The Golden Apple

Five - Jake

Knock knock knock!

I saw stars from under the princess's bed. I had hit my head on the bottom of the bed frame. I shook my hair from my eyes and snuggled up tight, until my breathing became heavy. The door slowly creaked open.

"Jake?" Magnolia's gentle voice murmured. "It's just me. No need to hide now."

I let out a sigh of relief and pushed myself out from under the bed. I sat up on the floor with little wisps of my hair still hanging close to my eyes. Magnolia had her dark hair tied behind her in a low ponytail halfway down her back, instead of letting it down like before. She held a plate of food in her one hand.

Her lips moved into a small smile. "I got you something to eat."

I perched myself on the window seat, leaning against the wall. She sat next to me and set the plate on my lap. On it were apple slices, two pieces of bread, and some lettuce. She also set down a tall glass of cold water on the carpet by my feet. I blinked. What a strange combination of foods.

"Come on now," she chuckled. "Eat. It's right there in front of you."

I bit into a piece of apple. Ah, well. Food is food.

"You know," she continued, opening one of her drawers. "It gets quite boring being alone in this castle. I always have to keep myself occupied with books, painting, and little activities. You have a whole town outside to keep you busy. I'll bet you go on many adventures."

I tore a piece off from the bread. She pulled out a pair of brown fuzzy slippers and set them on the carpet. She kicked off her previous black heeled shoes and continued to ramble on.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "You ate all of that!? I have only been talking for a minute or two!"

I blinked. She took my plate from me and handed me the cup of water. "You ate fast! Now drink this. Do you want some more?"

I nodded. Magnolia smiled and opened her room door.

"I'll go see if there is any more fruit. You stay put like you always do. Oh, and try and talk more! I would like to hear what you have to say."

With a chuckle and a click, she had closed the door behind her. I cleared my throat. "She's right I guess," I muttered to myself quietly.

I looked around at the room. It reminded me a little of my parent's bedroom. The walls, the drapes, and even the bed. The green and the beige colours. I stood up and sat on Magnolia's bed.

My mind went back to when I was seven years old, three years before the Alandian ambush. I was quite scared of the dark as a little boy. I remembered the tree branch scratching the window near my bedside table. Every time that happened, I ran up to my parent's bed and snuggled in between my mother and father. The quilt was green and the sheets underneath were beige. My hand moved onto the green quilt. It felt similar to my parent's bed, only bigger.

I then heard my mother's voice in my mind. She would always say the same thing to me every time I was scared.

Don't worry so much. No matter what darkness comes between us, I will always love you, she would say. My eyes narrowed. She was only referring to the darkness of the night back then.

Suddenly the screams of the Urbem citizens during the ambush came to my mind. The sight of my father's lifeless body in the burnt kitchen made me grit my teeth. In my mind, I am ten years old again, frantically turning around in every direction in order to escape the Alandian attackers. The memory of smoke in the air clouds my vision. I ran outside into the snow shouting at the top of my lungs.