Flash Fiction: Princess Valentine by Val Muller

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is “Valentine.” It could be something upbeat related to Valentine’s Day, or any other story with a character named Valentine.

This week’s post comes to us from Val Muller, author of the kidlit mystery series Corgi Capers. You can learn more at www.corgicapers.com.

Princess Valentine

By Val Muller

Princess Valentine sighed and stared out the window through her pink unicorn curtains. The ground was crusted over in a white glittery glaze that still looked bright in the darkening evening.

Stupid snow.

There went her Valentine’s Day party. Now here she was, a princess on Valentine’s Day, all alone. The five-year-old’s hair hung down in curly rainbow locks. At least her parents had allowed that, the rainbow hair chalk Aunt Bea had given her for her birthday last month. She wore her best gold and silver crown, of course, and a golden necklace to match. Striped stockings under glittery tutu with an ice queen dress on top.

She was the epitome of a Valentine’s Day princess, and here she was trapped at home. But really, it wasn’t the snow, was it? She knew it. Her parents knew it, and she knew they knew she knew. It was stupid Corona. It ruined everything. She no longer went to school. She never saw her friends. And now, she didn’t have a valentine.

There were friends, of course. She had had several computer play dates with her friends from preschool last year. But always the grown-ups had something more important to do. They always ended the computer conference way too soon. Like, why couldn’t she have a computer sleep over? And on nice days, she could go to the park. She always met a friend or two there, but they never ended up seeing each other after that. What good was meeting friends if your parents never let you have anyone over?

And today had been a lonely Valentine’s Day. Now it was a lonely Valentine’s nighttime, and her parents said it was too snowy to do a conference call. Without her friends, who in the world would be her valentine? Princess Valentine stared into the night sky. The clouds were almost completely gone now, and several stars twinkled. Princess Valentine was old enough to know that many of them were planets. That red one was Mars. She looked at Mars and then at the twinkling star, probably Sirius, her dad said one night.

One of them could be her Valentine. Which would it be? A warm, red planet like Mars? Of course, it wouldn’t really be warm. That’s what her dad said. It just looked warm because it was red. But really, it would be cold, just like the snowy night. But then there was the silvery, twinkly star. It looked like a jewel that belonged her crown. Stars were warm. That’s what her dad had said.

Star or planet. Which would be the perfect Valentine for a disgruntled princess? She tried to picture going to a Valentine’s Day ball with either of them, but she couldn’t very well concentrate.

Down the hall, her little brother fussed how about bed time. He was at that age. He was always a pain. And Mom and Dad were the worst about figuring out how to calm him. Princess Valentine sighed and descended from her throne by the window. She traipsed down the hallway, her ice queen dress trailing behind her. She deigned to enter the Chamber of The Whining brother.

“Oh honey,” asked Mom, looking very disheveled. “What’s happening? I thought you were going to play in your room while I put brother to bed.”

Princess Valentine shook her head. Who can possibly play with all that caterwauling? But she didn’t say that. Instead, she just raised a hand to her expectant brother. The boy stopped crying immediately, and a smile broke on his face. He grabbed her hand.

“He wants to have a sleepover in my room,” Princess Valentine said. He was still relatively small, and he’d only had one sleepover before: Christmas Eve, when the two of them were so excited that neither could sleep. They slept on the floor in sleeping bags and eventually giggled themselves to sleep thinking about Santa.

The little boy jumped up and down at the mention of a sleepover.

“Is that really what he wants?” Mom asked, perplexed.

“Of course it’s what he wants,” the princess declared. The little boy grabbed her hand and followed her down the hall. The bewildered mom spread out two sleeping bags and watched as the little boy willingly climbed in and settled.

A few minutes later, when the lights were out, Princess Valentine’s Little Valentine snored softly in his sleeping bag. The princess stared out the window at the twinkling star and the warm looking planet. They would have to find their own valentines this year. Next year they might claim her, she thought as she smiled at her little brother, but this year, she was already taken.

The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: https://valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.ca/