A Summer Of Missing Princesses

“I wonder where everyone’s at...” I say, looking around.

Mór takes off her spacesuit.

“Mór! No! You can’t just take off your spacesuit! The climate might not be hospitable for us!” I cry out.

“No, no, it’s perfect! Feels just like home,” Mór says, “Take off your helmet and see for yourself! It is warm and there is plenty of oxygen.”

Carefully, I remove my helmet. The warm sun touches my skin.

“Yeah, well, I’m going to need a spacesuit,” Wisdom says, “There is too much sun for me to safely move about.”

“Then you may have mine,” Mór says, handing over her spacesuit.

“Thank you,” Wisdom says.

Wisdom quickly puts on the spacesuit before exiting the spaceship.

“Yes, this is much better!” Wisdom says.

“Now, we ought to find some information before I wind up in yet another dungeon,” I say to the princesses.

“Hmmm... There appears to be a town this way?” Mór says, pointing off away from the ship.

“Maybe someone there can help,” I say.

Well, with that, the princesses and I head down the hill towards the town. As it turns out, they found out we were arriving before we even seen any of them.

“Hello? Is anybody here?” I call out.

“We come in peace!” Aleena calls out, waving her hands in the air.

All the doors are shut and the windows are closed. Not a single person is out on the streets. A gentle breeze blows by and I sigh.

“Surely there has to be somebody left...” Korallee comments.

As she says this, a lone rat walks down the street towards us. It’s a black rat with thin red swirls in its fur.

“Alright, and who the heck are you guys?!” the rat asks.

Well, I suppose a talking rat is not the craziest thing I’ve seen these past few days, though I still jumped back in surprise.

“We’re here to help! Do you know of any missing princesses?” Mór asks.

“Missing princesses?! Hah, that’s funny! Why would a princess be missing?!” the rat asks.

He falls over laughing and rolling back and forwards.

“Well, uh... Apparently it is common back where I come from,” I say.

“I’m going to assume that you rat people are having no difficulties,” Mór says.

“We have our own situations. Just not any missing princesses!” the rat says.

He gets off the ground and turns into a human with rat ears and a rat tail. He’s got blood red lips and dark hair.

“Tell me another joke,” the rat says, “I like these things.”

“Well, we’re not actually joking...” I say.

“Oh! Ohhhh! That one is good too!” the rat boy says and bursts out laughing again.

I glance at the princesses and they’re all glancing at each other. I think it is safe to say we all think this rat is a nut and can provide no useful information.

“Okay, well, we have to get going...” I say.

“Leaving so soon? But I’m having a good time!” the rat boy says, “It’s been so long since I’ve had a good laugh!”

“Well, I’m glad we could make you happy...” Aleena says, smiling innocently.

“Well, I guess I’ll let you guys go... I see you’re heading towards the Crachatana Kingdom! Oh, they’re a real handful! There is good reason why you’ll only see a handful of them!” the rat boy says.

“Bye,” I say.

The rat picks up a lantern with his tail and uses his tail to bring the lantern to his hands. He turns and leaves.

“What is a Crachatana?” I ask.

“A hamster...” Mór says, “Do you think maybe they are missing a princess?”

“Couldn’t hurt to go check!” I say.

“Wow, at this rate, we may end up traveling the entire world and still not know who is missing,” Wisdom says.

“Hopefully we find out soon... There still will be one more princess missing after this one,” I say.

The princesses and I continue on and as we do, the buildings and scenery change. This area looks a bit dreary and nobody is around. At least in the last location we visited, we at least got a glimpse of the natives.

“Err... It appears we won’t get any help here...” Wisdom says. I see her swivel a bit back and forwards as she glances around.

“I’m scared... Can we leave this place...?” Aleena asks.

The bushes rustle noisily nearby, suddenly, causing Sìneag to scream and jump up into the air in fear.

“Hey, calm down... I’m sure it’s nothing too bad... It’s probably just a hamster!” I say.

The bushes rustle again and a young lady emerges from the shadows. She’s got short blonde hair and is wearing all yellow. On the center of her shirt is a golden diamond with a black boarder. She’s got small yellow ears on top of her head.

“Why, hello...” she says, smirking.

I can sense the princesses tense up around me. Aleena and Sìneag are hiding directly behind me; I can feel them cling onto my legs for safety.

“Hello,” I say, “We’re looking for somebody.”

“Oh? Are you?” the young woman asks and laughs a little, not quite as much as the rat from earlier.

“Yes, do you happen to know of any missing princesses?” I ask.

“Ah, royalty... No, not really? I mean, there was some commotion in the Canen Kingdom a while ago,” the young lady says, “I don’t really know much about royalty. Now, my fellow Crachatanapoli... That’s a different story.”

“Hey, thanks for the lead! That’s more than the last person we met could tell us!” Mór says.

“Yes, we greatly appreciate the help,” I say with a nod.

“You haven’t seen any of the other Crachatanapoli, have you...?” the young lady asks.

“Nope. Not a single one. You’re the first we’ve seen,” I say.

“Are you going to hurt us...?” Aleena asks, staring wide-eyed up at the hamster girl.

“No, no... I’ll spare you...” the you lady says, “I did, after all, just have a meal...”

Aleena shrieks.

“Which way is it to the Canen Kingdom?” I ask.

“That would be off that way!” the young lady says, pointing eastward.

“Thanks! We’ll be out of your hair shortly!” I say.

“Ah, good luck, strangers!” the young lady says.

She transforms into a golden hamster and scurries off past us.

“I can’t wait to meet the Canenpoli, surely they can’t be as scary as the others we’ve seen!” Mór says.

“I hope so...” Aleena squeaks, still terrified.

Well, as it turns out, there were actually a few other kingdoms we had to pass through to reach the Canen Kingdom. Luckily for us, nobody attacked us. The last kingdom we passed through before reaching the Canen Kingdom was the Volpaze Kingdom.

“Hello? Is this the Canen Kingdom...?” I asked, clearly worn out.

The person I was speaking to was a pretty girl with multiple tails. She smiled and laughed a little.

“Oh, no! This is the Volpaze Kingdom! You’re pretty close, though!” she said.

“Oh...” I said.

“Is something the matter?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’re looking to see about a missing princess,” I said.

“A missing princess! Uh oh! That sounds serious!” the girl replied.

“Through a long chain of random encounters, we have found out that the missing princess is most likely from the Canen Kingdom. You see, we’ve just come through a few other kingdoms,” Mór explains.

“I see, I see. Well, down at the south east border, you’ll find the Canen Kingdom!” the girl said.

“Thanks!” I said.

“Good luck!” the girl said.

That’s how come we are now at the border of the Canen Kingdom. Pretty much as soon as we cross the invisible marker, a band of people who look similar to the wolves from Snyvolon show up.

“Who are you guys and where have you come from?” the leader of the group asks.

She’s got green fluffy ears and a green fluffy tail. Her shirt is also green and has a sun on it.

“I’m Selima, these are my friends, Aleena, Sìneag, Mór, Korallee, and Wisdom,” I say, pointing to each princess.

“Why is Wisdom wearing that suit...?” the dog at the front of the pack asks.

“I’m not good at handling this much sunlight... It kinda burns me up,” Wisdom says.

“Okay, and where are you all from? Clearly you aren’t from this planet... Unless you all are Lixyixory?” the dog asks.

The other dogs seem nervous when she mentions Lixyixory. What even is a Lixyixory?

“You’re right. We aren’t from this planet. Almost all of us are from Earth,” I say.

“I’m from Vamp,” Wisdom says.

“Never heard of either of those planets...” the dog says.

“Oh...” I say.

“Now why are you here?” the dog asks.

“I’m on a mission to rescue 7 princesses that have all gone missing. My friends here are all princesses,” I say.

The dog at the front turns to face her band mates.

“A seeker of princesses... You guys hear that?” she asks.

They nod.

“We just so happen to be looking for one of our princesses,” the dog in front says, “She’s been missing for an awfully long time and nobody has seen or heard from her since!” the dog explains.

Well that was certainly lucky. It would have been awful if it had taken us weeks to find the correct kingdom.

“I can help you find her!” I say.

“Very well, then, come with us. All of you,” the leader of the group says.

She turns and so do the other dogs. The princesses and I follow along after them.

“By the way,” the green haired woman in the front says as we at walking, “My name is Vast Field. I’m just about the second best knight and one of the princess’ assistants.”

She then goes on to telling us who the other members of her group are. The dog girl with the purple hair, silver eyes, and floppy ears is Amethyst Cavern. On the left side of Amethyst Cavern, there is a shorter Dog Girl who has pink and black hair. That short one is named LavaLove. Then, on the right side of Amethyst Cavern is a very sad looking purple haired boy with pink eyes who is named Jannik Forest. Right behind Vast Field is a white haired girl with a necklace and silvery blue eyes named Helga Ivory. Finally, in the very back, is another white haired dog, but this one is a boy. Very faintly, he appears to give off a warm pastel rainbow glow like a fading one after a rainstorm. His name is Eliseo Fierce and he’s got stunning blue green eyes.

“Nice to meet you all, just sorry about the circumstances,” I say.

We end up walking all the way to a castle much like the ones I visited on Earth. The Knights around the perimeter nod and lower the draw bridge upon seeing Vast Field.

“Just one more thing I should mention,” Vast Field says, “Be careful of the young prince. He’s very clingy.”

We enter the castle and the first thing I notice is a large fountain with a statue of a dog spraying water from its mouth. The gentle flow of the fountain resonates through the castle and playfully tickles our ears. Or, at least, mine. I’m not sure if the others are getting the same impression or not.

“Wow! Can I play in the water?!” Aleena asks, jumping up and down excitedly.

“No, no, that wouldn’t be proper!” Mór scolds.

Jannik, who has been frowning this whole time, starts to smile a tiny bit at Aleena’s silliness.

“Should I run ahead and inform the others that we might have an answer to our problem?” Helga asks.

“Sure,” Vast Field replies.

As Helga runs off, she transforms into a silvery white dog and disappears around the corner. Mere moments later, a fluffy brown, orange, and black puppy comes barreling around the corner.

“HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!” the pup cries out.

“That’s the prince,” LavaLove whispers to me.

“Soooo many new people! Wow! Where did you all come from?!” the prince asks.

He transforms into a little boy and hugs onto my legs first, then he runs to each princess, giving them each a hug. (Transforming every single time he does so.)

“And... Yeah, I knew Prince Mu would like you guys!” Vast Field says.

With Vast Field now is another dog girl. This one has eyes that are blue on top, but appear to be purple on the bottom, curled over ears, and a long curly tail.

“Hello, are you the princess seeker?” the new girl asks.

Mu lets go of Aleena and runs to the girl, hugging onto her legs. The girl gently pats the little boy on the head.

“I sure am!” I say, bowing respectfully.

“Good... I’ve had many search groups out seeking my missing sister...” the new girl says.

Mu lets go of the girl’s legs and approaches Aleena again.

“Wanna play in the water fountain with me?” Mu asks.

“Sure!” Aleena says, laughing.

Mór shakes her head as the two little kids run and jump into the fountain.

“Oh no...” Eliseo mutters as the water splashes him. He begins to look even more like a rainbow.

“So, umm... My sister EpicCourage has been missing and nobody has seen her despite my frequent search parties,” the older princess says, trying to ignore the children playing in the water fountain.

“Do you have any idea of where she might be?” I ask.

“Follow me. The others may stay here if they wish,” the older girl says, “Oh, and I’m Princess Theta! I nearly forgot to introduce myself!”

She blushes in embarrassment.

“It’s fine. My name is Selima,” I say.

We walk down the hallway to a large room with more fancy decor. Princess Theta gently shuts the door and looks at me with tear filled eyes.

“I know you probably don’t know this as you are an outsider... but, our kingdom has been at war with the neighboring kingdom, the Falen Kingdom. I... I worry my sister may have been captured by them...” Theta says, wringing her hands nervously.

“Oh... So, um... Who are the Falen...?” I ask.

“The Cat People,” Theta says, closing her eyes, “They have always been our enemies in my eyes...but one of my people once told me that peace could be possible...and I believed him for a little while...”

“Cats and dogs don’t typically get along, but some do,” I say, using my knowledge of earth creatures.

“Yes, some do... He did...” Theta says and snarls a little, “A little too much...”

“Huh... Well, if they are holding EpicCourage hostage, I should go fetch her,” I say.

Theta opens her eyes and stares at me for a moment.

“You make it sound easy,” Theta says, “But the Falenpoli have some of the most ferocious warriors I have ever seen!”

“I’ve rescued 5 princesses so far. I’m not about to let a bunch of cats cut my mission short,” I say.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though,” Theta says.

“Anything else I need to know?” I ask.

“Watch out for TallyClaws...and SpiritStar,” Theta says, “They’d totally shred you to bits.”

“Yeah, well, in the past few days, or weeks, or however long this mission has taken, I’ve been eaten, beaten, and mistreaten,” I say, showing off my injured wrist.

“Oh, that’s cute,” Theta says, rolling her eyes, “You ought to clean and disinfect a wound that bad. Did one of my people bite you?”

“No, I got this on another planet. It’s fine,” I say.

Well, it’s a bit red, swollen, and leaking, but I’m sure it’s fine.

“Clearly looks like some kind of canine bite...” Theta comments.

“Everybody keeps worrying about it, but it’s just a bite and I will recover from it,” I say.

“If you insist. I don’t know how you humans operate,” Theta says, shrugging her shoulders.

“Well, I ought to get going... Which way is it to the Falen Kingdom?” I ask.

“A bit south west from here,” Theta says.

“Thank you,” I say.

“No, thank you. Your courage is what we need right now,” Theta says.

Theta reopens the door and walks me back to the front room of the castle where some of the knights are trying to remove Aleena and Mu from the water fountain.

“Amethyst Cavern, LavaLove, please escort Selima to the border. Do not cross it, though. She’ll have to go alone...” Theta says.

“Yes, your majesty,” LavaLove says.

“Should we wait for her to return?” Amethyst Cavern asks.

“You may send patrols that way to keep an eye out for her. You do not need to stay,” Theta clarifies.

“Alright,” Amethyst Cavern says with a nod and a bow.

“Mu, please get your friend and yourself out of the fountain. You know that isn’t proper,” Theta says.

“Aw... Okay...” Mu says, pouting.

The castle doors open and I step back out into the light, guided by Amethyst Cavern and LavaLove.

“Wow, so, like, are you just going to march in there and demand they surrender EpicCourage...?” LavaLove asks as we are walking.

“More or less. I know it likely won’t go smoothly and I may end up in yet another dungeon, but this is my duty. I’ll bring EpicCourage home no matter what,” I say.

“Thank you,” Amethyst Cavern says.

After we have been walking for some time, the two dogs stop abruptly. I also stop.

“Why did you stop? The Falen Kingdom is just across the line!” LavaLove says, “Unless you’ve changed your mind...”

“No, no; I didn’t change my mind. I still will be going in there,” I say.

“This is as far as we can take you. You’ll have to continue on on your own,” Amethyst Cavern explains.

“Oh, so that’s why you stopped. In that case, see you guys later! I will return with EpicCourage!” I say.

LavaLove and Amethyst Cavern wave goodbye as I journey further into the new territory. Every once in awhile, I glance back, just to see how far I have gone and, after a few minutes, LavaLove and Amethyst Cavern are merely dots on the horizon. I take a deep breath and continue on without another glance back. The scenery changes as I continue on and I start to see the citizens, minding their own business peacefully.

A group of cats watches me curiously for a bit, but as I get closer, they disperse, hissing.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you!” I call out.

They do not return. Oh well... I should be focusing on finding the castle, not meeting the citizens. As I pass under a tree, suddenly, sharp claws rake my head, nearly unraveling one of my braids.

“Ouch! Who did that?!” I ask.

I look up and, perched on the branch is a large white cat with black paws and orange eyes. He slashes at me again and I duck.

“Stop!” I cry out.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t be here if you cannot handle some claws...” the cat says with a snicker.

That’s when I realize that this must be one of the two cats I was warned about.

“I need help getting to the castle, could you please stop attacking me and point it out for me?” I ask.

“Huh? Oh, it’s right there!” the cat says, pointing a large black paw at something behind me.

I turn to look and he jumps on me, digging his claws into me.

“HAH HAH HAH HAH! YOU FELL FOR IT! WHAT A MORON! YOU MUST BE ONE OF THEM DOGS!” the cat shrieks.

I cry out in pain and try to pull him off of me, but he keeps on slashing me with his claws. I feel a bit of hot liquid trickle down my face and smell the metallic scent of blood. I try again to pull him off of my head, but I start to feel dizzy and collapse.

Who knows how much time passed as I was unconscious, but when I finally opened my eyes, I realized I was once again in a dungeon cell. Typical. This time, I was shackled by my wrists and ankles to the wall. My head was, and still is, throbbing from being ripped open. (In case you are wondering, I am recording this particular series of events after they happened.)

“Hello? Is this the Falen Castle?” I called out.

My voice echoed, but there was no response. I sighed and just sat there. I already knew there was no point in struggling. I must have been hanging there alone for quite a long time before finally, someone from above came to see me.

“So! I see that you are awake!” the person said, hissing.

This individual had dark curly hair and dark skin. He was decked out with sharp claws and had black cat ears as well as a long black tail.

“Yeah, actually, I’ve been awake for quite awhile,” I said.

“SILENCE!” he hissed.

“I’m going to guess you are the other cat I was told to watch out for? What are you going to do? Slash me open like that last cat did?” I asked.

“I would enjoy that, yes... but I was ordered by my queen to not kill you if it can be avoided,” the cat said, casually glancing at his fingers which are also adorned with sharp claw caps.

“And why do you need me alive?” I asked, curiously.

“Clearly you are a spy, you must have come here to spy on us just as the last person did!” the cat said.

“Well, I’ve heard that accusation before. It isn’t true. I’m merely here on a rescue mission,” I said.

Seriously, though, how many times can one person be held prisoner and accused of being a spy?

“So you are with the dog, then!” the cat stated.

“I’m here to collect her, yes,” I said.

“Then you will be punished with her!” the cat announced.

“Oh great... Can’t you please make this easy? I’ve been punished way too many times for crimes I’m not even committing!” I complained.

“If you’re being punished, then clearly you have been doing a lot wrong!” the cat argued back.

Then begun my punishment. It was not pretty. I was walked down a long hallway, my hands and feet still shackled so I was mostly shuffling. I was walked all the way to what appeared to be an auditorium. There were many seats and many cats were perched watching carefully.

The moment I walked through the doorway with my guard, the crowd begun to cheer. Already tied to a post on display for everyone to see was a very pretty girl. As I found out, it was Princess EpicCourage. Her hair is long and spiky. In color, it is a caramel brown with swirls of pure white. Her right eye is emerald green while her left eye is sapphire blue.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE HERE FOR ONE PUBLIC HUMILIATION, BUT NOW, I PRESENT A SECOND!” an announcer cried out.

“This is a reminder that we do not take crime lightly! Remember! Behave! Follow all the laws and you will avoid punishment!” another person called out.

“Excuse me, but I REALLY need to speak to the queen, right now!” I cried out.

“YOU HEAR THAT?! SHE HAS THE AUDACITY TO ASK TO SPEAK TO OUR QUEEN!” The announcer yelled mockingly.

The crowd laughed and laughed, some people ended up falling out of their seats. The guards pushed me up against another post and strapped me on despite my struggling.

“FOR YOUR LIES!” another guard cried out and struck me with a whip.

I yelped in pain and struggled to get away. The princess, who was tied on the neighboring post watched helplessly as I was beaten.

“FOR TRESPASSING!” the whip guard cried out and struck me again.

“Don’t forget, she’s also a spy!” the first guard announced.

“Oh yes...” the whip guard said, “FOR SPYING!”

My skin burned intensely from each lash of the whip.

“LET ME SPEAK TO THE QUEEN!” I cried out.

“And she still defies us! Alright, crowd! What else shall we do to this trespassing lying spy?!” the announcer asked.

“KILL HER! KILL HER! KILL HER!” the crowd cried out.

My guard whispered to the announcer and he turned to face the crowd.

“I know you all would love that, but by queen’s orders, we cannot kill this filthy criminal. We can, however, torture her!” the announcer called out.

“TORTURE! TORTURE! TORTURE!” the crowd cried out.

“No! Please! Stop!” I wailed.

“LEAVE HER ALONE!” EpicCourage cried out on the next post.

“SHE SPEAKS AGAIN!” the announcer hissed, “OH, GIRLY, FOR THAT WE WILL UTTERLY TORMENT YOUR SPY!”

EpicCourage struggled against the ropes that were holding her in place. EpicCourage whispered an apology at me, looking very upset.

“BRING IN THE TORTURE MACHINE!” The announcer commanded.

A band of cats rushed out the auditorium and returned shortly after with a huge machine. I’ll spare you the details because it was so nasty. Basically, they put something somewhere and inflated me to twice my normal size. I thought I was going to die. EpicCourage thought so as well.

I ended up passing out from the stress and, when I opened my eyes again, I found myself staring up at a gorgeous woman. She had this stern, powerful look, and yet, I saw a glimmer of concern deep in the soul of her eyes. She was decked out in makeup, but not too much that she’d look clownish, and she had many jewels around her neck.

“Why are you here?” she asked, in a harsh tone.

“I... I must speak... To the queen...” I said, trembling a bit.

“I am the queen,” the woman responded, “Sit up.”

I weakly pulled myself up to a sitting position, not daring to take my eyes off of the queen.

“You’re no ordinary person,” the queen commented, “Those fools nearly killed you despite my orders.”

“How am I not dead?” I asked.

“That’s exactly what I was wondering when I found you,” the queen said, “My people, the Falenpoli, we are far more sophisticated than what you have seen. We don’t typically murder anyone.”

“Where is EpicCourage?” I asked.

“I’m here,” EpicCourage responded.

She was next to me, I just didn’t see her because I was looking at the queen instead.

“I was sent here to retrieve EpicCourage,” I stated.

“Well, go ahead and take her. It doesn’t do us any good to hold her here. The longer she stays, the more information she could be gathering to use against us. And tell the Royal Canenpoli Family not to cross my boarder again! You hear?!” the queen asked with a hiss.

“If I may speak...” EpicCourage said.

“Make it quick,” the queen snapped.

“I never meant to cross the boarder. SpiritStar kidnapped me and placed me beyond the boarder on purpose,” EpicCourage said.

“...I don’t entirely believe you...but at the same time, SpiritStar has been acting a bit bizarre lately...” the queen commented, “Go! Now, before I change my mind!”

“Yes, your majesty. Thank you for your mercy, your majesty,” EpicCourage said.

That about sums up what happened. As it turned out, speaking to the queen was the easy part. It was just getting to the queen that caused me problems. Now, I’m still in pain as I have been for the majority of this mission. EpicCourage and I make our way back to the boarder and LavaLove and Amethyst Cavern greet us on the other side.

“You made it back alive! Wow!” LavaLove exclaims.

“Lava, Amethyst! You have no idea how much I have missed seeing you two!” EpicCourage says as she gives each of the other to girls a hug.

“EpicCourage... I still have one more princess to rescue,” I say.

“What? What are you talking about?” EpicCourage asks, tilting her head in confusion.

“Come on back to the castle and I’ll introduce you to the others,” I say.

Despite being confused, EpicCourage follows us back to the castle.

“What is everybody doing in the water fountain?” EpicCourage asks the moment we step in through the castle doors.

Seated around the edge of the fountain are several boys and girls who look similar to EpicCourage. In the water itself are Prince Mu, Aleena, and Sìneag. Just a little ways down the hall, Mór and Korallee look like they’ve just finished bathing and are wrapped up in towels. Perched at the top of the fountain is Wisdom, still decked out in the spacesuit we gave her.

“Our sister is home!” one of the lookalikes announces excitedly.

Everybody emerges from the fountain and goes to greet EpicCourage.

“Wow! We were all afraid you had become cat chow!” one of the boys says.

“Oh, Epsilon, of course you would think that...” EpicCourage says, rolling her eyes, “And who are these kids?”

“Oh, hi, I’m Wisdom,” Wisdom says.

She’s actually still perched on top of the fountain.

“I’m Sìneag of Mycono Kingdom!” Sìneag says.

“I’m Aleena,” Aleena says.

“And I’m Mór and this is Korallee,” Mór says.

“I can introduce myself,” Korallee says.

“Well, I wanted to do you a favor,” Mór explains.

Korallee sighs.

“So... Where did they come from...?” EpicCourage asks, looking at me.

“Well, everywhere. I’m on a mission to rescue 7 princesses and so far I have found 6,” I say.