Chapter Two

A butler opened the door and welcomed them in. Thanking him, Sarah and Peter stepped through the doorway. Peter stared in awe at the wall-covering tapestries depicting the many battles King Joshua had won. He didn't have much time to study them however, because Sarah was already leading the way to the throne room. He followed quickly, knowing there was nothing to be done to stop her once she set her mind to do something. Soon, they stood inside the throne room.

There were three thrones across the back wall of the room. King Joshua sat in the throne on the far left, Princess Emily sat in the middle in a smaller throne, and Queen Emily sat in the throne on the far right.

"Yes? What would you like?" asked King Joshua.

"We have information concerning the three missing princesses!" stated Sarah confidently. Peter nodded for emphasis.

"Just...call Klaus," Queen Emily advised. She had already heard too many times how each one of the villagers had some sort of helpful, valuable information concerning the kidnapped princesses. It grieved her heart every time. She was reminded of her adopted daughters every waking moment of the day, and often she dreamed of them.

King Joshua sent a nearby servant to fetch Sir Klaus.

"They're new," observed Princess Emily. "Maybe they really do have some helpful information."

Sarah gratefully nodded toward the Princess. King Joshua and Queen Emily made eye contact, then addressed Sarah.

"All right, you may explain quickly until Sir Klaus arrives."

***

Sir Klaus had just sharpened another sword when Katie and Matthew came running to him, out of breath.

"What's up?" asked Sir Klaus.

"They took the horses again! Without permission and without paying!" exclaimed Katie indignantly.

"They're jerks!" added Matthew.

"On top of all that, they always take the prettiest horses," Katie continued.

Matthew gave Katie a strange look. "That has nothing to do with this."

"Oh," was all Katie could reply.

Before Sir Klaus could do anything about it, one of the castle servants ran up to him.

"King Joshua would like to see you immediately!" the servant reported urgently.

"I'm sorry, kids," he said, "but the King needs me. Talk to you later!" And with that, he took off for the castle.

What could the King want?

Chapter One

With a cruel laugh, the Dark and Mysterious Bad Guy slammed the last door shut. All the princesses were captive now, except one, Princess Emily. He had left her behind to comfort her dear parents, the king and queen, in their grief.

"Just you wait!" shouted Princess Katherine from her tower. "My prince charming is out there somewhere and when he finds and rescues me, you'll be sorry!"

In agreement, Princesses Scarlett and Kayla called, "Yeah!"

But the DMBG just laughed again as he swaggered away, proud of his accomplishment.

(Three years later)

The peasants stared secretly in wonder at the tall, beautiful nomad as she gracefully strode through the town, her faithful brother trailing behind her. The nomad and her brother passed the blacksmith's shop, the stable, and many houses and other shops. Then she stood at the drawbridge, contemplatively. She nodded her head once, and continued on her way to address a knight. The knight was speaking to two younger knights. He finished giving his instructions, turned to the nomad, and kindly smiled.

"Is there any way I may help you?" he asked.

"Yes," replied the nomad. "I am Sarah, the Nomad. This is my brother, Peter. We would like to—"

Suddenly, three young men on horses dashed past them, splattering mud all over the three of them. A young boy and a young girl followed. Sarah and Peter remembered seeing them in the stable when they passed it on their way to the castle.

"Come back!" the girl shouted. "You haven't paid for them!"

Frustrated, Peter tried to brush the mud off his clothes. "I'm going to kill them," he muttered.

"That would be three of our most mischeivous young men in the village, Chad, Chris, and Ben."

"I see," replied Sarah. "Where was I...ah, yes. We would like to have audience with the King and Queen. We have information that will prove to be most helpful to their quest to rescue the princesses."

"I would love to let you in, but as it is my job to protect the castle and its inhabitants, it is regular practice to have my talented wife speak to all visitors before they are allowed to enter."

Sarah wondered why visitors spoke to his wife in order to be considered safe, but she didn't waste much thought on it. "All right," she agreed.

The knight, who said his name was Sir Klaus, led the nomads to his elegant and gorgeous wife, whom he introduced as Lady Sara. Lady Sara spoke to the nomads for a little while before deciding they were safe to enter the castle. Sir Klaus thanked his wife with a kiss on the cheek, then allowed them to cross the drawbridge.

Once inside the castle's protective outer wall, they continued to the castle's front door. Sarah asked Peter to use the knocker, as it seemed too heavy for her to lift. He lifted the knocker with ease and allowed it to bang against the door.

What would the castle, the King, and the Queen be like?

Cast List & Introduction

Sarah A.--Sarah the Tall Nomad
Rebekah B.--Bekah the Baker
Ben B.--Captive Princess Kayla's Knight in Sullied Armor
Scarlett B.--Captive Princess Scarlett
Dave C.--Dave the Cook
Cy--Cy, Princess Carrie's Bodyguard
Andrea F.--Andrea, a Royal Fortuneteller
Kimberly G.--Kim the Royal Fashion Designer
Klaus G.--Sir Klaus, Head Knight
Mark H.--Mark the Blacksmith
Josiah H.--Josiah, the Royal Doctor
Naomi H.--Naomi, Mark's Niece
Katie H.--Katie, a Stable "Boy"
Kayla H.--Captive Princess Kayla
Katherine K.--Captive Princess Katherine
Carol M.--Carol, a Royal Advisor
Matthew M.--Matthew, a Stable Boy
Peter M.--Peter, a Nomad and Hopeful Adventurer
Charlyn M.--Charlyn, the Royal Seamstress
Michael M.--Michael, a Stage Performer
Carrie O.--Princess Carrie, Queen Emily's Cousin
Emily O.--Princess Emily
Abigail P.--Queen Abigail, Queen Emily's Aunt
Rachel P.--Rachel, Kitchen Help
Brian P.--Brian, a Royal Fortuneteller
Emily R.--Queen Emily
Joshua R.--King Joshua
Jason S.--Queen Abigail's Favorite Knight
Chad S.--Captive Princess Katherine's Knight in Shining Armor
Elisabeth S.--Elisabeth, a Stage Performer
Rainor S.--Freddy, a Royal Advisor
Jay S.--Jay, Kitchen Help
Sara S.--Lady Sara, Sir Klaus's Wife
Chris U.--Captive Princess Scarlett's Knight in Shining Armor

Once upon a time, there was a magical land far, far away. In this land called Cricketpue, there reigned a happy and benevolent king and queen. But alas, darkness fell over the land when three young princesses whom the royal family were grooming for life in the palace disappeared from sight. For three years, knights were sent on quests to find the princesses but never returned. Then one day, a nomad and her brother requested audience with the king and queen, saying they had discovered something of great importance to them. They had found the castle in which the three princesses were entrapped! Good King Joshua held a tournament to determine the three best knights in the land. These three knights he would send to rescue the princesses and their reward would be... the princesses! One for each of them, how perfect. What a surprise when Sir Chad, Sir Chris, and Sir Ben won the tournament! But the king was true to his word, and sent to three knights to rescue their princesses. Will the knights be able to face the formidable dragon and defeat the DMBG to rescue the beautiful princesses from their dastardly fate?