Crowdfunding Creative Jam story: Faerie School Collection: A Princess who didn't wait to be rescued

[k_a_webb]

Written for ellenmillion's prompt 'a princess who doesn't want to wait to be rescued'.

Willow strode through the corridors, trying not to let her anger get the better of her. She was fed up with being kept away from meetings simply because they couldn't get used to having a woman in control. When she got to the double doors there were two guards but neither of them made a move to stop her. After taking a moment to calm herself, which didn't work that well due to the fury she felt, she pushed open both of the doors. The entire room went silent as they slammed against the walls. Standing in the doorway she looked at each member of the council, wondering whether it was time they all retired so she could put people in their places who would actually listen to her.

“What is the meaning of this?” she asked as calmly as she could, staring at the head of the council.

“Your Highness,” he replied, standing up and bowing, “we thought it best not to disturb you during the time you have remaining with your father.”

“That is not for you to decide. It is not just the fate of my father that is in the balance but the fate of our entire race. Do you have any plan for how to deal with the problems we have caused?”

He swallowed and Willow could see the fear in his face. “We need more time to watch and see what is going to happen. There is still the possibility that things may go back to normal.”

“No, that is not what is going to happen. You may think that we have time to sit and watch, but we don't, and I think it is well past time that we did something.” She glared around the room. “Does anybody have any better ideas?”

Silence filled the room again. After a few moments Willow began tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. Finally one of the other men in the council stood and she looked at him closely. He was one of the younger men so she knew it was unlikely that anyone had been listening to his ideas.

“Your Highness,” he said, bowing to her, “I have suggested that it is time to do what our ancestors did and move to another planet. My fellow council members feel that this is not a path that should even be contemplated until we know for sure what it going to happen.”

Willow smiled at him. “What is your name?”

“Alder, Your Highness.”

“Do you have a specific planet in mind, Alder?” she asked, grateful that someone had the courage to speak up.

“Yes, Your Highness, I do. There is a small planet, not far from ours, that could do with our help.” He was silent for a moment. “It is already inhabited and I actually thought that might be an advantage.”

“I expect there have been objections.”

Alder nodded. “I do not wish to speak ill of my fellow council member, Your Highness, but I find that they have trouble with the idea of moving to another planet.”

“There is no reason, Your Highness, to move so fast,” the other standing council member said.

“Your name?” Willow asked, hating that she didn't already know.

“Orion, Your Highness.”

“It is past time that we did something, Orion. People are dying because you are... what? Scared of change? Simply too stupid to see what is going on around you? My father asked me to take control of this situation and that is exactly what I plan to do.” She turned back to Alder. “I want to see this world, Alder.” She turned to one of the guards, who quickly had to wipe the smile from his face. “Send emissaries to all the other Royal Families. This will be sorted by the end of the day.”

© K A Jones 2011

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Comments

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I love this story. This princess kicks ass. I wish we had more leaders with that kind of proactive approach.

>>“I do not wish to speak ill of my fellow council member, Your Highness, but I find that they have trouble with the idea of moving to another planet.”<<

That should say "council members" above, for agreement.