"My dear, are you quite all right?"
"Wha-what?"
"I said, we're back home, and you didn't answer."
"We're home..." Brooke breathed half to herself. It had been a long time since she felt this happy. She simply could not wait to smell the fresh green grass, run through the beautiful forest surrounding their home, and go riding to explore the little town beyond it. And yet she still feared her mother's disappointed face. It had haunted her dreams as she slept on the plane.
Before no time at all, they were both in a taxicab on the way to Moonacre Valley.
Brooke could have screamed in delight when she saw the tower high above the trees covering the road. Although Aunt Mary didn't particularly enjoy having to walk halfway there with all their things, Brooke couldn't have been happier.
They walked straight up to the door, somehow rearranged their things on their arms to grasp the knocker, and waited. An old servant opened the great wooden doors and ushered them in.
Brooke visited the castle every summer, and every time would walk in and stare in awe at the ceiling that had to be as tall as the empire state building, the huge tapestries decorating the walls (which told stories of a beautiful unicorn, a great big lion, and a princess), and the portrait of a beautiful young Merryweather girl, supposedly a princess. Every time she visited, the servants moved it from the main room to the little room just outside her own.
And in this room was the most comfortable yet fancy bed you could imagine, a small window that would be perfect for sneaking out, if it hadn't been at the top of a tower, a nice fireplace, and the best part: instead of a normal ceiling, there was a giant piece of domed glass that would show the beautiful stars and let the light of the moon in at night. Unfortunately, it also let in the noise of pounding rain and every roll of thunder when it rained, but Brooke liked the rain. It was almost music to her ears.
By the time they were all settled in, it was night, and the castle was as dark as the unseen part of the moon. Everyone went to bed early, but Brooke was even more excited than normal that night. She grabbed a flashlight that was conveniently stored in the trunk by the bed. Brooke thought she remembered that color from her last visit. It was too dark tonight without the moon to go outside, so she simply explored the tiny castle some before crashing in the library.
Eight O'clock in the morning, Brooke was found fast asleep on top of a particularly old and thick book by one of the maids. She was sent to breakfast with a stern but kind look, and nibbled it quietly.
As the sun was up and shining in a cloudless sky, Brooke immediately got dressed in an old T-shirt and baggy jeans, and headed to the stable.
Like always, the stable was full of a pleasant smell of horse soap and leather. Brooke's favorite, a cute palomino pony named Honey, was tacked up in a matter of minutes, and before it was even twelve, they were trotting off into the trees.
Honey was always kind and obedient for Brooke, if a bit lazy. Brooke followed the trail into the forest for a time, but quickly grew bored. She urged Honey into a trot and they went over a few fallen logs before Brooke saw the stream.
It was strange, she thought afterwards, because she had never noticed it before in the forest, and it was so near the castle! They stopped at it and Brooke let the pony take a drink and a few nibbles of grass. She sat back against a tree and looked around at the trees. How nice it must have been, to be back home, listening to the stream gurgle and the birds sing. The only thing that could have made it better was a friend.
Brooke didn't know it, but her wish was about to come true.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if she wanted to drink it all in at once. But she opened them again as Honey brought his head up with a snort. Brooke looked at him and quickly stood up to comfort him. Whatever he had sensed made him very scared-his eyes were wide with fright, and he started to get jumpy. It was so unlike him to be afraid of the forest that Brooke didn't even know what to do.
She snapped out of it, however, as she felt a sudden and extremely unpleasant prickle on the back of her neck. Brooke had never felt anything like it. Was this what it felt like to be watched? She looked around at the surrounding trees with a sudden dislike, as if they were watching her. She mounted Honey with a growing fear, and she didn't feel safe until they had reached the castle walls again.