Amelia Returns Home - Chapter Forty

Beth was puzzled when she answered the door to find the queen's wizard and Amelia standing outside. "What's going on? I thought the queen didn't want Amelia here," Beth said with a bit of confusion."Well, I can't explain it, but she's to live here for now until the queen changes her mind," he told her.

Amelia walked into the cottage to see several people staring at her. "This is Amelia! She will be staying here for a while," he announced to everyone. Amelia was scared and didn't know any of them. 

Kara recognized Amelia immediately as the little baby they had taken away from her many years ago. She could see so much of herself in her face. She was so happy to see her child again and that they had spared her life.

Kara walked up to Amelia and introduced herself. "My name is Kara. I don't know if they told you, but I'm your mother. It's nice to meet you. The last time I saw you was when you were born. They took you to the palace to live."

Amelia reached up and gave Kara a big hug."I'm glad to meet you. I thought I was the queen's daughter. They treated me well until Julia came to the castle. That's when I found out that I wasn't James's sister or the queen's daughter, Amelia told Kara. "I'm very glad to hear that they were kind to you. I hope you will be happy here with us. We don't have much, but we are happy," Kara replied.

Amelia turned toward the man that was with her mother. "I'm guessing you're my father," Amelia said as looked up at him."You are right. I'm your father, and I'm married to your mother. You have two older sisters, Jane and Sarah, who you saw earlier. You had another sister, Marie, who died young of an illness. I'm glad to have you back," he told her.

She wrapped her tiny arms around him. "I was wondering one thing. I look like James, but you and my mother do not look like me. Why is that?" Amelia asked him. "We were once like you. Your mom had you when she was like you, then the wizard found a potion that cured us," he told her. "Then why didn't they cure James and me?" Amelia asked. "You are far too young, and they didn't want to put your lives in danger," he replied

After a long day, Amelia was shown to her new room. She placed the doll on the table that she was allowed to keep. She walked up to the window and stared out, wondering where James was and how he would ever find her. Her life would never be the same, she thought to herself.

It was time for bed, and she knew she needed to rest. She was exhausted from the trip and emotionally drained.

As she laid her head down on her pillow, she thought about how her life had changed. Why was she taken from her parents and told a lie all her life? "Why did the queen hate her so much?" she asked herself. She then slowly cried herself to sleep. 

Before the wizard prepared to head back to the palace, Kara approached him. "Are we allowed to keep her and live our normal lives again? Can we move back to our home?" she asked him.

"You are still under the orders of the queen. I was told to bring her here. She must have displeased the queen. She will live here with you, and when she is needed for her purpose, she will summon for her again." he told her.

Kara's heart sank when he told her. She was shocked that the queen would be so cruel."So, there is a chance that she will be taken away again or killed like my other daughter?!" Kara asked, not really wanting the answer. "If that is what the queen wants, then yes," he answered. "I will not let her have her!" Kara choked out. "You have no choice. She can order the death of your whole family if she wants to. I would not push her majesty. She will get what she wants in the end," he replied sternly.

"So this is why we were kept at the castle, and mom and dad were here all that time?" Sara asked her sister. "Well, I see that they did something to Amelia, and that seems so unfair. She's so young and suffers that awful curse. I never even knew she existed." Jane replied, astonished.

"I wish we could punish this awful queen! She killed our sister, and now she has made so many suffer. She is a plague to our family. We need to protect Amelia from them," Sara told Jane. "I agree. We need to protect her, but the queen has so much power. I feel we are doomed when it comes to her," Jane replied.

Amelia awoke from a bad dream. She sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She knew she had a bad dream but realized that it wasn't a dream after all.

She couldn't sleep so she got up. All the thoughts running through her head were almost too much for her to bear.

She walked outside to get some air. It was still dark, and it brought her some comfort. She loved playing outside in the dark since she slept most of the time during the daytime. She felt so alone, and despair started to eat at her.

She began to cry as she missed what she knew of as home. She just wanted to be in her own bed and be with James and the ladies who kept her company.

Daylight came, so she headed up to her room. She took one of the books off the shelf in her room and decided to read to take her mind off things. It worked until she grew tired of reading.

 Kara and Mark tried to get Amelia to come out, but she just wanted some time to adjust.

The next day, she explored a box of toys in her room. They were not as nice as the toys she had at the palace. Even though they were not as nice, Amelia had fun playing with them. 

Later she headed downstairs, where she found her mother sitting in the den. Amelia sat down in the chair next to her. Amelia told stories of how good James was to her and how she even had ladies that waited on her. "I had a beautiful room with lavish things. James got betrothed to a princess named Julia. She's a spiteful girl. One day me and James were playing with the horses, and he kissed me, and she saw the whole thing. That's why she sent me away." Amelia told her mom. "Now it all makes sense. I hate that this all happened to you. I always wondered about you and wished you were here with me, but it sounds like they treated you like their own." Kara replied.

As the night approached, Amelia was playing outside when Jane came over to talk to her. "So you are Amelia. I didn't know you existed. You're cute as a button." Jane said and laughed. "You're silly. I never thought I would have an older sister," she replied. "If you need anything, you let your big sis know, and I'll take care of it," Jane told her. "I will keep that in mind," she replied as she giggled.

The days passed, and Amelia started to feel welcomed by her new family. But each night, she would stare out the window missing James and wishing to be back at the castle where she grew up.

Kara and Mark were so happy to have Amelia back. "Life is turning around for us. I think she's going to like it here. It will take her some time to adjust, but I think she will feel the love we have for her." Kara tells him.