A Kingdom of Children -prologue- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -prologue-
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a noble king and a beautiful queen. The happy couple were just rulers, and had earned the respect and admiration that the citizens had for them. They had everything they could ever want...well, almost everything. What the king and queen truly wanted, above all else, was a child. They had hoped to have many children soon after their marriage, but they had not yet been able to conceive, and they were getting worried.
Fifteen years had passed since their marriage, and a stroke of luck blessed the king and queen with a beautiful baby girl. Unfortunately, there were complications in the bi
A Kingdom of Children -ch1- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch1-
My name is Tenné Vermillion. I am in training to be a knight under the service of the king of Prismari, my homeland. I am fifteen years old...at least, I should be. Since the day I reached the age of twelve, I have noticed something odd. I haven't grown an inch taller since my twelfth birthday, my voice has yet to begin deepening as it should, and not a single hair has sprouted from my chin. I feel that I have been...trapped in an eternal state of being twelve years old, and I feel I am not alone.
Tenné hastily scribbled this out in his journal, trying to make sense of it all. Surely there must be a reason why he had not aged over
A Kingdom of Children -ch2- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch2-
Tenné and Carmine had the supplies for their journey ready to go, except for one slight detail. "Princess, I really don't think it's a good idea to bring that along..." Tenné uttered.
"But Bun-Bun really wants to go with me!" Carmine squealed in reply. She struggled to hold the squirming long-eared rabbit in her arms. "Pleeeeaaaaase!!! You're bringing your bird, so why can't Bun-Bun come?"
"I'm only bringing Soren in case we have to send a letter," Tenné informed her, loading a birdcage onto a cart harnessed to the horses they were taking. "If Bun-Bun had some sort of use for us, I'd be all for it. But he can't fly messages to people, he ca
A Kingdom of Children -ch3- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch3-
The washtub carried the three children across the land. Tenné was impressed at how fast they were going, especially in a normally inanimate object; he had only briefly felt speeds like this once before while riding one of the king's fastest horses. Soren flew alongside them, though it was all the poor bird could do to keep up. "Hey, Indigo?" Tenné asked. "Think you can slow down a bit so Soren can rest?"
"Oh, sure thing," Indigo said. Indigo took hold of the staff that was being used to control the washtub and pulled it back slightly, slowing the washtub down considerably. Tenné held out his arm, which Soren gratefully landed
A Kingdom of Children -ch4- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch4-
Ivory led the trio out of the depths of the forest, bringing them to a whimsical little cottage littered with pinwheels of varying sizes. "Here we are," Ivory said. "This is where my mother and I live. You're welcome to stay as long as you need to."
"Thank you very much," Tenné replied.
"Well, I was actually kinda hoping we could get going right after I fix my ride," Indigo said sheepishly. "Unless you don't mind me making some food for us first."
"Uh...sure?" Ivory replied with a shrug. "I don't think Mom would mind." He unlocked the door to the house and let everyone inside. "Just curious, what did you say your 'ride' was, again?" he ask
A Kingdom of Children -ch5- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch5-
Dear Mother and Father,
I'm very sorry I haven't written sooner. You may be worried about me, though I can assure you that we are doing fine. How have you been since we left? Our journey has been going fairly well so far, all things considered. We've had a couple of minor upsets, but we've also met some friends and found some valuable information. With any luck, we should find what we're looking for soon.
Lots of love,
Tenné
Having checked his letter to make sure it included all he presently wanted to say, Tenné rolled it up and handed it to Soren. The loyal bird grabbed the light paper roll in his talons and flew off toward the letter's
A Kingdom of Children -ch6- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch6-
“So let me get this straight,” Tenné panted as they ran down the street. “This girl saves you from thugs, steals from an old guy with magic cards to buy you a new dress, then makes off with your crown?”
“I’m not exactly proud of it, okay?!” Carmine shouted.
“I knew it was a bad idea for you to go off on your own!”
The two kept running, turning the corner and eventually coming across Ivory. “Hey, what’s the matter?” Ivory asked. “You guys look really worried, did something happen?”
“Too long to explain...” Tenné said, nearly out of breath. &ldqu
A Kingdom of Children -ch7- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch7-
A young man, awake in the dead of night, sat in his room writing a letter by the light of a glass orb. The orb's soft glow illuminated his solemn expression as he wrote. The door to his room slowly opened, a tired boy seemingly no older than ten entering. "Whatcha doin', brother?" Tenné asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Oh...hey, Ten," Gamboge replied. He turned to face Tenné, smiling through obvious exhaustion. "What are you doing up so late?" he asked. "Kids like you should be in bed at this hour."
"You're still up, though," Tenné pointed out.
"Yeah," Gamboge chuckled. "Well, sometimes us grownups don't have m
A Kingdom of Children -ch8- by PuppyLuver, literature
Literature
A Kingdom of Children -ch8-
The monstrously oversized bird let out a horrid shriek, flapping its wings and generating huge gusts of wind as a result. "Look out!" Tenné shouted. He grabbed Carmine's hand in order to keep her from being blown away. A panic spread throughout the crowd, causing them to scatter and distract the would-be defenders. "We've got to find a way to get these people to safety first," Tenné said.
"One step ahead of you, knight boy." Taupe drew a few of her cards and used them to create a set of barriers to protect the fleeing people. "You guys keep it distracted!" she called out over the din. "I'll take care of getting everyone out of here