A Royal Mess

Part 1

"Then, the prince kiss the girl & they live happily ever after."
A dreamy smile spreads across my lips as I close the book. I glide my palm over the leather cover & pat it gently, as if telling it that it's done a great job.
"That's it? How boring.." A grumpy voice makes me lift my gaze.
"It's not boring. It's beautiful! Don't listen to him, Eonni. He's a brute who doesn't know a good story even if it hits him." The little girl who sits right in front of me crosses her arms & glares at the dissatisfied boy.
"Beautiful? It's complete bullshit. How can a prince kiss a peasant girl? They won't ever meet in the first place! And happily ever after? What if the girl makes a mistake & the prince throws her in the dungeon? You know they do that all the time." The boy retorts defensively.
"Ya! I'm going to tell your father that you're rude to Y/n eonni & even say the 'b' word!" The girl threatens, not backing down.
"Kids, kids, calm down." I chuckle watching their innocent fight.
"But Yeonjun insulted you. And I do think the story was great." The girl pouts her lips sulkily.
"Dami ya, Yeonjun is right. The story will never ever happen in real life, but it doesn't mean that we can't dream. It's called imagination for a reason. Right, Yeonjun ah?" I wink at Yeonjun.
"Ugh.. Whatever. I'm going home." Yeonjun rolls his eyes & walks away.
"Oh no, it's almost lunch time! My mom must be looking for me now. Y/n eonni, thank you for reading us one of your stories again today. I'll see you again soon! Ya Yeonjun ah, let's go together!" Dami waves at me & runs after Yeonjun.
The other kids follow suit one by one. Soon, I'm left sitting alone on the fallen tree trunk at the edge of the woods, where the village kids usually gather to listen to my storytelling every Saturday.
I flip to the last written page of the book & trace my finger over the words.
How I wish this story could come true. But Yeonjun was right. There's no way a prince would come to our village. Even if he did, he would never ever be attracted to an ordinary girl like me.
I lie down on the tree trunk, gazing at the blue sky high above.
"Hahhh.. I wonder if the sky looks more beautiful in the grand palace. Pfft, probably not. How silly of me."
The gentle afternoon breeze blows on my skin. The sunlight peeking through the lush greeneries casts shadows over me, coaxing me to close my eyes.
Soon, I fall into a dreamless sleep.
After what feels like a brief period of time, a rustling sound awakens me. My eyes snap open as I abruptly sit up. The sky has turned a deep shade of orange with hints of pink lacing through it.
"Oh no, it's going to get dark soon. I should go home." I quickly stand up & look for my book, but it's nowhere to be seen.
"Where is it? I'm pretty sure I placed it right beside me before I fell asleep." I search the ground around the tree trunk to no avail.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming from the dark woods behind me. My pulse begins to race as I squint my eyes, trying to make out the figure hiding among the trees.
"Oh, it's you. Haha." I chuckle in relief, feeling silly for being frightened for no reason, when I see a deer stomping out into the light.
Then, I notice something hanging from its mouth.
"Wait. Is that my book?" I point at the brown square object it's holding in between its teeth.
The deer stares at me with its big round eyes & tilts its head.
"I'm not going to harm you. I just want to get my book back. So please don't run away ok?" I tiptoe towards it carefully so that I won't scare it.
However, the deer must think that I'm trying to catch it so it swiftly dashes towards the woods.
"No no no! Wait!" I hurriedly chase after it without further thinking.
It keeps leaping deeper & deeper into the forest & I continue following it until I lose all my strength.
"I.. can't.. do.. this.. anymore. Please.. stop.. running.." Out of breath, I bend forward, hands on knees, & huff each word with immense difficulty.
Of course, the deer doesn't listen to me. It's disappeared in a blink of an eye.
"Ugh, there goes my book. I hope you enjoy eating it."
My shout echoes through the woods & right then, something dawns on me.
Where am I?
The sun is setting. The streams of light which pierce through the foliages above are getting dimmer with each passing second. Panic begins to rise in my throat, blocking my airway, suffocating me.
"Calm down, Y/n ah. Think. Where did you come from?"
I frantically scan my surroundings, but all I see are identical trees & bushes. There's no way I can figure out my way back, especially in the dark.
Tears of fright start to brim in my eyes & I hastily wipe them away with the back of my hand.
"Don't cry. It won't solve your problem. Alright, moving is better than staying here doing nothing. Let's walk... that way." I mutter to myself & point towards a random direction.
"You're going to be alright. You're going to be alright." I repeat the words like a mantra to cheer myself up.
Nevertheless, they lose their magic in no time.
I must have walked for at least two hours. My feet are getting tired, yet there's still no end in sight.
The sun light is completely gone by now & I can hear a wolf howling in the distance.
"I won't be able to make it out of here. I'm going to die here." I collapse onto the ground, deprived of hope, & cry.
"Appaaa! Somebody! Help me!" I scream in frustration.
Nobody responses, obviously, only the sound of crickets chirping filling the deadly silence.
As a last act of desperation, I take out the pendant of the gold necklace, which I've been wearing ever since I was a baby, from underneath my shirt & clutch it tightly. My father told me that my mother put it on me because it could protect me at times of danger.
I never believed it, but tonight I decide to give it a try since I'm already at my wits' end.