In The Castle Of Queen Primrose

“Get off me!” Liz cried out as she struggled against the arms of two helmeted men. She had been having a normal day and had only just gotten off work when these two armored men came and grabbed her. She thought this was some weird joke, that perhaps a few dorks from the Ren Faire were playing a prank on her. But before she could ask, they had dragged her through a strange flash of light.

The next thing Liz knew she was in a rural area, being dragged up a dirt road. Just by this alone, she knew something was deeply wrong. To get to anywhere remotely rural required a two-hour ride on the A-train, it would be nearly impossible to do on foot.

“What is this?” demanded Liz as the sun glinted off the men’s armor. The more Liz looked, the more she realized that this armor wasn’t the usual costume fare. They were suited in actual metal plates. Liz stumbled a little bit due to her dress dragging in the mud, causing the men to yank on her arms and pull her out of her thoughts.

Liz continued to walk as she tried to work out what to do. She could likely struggle free of the men and run, but that would be pointless as she didn’t know where she was and had no idea where she would find someone who might help. Her phone was stuck in her car and her car was an unknown number of miles away.

However, after several minutes of walking, something formed on the horizon. It took Liz a couple of minutes to work out what it was, and then a few more minutes to believe her own eyes. Sitting on the horizon was a massive castle, standing tall with heavy grey spires. It looked like something right out of a fantasy novel. In fact, as they crested the hill, Liz realized just how massive this structure was. It was bigger than anything she had ever seen before.

The men didn’t care about Liz’s wonder. They continued their pace, dragging her along with them as they walked the road toward the castle. In the surrounding area was a small town that looked like something ripped out of a history book. There were market stalls, wells, and houses topped with thatch rooves. There were some people around, but most of them ran inside at the sight of Liz and the two men, sending a shiver down Liz’s spine.

However, Liz was unable to think of a way out of the situation. The scared townsfolk obviously wouldn’t defend her or offer her shelter, so her only hope would be to run into the vast countryside and hope she could find her way back home. That is, if such a thing was even possible right now.

Eventually, the men led Liz across the drawbridge and into the castle. And while the outside was unbelievable, the inside was even more fantastical. The interior hall was gigantic and decorated with bright and ornate tapestries that hung from the walls and fluttered in the breeze. It was a hive of activity, full of people in armor or regal attire running about.

Liz didn’t get a chance to take in every detail as the men continued to march forward, leading her to a large, golden door that sat on the far side of the hall. Outside this door were two more men in similar armor, both holding spears. Liz’s heart pounded in her chest as they got closer to the men. The sheer scale and beauty of this castle, mixed with the number of people, meant that this wasn’t some weird LARPers’ playing around.

As they moved close to the door, the men with spears pushed it open, revealing another long room. At the far end of the room, Liz could see a sizable group of people crowded around a large golden throne. As Liz was led into this room, she was blown away by its beauty. While the previous room had been ornate, in comparison, this one made it look like a sewer. Every wall was inlaid with gold and silver patterns, and every window was made of vibrant stained glass depicting knights, dragons, and angels. The floor was covered by a beautiful red carpet and every bit of furniture was made out of gold and studded with gems.

At the far end of the room, Liz could make out that a woman was sat on the large throne. She wore an ornate black robe and a crown that seemed to be made out of thorned roses. She was surrounded by other women wearing similar, if less ornate, robes. As the men moved Liz to the center of the room the group of people stopped and moved away from the throne, allowing the crowned woman to glare daggers into Liz.

The men pushed Liz to the floor before moving away from her, leaving Liz gazing up at the throne. The woman continued to glare as Liz tried to make sense of what was going on. Liz knew she should be scared, but she was too confused to know what she should even be scared of. This whole situation had left her totally dazed.

“Where did you find her?” asked the woman on the throne as she looked toward one of the women who had been hanging around the throne.

“A warp that was opened in Mornton,” replied the woman.

“Excellent,” noted the woman in the crown. “Did she resist you?” she asked as she turned her head towards one of the armored men.

“No, Queen Primrose,” replied the man instantly, shocking Liz somewhat. She had become so used to the men being silent that she hadn’t ever considered that they could actually talk.

However, before Liz could think anymore, Queen Primrose returned her gaze to her. “Rise,” she barked, her voice echoing off the ornate walls. Liz quickly jumped to her feet without questioning it, realizing she didn’t have any control in this situation.

Liz stood on the spot for a few seconds, her breathing becoming more ragged as Queen Primrose looked over her with her predatory eyes. After a few seconds of tense silence, Primrose opened her mouth again. “So, princess. Are you a holder of Enthium?”

“I,” started Liz, her brain spinning with confusion as several pieces clicked into place. Liz looked down at her blue ruffled dress and shiny mary-janes and shook her head before letting out a nervous giggle. “Right, there has been a major misunderstanding,” she mumbled, not daring to make eye contact with Primrose. “I’m not actually a princess, I just play one. You know. For kids parties and stuff!”

“So you are a princess,” replied Primrose firmly.

“No,” said Liz quickly. “Like, we don’t really have princesses, we kinda did away with that whole thing. It’s like fairytales and stuff! I act like princesses from movies!”

“A feeble excuse,” huffed Primrose as she crossed her arms. “You wear the mantle of a princess so proudly. And yet you expect me to believe your kingdom doesn’t have one?”

“Right, because I’m a fake!” continued Liz, stumbling over her words as she looked around the room, hoping that someone would step in and help her. “Make-believe!”

“Show your talent now. Show me what has been given to you,” interrupted Primrose, clenching her fist as her glare became more aggressive.

“I don’t have any talent, I don’t know what is going on!” shouted Liz, only to hear the sound of moving metal next to her. She turned her head and spotted that the two men on either side of her had drawn their swords and were currently pointing them at Liz.

“Okay, okay!” Liz sighed as she tried to think of what to do. “Tough crowd,’ she mumbled as she naturally went into her usual party routine. She rose up on her toes, adjusting her legs to make her dress look wider while taking a deep breath.

Once she was sure she was ready, Liz forced a smile onto her face and cheered. “Hello! I’m Adora! Sing with me! I love birds and bees and honeycomb, I love all the creatures in my home!” she sang in a voice an octave higher than the one she had been using before as she started to spin and jump around the floor. “I love to play and draw all day, I’m very much perfect in every way!”

However, before she could move onto the second verse, Primrose slammed her fist onto the arm of the throne. “Don’t toy with me!” she shouted as Liz stopped mid-spin. “Show me your ability, or else! I will not ask you again.”

“Right, but that is,” started Liz, only for the men to step closer, their swords pointed directly at her throat. Liz’s heart started to pound as her mind raced. She tried to think of something to do as the men moved towards her. Liz’s hands roamed her dresses as she started to panic. Suddenly, Liz felt something in her pocket and gasped. “Okay! I’ll do it!” she shouted as she pulled a long blue balloon from her pocket.

Queen Primrose motioned to the guards and they stopped moving but kept their swords drawn. “I’m glad you’re seeing sense,” she smirked as Liz blew into the balloon, doing her best to inflate it, despite the fact she felt like she was about to hyper-ventilate.

Once the balloon was inflated, Liz quickly started to twist it and turn it, doing her best to remember the steps that she had long ago committed to muscle memory. However, despite a few fumbles, she was able to fashion the balloon into the shape of a dog. “Ta-dah!” Shouted Liz as she threw the balloon forward, letting it bounce off the floor before landing right-way-up.

“You create creatures. Fascinating.” grinned Primrose. “But if you thought I was that foolish, then you’re very much mistaken!” Primrose growled as Liz’s heart sank. “Guards! Surround it before she gives it life!” screamed Primrose as the two men and several other guards quickly surrounded the balloon animal and pointed their swords at it.

Something deep in the pit of Liz’s subconscious told her to run and before she could respond to it, her body set off running towards the door she had been dragged through. Liz had no idea where she was going, but she didn’t care. She was not whoever Primrose wanted her to be and Primrose wasn’t going to accept that for an answer.

As Liz moved towards the door, Primrose’s voice echoed through the halls. “Seize her!” Liz continued to run. She didn’t need to turn around to realize what had happened. Suddenly, a cacophony of bells echoed around the castle as Liz’s feet slammed against the rock floor.

“Stop the prisoner!” screamed another voice as Liz dashed through the door, the guard’s spears missing her by mere inches. Liz hoped to run back through the entrance, however, she saw a whole gang of armored men coming through. Liz furiously looked left and right, her heart pounding in her chest.

Out of the corner of her eye, Liz spotted a twisting staircase and bolted towards it, the guards from the door in hot pursuit as the bells continued to ring. Some part of Liz’s mind screamed that going higher was just making it harder for herself, but at the same time, Liz had no idea what else she could do.

As she looped up the twisting staircase, Liz could hear an increasing number of footsteps behind her. As she reached the top of the stairs, Liz’s heart dropped once more. Now she was well and truly trapped. Spotting some chairs at the top of the landing, Liz grabbed them and threw them down the stairs, hoping they would slow the horde.

As the chairs bounced down the stairs, they crashed and echoed as several men let out loud pained yells. Liz spun around on her heel, trying to work out where to go. Several doors were leading off this landing, and all of them were functionally identical to Liz. However, one was ajar and Liz naturally ran towards it, not wanting to waste time fiddling with a door that was locked.

Liz ran and pushed through the heavy door, only to realize she was in a museum or archive of some sort. There were several shelves of books lining the wall and several glass cases containing various objects were littered about the place. However, Liz didn’t take time to look at the displays. She instead ran right to the window on the far end of the room.

As Liz peered through the glass, she made a terrifying realization. She was really high up, and this window dropped down onto hard rocks. There was no way she could make the jump. The footsteps started to get closer as Liz succumbed to panic. She had no idea what to do or where to go, and it didn’t look like there was another staircase. The one she had used was likely crawling with guards.

Liz shuddered and shook as she tried to think of a solution. However, just before she totally locked up, she heard a soft tapping and a whispering voice. At first, Liz thought this was just the horde of guards, but she quickly realized that it was far too quiet.

“Hey, hey,” whispered the voice, “take me.”

Liz looked around, trying to work out the source of the noise. She quickly traced the sound to a glass case on the wall. Inside this case was an ornate rapier with jewels in the hilt.

“Take me,” whispered the voice against as the rapier knocked against the glass. Liz blinked her eyes, unsure if this was real or if her anxiety had caused her to disassociate so hard that she was hallucinating.

The sword shook again as Liz walked closer to the case. “What are you?” gasped Liz as she rubbed the glass, causing the sword to vibrate harder.

“Primrose trapped me here, I can help you get down!” whispered the voice as the sword continued to rattle.

“Why would I trust you?” stuttered Liz, totally unsure if she wanted to jump out of a window at the instance of a random shaking sword.

“I want to be free,” replied the voice. Liz was unsure how to react, but before she could finish her thought, a voice echoed through the room.

“There she is! Grab her!” shouted one of the guards as men started to pour into the room. Liz looked around and used her elbow to smash the glass before grabbing the sword.

“If you’re lying to me,” began Liz as ran towards the window and gripped the sword. Moments before she hit the glass, Liz closed her eyes, terrified of what was about to happen.

The next few moments felt like they lasted for weeks. “Stop her!” echoed a voice as Liz felt the glass hit her body before giving way as the sounds of shattering filled her ears. Liz felt her body in freefall as she subconsciously braced for impact. However, she didn’t feel the ground, and instead felt a massive gust of air whooshing across her body like she was inside of an air tunnel.

Liz opened her eyes, scared of what she would see. But, what she saw made her do a double-take. She was flying away from the castle at high speed, carried on a small tornado that was emanating from the sword. “What are you?!” shouted Liz over the sounds of rushing winds as the tornado guided her down and placed her on the floor gently.

“I told you,” replied the voice. “I don’t like Primrose.”

“But,” started Liz, only to hear the echo of a crowd behind her. Just on the horizon, she could see a mass of guards and people, all seemingly trying to chase her down.

“Run!” demanded the sword, shaking and rattling in Liz’s hand.

“Where?” asked Liz. “I don’t know where the hell I am!”

“I’ll guide you! I know somewhere,” replied the sword. Liz, totally out of options, shrugged and started to run, unsure what she had gotten herself into, but realizing that she had to find a way home, as it seemed that Queen Primrose was not the type of person to forgive and forget.