The adventures of Princess Annie

Chapter 3

The adventures of Princess Annie - Chapter 3

Annie couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned but sleep never came. She kept thinking about that flame, about the faces of the boys at the training lessons, she imagined the reactions of her family if they ever found out. She was scared of being rejected, she didn't want to be feared or hated. She didn't understand what had happened. She wasn't a witch, she hadn't cast a spell, not that she knew how to cast one. The flame had just appeared out of the blue.

She knew she had to stop obsessing about it or she would lose her mind, so she tried reading, but her brain couldn't focus on the story of her book. For hours she stared at the ceiling waiting for the sun to rise. When the first rays of sun were visible, she ran outside not even bothering to have breakfast. She wasn't hungry anyway. 

During the night, she had concluded that before saying anything it would be wise to see if she could repeat the experiment. So she went to the gardens, found a spot not visible from the house, gathered a couple of branches of wood and thought about a flame leaving her finger. For several seconds, nothing happened, but just as she was going to sighed from the relief this would cause her, a tingle sensation directed her eyes to her finger and she saw a small flame jump from her hand to the branches, igniting a small fire. She didn't know what to do? But then, what else could she do? Curiosity got the better of her, and she tried to focus on water. If she could ignite a fire, maybe she could also put it away. To her dismay, nothing happened. "Well," she thought "I already have an uncommon gift, I shouldn't be too greedy". She put the fire out with a bucket of water that she had brought with her.

As she was returning to the palace, she remembered she had early lessons on fighting with swords with his brother so she rushed to the training field, which was still empty. She liked to arrive early so she could practice without anyone observing her. She was too young to wield a real sword, so she used a wood one for training. As she thought about her wish to actually hold a real sword, she saw how an iron sword rushed through the air in her direction. She was so scared, she thought she was going to die, but then the sword stopped and fell to her feet. She picked it up still shocked by what had happened. Could she attract metal objects too? She tried with little things and

confirmed her suspicion. "That is a second gift", she thought. As she was putting everything back in place, her brother arrived. "Should I tell him?".

- Annie! Here you are! You ran away from me yesterday and didn't come to breakfast today, is anything wrong?

- Nothing is wrong James, but I could use a friend. Something unexpected has happened and I need to confide my secret to a trustworthy person. Would you listen?

James looked worried.

- Of course Annie. I'm your big brother, I'll always be here for you.

Annie then brought some branches and a bucket of water while telling him that it was better to show his secret rather than tell it. When she was sure nobody was around, she ignited the fire with her finger again. This time, she didn't have to wait, it happened instantly. James was in shock and he couldn't find the right words. Annie decided to continue. She had already told her about one gift, she might as well tell her about the second one.

- That's not all James. Look.

She held her hand up and wished for the sword. It flew right to her hand.

- But, but, how?!

- I don't know. I discovered the first gift yesterday at your lesson...

- That's why you ran away!

- Well, yes. I was scared! I didn't want people to think I was a freak.

James looked at his sister and brought her closer to give her a much needed hug. Then realization hit him and he talked again.

- You're not a freak, dear Annie. As you said, these are gifts. You are a Gifted One. We must talk to father right away.

- A "Gifted One"?

- He will explain it to you better than I could. I don't know much about that subject, I just know enough to tell you that that's what you are, but he will be able to explain better. Follow me, he must be in his studio working. I know he's alone, so at least we won't be interrupting a meeting. We'll ask mother to come too, there should be no secrets in a family.

Annie smiled, proud to have such an understanding and caring brother. He would make a good King some day, she knew it.

Her brother held her hand on their way to the palace. He was trying to reassure his sister that everything would be fine, but in his heart he already knew that his sister's life would be more complicated than expected. He was very protective of her and he just wanted to see her happy. At that moment he knew that all he could do was be for her, let her know he loved her and would always give her the support she'd need. He wished to convey his feelings into words, but he couldn't, so he just held her hand and smiled at her warmly every time she looked up to him.

As for Annie, she already felt better. Her brother was with her and she felt safe with him. Besides, he had told her she wasn't a freak, he had seen what she could do and hadn't rejected her and that made her world a little brighter. She was still more than curious about her so called gifts and the title he had given her. She was scared about her parents reaction and about what they would tell her, so she held her brother's hand tighter and tried to focus on him.

When they arrived to the palace, they asked the butler to tell their mother to meet them at the King's studio. When they entered, the King was busy writing a letter, he paused and looked up surprised to see his children there. He was never interrupted unless it was something urgent. Annie was still scared so it was her brother who started talking.

- Dad, we need to talk to you and mom about something important.

That's when the Queen entered. She had obviously ran to the studio, a very unladylike thing to do, but completely understandable for a worried mother.

- What happened?

James gently placed a hand on her mother's shoulder and answered her question.

- Mom, as I was telling dad, we need to talk to you both about something important regarding Annie. It appears that she is even more special than we thought. Annie why don't you show them?

Annie looked to his brother and around the room. She decided she would show them the less dangerous gift, so she held up her hand and willed a silver plate to her. When it reached her hand she smiled weakly and looked to her father. When nobody said anything she spoke, her voice

shaking a little.

- I can also create fire. A flame jumps from my index finger when I want to do it. That's the first gift I got. It happened yesterday. Then today I learned I can make metal object move and come to me. I

was trying out that gift when James came. I showed him what I could do and he told me we should all talk as a family.

When she realized she was rambling, she stopped talking and waited for her parents' reaction. She held her brother's hand again. Her parents looked at her with wide eyes and then smiled. The King was the first to react.

- I knew it! You really are a Gifted One!

Annie was getting more and more confused. How could he had known that and what was a "Gifted One".? Her hands were shaking, she was nervous and everyone seemed to know something she didn't. She felt left out and she didn't understand what was going on.

Her mother took her in her arms, kissed gently her cheek and said: "don't worry darling, all will be explained". Annie relaxed in her mother's arms and turned to her father waiting for an explanation.