Happily Ever After

• Sandrine Mwamini, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2015

On a stormy night in a dark, dark wood was a haunted house.
In that house were creepy crawlies, webs, spiders, and other stuff. Also there lived two girls called Stella and Annabelle. They both had long, brown hair, dark brown eyes and were wearing pink and purple dresses.
On the way to the shops through the woods one day, they were so tired that they found a tree to rest under. While they were resting a voice woke them up. They couldn’t see anyone so they fell asleep, but again they heard the voice. Stella shouted, “Who is there?” The voice said, “Get off me you dirty people!” Stella and Annabelle jumped up in fright, because in front of them was a talking tree!
They ran off as fast as they could, until they were no longer able to see it. Through a bush, was a village and far away was a white, beautiful castle with shiny blue windows. They saw a woman and Annabelle asked her, “Excuse me, do you know where the shops are?” “Yes, they are just down there,” She said. Stella and Annabelle thanked the lady and wandered to the markets, where they bought what they needed. The village was getting really dark and so they found a hotel called GIRLS' HOTEL, where they booked in for two.
In the morning, next to the door, was an ordinary blue-coloured envelope that contained an invitation to a ball, which read: "You are invited to the Princes' Ball, where the princes will choose two girls to marry."
They dressed up and went to the shops to buy dresses for the ball. They found a shop and Stella chose a red, sparkling dress and Annabelle bought one with pink stripes. When they arrived at the ball they stood in the very front row and waited for the princes to choose a girl to dance with. Two of them asked Stella and Annabelle to dance. Some of the girls at the ball got jealous because the princes didn’t ask them and one of them even started to cry.
When it was over the girls left the ball and headed home through the woods, happy that they’d been to the ball, but sad because they had to leave.
The next day the princes asked the guards to go and find the two girls. The guards hunted for the girls and when they found them they said, “You have to come with us.” When they got to the palace the princes asked them, “Would you marry me?” The girls said, “Yes” and they all lived happily ever after.