The Tower

Chapter One The old castle in the middle of the town had sat for years with no one knowing what it was there for. The halls were filled with statues and tapestries. The cobbled courtyard had one willow tree. It was in this willow tree where I sat. The gentle breeze swaying the hanging leaves, making a hushing sound. I’d been walking around the castle for hours and my feet were beginning to hurt. I had stumbled upon the willow tree. It was in a beautiful yard with crystal windows surrounding it. I was surprised to see they hadn’t smashed with age. I sat on one of the branches of the tree. I heard the faint sound of a bell chime. I looked around to hear the source of the noise but saw nothing out of the ordinary. There were no bell towers anywhere near the castle. I must have been imagining things. I got up and started wandering again. I came across a room I had never seen before. On one wall there was a huge tapestry that covered all of it. I pushed back a small corner and gawped at what I saw. The tapestry hid a glass wall. The wall showed a sparkling room, a room that shouldn’t be there. When my eyes got used to the glare I began to realise what I was looking at. It was a bell tower, with all the cogs and gears and staircases around the edge made out of crystal. After the initial amazement of finding this astounding room I began to wonder what it was there for. It wasn’t on the outside of the castle. This bell tower didn’t exist. It couldn’t exist. I jumped back in shock as a dark figure walked in front of the glass. He turned a looked at the wall in confusion. I was frozen with fear. His eyes were black as night but it wasn’t his eyes that made me stare. Instead of a mouth, he had a muzzle, a pointy muzzle with sharp fangs. His face was completely covered in grey fur. He had regular hands though. It was all I could do not to scream. ‘He must not be able to see me,’ I thought. I pulled back more of the tapestry and found an ordinary oak doorway.

I twisted the handle and opened the door. The creature that I was looking at turned his head, so quickly I couldn’t believe he had turned it that fast, and howled loudly. He then grinned at me and grabbed me by the waist and picked me up into the fireman’s lift. I struggled against him, kicking my feet into his chest but he wouldn’t let me go. The faces of other creature loomed over me as I was knocked out. *** I was thrown onto the floor in front of a table where creatures with animal like qualities sat. I didn’t dare look up at any of them until one of them said, ‘Stand.’ Shakily, I got to my feet. The woman sat at the middle of the table was a lioness. Upon her head was a tarnished crown. She said, ‘Child, you have not transformed. Are you from the outside world?’ I nodded my head. I tried to find my voice to speak but I couldn’t. Her brow furrowed. ‘Is this a lie? Speak, child, speak!’ She cried. ‘Yes. I am from the outside world. I found a door in a room in the castle that is in my town!’ I replied, petrified. She smiled, her face lit up. ‘That is excellent news. This means that we can escape our prison. Guards, see this girl is pleasantly rewarded. Also, sound the bells. Tonight we get out!’ I was hastened into a side chamber where a feast had been prepared. ‘You will be dining with the queen,’ the guard said, ‘ She will have much to say to you.’ I took a seat at the heavily laden with expensive foods. The queen entered the chamber and sat at the head of the table. She poured me a glass of red liquid and placed it in front of me. ‘What is your name child?’ ‘Adela,’ I replied nervously. She smiled and took a small bite of meat. She stared at me for a while before asking her next question. ‘Why don’t you eat the food we have provided? Isn’t it served to your liking?’ ‘I’m sorry!’ I said alarmed, ‘I did not know I was meant to eat!’

She smiled again and we both settled into eating. We barely spoke all meal time. After we had finished dessert she left the room as quickly as she had entered. The guard led me to the door again and thanked me for showing them the way to escape. *** I woke up later that evening in my bed. I heard the sound of screaming coming from somewhere in the town. People were gathering in the streets, drawn to something that I couldn’t hear. As they walked their faces changed slowly, from human to animal. Lions, tigers, bears, birds, cats, dogs, wolves, every creature imaginable. All the people in the town drawn to the courtyard where I had sat earlier that day. I ran through them, weaving in and out of the crowds. I stood at the foot of the willow tree, in front of the queen and yelled, ‘what have you done?!’ She smiled her winning smile at me and hissed, ‘Taken back what was rightfully ours!’ The tears ran down my face as she instructed the zombiefied townsfolk what to do. She declared war on the human race. They would become like them or die. I was saved, spared because I had led them here. I was pulled up onto the tree and a crown was placed on my head. I was a princess, the only human who still had the right to have a human face. I shut my eyes as the creatures prepared for war. Every face filled with disgust and contempt for the human race. All eyes burning into my back. I was a freak, an outsider. But I was the cause of all this. It was my fault the human race was going to end. I blinked back tears and ran into the forest near the castle. And there I sat for hours and hours until I heard the roar of the animals. It was then that I curled up into a ball and slowly fell into a deep, nightmare-filled sleep.

Chapter Two

I was poked awake with a stick. I drowsily opened my eyes and blinked twice. I screamed when I saw the face of a lion. He had amber eyes and a mane of hair but his face was almost ordinary bar the feline nose. The amber eyes blinked in a shocked way and his lip curled into a grimace. ‘I’m sorry, your highness, for such a rude awakening.’ He said in a polite voice. ‘The Queen requested that I found you. They have taken over England, Scotland and Ireland. Her majesty wants to celebrate with you.’ I nodded and stood up. He lead me through the forest in silence. ‘What is your name?’ I asked. ‘Anselm.’ He replied, ‘May I ask the same question?’ ‘Adela.’ He nodded and continued leading me in silence. We soon arrived at the castle. It was buzzing with servants and life. The bell tower had been lifted from it’s enchantment and was standing proud and tall. I was led to a small room at the top of the tower. I curtsied to the Queen and sat at a chair that was under the table. ‘Welcome home, Princess Adela.’ The servants chorused and began taking out pretty dresses in assorted colours. ‘This is to be your room,’ The Queen said in a noble manner. I looked around. It was a grand room. The bed was a four poster bed with purple hangings and a silver lionesses head atop each one. There was also a silver dressing table and wardrobe. This was open and I noticed it was full of elegant and elaborate dresses. The maids asked me to stand and began to dress me in a purple dress. It had silver embroidery on it. Another maid wrapped a plait she had made around my head and weaved silver and purple ribbons through it. I looked in the mirror on the dressing table and gawped. I looked like a medieval princess. Well, technically, I was a medieval princess. The Queen then took me down to the courtyard. It was filled with the population of the city. The Queen began making a long speech whilst I stood next to her. I began to get very tired and bored. When she had finished, we departed and had breakfast. This royalty thing was getting stupid. Everyone waited on us hand and foot. Even Anselm, who I considered my friend, had to call me ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Princess’. I couldn’t have friends. I had to

have subjects. Anselm was a scholar and was assigned to be my teacher. After a few days, I demanded that he called me Adela. He obliged of course. I was denied nothing. Nothing, except friends. Anselm spoke to me like I was more important than anything else in the world. He didn’t treat me like a friend or even a student. He treated me like a princess. This I didn’t like. But I put up with it. For now. When life in the castle got exceptionally dull, I asked Anselm to take me out into the woods. He would show me wildlife and plants. He called it ‘nature studies’ but I could tell he thought of it as so much more. He loved being surrounded by nature, he told me. It made him feel like less of a monster. After the first venture, we found a tree to sit on when we got tired of walking. We told stories on it, funny experiences, stuff like that. But on one hot day I asked him to tell me his story. ‘Anselm?’ I asked. ‘Yes, Adela?’ He replied. ‘Will you tell me your story today? I want to figure you out.’ ‘Well, I am seventeen. I am the Qu- I am the son of one of the guards. He brought me to the castle and the Queen took a shine to me. She had me educated and then I became a scholar. Is that what you wanted to know, your Highness?’ I shook my head. ‘Why do you love being outdoors? Why are you so secretive and why do you insist on calling me your highness?!’ He sighed, ‘I love being outdoors because out here, I feel normal. Like an ordinary person. I am secretive because my past is to terrifying to be told aloud and I insist on calling you your Highness because that is what you are!’ We glared at each other for a moment, but then my face softened. ‘I’m sorry, Anselm.’ I said, ‘It’s just... you can sometimes be a little bit annoying.’ He laughed and stood up, holding his hand out for me. I took it to get up but he didn’t let go. ‘I’m sick of waiting for you. Either you keep up or you get lost!’ He said cheekily. We walked hand in hand back to the castle.

My now almost daily trips out of the castle became my favourite time of the day. Anselm and I grew closer and closer. We were the best of friends, no longer teacher and pupil. Weeks turned to months and soon all of Europe was under the Queen’s thumb. One day when we were in the forest, we walked to our tree and Anselm began our lesson. ‘Now, what is this plant? Latin and English name please.’ He was pointing to a spotted purple flower. I looked at him, sighed and answered. ‘Very good, but you don’t seem to want to learn about flowers. What’s wrong?’ He asked cautiously. He always did this, checking to make sure I wasn’t offended at the question. ‘I just don’t feel like lessons today. I have something to tell you, but you won’t want to hear it.’ ‘Adela, please tell me.’ I hesitated, ‘Anselm. I think I’m in love...’ He spring away from me, looking shocked and appalled. His eyes were filled with confusion. ‘You’re what? In love with me? Oh no. Oh no. Adela, no!!’ He began pacing, back and forth. I watched him a confused look on my face. He came and sat next to me and took my face in his hands. He shut his eyes and began to move his face closer to my mine. I shut my eyes and he kissed me, soft, sweet and short. He pulled away and opened his eyes. ‘Adela, I think I’m in love with you too.’