’s the story about?” She asked quietly, rubbing her eyes and leaning against her mothers side. 

“It’s a tale of bravery, and love, and kindness.” 

The daughter smiled slightly. “Tell me!” She clapped her hands excitedly. The mother smiled too- her daughters mind was already off the storm. 

“Well, it starts off on a cold night like tonight...”

 The storm was fierce, it was as if even Mother Nature knew that something was wrong that night.

“My love!” The queen called across the hall, running into her daughters room with a smile in her eyes, like always. Servants jumped aside as the queen flung open her daughters bedroom door, calling, “Ellie!”

A head turned from the window to reveal a golden haired young woman with eyes as blue as sky and a long, blue sleeping gown that matched her eyes. A long white ribbon trailed from around her head all the way down her slender neck and back.

“Mother,” she sighed, walking over to the older woman. “Ellie, it’s your twenty-first birthday in a week, and you must be prepared to lead the kingdom with Prince Jon!”

Ellie turned her head back to the windows, where the queen knew she was looking at the large stables.

“My love, I know you want to be queen by yourself, but I will not be alive forever, and you must bare children with a powerful prince!”

“I’m only going to be twenty-one, Mother, I have so much time.” Ellie fluttered her hand dismissively, glancing back towards her mother.

“My love..” the queen began, but trailed off.

“The spell-casters have taken yet another village in the North.” The Queen said instead. “Who knows how many more days until they come here, for the palace.”

“They are ruthless.” Ellie breathed, closing her eyes.

The queen sighed. “Yes, and that is why we need the protection of-“

“No!” Ellie cried suddenly. The queen stepped back and crossed her arms.

“No.” Ellie repeated in a softer voice.

“Ellie, I-“

Suddenly there were screams from outside and the doors to the bedroom were flung open, revealing three figures in long black hoods with good trims.

“Spell-casters,” The Queen hissed, extending her arms around her daughter. Ellie didn’t scream, but her eyes filled with silent fear as the witches advanced on the pair. “Oh, this was too easy!” One of them cackled as she helped surround the royals. 

“Ellie, run!” The queen screamed, pushed her daughter at the doorway, slipping something into her palm as Ellie stumbled away. 

 “Mum, that story isn’t making me feeling any better!” The girl complained, crossing her arms and huffing. The mother brushed some golden hair behind her own ear and rubbed the top of the girls head, laughing softly.

“I can stop the story if you’d like,” she said with a small smile. 

“Um, no, don’t!” The girl cried, standing up on the bed. She was so small that her head didn’t even begin to brush the ceiling. The mother pulled her daughter back down next to her. “Alright, you’ve convinced me.” she said to the girl. “Yes!” she grinned, pumping her fist before leaning into her mothers chest.

“Ellie ran into the forest,  clutching the only thing she had left of her mother..”

The air was filled with her tears, and she didn’t stop them from streaming down her face as she slowed down upon entering the dark wood.

The trees seeming to close in on her, and before she knew it, Ellie couldn’t see the exit behind her anymore. She sighed: as least she was safe from the witches. 

But that didn’t mean she was safe from the forest.

Ellie walked for what seemed like hours, looking for somewhere she could rest and maybe sleep. The rain didn’t reach her through the thick trees, but that didn’t make her feel more comfortable. She had heard stories about the forest being haunted by Magi, but she didn’t believe them, they were stories made to frighten small children.

Weren’t they?

She shrank to the hard ground against a large tree in what seemed like the center of the wood. “Perhaps I can find a hollowed out tree tomorrow, where I can hide, and be safe.”

The princess closed her eyes and sighed deeply, squeezing the golden locket in her hands, and fell asleep.

“Are you Elinor?” a small voice said.

Ellie cracked open an eyelid, and then the other. Sun was streaming through the treetops, making her squint. A girl about her age with short brown hair styled in a bob and strangely yellow eyes was leaning over her, arms crossed, with one eyebrow up and her head cocked to the side.

Ellie jumped to her feet as she realized one other thing.

Four large, monarch patterned wings were attached to the other girls back, two on each side, and only the tips of her toes were touching the grass.

“Your a pixie!” Ellie gasped, stumbling away from her, but the girl fluttered closer to her in an instant.

“Are you Elinor?” the pixie asked again. “Yes I am, who are you?” Ellie asked with a voice of forced calm. The pixie landed, and two long antennae unfolded from her forehead. 

“Argh!” Ellie almost yelled. “Sheesh, am i really that scary?” The pixie asked, blinking her yellow eyes in confusion.

“N-no, I just, Ive never met, you know, a you,” Ellie gestured to the other girls fluttering wings, and wiggling antennae. “Oh, yeah, I guess you were raised inside of the kingdom..” the pixie murmured, mostly to herself.

“Yeah, i was. Who are you?” Ellie asked again.

“Oh! Sorry, yeah. I’m Trixie, I’m a monarch pixie, as you can probably tell, and your mother sent me to protect you!”

Ellie blinked a few times. “Uh, my mother loathed spell-casters. The bad ones, anyways,”

Trixie snapped her fingers in the princesses face. “Key words! Bad ones!” she exclaimed brightly.

“How do I know you aren’t a bad one?”

Trixie squinted, and then sighed. “I guess you don’t really know.. but your gonna have to trust me!” she grinned, linking arms with the other girl.

“Uhh,” Ellie said, confused, before she was pulled forwards, into the trees, with the pixie at her side.