I started writing this story over a year ago and am going to be adding the alternate intro soon... please leave a comment below after reading to let me know what you think.
Upon waking:
"Where am I?" Isabella thought out
loud as she turned onto her side. White
walls and a long line of beds greeted her as she saw that the windows were
spread open wide to let in the sun and that fresh air. At the end of the room
there was a woman bending over another bed where a small child laid. The woman
was older and had reddish yellow hair that was tied back into a strict bun. As
she stood tall and erect such as royalty.
"That must be the kings mother"
thought Isabella as the woman walked towards her.
"Your awake, O'
goody, now dear, tell me what caused you to pass out???" The kings mother
asked in a kind sweet voice.
"I don't
know" replied Isabella "I was watching the festival and when the
royal family appeared there was someone new and everyone started pushing and
shoving. I got very scared and felt like I was going to die, so I started
pushing back and everyone was just so close!!!" Isabella said "I was
so scared and they wouldn't stop pushing me and crowding in." There were
now tears flowing down her face and she started to sob.
"It's okay dear, you are fine now, have a
tissue" "My name is Floras and I am the Kings mother. You, my dear,
are going to stay with us for a little while and then you can go home if you
would like. How does that sound?"
Isabella smiled
slightly and nodded her head as more tears streamed down her face.
Floras stood and
straightened her dress. Isabella looked at her with wonder, she was so pretty
and her dress, even though it was a simple linen gown looked amazing as it fit
to every curve of the old woman's body. "Wow!" Isabella said in a low
whisper "you are so pretty!"
"Thank you
dear, now lets go get you dressed and down to eat some food"
Isabella stood and
shakily walked behind Floras all the way down the hallway out side of the ward.
She felt silly in her linen dress that was a bit to small and showed her legs
as she walked. But it was not like she could buy more material to add to the dress.
And plus she didn't know how to sew. Her mother had tried to teach her before
she passed away, but Isabella had been young and didn't want to learn. Plus she
had liked her books and studies more, so her mother never pushed her to learn.
But walking behind this tall straight standing woman who commanded such
attention, Isabella found herself trying to not focus on her ankles and calves
showing and just walk tall and confidently.
After a walk of
about five minutes they came to a great hall that had about five soldiers
standing outside of it. "Mother Floras" the Captain said inclining
his head as he bowed and motioned for her to pass.
"Guardsman, how
are my sons today?"
"Very well,
Ma'am" The second guard said as he to bowed his head.
"Then tell them
that we have a guest."
The Captain walked
into the room and whispered quietly to the King, who inclined his head and
smiled saying in a joyful and robust voice "ah, our sleeping beauty!!!
Come in Dear, Come in!!!"
Very slowly Isabella
walked into the room with her hands folded in front of her like a child about
to be scolded. Coming to stand in front of the King, she curtsied and bowed her
head to the king and then wobbled as she rose.
"Hello, would
you like to join us for some lunch? Its only my mother and I today, as the
Queen and my girls are on an outing to visit the market for hair ribbons and
such." The King asked in a delighted way.
"yes,
Sire" Isabella said meekly
"Please do not
call me Sire, My surname is Francis, I do not like formality inside my own
Castle. Yes, I do still expect you to bow your head but no more curtsying
either." Francis said in a much quieter voice. "Mother, also take her to the
seamstress. We cannot have her walking about in such and attire."
"Of course, my
son. I was planning on feeding her some, then taking her." Floras said
with a little smile. Then turning to
Isabella she stated much more quietly "The way he talks you would think
that I didn’t run this castle for years, before he was born."
"I heard that,
Woman!" The king said good-naturedly as he walked up to the now set table
and began to dig in. " Help your self, Isabella, we do not stand on
formalities here. I like to just have guards and cooks about. You will find
that there are a few woman to help my children and my wife, but that most of
the work in this castle is done by our very hands. We are here to rule the
kingdom as a family and therefore everyone can give their opinions and I like
to make sure that everyone does their share to help out. I will come to expect
you to help out in the way that best suits you also. As long as you are here
that is, you may return home when ever you wish. Please do not think that you
are to be kept here. You may roam the castle as you like and please feel free
to ask if you have any questions."
"um, Yes Sire,
I mean Francis" replied Isabella quietly
Just then the doors
flew open to reveal a sweaty man with raven black hair and eyes that glistened.
He was dressed head to toe in a black Gi and looked like he just came from a
long and tiring battle. "James" Mother Floras said quietly, her voice
seemed to fill the room even though it was hardly more than a whisper. "ah, Brother, how was your workout?, all
of my men are still in one piece right?"
He seemed to glide
into his chair moving with the grace of a cat, but his eyes were like that of a
wolf, Hungrily looking over the food and the company at the table sitting
there. "Your men are fine." James said with a dark husky voice that
seemed to run over Isabella like chocolate over a strawberry. "your men are fine." James stated
again "but the Queens are not! I ran them though the paces over 100 times
and could still find flaws."
"James, I
handpicked those men myself, with you testing everyone until there were only
the ones that could almost match you, and now you are saying that after 5 years
of training non-stop with the best warriors in the lands, the Queens Guard
still has flaws??? How can this be??? Also where is the Queen? If you were
beating up the guard then she must be home, why has she not come to show me her
purchases?
"Because SHE
was helping the two daughters that you created to get washed up before
supper." The voice was smooth as silk and seemed to cascade upon the king
as though he was a dog and she was bacon. The queen walked out from another
hall and stood there with a child no older than three in her arms and she was
wearing a long green gown with a golden tassel and carried upon her head a gold
circlet. It was a rumor among the town that the circlet had in fact belonged to
the Queens mother and that many years ago the Queens mother was a lady in
waiting who found great favor with the queen of that time. No one ever dared to
ask though.
Spirited Away by Cindy Miles was a book that I found very interesting and couldn't put down. One of the main characters, Tristan De Barre, is a renowned knight named Dragonhawk from 1292. Who was trained by his foster father, Erik de Sabre. Dragonhawk and his fourteen knights were cursed by Erik because he blamed the knights for the death of his only son. They wind up living in their home with their caretaker Jameson, whose ancestors have been watching over Dreadmoor and the knights for Seven Centuries.
The way Tristan and his knights talk takes some getting used too, but it's not so hard to understand that your just completely lost. The knights used medieval slang and some unfamiliar words. I liked how the author stayed historically accurate, as far as I could tell. I thought how she wrote the characters was well put together.They weren't perfect characters that were flawless, each character she wrote about had flaws and weren't all the same. I really enjoyed the book and on a scale from 1-5 Cups of Joe. I'd give this book a 5 Cups of Joe.
