College cringe. I'm really sad about this one, because I had an adult version of this story that I was really proud of, but it got saved over with the children's version. I'll have to rewrite the adult version eventually.

*****

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a clearing in a forest where two fairy kingdoms existed. King Thistle ruled the Weed Kingdom on the east side of the clearing, and Queen Magnolia ruled the Flower Kingdom on the west side of the clearing. All of the men in the area belonged to the Weed Kingdom, and all of the women belonged to the Flower Kingdom. Once a month, when the moon was full, the two kingdoms met in the center of the clearing where there was a fairy circle of mushrooms, and they would dance together. At midnight, Princess Tulip went to the center of the ring and danced for her parents. Her parents loved her dearly, but they never spoke to each other. Princess Tulip always wondered why her parents ignored each other when other fairies waited all month for the full moon so they could meet their spouses again.

One day, when Princess Tulip was eighteen years old, she left the Flower Kingdom to play outside. She liked to explore the clearing where she lived—it was very large for a small fairy like Princess Tulip. On this day, the Princess decided to explore the southern part of the clearing. As she was walking, she saw a dark speck in the distance and ran to see what it was. It was a castle! She knocked at the door, but nobody answered, so she opened the door and went inside.

"Hello?" she called. "Is anybody here?"

"Only us bees," came a buzzing reply. A big, fuzzy bumblebee flew down a huge staircase and landed in front of her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Princess Tulip. I didn't know bees lived in castles."

"We don't normally, but we moved in to keep the castle clean while the King and Queen are away."

"King and Queen? So this is a kingdom?"

"Yes, the Seed Kingdom, ruled by King Thistle and Queen Magnolia."

"That can't be! Those are my parents, and they rule different kingdoms. They don't even like each other!"

"Yes they do. They love each other very dearly."

"Then why don't they live here anymore?"

"I don't know exactly, but something happened that made them think that being near each other, even talking to each other, would destroy the Kingdom."

"Buzz! Something terrible is coming this way!" buzzed a new bee, flying in the door behind Princess Tulip. "Locusts are entering the forest!"

"What's a locust?" asked Princess Tulip.

"Locusts are like grasshoppers, but they travel in large groups and eat everything green they can find. If they come here, they'll eat all of the grass and all of the leaves and all of the flowers and weeds, and the Seed Kingdom will become an empty Dust Kingdom!" explained Buzz.

"Oh, no! What can we do to stop them?" cried Princess Tulip.

"The Kingdom must be reunited and the army must go out and fight the locusts!" said the second bee.

"Then I'll go and talk to my parents right now!" said Princess Tulip.

"I'll come with you," said Buzz. To the other bee she said, "Fuzz, go tell the hive. We can help fight the locusts, too."

So Princess Tulip went northeast until they reached the Weed Kingdom. They knocked on the door and a guard opened it.

"What is your business here?" he asked.

"I'm Princess Tulip and this is my friend Buzz. We need to talk to my father immediately."

"Come in," said the guard. "I'll take you to the King." He led them down a long hall to a huge set of doors. "The King is inside," he said, opening the door.

"Daddy!" cried Princess Tulip. She ran to him and gave him a hug.

"Hello, Tulip," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy, Buzz says that locusts are coming to destroy the Kingdom. You and Mommy need to stop them!"

"Tulip, I haven't talked to your mother in eighteen years, and what if the bee is lying?"

"I'm not a wasp, good King Thistle," said Buzz. "My sisters and I never lie."

"But—" started the King.

"Gather your army and I'll talk to Mommy. We'll meet at the fairy circle," said Princess Tulip. "I have to go now. I'll see you again in a few hours! Come on, Buzz." The Princess and the bee ran out of the castle before the King could protest. They went straight west, through the fairy circle where the bees were already gathering, to the Flower Kingdom. Princess Tulip ran straight inside to the throne room.

"Mommy, Mommy, Buzz says that locusts are coming to destroy the Kingdom. Daddy is bringing his army to the fairy circle to fight them. The bees are there, too. You need to take your army there, too!"

"Tulip, slow down. Surely we have time to think this through instead of rushing to war," said the Queen.

"There is no time," Buzz said. "Locusts move fast. They will be here soon."

Queen Magnolia sighed. "All right, I will assemble the army. But you, Tulip, must stay here."

"No! I am old enough to fight and I will be safer with you and Daddy than here alone," Tulip protested.

"Tulip, listen to me. You will stay here. Now, I have an army to assemble. Be good, I love you, and I will see you again soon."

Princess Tulip did not want to stay behind, but she had to obey her mother. She went to her room at the top of the castle's tallest tower and watched the army march out to the fairy circle, where the bees and the King's army were waiting. Then she saw a low cloud approaching in the distance: hundreds of hungry locusts coming to destroy the Kingdom. Their wings made a loud buzzing sound that she could hear clearly. She watched the army run out to meet the locusts. After several hours, all of the locusts were dead, and to her delight, her parents came to the Flower Kingdom together. They were smiling and talking to each other when a fairy with blue wings flew down between them and Princess Tulip's tower.

"You were told that the Kingdom would be destroyed if you spoke to each other. As your punishment, I am taking Princess Tulip to the clouds where my people live!" He flew into the tower, grabbed Princess Tulip, and flew high up into the sky until he was out of sight.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" cried Princess Tulip, squirming as much as she could.

"Hold still or I'll drop you!" replied the fairy. Princess Tulip looked down and saw that the ground was a long way down, so she stopped struggling.

"Who are you and where are you taking me?" she asked.

"I am Prince Falcon of the Cloud Kingdom, which is where we are heading."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when we get there. Now be quiet."

Princess Tulip obeyed, but she was not happy. However, she almost forgot her unhappiness when they landed on a big, fluffy white cloud. In front of them was a castle made entirely out of clouds.

"This is where you live?" she asked.

"Of course. All of my people live here. Come with me." Prince Falcon took Princess Tulip by the hand and entered the castle to its throne room. "Father, I am back and I have Princess Tulip."

The King glanced at them and said, "Fine, fine, but I am really busy right now, so come back later."

The Prince was surprised. "What? But—"

"I am sorry, Falcon, but your mother was kidnapped by wasps, and I have to get the army together to get her back."

"What? But I was kidnapped, too, and I want to know what is going on!" protested Princess Tulip.

"Oh, bother, go ahead and tell her, Falcon," said the King.

"My mother has always wanted me to marry a princess. When I was two years old, you were born. Mother went to talk to your parents to ask if she could arrange a marriage between us, but your parents refused. Mother got angry and cursed your Kingdom. She said that the next time your parents spoke to each other, you would be taken away from them and brought here to marry me. So your parents spoke to each other today, and now you have to marry me," explained Prince Falcon.

"No I do not! Do I not get a say in this?"

"But princes and princesses normally marry each other."

"Not this princess!" Then Princess Tulip got an idea. "What if I rescued the Queen from the wasps? Would you let me go home?"

The King and the Prince laughed. "You? A little fairy who doesn't even have wings?" said the King.

"Just because my people do not have wings does not mean we are not as good as you!" replied Princess Tulip.

"Okay, no more jokes about wings. But still, you cannot fight the wasps. I am going to fight them!" said Prince Falcon.

"Oh, no, you are not!" said the King. "I am declaring war on them, and you are staying here where you are safe!"

"But, Father, the army is not big enough to fight a whole hive of wasps, so you will need me!" protested the Prince.

"I know, Son, but you must stay here in case something happens to me," said the King.

"How big is your army and how many wasps are there?" asked Princess Tulip.

"Well, there are about two hundred fairies and five hundred wasps," said the King.

"Then I should be the one to fight the wasps. I have an army that is bigger than yours."

"You have an army?" asked the King.

"Yes, I have an army of about five hundred bees."

The King and the Prince looked at each other. "Could you get the bees for us and then let us fight the wasps?" asked the King.

"No. You kidnapped me, so the bees will not like you. Let me go back home and get the bees, and I will rescue the Queen."

So that was how Princess Tulip convinced the King and the Prince. The Prince carried her down to the mushroom circle in the clearing.

"I will be here to take you back by tomorrow night. If you have not saved my mother, you will have to marry me," said Prince Falcon.

"Okay," said Princess Tulip.

"Princess!" yelled Buzz as Prince Falcon flew away. "Princess, you are back! Are you ok? Your parents just sent out search parties to find you. They will be so happy you are back! They are going to the Seed Kingdom now. We can meet them there!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Buzz. I cannot go home yet. I have to save the Queen of the Cloud Kingdom from the wasps. I need you to get all of the bees together and meet me here," said Princess Tulip.

"But, Princess, the wasps are very dangerous!" said Buzz.

"I know, Buzz, but I am old enough to be in the Seed Kingdom's army, so I am old enough to fight the wasps. Oh, and when you get the other bees, could you bring me a sword?"

Within a half hour, all of the bees were at the mushroom circle.

"Buzz, do you know the way to the wasp hive?" asked Princess Tulip.

"Yes, Princess. Get on my back and I will take you there."

Princess Tulip climbed onto Buzz and the whole army flew away to the north.

They reached the hive by the setting of the sun. The hive was a huge clump of clay on a tree branch. A guard wasp saw them and yelled, "Stop! Who goes there?"

"I am Princess Tulip of the Seed Kingdom. Release the Queen of the Cloud Kingdom now or my army will fight you tomorrow."

The wasp whispered something to another wasp, and the second wasp flew into the hive. "Wait here while we ask our Queen."

A few minutes later the second wasp came back. "The Queen of the Wasps will be ready to fight you tomorrow."

"So be it," said Princess Tulip. "Buzz, where can we camp tonight?"

Buzz took the army to a tree branch next to the wasp hive. The bees all huddled together to keep warm and Princess Tulip slept in the center of the group. They woke up early the next morning at the same time the wasps woke up. Princess Tulip walked to the tip of the branch and shouted to the wasps, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, but where is the Bee Queen?" asked one of the wasps.

"Our Queen does not fight," said Buzz. "Our General is Princess Tulip of the Seed Kingdom. Who is leading your army?"

"The Wasp Queen does not fight, either, but we also have a General. She is Queen Sparrow of the Cloud Kingdom," said the wasp. The Queen flew out of the hive to the tip of the wasp tree branch.

"What are you doing?" Princess Tulip asked. "I thought the wasps kidnapped you!"

The Queen laughed. "Exactly! I am a witch, and I do not like fairies. I wanted my stupid husband to attack the wasps so I could kill all of my people. After I destroy the Cloud Kingdom, I will attack the Seed Kingdom and kill all of your people. Then, I am going to make you marry my son and start a new kingdom: The Dark Kingdom. I did not know that I would also have to fight the bees, but the wasps will kill them very quickly and then I will kill all of the fairies."

"How dare you! My army will stop you from killing the fairies, and then I will take you back to the Cloud Kingdom and tell the King and the Prince what you were going to do!" cried Princess Tulip. "Buzz, tell the army to attack!"

Buzz made a loud buzzing sound with her wings and the bees flew at the wasps. The battle had begun. Buzz carried the Princess to the wasp tree and then left her to fight one of the wasps. Princess Tulip pulled out her sword and started fighting, too. She slowly cleared a path through the wasps until she reached Queen Sparrow.

"Drop your sword and come back to the Cloud Kingdom with me!" shouted Princess Tulip.

"No, I have to kill all of your bees first! I am either going back there to destroy the Kingdom or I am going back there dead!"

The Queen swung her sword and Princess Tulip blocked it with hers. All of the bees and wasps stopped fighting to watch the fairies. The Queen was stronger and more experienced than the Princess, but the Princess was faster and smarter. The fight ended when Princess Tulip stabbed the Queen in the heart.

All of the wasps started to back away from the bees. Buzz saw this and yelled, "Finish the wasps!"

"No!" shouted Princess Tulip. "I would like to make a treaty with the Wasp Queen."

"I will tell her your message," volunteered one of the wasps.

"Good. I promise to never attack the wasps again as long as they never attack the fairies again. Ask your Queen if she will agree to this."

The wasp hurried into the hive and came out a few minutes later. "The Queen agrees to your treaty."

"Good," said Princess Tulip. "We will leave right now. Buzz, I need to get back to the mushroom circle. Fuzz, would you carry the Queen's body?"

"Yes, General," said the bee. The army followed Buzz and Fuzz to the mushroom circle, where Princess Tulip said they could go back home. Buzz stayed with the Princess until the sun set and Prince Falcon arrived.

"The wasps killed my mother?" he asked as soon as he saw her body.

"No," said Princess Tulip. "I killed her. She was working with the wasps to kill all of the fairies."

"You are lying!" said the Prince angrily.

"No, she is not. Believe me, everything the General said is true. If you will not believe her, believe me, because bees never lie," said Buzz.

"If I were lying, why would I come to meet you here?" asked Princess Tulip.

"All right, I believe you, but you will have to explain all of this to my father. Let me take Mother's body back home and then I will come back for you," said the Prince.

"Buzz, how about you fly me up to the Cloud Kingdom so the Prince does not have to make two trips?" suggested Princess Tulip.

"Sorry, General, but I cannot fly that high. I will wait here with you, though," said Buzz.

They waited for most of the night, but the Prince never came back. Buzz led Princess Tulip back to the Seed Kingdom, where all of the bees and fairies were fast asleep. Buzz showed Princess Tulip to the castle's highest tower, where her parents had made a room for her.

Princess Tulip slept hard that night and felt very refreshed when she woke up. Buzz had not told the King and Queen that the Princess was back yet, so there was a lot of excitement when her parents saw her. They ran to her and hugged her and she told them everything that had happened. They had breakfast together and everybody was happy.

Around noon, there was a loud sound outside, as if the wind were blowing hard. The guards ran into the throne room, where the King, Queen, and Princess were enjoying each other's company, and yelled, "An army from the Cloud Kingdom is coming!"

The King and Queen jumped up. "Call the army together! Gather the weapons and armor!"

"Wait!" shouted Princess Tulip. When she had everybody's attention, she continued, "They must be coming for me. Let me go and talk to the King and the Prince, and I am sure we will not have to fight at all."

The King and Queen tried to argue with Princess Tulip, but Buzz flew in and said she would go with the Princess. Before long, the pair left the castle. The Cloud Kingdom's army was right outside of the castle walls, so they did not have to walk far before the King saw them.

"Seize them!" he shouted, and several fairies flew up to Princess Tulip and Buzz. They tied up the Princess' hands and Buzz' wings and then took them to the King.

"You killed my wife, so I am going to kill you and your little bee friend!" said the King.

"But I had to kill her! She was going to kill you and all of the fairies, too!" cried Princess Tulip.

"Lies! Guards, take her away. I will execute her in the mushroom circle tomorrow morning."

Princess Tulip and Buzz were taken to a tent and kept as prisoners there. At night, Prince Falcon came in to see them.

"You traitor! How dare you come to visit us when you lied about us to your father! If I were not tied up—"

"Buzz, be quiet. Let him explain," said Princess Tulip.

"I am sorry, Princess. I told my father what happened, but he would not listen to me. He is not thinking very well. Your people have a much bigger army than my people, and you have the bees on your side, too. If my father executes you, your army will completely destroy my people. I do not know what to do," the Prince explained.

Princess Tulip did not answer right away. Finally she said, "I think I have an idea. Let Buzz go free and she can bring the Wasp Queen here to talk to your father. Maybe she can prove my innocence."

"Or maybe she will lie and make our people go to war against each other," said the Prince.

"Maybe, but maybe not. I think this is the only thing we can do."

So the Prince untied Buzz and sent her away. He stayed and talked to the Princess a while longer before he left. Princess Tulip sat alone in the tent until sunrise. At that time, the guards took her from the tent to the mushroom circle. She looked around and saw that the Seed Kingdom's army was following the Cloud Kingdom's army. The guards made Princess Tulip kneel in the center of the mushroom circle and the King came up to her with his sword. He raised his sword and a loud buzzing sound came from the sky. Everybody looked up and saw a swarm of wasps coming. The biggest wasp landed in the mushroom circle and introduced herself.

"I am the Wasp Queen, and I order you to let General Tulip go free. She killed the witch that tried to take over my hive, and for that I am grateful. She is under my protection and you cannot hurt her."

The King shook his head. "This girl killed my wife, and for that she must die!" He raised his sword again and then froze. He fell over and everybody could see that Buzz had stung him in the back.

"Buzz!" cried Princess Tulip. "Buzz, are you ok?"

Buzz shook her head. "No, Princess. Stinging kills bees. You have saved the Seed Kingdom many times now. This is how I thank you."

The guards released Princess Tulip and she ran to Buzz. She hugged the bee's fuzzy black and yellow striped body as poor Buzz died.

The Wasp Queen approached Princess Tulip. "You saved my hive. Now I saved you. I must go now, but my people will never bother the fairies again." She flew away with all of the wasps following her.

Prince Falcon approached Princess Tulip next. "You saved my Kingdom, too. I am now King of the Cloud Kingdom. My people will be your people's friends from now on. Thank you for everything. If you ever need anything, send a message to my Kingdom and I will always be ready to help you." The new King picked up his father's body and flew back up to the clouds with his whole army following him.

The Seed Kingdom's King and Queen ran to their daughter and gently pulled her away from Buzz' body. "Tulip, you are such a brave, intelligent girl," said the King.

"You turned the witch's curse on our people into a blessing," said the Queen.

"You will make a great Queen," added Fuzz, who was helping to take Buzz' body away.

Princess Tulip did make a great Queen, many years later after her parents died. She never married anybody, but every month during the full moon, she and King Falcon danced together in the mushroom circle while all of their people looked on. Even the wasps and bees came to the full moon dances. All four kingdoms became great friends, and everybody lived happily ever after.