The Wonder Tales Issue #8
The Princess & the Serpent of Iron Mountain
By Nick Davis
Smashwords Edition
Published by Alt-World at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Nick Davis
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True strength is measured from within.
*****
The Princess & the Serpent of Iron Mountain
Once Upon a Time, in a land far, far away traveled the lost Princess Gwendolyn. She was as kind as she was brave, and as good a shot as any man with the bow she carried. She was fair of face with emerald green eyes and mass of red curly hair on her head, held in place in long braid that reached far down her back. Her loyal companion is the Grey werewolf Kurt, a boy cursed by Baba Yaga to be trapped in a wolf’s body, unable to talk and unable to change into a full human, and Will’O the Wisp, a Faerie creature. Together they have been banished from thought and from memory from their own Kingdom by the Witch Isabelle to a strange land, many thousands of leagues away from everything they have ever known.
They wandered through a wood of maple, birch and cypress trees following a wide dirt road. Not a soul they did spy to barter with. The woods dulled Will'O’s senses and even the keen nose of Kurt could barely find enough food to fill their empty bellies. Thus on the third day they were very tired and hungry, and the Princess wondered if this was going to be such a great adventure after all. It was then she spied a small nut shell on the road which jiggled and wiggled in a most un-nut like way. She jumped off Kurt and bent down to look closer; the shell grew a pair of legs and started to run for the side of the road. Giggling she reached out and picked up the nut shell, surprised to find nothing under there, then she turned the shell over to see an angry looking boy, barely an inch high and dressed in a flowing robe lined in blue brandishing a curved sword.
“Unhand me Giantess and I shall spare your life,” said the inch high boy.
Startled, the Princess Gwendolyn dropped the nut, and the boy landed in a heap on the ground.
“Oh I am sorry, are you hurt?” asked Gwendolyn.
The inch high boy picked himself off the ground, brushed down his robes and waved his sword at her again, “Be gone or you will be sorry you tried to harm me.”
Gwendolyn laughed, “I am sorry little man I did not mean to drop you and I mean you no harm.
“Then you don’t want to eat me?” said the inch high boy.
“No I do not,” said Gwendolyn.
“What about your Kaiju or that flying blue spirit around your head?” said the inch high boy backing away from a curious Kurt.
“Kaiji? You mean Kurt and Will'O? They will not hurt you either,” said Gwendolyn, smiling. “I am Gwendolyn. Please call me Gwen. These are my companions Kurt and Will'O. Who are you and where am I?”