Sacrifices

Once upon a time, there was a wealthy princess, who came from a wealthy family. Although she had gold and riches, she was never happy.

"Father, I want to go outside! Mother, I want to explore the world and go to other worlds!" She would beg. "No, the outside world is dangerous. I just want you to stay safe," They would always reply. But the princess did not believe them.

She saw how the flowers flowed in the wind, and she saw the sun shining down on people. She wanted freedom, and she wanted to escape.

One day, a little fairy flew to the princess' room. "Hello there princess, I am a fairy. How are you?" The princess was surprised, but she felt happy to have company, even if it were from a stranger. "Hello, fairy! I'm not doing very well. I want to go outside, and I want to escape. I want to leave this place!" The princess sighed.

"Are you sure you want to leave this place? What about the dangers in the outside world?" The fairy asked, smiling. "I do not care! Plus, I have seen how pretty the flowers are and I have seen how bright the shining sun is! I want nothing more, I just want to get out of this palace and run away."

"What about your parents? What about the people in your kingdom? You have responsibilities, young princess." The fairy said with a serious tone. "My parents just want to keep me inside, and my parents can take care of everyone in the kingdom. They are the king and queen, and I am just a princess."

"Very well then, I shall grant you your wish. Leave this palace by tonight, and you will be able to escape and go wherever you want to go," The fairy said, taking out her wand and tapping it on the princess' head before sighing. "Thank you, thank you fairy!" The princess packed some food, water, and clothing, and waited for night to come.

When night finally came, the princess cautiously snuck out of the palace. The king, queen, servants, and knights had gone into a deep sleep, and they wouldn't wake up until late next morning.

The princess ran around outside, and she smelled all of the flowers once. "Ah! Such a magnificent fragrance. Why hadn't mother and father let me out? There are no dangers out here!" For once, the princess felt free. "I cannot wait until next morning, the sun will be shining, and the weather will be perfect!"

The princess lived outside for a few days until she discovered a small cabin in the forest near her palace. "This cabin must have been something the fairy left for me! I am forever grateful," The princess prayed, and then moved into the cabin.

A few months passed, and the princess lived fine. She was able to make food with some things inside of the cabin, and she was able to find food outside. Although she did not know how to hunt, the fairy had left a lot of meat inside of the cabin for her. Every week, the fairy would leave more, and so the princess survived.

A lot of time passed, and when the princess finally decided to go back to the palace after avoiding everyone for nearly a year and a few months, she was shocked to find the palace empty. Vines crawled around the palace, and it seemed as if the place had been empty for more than a few months. "Mother, father! Hello! It is I, the princess! I am back!" She called out.

No one responded, and so the princess walked into the palace. "Mother, it is me! Father, where are you?" The princess found no trace of anybody and was devastated. The fairy suddenly flew into the palace and stood in front of the princess.

"Princess, you left for too long. They tried to search for you, but couldn't find you. So, they left. I do not know where they went, I'm very sorry. But I must tell you what has happened in the past year and a few months.

"What... happened?" The princess started to cry. "They left.. they left me all alone." The fairy sighed and looked at the princess sadly. "First, your parents got so sad that they slept for days. The people of your kingdom started to cause chaos, and so the kingdom fell apart. Your parents then decided to tell everyone about your disappearance and they started to look for you." The fairy stopped and sighed again.

"Your cabin could have been found if it were not for my invisibility spell. They did not find you, so they all left, giving up. A lot of people must have gone to other kingdoms and even different worlds. Princess, I do not know what to say." The fairy ended, sadly.

"What should I do now?" The princess wanted to leave the palace and go find her parents, but she didn't know where to start. "If I hadn't left, if I hadn't tried to escape, maybe everything could be normal! Fairy, can you go back in time? I beg you!" The princess begged.

"I am sorry, I do not know how to go back in time. Princess, you should have thought of this before leaving the palace." The fairy scolded the princess, but then stopped. "What can these words do now that everyone has disappeared? Maybe you can start by going to other kingdoms. I am sure many people have set foot in other kingdoms." The fairy suggested.

"Yes, fairy, what a great idea! I will visit our neighboring three kingdoms, and then I will see what to do. What a great idea," The princess stopped, and then looked at the fairy. "But how will I get there? I cannot walk there on foot." The princess mumbled.

"I can make you fly, but only for a short period of time. I'm sorry," The fairy apologized. "Well, what are you waiting for? I want to find my parents, and so we shall get ready to leave now!"