Beastly Changed

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

          The bright morning sun shined radiantly down on Katharine’s face. Stretching, she looked around carefully, making sure that there was no threat below, before she carefully climbed down.

          Clearly, wandering through the woods all day did not really prove to be the smartest or safest thing to do, so Katharine decided to head over to the town that she knew was only a short walk away.

          Seeing the town right in the clearing as she stood at the edge of the trees really amazed her. She was free. There was no one to hold her back now.

          Taking the first steps out of the woods was the hardest thing. There were so many possibilities. What if they knew that she wasn’t really supposed to be out here? What if her parents had offered a reward to bring her back? Then her freedom would be stripped from her like she never even had any in the first place.

          I’m not crazy. Those were her thoughts as she walked out into the village, setting her slippered feet onto the cobblestone. Little children of no more than six were running around the streets, chasing each other and playing around the fountain in the center of town.

          The sight really was beautiful. Everything seemed to be in order and in place. People were walking around, stopping into the shops that lined the street. It really was quite magnificent.

          “Mother, look at that over there.” A chubby little boy said, pointing at her. He was absolutely adorable, with his long curly hair and chubby cheeks.

          A blush formed on Katharine’s cheeks as she realized that the little boy was indeed talking about her. Her dress was filthy and torn, and her face was dirty. No wonder everyone was staring. A princess was not supposed to look like this; at least not by Katharine’s mother’s standards.

          “Garret! Hush, child. It is rude to point and speak of those around you. Come now,” she instructed, taking the child’s hand in hers and walking over towards Katharine.

          “Miss, you look a bit lost. Are you from around here?” The woman’s voice was full of kindness.

          “No,” Katharine answered quietly, looking down at the cobblestone road. She feared that if she were to look up and give people a good look at her face, they might actually see that she is a princess, but she did not want that. She wanted the exact opposite.

          “Come, follow me.” The woman said. She had blonde curly locks, just like her child. Her dress was sewed—sewing only a seamstress could do.

          They walked a short distance until the woman stopped in front of a shop door, proving Katharine’s suspicions, she was a seamstress.

          “Now miss, I know that you are not from around here,” she started, only pausing to hand Garret a bowl that needed to be filled with water. “But we have a certain way of doing things around here. And tonight is the Ball. The prince is having it here. A princess from another kingdom is coming and it is going to be an extravagant event. Everyone must attend, and you surely are not going to go there looking like this!” The woman started bustling around, fetching material and thread.

          “I feel that this color will suit you well.” She showed Katharine a baby blue material. “It’s all I’ve got left, anyways. But I think that it will be just fine.” The woman sat there, and started working away, taking only a few breaks to measure her.

          Shortly after that, Garret came back with the bowl full of water. His chubby cheeks were red and he was out of breath. “The men, mother, they are out there. Something has gone wrong.” Garret sputtered.