NOTE: I left off from part 1 in kind of an odd place, sorry about that. Also, I know the title says it’s a fairytale, but I’ve decided to go in a different direction. I hope you enjoy it!
There’s plenty I’d like to never see again, but some things are inevitable. Death, heartbreak, struggle, injustice, loneliness. The list is as never ending as it is depressing. But I manage to keep my head up and keep moving along. I’m preparing. I will not go easy. In my little cupboard of a room I’ve got a whole arsenal of knives, guns, shields, and even a sword I stole from the armory. It was one of the prince’s finest, but he won’t even notice it’s gone, it’s three season’s old and his father’s had him about six swords made since. Although I couldn’t help but notice the armory was looking a little sparser since I was last there before the invasion. I can’t be the only one sneaking protection here and there. But like I said, I’m safe in the castle. For now anyway.
But as soon as those brain-hungry zombies start to attack the village I’m out of here. I will die before I see my family turned because no one is willing to step out from the cushy castle to help. I’ve been practicing too, with Prince Cameron. Not with his stolen sword of course, that would be beyond stupid. But he’s actually a pretty nice guy, not nearly as vain and ignorant as his sister, if he was he wouldn’t be caught dead helping a servant in his free time. He’s a bit of a geek actually; he tutors at the little school house and spend his extra time reading. But like all good princes he knows how to fight. He was practically raised with a sword as his teddy bear.
The King and Queen aren’t the most loving parents around. I started working for the royal family six years ago, when I was only eleven, and their third child was seven years old. I saw how they raised Princess Catherine, and I could see why Cameron would cling to a sword before he would confront his parents. Catherine was groomed into a perfect princess, even though that meant missing out on a childhood and friends, and that’s not something that can be regained during a zombie war. She’s thirteen now, but you wouldn’t know it if you sat down to tea with her. She’s much more mature than her older sister, although that’s not saying much.
One might expect that after six years of working with Princess Cornelia we might actually be friends, but sometimes I wonder if she even knows my name. No doubt something she learned from her parents who still call me “servant” every time they address me. But I don’t think it will be too long now until the castle is overrun by zombies, then they will have to learn to fend for themselves. I’ve heard the other servants talking, I pretend not to listen and I’m pretty good at being invisible when I want to be, so no one watches what they say around me and I hear all the best gossip. The others are out of here the second the walls are breached, some even plan to leave early and get a head start.
I’ve also heard the knights talking, their defenses are strong but the zombies are growing in numbers each day. There’s also word that peasants on the outskirts are organizing and plan to break through. I don’t blame them for wanting the protection of the kingdom, there is no reason why everyone on the outskirts can’t cross over the moat and enter the small enclosed city. There’s room enough for everyone and resources for at least a month. But the King and Queen are very strict about their decree that no one gets in and no one gets out. I expect that I’m one of only a few who’ve been on the outside in months. When I’m practicing with Prince Cameron he tells me of the knights’ great frustration that they are locked within the kingdom walls and unable to fight the evil in the world. He jokes that if the zombies don’t break in soon, the knights will break out. I wish he was right.
I want someone out there protecting my family and all those families on the outskirts. Over the past few weeks there have been three attempts by zombies trying to get into their boarded up cottage. The groups are small now, but even zombies don’t take long to figure out that they are stronger together than apart. I just wish the rulers of this kingdom were as smart, because I don’t know how much longer my family has until waiting is no longer an option.