The Lost Princess in Winter's Grip

by Josh Kilen

  They set up camp and went to sleep.

  When Annabeth woke up, she was alone. Where the Prince had been sleeping, there was only a piece of paper. On the paper was a note, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you on your journey. I have done too many terrible things in my life and if True Justice comes I am afraid of what it will bring for me. I hope you stay free but I can't help you."

  Annabeth let the note fall to the ground. She realized that she was alone in the middle of the woods.

  Chapter 7

  All alone, with no idea of where to go next, Annabeth waited until night to continue down the road through the wood. She had some idea that she needed to find the river, although she had little notion of where it might be. She figured that the road would come near it at some point.

  When the twilight came, and the sun had just dipped below the horizon, Annabeth set off down the road. She was careful to keep a watch out for other travelers. Prince Ryan was correct in saying that she should try to avoid other people. She had no idea who might be trying to capture her again.

  As crept carefully down the road, the Princess thought about Ryan. How could he just leave her in this state? Didn't he care that it was dangerous? True Justice wasn't something to be feared, she thought. But then again she hadn't done anything that would warrant a terrible punishment. Suddenly Annabeth felt sorry for the Prince. She was still angry but she was ready to forgive him for being a coward.

  Annabeth was pondering her situation deeply, paying too little attention to her surroundings, when suddenly a net came down on her. The edges were weighted and pulled her to the ground, slamming her whole body into the dirt road. She fell with a thud.

  "What do we 'ave here my friends?" asked a voice from the woods, "A little birdie lost from the nest. We better take care of her I think."

  A chorus of wicked laughter echoed from all sides.

  Annabeth cried out, "What do you want of me? I'm simply traveling to my Godmother's house," she said truthfully.

  A solid looking, dirt covered man emerged from the thicket and stepped in front of her, "I think you might be late little Bird, do hope your Godmother won't mind." He grinned a missing toothed smile. "But have no fear, the Thunder Wood Bandits will take mighty fine care of ya. What's your name my lovely?"

  Annabeth thought about lying but she didn't have it in her, "Annabeth, and you have no right to detain me."

  The gruff Bandit laughed again, as did his men, "No right? Well I suppose that's true. But what exactly are you gonna do about it, Hmmmm?" When Annabeth didn't answer, he said, "That's what I thought. Wrap her up boys and take her to the hideout!"

  The Bandits wrapped the net around her tightly so that she couldn't escape. A giant Bandit picked her up like she didn't weigh a thing, tossed her on his shoulder, and off they went through the woods.

  Later that night, Prince Ryan was drowning his conscience at the local pub. The Prince didn't really like drinking ale but his conscience was killing him. Leaving a woman in need wasn't his usual practice, in fact it was against everything he believed in. But how could he help bring about True Justice if he was certain that it would kill him? He quickly ordered another pint of ale and tried not to think about what he had done.

  A group of foul looking thugs burst into the pub singing an old song of the wood. They had obviously come to celebrate, much to the annoyance of the Prince. What were they so happy about he thought.

  The barman asked, "What can you do for ya?"

  The group shouted all at once, "Ale! A round for us all!" They resumed their singing and laughing.

  Try as he might, Prince Ryan couldn't help hearing what the loud group was saying. He tried to ignore them but then he heard them talking about a female prisoner. "Aye, pretty that one. Found her wandering all alone n'the wood, not a suit'ble place for a pretty thing like that. The Cap'n thought she'd make a nice trophy till we saw the ransom poster.

  Another interrupted, "Seems the Royal Princess got herself lost, n'we found her!"

  The First continued, "I'm sure the Cap'n will get enough gold for all of us once them High and Mighty folks from the castle come to pick up their precious little girl in the mornin'. To the little lost Princess!" and they raised their glasses for a toast.

  Prince Ryan stared at the bottom of his cup. He had done this. If he hadn't left her, those Bandits would never have taken her. Now she's going back to the tower, probably to be tortured, or worse. He could hear his father's voice in the back of his head telling him, "Son, these are the choices a man has to make. They decide who he is."

  The Prince had to decide what kind of man he was. In that moment he chose to be a good man from now on, no matter what it cost him. He would save Annabeth.

  The Bandits were drinking until late, but they had to head back to camp at some point. Ryan left the pub but waited in the shadows for the group to emerge. Hours passed and he was afraid that they had drunk too much or passed out. Fortunately, one bandit had to go back to camp and he stumbled out of the pub.

  Ryan followed him easily. As the Bandit ambled through the woods, he made several wrong turns and had to back track, which made things tricky for the Prince, but eventually they made it safely to the Bandit camp.

  The Camp was set up in a clearing in the middle of the woods. There were several tents surrounding several small fires dotted around the clearing. The Prince didn't see Annabeth anywhere in the open, so he figured she must be in on of the tents.

  The staggering bandit was being scolded for drinking too much by a larger man who was obviously his superior. After a very thorough yelling, the superior sent the Bandit to a tent at the edge of the encampment.

  Prince Ryan was pretty good at sneaking around. He used to practice this kind of thing as a kid when he was hunting silver marsh foxes. Slinking up behind the same tent that the staggering bandit entered, he quietly peaked inside. There was the bandit, slumped on the ground, snoring soundly. And right next to him was Annabeth.

  "Pssst, Annabeth," the Ryan whispered.

  Annabeth turned around slowly, and saw the Prince. She was excited but tried not to show it, he had abandoned her after all. "What do you want?" she asked coldly.

  Prince Ryan rolled his eyes, "I'm here to save you of course. I'm sorry about leaving you but there's time for that later. Now, be quiet." He said as he crawled into the tent.

  He cut Annabeth's bonds and they crawled out of the tent. Just as Annabeth was halfway out, the large boss that had been yelling at the staggering Bandit decided to check in on him. He opened the flap just in time to see the Prince's shoe disappear from under the tent. The boss Bandit kicked the sleeping guard and yelled out, "SHE'S ESCAPING!"

  The whole camp was awake now and Ryan and Annabeth heard a large commotion behind them.

  Ryan and the Princess ran quickly down a trail, but she seemed to be slowing down. Prince Ryan squeezed her hand, "Come on your Highness. There's an army of Bandits on our tale and they don't seem to happy about losing you."

  Chapter 8

  Prince Ryan and Princess Annabeth ran through the forest as quickly as they could. Hacking his way through the brush with his sword, Ryan tried to figure out which direction they were going. He was pretty sure they were heading toward the river.

  Through her panting, Annabeth managed to ask, "Do you know where we're going?"

  Ryan tried to sound confident, "Of course. We'll get to the river and then we'll follow that out of the forest. Easy. Don't worry, it'll be fine."

  Annabeth wasn't so sure it would be that simple but she followed silently. She was having trouble keeping up, she hadn't run this much in years. But they both heard the Bandits closing in behind them and that pushed them to move faster.

  After what seemed like hours, Annabeth stopped running. Ryan looked back, "Come on, we have to keep moving."

  "I just can't, I need to catch my breath," Annabeth said between puffs, "My sides have cramped, I have to stop for minute."

  The sounds of the Bandits givi
ng chase had died down so Ryan didn't fight her too much, "Okay, but only a minute or two, then we need to get going." He looked over at her, "I wanted to apologize for leaving you before, it was wrong. I'm sorry."

  Deep concern filled Annabeth's face, "I forgive you, I suppose it's not an easy thing I asked you to do. Thank you for saving me, again." she said with a smile.

  Ryan waved his hand and smiled back, "No problem, it was my pleasure. I don’t know how close the Bandits are, we should get going."

  They ran through the wood, desperately trying to find the river. After an hour of wandering, with the sounds of Bandits getting closer, they found a steady path. Following the path led to a long rope bridge over a canyon, with the river raging below.

  Ryan studied the bridge and canyon, "I think we can cross here and cut the bridge off when we get to the other side. Then we can make our way down to the river safely." The Princess nodded.

  The Bridge was extremely rickety and the going was slow, especially in the dark. It was difficult to see where they were going and where the safe footholds were. They crept along as the Bandits got closer.

  About halfway across, they heard a sound that made their hearts drop into their stomachs. A yell of triumph.

  "OY! I found 'em. They're tryin' to cross the bridge!" yelled a particularly unpleasant looking Bandit.

  Light from at least fifty torches sprang up and moved toward the bridge at once. Ryan and the Princess kept moving but it was pretty obvious that they wouldn't be able to make it to the other side by the time the rest of the Bandits got to the bridge.

  The Bandit Captain was first to get there and called out, "That's far enough, no need to go any farther. We got ya. Just come on back and no one's gonna get hurt. I promise." A chorus of snickers and wicked laughs followed.

  Ryan spoke up, "There's no way you're going to catch us, just go back. We'll forget this whole thing."

  The Bandit laughed, "No, I don't think so. If you keep going I'll have no choice but to cut the bridge from here. It's a mighty long fall, and if that don't kill ya, the river'll finish the job. Just come on back and everyone can get what they want."

  Ryan and Annabeth stopped. Annabeth looked worried, this whole adventure wasn't going how she thought it would. Ryan knelt down and started to rummage through the his pack. Looking up at her he asked, "Do you trust me?"

  Annabeth wasn't sure but she decided to have a little faith, "Yes, I trust you. What do you have in mind?"

  Ryan just smiled a roguish grin, "Just wait, when I tell you to hang on, you hang on to me for dear life, okay?" She agreed.

  The Prince shouted out to the Bandits, "No deal. If I can't have her then no one can. I'm calling your bluff."

  The Bandit Captain shrugged his shoulders and shouted, "Fine, have it your way. CUT THE ROPES!" Five Bandits rushed forward, swords bared, and hacked away at the ropes.

  Prince Ryan wrapped his rope around his waist and then around Annabeth's. He then fastened the other end around the bridge itself. They braced themselves for the inevitable fall.

  The Bandits cut the last bonds and the bridge creaked forward, the end slipping away into the abyss. The ropes fluttered in the wind as the bridge fell down into the crevasse. Ryan and Annabeth fell along with it.

  Ryan yelled out, "HOLD ON!" and when Annabeth was gripping him firmly, "LET GO OF THE BRIDGE!" and she and Ryan plummeted toward the river.

  Prince Ryan's rope held as they swung from the free-falling bridge, rocketing toward the river. Just as they were skimming the surface of the river, Ryan reached up and sliced the rope. He and the Princess skidded across the water, tumbling onto the small river bank. Battered and bruised, they laid on the shore and took stock of themselves.

  Ryan looked over at Annabeth, "Anything broken? You okay?"

  Annabeth felt her limbs, "I think so. That was amazing!"

  The Prince saw her gleaming face; she was enjoying herself! This girl was crazy, but he was starting to like that about her.

  Annabeth jumped up and stretched her muscles, while Prince Ryan got up a little more slowly, "According to your Godmother, if we follow the river we should find her house. We should get moving, just in case the Bandits are somehow able to follow. You ready?"

  Annabeth nodded and they marched along the bank of the river. They were both exhausted but the adrenaline of escaping death kept them moving.

  After a few hours of making their way along the river, Prince Ryan was pretty sure that the Bandits weren’t coming after them. They took a break to rest. After an hour they set off once again. Somehow, Annabeth felt the house getting close.

  Just as the sun was setting, there it was, the Godmother's house. It was the brightest and most cheerful house either the Prince or the Princess had ever seen and they ran toward it. But something stopped them dead in their tracks.

  Rising up before them, large, gray and menacing, was a gigantic Stone Monster.

  Chapter 9

  They were almost to the Godmother’s house when a large gray shape stepped into view from behind the house. It was a Stone Monster. It had a wavy, rock-like exterior and two piercing white eyes. The monster paced around, guarding the house from any intruders.

  Prince Ryan pulled Annabeth behind a tree, "Wait," he said, "Let's see what it does."

  They studied the Rock monster for at least a half hour. All it did was walk endlessly around the house, surveying the land around it. It never varied its walking speed, never stopped for a break, always kept moving. Luckily it didn't seem to be aware that they were watching.

  Ryan turned toward the Princess, "Okay, when he walks over to the other side of the house, that's when we'll make our break for the front door, got it?"

  Annabeth studied the path to the door, making a mental note of all the tree roots and rocks that might trip them up, "Okay, but what if he sees us? How do we fight a rock monster?"

  Prince Ryan shrugged, "I'd rather deal with that when we come to it. Ready?"

  "Ready as I'll ever be," she said.

  The monster's head disappeared behind the house, "Run!" whispered Ryan. Hand in hand they sprinted toward the front door, jumping over the small obstacles in their way. They had almost reached their goal when a loud roar filled the air and the ground began to rumble.

  A shock wave sent the couple onto their backs. The stone monster had jumped from the other side of the house and landed right in front of them. Somehow it had sensed their presence and it didn't like them at all.

  Prince Ryan was the first on his feet and he immediately drew his sword. He wasn't entirely sure that a sword would help in a fight with a stone monster but it was his only option. Annabeth got up slowly, partially paralyzed with shock.

  The monster swung at them, but both jumped out the way just in time. The huge stone fist slammed down and dug into the earth, dirt and rocks flying everywhere.

  It was just then that Annabeth remembered something her good Father once told her. He said, "If you ever run into a beast in the woods, don't run, don't try to fight it, just look at it and start singing. Your voice has magic in it Annabeth."

  The Stone Monster was focusing on Ryan at the moment, who wasn't doing any damage to the monster's rock body. He was chipping his sword as much as the monster.

  Annabeth yelled out, "Over Here! Come on, look over here!" but to no avail, the monster continued to assault Ryan. She picked up a large rock, threw it as far as she could, and struck the monster's head. A very lucky throw she thought, that is until the monster turned slowly toward her, its eyes filled with menace.

  Not knowing what else to do, she tried singing. It was an old tune that her Mother used to sing to her when she was little. Annabeth sang as loudly and as clearly as she could, each note ringing out more sweetly than the last.

  The stone monster stopped in its tracks. It was enchanted by the music and it began to sway to and fro, almost like it was dancing. Then it actually started to dance. The ground shook under the monster's feet as it moved around the hou
se to the song. It was surprisingly graceful.

  After several minutes it stopped, and laid itself down in the grass. Annabeth didn't dare let up but her voice was getting tired, and she hoped that the monster was falling asleep. She got her answer when they heard thunderous snores coming from its mouth. Annabeth finished her song, and then waited. The monster didn't move.

  Ryan silently pointed at the house, indicating that she should quietly walk over there as well. Once they got to the door they opened it and stepped in.

  The house hadn't seen guests in a while and there was a fresh layer of dust everywhere. It looked like a pretty ordinary house with furniture and a regular set of rooms like a kitchen and living room. Neither the Prince or the Princess knew where to start.

  Ryan looked over at Annabeth, "So, where's the stone?"

  Annabeth looked around the the front entrance to the house and shrugged her shoulders, "My Godmother didn't really say, she just said that it was here. I guess we have to find it ourselves."

  While Ryan searched downstairs, Annabeth went up to look on the second floor. The first room at the top of the stairs was her Godmother's bedroom. There was a simple but very pretty bed in the middle of the room and several pictures scattered on the dresser and nightstand. Annabeth picked up one of the picture frames and gasped.

  In the picture was her Godmother with a baby. The Godmother looked the same as she had in Annabeth's dream but the picture was obviously old. The baby looked familiar and Annabeth had a sinking suspicion that it was her. How did she know her Godmother? How had she come to be her Godmother in the first place? Annabeth needed some answers.

  There were many other pictures of the Godmother with other people, the others mostly in Royal clothing. There was one other picture with her as a baby. Standing next to them was a very regal looking couple with stately grins on their faces. The couple looked like the King and Queen but strangely different, they looked free and happy. Not at all like the people that locked her in the tower. "I wonder what happened?" Annabeth wondered out loud to herself.

  She checked in the drawer next to a bed and found a diary. Flipping through its pages, trying to find some hint at where the stone could be, she came across the last entry: