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Glory Bound Books
presents
~ Once Upon A Twisted Tale ~
BOOK ONE
The Pimpled Princess
by
Leah Berry and Cindy Knowlton
~ Storytellers for THE KING! ~
Copyright © 2002
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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CHAPTER TEN
~ King Gustauv I ~
***
~ Step THREE of the PLAN ~
Pashzmeenie found Grampa Gus on the rooftop battling furiously to defeat The Grooms of The Horse, who were pummelling him mercilessly with exploding water balloons shot upward from the castle cannon. Standing ankle deep amidst the remnant of the sodden and broken rubber pieces, he shouted orders to his Pages who gleefuly joined the battle.
...The heat of battle!...
Ragged bits of rubber hung from the spiky silver circlet on his head and droplets of water clung to his beard. Water stains covered his tunic, but he was so excited by the battle that he didn't seem to notice.
...Fresh ammo...
Suddenly Gramma Hermie rounded the corner with her arms full of freshly filled water balloons. Spying Pashzmeenie near the doorway, she called, "Pashzmeenie, child! Grab more of the balloons and bring them to the parapet!"
...Blind-sided!...
Hearing Pashzmeenie's name, Grampa Gus turned with delight to greet her... when all of a sudden he was struck from behind with the full force of cannon fire, knocking him to the floor!
...A gracious defeat...
"Direct hit on the King! Direct hit on the King! Battle to The Horse! Stand down!" The cry resounded from the castle grounds as the former king rose to his feet to salute The Grooms below.
"New battle next week, Lads!" he shouted. "Good fighting!"
Mumbling to himself, "Tactical error, that. Shouldn't have let myself be distracted... hmmm..." He turned once again to his grandaughter and exclaimed,
"Pashzmeenie, Luv! Come... give your old grampa a hug!"
...Friends...
It was a wet hug, but Pashzmeenie didn't care. Grampa Gus was one of her favorite people in the whole world. They often played together for hours, and were not just Grandfather and Granddaughter. They were also the best of friends.
...Tea and cake...
Gramma Hermie was equally close to Pashzmeenie. They liked to have rooftop tea parties and play Hide and Seek in the castle mazes. And on Sunday afternoons The Grooms would hitch up the pony cart and they would go visiting together all over the kingdom, delivering baskets of freshly baked breads and pastries from the castle kitchens.
"I've brought presents for you!" exclaimed Pashzmeenie.
...Children at heart...
Though they were grown-ups, Grampa Gus and Gramma Hermie loved to play games with children. So they truly loved the gifts that they found inside the enormous polka dot silk handkerchief. There were marbles and blow ticklers, juggle balls and paddle balls, bubble blow pipes and bubble gum, and three beautifully wrapped popcorn balls. What fun they would all have playing together!
~ But... could they tell her
what she needed to know? ~
They sat cross-legged on the rooftop, eating her gift of popcorn balls and the snow cones that had been prepared by Grampa Gus's personal chef... Rosamund Hildegard Hermingold le Bleu. (But everyone called her 'Madame', because in the kitchen she was Queen!)
...The question...
Pashzmeenie was having a lovely visit but she felt that she was running out of time. Finally, in sheer desperation, she just came right out and asked them about the terrible law... who had made it... and why!
...Avoiding the issue...
"Hrrrump... well, hrrrump. Ah... yes. Such a serious subject! Much too nice a day for deep discussions like that. Tell you what!" Grampa Gus said, flinging himself backward onto the floor with arms spread wide. "Let's see what shapes we can find in the clouds today! Lots of fluffy big white ones overhead... OH, LOOK! There's a giant whale!"
...A passionate plea...
"But, Grampa... you have to talk about it! It's wrong to treat people this way! And if we let it go on without trying to fix it, then we are in the wrong, too! Playing games to pretend that the problem isn't real is WRONG... especially when we CAN change it!" cried Pashzmeenie. "We MUST change it!"
...Out of the shadows...
The sound of footsteps at the tower door caused a silence to fall as Pashzmeenie's grandparents turned to look behind her. She heard the door close, and then the voice of someone she loved with her whole heart whispered, "Why is this so important to you, Pashzmeenie?"
Pashzmeenie turned to face what she had feared the most. So... he was the one.
~ Maybe now she would learn the reason why! ~
***
~ The Tale Continues ~
CHAPTER ELEVEN
~ The Secret Revealed ~
***
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