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Tell Me A Story:

  Amazing Tales to Captivate Your Kids

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  The Lost Princess in Winter’s Grip

  Copyright 2011 Josh Kilen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Preview The Tales of Big and Little – Doom of the Three Stones

  Preview of Sean Ryanis & The Impossible Chase

  Preview of The Superhero Chronicles: Birth of Moonlight

  Introduction

  Some Storytelling Advice

  More Titles by Josh Kilen

  The Lost Princess in Winter’s Grip

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  Chapter 1

  The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and everything was right with the world. Annabeth strolled across the village square with a slight skip in her step, swinging a basket at her side. The smile on her face said that she loved her life and she was very content.

  Her family was not the wealthiest in the village, in fact they didn't have much money at all. But they were well well respected and what they lacked in money they made up for in love.

  Annabeth's mother sent her out for the weekly groceries. The day was beautiful and Annabeth was happy to help.

  Annabeth lived in a small cottage at the edge of town. Her father made a living as a handyman, doing odd jobs around town. If anyone in the village needed something fixed, they went to her father. Unfortunately he was a little too good at his job, because when he fixed something it always stayed fixed.

  Once someone came to him and told him that he would get more business if he just didn't do such a good job. But Annabeth's father would not compromise his values, "If I don't do my best," he would say, "then how can I look my daughter in the eye?"

  He made enough to feed the family, but while they couldn't afford to go to the theaters or eat at the fancy restaurants, her family was happy to have each other. They made up plays and songs, acting them out by candle light after dinner. They played games and read the few books they were lucky enough to own. All in all, they were very happy.

  Annabeth skipped up to the small, yellow front door of her cottage, "Mom I'm home," she sang as she opened the front door.

  Her Mother looked up from the dishes she was washing, "Any trouble sweetie?"

  Annabeth smiled, "Not a bit. Today was a beautiful day for a stroll. Where is father?"

  Her mother sighed, "Out looking for new projects. God bless that man, he just works so hard."

  A loud voice came from the door, "Did I hear someone talking about me?" Annabeth's father came in with a grin from ear to ear, "My two beautiful ladies. Look at you Annabeth, you're positively radiant."

  Annabeth blushed and did a twirl for her father. He gave her a big hug and then went over to her mother for a big kiss. She giggled like a school girl as he tickled her a little bit. "Now you stop it," she said with a laugh,"Annabeth, help me with these dishes."

  And that was Annabeth’s life. Not very exciting but it was nice and usually very happy.

  Later that day, just as Annabeth was finishing with her chores, there was a loud banging on the door.

  "Mom, there’s somebody at the door." Annabeth said.

  "Well, go see who it is." Her mom shouted back.

  Annabeth went to the door and looked out the peephole. She saw a smallish man standing there in fancy, regal clothes, looking rather impatient. Behind him was a large group of similarly dressed people. Annabeth backed up from the door and straightened out her handmade dress. When she thought she looked presentable enough, she opened the door.

  The regal looking man smiled when he saw her, "Ah, yes, you must be Annabeth. Am I correct?"

  "I am she. How may I be of service to you Sir?"

  The regal man looked confused, "No, not at such. My name is Parcell, and I represent their Royal Majesties, the King and Queen. They wish to speak with you."

  Annabeth was astonished, "Me? Why would they wish to speak with me? I am but one of your Majesties’ humble subjects."

  Parcell smiled, "Be that as it may, my masters have graced your home with their presence. Would you leave them standing out on the door like beggars?"

  Annabeth noticed that in the large group behind Parcell stood two figures, taller and more beautiful than the rest.

  Annabeth bowed, "Please forgive me your Highnesses, I had no idea you would be here. Our humble home is yours."

  The Queen spoke with practiced grace and a honey tongue, "My dear child, of course you did not expect us. Please fetch your parents, we have much to discuss with them, and you." She and the King strode through the open door.

  Annabeth's mother came into the room, "What is all this racket. Annabeth, who was at the door?" When she saw the Royal couple, she kneeled gracefully, "My apologies your royal Highnesses, I did not know you had come."

  The King bellowed a deep and rich laugh, "Of course, but here we are. Please, stand. Where is your husband? The Queen and I must speak with you both."

  Annabeth's mother looked over at her, "Dear, please fetch your father as quickly as you can. He's off in the woods working on one of his projects." Annabeth left without a word.

  When they returned, the King and Queen and Annabeth's mother were silently standing in the living room. Her father bowed and said, "My Lords, you grace us with your presence. What can a humble tinkerer do to assist you today?"

  The King looked grave, "You must have seen this day coming. You see, Annabeth is not your child. In fact, she is ours."

  Chapter 2

  Annabeth's father briefly lost his composure, "What? How can that be? There must be some mistake!"

  The King's eyes flashed, glowing with a ferocious intensity, "You dare to question the King? If I say this is so, then it is so. You are no one to question me."

  Annabeth's father regained his bearing, "Of course your Highness, my deepest apologies. It was merely a shock. Everyone in the village knows my wife can't conceive a child so we thought it was a blessing Annabeth was left on our door step. We couldn't have known she was of such noble birth. If we had known, we would have returned her to you immediately of course."

  The King's face brightened up, "I believe you would have. At the time, we were so embarrassed at the loss that we decided not to make it public. I'm sure you understand."

  The Queen spoke up, "We have missed her so much these many years, and now we have found you Annabeth. You must come with us now."

  Annabeth's parents both began to protest but the King held out his hand, "Please my good people, this must be done. Parcell, show them the documents."

  Parcell came into the room holding a stack of scrolls in his hands, "I think that if you read these, everything will make sense."

  Annabeth's parents could not read well, but they had made sure that Annabeth learned how to read and write. She went over the assembled documents and realized that they were royal birth certificates and decrees stating that she was born 16 years ago.

  Annabeth looked up at the Royal couple, "It looks to me as if these records are correct, but please, my Lords, I ask you to let me stay here. This man and woman, your loyal subjects, have served you wel
l in caring for me. I beseech you, let them continue this charge."

  The King and Queen looked surprised, "Well said my Dear," said the Queen, "You will do well in the royal court with a tongue such as that. I'm afraid that you must come with us. I know it will be hard but it's for the best." The Queen looked like she was trying to make her face seem motherly, but it was such a foreign practice to her that she failed immediately.

  Annabeth looked to her adoptive parents for help, but they both stared at the ground. Her father glanced over at her and sadly shook his head. She knew that there was nothing he could do.

  The King smiled as he saw this, "Well, excellent. It's all settled then. Annabeth, Parcell will help you pack your things. Hurry along now."

  Annabeth looked at him sullenly, "Yes…Father."

  The King quickly became angry once again, "You will address me as is proper. I won't remind you again. Now be off with you." The Queen looked equally enraged.

  Annabeth went with Purcell to collect her things from her room. There wasn't much, so it did not take long.

  "Just think," said Parcell as he held up one of the few dresses Annabeth owned, "Soon you will have all the clothes and jewelry you could ever want. You won't have to wear these dirty rags anymore."

  Annabeth snatched her worn dress from his hands and put it in the sack. Her mother made that dress especially for her, and she would keep it always to be a reminder of how much her parents loved her. Her new parents did not seem as loving.

  When they returned to the living room, Annabeth's mother was sobbing into her father's shoulder. It was all Annabeth could do to keep from crying herself.

  The King nodded toward her parents, "You may hug them good-bye if you wish."

  Annabeth wrapped her arms around both her parents, she did not want to let go. It seemed so cruel to be ripped away so suddenly.

  The Queen's face tightened and became very stern, "Come now Annabeth, we’re going."

  Annabeth reluctantly let go, “Yes Moth... I mean Your Highness." she said and trudged out the door. As she glanced back, she saw Purcell hand her father a rather large bag. She could only assume it contained some kind of payment. "At least they would have something," she thought to herself. But just then she saw her father refuse to take reward. She smiled to herself, she could her him saying, "If I take this, how can I look my daughter in the eye?" She hoped against hope that she could see them again one day.

  They entered the Royal coach, a magnificently ornate carriage. The doors were trimmed with gold and inside there were soft cushions and silky fabrics. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

  While the cushions were soft, her new parents were anything but. They sat across from herself and Purcell, saying nothing and keeping to themselves. Purcell on the other hand was full of information and talked the whole way to the castle, filling Annabeth in on the various coming and goings of the kingdom. She politely listened but her mind was otherwise occupied.

  A cold wind blew through the carriage. The sun was shining brightly but the cold was everywhere, it seemed that in the past few years it was always a little colder than the year before.

  After many hours of travel they came to the Royal castle. The castle was surrounded by a large town, bigger than any Annabeth had seen before. It was teeming with activity, hustle and bustle filled the streets. Annabeth was fascinated by all the people.

  "Close the shades, I don't want anyone seeing us," the King commanded. It was the first time he spoke the whole journey. Purcell complied and Annabeth saw no more until they reached the castle.

  Once the carriage stopped, Annabeth and Purcell stepped out followed by the King and Queen. There was a large, bowing group of people waiting for them. Annabeth assumed they were the castle's servants by the way they were dressed. In front were several large men with sharp looking spears. These must be the Royal guard Annabeth thought to herself.

  The King turned to face Annabeth, "Come with me. You will now be taken to your room." He motioned for the Royal Guard to follow. The Royal couple led the way into the castle, followed by Annabeth and Purcell, and the royal guard marching closely behind them. “So much security," Annabeth thought.

  Once inside they climbed up a long stairwell in the corner of the castle. It felt like they were going up a tower, but Annabeth couldn't be certain. Once at the top, they stopped in front of a large, solid looking door with two small metal slots.

  "Open the door Purcell," the Queen said. Purcell pulled out his keys, unlocked the door, and opened it with great effort. The door seemed very heavy.

  The Queen pointed to Annabeth, "In you go."

  Annabeth hesitated, this didn't look like a room for a princess. This looked like a prison tower!

  The Queen became impatient, "Guards, escort this girl to her room." The royal guards roughly pushed Annabeth through the door, causing her to stumble. Before she could turn around, the door slammed closed and the top slot slid open.

  Annabeth heard the Queen's voice, "Welcome to your new home, Daughter. I do hope you will find it to your liking." The Queen spoke to the guards, "Make sure she doesn't make too much noise and feed her once a day, understood?"

  The guards spoke loudly, "Yes your Highness, it will be done as you say."

  Annabeth cried out, "Why are you doing this? What have I done?"

  The Queen looked through the slot, "Why? You were born my Dear, isn't that enough?" and the slot closed with a snap.

  Annabeth was alone, trapped in the prison tower, all alone.

  Chapter 3

  Annabeth paced around her tower prison, trying to make sense of her predicament.

  How could her royal parents do this to her? What had she ever done to them? The whole thing didn't make any sense.

  The guards fed her pretty much everyday, although they were not the most attentive to their task. Usually, in the morning she received her plate of food through the little slot, and that had to last her the entire day. While this was difficult at first, she quickly became used to it. Her family never had much and sometimes they had to go without food for a day. She didn't like it but she could deal with it.

  After several weeks, Annabeth became very lonely. The guards barely talked to her and if they did it was only to tell her to be quiet or to make fun of her. She forgave them of course but the insults hurt. She kept wondering, what had she ever done to them?

  At night she cried herself to sleep, because she missed her real parents so much. Every night she had the same dreams, dreams of her old life. She dreamed of her parent's loving hugs, her small, comfortable room, and the quaint but happy village. They were they most wonderful dreams in the world, and when she woke up to her dark, moist, and foul smelling prison cell it never failed to make her feel worse.

  After months of being locked away, Annabeth’s usually cheerful attitude began to fade. Her heart sunk so low and hope seemed too far away. She laid down on the dirty, smelly sheets that she formed into her bed, and prepared to give up.

  Suddenly, from the tiny window high above her, she heard something tweet. Annabeth opened her eyes slowly, and coming into view was the bluest, brightest bird she had ever seen. The bird cocked it's head to the side.

  "What are you doing there little friend?" Annabeth asked. The bird looked right at her as if it understood what she was saying and tweeted the most beautiful melody that she had ever heard. Annabeth took the last of the scrap of bread that she had been saving for her dinner and offered it to the blue bird. It flew down, settled on her arm, and began to happily nibble away at the morsel. It was the happiest Annabeth had been since her imprisonment.

  When the blue bird finished eating, it sang its song once more and flew away. Annabeth smiled once again as she laid down on her dirty bed. She was hungry, and still in prison, but at least she knew there was hope, that there was still beauty in this world.

  Everyday the bird came back at the same time, sang its beautiful song, ate some of Annabeth’s dinner, and flew away. It wa
s the only friend she had, but she was grateful for the bird’s daily visits.

  One day, the bird flew right into the tower without its customary song. In its beak it had a small plant. The plant was the greenest color that Annabeth had ever seen, it almost seemed to be glowing.

  Annabeth took the plant from the bird and said, "Thank you little friend, but I have no soil to put it in." The bird immediately took off, flying out of the window. Annabeth was trying to decide what to do with the little plant when the bird came back with a very small bag in its beak. The bag looked very heavy for the bird, and Annabeth took it as soon as the bird flew by.

  She examined the bag and found it contained a small amount of soil. Annabeth looked at the bird, "I don’t know if this will be enough, but thank you for trying.” It seemed like the bird was getting impatient as it huffily walked over to a crack between the stones in the corner of the room and pecked wildly.

  Annabeth got the birds message, "Oh! Yes, that might work beautifully. And look, there’s a little bit of sun for our new friend. Thank you Blue Bird!" The Bird nodded it’s head and flew out the window.

  Annabeth placed the small plant in the soil. It drooped slightly to the left, but otherwise seemed to be doing just fine. Annabeth moved her bedding in front of the plant so that the guards wouldn’t see it if they happened to peek inside. For the rest of the night she watched the plant, very thankful for her new gift.

  The next day she awoke to find the plant had grown. In fact it looked twice as big and seemed to glow even brighter. “This must be a magical plant,” she thought to herself. She did what she could to block it from view but to her surprise, the next morning it had grown again, and this time it was bearing fruit. Annabeth was overjoyed!

  She plucked a piece of juicy, ripe fruit off the small branch and tasted it. If you could mix the best tastes of apples, pears, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and bananas into one delicious taste you might have some idea of how good this was. Annabeth had two more pieces of fruit and slept on a full stomach for the first time in many months.

  The next month held much improvement for the Princess. The Blue Bird visited Annabeth everyday and they shared a piece of fruit. Every night she went to bed with a full stomach and a glowing reminder that the world was a wonderful place.