The adventures of Princess Annie

Chapter 7

A/N: Not edited, sorry for the mistakes

The adventures of Princess Annie - Chapter 7

The next day, Annie woke up a little later than usual and she kept replaying the party  in her head over and over again. It all felt like a dream. Whenever she had danced with John, she felt like she was floating in the sky, when they stared at each other, she got lost into her eyes, and when they had their long conversation, she felt she had found a kindred spirit. When the ball ended, it was tough landing on reality again. She knew she would see him again, but would the spell be broken? Had he felt the same? She didn't know. 

.....

After breakfast she went through her mail. She corresponded with many from the orphanage, including those who had had the fortune of being adopted. That morning she received a letter from a girl her age called Mélanie, who had been adopted by very nice farmers. Annie was eager to read the letter and learn about her friend's life. Mélanie's letters were usually very joyful as she told the princess about her new life and her new friends. Moving with her new parents had been difficult at frist because she had left all her childhood friends, but in her new house, she had found parental love, and at her new school, she had found new friends and new adventures. However, this time, her letter wasn't joyful at all. She told the Princess about the drought in that part of the Kingdom, about how the crops were dying and how afraid she was that they could find themselves with no food, no milk, no money, even no water! Annie was furious with herself. Why didn't she know about this?

She ran to her father's studio and asked about it. Apparently, the King had only recently been informed of the drought. The news about criminals on the roads and all the fuss about the ball had taken precedent. Annie was shaking with anger, she felt her hands rising in temperature. Meditation wouldn't work this time, only action would allow her to control herself. She told her father that she was going to go there. She didn't ask permission, she just informed him and left quickly. She talked to some people in order to get some provisions for the trip and, specially, for the villagers in that area. She also told her guard to talk about the security chief and let him know that she was going to travel and that she would need her escort to be ready as soon as possible. Her governess, who had to travel with Annie, wasn't too fond of the idea, but she knew better than try to change the Princess's mind. Other people though told her to change her plans, that she could send aid, without going herself, that it was too dangerous. She knew why they said that, but she also knew something they didn't: she could change the weather, nobody in the palace could do that except her, so it was her responsibility.

To her astonishment, John had volunteered to go as part of her security team and James had insisted Henry to be part of it too, as an apprentice. She was happy to know that two her friends would be going with her, though she knew she wouldn't be able to talk to them without starting rumors. She decided she would address them the same way she did the others. It would be best for their careers if she didn't try to socialize with them. Still, their presence comforted her.

The travel was long. They stopped at some inns were Annie had to hide her identity for security reasons. Still, it was obvious a great lady was travelling and some robbers tried to take some of her possessions rummaging through her luggage while they thought nobody was staring. The guards sent the robbers to prison making sure everybody knew that they were there.

Fortunately for Annie, her departure had been so impulsive that nobody had had word of it until it had begun. That had been a great advantage because the bands of criminals didn't get organized in time, and so, she arrived at her destination with minimum problems.

....

She directed her carriage to her friend's house. She wanted to see her first and take her as a guide through town, but mostly she wanted to see her because she missed her. She knocked the door at sunset, and there was only a small pause before she heard a scream from the inside. She recognized the voice and saw some curtains being opened and closed quickly. Then footsteps followed and soon the door was opened by a the excited teenager.