Chapter 1

 

 

Princess Giselle stumbled again in the night’s darkness, tripping on a tree root and falling to her knees. If it wasn’t for her sturdy pants her knees would have been badly grazed by now as she had tripped a few times already. But it still hurt and tears welled in her eyes. She knelt there a few moments, exhaustion almost overwhelming her.

 

It would be so easy to just lie down and fall asleep, she thought. The forest air still carried the warmth of the previous summer’s day and the leaves on the ground were soft and inviting. But if she stopped now she would be caught and that would spell her doom.

 

She had been fleeing through the forest for hours and she wondered how far dawn was away. It must be close and when the sun came up she would be noticed missing. Then the hunt would begin for her.

 

She struggled to her feet again and wiped away her tears. She wouldn’t allow herself to give in so easily and she moved on, willing her tired legs to take the next step, and then the next.

 

Shortly the ground began to slope downwards and she could see a small trail at her feet. She hurried along it, eager to see where it led. She was hoping that she was nearing a road that lay on the far side of the forest. One that led to the western border of her kingdom… and hopefully safety somewhere.

 

The ground levelled out and she suddenly emerged into a small, moonlit clearing. She was so weary that she barely noticed the small ring of glowing silver ribbons. They were strung between poles in the middle of the clearing and she pushed through them without thinking.

 

A warning sounded somewhere in her tired mind, but too late to prevent her from falling into a deep hole in the ground. A weak cry escaped her as she plunged into inky darkness and then she hit some kind of net. She bounced around a few times in it, then stars exploded in her head as it hit a wall. As she blacked out she heard the odd sound of ringing bells somewhere below her.

 

* * *

 

The sound of a gruff but reassuring voice woke her again.

 

‘Come on, miss… wake up,’ it said. ‘You’re safe now.’

 

Giselle opened her eyes and found the bearded faces of three dwarves standing over her. She was lying on some kind of table and a soft, warm  blanket covered her.

 

‘Where… where am I?’ she whispered, wincing a little at the stiffness in her muscles and the ache in her skull.

 

‘You’re safe, miss,’ one of the dwarves with a jet black beard and wearing a heavy gold earring said. ‘My name’s Stone-Fist and this is Iron-Ear and Marble-Nose.’

 

The other two dwarves nodded at her at their names.

 

‘What’s your name?’ asked Iron-Ear, a dwarf with a thick ginger beard.

 

‘Giselle,’ she replied as she sat up to see where she was. ‘Princess Giselle.’

 

She found she was in a large cavern, quite well lit by bright lanterns hanging on hooks on the walls. A large fire was burning in a fireplace carved into one wall and there were numerous armchairs sitting before it. The table she was on looked like a dinner table as there were chairs all around it.

 

As to the dwarves, they looked like a friendly trio. She knew a little about dwarves. They were miners mostly, digging for gold, silver and precious gems. But they were also well known as weapon makers, swords, axes, spears and the like. They were said to be a solitary folk, but kind to strangers.

 

‘Where are you from, princess?’ Stone-Fist asked. ‘Do you live around here?’

 

Giselle nodded, wondering how much she should tell them. Could she trust them she wondered?

 

‘I live in a castle to the west of the forest,’ she replied. ‘I… I was walking through the forest and came across a clearing, then fell down a hole. I hit my head, but heard these bells ringing as I passed out.’

 

‘That was one of our airshafts, miss,’ said Marble-Nose. ‘You were caught in a net we hang in all our airshafts to catch anything falling inside. Can’t have forest animals getting hurt you know. And the bells are there to warn us if anything does fall in.’

 

‘So… I’m underground?’ Giselle asked.

 

Stone-Fist nodded.

 

‘Deep underground, princess,’ he replied in reassuring tone. ‘How do you feel?’

 

‘My head hurts a bit.’

 

‘Yes, you’ve got a bit of a bump on it, but it doesn’t look too bad,’ Marble-Nose said.

 

Giselle felt around her aching forehead and felt a small bump on it. She gave a weak smile as the dwarves regarded her intently. She supposed she should tell them why she had been blundering about the forest so late at night. But how much should she tell them she wondered again? Would they help her or turn her in?

 

Then tears suddenly welled in her eyes and she let out a sob.

 

‘There, there, princess!’ Stone-Fist said gently, giving her a gentle pat on a shoulder ‘As I said, you’re safe. Nothing will harm you here.’

 

‘I…. I suppose I should tell you why I was in the forest so late at night,’ she managed to say, stifling her crying.

 

‘Well… it is a bit unusual,’ Marble-Nose said.

 

‘From a certain point of view,’ Iron-Ear added mysteriously, but was quickly shushed by Stone-Fist.

 

Giselle took a deep breath, deciding to tell the dwarves everything. There was no point in hiding it and she really needed some help.

 

'It’s my stepmother,' she said. 'She’s a witch and she wants to kill me!’

 

The dwarves eyed each other with very knowing expressions.

 

‘They usually do,’ Marble-Nose muttered, but was shushed again by Stone-Fist.

 

‘Well, that is truly dreadful and I’m sure you have a harrowing tale to tell,’ Stone-Fist said. ‘But why don’t you get cleaned up first. Maybe a bath to relax you… then something to eat?’

 

Giselle looked at her forest clothes, grimy after her mad flight through the forest. She imagined the rest of her must look a woeful sight.

 

‘A bath would be nice,’ she replied.

 

‘Good,’ Stone Fist said. ‘Marble-Nose will show you where our bathing cavern is. After you’ve washed you can join us all for breakfast as dawn has just come to the surface.’

 

‘Thank you, Stone-Fist,’ Giselle said with a smile, feeling at ease for the first time in some days.

 

Stone-Fist watched them head off, exiting the cavern through one of four tunnel exits that was marked with a sign that read - ‘West Tunnel’. He hen turned to Iron-Ear.

 

‘Did you notice her eyes? They are quite startling,’ he said.

 

‘Yes, they are. A lilac colour must be very rare,’ Iron-Ear replied.

 

* * *

 

Giselle followed Marble-Nose down the tunnel till they arrived at the entrance to narrower one. They turned down it and short way along it emerged into a small cavern. In the middle of the floor was a large pool of steaming water. There were stone seats around it, as well as pegs on the walls for hanging clothes on whilst bathing.

 

‘Well… I’ll leave you here to wash up, princess,’ Marble-Nose said. ‘There’s some soap on that bench over there and a towel to dry yourself. I’ll see if I can find you some clean clothing.’

 

‘Thank you, Marble-Nose,’ Giselle said, smiling to herself at the curious names the dwarves had.

 

Once he had left, she stripped off her clothes that were very dirty and ripped in places where she had fallen on the ground. She slipped into the gloriously hot water and gave herself a good wash. She lay there for some time, letting the soothing water soak away her aches and pains. Then she got out, dried herself and wrapped the towel around her.

 

There were some clothes waiting for her at the cavern entrance and she realized one of the dwarves must have dropped them off for her. She dressed in the soft tunic and woollen leggings that fitted quite well and wondered where the dwarves had got them from.

 

She suddenly sniffed at the air and could smell the aroma of food… freshly baked bread, eggs and bacon. Her stomach rumbled hungrily, which was not surprising after the night’s ordeal.

 

She went back up to the main tunnel and approaching the main cavern, she could hear loud voices. When stepped inside she found it was filled with close to two dozen dwarves, all seated around the table eating with a lot of sipping, slurping and burping.

 

Looking around the cavern properly she saw that the other tunnel exits were marked with signs that read ‘North Tunnel’, ‘South Tunnel’ and ‘East Tunnel’. There was also a larger sign above the fireplace that read ‘Kingdom of the Red Moon - Prospecting Cavern 1’. She guessed the dwarves were prospecting for gold, silver and precious gems under her kingdom.

 

She caught Stone-Fist’s eye and he picked up heavy iron ladle and pounded the table with it.

 

'Let’s have some quiet, you lot!' he said. 'Our guest has arrived!'

 

The chatter faded away and the dwarves turned to look at Giselle. They all had thick beards, some short and some very long, some dark, ginger, grey or brown. Some of the beards were plaited as well and hung with gold or silver trinkets. Others wore heavy gold or silver rings in their ears.

 

Stone-Fist pulled out a chair next him and Giselle sat down.

 

'Please,' she said. 'Don't stop eating because of me.'

 

The dwarves didn’t need a second excuse and resumed eating, the cavern quickly becoming just as noisy as before.

 

‘Are you hungry?’ Stone-Fist asked.

 

‘Starving!’ she replied.

 

In no time a plate had been piled high with eggs, bacon, sausages and thick slices of toasted bread. She found she was quite hungry and ate the simple but wholesome food eagerly. But as she ate she wondered why the other dwarves showed little interest in her. They must surely be wondering what she was doing down here, yet no-one asked her any questions. They only smiled and winked at her when she looked at them.

 

Then breakfast was over and the majority of the dwarves began to head out of the cavern up the ‘North Tunnel’, picking up picks and shovels as they went. Shortly only Stone-Fist, Iron-Ear and Marble-Nose were left.

 

Iron-Ear had made another pot of tea and pouring everyone a cup, all three dwarves turned their attention to Giselle.

 

‘Now then, princess,’ Stone-Fist said. ‘Why don’t you tell us why your stepmother wants to kill you and why you think she is a witch.’