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Draculiza
By Bianca Bagatourian, Seitu Hayden Cedar Grove Publishing
Copyright © 2015 Bianca Bagatourian
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-941958-26-1
CHAPTER 1
One Monday evening, in deepest Transylvania, a little vampire girl named Draculiza asked her mother: "How does one go about becoming a princess in a fairy tale?"
"Well!" her mother replied, as she put away the storybook, "One would have to apply to the Fairy Tale Association, or the F.T.A. as they're called for short. They are located in the town square and are in charge of all fairy tale business, including princes and princesses, dragons and beasts, costumes, castles, and other such stuff. The entire world of fairy tales runs according to the Fairy Tale Schedule."
"Yippee!!! No more dreaming of castles and courts and crowns. I will apply and be a princess soon!" cried Draculiza to her pet bat, Spike, who often mistook himself for a parrot or sometimes even a mythical creature.
"Dragon! Dragon!" echoed Spike, playing along.
"Um, well, not so fast, my dear," said her mother slowly.
"Why ... why ... why can't I be a princess?" asked Draculiza quietly.
"Because ... my dear, you don't have rosy cheeks or long golden hair. And I'm afraid you are entirely too short to be a princess," said Draculiza's mother gently.
"Pointy ears! Pointy ears!" added the wise Spike.
Mother shot Spike a withering look as if to say "You're not helping the situation, you looney bat!"
Spike immediately tried to strike a scary pose, and with one eye in the mirror, shouted, " Gargoyle! Gargoyle!" to scare her off.
But mother just laughed out loud and Draculiza burst into a fit of giggles.
"Don't worry, my dear. There are many other wonderful things you can be in life besides a princess. We'll think of something else. Now, go to sleep." And with that, she turned off the lights and closed Draculiza's bedroom door.
With her mother gone, Draculiza jumped straight out of her ornate, pink vampire-bed, which was very cozy indeed, and turned the lights back on to look in the mirror. Alas, as she was a vampire, it showed her nothing back. She stared blankly at the mirror as she said to herself, "No rosy cheeks and no golden hair," and then, standing tall on her tippy-toes, whispered, "and entirely too short," as a tear ran down her cheek.
Meanwhile, Spike, unaware of the gravity of the moment, and being as reflective as the mirror on the wall might be, repeated again, "Pointy ears! Pointy ears!" But our little vampire was not to be defeated. She walked over to her pet bat and said crossly, "I know I can be a princess!" and then, stomping her foot three times, which she usually did when her mind was made up, shouted, "I can! I can! I can!"
"Princess! Princess!" replied the mixed-up mammal.
"Really, Spike? Do you really think I should try?"
To which Spike replied, "F.T.A.! F.T.A.!"
"Oh, Spike! You are right. We will apply to the F.T.A. right away. Thank you for your sage advice." And off Draculiza ran to make a plan.
A few moments later, she reappeared, looking rather changed! Spike hardly recognized his friend in her high-heeled shoes and blonde wig. She placed a crown on her head somewhat crookedly, pinched her cheeks until they were quite rosy, and pointing at Spike, announced: "No more upside-down hanging around, Spike. I have a plan that includes you! We are going to break into the F.T.A. and steal the Fairy Tale Schedule. Come along, Spike. Don't dillydally. There is no time to waste!" And to show how serious she was, she stomped her foot three times.
Spike leaped off his perch and also began stomping around the room like a big hairy creature, yelling, "BIG FOOT! BIG FOOT!" while Draculiza delighted in her own plan.
"This way, we'll know when and where all fairy tales are taking place!"
She then grabbed her cape and gathered up Spike before he had a chance to repeat anything else and off they flew to find the F.T.A.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Draculiza by Bianca Bagatourian, Seitu Hayden. Copyright © 2015 Bianca Bagatourian. Excerpted by permission of Cedar Grove Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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