Oh, my gosh!! I’m so excited for today’s story!! I hope you all are, too! 😀

Here are the prompts I’m using:

(Oh my gosh, this prompt is so similar to what is said in one of my pirate stories. The final one to be exact. *cries*)

~~~*~~~

With a forceful push, the guard threw me into the dungeon. I quickly arose to fight my way out, but the cell door had already been locked.

“You can’t keep me in here! What did I even do to deserve this?” I demanded of the guard, but he didn’t say a word. He stood erect and stared at the stairs. I didn’t know what he was looking at, but then I heard a deep thud every two seconds. Someone was coming down the stairs. I watched, waiting to see the face of this person. And then there he was. A tall, strong looking man wearing thick, heavy boots with gold spikes. He wore black armor and the shoulder plates had gold spikes as well. Atop his head he wore a black spiky helm which hid his face from me.
His head was directed right at me and we stared for what seemed like ages.

“Bow before me.” The armored man commanded in a deep, raspy voice.

“Why should I? If anything, you should be bowing before me.” I retorted. He swiftly turned his head to the guard.

“Gustav, why is this impudent young child in my dungeon?” He inquired of the guard.

“I found her in the woods aiding a carousel horse. I watched for a few moments and I heard the horse say that she is of royal blood, so I took it upon myself to arrest her, as I thought that would be your wish.” Gustav quickly explained. The armored man faced me again and came close to me.

“So, you’re a royal, are you? What’s your name?” He inquired.

“Scarlet.” I answered in a small voice.

“Princess Scarlet?” He asked and I answered, “Yes.” His head tilted slightly.

“Does this place look familiar to you?” He questioned, mysteriously.

“No, how could it? This is my first time here and I didn’t even know it existed.” I explained.

“You’ve actually been here before. I just made sure you forgot.” He informed and left the room with Gustav following after him.

I slid down to the floor and hugged my knees against my chest. He was the man the carousel horse had warned me about. Was I going to die? Or was I to be kept here in this dungeon all my life? I bit my lip and sobbed, burying my face into my knees. But then I slowly lifted my head as I recalled what he had said before he left. I’ve been here before?

I awoke the next morning with a pain in my side. There were no cots in the dungeon cells or even any straw lying around, so I was forced to sleep on the lumpy stone floor.

“Wake up, miss!” A guard shouted in front of my cell. I rose to my feet and looked at him with heavy eyes that just wanted to close. I hadn’t slept well at all.

“The Master has decided your fate. You shall remain here for the rest of your living days. When you are older, you will be his servant.” Gustav informed me.

“You’re certain he will not kill me?” I inquired, my voice quivering.

“Don’t you worry, miss. He has vowed to never harm you.” He assured me and left me to myself. My head hung low. There are more ways to harm people than just physically.

Five years of toil passed by that is hardly worth mentioning. I served The Master from dawn till dusk and went to sleep in the dungeon. I tried tirelessly to find a way to escape, but I was only alone when I went to sleep in the dungeon, but it was locked tight every night. I was trapped. Each night I thought of my people. What trials must they be going through? And with the war, was my kingdom even still there?

“Miss Scarlet, it’s time to wake!” Gustav shouted as he normally did. I forced my eyes open and saw that it was still awful dark in the room. Something must be wrong. Why else would he wake me earlier than was expected?

“Gustav, what is it?” I inquired as I jumped to my feet.

“The Master’s son is returning today. There is lots to do in preparation for his arrival. You had better make haste.” Gustav advised. Despite the fact that he had arrested me all those years ago, we had slowly become friends. Gustav had told me once that he was sorry for bringing me here and that if he had it to do over again, he would have helped me escape.

I nodded my head in thanks and dashed up the stairs and into the kitchen, where the other ladies were already hard at work. I grabbed a broom and a dustpan and headed out the door, but then I paused. I just had to ask them all a question that I’d been aching to ask ever since I heard that The Master had a son.

“Ladies, is The Master’s son just as cruel and heartless as he is?” I asked hesitantly. All the ladies in the room stopped their work and looked at me in utter shock.

“Oh, heavens, no! He is a kind soul and when The Master is with him, well, I do believe that Elliot softens him up.” One of the servants, Beth, answered with a smile and I smiled back. But I was terribly confused. How could someone so cruel have such a kind son?

At precisely two in the afternoon, I stood behind The Master with the rest of his servants as we all waited outside the gate for Master Elliot to arrive. The Master seemed rather anxious to see his son and he seemed like he was looking for a reason to get me to return inside.

“Scarlet, did you remember to bring in the laundry?” He inquired.

“Yes, Master. And you asked me that five minutes ago.” I reminded him with the utmost respect. Why doesn’t he want me here?

At last we all spotted a young man riding down the path on his steed. He approached the gate and after dismounting, the stable boy took his horse and led him to the stables. Elliot pushed back his black hair and walked up to The Master and bowed.

“Hello, Father.” He greeted with a nervous smile.

“Welcome home, Son.” The Master welcomed and hesitantly outstretched his arms. Elliot smiled comfortably now, as though he was relieved to know that he was welcome, and he embraced his father in a loving hug. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing right now. For the first time ever I saw love in The Master’s eyes. He looked so happy. I didn’t think that could ever be possible.

“How was the academy? Did you learn all about slaying dragons?” The Master asked, making his voice sound tough.

“Actually, yes. And not only did I learn about slaying dragons, I slayed one myself. It was a tough battle and the ol’ beast had me cornered for a moment, but I bested him.” Elliot stated proudly.

“That’s my boy!” The Master praised, slamming his hand onto Elliot’s shoulder, then continued, “Now, come along. Let’s go inside and catch up on things.”

The Master walked straight into the palace, but Elliot stopped and shook the hand of each servant, greeting them all with a smile. When he came to me, he hesitated.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe I know you.” He apologized, his face confused.

“No, you don’t, Sir. I’ve only been under the service of your father for five years.” I explained, not making eye contact with him.

“Ah, I see, but um, I dare say, you do look familiar. Perhaps we knew each other when we were younger?” He suggested.

“No, Sir. I came here when I was thirteen and had never been here before then. Although I have been informed that I have been here before.” I told him, feeling a little awkward as we had never met. Elliot looked towards the palace and then back at me.

“What’s your name?” He inquired.

I looked at him and replied, “I am, Scarlet, Sir.” And curtsied.

“It’s nice to meet you, Scarlet. And enough of this ‘Sir’ business, please, call me, Elliot.” He requested and I smiled with a nod of my head. Elliot studied me a moment longer and his eyes saddened. Without saying another word, he entered into the palace.

A week passed and Elliot and I became fast friends. We talked as though we had known each other all our lives and he was the one bit of happiness in my life.

One day, Elliot brought me to a secluded spot in the woods. He said he needed to ask me a question.

“Scarlet, you know most everything about me, but I don’t know anything about you from when you were a child. Who are you?” He gently inquired of me. I sighed and turned my head away. “It’s painful to speak of.” I told him and blinked tears away. “Please, Scarlet.” He pleaded and I knew I couldn’t hold back from him any longer.

“I’m not from here, Elliot. As I told an old friend once, I come from over and beyond the teacup. She didn’t know what I meant by that, though. Do you?” I inquired and he nodded his head. Thank goodness he knew that they were living inside a teacup.

“Well, in another life, I’m a queen. I have my own kingdom and it’s because of my royal blood that I was sent to the dungeon and forced to work for your father. I came here to find help. You see, my mother died when I was thirteen and my father died shortly after I was born, so I inherited the throne and became queen. My kingdom was headed to war and I was feeling discouraged with myself, so a friend of mine, who was like a father to me, told me a riddle, and it led me here. And that is when everything fell apart.” I finished with a sigh. Elliot had a slight grin on his face, but I couldn’t understand why.

“What’s so amusing?” I asked, feeling a little insulted. Did he think my story was something to be happy about?

“Forgive me for smiling, but I can’t help it. Scarlet, I’ve known something about you for a long time and I’ve kept it a secret, for I wasn’t sure how you would handle it. But now I must tell you. You’re my little sister.” Elliot said with a broad smile on his face.

I gasped. “How is that possible?” I asked in complete shock and bewilderment.

“My father, or rather, our father, was doing some terrible things for a time. I was four at the time and you were only two. Well, Mother and Father had an argument about his ways and they decided that Mother would take you away and I would remain with Father. But Father didn’t want you to remember him, so he used an invention of his to make you forget everything about him. But I have always known the truth. And I’ve always wanted to be reunited with my little sister.” Elliot quickly explained everything. Could it all really be true? Or was it all some trick? I looked deep into his eyes and I just knew that every word was the truth. A few tears trickled down my cheek and I gave him a big hug.

I looked all around the land and said with a sigh, “So this is it. This is my home…”

~~~*~~~

HA HA! YES! It was a continuation of Into The Teacup! I thought that the prompts worked really well with the story Now, I really need to finish writing this one. I’ve thought of such a good plot twist for it… 😀

Sorry this one was SO long! Hopefully my next story will be shorter 😉

Love,
~Fluffet~