Princess And The Thief

Arabella and the future

"W-what?"I asked.

"It's none of you business." Then a I heard her mutter words and silence came. I choked on my sob and this time, I let it out. I cried and cried until my eyes turned puffy. After a while I ran out of tears and decided to do some cleaning. Or as much as I could do without seeing. Now I would have to learn how to do everything without seeing. Wiping away a stray tear, I stood up and made it my purpose to memorize every part of the room.

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A year later...

I felt the blankets covering me. Over the year the Witch had updated some of the accommodations like, cushier blankets, a full size bed and not just a straw mattress, the dining chair that had broken, new books, and a few carpets decorated the hard wood floors. Even though I had written her notes, the Witch didn't respond. She only dropped off the occasional meal. Today was my eighteenth birthday. Nothing different happened except for the delicious cake the Witch dropped off along with a new dress that fit perfectly and a nightgown which I was now wearing. My hair had grown long since and dragged behind me. I have been two scared to trim it, so there were no doubt a dozen split ends.

I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to remember all the birthdays I had had in the castle. Each year, the castle would be decorated with decorations (or so Mary said). All of my Princess friends would come over and spend the night. Then the next day we would all be groomed and dressed for the ball.

I actually didn't get to go to my own birthday ball until I was thirteen and after meeting several important people, it was too overwhelming and I hid in the cellar eating desserts. Obviously, as I grew older, I matured and became less overwhelmed at the ball. Even though I was trapped, I had fun. After recalling memories, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I sat in the darkness, sleeping. Then I felt it. A coldness gripped onto me. I gasped, sitting up. Remembering the dark forest, my eyes grew wide. If I was here that meant HE had to be here. Standing up, I looked around. I was surrounded by trees that were so tall I couldn't see the sky. Darkness was everywhere, blocking my vision. "Jack!" I nervously called. My voice echoed before I felt a presence behind me.

"Arabella? What are you doing here?" I turned to face him. instead of last time when he only had lips, he has a full face with everything except eyes. He stepped closer, I realized that even before he hadn't really a body, more just like a cloud of black. But this time, I could see a dim outline. 

"Jack!" I ran and hugged him. I didn't care about whether or not he was trustworthy, I knew this was just a dream and it felt good to hear another humans voice, even if it was fake. I quickly pulled away, and blushed. It all reminded me of the moment when we had said goodbye.

"You have to go. Now." He said sternly.

"Why? It's just a dream."

"No, it isn't. You're in danger, he's going to be here soon." He now said this with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Who?" Darkness started to cloud my vision.

"Me." And partially faceless Jack was gone.

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4 years later...

I didn't want to go to sleep. I couldn't. After four years of having the same dream on my birthday, I was getting scared. The Jack in the dream now had eyes, but instead they were white. He had black shaggy hair which was sometimes cut short. sometimes he even had a slight fuzz on his chin and jaw. Last year, in the dream a dragon had appeared and took me away. Even though Jack had shot arrows and fought it, he was killed and I was taken away when I woke up in a cold sweat.

I know that if I fall asleep, the dream will come back. I don't know whether or not I want that. I sat at my hair station which was equipped with all the combs I needed for my now never-ending trail of hair. Once I tried to measured it and gave up. It doesn't weigh a ton, but I constantly trip over it. I left a note asking the witch if she could cut it for me, and she wrote that she wouldn't and forbid me to do so myself. I carefully walked over to my bed and stood in front of it. My eyes were sleepy. It was no doubt around twelve. I had managed to stay up this late, but I don't know how much long I can hold on.

My eyes grew heavier and I lay down. Even without any blankets, I still drifted off.