"Naomie. Wake up. You have to go right away. And you haven't called Penelope yet!" Mom tore me out of my restless sleep.

Despite the nightmare, I didn't want to wake up.

Today I was to leave my home alone. Into a kingdom that I only knew from my dreams and that had suddenly become scary to me.

So I was a princess? Any girl would have been happy about it, but I didn't like it anymore. We would probably all have died.

"Naomie." Mom's sad voice again. "Call Penelope. Say goodbye to her."

Naomie, not Nelly.

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and sat up straight. Mom held out our phone to me. "You have to hurry. You don't have much time. Call her and then come to the kitchen. You don't need to get dressed. Hurry up." Mom kissed my forehead. "Say we're moving."

"What?" Sleepy and deeply worried, I took the phone. What should I tell Penelope? Moving? So spontaneously? Penelope would never believe me.     

"I don't want to go there!" I grumbled.

Mom looked at me with tears in her eyes. "We're sorry. But we'll see each other again. Don't forget, it's not a foreign place. Your cousin will be happy. Heavens, she was so tiny the last time I saw her."

"Hm." I shook my head.

Mom left the room. I didn't look after her. I stared at the phone for a moment before dialing Penelope's cell phone number. I didn't know where my phone was. I would never need it again, would I? Unlike Penelope. She didn't use it much, though.

"Yes?" my best friend answered and then yawned courageously. "It's Sunday."

„Penelope!“

"Nelly? Dear, how wonderful to hear from you. But why so early? You tore me out of a wonderful dream!" she yawned, and I heard her duvet rustle. "It's... eight? That's too early."

"I'm sorry. There was no other way! I.... My parents are sending me to Africa!" I improvised. Africa. Just as ridiculous as a spontaneous move.

Penelope laughed briefly. "Africa?"

"This is not a joke! They're sending me to Africa! I'm practically already at the airport!"

"You're leaving?" Now she sounded surprised. "Now? Airport? But I don't hear any airport noises. Are you okay? Dear? Did you have a bad dream?"

Yes, I had one. Scary sheep. Ew! "I'm flying to my aunt in Africa," I continued undeterred. "In the middle of the Pampas. There's not even internet there, and making phone calls is incredibly expensive!" Exactly, keep it up! I'm sure she'd believe me.

"So suddenly? What about school?" Again, I heard her yawn. "Nelly, it's too early for such jokes. Why would your parents do that? So suddenly."

"I also know that it's sudden. We'll probably never see each other again."

"Never again? Hm... I don’t think so. You're leaving today?"

"Yes. And I'm sure. This is a final farewell."

"Hm... That's very sad." Penelope sounded anything but convinced.

Dad looked briefly into my room and motioned for me to hang up.

"I'm sorry. I can't say goodbye to you properly. I have to go now. Dad just came," I murmured, wiping a tear from my cheek. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too. Arrive safely and be careful. Nelly, see you soon. I'm sure we'll see each other again."

I nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "Goodbye. I... I miss you already." I hung up before I burst into tears on the phone. Penelope shouldn't hear me cry. Saying goodbye was hard enough as it was. I suppressed a few more tears. I didn't want to leave, but running away probably wouldn't have done me any good.

And what if my parents died then?

It was all too confusing.

Dressed in pajamas and wearing contact lenses that felt strange on my eyes, I shuffled into the kitchen. Why didn't I have more time? Here? With Penelope? And my talkative hairdresser?

A cloth bag over my shoulder. Inside were my favorite book, a photo of Penelope and me, and one of my parents and me. A picture from my twelfth birthday, when Dad and I had started a cake fight. We were all full of cake in the picture. Especially Mom. The pictures were previously stuck to my wardrobe. Under my arm, I held my old plush monkey. My favorite cuddly toy from childhood. I had spontaneously reached for it, although I had only let the monkey sit on the shelf as decoration for a long time.

Everything else, everything I had here, I wouldn't need there.

In the kitchen stood Mom, Dad, and Aunt Tanja. Mom and Dad were also still in their pajamas. Aunt Tanja looked the same as the day before. She had slept on the sofa. "Your nightgown?" She shook her head. "Well, that doesn't matter. You won't need your clothes from here. Nothing from here."

Automatically, I pressed my monkey and the filled cloth bag tighter against me.

Mom sobbed softly. Dad's face was expressionless.

"Naomie!" said Aunt Tanja in a firm but loving voice. "Hilde gave me a potion that will take us home as soon as we drink it. That's how I came here. With such a potion. Hilde warned that the spell would disappear after a few hours. We don't have much time left." She held out a small bottle to me, which I took hesitantly.

"Don't worry. I have two of them. It's safe, you know Hilde," she assured me after I looked at her doubtfully.

I shook my head. So that was it?

The farewell?

Maybe forever?

I looked at my parents.

"Naomie. Sweetie. We'll see each other again soon." Mom hugged me tightly as if she never wanted to let me go. Tears welled up in my eyes again, and I clung awkwardly to her. I didn't want to go there. Dad cried too.

So she and Papa sent me away. To a tyrant who threatened their life? Who somehow threatened me too?

 "Drink the potion. We'll see each other again sometime. Sooner than you think," Dad murmured softly and hugged me as well. "My sweet, brave princess."

I sobbed. "I don't want to."

"Unfortunately, you have to. Drink," Aunt Tanja asked me quietly. "I have an appointment soon. As I said. We don't have much time. Wendy is looking forward to seeing you. And tomorrow we'll celebrate the flower ball. Tomorrow, honey. Wendy is already terrorizing me because of it!" She winked at me. An attempt to cheer me up.

I shook my head.

Mom nodded at me and kissed my cheek. Then she gently pushed me away from her and Dad. "Drink. We'll follow. As soon as we can!"

"Okay." I clung to this promise. When would that be? Hesitantly, I opened the small bottle of red-colored glass and drank the contents. I had no choice. The liquid tasted bitter. I grimaced. "Ew."

Why a potion? Were there no portals or something?

Seconds later, bright light enveloped me, and I found myself in the castle. I turned around in shock. The light had disappeared, and Aunt Tanja was already standing next to me.

My parents were gone.

No.

I was gone.

The magnificent corridor in which I found myself was lighted by a few large windows. On the walls hung light green fabric wallpaper, and in front of the windows were white, finely embroidered curtains. The floor was paved with dark blue, shiny stone. On the walls hung old family portraits. Large vases with colorful fairy pictures, in which white and pink tulips stood, adorned the hallway.

I saw gold elements everywhere.

I knew this hallway, and yet I saw it for the first time. Everything seemed much clearer to me than in my dreams, and I had to think for a moment exactly where I was.

It was the corridor that led to the throne room.

Aunt Tanja smiled at me contentedly.

"Go to your room first and put on something else. Your pajamas are a disaster. Well. Everything would have been a disaster. The clothes of the earth, or whatever this strange reality is called, are simply not worthy of a princess." She wrinkled her nose. "Sorry, dear. But I'm very glad I don't have to be there anymore. I've seen enough. But you, child." She sighed and brushed her fingers through my curls. "All this must be hard for you. Wendy is probably already waiting for you. She'll run you over like a true princess soon. I have an urgent appointment with the mayor in a moment. Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I think so."

"Good. I'll see you later. I'll send a maid over. As long as my overzealous daughter isn't faster." She laughed softly.

"Thank you."

My aunt hurried away. She scolded softly as she stumbled over a wrinkle in the carpet. Then she turned to me one last time, blew me an air kiss, and then disappeared behind one of the many doors.

Now I stood alone in this hallway. Around me shone a royal ambience, which conveyed nothing but power and wealth and reminded every visitor of our status.

The pictures of my ancestors looked at their viewer with stern eyes. Most of them had greenish eyes. The tulips exuded a sweet scent that lay heavy in the air. Gold glittered everywhere; the vases had gilded edges, golden ornaments climbed on the picture frames, the large candlesticks were also made of gold, and the sunlight made the polished stone floor sparkle. And yet here and there I could see cracks in the picture frames and thin layers of dust... 

I was alone and felt out of place. I wore my holey bear pajamas made of terry cloth and light pink plush slippers. Shaking my head, I set off.

I had a long way to go before I would get to my room. Why hadn't I changed before? Maybe a dress? Or a skirt and blouse?

Jeans and T-shirt?

No. My clothes didn't matter. A blouse would also be inappropriate here, same with jeans.

So I stumbled through the castle in a hurry, trying to ignore the strange looks of the servants. Some whispered and were startled when I looked at them.

It was not easy to ignore the staff.

Their eyes followed me.

Then I stood in my room.

In fact, I stood in front of the mirror in my room and stared into the face that looked at me skeptically. I didn't see my face. Not Nelly's face.

I saw Naomie's face that just didn't want to match the clothes I was wearing.

Was that really me?

I didn't feel any different than before. I knew that face from my dreams, but it had never really been mine. And I wore contact lenses. Naomie had never needed glasses.

But when I carefully removed the contact lenses, my field of vision blurred.

"Probably that was because of the magic," I grumbled and put the contact lenses back in.

Princess Naomie. Daughter of Queen Kamilla and King Moritz of Treuhein.

That wasn't me.

I had always been a toad. A clumsy toad.

But what was I now?

I would have preferred to remain the toad.

I felt tired and disoriented. "What a bummer!"

Sadly, I broke away from Naomie's reflection, put my bag and the bottle on my bed, put my monkey next to the gigantic pillow, and went to the wardrobe. In the old pajamas, I looked unsurpassably ridiculous. The pajamas fit Nelly, but not a princess. I pulled on the yellow dress unerringly. After all, I had never worn it before. And my mood was bad enough not to look pretty today, but like cheese.

Ha! I hereby protest, as befits a teenager!

Princess Naomie of Ugly Cheese Face.

Without me having to make a sound, a maid came in to help me get dressed. I was startled when she suddenly spoke to me.

"Can I help you?" she asked and smiled shyly at me.

I looked at her for a moment, perplexed. "Oh. Hello? When did you come here?"

She laughed and closed the door behind her. "I was just dusting and saw you. Nothing more, Your Highness. You forgot to close the door." The maid, maybe around 25 years old, pointed to the open door. I didn't know her face or her name. "I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized. “Do you need my help?"

"Oh. Yes. Gladly. Thank you very much," I murmured. "But helping me change is not part of your job, is it? Are you new? My aunt wanted to send someone..."

"Yes, Your Highness. I came a week ago." She helped me almost a bit too eagerly. "I hope I don't cross a line?"

"No. It's all right." At that moment, I didn't care who helped me, as long as it wasn't a peeper.

The robes of this country were often difficult to put on alone, so the help was welcome, even if the new maid was a bit clumsy. She then tied my hair into a long braid. No sparkly decorations, no elaborate braiding... "I hope you are satisfied?"

"Of course." I nodded. "Thank you. What's your name?"

"Naomie!" Someone ran me over and crumpled the dress. Startled, the maid moved to the side.

"Wendy," I said, panting and trying not to fall.