Just a Girl

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

 Winnie was sad when she awoke the next morning. She knew she had to leave, but she really didn’t want to. She didn’t want to leave her best friend, yet she needed to get back to the castle.

 Her life would have been so much different if she hadn’t gone to the castle. Look at the things that she could have gotten herself into. She could have ended up in a similar predicament as Beatrice.

 Winnie couldn’t help but ponder these ideas as she sat around the small table in the kitchen. Beatrice was trying to drag William out of bed, but failing epically.

 “Just let him sleep,” Winnie said, coming up behind Beatrice. “He does need his sleep.”

 Beatrice smiled, “You really haven’t changed, have you?” Winnie always looked out for people’s best interests, even if it was just letting someone sleep in a little bit longer than normal. “But what about eating breakfast? He needs to eat!” Beatrice mumbled to herself.

 “He’ll be fine,” Winnie said, and Beatrice’s face was a little confused, not realizing that she had said that out loud.

 “Would you like to stay for breakfast, Winnie?” Winnie contemplated her offer. She really wanted to go back to the castle and see Trevor, Mary, Liz, and most importantly, Edward, but when would the next time be that she would be able to spend time with her best friend.

 “If you don’t mind I would love to.” Beatrice smiled and started cutting a loaf of bread, along with a small bowl of soup. She served Winnie and herself and took a seat next to Winnie.

 They were silent, as if it really mattered if they talked at the table. Winnie saw something in Beatrice’s eyes that worried her. “Are you ok?” She asked as they finished eating.

 “No,” Beatrice said, a small tear falling down her face.

 “What’s wrong?”

 “What if they take him?” Winnie knew that she was talking about William. Technically, the king could take a child from the family if the family did not have enough money to support the child.

 “They won’t. You are doing fine. Just don’t bring a lot of attention to yourself. Get some sort of job, anything, and then you will be fine. The king has better things to do then to just scour the towns for families who can’t afford their children. I promise.” Winnie knew that if William was brought to the castle, she would bring him right back.

 “Bee,” William mumbled as he walked out of his bedroom rubbing his eyes.

 “I’m right here,” she said soothingly. He went into her open arms. “I think that it is time that we say farewell to Winnie. She has to go back to the castle.”

 “Bye, Winnie,” William said, walking over to Winnie and hugging her. “Thank you,” She smiled at him, and he went back over to Beatrice, who started to walk Winnie toward the door.

 Beatrice nodded her head at Winnie, and she started her journey back to the castle.

…

 “You’re back!” Liz screamed as she ran over to me, giving me a hug.

 “How is everything going?” Liz faced immediately dulled and she grabbed my hand showing me the way.

 “Could you please answer me so that I don’t completely freak out?” Winnie nearly exclaimed.

 “You’ll just-you’ll see for yourself.” Liz’s answer was not something that Winnie was looking for.

 “Is it Trevor? Mary? Edward?” By the time her voice had gotten to Edward, it had nearly faded out.