The Night I Flew

Chapter 1

Anastasia Grace Donahue is my name. I was born and raised in a not so loving family but that was to be expected considering I was the only child of a very rich family. The Donahues were very important people in our little town, Syrena. Years before I was born, my father and mother moved into the town and struck gold, bringing wealth to the town and themselves. I had gone all 18 years of my life with the finest clothes, the biggest house, and the tastiest food money could buy.

All of this did of course come with a cost. My parents were cold, distant, and unloving. My father was too busy having affairs to take much notice of his wife and child. My mother on the other hand, was always working and drinking away her sadness, locked away in her room. Having said this, I practically raised myself aside from her maids. The workers of the house seemed to love me and really enjoyed being around me because, unlike my parents, I was not always taught to want more than I had.

I hadn't been fond of the idea of sitting inside for hours so on my 12th birthday, I had managed to convince my parents to get me a horse, along with having a stable and fence made near the house. Riding my horse was the only freedom I ever had, and I loved every second of it. One day, I had an unexpected visitor in the stables. A young boy, around my age, was brushing my horse. "Who are you, and what are you doing with my horse?"I asked, sternly. "The name's Alexander but you can just call me Alex." He responded, putting his hand out with a smile.

"What are you doing here?"I asked again, frustrated. "Oh, I was hired as a stable boy. So sorry, I guess no one told you."He said, apologetically. "Oh, no I'm sorry. I get really defensive over Ash. I hadn't even stopped to think that you were a worker. Well, welcome to my humble home. I hope you enjoy your time here."I curtsied and smiled at him. "Thank you. And no offense, but your house isn't exactly what I would call "humble". He laughed a little. "I suppose you are right. I guess most people would call my home a quite luxurious one."I looked down, trying to look anywhere but his eyes. "Yes it is. What I would give to live in a place like this." He smiled, now looking at the house. "Do you have family, Alex?" I asked. "Ya, I have three little siblings and my parents. My cousins come to visit quite often too."He said, fiddling with a chain on his neck. I was curious about it, but chose not to ask. "That's a lot of family. You guys would be better suited for a house like this. We have a lot of empty space with just the three of us,"I replied. "No, we wouldn't know what to do with all that extra space. We enjoy each other's company more than material items."He explained, politely. "Regardless, I hope you and your family find plenty of happiness in your future.
"Well,you are a very kind person, considering your background."He said, looking at me.

"I am rude and stuck up compared to the maids who take care of me."I stated, looking back up from the ground and right at him. "I'll have to thank them some time then."He smiled at her. "For what?"I asked, confused. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling it up to his lips. "For raising such a wonderful person."He kissed my hand and walked off, leaving to do his work.

Before he could get too far away, I called out to him, "I'll see you tomorrow then?" He turned to face her, "Yup, I'll be waiting."Then he turned away for good, leaving me with my thoughts. I had almost completely forgotten about my horse or where I was. I quickly snapped back to reality and went back to my horse.

"Miss, Are we going to start your lessons for the day?"My teacher said,walking into the barn. My parents had gotten me a horse and everything I could ever want for her, but that came with a full-time chaperone disguised as an instructor. I didn't really need lessons when riding my horse anymore, but they insisted he stay. "Yes, Roger. I was just getting Ash here ready."I said, turning to look at my horse.

"Very well. I've also been instructed by your parents to inform you that we have a new worker here in the barn. He is young so if he does anything that causes you inconvenience, please go easy on him at first."He said, looking around, as if looking for Alex. "Of course, I'll make sure to keep a look out for him."I said, smiling. Thinking again about the boy I had just met. "Why don't we get started for today?"He responded, clearly trying to change the subject. "Sounds good, after all, how could I ever pass up one of your great lessons."I remarked, sarcastically.

"Then let's get started."He said, waiting for me to get on my horse. That was a very uninteresting lesson, but most were now that I was older. I figured I would miss them when I didn't have them though. I was supposed to be married by 20, meaning I was going to be married off to some other rich family very soon. That was something I wasn't ready or excited for one bit, but I knew it was necessary.

When my lesson was finally over, I was sent an unexpected visitor. In the distance, I saw a very expensive looking carriage waiting at the front door of the main house. "Who is that?"I asked my instructor, looking at him. His face now went pale, not looking away from the carriage. "We need to get you back to the main house, and into your finest clothes."He turned back to me. "Why, who are they? What are they doing-"I didn't get to finish my sentence because my instructor chimed in. "Don't worry about that right now. Just go into the house through the servant door, then go straight to your room and get dressed in proper clothes. I'll take care of Ash. Just go."

I had never seen him like this, which worried me. I did what I was told and went straight to the servant's door, which led to the kitchen. I was asked by many of the maids why I was there, but I didn't pay any attention to them, instead I headed straight through and up the extravagant stairs to my room. My maids were already waiting with my most beautiful dress and jewelry. They were able to get me ready quickly, and sent me downstairs.

I went down the stairs as quickly as possible, which was quite a struggle in my heels. When I finally made it down the stairs, I saw a man, woman, and two children waiting. They were all wearing very expensive clothes with the finest jewelry and accessories. One of the children was a young man, I assumed to be my age with short, dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes. The other was a young girl, with long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

"So you finally made it! Mr. And Mrs. Hawthorne, this is my daughter, Anastasia Grace Donahue."My father stated, proudly. "Mr.Donahue, we got word of your proposal, and we are glad to say we accept. As does our son, Grabriell."The woman responded, smiling. What proposal? Who were these people? The man's facial expressions didn't change, neither did the girl's. The boy that looked about my age walked up to me and put his hand out. "Oh. So that's what this is..."I stated coldly.

"Whatever do you mean?"The boy smiled shyly and took my hand. "No"I snapped and pulled my hand away. I tried to run off to my room, but my father grabbed my arm. "You stupid girl! You will go through with this, or else you won't ever see that horse or barn again."He snarled as I escaped his grasp.

When he said this, I did not think of my beloved horse Ash, or the barn I would always escape to when I couldn't take my parents fighting any longer. I thought of him, the boy I had just met hours ago, and I couldn't fathom why. Whatever the reason, I stopped fighting, I didn't say a word, turned and faced the family again. I showed no emotion from that point on, except for a single tear falling down my face as the boy named Gabriell took my hand again, and kissed it.

A silent plea for help, to not do it, to let me go. But no one listened, instead they acted as if they couldn't even tell I was unhappy. All smiles and laughs from that point on and I didn't understand it. How could they just do that? Shut down any sympathy and pretend. Would I have to do that someday? That was the last thing I wanted, to be a robot, a puppet of their design. Only showing whatever emotion they wanted me to show, when they told me to do so. This was it. This was the end of my freedom. It came far too early....