The Puppet Princess by Senor-Refresho on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Emily wandered the carnival, taking in the sights, but never finding that one thing that was truly spectacular. That is, until she stumbled upon a puppet theater and a life-sized puppet inside. Dressed in purples and pinks, it had a peculiar look, its body seeming somehow real, and eyes somehow alive.

It wobbled to life as Emily approached, strings pulling it up to dance across the stage. Its feet never really touched the ground, but glided and scraped across the wood as it moved. Cheerful music played from somewhere, and Emily smiled at the toy larger than her.

“What a lovely puppet!” she said.

“You must believe me, I’m not a puppet! I am a princess!” It said suddenly. Its eyes locked on Emily’s, displaying an incredible look of surprise.

“A princess?” Emily said, incredulous, still enjoying the dance the lively puppet did. “From where?”

“I’m from Arinshire. I-ack!” It said, as its strings abruptly pulled it from the edge of the stage and reset in the center.

As Emily watched, it was like the puppet had two minds. One to make it dance and skip, and the other to speak and tell a story. They had different intentions and two different attitudes. And when they came in conflict, the strings always won.

“My father’s lands were couped by one of his supposedly loyal Counts. The play was made, and my father deposed. I knew that the Count would be looking to legitimize his rule and want to marry me. So I—”

The puppet was once again interrupted when a new puppet dropped from the stage roof, a valiant knight marionette with wooden armor and a painted face. It began to chase the princess puppet to and fro, eager to win its affection with a false flower.

“I had to escape,” the princess continued, “but couldn’t get out of the castle on my own. Fortunately, a wandering puppeteer had arrived recently. I beseeched him to help me escape. We devised a plot, and I was dressed and painted as a doll, hidden away in a trunk in his wagon. Thus, I was smuggled from the castle.”

Emily nodded at the plausible story, but tilted her head and asked, “But just looking a puppet doesn’t make you one. How come you’re still stuck in this theater?”

In the story playing out, the wooden knight finally caught the princess, wrapping it up with its wooden arms, their dance become a true pas de deux. The princess had a look of annoyance on its face. It was now clear that it was made from different stuff than the knight.

“We made it several hours on the road before we became accosted by highwaymen. The puppeteer had no gold to bribe the men, but they agreed to let him go if they were given a show. The puppeteer used me as his own puppet, as I appeared the finest and best of his toys. The ruse was successful, and the highwaymen agreed to let us pass.

“All would have been well, but for a weirding woman among the group. She thought to enhance my puppet act. She touched my strings, and they became my masters. I cannot move but when they make me, cannot live but when I perform. And my puppeteer has lost all memory of my true self. He does not even hear my words. I—”

Once again interrupted, the princess and the knight ended their dance, and now walked across the stage arm in arm, toward an alter and priestly puppet. Emily watched the joining in rapt attention and liked this story a bit better than the one the puppet told because it was a happy one.

“For years, I’ve been trapped in this life of a merry marionette and will be for the foreseeable future. Please, can you fetch someone who could help me?” The puppet said, but its voice began to fade as its strings were lowered, along with the others, the lights on the stage dimming.

Emily thought about it as she wandered away from the theater, thinking to tell her father about the amazing puppet show. Perhaps he could pull some strings. After all, he was for the last twelve years the Duke of Arinshire.