The Golden Apple

Nine - Jake

"Magnolia!" I called out from the bathroom. No reply. I wrapped a fuzzy towel around me after stepping out of the bathtub. The tile floor feels like ice under my bare feet. I glanced at myself in the mirror. My hair looked a lot neater than it used to. I've been washing it every day.

I have been living with the princess for a few weeks now. I have been painting with her, talking with her, and even helping her pick out her dresses to wear for the day. The only downfall to living in this place is that no one else knows I am here. It feels just like hiding in the streets. I feel invisible and must remain that way, because if I am seen, trouble will ensue.

However, Magnolia told me that the maid Darcy knows there is someone else living with her. She told Darcy that she found a homeless boy thrown into the moat around the castle and decided to take care of him until he is healthy enough to go back out again. From the sound of that explanation, I thought it was good that she was honest. Unfortunately though, Magnolia then told me she told Darcy that I was a "tiny thirteen year old boy."

I sighed. I guess flat out lying is another way to go.

I shook my hair to the side and adjusted the towel around my waist. Magnolia must not be in her room, because I couldn't hear any shuffling about from the other side of the door. I slowly open it to take a quick peek through the small crack of the door. Sure enough, she wasn't there.

However, her bed covers were spread out flat on her mattress with the pillows all placed in a line. I raised an eyebrow. Magnolia never usually makes her bed like that. Usually the comforter is always wrinkly and the pillows are stacked in an awkward looking lump against the headboard.

I carefully walked over and sat down on her bed in my towel. Perhaps Darcy came in while I was in the bathroom and straightened it all out.

I turned to the right and noticed a pair of pants sitting on the window seat behind me. Magnolia must have gotten them for me while I was still sleeping. The pants were a sharp black instead of a medium grey this time. I put my hand through the left pant leg. The material felt softer than the grey pants I wore before.

I quickly slid the black pants on when someone knocked on the door. It was not the usual repetitive knocking though. Instead, it was three slow but strong knocks against the doorframe. I exhaled in relief. The three knocks meant Magnolia had arrived.

Magnolia opened the door quietly and smiled at me. Her hair was tied in a long, neat braid that rested on her shoulder. She was wearing a violet dress that hung just above her ankles, revealing her one inch black heels. She had food for breakfast in one hand and shirt for me in the other. I nodded back at her before she decided to speak.

"Did that knock sequence work for you?" she asked me. "I told you last night I'm doing that pattern from now on so you know when it's me."

"Yes I remember," I replied with a dry chuckle. "If it was the regular knocking, I would have dived under your bed by now."

"Well it is better than simply panicking," Magnolia snickered.

She plopped herself down next to me and placed the plate she was holding on my lap. It consisted of buttered bread and two whole apples. I quickly snatched up one of the apples and took a bite. Even with the easy going lifestyle I have been living, I am always hungry. I guess I have gotten used to eating regularly now.

Magnolia took the second apple for herself. She shuffled over from her sitting position to face me. "So what do you want to do today?" she asked, with curiosity woven in her voice.

I shrugged my shoulders as I put on the shirt she got me. She bit into her apple, filling the slightly awkward silence of the room.

"What do you mean you don't know?" she questioned me. "You have been living here for a few weeks and you don't know?"