Wings of a Wanted Princess

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

It was the middle of the week, and Alice had missed school for the third time. It was mid-morning and she is in her shorts and camisole. She is sitting at the table a mug in hand. Alice lost her appetite over the week; leaving Will to reduce to just giving her tea and a bowl of strawberries.

Alice picks up a strawberry and looks at it, and she twirls it holding it by the stem. Her eyes see the yellow dots blur on the strawberry, but her mind sees an image of her mother.

When she pictures her mother, it was the last time she ever saw her. Smiling and being happy to see Alice enjoy her life. It did not matter that there was a war happening or that there was a troll looking for Alice. She just cared that there was a moment in Alice’s life that she was happy.

Feeling her heart drop and her stomach squirm because she knew that she would never see that smile again and those green eyes that always sparkled, Alice puts the strawberry back in the bowl without taking a bite. She pulls the tea closer to her, and drinks a sip hoping that would make her stomach feel better. Alice grimaces when it does not, and pushes the tea on the table. She crosses her arms on the table and lays her head down.

“Alice, you need to eat something.” Will says, his voice full of concern. He was sitting across from her. A plate of hash browns is in front of him, but it was obvious that he was watching her instead of eating.

“I cannot,” She says thinking of the last night she saw her mother.  

“Please try eating one strawberry,” Will says pushing the bowl towards her.

Alice ignores him and gets up from the seat. She walks with her head low and her shoulders slump. An un-princess like posture, but she did not care if she was breaking princess etiquette. That was the last thing on her mind. Alice opens the sliding door and sits outside on the grass. She lays down on the soft grass and rests her head on her arms and closes her eyes.

She just wants to understand why all this had to happen? Why did all of this have to happen to her? It was not fair. She did not ask for any of this, and yet it was happening. Why could she not choose her own fate, instead of fate choosing her?

Alice rolls over on her stomach and finds a sprout in front of her. She puts her hand over it. She feels energy going through her hand and on to the sprout. Her hand is glowing green as the sprout grows into a flower, its petals open and a white gardenia appears in front of her in full bloom. At least she can control some things.

The sunlight disappears over her, and a black menacing cloud takes over the sky. A roll of thunder marks the start of a storm. In the far distance, lighting rips through the dark clouds. The wind picks up, and rain comes down hard.

But Alice does not move from her spot. She lets the cold water hit her skin, and soaks her hair. Her clothes soak through and cling to her skin. She stays laying on her stomach and looking at the flower getting hit by the harsh rain and wind.

A pair of arms wraps around her and scoops her up off the grass. One arm under her back the other under her knees. She sees herself being taken out of the rain and into the house. She is put on the couch with a warm blanket around her, she looks up and sees Will’s face in front of her.

Will is rubbing the blanket against her skin trying to get her to dry up. She could tell he was trying to stay composed through all of this, but the way his brows were furrowed she could also tell he was pained seeing her like this. He stops rubbing her arms when the phone rings. He looks at her for a second, and then sighs. Will pulls the blanket more tightly around her to warm her ignoring the call.

“Who is that?” She asks in a small voice.

Will shrugs, “Either Scott or Brittney; they have been calling the last three days.” He says softly. He gets up from the floor he was kneeling on, and places his hand in his pockets. “Do you want anything?”