Anna Tan's Blog, page 62

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Rambling Rill

Princess Rei sat in the bamboo garden, hugging her knees. Her parents had been at it again—this was the 12,874th fight she’d counted (who knew how many more there were before that?), and she was sure—absolutely, definitely sure—that they were going to separate soon. They probably couldn’t divorce—what would happen to the country?—but they would most likely decide to live at opposite ends of the Kingdom, sending angry letters to each other… and Rei would have to decide. Who would she stay with...

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Quaffing Quintet

It had been a good night. The Quail Quintet had been top-notch all night, entertaining everyone in the Castle with their wonderful songs. Now, the feast had wound to an end and the hall was almost empty. Princess Qing leaned back on her pillows and smiled at the five quails.

“Good job, boys,” she said. “Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” the Lead Tenor replied. “Could you point the way to your… uh, fountain?”

Princess Qing quirked an eyebrow. “Fountain? There’s one...

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Potato in Peril

Princess Penelope had a soft heart for vegetables. She didn’t like people murdering them. After all, she’d grown up on a good dose of Veggie Tales, meaning that Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber were close friends—at least in her mind. So she’d styled herself as a protector of vegetables. Of a sort. She tended them, taking care of them amidst the flowers that her sisters planted, mourned their passing by burying them, and being generally very happy with every new growth spurt in her garde...

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Outraged Octopus

As things went, it wasn’t unusual for Oliver the Octopus to be upset. He was usually upset about something or other anyway. But what Princess Opal didn’t get was what he was upset about. He’d been fed and exercised as usual. Someone had refilled and cleaned out his tank. They’d even decorated it for Christmas. But still, Oliver sat staring at her, an accusing look on his face, tentacles knotted in frustration.

“I don’t know what you want,” Princess Opal said, staring at the octopus. It wasn’t...

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Never-Night

Enough was enough. Princess Nurul was tired. This brightness had been fun while it lasted, but now it was just too much. She tried to sleep; she’d dozed off a couple of times, but kept waking up to the full sunlight that never went away. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed the night. She missed the setting of the sun that threw up pretty pictures of pink and gold into the sky. She missed the coolness of the dark and its soothing calm. This… perpetual daylight was annoying.

 The s...

Happy Easter!

Feel the darkness shakingAll the dead are comingBack to lifeBack to lifeHear the song awakenAll creation singingWe're aliveCause You're alive
You called me out of the graveYou called me into the lightYou called my name and then my heart came alive

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Maudlin Monster

He was at it again. Princess Mary groaned.

“What’s wrong now?” she asked, bending down to look under her bed.

“No—nobody loves me,” the monster wailed.

Princess Mary leaned back, rolled her eyes, and sighed. “Again?” she mumbled to herself. She slid off the bed, locked the door and drew the curtains closed. Then she knelt by her bed and peeked under it. “Okay, come on out.”

The monster was small—about the size of a teddy bear—and covered in soft brown fur. In fact, if Princess Mary were being kin...

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Legendary Lemon

“What’s so legendary about him?” Hattie asked as she leaned back on a recliner chair under the hot sun.

“I don’t know. But it’s the Legendary Lemon,” Princess Lina replied. She was sitting under the shade with a tall glass of cold lemonade. She didn’t want sunburn, unlike Hattie who was still ‘working on her tan’. “So do you want to go see him or not?”

Hattie turned to look at the princess. “Why do you want to see him again?”

“He’s… legendary.”

“You’ve said. But you haven’t said why.”

Princess Lin...

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Killer Kite

This was it. This was the year Princess Katie would win the Kite Fight. She knew it down in her bones with an unshakeable certainty. After all, she had the best kite in the country this year. And she’d trained with the best kite fighter all year.

“How are you feeling?” Matt, her trainer asked, handing her the kite.

“Pretty good. Confident,” she replied with a smile.

“Good girl. Go get ‘em,” he replied with a thumbs up. She returned his positive sign and went down to the field where all the other...

#AtoZChallenge: The Princess and the Jilted Jellyfish

“You’ll be fine, dear,” Princess Jemma murmured, carefully wrapping her hands around the bell of the jellyfish, taking care to avoid her tentacles.

“But… but he left me,” Joyanne the Jellyfish wailed in despair. “He doesn’t love me anymore.”

“Well that just means he is an idiot,” Princess Jemma said viciously. “A stupid idiot who doesn’t know what he’s let go of.”

Joyanne still sniffled. “I loved him so much. It hurts.”

“Don’t worry, Joyzie. You just keep your head up and we’ll show that lousy je...