An Incomplete Volume of Short Stories

Inside Your Head

       Travelers beware. For in the forests on the edge of the King's Valley, there is great evil. That damned place is haunted by terrifying ghosts and those who enter never leave. You don't believe me? Fine. Let me tell you the story of a girl named Lily.

       Long ago, Lily was a princess. She was an extremely clever girl who never believed in things such as the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. She had black hair so devoid of color it seemed as though it was made of an empty nothing and eyes blue like the deepest oceans. Lily lived in the castle with her father, the king. Her mother had died when Lily was only five. Her mother had entered the forest next to the castle and, like so many others, never returned. After months of futile searching and waiting for her to return, the Queen was pronounced dead. Her father became afraid of the forest, and rightly so. He had high walls that seemed to touch the sky built around the castle and Lily had been trapped inside ever since. However, Lily had always been curious and adventurous and because of this she longed to see what was beyond them. Pay attention now, this is where our story truly begins.

       The young princess had just turned 10  and was being told off by her nanny for trying to escape the castle walls for, by Lily's count, the two hundred fifty second time. “If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand times!” the nanny shrieked, “Don’t go beyond the walls! It’s much too dangerous! You have no idea what nasties could be lurking beyond” “I'm sorry, I just can’t help it,” Lily replied, “Its so lonely hear. Theres no one else my age.” The nanny sighed exasperatedly at her. “You have hundreds of the finest toys in the kingdom,” she said “Put them to use for once and I will see if we can arrange for the young royals from our neighboring kingdoms to visit in a few weeks time” At that, the nanny left, her parting words being a faint “good night” as she left. Lily sat on her bed and huffed. She had tried every means of escape she could think of and nothing had worked. She felt as if she were locked in a huge prison built just for her. She had tried to climb the walls, but they were much too high. She had tried to dig under them dig, but had found the hole filled before completion the next morning, much to her dismay. She had even tried to disguise herself as one of the "prison" guards which, if you were wondering is not a very good disguise for a small child. The list went on and on but she could not thwart her father’s will under his watchful eye. Everywhere was completely secure. Except… no. She couldn't. She had promised herself she wouldn't. But then again... she desperately wanted to see what was beyond the castle walls.

       There was a singular unguarded way in and out of the castle that only the royal family and their closest friends knew of. Her mother’s personal crypt. Lily wanted to get out, but did she really want to get out that badly? She knew the answer. Yes. And so she waited. At promptly one o'clock in the morning, she set off, dodging the guards easily, having memorized their schedule already from adventure past. Walking down the dark and empty staircase and ducking into the hidden corridor where her mother lay, she made a point not to look in the direction of her mother’s casket and soon was  leaving the castle far behind her. Forgetting the dread that had filled her as she walked through the crypt, she could now feel nothing but an overwhelming sense of wonder. The feeling of the soft grass between her toes and the cool, fresh night air on her skin was by far the best thing she had ever experienced in her short life. She had always been warned never to go into the woods and knew the stories that were told of the monsters deep within, but she was drunk on the feeling of finally be free. And so she hurried towards the tree line and ran into the deep dark of the forest.

       As she ran deeper into the woods, laughing, jumping and shouting, she was unaware of the eyes watching her from all directions. No. She could only see stars like diamonds poking through the tree tops and breathe the air that smelled of pine and fresh water. When she stopped to catch her breath she began to hear a faint rustling, growing louder by the second. She froze, finally remembering the terrifying storied she had heard and became terrified, so she listened. Almost at once, a giant, flying mass of darkly colored pixies flew forward and attacked her with teeth and claws sharp like daggers, scratching at her face, hands, and any exposed skin they could find. She tried desperately to escape them by running deeper and deeper into the forest until not one of the vile pixies was left surrounding her. Looking around, she realized that she could no longer see the edge of the forest and that the canopy was so thick above her head she could no longer see the stars. She was completely and utterly alone. Suddenlt she spun around, hearing a melodic voice behind her ask, “Are you lost?”