Hey. So, no grammar corrections. Heh. Just be happy and read! ;D
The Story Hands
Chapter 8
I've never had to go through the village before. It's a strange place, full of… strange people… I don't know if I'll ever get along.
Shuddering slightly, Adele clutched the shoulders of her dress and eyed the villagers – who were on all sides of her. They walked, laughed, and worked all around. This was a connection between people she had seldom experienced in her lifetime.
Of course, it wasn't in her nature to be a recluse. If anything, she had always been confined to the castle. Claudia had constantly required her, and besides, she had a room, food, and all necessities before her. Now Adele found herself in an unknown world.
The coachman tugged fiercely at the reins, muttering to himself as the horse took several moments to come to a complete stop. Turning, his blotchy red face smirking, he announced, "Welcome to the rest of your life. Fascinating place, aint' it?"
Adele glanced around – unable to absorb all that was before her. Besides the busy people, the city was full of small shack-like buildings. Straw crowned the top of these structures, while bricks – similar to the castle's, but poorly made – adorned the sides of the walls. Paths were only visible because they contained no cluttered items, shops, stores, or trash. All along the sides of these dusty paths were scattered items and grimy people.
Biting her lip, Adele stood, and leapt off of the carriage. She gazed all around her, unable to stop. I could always go back to the castle. Plead how sorry I am and beg for forgiveness. This place is just… Not good! I cannot live here!
"Yup, you've got a grand life to look forward to. Good-luck at it… Unless you have a desire to return to the castle, of course. I'm leaving soon. Are you taking the opportunity or not?" His words were laced with mockery and amusement.
Nervously, Adele retrieved her bag of items. It contained several dresses, some bedding, a few other personal items, and enough food for two more days. Slinging it over her shoulder, she glanced towards the greasy faced coachman, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not inclined to remove any more of your time from you. Go back into the confining chains of the castle." Taking in a deep breath she continued, "I am free!"
Adele watched as the repulsive man turned his horse and rode off, towards the distant and small castle beyond several hills. Turning on her heels, the homeless girl examined her surroundings some more. This time, she began to calculate what people may be helpful and what places she could find work at.
She wandered the streets until the sun had reached its height in the sky, golden light blazing down and showering the cluttered village.
Adele stopped at an old woman, who reminded her faintly of Felicity, which had dropped a bag of food. Leaning down she helped retrieve the items. "I can't imagine how troublesome it must be for you to cart around this bag. Would you wish for me to carry it to your home?" Adele clutched the slightest of hopes; perhaps this woman would befriend her and help her.
But instead, a sour voice responded, "I need none of your help!" Smacking away Adele's offered hands, she rambled, "Young folk think they can get anything they want by pretending to be kind creatures. Only in the old days did anyone care for anyone else; not no more, though."
Startled, Adele stood and stepped backwards. "I-I was only trying to help!" She felt the weight of being homeless and the dangers of no work fill her mind. Frustration unleashed itself as she growled, "You are being absolutely incompetent! I offered you free help and you stubbornly refuse! What's your problem?"
"I don't have to put up with you," she puffed her chest, giving her the appearance of an over cocky rooster, she continued, "Do you know what I have done for this village?"
"Irritated innocent people with your rotten attitude would be my first guess."
"You hardly seem innocent," the old woman muttered. Offended and wounded, she attempted to regain some of her pride as she answered her own question though, "But allow me to help your lack of memory. It was I who campaigned for less taxing of the people. It was I who risked my life debating the issue with the King himself. I can safely say that you owe me much of the money you saved over the years."
"Good for you." Adele allowed a flatness to seep into her voice. Continuing, she stated, "Without you, I would have had a much better day, though. What you did, people will forget anyways. You should worry more about how you treat us all." Pushing her hat a little lower over her face, to cast a larger shadow over her eyes, she nodded, "Good day."
With those words, Adele shoved through the crowds. She bit her lip hard as she wondered about her situation. Are all people like that woman? I'm never going to find a job if they are… I need to be social though. It'll be the only way I find a place to stay.
More wanderings placed her on the edge of the village. The Sherylwood forest stretched out far in the distance in both directions. It hugged the final buildings before all land gave way to its massive trees. The sun, almost to sunset, shined plentiful golden light all over the lands.
Adele scratched at her hands nervously. She was filled with memories of the day before as she did this; suddenly finding she couldn't stop thinking about that day or stop scratching her hands.
Felicity was entirely different from that woman I encountered. She did mention how judgmental people could be – and that woman was very judgmental. Though I'm not so sure I can believe Felicity. That man, Modrain, and Felicity rambled about the quirkiest ideas. What did they say? That Aspolsh would take over Raydolia using the Power Creatures. She was rubbing her skin raw with her constant scratching, though her distracted mind didn't notice, and somehow I'm supposed to help. Those people have no idea what they are talking about. That's all there is to it. And, besides, glancing up towards the sky she continued her thought, I absolutely have to find somewhere to stay. I don't' have time for these impossible ideas.
Out near the beginning of the forest, several children were dancing, singing, and frolicking. They're carefree voices carried as a sweet sound to the miserable ears of Adele. She watched them, longing to feel sheltered and a sense of belonging as she knew they did.
Unable to stop herself, she approached the group. She kept several feet in between them as Adele plopped on the ground, allowing exhaustion to set in over her tired body. Her eyes followed a boy, who wore a green hat with a red feather in it, race around. "All it takes to fly is faith and trust and… Butterfly wings!" He was shouting to his companions. "That's what we need!"
A small little girl with curly pigtails shook her head. Removing a wet thumb from her mouth she bluntly announced, "That's stupid and doesn't make any sense. The grown-ups won't think we're very smart with a play about flying."
The boy shrugged bitterly and growled, "I don't see you thinking anything better. 'Sides, I like the idea. We could fly around and fight pirates! That'd be a great story!"
"No way," the girl ululated. "I want something romantic… Like – like a Royal Knight rescuing a girl that is imprisoned in a tower!"
"Eeew!" The boy screeched, shaking his head in ultimate disgust. "Swords and fighting would be way cooler!"
Adele paused, considering the ideas. Before she could stop herself, she heard herself saying, "Why not have a Flying Pirate save the Princess that's imprisoned? He could fight something scary like a dragon, or something." She scratched her hand, considering her own idea and allowing herself to be drawn into the world of children. It was alot better than her life, anyways.
The whole group of children turned towards her. Several who hadn't participated in the idea war muttered to themselves. It was the boy with the green hat who shook his head. "No, that's poppycock! The pirates are always the bad guys!"
"'Sides," the pig-tail girl spoke confidently, "No princess would want to be rescued by a Pirate! That's gross!"
Adele laughed, feeling accepted, she couldn't help but continue the conversation. "Alright, fine. How about we have an evil Pirate steal a Princess and lock her away in a… not a tower… that doesn't seem right for a Pirate. How about an island?" Seeing the children nodding encouraged her idea as she thoughtfully continued, "Yeah, and the only way to get to the island is to fly! And the only way to fly is with faith, trust, and…"
"Butterfly wings?" The boy with a green-hat spoke hopefully – his eyes shining in excitement.
"No." Adele shook her head, "That doesn't seem right. How about," Her eyes light up as she recalled stories about whimsical creatures that walked the earth undiscovered by humans. "Unicorn horns? No, no…"
"Fairy wings!" Green-hat boy called, obviously excited by the idea.
"Fairy's are good, aren't they? We don't want to take their wings. That would be a terrible way to gain wings of our own, don't you think. No… We need something magical to make it happen. What about…"
"Fairy dust?" The boy who spoke was a freckle-faced red head who seemed very shy. His blue eyes looked hopefully at Adele. He quietly added, "I heard that fairies have dust that they release as they fly. So…"
"I like it," Adele nodded, "But something doesn't sound right about fairy dust. I think it would be cooler if we called it Pixie Dust."
"So," always the one to sound like a leader, the green-hat boy summed up the ideas. "It takes faith, trust, and pixie dust to save the girl from an evil pirate imprisoning her on an island that can only be reached by flying!"
Forgeting her situation, Adele's whole mind became wrapped around the perfect story. The only worry allowed in her mind for the moment was how the play could be better. "That sounds about right…" The teenager muttered while shaking her head slightly, "But maybe the knight should start on the island. That way we can make it a magical place where he has access to pixies, so he can get the dust. He could have a bunch of people he's leader of too! Like, maybe people who got lost on the island… We could call them the Lost People! And they help rescue the girl!"'
"A problem, though." The pig-tail girl announced, as usual, blunt as ever. "Where is the girl captured at?"
"Maybe," Adele found relief flood her mind. This creative brainstorming released her from the frustrations of her life. She felt apart of something, and it was thrilling. "Maybe she isn't captured at all. Maybe the Knight takes her there. Yeah, what if he was looking for someone to be Queen over the island! All of the Lost People could be men… They could be called Lost Men!"
"Ew!" Again, green-hat boy shook his head. "That means the whole play would be romance and gooey girl stuff!" His eyes lit-up, "Let's have them be called Lost Boys, and make them all kids, like us!"
The children howled in agreement, enough to force Adele to agree as well. Leaping on the idea, she continued, "Okay, okay. Lost Boys wouldn't want a Queen… They'd want a…"
"A mother!" Pig-tail girl grinned, "I guess that'll be okay. It's not as cool as a rescued princess, but a mother who can nag all of the boys and stuff…"
"Gotcha'. But we do need something girly for you girls…" She examined the three girls in the group thoughtfully… "We could have the leader be loved by all girls. A bunch of magical creatures on the island, that are girls, could all love him and want to marry him. He could be like the handsome prince of the island." Seeing delight on the girls face, she saw equally matched hatred on all of the boys. Adding another thought she murmured, "But, the leader could just not notice this stuff. And, if he did, he wouldn't care."
"Fine, I guess that's okay." The green-hat boy muttered in annoyance. "So, what about the boy stuff?"
Adele grinned, "An evil pirate, who could be an adult, always wants to destroy the leader and be in power. He could have a crew… And there could be lots of fights between the leader and the pirate."
"Let's give the leader a name." Pig-tail girl looked thoughtfully ahead of her, "What about something artsy like Sir Alex…?"
"No! He's gonna' be a fun boy and have a fun name, like me! In fact," green-hat boy was onto something, his voice spoke with more excitement than ever before, "In fact I want his name to be Peter! Just like mine!"
"Ugh… No girl would ever wanna' marry you though." Pig-tail girl seemed to give up though, and she instead looked at one of the nearby houses. "I have to go. Mommy and Pa will be 'spectin' me. Bye!" Waving, she turned and shot of. Several other children muttered that they should leave, and vanished into houses.
Realizing that the sun was beginning to set, Adele sighed. She eyed the ground and fiddled with some grass. "You all probabaly need to leave, huh?" If all of the children left, she didn't know what she would do. It'll be lonely, but I suppose I could spend the night out here. Scratching at her hand, she glanced up at Peter, "You really should be on your way. It's getting dark."
Peter was the only one left now. All of the other children had realized their hunger and hurried away for supper. But the small boy skipped to Adele's side and held out a hand to her. His pink nose, pink from the cold, sniffed a little and he wiped at it with his free arm. "Come on! You should go to your home too! Get up!" It was an act of friendship and acceptance, which made Adele laugh.
"I'm gonna' stay here for a bit…" Pausing, she had a slight idea. "Wait! Do you know anywhere I could stay?"
Peter paused, thinking, and then got a huge grin that covered most of his face. "Come with me! Ma and Pa won't mind! They're nice people!" Let's go!"
"Oh – ugh no… I couldn't. Besides, that would be wrong just to intrude –"
Peter grabbed her arm and attempted to tug her up. "You're coming, so don't protest! I'll tell Pa about you, if you don't come. Then he'll have to take the time and come and find ya'! You don't wanna' do that. So, just come on!"
EstrangeloEdessa: Last minute writing? Me? Why I never! * gasps dramatically *In a sense Claudia is rather extreme. The issue with her is that as she is becoming a Queen she finds herself being pressured from her parents. Being an only child forces her with the responsibility of ruler ship. She's never been a particularly controlling person and so she had to learn how to do it. She always attempted with Adele – who easily defies, with the least bit of concern, Claudia's efforts. After awhile, it began to rub at her. Claudia has become a favorite among many readers. I really think people prefer her to Adele. So, really, it isn't safe for me to remove her character.
clueless c: There's no such thing as a bad review – because just the thought of you taking your time to review makes me giddy! Isn't Claudia though? I really love how temperamental she can be… Honestly, this whole story (which only takes place over… Gee two days – I think) she must have been on her period. That is my official decision, thanks to your help! ;D But, just out of curiosity, do you prefer Claudia to Adele? I'm really beginning to question whether any of my readers prefer Adele!