Once upon
a time there was a beautiful and prosperous kingdom “MAGNIFIQUA” with crystal
clear streams, lush green fields and pretty flowers. The king and queen had two
daughters - Diamond and Ruby. Diamond, the elder child, was a quiet and gentle
girl who loved to read books and paint. Ruby was a vivacious, intelligent and
inquisitive child who loved to spend time outdoors.
The royal
family had some secrets. Did you ever wonder why Diamond was named Diamond? She
was named so because in her was embedded a priceless diamond which controlled the
future of the kingdom. Ruby was a blessed child who had the power to commune
with nature, the sun, moon and stars. The royal family guarded these powerful
secrets with great care.
One day the
princesses went to a beautiful hill which the locals called Crescent Mount. They
plucked flowers, made pretty flower crown and enjoyed themselves amidst nature,
birds and bees. On the way back to the castle, they were attacked by the evil
witch Malbruja. Much to the dismay of the princesses, Malbruja, using her
magical power, had discovered the royal secret and now wanted the diamond for
herself. She knocked Ruby unconscious and took Diamond with her. Upon regaining
consciousness, Ruby set out to search for her beloved sister.
Meanwhile,
the witch was torturing Diamond to tell her in which part of her body the
diamond was. But Diamond, though gentle, was not a feeble princess. She flatly
refused the witch. In a fit of rage, Malbruja with an evil spell, sucked all
the power out of Diamond. Malbruja enclosed Diamond’s powers in a crystal drop,
kept it in a crystal jar and placed the jar in the fourth room of the fort. She
created a thousand keys, out of which, one was the correct key to the forth
room. She left Diamond to die in a sealed iron room of her magical dragon
guarded fort. Just then she heard some loud noise and the growl of her pet
dragon Centojo. With a swish of her cape she ran out and in her hurry,
unnoticed, fell a diary & pen from her pocket………….
Malbruja had
a major problem……. she had no memory!! But clever as she was, with her magical
power, she had created a magic pen and diary in which all her thoughts and
actions got noted down for her future reference. And those were the diary and
pen that had fallen off……
While all
this was happening, Ruby was frantically searching for her sister. She asked
the Sun, Moon, Stars, streams and flower what to do, where to go. Guided by her
special friends, she finally reached a deserted, sprawling fort guarded by a
hundred-eyed dragon named Centojo. Smelling human flesh, Centojo started
growling and flashing fire (hearing which Malbruja had come out). But little
Ruby sneaked into the fort and tiptoed into the alleys, searching for Diamond. At
last she came upon a room with an iron door. She huffed and puffed and put in
her best efforts and finally managed to push it open..
Ruby
was horrified with the sight that met her eyes. Diamond, frail and thin as a
reed, was sprawled on the floor and was trying to reach a little diary lying in
the corner of the room. Ruby ran to her sister and hugged her tight. She then
picked up the diary with a little pen tucked into it. The diary opened to a
page which read “in the 4th room of the fort will be a crystal drop
in a crystal jar containing all the powers of Diamond. Consume it to gain
supreme power over the Kingdom of MAGNIFIQUA. Open the 4th room with
the crystal key in the bunch of the thousand keys” Ruby rushed to the fourth
room, found the key, the jar and the crystal drop just as mentioned in the
diary. She fed the drop to Diamond. Immediately Diamond regained her strength
and became well again.
The diary
less Malbruja was already powerless with a failed memory. She had forgotten how
to control her pet dragon Centojo. The confused dragon burnt himself and his
mistress to death with his fire fumes.
The two
sisters, now supremely powerful, ran out of the fort, and rushed back to their
kingdom much to the joy and relief of the King & Queen. The royal family
and the whole kingdom lived happily ever after, safe with their powerful
secrets.
Initial version was penned down by Aatreyee sometime in 2015. Elaborated and fine tuned for a story writing competition held in August '16
