Over the past couple weeks I have been going through some of my belongings and deciding what I want and what I don't need anymore. I came across my American Girl dolls and accessories. I decided I wanted to keep all of it and hopefully pass it on to my daughters one day (if I ever have daughters)!! I own six dolls and a lot of outfits and several pieces of furniture, the second version of the Coconut dog (2001-2004), and the original Licorice cat. I also have a large selection when it comes to the American Girl library. What I didn't have though, was enough tiny books for the dolls to read. XD
I made about a dozen or so tiny books for my dolls and gave them to the girls for Christmas and birthdays (yes, each doll had her own birthday marked on my calendar).
Most of the books I made were classics. I would write the first chapter or so by hand in a tiny book that I had made from paper and glue.
I even wrote a few of my own stories in them.
My mom had gotten the The Secret Garden. I read it and loved it. The version I had came with a cheap gold necklace (but I didn't care at the time!!) with a key on it. I loved the key so much, I wanted my doll to wear it. I then kept thinking about the key and wanted my own story with a key. It became an enchanting thing to me: where did it come from? What did it unlock? There was a sense of magic about it, an unknown mystery.
So I wrote what I called The Buried Castle. The tiny book consisted of only two chapters, but I later turned it into a novella of about 27k words. I decided to share two chapters for you here. I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for reading. If I get enough feedback, I may post the rest of the book. :D
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CHAPTER ONE
Once Upon A Time, in the land known as Shooting Star, there ruled a very noble king, King Richard, who lived in a castle on the beach with his wife, Queen Lusot.
He was a very rich king and kept all of his gold, silver, and valuable jewels in a very large room that was hidden somewhere in the castle. Not even his own wife knew the whereabouts of this room.
Word had got out to other kingdoms that King Richard had a secret room filled with treasure, and this brought war to that peaceful land. Many bloody battles were fought and many lives lost. But still the treasure remained hidden.
However, the King was wounded very badly by Sir Henry, a prince from another land. Richard never recovered from his wound.
The king died and was mourned by everyone.
When the king's son, Sir Triston, was of age, he was very angry and wanted to avenge his father's death. This meant that he would have Sir Henry's blood on his own hands. His mother begged him to leave Sir Henry be, for fear that her son might end up like her husband.
But Sir Triston would not listen to the queen and would have no peace until Sir Henry was dead.
Queen Lusot became angry with him, and being an enchantress, she caused the castle to sink into the earth, trapping Sir Triston and everyone else, inside the castle.
Sir Triston became frightened, and not wishing to spend the rest of his life trapped, he seized the key to the castle door and scratched the word HELP! on it with his dagger. He ran as fast as he could up the stairs to the tallest tower. The window was nearly blocked with sand, but he quickly threw it out with the hope that someone would find it and set him free.
No one ever found the key though. Poor Sir Triston remained there and never ceased praying. Eventually Sir Triston died, and within time, everyone else in the castle also died.
The end.
CHAPTER TWO
We now turn to the mid 1800's to a cottage that is only a short distance from the beach. Behind it, there was a stable in which Prince, the beautiful white horse, stood sleeping. You see, it was night in Shooting Star, and all of the glistening stars were out with a full moon shining brightly.
Around the cottage was a garden of flowers and trees that only added to its beauty.
Inside the cottage, a cheerful fire was burning on the hearth. On the chair nearby, sat an attractive, slim, silver-haired woman. She was the grandmother and guardian of Charlotte, who sat next to her.
Charlotte's father and mother died when she was an infant and her grandmother, Margaret, had taken care of her ever since.
Margaret just finished telling the story of the buried castle. Charlotte asked, "Oh, Grandmother, is that the end of the story?"
"Why yes, Dear," Margaret answered.
"Oh, but it can't be," Charlotte insisted. "It did not end in happily ever after like all of the other romantic fairy tales."
"I do wish it did end in such a way, but I told it to you the way my mother told it to me and the way her mother told it to her," Margaret admitted sadly.
"I thought you made it up," Charlotte was surprised.
"No Dear. It has been in the family for generations."
"Grandmother," Charlotte said, "I wonder if it is not just a fairy tale, but perhaps it really happened in this land long ago!"
Her grandmother just looked at her a moment, then said, "I have never thought about it before."
"No? I think it would be so grand! Just think, finding the key that Sir Triston threw out the window would be exciting! Imagine, finding a castle that has been buried to hundreds of years! And suppose the hidden room was found and the treasure too! What if the people hadn't really died, because they have been trapped all these years with magic. There would be dancing and feasting once they were found, because God let them have one last celebration before entering Paradise, which they are all overdue. And Sir Triston was still young and handsome and..."
"My Child!" Margaret laughed. "What an imagination you have. But I think we had best get some sleep before the night is over."
"Yes, Grandmother," Charlotte kissed her cheek and went up the stairs to her second-story bedroom. She changed into her long white nightgown and got into bed. She said her prayers and not long after, she fell asleep.
Yours truly,
Me
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