There once was a grand wooden bridge, only now it is worn and weathered. It creaks at the slightest pressure of a fox’s light skipping paws, and even sways with wind caused by a butterfly’s passing wings. Nobody uses this footbridge anymore. Ferns grow through it, grass grows over it, and clouds often cover it from view completely, such is its height. But once, this bridge was the most important bridge in the land, for it joined the land of Faerie and a county known as Loveheart Heath.
Loveheart Heath is the land of the royal. We have met some of these kingly kind before, when a young princess tried to seize ownership of a peasant’s pony, Sonnet. Do you remember? When we first met this particular princess, she was spoilt and mean. But soon, everything in her life changed. And in doing so, so did she.
Princess Sophia had ridden towards her castle home with her father the king, her groom, and armoured men, and felt as blue as blue could be. Her cheeks were blushed red from utter embarrassment, as she had failed to show the ability to ride the country’s finest pony. She also felt a rage in her stomach because, instead of riding her new pony, she had no choice other than to ride her old pony home – and she was rather bored of her old pony.
This pony was called Sky, named so because of the beautiful cloud-like markings, or dapples, across her grey and white coat. Sky, however, was also bored. Bored of being a spoilt royal pony, bored of being so precious and clean, and bored of being kept in a small stable instead of roaming free. But most of all, Sky was bored of always having to do as she was told. She idled onwards slowly, making the princess kick her in the ribs every few strides. Sky cared little for this. Really, the constant kicks around her ribcage felt like little more than a summer fly upon her skin. So mostly, she had taken to ignoring the princess’s demands and duly followed the other, bigger horses in line.
Then they came to the wooden bridge.
The horses filed across it to the sound of blunt thuds. Their hooves echoed across the valley as they hit the solid wooden floor suspended high above the great lake below. Steep, almost vertical, grassy hills peppered with daisies made their way down to the turquoise water far below. There were folk laws and legends claiming that this lake was once home to great mythical creatures called Gallow Dragons; great water dragons as big as a country inn that swam just beneath the surface. Instead of fire, they breathed tidal waves, and instead of gold, they collected children. But these stories were never backed up with any solid evidence, so nobody paid much heed. These days, the stories were relayed by the older, wiser town folk simply to scare young children from playing in the potentially dangerous cold waters.
As always, once over the bridge the fleet of horses took a left turn onto a wide grassy verge towards the castle. Nobody ever ventured into the darkened, dense woodland ahead as, on the rare occasion some fool did, they would never again return. For through the wood was the land of Faerie, and as everybody knows, Faerie is a treacherous and dangerous place.
The problem for our royal parade was that at the very moment all the king’s horses turned left for home, Sky took it upon herself to do something entirely different. Knowing the horses thought her to be idle, she slowed and slowed until she was at the very back of the string. Then, with Princess Sophia kicking and kicking upon her sides, Sky pulled her head up sharply, smelt the wild winds blowing from the woodland, and galloped off in that direction.[End of sample, folks!]