It had been about six months since I had left my home. And I was very confused. Why? Because I was laying in a bed in a house of a boy my age that I had never talked to before and I didn't even know his name. You might also want to know that I was battered and bloodied from only a few hours before. All this you would need to know, but what you also need to know is that this boy would grow up to be the man I would marry. He would be the one to break my heart many times and become a man that still gives me nightmares. But before we get to all that and rewind to the first few weeks before I had left my home.
It had been about three weeks since I had left my home. I only slept in the woods at night; I couldn't risk anyone recognizing me. The first few nights I slept in the woods I was terrified. The tiniest sound would scare me out of my wits. But in my defense I had always lived in a castle surrounded by guards with even more guards outside my door. So yes I think I had a right to be scared. I usually slept in the woods near small villages. And the only time I went into a village was for news, supplies, trading, and once even a bow and a quiver of arrows. I had begged my father countless times to be able to learn how to shoot and finally he caved into my request; so in conclusion I knew how to shoot. And that was a very comforting thing because now I had protection from wild animals and,God forbid, Regina's soldiers. I also had a way of getting furs and skins for trading In a village near by.
One day I was looking for a village to trade some furs I had with me when I stumbled upon a little village about four days away from the last one I had been to. So I just started walking towards it. As I was walking I felt a pain in my stomch. But it wasn't just a regular stomach pain. I reconized it as the pain that happened when powerful magic was near. I wondered what this meant but just shook it off. I mean what magic could be all the way out here near a village as small as this? So I just kept walking. But little did I know that a very powerful being was watching me through the trees.
When I got to the village there was a a string of shops for trading,food, clothing, and even in a corner a lonely old lady was selling adorable little toys at a toy cart. Lots of little children were standing near it with big eyes wanting one of the stuffed rabbits, a tea set, or wooden swords.I thought about my life when I was that age, about how I could get whatever I wanted with just asking. It made me feel sad that these children who were probably very poor just wanted a small stuffed animal or a wooden doll. So I did something that I will never forget. I went to a trading stand for furs and traded all the furs I had with me for gold pieces. Then I walked toward the toy cart. As I walked over all the people at there carts were looking at me as if waiting for me to do something that they couldn't.
When I got to the toy cart the children looked at me with wondering eyes. But I just took all the gold pieces out of my pocket and started handing them out to all of the children. They looked at me with shocked faces and tried to hand them back but I just shook my head and smiled. "No children. I want you to take this money and spend it on the toys at this toy booth. Then I want you to go home and play with them." I said still looking at them with a smile on my face. They stood shocked for a few more seconds and then a little girl with auburn hair came to the front of the group and hugged me. I was a little surprised but before I could say anything she let go of me and said, "Thank you ma'm, so much." and with one last smile towards me she then turned towards the toy cart and bought a stuffed rabbit. Then all of the children followed suit and thanked me as well. The little girl who first came to me walked up to me and said, "Whats your name ma'm? " I was a little taken back at her question and for a second I considered lying to her. But then for some reason I found myself telling her the truth. "My name is Eloise... well Ellie." I said. She smiled at me and said, "Well then my little bunny is going to be Ellie.Thank you again ma'm so much." and with that she walked off.
I thought that the children had wide eyes and open mouths but that didnt prepare me for the adults. Thy were looking at me as if I had just came out of nowhere and started handing out money. Which I had. But that didn't mean that they had to stare. After all the children had said there thanks and went home I went into my pack and took out a few more pieces of silver. I sighed. I knew it wasn't very practical of me to sell all my furs and give all the money to children for toys. But then I thought of the little girl and her smiling face and I knew that I didn't regret any of it. So I just figured that I could hunt a little extra and sell the furs in another town and maybe I'd be able to get back on track. As I made my way toward a clothing cart I sensed someone was looking at me. I turned around and saw a boy about my age at a spinners cart. He was sitting in a chair and looking at me smiling. Now I could sense that he was nice but for some reason I just couldn't tell why he was smiling at me. So I just looked away and continued walking towards the clothing cart; blushing and smiling as well.
