Amelia and Annabell's Journey - Chapter Seventy Nine

After riding for hours, Amelia and Annabell stopped to rest. Amelia made a fire out of some tree limbs laid nearby while Annabell unloaded some horses' stuff.

The two laid out some old blankets and curled up to get some rest on the ground near the fire. They had Annabell's dog to keep watch while they slept. Bell would alarm them if anyone was to approach them while they slept.

Exhausted from the past few days of being in the dungeon to riding through the night, Amelia and Annabell quickly fell asleep and didn't stir until the daylight approached.

Knowing that it was harmful to stay in the sunlight for any length of time, Amelia prepared the horse for the rest of the journey. She checked the horse's hooves to make sure that the long riding wasn't harming the horse.

While Amelia packed up everything, Annabell roasted something to eat over the fire, while Bell watched every move of her food on the stick, hoping that something would fall off so she could get it.

"Daylight is approaching, and we must find shelter before the sun rises to its strongest," Amelia told her daughter.

"Why do we have to leave Arthur behind and flee from the castle?" Annabell asked. This she didn't know how to quite answer, for she feared telling Annabell how her grandmother truly was. "We have to leave because she thinks I killed your father. It's her grief of her son that she acts this way," Amelia explained.

Annabell ran into her mother's arms, "She's a hateful woman, she hates me and you, she has never been nice to me other than when you or daddy was around. She would tell me terrible things that would make me cry," Annabell cried out.

"I never knew this. Why didn't you tell your father or me?" Amelia asked. "I didn't want her to be mad at me or you and daddy," she replied. "I will keep us safe, I will get your brother back, and all things will be good once again," she promised her daughter.

Amelia was ready to head out now that the moon was high in the sky, and they were not too far from reaching the cabin that she sought. It would only take them a few hours to reach it.

They finally arrived at the cabin that set alone in a wooded area. No other houses were even close to it. Secluded just like Amelia wanted. It hadn't changed since the last time she saw it many years ago.

 Amelia checks to make sure that it was safe. She took Annabell in and showed her around. "This will be your room. I'll help you get it all cleaned up tomorrow when we are more rested," she told Annabell that jumped up on the bed looking around curiously.

Annabell changed into her nightclothes and climbed into bed. She fell asleep fast with the comfort of not having to sleep on the ground. Bell, her dog, slept on the floor by the bed.

Amelia started a fire in the dark, cold rock fireplace that stood in the living room. She sat down to warm herself by the fire as all the old memories of this cottage held with her. She remembered the first day she woke to find she was no longer in the dungeon and how James won her heart.

The next day when Annabell awoke, Amelia had her new clothes to wear. "Why do I have to wear these clothes? My dress is much prettier?" she asked Amelia. "We have to be careful not to draw attention to ourselves, for I fear we are not safe from the queen," she responded. "Ok, I will get used to it, but my hair looks horrible," she added with a sigh.

Nothing more was said as Annabell jumped onto the floor to play with Bell. They rolled around on the floor, playing tug a war.

"I hope that one day we will not have to hide and that we can be reunited with your brother," she told Annabell. "I would rather be here instead of living with that queen that I thought was my grandmother. I'm much happier here, but I do miss my brother. I just hope she's not mean to him," she told her mom. "She will treat him nice. She will treat him like she did your father. She needs an heir to the throne, and that she has in Arthur. So, for now, we are safe from her wrath as long as we are not discovered. So we need to be careful to not let anyone know we are here," she told Annabell.