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?