Alanna led me to my rooms and shut the door firmly behind her. "If I didn't
get you away from Numair, he would talk for hours and ask lots of pointless
questions," she said. She showed me around the two rooms and a closet I
would most likely be living the rest of my life in. A small bathroom, and a
slightly larger room with a bed, desk and bookcase in it. I spotted a
familiar shoebox on the bed. Somehow, my mom must have sent my box. The box
was usually stored on the top shelf of my closet. I had a scrapbook,
pictures, books, and other little memories in it, from over the course of
my life.
I looked outside the open shutters into a little courtyard. I noticed that it was no longer light out, now just a little after dusk. "Where exactly am I staying?" I inquired.
"With the Pages dear," Alanna said. I also asked about the light. It had been early in the morning before I had been changed into a Tortallan tree- turned-human. She laughed. "Time zones. Unfortunately, people forgot about them, until about 500 years before they were re-invented."
I sighed. This was going to be interesting. She showed me where I could find some stuff to sleep in. Thankfully, there were soft flannel pants and t-shirt like top. I felt exhausted. After I changed, she gave me the key to my room and shutters and told me I could sleep in the next morning. She left and I crawled into bed. It felt strange, not to have the glowing stars and moon from my own room. On a table in the corner was a bowl of water and flickering floating candles. I looked out the still open window. Now I had the real stars.
I woke the next morning hearing the bell ringing loudly. I had forgotten where I was for a minute and sat up, blinking sleepily. A sudden idea flashed into my head. My backpack! I had forgotten I was wearing it when I was going into the basement! I spotted a blue lump in the corner and danced across the chilly stone floor to get it, and hop back onto the bed.
I unzipped the big compartment and found binder, planner, and pencil case. I spread that out on the bed off to the side of me, and undid one of the billion smaller ones. Score! My CD player and a couple of my favorite CDs. The next one: batteries. I continued on until I found some chap stick, a deck of playing cards, my Pointe shoes, a horse bean bag toy, a soccer ball key chain, and a jumbo sized bag of gummy bears. I was amazed. "How did I fit all of that into ONE bag?" I marveled aloud. "Oh God, how am I going to get it all back in?" I groaned. I remembered my box, and suddenly by bed was littered with photos, some in frames, some not, notes, a teddy bear, a soccer ball, a charm bracelet, and zillions of other things. I found a place for everything, even the soccer ball. When Alanna came in, she found my room nicely decorated with the stuff that made me feel a little less lost.
"You certainly have been busy," she said.
"Yup, I decided to unpack."
"You did a good job. Now, come with me, you need to get clothes." I followed her out and down to the palace tailors. During the way down there, we talked about how I was going to react to living at the palace, and what I was going to do. I told her that I really wanted to be a page.
"I'll do what I can. You aren't the only one who has started late this year, and there are a few more girls around." My heart leaped. I might actually become a page! Even if I didn't make it to knighthood, I still would have experienced something that I had wanted to do for a long time! "And Numair is contacting your parents. There will be ways you will be able to contact them, but we have to explain to them why there is a tree growing in their basement."
"They don't know I'm here?" I asked.
"They have known for a while that you were going to come and live at the palace, they just didn't know when. It must have come as a shock to them to find out that their daughter had been turned into a tree." She said as we turned into a doorway.
To an old, grumpy looking man she said, "We need to get some shirts and breeches for this young lady," the man's expression turned even more irritated. I stood still as he whipped, most likely the same, knotted cord around me that he did when Alanna came for her first palace wardrobe. It only took a few minutes, and an armful of clothes were pressed into my hands.
Soft cotton shirts and pants of some material I didn't know pressed against my face as I walked back to my room, listening to Alanna chatter on about how I would love palace life. I managed not to drop anything as I fished around in my pocket for the key. She left me there, and it took until dinner for me to fold and put away the clothes. I guessed that my running shoes were good enough, as I noticed I hadn't been given any new footwear. I changed into a navy shirt and black pants for dinner. I got out my soccer ball and tried to hit it off my knees and ankles 50 times. Just as I was nearing my goal, I heard a knock at the door and lost my attention and it bounced off the floor. Alanna came in, "its time for dinner." She said, and escorted me down the hall.
Wow, 3 chapters! Yippee! Please review. That IS what the box is there for right?
I looked outside the open shutters into a little courtyard. I noticed that it was no longer light out, now just a little after dusk. "Where exactly am I staying?" I inquired.
"With the Pages dear," Alanna said. I also asked about the light. It had been early in the morning before I had been changed into a Tortallan tree- turned-human. She laughed. "Time zones. Unfortunately, people forgot about them, until about 500 years before they were re-invented."
I sighed. This was going to be interesting. She showed me where I could find some stuff to sleep in. Thankfully, there were soft flannel pants and t-shirt like top. I felt exhausted. After I changed, she gave me the key to my room and shutters and told me I could sleep in the next morning. She left and I crawled into bed. It felt strange, not to have the glowing stars and moon from my own room. On a table in the corner was a bowl of water and flickering floating candles. I looked out the still open window. Now I had the real stars.
I woke the next morning hearing the bell ringing loudly. I had forgotten where I was for a minute and sat up, blinking sleepily. A sudden idea flashed into my head. My backpack! I had forgotten I was wearing it when I was going into the basement! I spotted a blue lump in the corner and danced across the chilly stone floor to get it, and hop back onto the bed.
I unzipped the big compartment and found binder, planner, and pencil case. I spread that out on the bed off to the side of me, and undid one of the billion smaller ones. Score! My CD player and a couple of my favorite CDs. The next one: batteries. I continued on until I found some chap stick, a deck of playing cards, my Pointe shoes, a horse bean bag toy, a soccer ball key chain, and a jumbo sized bag of gummy bears. I was amazed. "How did I fit all of that into ONE bag?" I marveled aloud. "Oh God, how am I going to get it all back in?" I groaned. I remembered my box, and suddenly by bed was littered with photos, some in frames, some not, notes, a teddy bear, a soccer ball, a charm bracelet, and zillions of other things. I found a place for everything, even the soccer ball. When Alanna came in, she found my room nicely decorated with the stuff that made me feel a little less lost.
"You certainly have been busy," she said.
"Yup, I decided to unpack."
"You did a good job. Now, come with me, you need to get clothes." I followed her out and down to the palace tailors. During the way down there, we talked about how I was going to react to living at the palace, and what I was going to do. I told her that I really wanted to be a page.
"I'll do what I can. You aren't the only one who has started late this year, and there are a few more girls around." My heart leaped. I might actually become a page! Even if I didn't make it to knighthood, I still would have experienced something that I had wanted to do for a long time! "And Numair is contacting your parents. There will be ways you will be able to contact them, but we have to explain to them why there is a tree growing in their basement."
"They don't know I'm here?" I asked.
"They have known for a while that you were going to come and live at the palace, they just didn't know when. It must have come as a shock to them to find out that their daughter had been turned into a tree." She said as we turned into a doorway.
To an old, grumpy looking man she said, "We need to get some shirts and breeches for this young lady," the man's expression turned even more irritated. I stood still as he whipped, most likely the same, knotted cord around me that he did when Alanna came for her first palace wardrobe. It only took a few minutes, and an armful of clothes were pressed into my hands.
Soft cotton shirts and pants of some material I didn't know pressed against my face as I walked back to my room, listening to Alanna chatter on about how I would love palace life. I managed not to drop anything as I fished around in my pocket for the key. She left me there, and it took until dinner for me to fold and put away the clothes. I guessed that my running shoes were good enough, as I noticed I hadn't been given any new footwear. I changed into a navy shirt and black pants for dinner. I got out my soccer ball and tried to hit it off my knees and ankles 50 times. Just as I was nearing my goal, I heard a knock at the door and lost my attention and it bounced off the floor. Alanna came in, "its time for dinner." She said, and escorted me down the hall.
Wow, 3 chapters! Yippee! Please review. That IS what the box is there for right?
