Chapter 1
It was a particularly beautiful day in the land of Marchen. The southern kingdoms were enjoying bountiful sunshine, much more than was expected at this time of year. The farmlands in west were seeing great, bountiful crops. And on the shores of the eastern oceans, the waves gently lapped the golden sand. It was a beautiful day for a picnic on the beach. So that’s exactly what Walter and Lilly-Anne went to do.
The breeze on the beach felt cool against Walter’s skin. It didn’t really affect how warm he felt. He always felt cold. But the wind still felt refreshing and cleansing. The child may have felt cold on the outside, but on the inside, he was as warm and as lively as any other child. Cherishing the salty air, Walter stood, eyes closed, arms wide open, facing the sea. Embracing the wind, like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. That was really the case, until the sound of a familiar voice from behind snapped Walter back into focus.
“Walter Daniel Stellgren, this is the silliest pose I’ve ever seen you make! You’d better pull yourself together, or I won’t come near you.” Lilly-Anne, or Lani made a short and imposing figure on the otherwise calm shore. Though it seemed that neither her menacing stature nor her words had any effect on Walter.
“You really think this is the silliest pose I can make, Lani?”smirked Walter, batting open an eye. Turning around to face his friend, Walter stuck out his tongue and pulled some of the silliest poses that had ever been pulled in all of Marchen.
“Wally, I’m being serious.”, deadpanned Lilly-Anne. “In fact, I’m being so serious that I don’t think you’ll be getting any of the pumpkin pie Queen Ella made for me.” At this, the boy stopped joking, and stood still, once again.
“Queen Ella made you fresh pumpkin pie in the spring?” cried out Walter. “With what pumpkins? Wasn’t I supposed to help pick those next fall?” Enjoying Walter’s confusion, the young lady gracefully pulled a cloth out of her picnic basket, then went about the task of finding shells to secure the blanket with. All the while, her friend eyed her suspiciously, wondering if the pumpkin pie really consisted of pumpkins.
Walter soon stopped following Lilly-Anne, and started to panic. Fiddling with the edges of his shirt, and pacing around in a circle, he started thinking: “Where exactly did that girl get pumpkin pie? Where did the pumpkin come from?” Stealing a quick glance at Lily-Anne, Walter noticed that her black hair looked particularly long and shiny that day. Her brown almond-shaped eyes sparkled as she found a particularly nice stone to anchor the blanket with. Noticing Walter’s staring, she smiled and waved at him. Walter weakly waved back. His friend looked so perfect with the breeze stroking her hair, and her smile made her glow. Even her old scarlet dress looked positively enchanting today. Enchanting? Enchanting! “That’s it!” Walter exclaimed, jumping up, and marching to Lilly-Anne.
Walter grinned to himself. It couldn’t be more obvious! Anyone could see that Lilly-Anne had been deceived into thinking she had brought pumpkin pie. How else could she be literally glowing? The boy realised the obvious answer: a witch must have cursed her! Their own witch! Positively basking in how smart he felt, he knew that he would be forgiven for doing what he was about to do to the presumably poisonous pumpkin pie.
After-all, Walter was about to do the thing that launched the last two story-less denizens of Marchen into a fairytale. He could finally get his happily ever after.
