The Bedtime Story

THE BEDTIME STORY

  By

  M. J. Kiessling

  The Bedtime Story

  Copyright © 2011 by M. J. Kiessling

  Cover Art © 2011 by Robin Lythgoe

  The Bedtime Story

  The girl made her way out of the bathroom along the hallway. Her little hands clutched at the walls as she found her way through the dark. The rooms were occupied with sleepy family members and pets. She stepped softly on the tile, avoiding every crack and finally stopping at a door that wasn’t hers. Lifting her hand, she knocked with a tiny fist.

  “Daddy?”

  There was barely a noise as her father came to the door and opened it. His hair was graying and his posture was slack, but his face held the brightest of smiles when he found his daughter standing there. “What is it, Cali?”

  Cali – short for Calista – looked up at her father with hopeful eyes. “Can you tell me a story?”

  Her father laughed a little. “Of course. Come on.” He picked her up with tender care and cradled her in his arms. Quietly, but with less stealth than Cali, her father walked through the hallway right to her bedroom. There he opened the door, and set her on the bed. “Which story would you like to hear?”

  Cali bounced a little as she positioned herself under the covers, resting her head on the fluffy pillow. “Tell me the one about the princess knight and the dragon!”

  “That’s a great one, isn’t it?” Her father smiled and rubbed his hands together. Looking up, he tried to remember how the story went. “Okay, here we go.”

  >
  There once was a young girl who lived in a castle on the far side of a wide river. Her name was Marcella, but most called her Mary. Now, Mary wasn’t an ordinary princess, no, she was very unique. It wasn’t where she lived, how she lived, or who her parents were. The difference between Mary and other princesses lay elsewhere. It was what she wanted to do, what she planned to do with her life that made her different.

  Mary had lots of friends in her kingdom, other princesses even. They would come to visit her from their neighboring kingdoms and talk about various things that they wanted to do with their futures. But when the rest of the princesses talked about marrying a prince and ruling the kingdom after their parents had stepped down or passed, Mary talked about learning to use a sword and fighting dragons in order to save a prince. The other princesses did find it strange that Mary would talk about these types of adventures, but they still listened to her dreams. Whenever Mary's parents told her a tale about knights and dragons, she would retell it to her friends for entertainment.

  One day, one of the princesses got curious and asked Mary something she was never asked before. “Mary,” the princess said quietly, “why don’t you forget those dreams of becoming a knight and just live the life of a princess like the rest of us?”

  Mary was surprised that her friend had asked her such a question, but it didn’t take her long to come up with an answer. “Because, Nadine, I want to be different. I want to be my own person and do things that no princess has ever done. To me, the idea of just waiting for a prince to come rescue me in some boring old tower is just no fun! I want to be adventurous and try something new. I want to be remembered for the way I was different, not the way I was the same.”

  Nadine didn’t understand why Mary wanted to be so different, but she accepted that her friend was, and it showed in her smile. "Okay."

  Even with Mary’s resolve in mind, she knew she was too young and inexperienced to fight a dragon. As the years passed, Mary spent her days learning from the knights and honing her skills. She longed for the day when she would have the chance to see her dream played out. Mary thought that day might never come. Until, that is, the day of her seventeenth birthday. On that day, all her friends and all the people of the kingdom gathered to celebrate. Her father knew how different she wanted to be, so he gave her the most beautiful of swords and dubbed her a knight. Mary’s father presented the sword to her in front of everyone, so that the entire kingdom could know that Mary was no ordinary princess.

  "Kneel here, my daughter. Today you shall become what you’ve always wanted to be." With a delighted smile, Mary knelt before her father and bowed her head. The glinting silver sword touched her lightly on the shoulder as her father's voice rang out for everyone to hear. "I dub thee, Princess Marcella, Knight of this kingdom. Arise and accept your sword."

  As she rose and took the sword by the golden hilt, Mary's eyes shined. She rubbed the red jewel embedded there with her thumb and looked at her father with great love. "Thank you, father, it means so much to me." She turned and held the beautiful weapon high for everyone to behold. Cheers rang out through the crowd when she did.

  “Go, Mary,” her father said, pride thick in his voice. “Live your dream.”

  Grateful tears clouded Mary's vision as she hugged her father with more strength than ever before. After the embrace ended, Mary took off to the stables near the castle. It was there that she readied her horse for her journey. Before she could go, a stable boy came to her, smiled, and handed her a shield crafted from the finest metal in the entire kingdom. “Take it with you, Princess. You’ll need it if you find a dragon.”

  Mary laughed and accepted the shield, giving the stable boy her thanks as she did. Then she mounted her steed and headed out of the castle. Everyone from the kingdom had come out to see her off, and they cheered as she rode away. This was what Mary had looked forward to her entire life.

  Mary drove her horse to a gallop. As they passed the border of her father's kingdom, she felt like someone was following her. She turned the horse around, sword raised high above her head and yelled out, “Who’s there?”

  Surprise colored Mary’s face as she took in the sight of her old friend Nadine. She hadn’t seen the other princess in years and now here she was on a horse following Mary. Mary lowered her sword and waited for Nadine to catch up. When she did, Mary gave her a confused, lop-sided smile.

  Nadine was mussed and out of breath from her break-neck ride. “I was hurrying to follow you, Mary. You move fast on a horse.”

  “Why are you following me, Nadine?”

  “I wanted to come along. Ever since the day I questioned you about your dream when we were little, I’ve wanted to do the same. You inspired me.”

  Mary smiled, “Let’s go then. Together we’ll find a dragon!”

  Nadine laughed and urged her mount into place beside Mary's. Together the two friends galloped onward, their horses keeping pace with one another easily. It wouldn’t be long before they were in outer lands where dragons were rumored to sleep.

  As the two rode on, the ground grew bumpier and bumpier until finally there was a hill with a lone tower on top of it. The tower was centuries old and covered in vines with cracked stone blocks that appeared on the verge of collapse. That wasn’t all, there was also a dragon curled around the base of the building. The dragon was larger than anything Mary had seen before. Mary looked at her friend Nadine with questioning eyes. Nadine was pale, and her eyes were wide, but her only response was a quick nod indicating her readiness. Mary smiled a tiny smile and nudged her horse to a quiet walk. Nadine followed behind.

  The two friends moved up the hill, trying not to disturb the dragon that slept there. Because the dragon was so huge, he guarded the structure even in sleep. Mary was scared, but it didn’t show. Their horses moved through the grassy hill with as much stealth as they could muster. As they drew nearer, the princesses could see the scaly hide of the beast. He was as green as the grass on which he lay. If it were not for his belly - plump and round and the color of eggshells - he would blend in with the grass and tower vines. The princesses were careful, so the dragon didn’t wake before the two reached the hill top. Then, Mary unsheath
ed her sword. The noise met the dragon’s sensitive ears and woke him.

  Now Mary’s fear showed on her face, but she didn’t let it get to her. Instead, she lifted her sword high and held her shield close. She yelled toward a window near the top of the tower, never taking her eyes off the great beast. “Anyone in there?!”

  “Help!”

  The response made Mary turn her head. There, in the window, was a young boy of maybe six or seven. He was trapped within the tower. Mary gasped, saying, “Don’t worry! We'll get you out!” She turned her attention back to the dragon.

  The dragon’s eyes glowed with fury. His eggshell belly expanded as he breathed in a giant gulp of air. When he breathed out, fire flowed from his mouth right toward Mary. Mary lifted her shield high enough to block the fire and deflect it, making it bounce this way and that. Nadine ducked down on her horse behind Mary in order to miss being hit.

  Now it was Mary’s turn. She kicked her heels into the horse’s side and the black animal lunged forward. Mary raised her sword as the dragon took in another breath, preparing to attack her again. But this time, Mary was much too close to the dragon for the fire to be effective. Her sword pierced the dragon’s leg, leaving a big cut behind. Mary covered her ears as the dragon let out a gigantic roar, his head lifted toward the sky.

  Mary looked back to see if Nadine was all right. Surprised delight made her whoop a shout of encouragement. Nadine was making her way into the tower. The princess pulled back on her horse's reins, making him rear up and bring his hooves down on the tower doors, breaking them open. Mary kept the dragon distracted by slicing its tail as she passed, causing the beast to follow her away from the tower. When her friend was out, Mary hit the dragon again on the other leg, leaving another long cut.

  The dragon growled at her, taking in another breath to ready its fire. Again, Mary kicked her mount's flanks telling him to charge. Obeying, the horse rushed the dragon. Mary aimed her sword directly at the dragon’s chest and threw it. The weapon sailed through the air faster than the dragon could react. It connected with his scales, plunging straight through them to his heart. Mary let out a triumphant sound as the dragon fell to the ground, slain.

  Nadine embraced her friend as Mary returned to them, her sword cleaned and sheathed. Together they took the rescued family home to Mary’s kingdom where her father awaited eagerly to hear her adventure. Mary and Nadine told their story before the king's court where all the noble families listened with rapt attention. From that day on, the heroic princesses would be forever remembered as the Princess Knights. Mary had done what she had always wanted to do and made an impression on everyone by being the first princess to be completely different.

  When asked what her next adventure would be, Mary replied with the simplest of answers:

  “Anything I want it to be.”

  >
  Cali smiled, showing her teeth. “I love that story.”

  “I know you do,” her father replied, smiling back at her. “Now it’s time for you to go to sleep. It’s getting late.”

  Cali yawned and stretched, reinforcing her father’s claim. She closed her eyes, turned on her side, and snuggled in among the blankets. Her father lifted the comforter over her shoulder and backed out of the room, turning the light off as he went.

  “Sweet dreams, Cali.”

  ###

  About the Author

  Megan J. Kiessling was born in Christiana Delaware in April of '95. She grew up with two brothers and several cats, but always had an interest in books. When she entered sixth grade, she finally decided to write her own fictional stories. Her first short story was called Tommy the Turtle which told the story of a turtle, his father, rocket shoes, and their journey to see the sunset. She currently lives in Mansfield, Pennsylvania with two brothers, her parents, one uncle, five cats, and one gigantic puppy.

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