The sun was shining from over the hill, the lake was calm and the trees were still. Winter memories were fading fast, cold snowy days were a thing of the past. Elsa and Kayley had their lunch all packed and their lifejackets on, then they pushed off from shore and they were gone. They will stay afloat in their little white boat called the “Elsa Kayley”. Rowing together sitting side by side heading down the lake on their boat ride.
The two girls continued to row and enjoy the beautiful spring day. The birds were singing in the trees, and they saw small animals playing along the shore. There was a warm gentle wind blowing that chased the big fluffy clouds across the sky.
They saw a few other small boats on the lake but they were quite far away. They ventured past a big rock in the middle of the lake called “Turtle Island,” then rowed further up and around a bend on the lake. Huge big maple and fir trees hung over the water and squirrels and beavers could be seen scurrying doing their spring cleaning.
After about an hour of rowing, the girls came to a private sheltered little cove and decided that this would be a good place to stop and have lunch. There was a sandy little beach with old fallen trees in the water. They carefully drifted in amongst the dead-falls and onto the soft sandy beach. They tied up their boat to a secure branch and unloaded their back packs and walked onto the shore.
They found a beautiful sunny little grassy area and laid out a blanket. Both girls laid back relaxed and rested after their long row. Kayley was about to reach into her pack and get her lunch when suddenly they heard what sounded like a horse trotting far off in the woods. They both sat up and listened carefully. Yes! It was a horse, and it seemed to be coming closer to them. Then from out of the thick trees appeared a big beautiful white horse with diamonds and jewels hanging around its neck and across its entire body. Riding the horse was a tall young man dressed in a blue suit. He too had diamonds and jewels wrapped around his clothes that glittered in the bright sun. Kayley and Elsa stood up in amazement. They were a little scared but excited at the same time. The young man said, “Good afternoon girls, my name is Prince Benson. I am from the Pristine Palace at the top of the mountain.”
Kayley said, “My name is Kayley and this is my cousin Elsa.” Elsa then asked,” What would you be doing riding through the forest on this beautiful day? The Prince then said, “I was sent by the Queen to find two princesses to join her at the palace for the annual ball this evening.” “Wow,” said Kayley. “Where do you think you will find princesses around here?” asked Elsa. Then the prince said, “I think I just found them. Would you girls like to be princesses for a night and attend the palace with the Queen?” Kayley and Elsa didn’t know what to say. But then Elsa remembered what her Mom and Dad said about talking to strangers and going places without telling them where she was going.
Elsa said, “Yes we would love to go but would have to ask our parents first.” The prince said, “Ok, I will wait, but only for a few minutes as I must get back to the palace soon.”
Elsa picked up her cell phone and phoned home. Her mom answered the phone and Elsa explained to her about the encounter with the prince and the invitation to be a princess for the night at the palace. As it turned out Kayley’s Mom and Dad were visiting at Elsa’s house so both sets of parents were aware of the situation and discussed it amongst themselves. Finally, with a bit of a joking voice Elsa’s mom said, “Ok, on two conditions. You have to be home before dark and the prince must turn your little white boat into a royal carriage.” “Ha ha,” she laughed, “Let me know how you make out.” Elsa then hung up the phone, looked sadly at the prince and said, “My Mom thinks this is a big joke and said we can go if we are home before dark and if you could magically turn our boat into a royal carriage.”
Then the prince got off his horse and took a huge big beautiful blue blanket from the saddle bag. He walked over to the girls little white boat and placed the blanket over the entire boat. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a little golden bag of glittery powder. He sprinkled the powder on the blanket and muttered a few words. Then suddenly there was a large bellow of blue and white smoke. The girls stood back with the horse and watched in amazement. When the smoke had cleared there a huge blue and gold carriage all shiny and glittering with sparkling jewels. The prince then said, “This way ladies.” He opened the door to the carriage and helped Elsa and Kayley in. He gently closed the door and asked, “Are you ready to meet the Queen and come to the palace?” Elsa said, “One minute please.”
She took out her cell phone and quickly called her Mom back. She said, “Mom! We are off to the palace in a royal carriage.” Her Mom said, “Yes dear, sure you are. Have fun and be home before dark.” In the background Elsa could hear the four parents laughing in the background and saying, those girls sure have a good imagination! Elsa then said, “Okay Prince Benson. We are ready to go.”
The prince then backed up the horse and tied the carriage to a special tow rope from the horse and secured the doors. Soon they were on their way to the palace at the top of the mountain. Inside the carriage were soft velvet seats and plush carpeting. On the walls and ceiling hung various sparkling jewels and golden chains.
The prince yelled back and said, “Help your selves to the food and drinks in the royal fridge.” Kayley opened the fridge door and handed Elsa a cream cheese and cucumber sandwich and found a grilled cheese treat for herself. She heated up the grilled cheese in the royal microwave oven above the fridge. They also picked out a cool drink box for each of them.
After about 30 minutes Elsa mentioned to Kayley, “It is just about 3:00 pm now. How are we going to be back before dark?” Kayley said, “Yah, right. We better check with Prince Benson about that.” Kayley stuck her head out of the window and called to the prince. The carriage stopped and the prince got off his horse and opened the carriage door. He said, “Is something wrong girls?” Kayley said, “No, not really but we were wondering how we could attend the ball at the palace and be back home before dark?” The prince then said, “Look ahead up the trail. See that huge old fir tree that is hollowed out? Once we pass through it we enter into another time zone and your time stops until you come back through the tree again.” “Wow” said Kayley and Elsa together. The prince got back onto the horse and they slowly approached the huge hollowed out tree.
As they entered inside the tree it got quite dark for a few seconds then on the other side there were bright lights, stars and magical flying carriages. There were people walking, running and driving all sorts of royal vehicles.
The prince yelled back to the girls, “Lots of other people are coming to the ball tonight too.” Elsa and Kayley looked out the window and saw a huge big white palace at the top of a hill and knew they were getting close. Just then they heard the prince’s cell phone ring. They could hear him talking to someone. He pulled over and parked on the side of the trail.
He then yelled back to the girls, “That was the Queen. She just wanted to confirm that I found two princesses for the ball tonight. She told me to take you to the beauty salon and then to the dress and make up room located on the second floor of the palace” The prince continued, “We will park out front and take the royal escalator to the second floor.”
Soon they arrived at the palace, parked out front and the prince got off his horse and opened the door and helped the girls out of the carriage. He immediately escorted them to the beauty salon and introduced them to the lady working there. He said that after they got their hair done, they could walk across the hall and pick out a royal gown, shoes and jewellery to wear for the ball tonight. The prince said he would be back to pick them up when they were ready.
Elsa and Kayley went into the salon and sat up on big soft chairs as the ladies curled and made up their hair. About an hour later they were led into the dress and makeup room. There were hundreds of different types of gowns, dresses, shoes and jewellery. The girls spent just over an hour trying on various items until they found just the right combination. Soon they both were ready to go. They pushed a special button on the wall and it connected them directly with the prince. He answered right away and said he would be there to pick them up within minutes.
About 3 minutes later Prince Benson appeared. He said, “Holy Precious Princess, you girls look beautiful!” He then escorted them back down to the carriage and soon they were off to the main ball room and banquet. Upon arriving at the ball room another prince appeared. Prince Benson introduced him as his brother, Prince Henson. Prince Benson escorted Princess Elsa and Prince Henson escorted Princess Kayley to the head table and introduced them to the Queen and other royal guests. Prince Henson was seated in royalty chair #2, Kayley was seated in royalty chair # 3, the Queen was in number #4, Elsa was in #5 and Prince Benson was in #6. There were hundreds of people in the room. It was all decorated with streamers, bright lights that moved across the ceiling, flowers and a large revolving crystal dome that reflected the lights throughout the room. There was a band playing in the background, some song about a baby whale named Beluga.
Soon it was time for dinner. Numerous waiters appeared from the kitchen and began bringing trays of food to all the guests. They served the head table first where the princes, princesses and Queen were seated. The trays of food included fresh sushi, wild sockeye salmon, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables, mushroom soup and tortellini’s. Just prior to everyone beginning to eat, Prince Benson and Prince Henson proposed a toast to Princesses Elsa and Kayley and welcomed them to the ball.
The Queen also welcomed everyone and gave the order to begin eating. All you could hear was the clanking of knifes and forks as the food was devoured by the hungry guests. Ice tea, cool milk, juice and coffee were all available to compliment their meal. Once the plates were empty, waiters then brought out mounds of fresh chocolate, cakes of all kinds, an ice cream variety pack and a selection of delicious pies.
About an hour later everyone was finished eating. The waiters came back and cleared all the dishes and utensils off the tables and made room for everyone to dance. The band began to play music, the lights dimmed and the ball was underway. Both princes asked their new princesses to dance. They danced, laughed and sang songs together throughout the night. Everyone was having a wonderful time. Soon the big royal clock struck 11:30 pm and people started to leave. The princes mentioned to Elsa and Kayley that they would have to leave now, in order to get back to the lake so they could return home before dark.
Kayley and Elsa thanked the Queen and other royalties at the head table for a great dinner and entertainment. They then departed but stopped first at the make up room and changed back into their rowing clothes. They then jumped back into the carriage and were soon on their way back. After about 30 minutes they approached the huge hollow fir tree. It was still dark and the stars were shining bright. The time was approaching midnight in the palace land. They entered the hollow tree and came out the other side to a beautiful sunny day. They checked the time on their cell phone and it was exactly 3:00pm.
The princes continued down the trail in the sunshine and finally came to where Prince Benson first met Kayley and Elsa by the lake. Both girls got out and stood by the horse. Prince Henson unhooked the carriage and both he and Prince Benson wheeled it gently down partially into the lake. They covered it with the large blue blanket, sprinkled some magic golden glitter on it and suddenly, Poof!….Blue and white smoke bellowed out. When the smoke cleared Kayley and Elsa’s little white boat appeared and the carriage was gone. The girls gave each prince a hug and said thanks for the adventure and fun. The princes helped them into the boat and were about to push the boat off when suddenly they remembered something.
“Wait Kayley and Elsa, the Queen wanted us to give you a little present from the palace to thank you for coming to the ball.” Prince Benson reached into his saddle bag and pulled out two shiny golden metal boxes. One had the name Princess Elsa and the other had Princess Kayley engraved on the top. Prince Henson said the Queen asked that you not open them until you get safely home again. Then the princes handed each of them their box and pushed the little white boat out onto the lake.
The girls immediately began rowing away out of the bay and back down the lake towards home. Just before they rounded the corner coming out of the bay they looked back and saw both princes on their horses waving as they slowly rode back into the woods and away.
It was 3:30 pm and the girls estimated that they should be back home or at least back to where they launched their boat by 4:30pm. Their parents would be meeting them there. As they rowed past Turtle Island Kayley said, “Gee, I wonder what is in the Golden Boxes we got from the Queen?” Elsa said, “I don’t know but remember, we can’t open them until we get home.”
Kayley said, “I remember, but let’s just take a look at them now, and maybe rattle them a bit?” Elsa said, “Sure, I am anxious to find out what is in them as well.” Kayley reached into their packs and brought out the two shiny golden metal boxes. She was holding a box in each hand. They were glittering in the bright sunlight. Suddenly a speed boat pulling a water skier sped by next to their little white boat and caused a big wave that rocked their boat. Kayley got knocked quickly to the edge of the boat and had to grab onto the side to prevent being thrown into the water. As a result of grabbing onto the boat both golden metal boxes fell into the lake and slowly sank beneath Turtle Island. Both girls leaned over the edge of the boat and watched as the boxes went further and further down into the water. Finally they went out of sight.
Kayley and Elsa looked at each other in shock! “Oh no,” said Elsa, “Now we will never know what was in the boxes!” There was a few moment of silence and then they had no alternative but to continue to row back towards home and away from Turtle Island.
Finally they arrived back where they launched the boat and were met by their parents. The parents loaded up the boat into the back of Kayley’s Dads pickup truck and the girls carried their packs and put them into the truck. Elsa’s Mom asked, “So how was the Royal Carriage ride and the ball with the Queen?” Both girls said, “Great”.
“I suppose you were escorted to the ball by a couple of princes, danced and enjoyed a royal dinner at a fancy palace?” she asked. Elsa said, “Yup.” “I think you girls are reading too many stories about princesses,” replied her Mom. “By the way girls, how did your hair get so curly?” asked Kayley’s mom. “Must have been from the hot sun and lake breeze,” said Elsa’s mom. Both Elsa and Kayley looked at each other and just smiled.
All four parents laughed as they all got into their vehicles and departed. The sun was setting now and the lake was getting dark. Kayley and Elsa hugged each other as they left the lake and looked through the rear window of the truck. They could faintly see Turtle Island. There was a mysterious golden glow coming up from the water next to the island.
Kayley asked her dad to stop for a minute and take a look. He pulled over to the side of the road and they all got out and looked back towards Turtle Island. He said, “Wow, that is strange! I have never seen anything like that before. ” Now the whole island was lit up by a golden glow. It only lasted a few minutes and then it went dark again.
They continued home with their little white boat. Years passed and both Kayley and Elsa remained best friends and often talk about their magical princess adventure, although no one believed them. Quite often just after dark Turtle Island still takes on a golden glow for a few minutes.
Kayley and Elsa agreed that when they got older they would take scuba lessons and dive to the bottom of the lake and look for their golden boxes, next to Turtle Island.
