(Read Part One)

Princess Caroline went inside the cave, put her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs. She shivered and cried. She felt so alone and hungry. She trembled, tried to make herself as warm as possible. 

“Why am I here? I just don’t understand,” She sobbed.

All of a sudden, she heard a hissing voice nearby, “You are not alone!”

Princess Caroline perked up when she heard the voice. She glanced at every angle to find another human being, but it was a small snake that slithered toward her. The snake scales had brown and green, with tiny specks of blue and silver. He noticed the little golden crown on her head. Caroline froze and was unsure what to do with the snake.

“May I ask why you are in this cave, princesssss?” The small snake asked.

Caroline’s face fell, and her mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe that the voice she heard came from the snake.  

“You can talk?” Caroline asked, stunned at what she saw.

“Why, yessss! But I believe you have not answered my question, princesssss.” The snake asked her again.

“Oh, right. Well, I’m not sure why I am here. Someone close to me kidnapped me, took me here, and almost killed me. But he never explained why,” The princess sighed, “But why would my sister kill our own parents?” 

Caroline pondered about her sister, Roseanne. She shook her head, and the snake stared at her.

“What is your name?” Caroline asked.

“My name is Lex. I am one of the raressst sssnakes that you have ever sssseen. And yourssss?”

“My name is Caroline… Princess Caroline.”

“I sssee.”

Caroline still sat in the same spot, and her eyes widened at the fact that the snake was so close to her.  She was afraid that the snake would bite her, but it did not budge. “Where is your home?”

“This is my home, ssssweetie.

 “Is there a way to get out of here?” Princess Caroline asked.

“I don’t know. I can tell you that thiss island is magical. The more you ssstay here, the more you will gain magic.”

Caroline frowned at the wishful thinking to escape from the island. She, however, was intrigued by the fact that the island she happened to be on was enchanted. Her eyes twinkled with delight when she heard the words “island” and “magic” in the same sentence.

“Sssorry to disappoint you, princesssss. I don’t know about you, but I think we ssshould explore the island for food.”

The princess sighed. She stood up and got out of the cave. She walked through the island while Lex slithered from behind. After they stride for a mile, they come upon a berry bush. Princess Caroline raised her eyebrows as she picked a berry and studied it at every angle. Is this even edible? I hope this berry won’t poison me.

“Don’t worry. They are good to eat. I promissse.” The snake assured Caroline as if he were reading her thoughts.

Caroline smiled at the snake. “Thank you, Lex. You are the most helpful snake I ever met.” 

“I wish the sssame to you, Caroline. You are the kindessst princesssss I ever met. Ssssome people would have tried to sssshoo me away or try to kill me.”

Caroline giggled at the comment. She then picked the berries from the bush and plopped one berry at a time in her mouth. As she ate, she saw Lex swallow a whole rat. She almost choked on the berries when she caught sight of it. After Lex finished, he looked at her.

“Does thissss bother you, princesssss?” The snake asked.

She nodded her head.

“Next time I do that, I’ll make ssssure you won’t sssee.”

From that point on, Lex and Princess Caroline became friends.

On the second day of living on the island, Princess Caroline woke up in the small cave. Lex’s tail was curled in, and he slept. She decided to wander around since she was curious about the enchanted island. As she continued to roam, she pointed to the ground in front of her and said, “Blueberries.” Once she said that a basket filled with fresh blueberries stood in front of her. I learned magic! Lex was right. I made things appear in front of me, at least on the island. She took the basket with her and ran back to the cave. When Lex woke up, Caroline frantically told him about how she could make things appear. It surprised Lex because the Princess was already learning magic by the second day.

For the next three days, Princess Caroline was still stuck on the island. She remembered what the helpful snake said, “The more you stay here, the more you will gain magic.” She made things appear in front of her when she said the word of what she wanted or needed. It then took her another few days to speak and to hear any animal that she could encounter.

As the evening approached, Caroline and Lex shivered. 

Can you pleassee make some fire? I’m cold. Lex thought. 

The princess smiled, and she knew what she had to do. With her arms out in front of her, she said, “fire.” A small bonfire appeared with flames blazing, and it kept them warm.  

Princess Caroline put her hands near the fire while the snake stood still and watched it glow.

If only I could get off this island… I miss my home. She thought sadly.

Lex saw the frown on Princess Caroline’s face.  

“Do you think the reason you can talk is because of this island? I know for sure snakes can’t talk,” The princess asked.

“I think sssso.  I know humansss can’t make thingsss appear in front of their eyessss.” Lex joked.

Princess Caroline giggled at the joke while the snake made hissing sounds that sounded like laughter. In the middle of their fun, they heard voices approaching the island. The princess wondered if they were actually humans or other animals that can talk.

“I’ll check to ssssee who it is. You stay here, princesssss.” 

Caroline nodded her head. Lex slithered to the voices, and he scared them. One of the men, the prince, grabbed the sword and was ready to stab Lex.

 “Ssstop! Don’t kill me!” Lex yelled to the men.

Prince Edward and the servant were equally surprised and confused that the snake could talk. They looked at each other, and Edward pointed his sword at the snake.

“Why should I not kill you?” Edward demanded.

“Because the snake helped me!” Caroline’s voice shouted from afar.

She appeared out of the cave. Edward dropped his sword, and he was pleased to see her well.

“Caroline! You’re alive!” The prince exclaimed.

“Edward! I missed you!”  

Caroline and Edward hugged each other. They were about to kiss until the servant said, “Sorry to ruin the moment, but Queen Roseanne will not be happy, especially with me.”

“Why issss that?” Lex questioned.

“Because I was supposed to kill Caroline, but I didn’t.” Bradley confessed. 

“For ssshame! We sssshould kill the queen instead…” Lex proposed.  

“… or just put her in her place,” Princess Caroline added in.  

Everyone thought hard and long. The servant, Prince Edward, Princess Caroline, and Lex gathered around the bonfire. Edward had his arm around Caroline. The servant sat next to the prince, and Lex stayed by the princess’s side. 

“Got any ideasss? I think killing the queen will just lead to more chaossss.” Lex leads.

“I got nothing,” Edward said.

“Me too,” Bradley added.

“I learned magic on this island. Lex and I can use magic!” Princess Caroline exclaimed.

“There is magic on this island?” Prince Edward questioned, cocking his eyebrow.

“Listen, Lex knows more magic than I do since he has been on this island longer than me. But I can make things appear. I can also talk to animals and read their thoughts. But in order to use magic, we need to concentrate.”

Lex thought about it, and he knew Princess Caroline was on to something. 

“That isss true, Caroline. In fact, I can also transport any animal or human being to another place.” 

“Okay! Here’s the plan: Prince Edward and I will go into the castle first to distract the queen. While that happens, the princess and Lex will sneak into the castle and use their magic on the queen. We will make sure that the queen doesn’t leave the castle.” Bradley added in. 

“That’s a great idea! Starting tomorrow, we will do it,” Edward encouraged.

The next day, everyone got on the small boat, including the snake. Bradley and Prince Edward walked to the castle slowly. Princess Caroline and Lex followed behind. The servant opened the castle doors. Rose stood from her throne and looked pleased. Caroline had no idea why her sister was so delighted.  

“Well, it seems that my sister won’t be here for a long time,” Rose happily told the servant and the prince.

While Bradley and Prince Edward were distracting the queen, Caroline and Lex snuck into the castle and tried to figure out what magic spell Lex could do. The snake could transport humans or any animal to another place quickly. All Lex had to do was stare at who needed to be transported, and shut his eyes tight for two seconds. Then when he opened his eyes, they would disappear. Roseanne then caught the snake and Princess Caroline.

“You didn’t kill my sister!?” Roseanne said, outraged.

Caroline could not believe that Rose was behind this. Her older sister was the one that sent her away and wanted her dead.       

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I couldn’t do it…” Bradley said. 

“Well, if I would have known, I could have done it myself.”

“Roseanne, you are not the right queen for this country!” Caroline added in.

“How dare you speak like that to me, Caroline!” Roseanne shouted.

Caroline remembered how she could make things appear on the island. She looked at her hand and said, “sword.” Suddenly, a small silver sword appeared in her hand. It worked! Caroline pointed her sword to her sister. Roseanne looked surprised, and then she shook her head.

“Do you want to fight me?” Queen Roseanne said.

“I will not fight you, Rose. You know that better than anyone. If you continue to be a horrible queen for our kingdom, I will have to put you away. The citizens would agree with me.”

Lex, Prince Edward, and even Bradley nodded their heads in agreement with the princess.

“I will not let you put me away! You will…” Queen Roseanne shouted.

Princess Caroline looked at Lex, and the snake knew what he had to do. Lex stared at Roseanne for a few seconds. He shut his eyes tight for two seconds, and then when he opened them, the queen vanished. Princess Caroline jumped for joy that it worked, but she wondered where he transported her sister to.

Later, the princess found her sister in an underground prison located underneath the castle. Caroline asked her if she could have the crown because she knew Roseanne would be in prison for a long time. With hesitation, Roseanne finally offered the diamond crown to Caroline to become the new queen.

When Princess Caroline came back, Prince Edward, Bradley, and Lex applauded for her. They realized that Princess Caroline showed her bravery by putting Roseanne in her place. They celebrated their victory, and their plan went well.

One month later, Edward and Caroline got married, and they made Lex, the snake, as their royal pet. The citizens of Manchester roared excitedly for the new king and queen. And they lived happily ever after.  

The End.