Baker's Apprentice Who Lives In A Shoe

Flying

Flying. It's the single most exciting and calming thing in my life. The freedom of it, and the view above the tree line are exhilarating. But I am on a mission, and I must not get distracted. I flap my wings to gain speed as I head towards Sir Maurice's castle. There is someone I must see. I have tried to visit her, but was kept from her. I have finally found a way to get to her window. This window belongs to the child I gave up to Sir Maurice. I wanted to help him and his barren wife, but they do not even let me visit the child that I have birthed. Today is the day that I visit the child, and I will tell her the truth about her father and so called mother. I finally make it to the window and perch on the sill. The girl inside was sitting on the floor. Some toys are scattered in front of her, but she is staring off into nothing. She was thinking about something. I bring up my wing and hit it against the window lightly, and that got the girl's attention. She rose up from the ground, came to the window, and opened it. I flew in and landed on a stack of books by the bed.

"Hello, Belle. I know that you have no one to talk to, so I have come to chat with you." She just stared. Her name certainly fit. Her chocolate brown hair looked shiny and soft, and her eyes were similar in shape and color to mine. "But, I pray that you do not tell your parents that I have visited you. For your father would certainly have me killed." Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Why would papa do that, beautiful parrot?" Yes, I am a parrot with blue-green plumage and an orange throat and breast. I was tricked into being the replacement for an enchantress. I was her caretaker, and when she died she transferred all of her magic to me. I can switch from parrot to human, but I cannot risk being seen in my true human form in front of Belle. A parrot is less of a threat than a strange woman in her room. "Papa would only do something like that to someone wicked."

"Please, you must listen to me. If you do not promise me this, I shall fly away and never return." My empty threat of leaving forever worked. Belle looked panicked because she was not allowed to talk to many people. I was the first to bypass her parents to talk to her.

"Please do not go. I promise to keep your visit a secret." She walked over towards me, and she sat on her bed next to the stack of books I rested on. "I wish to chat with you. I am not allowed to talk to many people, and you seem quite witty. I am sure you could amuse me." Her smile grew and brightened the room. She was so beautiful, and I wish I had been able to witness her as she grew. She was not even fifteen yet. I wanted to see her first steps, witness her first words, but I was not able to. She was taken from me right after she was born.

I told Belle stories of magic and the outside world. I told her that she was very beautiful and smart and that she could do anything she wished to put her heart and efforts into. I only stayed with her about an hour before I had to leave. I heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall, and they could not hear Belle talking to her. They would notice and come into the room to see whom she had been talking to. I flew out the open window after wishing her well, but I came back every day after that. We talked, and she asked me questions that I knew all the answers to. One day, I told her the truth, that her mother was not her real mother. She was shocked, but asked me if I knew her real mother. I told her I did, and that I would bring news of her the next day.

Finally, the day had come. I would tell Belle about her mother. I flew up to her window, like I usually did. She let me in, and she seemed more excited than usual. I flew to the stack of books and calmed myself before she came over to get information of her mother out of me.

"Is it true, beautiful Parrot? Did you bring news of my birth mother?" Belle sat on her bed ready to hear whatever I said. "What is she doing? How is she?" Now is my time. Now is my moment to really tell her the truth. I transformed into my human form, and Belle's eyes grew wide. I was dressed in a flowy, floor-length, yellow-orange dress. Over that I wore a floor-length, blue-green cloak with a hood. The inside of that cloak was a fur dyed to match my dress. I looked up at Belle and her smile grew. "Parrot, are you my mother?" What a smart girl. I didn't even need to say anything.