Even teen evil queens need love. Right? (Or at least a handsome sword-fighting minion to do their bidding!)
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Bad things happen when Rowen is around and the worst part is, she has no idea why until a massive family secret sends her on a fantastica...
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As I limped, utterly lost, through the dark, dank, stony dungeon, I felt the gazes of the inmates staring at me from within their darkened cells.
At first, I was a little freaked out by the array of magical creatures in Petronella's little dungeon/zoo, but I reminded myself I'd already met a skyscraper-sized dragon, an evil witch with pearls, a stuck-up high school fairy, and a slew of cannibalistic talking rats. Just bring on the weird at this point!
I even tried asking a few of them the location of the bathroom, but to no avail.
Still, I wished I could walk faster, not only because I didn't want to get caught, but also because of my legs. Evidently the combination of dragon riding, being frozen on the floor of a rat-infested cell for hours, and the stupid amount of running I did yesterday, made my legs stiff and tight as new winter boots.
I scampered past more and more cells, each bearing a wooden sign that had been affixed to the bars with twine listing the creature imprisoned within, its crime against the evil queen, and the length of their sentence. Honestly, I tried not to even look at them, because it only slowed me down even more, but curiosity, you know. A force mightier than the instinct for self-preservation.
Ask any cat.
A few examples:
Dragon - Flying with an expired license - Twenty-six years
Unicorn - Coat too shiny and impressive - Eternity
Minotaur - Bullish attitude - Ten months
Troll - Foul body odor in the presence of the Queen - Three months
Gorgon - Turning favorite minion into stone without permission -Twelve hours
Fairy - Crimes against fashion - Three years
Ghost - Inappropriate haunting of royal emissary - One fortnight
Minion - Pedicure failure - Fifty-two years
Witch - Faulty beauty potion - Until such time as Her Highness's scars, both emotional and physical, subside - tbd
(And before you say anything like, "Hold up, Rowen! Did you say pedicure infractions come with a fifty-two-year sentence? How could you leave Blade to this fate? Have you no conscience?"
Well, it weighed on me a little, but not enough for me to give up my bathroom quest! You ought to feel sorry for me! Here I was in this maze of a dungeon, my arms positively covered in goosebumps with my bladder about to explode.
It seemed there were many rules to be broken in Petronella's castle, including existing or annoying her for the smallest reason. I had to get out of this place, or I could end up incarcerated for years just for breathing the wrong way.
