The adventures of Princess Annie

Chapter 2

The adventures of Princess Annie - Chapter 2

After visiting the Duchess, the Royal family went to another town called Di Acurio. The landscape was wonderful and this town was known for its wonderful meals, which made it particularly interesting for Annie. She also was very fond of the Count of Di Acurio and his family. He always invited the Royal family for diner at least once during their visit and he always had the best meals and cakes prepared in their honor. His cook and baker were outstanding and his diner were famous all over the Kingdom.

The Royal family stayed in a residence they owned, which was beautiful, but which sadly was usually empty most of the year, except when a member of the Royal family visited this town. Annie always thought it was a waste to have such a beautiful residence empty, so she had decide to convince her father to use it for something else. Maybe a school or a local museum? Her father had agreed and was in a meeting with the Count of Di Acurio as well as the local authorities to decide the best fate for the place. It was big and with many rooms so surely there were many potential uses for it.

While her father was in this meeting, Annie was in her carriage going to the most famous local bakery. She was enjoying the view through her window when a huge fire caught her attention. Two small houses were being consumed by the flames, and the smoke that surrounded them made the sight more frightening than it already was. She ordered the carriage to stop and descended quickly. She examined her surroundings in order to decide the best course of actions at a time like this. She noticed that the houses were in an area of town which was a little isolated, so only them were affected by the fire. The locals were already organized trying to put the fire down, but it was very difficult. The world of alarm having already being given, they could only hope that the work of so many people would save the lives of those inside. She approached the men who were directing the rescue efforts. Apparently, the incident had started in the house where an old lady died of old age, leaving a candle unattended on top of a pile of papers. Since all houses were made of wood, the fire spread rapidly to her neighbors' house. There a family with two children lived. The father worked on town so he wasn't there when the event started, but the mother and two children were still inside when Annie arrived.

When she heard that people were still trapped inside, she rushed to action taking one of the  buckets, filling it with water and passing it to the nearest man. The footman and Annie's nanny joined her when they saw what she was doing. Minutes later, a man carried a woman outside.

The woman was desperately crying about her children trapped inside. This caught Annie's attention, so she listened to  the words of the desolated mother. She said between sobs that her daughter of ten was watching the baby of only one, while she went to prepare lunch. The man carrying her explained then that they had tried to take them out, but some logs of wood had fallen in front of the door of the nursery and made it impossible for either one of them to go through.

Annie heard everything and decided to help. She was petite so maybe she could go through the logs. She put her shawl in the bucket of water, once wet, she put it on her head and went inside the house. All the adults had been busy and only noticed her absence when it was too late.

She opened a path using the water in her bucket and ran ahead. The baby was crying so she knew where to go. Once she arrived to the nursery's door, she saw how blocked it was. Fortunately, there was a small separation between the heavy logs of wood. She crawled passed the door and reached the inside of the room. The girl was passed out. Annie ran to her and gently woke her up. Then she helped her go through the logs and shouted for help on the other side. A man took the girl in his arms and carried her outside. Once that was done, she turned to the baby, who was still crying, she covered him with her shawl and carried him outside herself.