Fairy Tale Devices

Chapter 3 - Ditching the Tower

Gabriel stood in the middle of his tower, wondering what he was even doing. He never thought he'd actually leave that tower. He had hoped, of course. But all of this felt like a dream. 

He looked around his circular room. It wasn't necessarily small, but he wasn't used to it. He always felt like the walls were closing in on him... His bed was in the center, against one of the walls.  On either side was a small bookshelf and an even smaller nightstand. On the left and right walls were small bay windows. Whenever it was especially windy, he had to close them and tie the handles together...

He picked up a backpack from the floor next to his bookcase. He stared at his shelf for a moment then walked off to his wardrobe. It stood on the other side of the room, in front of his nightstand. Beside it was a small pantry. He stuffed the pack with as much clothes as he could. It wasn't even that much. Just enough for three or four days maybe...

This is a terrible idea... he thought to himself. I shouldn't even be dragging that girl into this.

Gabriel turned to the pantry and opened it. He had always wondered about it. It filled itself with just enough to keep him from starving.  He was certain it was magic, but he could never figure out how it worked.

He shook his head to clear his thought. Focus! That doesn't matter anymore. It never mattered.

What mattered was figuring out what else he could take with him. He didn't want to leave anything that could be traced back to him.  But he also didn't want to be weighed down. Fortunately, he didn't own much to begin with. He turned back to his bookshelf. He had enough room for some of his books.  

If I'm going to be on the run from a witch and a curse, I should at least be allowed sentimental value. 

He stuffed his favorite sketchbook and pencils into his backpack. It was his most recent one and he felt he was getting better. He threw in a book about flowers, because he had grown fond of sketching them and they reminded him of the gardens he used to play in. He had enough room for another book, so he shoved one of his favorite storybooks, for comfort. Finally, he scanned the room one last time. Then he gabbed a pillow and a small blanket. He wrapped his pillow with the blanket and grabbed one of the ropes he used for the windows, tying them to the top of his pack.

He climbed down the tower with the same ease as when he'd gone up. His stomach churned as he bit his lip. All of that practice and this was the last time he'd see that tower. 

"Are you ready?" the girl asked quietly behind him.

Gabriel set his jaw firmly and nodded. He turned to face her. 

"Let's go."