The Princess and the Pauper

Name: Kamille Santos

Teacher's Name: Mr. Martins

Course Code: ENG 3U1

Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Period: 4

The Princess and the Three Tears

Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a beautiful princess named Joyce. She possessed the perfect life that any girl could ever wish for. She lived in a beautiful castle with her parents who unconditionally loved her as well as she has her two best friends named Alexis and Eunice who have always been there by her side. Most of all, she is set to marry her childhood sweetheart named Prince Alden in just a few days. On a fateful day, Princess Joyce travelled to a town nearby using the royal carriage to gather the roses she had picked for upcoming wedding. "As days go by," pondered the princess, "I cannot help but get more and more excited for my big day." On her way back to the castle, there was a heavy storm. It was pouring rain, and there was thunder and lightning everywhere. At this moment, the royal carriage was travelling across the bridge and was moving out of control. Due to the gusting winds, the carriage fell from the bridge and went straight down into the raging river with the princess trapped inside.

The next day, Princess Joyce walked away from the carriage in a daze. She was stunned to see her body being taken away and her parents on the side flooded with tears. "What is happening?" she wondered. "Why am I a spirit?" The only person who seemed to notice her presence is a mysterious man dressed in black. She asked him, "Are you able to see me?" She stood there waiting for a response, but the man only grinned and left the princess puzzled. The man is called the Scheduler, an angel who awaits to take souls to their final destination.

Joyce followed her body that was being taken to the castle and watched her loved ones, Alexis, Eunice, and Prince Alden mourn for her death. It has been a ritual that whenever someone within the royal family dies that his/her body will be kept in the castle for ten days before the body is buried in the cemetery. At that moment, she finally realized that she had died and had now become a lingering spirit. Suddenly, Princess Joyce met the Scheduler once again.

"Who are you? Why are you able to see me?" she asked.

He looked at her, his expression serious and said, "I am the Scheduler or you can call me the angel of death."

"The angel of death?" asked the princess.

"Yes, that is correct!" he answered.

"You've been following me," she continued, "I saw you at the river standing and staring."

"Well, I am here to inform you that it was not your scheduled time to die yet. So I am giving you a mission to grant you a second chance to live." the Scheduler responded.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

The Scheduler told Princess Joyce that if she is able to succeed in fulfilling her mission, she will be given another chance to come back to life. Her mission is that she must gather three pure and genuine teardrops from three people who truly love her apart from her family within the next ten days. If she is unable to complete this mission, then she will head to the afterlife as planned. Instantly, she thought of her prince and her two best friends whom she believes have all genuinely loved her. Thus, she was certain that she will live again. "Here is a teardrop necklace