“Annabelle, you stay inside! The wind is so strong that the peasants are blowing away!”
“Yes, Aunt Ester,” Annabelle called back, shoving her bedroom window open and stepping outside onto the roof.
The wind was howling fiercely. It whipped Annabelle’s dark chestnut hair around her face. She braced her hand against the window frame and watched the majesty of the mighty wind shake the leaves from the trees, moving them in little whirlwinds around the yard. Her horses ran playfully through the pastures, enjoying the wildness of the wind, their nostrils flared with excitement. She smiled to herself. Annabelle connected the most with her horses; their wild spirits always bonded closely to her caged soul.
From her rooftop, Annabelle could see past the crumbling stone courtyard walls into the capital city of the kingdom, Pelland. She watched the townspeople hunt down their loose belongings and children before the wind whisked them away. Annabelle’s rooftop towered over their cream-colored cottages, all neatly lined down the cobblestone roads. Annabelle yearned to feel a part of the town, but the stone walls that were built to protect the castle, her home, were just one of many things that isolated her from the outside world.
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind came and pulled Annabelle’s feet off the roof and pushed her up into the air. Annabelle reached inside the window to grab something to stabilize herself, only to find herself clutching her paisley patterned umbrella. “Sure hope this works!” Annabelle said to herself, slowly letting go of the window and opening her umbrella.
The wind pulled her up off her roof, over her castle, and carried her into the sky. She hooked the curve of her umbrella handle under her leg and watched nervously as her feet brushed past her childhood climbing tree; the old rope tree swing that was once tied to a branch had been wrapped tightly around the trunk. As a young adult now, it had been years since she took the time to touch the chipping bark on that old tree. Annabelle tried to catch one of the branches with her legs but only managed to lose one of her red shoes in the process.
Annabelle was now above the town, still several feet higher than the rooftops. Looking over her shoulder, she could see some of the small shops that butted up against the courtyard walls. The wind blew the smell of the bakery around, making her stomach growl. Even in bad weather, the shop owners were still at work. Next to the bakery, the dark grey smoke of the blacksmith’s shop bellowed out of the chimney. She smiled to herself as her eyes caught sight of a small candy shop that her father used to take her to.
As she went farther through Pelland, Annabelle was surprised to see how much the town had grown since the last time she had visited. Newly built cottages stretched out beyond the cobblestone roads, dirt paths and lumber were laid out in anticipation of even more building.
Pelland was beautiful. Gardeners carefully planted beds of brightly colored tulips and yellow daffodils. Pink and white flowering trees lined the stone roads in front of the cottages. Annabelle wondered to herself how many people saw under her petticoats. Looking wistfully at the town below, it seemed she had been unnoticed. She spent most of her life behind the castle walls, under the strict and watchful eye of her Aunt Ester. The only adventures Annabelle was allowed to have were those found in the books in the castle library.
Annabelle’s Aunt Ester had always kept a close eye on her. She was never allowed to venture out of the castle, which made her feel lonely and isolated. Her father, the King, was gone frequently, and Ester was not the warm motherly type. Annabelle was treated more like a naïve child than the blossoming young woman that she was becoming.
Soon the wind blew Annabelle over the old stone walls that marked the end of Pelland. Tangled vines were slowly strangling the grey stone. She was now above the woods. Her arms ached from holding onto her umbrella so tightly.
She closed her eyes. She was very tired and was starting to get lost. She prayed silently that she would land safely and find her way back home quickly before her aunt realized what had happened to her.
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