Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Hear Me Calling ❯ What the... ( Chapter 2 )

 

The Lady Bug in the Darkness

 

O.K. Finally starting on chapter two. This is my late Christmas and New Years gift to all those who have been waiting and that is not many people.

 

Chapter 2: What the…?

 

For a few months, she observed the young prince. She also listened to what the villagers said about him. They called him “The Dark Prince.” As the princess watched him, she found that he was not that dark. In fact, he was just like her, lonely. He would go out into the forest and read or write, mainly poetry. When he walked past people, they would whisper things about him, like, “I hear he does dark magic. His mother is a witch you know.” and “If he wasn't the prince I would sure set him straight.” She was sure he heard them, but did not say anything. The princess had watched long enough. Time for her plan to take action, if only she had a plan. For days she spent time thinking of what to do and what not to do. She had learned from the past not to just jump right out and scare them. She also learned that she should not try to follow them around as a ladybug, or they would try to kill her. After weeks of planning, she had it. She would “bump into him” when he went into the forest. Artemis was more excited than she had been in years. She ran and ran until she was out of breath. The happiness was great while it lasted. She remembered that today was her eighteenth birthday. She looked up at the stars and asked “Why?” She sat by the pond that was in the clearing of the forest she ran into. She looked at her reflection in the pond. All she saw was a miserable, messy haired girl with so much dirt covering her you could not tell her skin was hot pink. Artemis thought she was hideous. Tears streamed down her face as she looked away from herself. She could not stand it anymore! She curled up where she was, hoping to die, and cried herself to sleep.

The Next Morning…

 

The prince was taking his daily stroll through the forest, pen and note pad in his armpit. He walked to his favorite part of the forest where, where the pond was. He didn't really pay attention while walking because he knew the path so well. He sat under a tree a got his pen ready to write. He stared at the blank sheet of paper, but no ideas came. He sighed and looked up from the paper. There, he saw a girl about his age. He got up from his spot, curious to see what she looked like. He walked quietly over to her. He knelt down beside her. Her features were striking. She was a wild beauty. The sun light shone through the trees and went directly to her. He saw her more clearly now. There was a strange mark on her face. It looked kind of like a ladybug, but he could not see it all that well because of the dirt on her face. He took his sleeve and wiped some of the dirt off. The girl, slowly, started to open her eyes. He stood up quickly and panicked, not knowing what to do. He ran, but tripped and fell. Artemis quickly sat up as she heard a *thud*. She turned her head in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. She got up cautiously and walked towards the trees. From his hiding spot in the shade of another tree, he swore silently as he remembered he left his journal under that tree. Artemis saw it and went to pick it up, curious to know what it was. She picked up the slightly thick book and flipped through its pages. What she saw were many well-done drawings, poetry, and entries about how the owner of the book was feeling. `Who does this book belong to?' she thought. She closed it and saw a name written in fancy letters on the front. It read:

 

This book belongs to Aidou.

 

“Aidou? But that's the name of the prince! But, that must mean…” She looked around to see if she saw him, but didn't. `One step closer to my goal' she thought. She placed the book back under the tree. “My name is Artemis!” she shouted into the forest loud enough for the prince to hear her. She smiled to herself and walked away. “Artemis…” he whispered to himself.