TROUBLE COMES IN LIKE A LION (THE WOUNDED LION FLASH FICTION!)

Hello everyone! EXCITING DAY TODAY because today I bring you another installment of THE ADVENTURES OF TRENTLEY AND JYNNIA. *confetti*

So, if you didn't know, every month there's a new writing prompt on Intuitive Writing Guide to go along with the featured fairy tale over at The Fairy Tale Central. (and if you don't know what FTC is, GO BURY YOURSELF IN ITS GOODNESS. RIGHT NOW.) This month the featured fairy tale is: THE WOUNDED LION!

I had NEVER heard of The Wounded Lion before. And if you haven't either, you need to go read it right now because it's one of my new favorites. The heroine is just so sweet and kind and, I mean, LIONS.

Buuut I digress. I'm excited to share with you the newest Trentley and Jynnia story, brought to you by the writing prompt of the month!

DISCLAIMER: If you've read my past Trentley and Jynnia stories, do nooot expect continuity or anything. xD These stories are all so vastly different, it'd be hard to stay consistent with only a couple weeks at the MOST to write them each month. I just write these for fun and your entertainment, so I don't focus too much on minor details (or major details, let's be honest xD).  (I do have a full-length book I'm working on about Trentley and Jynnia, which you may remember me talking about last NaNoWriMo. That's separate from these stories and is therefore not affected by the continuity or lack thereof. xD)

All right, here it is! (another disclaimer: I fully acknowledge how awful my titles for these stories are xD)

TROUBLE COMES IN LIKE A LION

 "Is that what I think it is?" Jynnia gasped and ran toward the woods.
 "Jynnia, wait!" I should know better by now than to try to slow her down. Trentley watched her running toward the forest, her dress flapping around her knees in the wind. Even a nice evening stroll couldn't go as planned, with her. He smiled as he walked toward her at a much slower pace, feeling a surge of love for the wild-hearted girl before him.
 "It's a cottage!" Jynnia threw the excited words over her shoulder.
 "Jynnia, might I remind you that last time you ran into the woods in a hurry, we got followed by a dwarf? And I got turned into a bear?"
 She stopped and grinned back at him.
 "And it was in the forest that you got turned into a frog." Trentley reached her and put his hands on his hips. "Bad things happen in the forest, Jynnia. Very bad things."
 Jynnia laughed. "Stop teasing. It's a cottage, Trentley. A cottage in the woods! I have to look at it!" She darted the last few yards into the trees.
 Trentley sighed but kept smiling and followed her.
 When he joined her again, she was peering in the window.
 "Jynnia!" Trentley said, amused. "You can't just peek in people's windows."
 "Nobody's in there," Jynnia said. She ran to the door and gently tried the knob. Trentley was about to say something about breaking into someone's house, but the door easily opened.
 "Yikes, it's a mess in here," Jynnia said, stepping inside. Trentley followed her.
 "Guess we'll have to clean it," Trentley said.
 Jynnia gasped. "That's a great idea!"
 "No-- Jynnia-- I was just--"
 But Jynnia had already flung the door wide open to let in the dim forest light and began work tidying up the one-room cottage. Trentley stood in the doorway watching her with a smile.
 "You're something, you know that?"
 "I had to!" Jynnia said, holding her hands out. She had an empty vase in one hand and a dirty pillow in the other, and a big smile on her face. "It reminded me of a fairy tale I read once."
 "Oh, boy," Trentley said under his breath, standing up straight.
 "Plus, won't it be so lovely when someone comes in here-- whether they live here or they just need a place to stay for the night-- and it's all neat and tidy? What a dream."
 "Exactly what fairy tale, Jynnia?"
 "Huh?" Jynnia looked up from sweeping the floor with a broom she'd found in the corner. "Oh, the one about the girl who finds a wounded lion in the woods and he turns out to be a handsome prince."
 "Jynnia, what if there's a jewel--"
 "Guess that makes you my handsome prince."
 "Jynnia, it's getting dark, maybe we should--"
 A growl, loud and agonized, silenced them both. Jynnia shrieked.
 Trentley spun around.
 For a few moments there was nothing. Then, limping toward them through the trees, was a young man. He held his thigh as if it pained him, and grimaced as he walked. He wore rather royal-looking clothing, though they were dirty and torn in places.
 He seemed distracted, but finally looked up and saw Trentley and Jynnia. Stopping short, he demanded, "Who are you?"
 Trentley hesitated and reached back to take Jynnia's hand, pulling her close to his side.
 Jynnia pressed herself to him and looked at the newcomer carefully. "Random question for you. Are you a lion by any chance?"
 Alarm flickered across the man's face, and he squinted at her. "Why would--" He suddenly looked behind her, through the open door. "Wait. Since we're asking random questions, have you been cleaning my house?"
 "Oh, uh... this is your house?"
 "Told you!" Trentley muttered.
 The man ran to the door-- or limped as quickly as he could-- and peered inside. "It wasn't even this clean when I found it," he said in amazement. "Why did you clean it?"
 "I, uh..." Jynnia shrugged, amused by this situation. "Just thought it would be nice."
 He stood up straight and looked at her with interest. "You never told me who you were."
 "My name is Trentley," Trentley said.
 "And I'm Jynnia," she said.
 The man squinted at them. "I am Prince Herek."
 "Prince?" Jynnia sputtered, looking up at Trentley open-mouthed. "So, uh, back to that last question I asked..."
 Prince Herek gave a pained smile. "Yes, indeed, I am a lion. At least, during the day I am. Truly, during the darkness is the only time I can retain my real form. Cruel, isn't it?"
 "I'm sorry," Jynnia said. "Is there anything we can do to help?
 Trentley wanted to erase her question. Something didn't sit right with him about this man.
 But the prince's eyes brightened, and he stepped closer. "Such a kind soul," he said. "First you clean my house, then you offer to help me from my curse."
 Trentley looked around for a jewel. There had to be one somewhere, and he felt the smartest thing would be to get it and get out.
 Prince Herek eyed Trentley, and Trentley eyed him back.
 "Come, Sir Trentley," Prince Herek said, backing slowly through the doorway while keeping his eye on Trentley. "Let me give you something for cleaning my house."
 "But I wasn't the one who--"
 "Let me give you something for your lady, then." He had disappeared into the cottage.
 Trentley looked at Jynnia. "Stay here," he warned, and stepped toward the door.
 Before he could even cross the threshold, Herek emerged with a vase-- the one Jynnia had been holding earlier-- and smashed it over Trentley's head.
 Jynnia screamed, and white light flooded Trentley's vision. 

      * * *

 They stood on the side of a mountain.
 Jynnia's legs burned. Her feet hurt. Her wrist was sore from Herek's pulling on it the whole night.
 Tears spilled from her eyes. Exhaustion and worry made it hard to remain standing.
 "Okay, so you've locked my unconscious boyfriend in a cottage, and you've dragged me through the forest all night, and now you've dragged me up a mountain. What's next?" She paused and glared at him. "What happened to your limp? Didn't seem to be bothering you when you were doing the said dragging."
 In the growing light of the rising sun, Herek shifted back and forth on his feet uneasily. "When I'm a lion, I'm cursed with a multitude of injuries. When I turn back into myself at night, the effects from those injuries carry over for only a few minutes. Now, we're wasting time." He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to her. 
 Jynnia gasped. It was the jewel that she had been waiting for.
 "Give this to the giant that lives at the top of the mountain," Herek said.
 "I was afraid you'd say that." Jynnia reached out for the jewel but hesitated. It was hers and Trentley's goal to collect all the jewels and keep them safe so that they didn't affect anyone else. Was giving it to a giant a good idea?
 "Why can't you do it?" she asked suddenly.
 "Because..." He glanced nervously toward the top of the mountain. "I..."
 "You're afraid," Jynnia said. "He's the one who cursed you, and you're afraid to face him again."
 He looked at her sheepishly.
 I don't believe this. "So, you're sending a girl to do it for you?"
 "Listen," he said defensively. "The giant has a soft spot for ladies. And magic. So, when you give him that jewel and ask him to unenchant me, he'll do it. It'll be fine."
 "Who is on my mountain?"
 The ground shook. Jynnia stumbled to her knees as a massive shadow loomed over her.
 When she turned around, the giant stood looking down from the top of the mountain. "You," he growled, sounding strangely amused.
 But he wasn't talking to her. She followed his gaze behind her, and gasped when she saw a battered and bloodied lion where Herek had been a few moments ago.
 The sun had come up.
 "Why are you here, cursed little vermin?" the giant asked.
 Jynnia noted the irony of the hulking lion before her being called little.
 "Please, I've brought you an offering," Herek said. Jynnia could not help but jump when he began talking in his lion form. "Please, in exchange for unenchanting me?"
 His voice shook, and he looked as if he might collapse at any moment. "The jewel," he said when Jynnia did nothing.
 "Oh, uh..." She looked down at the jewel in her hand and held it out tentatively toward the giant. No time to reconsider now.
 The giant knelt down and leaned toward her. It took all she had not to flinch or step back as he leaned his enormous body down the mountain and met her gaze. Her hands trembled.
 "I don't want the jewel," he said, as if he had thought about this long and hard. "I want her."

      * * *

 Trentley sat up quickly, making his already aching head hurt worse.
  Cottage. Herek. Jynnia. Lion.
 "Jynnia!" Trentley yelled, springing to his feet. He ran to the door, but crashed into it when he tried to exit. After recovering from that impact, he shook the doorknob violently, but he was stuck inside.
 And he had the feeling that something was very wrong. 

MUAHAHAHAH haven't left you guys with a cliffhanger for a while, have I? ;)

While I was writing this I thought about the fact that it's Trentley and Jynnia's goal to round up all the magical jewels because they're causing problems... sooo, they're basically trying to find the Infinity Stones. xD How about a crossover??

Speaking of Trentley and Jynnia, my goal for Camp NaNo is to finish the first draft of their full-length book I mentioned earlier! I wrote the first 50k last November but never got around to finishing it. I was fully planning on working on Fall Into Time for Camp, but here's what happened: I was having trouble getting into it and then I started thinking about Trentley and Jynnia. The end.

Buuut really: since Once Upon (the tentative title for Trentley and Jynnia's book) is newer and fresher in my mind, I think I'll be more successful in finishing the first draft. And I figured I should go ahead and try to do that, rather than keep spinning my wheels on a story that I've been struggling with for months, and let Once Upon become old news.

SO. Once Upon, it is. I haven't done a lick of planning, so we'll see how this April goes. xD

Soo what about you guys? Have you ever heard of/read The Wounded Lion? How do you feel about being left on a cliffhanger?? (hehehehehe) And who's doing Camp NaNo??