A bedtime story

Reflective Writing -- Voice Work

Here is a short story for a small child in my own voice.  It's very simple, very cliché, not too scary, and quite the fairy-tale. Enjoy.

Inspired by Disney's Tangled, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Greek myth of Persephone.

Once upon a time, a Princess named Evie was born.  Evie lived in a land named Fortasia.  This was a happy place to be when until her first birthday, when the evil witch of the north came and demanded that the current King and Queen give her Princess Evie to come live in the dark castle of the north.  Of course, the King refused to give up his daughter to the witch, and as punishment the witch cast a spell over the kingdom; until Evie would go live in the far north, the entire kingdowm would be cast into darkness and the sun would not rise. 

The people in the kingdom and palace were angry at the lack of sunlight, but they also loved the baby Princess, and agreed to live in darkness until the evil witch eventually died and the spell was broken.  Candles had to be lit in every room, and streetlights were installed on every corner.  At first, the people thought that they would be able to get through this challenge, but after some years the crops stopped growing even with the artificial light, and they knew they were in trouble.

The King and Queen forbid Princess Evie from ever leaving the castle in order to protect her.  They loved their little girl very much, and they wanted to keep her safe from the witch and some angry townspeople.  Because of this, as she grew up Evie spent much of her time in the castle library.  She read books after books, and of all kinds.  She read all about the past when Fortasia was in the sunlight, but was never able to figure out why the kingdom was in darkness.  No one had ever told Evie about the witch in the north.

Then one day, Evie stumbled upon an older diary of one of the ladies-in-waiting.  The diary contained the reason for the darkness, and Evie learned about the witch in the north.  She didn't want to share her new knowledge with her parents, but from that day she began to make plans on how she would gain back the sun for her people.

Early one morning, Evie began to act on her plan.  She packed up some food from the castle kitchen, and when her parents thought she was in the library she was out in the dark day, determined to journey to the north castle.  She knew she could get a ride to the far end of the kingdom, and then the witch's castle was only a two day walk from there.  Evie had read all sorts of books on how to survive in the wilderness, and she timed her trip so that the full moon could shed some light on the way.

Her journey went smoothly, and as Evie was about knock on the big brass door of the witch's castle, the door swung open.  There was the witch, a tall, skinny green-faced woman in black.  "My pretty!" she shrieked.  "Come in, come in!"

But Evie stood her ground.  "No, thank you," the little princess said.  "I am here only for my people.  I will do what you ask, but you must end the darkness." 

The witch was taken aback.  "What, you want me to listen to you?" 

"Yes.  I will live with you.  But you must give the sun back to my people." 

The witch grinned.  "Fine, fine!  Just sign here." She whipped out a parchment and quill from thin air. 

Evie was trembling.  She took up the quill to sign her life away and had just made the "E" when

Suddenly there was a thunderous crash as the King ran up from behind Evie and tackled the witch to the ground.  "Noooooooo!" he yelled. 

"Yes!  Yes! She has signed!  She has signed!" the witch crackled with laughter.

Evie began crying then.  She didn't want to live with the witch anymore.

The King pulled Evie into his arms, and looked at the parchment.  "No, she has not!  She has not signed her full name!" he said triumphantly.  Then he sobered.  "But she has signed some.  She will have to spend part of the year in this northern castle now." 

The witch grinned a hideous grin.  "However," the King continued, "I see no reason why she should stay here with you."  The witch stopped smiling.  "Guards!  Arrest this woman!"  From the darkness guards sprang into action, and soon had the witch handcuffed.

In the far distance, the sky began to lighten into the pale  pink of morning.  The sun was about to rise!

The king got down on one knee and put his arm around Evie.  He smiled.  "My brave, brave daughter," he said.  "You have brought the sun back to the kingdom!  And I see we now have a new winter palace." 

Evie looked up at the sunrise.  She had waited so long to see the light.  She hugged her father. 

From that day on, the land of Fortasia lived in harmony.  The sun returned to the kingdom, and Princess Evie lived to be a wise ruler of her people, spending the winter months in her renovated winter palace.  Evil had been banished forever.

And they lived happily ever after.

The end.