***Author's note: Hailena is pronounced Hail-leh-na. Hope you like the
story so far.***
"Daddy?" I said as I looked at the man coming towards me. He grabbed me and gave me a hug, tears coming down his face. He cried like a king, without noise, just tears. He looked the same as always, like a noble king. Beside him was another man who I did not pay attention to. All I saw was my dad, the one I had not seen in over five years.
"I was wondering when one of you would get up the courage and follow us. I see you're a lot more balanced than your mother was at your age. We should appoint you to be one of our knights with moves like that," said father as he let go of me.
"Daddy, how come you didn't come back? Have you abandoned Kyrria and Frell? Why didn't you bring the kids along as well?" I asked.
"Well, your mother and I didn't abandoned Frell or anyone. We couldn't get out of here. We didn't know how to get out."
"I have no clue what you are saying, Father. Please explain it to me. I really want to take you back home, where you belong."
He smiled through the tears on his face, "Not now sweetheart. Later I will explain everything."
Just then, my mother walked through the door, tears and laughter on her face. She always was with a smile. She said to me, "Hailey? Is that my little Red Raven? Has she come to save me?"
"It's me mom. Just playing swords with a couple of knights," I said as I ran to hug her.
"I've missed you so much, honey. Your all grown up, now," she said as a huge smile was on her face.
"Sorry about Sir Jonathan, mom. I didn't know that daddy was "His Highness". I had no clue who the knights were. I was totally scarred when Sir Jonathan dragged me from the bookstore and down the street. You should tell him to be more careful. Next time he pulls something like that, I might just stab him," I said as I laughed.
Sir Jonathan had just regained consciousness and was sitting up. He shook his head like it was dizzy. He looked around and spotted me next to my mom.
He looked at me and his eyes bulged, "I'd watch out, Your Highness. She's a fighter."
My mother looked at me and then at Sir Jonathan and said, "Of course she is, Jonathan. Hailey's my daughter."
Mother showed me to me new room, which I was going to stay in. It was a huge room and larger than the one at Frell. It had beautiful paintings on the walls of elves, fairies, merpeople, and more around the entire room.
The enormous picture windows on the opposite side of the double door entrance had a large balcony that led out and sat in the front of the castle, looking out into the front gardens, over the small lake in front, and into the city. It probably had the best view in the whole castle.
The bed inside the room was gigantic. I took up about only one tenth of the whole bed. The bed and pillows were so soft that you almost immediately fell asleep as soon as you sat on them.
There was also a wonderful dresser with hand made woodcarvings in it. Small pictures were carved in the wood over the whole dresser.
A large mirror was next to the dresser. It was also as magnificent as anything else in the castle. Beautiful flower paintings went around the border of the beautiful glass.
Inside one of the closets in my room had beautiful dresses that took my breath away. One was navy blue with silver trim around it and a silver bow in front. One was a purple silk dress with gold trims and gold ruffles. Each dress was different in some way, but one dress stood out before them all. It was a dress that was the color of a red rose and was made of velvet with white fur along the neckline. It looked good for cold winter day. It looked like a Red Raven dress and I was glad it fit me, though it was summer at that time.
I was surprised when all of the dresses in the closet fit me. I realized later that after five years of traveling through the woods and eating only bread and green plants can make you skinnier that ever before. I began to notice that I was just skin and bone. My tanned skin helped to make me look better and I was happy that my skin had not turned pale over the years or my mother would have worried about me.
I waited on my balcony, staring into the town below, admiring the scenery, when I heard someone behind me. It was the boy from the hall that I had seen. He had come in to bring me my bag that I had left downstairs. He came over a stood next to me. We both watched the city people walk from place to place.
Finally he said, "This is the best view in the castle. You mother saved it if either you or your brother, George, came to find them. She knew someone would come after a while."
I was a little confused about this, "Why just for me of my brother? There are ten other children in my family. Why not the older ones?"
He laughed this statement, "Do you really believe that they would come to save your parents? Think about them, Hailey. Think about how they treat you, how they act, what they do. They would never help anyone if they didn't get anything from it."
I thought about this for a moment. They wouldn't leave the castle for anything. They would never want to leave royalty and living in glory to save someone else.
"I guess your right, but it's their parents. They would do it for their own blood," I said.
"It wasn't their blood," said the boy.
I was confused, "It was their parents. What do you mean?"
"Why didn't they go then?" said the boy, changing the subject.
"Why didn't George go?" I responded.
The boy looked at me and said, "Why did you go?"
I thought for a second and said, "I had to get away. I wanted to get away from my relatives, my siblings, my country, my life. I couldn't stand it. They would torture me day and night. I was hit, scolded, mocked, made fun of, yelled at, got food taken from for days at a time, and put in prison for things I never did. The royal children teased me about my hair, but that never bothered me. They always said they were better then me, but I never cared about what color hair they had. I loved my hair color. It was just when the adults started to believe them that I had trouble. When my sister would break a piece of china, I was the one who was blamed. When my brother would spill juice on the floor after dinner and my sister would slip on it, I was blamed. No one wanted to hear the truth. No one told the truth, except for George. When he messed up, he said he did before anyone blamed me for it. I couldn't stand them. Even if I didn't find my parents, I would have been happy to just die in the forest alone."
The boy listened patiently as I talked, then he said with laughter, "It looks to me like you almost did. You look like just skin and bones. I can't believe you actually survived the forest with only a fairy backpack and two horses."
This brightened me up. It was weird how even in that sad story, the boy still laughed. I laughed to and said, "Well, it was a fairy backpack."
The boy looked at me and said, "One that you never used. I still write to Mandy and she said that the fairy bag was only used five times and that most of that was only for blankets for the horses. She said that you didn't even ask for new clothes. You only got one extra piece of clothing from her bag and that was because you had to wash the others in the stream in the middle of winter. Also, you waited until it was the coldest temperature of the year to get the clothes, because you thought you could make it without clothes in winter. I really don't know how you lived."
"I didn't think it was hard. I am still wearing the clothes I wore when I ran out the palace door, though I had to trim to dress because it was getting in my way and I need some cloth to tie around my ankle when the snake bit me in year two," I told him.
He looked surprised, "A snake bit you? Did you even think of asking for something from the bag?"
I replied, "Not really. Nothing would have helped. All I needed was water to flush the venom out and a piece of cloth to tighten the wound to let the last contaminated blood to come out."
"I forgot one thing, after five years in the forests, you managed to still have enough strengthen to knock my uncle unconscious in a sword fight. That says a lot," he said while smiling at me.
I stared at him apologetically, "I am so sorry! That was your uncle? I am so embarrassed about that whole thing!"
"Don't be sorry. He had it coming to him! He made me have guard duty outside for a month. It is so boring. Nothing happens. I'm a knight, so I have to do whatever he tells me, because he is the head knight," said the boy, grunting at the thought, "That's so awesome that you actually knocked him out. Your sword moves were great. Did you have a teacher in Frell?"
"No, actually. They didn't let us use swords. They do not think that violence and blood is something a proper princess should see. Even if we wanted to learn we were punished for bringing up the subject, or at least I was. I was the only one who wanted to learn the art of the sword. Father gave this to me before he left," I said, pulling out the sword. I was very sharp and had ancient Kyrrian writing on it.
"Can you read the words on it? Do you know how?" asked the boy.
"Father taught me to read the ancient writings. It says, 'Hold the truth of the sword. Blood has no lies, though the victim's mouth is not true.'" I said as I looked at the gleaming metal of the sword.
I saw his confused face and said, "It means don't trust your enemies and the only good enemy is a dead one."
He laughed and said, "Your good at translating, even when the words are still in Kyrrian."
"Thanks. There was nothing better to do in the forest than translate words and find out the meaning of them, though," I said.
We looked out into the town below and the boy said, "It's nice having someone my age to talk to. I seems the only people in the kingdom I talk to, in the conversation, fall asleep in mid-sentence."
"It's a pleasure to be of service to you. I, myself, am enjoying just speaking to another human being. Being stuck in the forest for five years can get to you, you know. I don't think talking to grasshoppers is very healthy for the brain, since they don't seem to talk back. I don't think it was much of a difference from talking to the princesses in the castle, though. They don't seem to talk, either. Or at least about anything remotely interesting. Hair, clothing, and royal princes are not some of my personal favorite topics," I said as a smile grew across his face and we laughed together.
We looked at the lake in the front of the castle as some swans landed in the water, making a splash, and diving in to look for food. The boy seemed to try to say something, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the butler.
"Princess Hailena, the queen has asked me to tell you to get dressed and meet her at the bottom of the stairs for dinner," said the butler as he looked at both me and the boy, "Sir, you are also expected for dinner. All the knights and their families can attend. There is going to be a feast and celebration in honor of your arrival. A ball will also be held after dinner for all of the city."
"Please, sir, call me Hailey," I said.
"Yes, Princess Hailey. The maids will be by soon to dress you," said the butler.
I smiled and said, "No need, sir. I can dress myself. Tell my mother to use the other maids on someone else. I came here to find my parents and get away from all that stuff."
"Yes, miss. Goodbye," said the butler as he backed out of the door and beckoned the boy to come with him.
The boy looked at me and said, "I guess this is my time to leave. I'll see you at the dinner, Princess Hailena. Trust me, it will not be fun."
"Thank you for the warning and call me Hailey," I said to him.
As he started to walk back to the door, he replied, "And my name is Kylen if you were wondering."
"Goodbye, Sir Kylen," I said, very happy to know is name.
He turned around again and said with a smile, "You can call me Kyle. All the rest of my friends do."
I sat on my bed, wondering what to wear and very happy to have made a friend. The first friend I have ever made in five years.
***Author's note: I hope you like the new chapter. I was angry because I had finished my whole chapter and then it disappeared. Oh Well. I finished it and that's all that matters. I think this is a nice chapter. Lol. I like chapter two's sword fight, though. Hope you will say around for the ball. And by the way, Kylen is pronounced like Kyle with an N at the end. Probably self-explanatory, but some people just might not get it. Lol. New chapter on the way.***
"Daddy?" I said as I looked at the man coming towards me. He grabbed me and gave me a hug, tears coming down his face. He cried like a king, without noise, just tears. He looked the same as always, like a noble king. Beside him was another man who I did not pay attention to. All I saw was my dad, the one I had not seen in over five years.
"I was wondering when one of you would get up the courage and follow us. I see you're a lot more balanced than your mother was at your age. We should appoint you to be one of our knights with moves like that," said father as he let go of me.
"Daddy, how come you didn't come back? Have you abandoned Kyrria and Frell? Why didn't you bring the kids along as well?" I asked.
"Well, your mother and I didn't abandoned Frell or anyone. We couldn't get out of here. We didn't know how to get out."
"I have no clue what you are saying, Father. Please explain it to me. I really want to take you back home, where you belong."
He smiled through the tears on his face, "Not now sweetheart. Later I will explain everything."
Just then, my mother walked through the door, tears and laughter on her face. She always was with a smile. She said to me, "Hailey? Is that my little Red Raven? Has she come to save me?"
"It's me mom. Just playing swords with a couple of knights," I said as I ran to hug her.
"I've missed you so much, honey. Your all grown up, now," she said as a huge smile was on her face.
"Sorry about Sir Jonathan, mom. I didn't know that daddy was "His Highness". I had no clue who the knights were. I was totally scarred when Sir Jonathan dragged me from the bookstore and down the street. You should tell him to be more careful. Next time he pulls something like that, I might just stab him," I said as I laughed.
Sir Jonathan had just regained consciousness and was sitting up. He shook his head like it was dizzy. He looked around and spotted me next to my mom.
He looked at me and his eyes bulged, "I'd watch out, Your Highness. She's a fighter."
My mother looked at me and then at Sir Jonathan and said, "Of course she is, Jonathan. Hailey's my daughter."
Mother showed me to me new room, which I was going to stay in. It was a huge room and larger than the one at Frell. It had beautiful paintings on the walls of elves, fairies, merpeople, and more around the entire room.
The enormous picture windows on the opposite side of the double door entrance had a large balcony that led out and sat in the front of the castle, looking out into the front gardens, over the small lake in front, and into the city. It probably had the best view in the whole castle.
The bed inside the room was gigantic. I took up about only one tenth of the whole bed. The bed and pillows were so soft that you almost immediately fell asleep as soon as you sat on them.
There was also a wonderful dresser with hand made woodcarvings in it. Small pictures were carved in the wood over the whole dresser.
A large mirror was next to the dresser. It was also as magnificent as anything else in the castle. Beautiful flower paintings went around the border of the beautiful glass.
Inside one of the closets in my room had beautiful dresses that took my breath away. One was navy blue with silver trim around it and a silver bow in front. One was a purple silk dress with gold trims and gold ruffles. Each dress was different in some way, but one dress stood out before them all. It was a dress that was the color of a red rose and was made of velvet with white fur along the neckline. It looked good for cold winter day. It looked like a Red Raven dress and I was glad it fit me, though it was summer at that time.
I was surprised when all of the dresses in the closet fit me. I realized later that after five years of traveling through the woods and eating only bread and green plants can make you skinnier that ever before. I began to notice that I was just skin and bone. My tanned skin helped to make me look better and I was happy that my skin had not turned pale over the years or my mother would have worried about me.
I waited on my balcony, staring into the town below, admiring the scenery, when I heard someone behind me. It was the boy from the hall that I had seen. He had come in to bring me my bag that I had left downstairs. He came over a stood next to me. We both watched the city people walk from place to place.
Finally he said, "This is the best view in the castle. You mother saved it if either you or your brother, George, came to find them. She knew someone would come after a while."
I was a little confused about this, "Why just for me of my brother? There are ten other children in my family. Why not the older ones?"
He laughed this statement, "Do you really believe that they would come to save your parents? Think about them, Hailey. Think about how they treat you, how they act, what they do. They would never help anyone if they didn't get anything from it."
I thought about this for a moment. They wouldn't leave the castle for anything. They would never want to leave royalty and living in glory to save someone else.
"I guess your right, but it's their parents. They would do it for their own blood," I said.
"It wasn't their blood," said the boy.
I was confused, "It was their parents. What do you mean?"
"Why didn't they go then?" said the boy, changing the subject.
"Why didn't George go?" I responded.
The boy looked at me and said, "Why did you go?"
I thought for a second and said, "I had to get away. I wanted to get away from my relatives, my siblings, my country, my life. I couldn't stand it. They would torture me day and night. I was hit, scolded, mocked, made fun of, yelled at, got food taken from for days at a time, and put in prison for things I never did. The royal children teased me about my hair, but that never bothered me. They always said they were better then me, but I never cared about what color hair they had. I loved my hair color. It was just when the adults started to believe them that I had trouble. When my sister would break a piece of china, I was the one who was blamed. When my brother would spill juice on the floor after dinner and my sister would slip on it, I was blamed. No one wanted to hear the truth. No one told the truth, except for George. When he messed up, he said he did before anyone blamed me for it. I couldn't stand them. Even if I didn't find my parents, I would have been happy to just die in the forest alone."
The boy listened patiently as I talked, then he said with laughter, "It looks to me like you almost did. You look like just skin and bones. I can't believe you actually survived the forest with only a fairy backpack and two horses."
This brightened me up. It was weird how even in that sad story, the boy still laughed. I laughed to and said, "Well, it was a fairy backpack."
The boy looked at me and said, "One that you never used. I still write to Mandy and she said that the fairy bag was only used five times and that most of that was only for blankets for the horses. She said that you didn't even ask for new clothes. You only got one extra piece of clothing from her bag and that was because you had to wash the others in the stream in the middle of winter. Also, you waited until it was the coldest temperature of the year to get the clothes, because you thought you could make it without clothes in winter. I really don't know how you lived."
"I didn't think it was hard. I am still wearing the clothes I wore when I ran out the palace door, though I had to trim to dress because it was getting in my way and I need some cloth to tie around my ankle when the snake bit me in year two," I told him.
He looked surprised, "A snake bit you? Did you even think of asking for something from the bag?"
I replied, "Not really. Nothing would have helped. All I needed was water to flush the venom out and a piece of cloth to tighten the wound to let the last contaminated blood to come out."
"I forgot one thing, after five years in the forests, you managed to still have enough strengthen to knock my uncle unconscious in a sword fight. That says a lot," he said while smiling at me.
I stared at him apologetically, "I am so sorry! That was your uncle? I am so embarrassed about that whole thing!"
"Don't be sorry. He had it coming to him! He made me have guard duty outside for a month. It is so boring. Nothing happens. I'm a knight, so I have to do whatever he tells me, because he is the head knight," said the boy, grunting at the thought, "That's so awesome that you actually knocked him out. Your sword moves were great. Did you have a teacher in Frell?"
"No, actually. They didn't let us use swords. They do not think that violence and blood is something a proper princess should see. Even if we wanted to learn we were punished for bringing up the subject, or at least I was. I was the only one who wanted to learn the art of the sword. Father gave this to me before he left," I said, pulling out the sword. I was very sharp and had ancient Kyrrian writing on it.
"Can you read the words on it? Do you know how?" asked the boy.
"Father taught me to read the ancient writings. It says, 'Hold the truth of the sword. Blood has no lies, though the victim's mouth is not true.'" I said as I looked at the gleaming metal of the sword.
I saw his confused face and said, "It means don't trust your enemies and the only good enemy is a dead one."
He laughed and said, "Your good at translating, even when the words are still in Kyrrian."
"Thanks. There was nothing better to do in the forest than translate words and find out the meaning of them, though," I said.
We looked out into the town below and the boy said, "It's nice having someone my age to talk to. I seems the only people in the kingdom I talk to, in the conversation, fall asleep in mid-sentence."
"It's a pleasure to be of service to you. I, myself, am enjoying just speaking to another human being. Being stuck in the forest for five years can get to you, you know. I don't think talking to grasshoppers is very healthy for the brain, since they don't seem to talk back. I don't think it was much of a difference from talking to the princesses in the castle, though. They don't seem to talk, either. Or at least about anything remotely interesting. Hair, clothing, and royal princes are not some of my personal favorite topics," I said as a smile grew across his face and we laughed together.
We looked at the lake in the front of the castle as some swans landed in the water, making a splash, and diving in to look for food. The boy seemed to try to say something, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was the butler.
"Princess Hailena, the queen has asked me to tell you to get dressed and meet her at the bottom of the stairs for dinner," said the butler as he looked at both me and the boy, "Sir, you are also expected for dinner. All the knights and their families can attend. There is going to be a feast and celebration in honor of your arrival. A ball will also be held after dinner for all of the city."
"Please, sir, call me Hailey," I said.
"Yes, Princess Hailey. The maids will be by soon to dress you," said the butler.
I smiled and said, "No need, sir. I can dress myself. Tell my mother to use the other maids on someone else. I came here to find my parents and get away from all that stuff."
"Yes, miss. Goodbye," said the butler as he backed out of the door and beckoned the boy to come with him.
The boy looked at me and said, "I guess this is my time to leave. I'll see you at the dinner, Princess Hailena. Trust me, it will not be fun."
"Thank you for the warning and call me Hailey," I said to him.
As he started to walk back to the door, he replied, "And my name is Kylen if you were wondering."
"Goodbye, Sir Kylen," I said, very happy to know is name.
He turned around again and said with a smile, "You can call me Kyle. All the rest of my friends do."
I sat on my bed, wondering what to wear and very happy to have made a friend. The first friend I have ever made in five years.
***Author's note: I hope you like the new chapter. I was angry because I had finished my whole chapter and then it disappeared. Oh Well. I finished it and that's all that matters. I think this is a nice chapter. Lol. I like chapter two's sword fight, though. Hope you will say around for the ball. And by the way, Kylen is pronounced like Kyle with an N at the end. Probably self-explanatory, but some people just might not get it. Lol. New chapter on the way.***
