Reluctant

I stared blankly at the cold stone walls of my room; I was still locked in here 2 weeks after the plague was over. My father, King Charlie, had locked me in here after my mother died of the Black Death. I was told I would be let out when it was safe, but for some reason I was still in here. The servants will not let me out no matter how much I beg them. I am the princess I should not have to beg to be let out of the room. I, Princess Isabella Swan, should just have to tell them to let me out and they should just do it. If they cared enough they would understand that a person can not stay locked in a room their whole life, they need to be free so that they have room to grow.

Before the plague my room had been my favorite place in the world but not anymore, now it was a place I hated. I hated the gray walls that held me inside of the room; I hate the door that's lock whose lock is there to make sure that I have no way out; I hate the window that shows my the people who are free and happy. My room was beautiful but all I want is to get out of it. My bed was big enough for me to have 4 people sleep in it, the blankets and sheets are made of a smooth aqua blue silk that is so smooth I often wonder if I may slip off of it one day, it has so many pillows a person could get lost in them and the pillows are all different shapes and sizes; the fire place is right near my window and around the outside of it there are all kinds of designs of vines and roses twisting themselves around each other; I have a book shelf a few feet away from my fire place it's made of a simple oak wood and its filled with my books and its nearly over flowing; in front of my fire place I have a single chair that I love to sit in and read my books; on the left on my bed there sits my vanity and jewelry box, it has a few necklace and bracelets, and some makeup.

I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at my fire place, silently hoping that today I would be let out. I heard the lock click open and then the door open. I did not look to see who it was I didn't care at this point.

"I have you breakfast, M'lady." I heard a male voice say. I nodded my head silently and continued staring at the fire place.

"Would you like me to re-light the fire place, M'lady?" the voice said. I turned my head to see a young male servant staring at the floor.

"No thank you. I do wish to ask you to do one thing though." I said watching him intensely.

"What do you need, M'lady?" He said as he tried to keep his eyes glued to the ground.

"Please, let me leave this room." I said. He only shook his head and sighed.

"I am not allowed your father has made a room against it. He said if we let you out we would get a beating." He said quickly then he turned and left the room.

With a loud click the lock slid back into place. I closed my eyes and turned around grabbing the tray of food he had left on my bed. I stood up walked over to my chair place the tray on the chair and walked back to my bed. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, I hoped that I would fall into a dreamless sleep and never awake again. Death would be a better fate then being locked in a room.

The sleep I had hoped for did not come at all; I needed to do something to distract myself. I stood from my bed and walked over to the window. I looked out the window and stared at the people below laughing and dancing. Even from up in my room I could hear the sound of the flute being played. I wish I were down there with those people having fun and being merry. Suddenly a thought accrued to me I could climb out the window and down the castle wall to the ground. I looked around my room for something to use to climb down the wall. I then noticed my bedding and decided I was going to tie it together and make a rope out of it for me to climb down.

After a little while of tying I finally thought I had made a rope long enough for me to climb down. I threw the rope out the window and began climbing down it. I was rushing down the rope and was almost half way down the wall when I heard the bedding tear. I tried to make my self climb down even faster but instead I ended up cause the bedding to tear more; which in turn caused me to go flying to the ground with a ear piercing scream. I hit the ground with a thump and a crack.

"Ouch!" I yelped and tried to hold completely still as I let the pain in my arm go away. I stood up and looked around then I stood completely still and made sure no one had seen me. It wasn't because I didn't want anyone to know I had fallen, but because I didn't want anyone to know I had escaped.

When I was sure no one had seen I started walking into the empty town. Where was everyone? I saw a young boy standing by himself watching me. He looked as if he lived on the streets, his face covered in dirt and his hair was so dirty I wasn't sure what color it was. He looked to be about 17 or 18 somewhere around my age at least. I walked quickly over to him and said;

"Excuse me, but do you know where everyone is?" he shook his head and when he realized who he was he started to bow.

"Oh please don't do that I hate it when people bow to me." I said staring at him and biting my lip.

"Your highness, you are hurt. If you would like I can take a look at your arm, I may be able to help." He offered quietly.

"I would very much like that." I said smiling then I added quickly, "You can call me Bella."

He nodded and motioned for me to follow him; I followed him quickly and smiled when we reached a small house. From the outside it looked like it had been there for years and was going to die soon. Its windows were covered with boards to keep out the cold, there was mold growing on the outer walls and door, the roof looked as it id was about to give from the way it sagged, and the outside walls had cracks all over them.

"This is my home." The boy whispered while opening the door. "Sorry if it's a mess, I don't get visitors very often."

"Its ok, I don't mind." I said smiling slightly. Being in someone's messy home was better then being locked in a room.

I followed him inside and looked around; it wasn't too bad of a mess in here. The sink was full of dished like pots and such, the bed was a single person bed and you could tell someone had slept in it, then table was covered with used plates and uneaten food, and the floor need to be swept. Over by the fire place there was a small arm chair and a few books on the floor next to it. It was actually the cleanest place in his home.

I smiled, then something made me realize I didn't even know who this boy was, he knew I was the princess, but I knew nothing about him. I turned to look at him.

"What is your name?" I asked him with interest.

"I am Edward." He said staring at me like I was crazy.

"How old are you, Edward?" I asked him maybe he was older then I thought, because from the looks of his home I would say he lived alone.

"I'm 19." He said while giving me a look of confusion. He was two years older then me.

"And you live here alone?" I said looking around the house again. When I looked back at him he slowly nodded his head.