Princess Hanna: The Final Chapter
The final instalment in the Princess Hanna series (for now)...
Welcome, welcome, it’s finale day.
The end is here! The final chapter in the Princess Hanna series.
Although this marks the end of the Fire Festival series, the world of Princess Hanna is certainly not over.
I love these characters and I love this world. I hope you do too!
I want to thank everyone who has supported this series. It’s been a pleasure to see this world come together.
If you need it, here is a link to the penultimate chapter:
And if you’re new here, here’s a link to the series as a whole:
And make sure to subscribe so that you never miss a new post! It’s freeeeeeee!
A big thank you again to all of the loyal readers out there.
Without further ado, please enjoy the finale!
At long last, it was Princess Hanna’s turn to show Scale City what she was truly made of. The town square arena stage was empty in front of her, waiting just for her.
The crowd was still recovering from the excitement of Michael's very unique protest.
He was looking at Hanna with a reassuring smile.
"Break a leg," he said.
Hanna started walking.
It was a surreal feeling when the crowd broke out cheering as Hanna went out into the centre of the town square. In a way, it focused her. It was happening. It was happening NOW.
Once Hanna made it to her spot in the middle of the arena, the King of Scale City took to his feet to introduce her.
"And now, our only finalist to come from beyond the walls of Scale City," he said. "Princess Hanna of Courage Town!"
The crowd cheered her on. She had become a frontrunner to win it all.
They eventually went quiet. Everything went quiet... The next move was hers.
The concept of a talent show style finale had been exactly what Hanna was expecting. It was almost always the final event of the Fire Festival. And so she had trained accordingly.
Throughout her training, every session had included a little bit of practice for one particular very challenging performance... the fire tornado.
Before starting her performance, Hanna went through her usual routine of mindfulness. She felt and counted her breaths. She dug her heels into the cobblestone ground. One final time, she stretched her wings out wide, ready to launch.
Vhoom! Hanna flapped her mighty wings and took off, rising ten or so feet off the ground. The crowd was still quiet, holding their breaths.
She steadied herself one last time. She made sure she was truly feeling in the moment. Focused. No more worrying or wondering. Just the feeling of being right there in the present.
Then it was time.
She heaved a heavy breath of fire at the ground below her. The paint underneath her from Michael's performance began to melt and blend. She had to keep her flame strong and steady.
Now it was time for the tricky part. She had to start flying in a short sharp circle, still streaming fire, building up the base of the tornado.
Gradually, she began to fly higher and the tornado began to grow bigger.
The tornado was building. Below Hanna, the flames whipped furiously in a tight circle, sparking away. Her ears were filled with the sound of the wind that she was creating.
Carrie and Hanna’s dad were up on their feet cheering wildly, as was Michael and uncle James from the sidelines of the arena.
Hanna continued to build and shape the tornado beneath her. She was getting it higher than she had ever gotten it before. It was as tall as the buildings that surrounded the town square.
She could feel her lungs emptying. She was fatiguing. Hanna held on for a final push.
The crowd was in awe. Some of them were even a little frightened.
Hanna couldn't keep the fire going any longer.
Very calmly, she let it go.
The fire fizzled and whirred for one last brief moment and then disappeared into thin air.
Hanna was done.
As she landed back down on the cobblestone ground, the crowd was going berserk.
Hanna was smiling from ear to ear as she made her way back to the sidelines. Once she got there, her uncle James and Michael gave her a great big hug.
It took a while for everything to eventually settle down. Then it was George's turn.
He walked out into the middle of the arena and promptly began his performance. As Hanna had expected, he was going to attempt a fire tornado as well.
George's tornado was vicious and explosive from the get go. He took off, the tornado building higher, all of his training coming together for this one moment.
Hanna felt relaxed as she watched on, not stressing, not worrying, just quietly enjoying a feeling of calm.
George's tornado was bigger and stronger. Hanna knew that she had lost.
When George was finished, the four finalists were lined up in the middle of the arena. There was a set of dragon judges speaking with the King of Scale City, telling him the results.
The King gave a short speech congratulating everyone and then announced the winner... "George!"
The crowd cheered and Hanna cheered with them.
*
Hanna stayed in Scale City for the next few days, celebrating and exploring.
On one evening, Hanna went with her dad to have a meal with the King of Scale City. During the meal, the King announced that he would agree to build the new library in Courage Town.
Hanna and Carrie spent their last day in the city with Michael. It had been worked out that Michael would come and visit them in Courage Town during the Christmas holidays.
Eventually, though, it was time to leave. Hanna, Carrie, uncle James, and Hanna's dad all got into the carriage that would be taking them home.
As they left, Carried turned to Hanna.
"Next year is all yours," said Carrie.
They both smiled.