I left the note on the balcony, knowing he’d get it. I applied my face, deciding to leave my hair down and have no corset today. I took a walk around the house, not seeing anything which really stood out to me, so took the venture to the outside. The house maids stared at me when I asked where the door was to the garden. I imagined the thoughts going through their heads, “She has no pins in her hair, how rude”, or “Look at her love handles flabbing like that, does she not have a corset?”
I ignored them, finally finding my way outside. The grass here was different too, it wasn’t as long and beautiful as it was back at home, it was short and dead looking instead. It had horrible brown tips and yellowing strands. I wondered what had caused that. There was no life here either, no plants booming and full of colour, no ants collecting crumbs, no birds collecting twigs. There were no birds even at all... nothing sang a song of joy or nature. Nobody had life in this house. And the outside world reflected that. Something unnatural was happening here. And I didn’t want to stay here any longer. I uncomfortably left the garden, wandering around the house while looking for a book in the library. I found something new, something I haven’t read before. The author was Hans-Christian Anderson. The princess and the pea, the book was called. It sounded interesting. I sat on the solitary chair in the library, wondering who was last to sit here, wondering if it had been the late Mrs. Bolos, wondering how she had died. I couldn’t concentrate on the book; my head was doing reels, wondering if I too would face the same fate as her. Wondering if I’d even get my freedom, without losing my life.
I couldn’t handle it anymore, so I ran up to my room, my hair being lifted as I ran, the blonde strands following behind me. Just as I had expected, my note was gone. What I hadn’t expected was Harry. He was dressed in the same white suit he wore yesterday at my wedding.
“Harry...”
“Mary-Ann, I did not send you here for Meadhbh, but I am glad you have found her, you can get close to her and give her what her heart has always wanted. But time is running out for her.”
“What do you mean by time is running out for her”
Harry looked up to the sky, thinking about what he would say next, like he used to do.
“I just mean she can’t get out of here at all unless she goes with you”
He was lying; he had the same lying aura when he was dead as he did when he was alive.
I decided not to press him, for fear he would retract our verbal agreement.
“When are we becoming free, dear brother?”
Harry smiled at me, knowing it was all I wanted.
“Lord Bolos is going on a business trip in two days time. He shall be leaving early in the morning and you shall be leaving that night, midnight to be exact. You will steal one horse, fitting all three of you on him. Take the white horse though, he’s better behaved. Keep riding south, it shall take you three days and three nights, but you shall get to a beautiful village. There nobody shall recognise you, nor will they ask questions. They shall simply accept you. When there, you shall stay three more days, before continuing south again. You shall know when you have reached your freedom.”
I smiled like a buffoon to myself, delighted that Harry had thought about everything for me.
“How shall I pay for food and accommodation?”
Harry smiled, knowing something I hadn’t known.
“Open your luggage and you shall find a small red velvet bag, which should keep you going for a few years.”
I smiled so hard, feeling the tears of joy sliding down my cheeks.
“Thank you Harry! Thank you”
“Do not thank me yet, Mary Ann. The journey is only beginning”
YOU ARE READING
A White as Red as Blood (PG 13) (Completed)
Lãng mạnBeing a princess is the worst thing one could inflict on a girl, that's what Mary-Ann thinks anyway. And she should know! She's a princess herself, and the worst kind too! The kind in Shakespearean literature who are locked into their lives with no...
