Switched

Chapter 1

            Her laugh tinkled like a bell through the air as I chased her through the meadow.

            “You cannot catch me!” She teased, her voice angelic.

            A laugh burbled out of me as I continued running. I finally caught up to her and grabbed her hand, unwilling to let go. She leaned over and lightly placed one finger over my lips, then pointed toward the edge of the forest.

            “Be still and gaze there,” she whispered. I looked where she directed, and there I saw a deer grazing with her baby. “Look. It is a mother with her babe, just as you and I. Today is our special day, and we shall spend it however you desire.”

            “Truly?” I asked.

            “Truly.” She smiled down at me, her eyes sparkling like the dust of stars. “However, first I must…”

            My face fell. She always had to do something first.

            “Beat you to that tree!” And just like that, she was off, her angel’s laugh filling the sky.

            “No, I must win! You deceived me!” I cried, leaping forward. I sprinted toward her receding shape, my skirts held high. But it seemed that the closer I got to her, the further she got from me.

            “Catch me, Colette!” She called over her shoulder.

            “Wait! Please slow down!” I yelled, my feet pounding harder and faster on the now rocky ground.

            “Catch me, Colette!” She repeated. But something had changed. Now she sounded dark, sinister. I glanced at the sky as a drop of ice-cold water exploded on my arm. Dark clouds spread across the blue, faster than was natural.

            “Please wait! Please, do not leave m!” I screamed. Suddenly, I tripped over a root in the ground and tumbled down, down, down, finally landing…

            I woke with a start and sat straight up. It was dark and I could not see where I lay, but after a feeling about me for a few seconds, I finally realized that I was in my own bed. It was just a bad nightmare. But it was not the first I had had. I had been having them quite often as of late, and there was always a mysterious female who disappeared at the end.

            Breathing out a sigh of relief, I reached up and pushed my tangled curls out of my face. It took me a few moments to get oriented enough to realize that it was cold. Very cold. A sudden tremor overtook my whole body, and I grabbed my thin blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

            I set one bare toe on the cold, hard floor and sucked in my cheeks. Using the single toe, I poked at the floor around my bed, trying to find my woolen stockings.

            Finally, my toe brushed up against something fuzzy. I leaned down and grabbed the stockings and pulled them on one at a time. Now that my feet were clothed, I rose, still clutching the blanket tightly at my chest. I crossed the room and pulled back the wooden shutters on the window. I pushed my head into the frozen, still air outside and let out my breath in a cloud of white. Glancing at the sky, I tried to determine what hour it was.

            The cobblestone streets were bare and deserted like Candlelot. I must still have time to sleep if no one else has risen, I thought to myself. I closed the shutters and turned back to my bed. But though I lay in the dark stillness of the morning, my eyes could not find the rest they sought. After laying this way for some time, I rose and began to dress.

            “The pumpernickel is still hot, Aunt.” I said, slicing off a piece of the dark bread and laying it on the table for Aunt to eat. “Is Uncle dining this morn?”

            “Ah, thank you, Colette. Yes, this morn you Uncle shall dine, yet on the morrow he is to rise before the sun and join the king’s hunt.” Aunt took the bread and broke off a piece while I placed another chunk on the table for Uncle.

            “Today I must go to market to purchase some fruits. Would you like to come?” I queried as I gathered some things to take with me.

            Aunt sighed and placed the last bit of pumpernickel in her mouth, chewing it slowly. “I would very much enjoy joining you to market, but alas, I must finish a cloak for Lady Ysabel. She expects it by this dinnertime, and I must still trim it. You go on ahead.”

            “All right, then. Pray tell me if you need help with the cloak. I would be glad to take up a needle and thread.”

            “Thank you, dear. Now be off with you before the sun burns off the cool!”

            As I went out the door, a stray dog scampered away, whimpering as it went. I glanced back to see if anyone was watching, then knelt to give the dog my last piece of bread. “Ah, you have grown too used to comfort. One piece more and then you shall find another place to sup!”

            “Feeding the stray dogs will only increase the dogs and decrease the food,” came a voice.

            I turned quickly, praying that it was not Uncle or Aunt. They disapproved of using our hard-earned food for anything but our own needs. Fortunately, the voice had been my dearest friend, Arietta.

            “Arietta! You must never do that to me again!” I cried, brushing off my skirts as I rose.

            Arietta laughed and tossed her auburn hair over her shoulder. “Ah, yet it was great fun for me. Mayhap you should not allow strays to steal from you and I would not have any reason to frighten you.”

            “Firstly, they do not steal; I give. And lastly, you shall never frighten me again, or…or…”

            “Or what, milady? Oh, see how I shake in my boots!”

            “Or I shall tell your mother that it was you what soiled the peasant!”

            Arietta stopped and raised one eyebrow. “You shall, shall you? Then I would have to tell your Aunt how you feed stray beasts in the streets!”

            Laughing, I gasped, “You would not do it!”

            “And you would not tell on me either. I see you are headed to market. As am I.”

            I smiled and pulled my basket up on my arm. “Yes, for fruit. And you?”

            “The same.”

            “Well, we shall travel together then!”

            The market was in full swing by the time we arrived. We made our way toward the vegetation stands, skirting around the running children, barking dogs, and yelling merchants selling their wares.

            “Good day, Colette, Arietta.” One of the merchants we frequented nodded in our direction.

            “Good day, Stephan.” We chorused as we brushed past.

            The smell of roast chestnuts filled the air. “The chestnut man is active today.” Arietta lifted her head and inhaled deeply. “Alas, we cannot afford chestnuts this month.”

            “Yes, they are certainly a delicacy. Mayhap someday…” I wistfully ran my tongue over my full lips and glanced at the castle in the distance. It had been a long-time dream of mine to live in the castle. Well, mayhap someday…