Project K3NJ1

4 Years Later

Waking up on a hard cold floor always sucks, but it sucks worse when you know who put you there. I sat up on the flower bed with the light of the cathedral pouring in to the one spot I was in. The flowers were red tulips, they were pretty but not as pretty as the flowers in the Lampton flower shop. I sat up and looked around until I spotted the pond. This was an abandoned cathedral, but I was only locked up in the dome area. I stood up and walked to the pond, but dad might have been smart enough to lock me in a room without windows that was "in the middle of nowhere" but what he didn't know was that I had been here last time I snuck out. I entered in here knowing he was going to bring me back and I hid a rope with a hook underneath a lose tile under the water of the pond. I stood up and began to walk over to the pond, I knew my dad wouldn't come get me until noon since this wasn't the first time, he put me there. Every other time maybe 10 or 15 minutes after the bell rung noon time my dad would enter and blindfold me then having some men carry me into the carriage. After an hour or two we would be at home, he thought I would never discover this cathedral by myself because it was in the ghost town, but he thought wrong. The ghost town had been mostly abandoned three years ago after a small "war broke out in the town" and it was quickly abandoned. This town was just past the slums, but it was funded by the upper class and neighborhood Cas which is the richest neighborhood in the kingdom. They also funded a soldier academy in the town, but it was quickly shut down after 4 years because of an incident. I'm not sure what the incident was but it definitely had to do with the "civil war" from three years ago. Anyways enough of the history lesson I should get out of here. Iris began to walk over to the pond, lifting her dress so that it wouldn't get wet. The water is cold, the sun hasn't been directed at it, so I guess that's no surprise. I finally found the tile and moved it, the water only reached my knees, so it wasn't that deep. Under the tile like I mentioned was a rope with a hook on one end. I quickly got out of the water and started throwing the hook out the hole in the roof, it wasn't broken just the glass in the way was. After a few throws I finally hooked it! Yes! Now it was time to get to climbing, when I was still a little girl, I was very active so climbing a rope was nothing to me. See, I'm already on the roof, from here you can see all the houses, shops, and the soldier academy plus the dorms. The buildings are all run down and dirty like not a single soul was here, anyways I should get down from here. I pulled the rope up to me and used it to climb down the building. That is how I made the escape out of that building, it was pretty, but I didn't plan on sticking around. Well now I must walk through the forest to reach the slums, I know they have a shoe store, maybe they will let me borrow some shoes. Though I should hurry up and head to the slums but I kind of want to look around this ghost town. I've never really walked around here before. Hm, maybe next time I should get going to the slums. While walking towards the forest I looked at the ghost town's houses, they were pretty, such a shame no one really lived here. People had always been frightened of the forest, they thought it would suck you in and you would never get out, but it was actually quite beautiful. Just looking at made me think about how one day I would love to walk through here with a boy, like my prince charming. I would dream that we would walk through here hand in hand after getting married and helping the poor! Oh, and we would have children and they would claim the throne as the royal family and- Bump. Hm, I walked into something oh it's a little kid.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you lost?" It looks like a little girl but why would she be walking towards the ghost town?

"Sweetie, are you lost?" Dash! What?! She just started running away?! Oh well, maybe she's shy, still so strange. Well, I can't get distracted, I've got to keep making my way to the slums. I can see from where I am so I'm close. Just like I mentioned I was very close, so I arrived shortly after a bit, the air was dirty and polluted which made everyone hate it, but I didn't mind. Now I just needed to find the shoe store. It should be nearby, ah! There it is the best shoe store in the slums. I entered the store and called out to see if anyone was there.

"Hello? Is anyone working here?" A man came out from the back of the store, he was a tall burly, hairy man, who had an eye-patch covering one eye.

"Uhm, hi. Do you uhm work here?" The man walked towards me; he had a limp.

"Yes, I am the owner of this fine establishment milady. Is there something you need?" I felt a bit uncomfortable; I was used to going to the slums, but I had never seen someone so scary.

"I need a uhm a pair of shoes please." Just then a younger man came from the back of the store.

"MANAGER DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO?!" The store manager turned to the younger man confused.

"This young lady was looking at me funny, I don't think she's from here." The young man whispered into the store managers ear and his eye looked like it almost popped out of his skull that's when he turned to me.

"Princess?!" Oh my, I just realized I never introduced myself how very rude of me. I'm Iris, a 17-year-old, and the princess of this kingdom. I was surprised that the young man had recognized me so quickly, every time I had come to the slums to hand out food, I would wear a wig and dress up as someone else. 

"Yeah, I'm the princess. I'm not here for any bad reason, I promise! I just need to borrow some shoes." The manager turned to the young man again and then began to walk to the back of the store.

"Get the lady some shoes, will ya? As long as she returns them, they're free of charge." The younger man walked up to me with a pair of shoes.

"Here try these on, they are our best quality shoes, I think they will fit you." I put on the shoes, and they did fit, I thanked the young worker and left the store. Where to now? Oh! I'll go to the orphanage with all the children, maybe if a boy sees me there, he will fall in love with me, and we'll get married and have our own kids and so many good things! Then we might adopt another kid and welcome them to the royal family, and they will feel so loved and grateful and then they will give me and my husband grandchildren who will continue the royal family! Oh, that would be such a dream, I need to stop thinking so much. I feel all flustered and happy now, regardless I should make my way to the slum orphanage because I can't go to the one inside the kingdom, they might find me. Surely if my father found out I snuck out of the cathedral he would never let me see the light of day again. No one in the high class and higher class likes me so I can't go there, but there are never guards in the slums so I could walk around freely. Well, here we are, the slums orphanage, there are a lot of kids out in the yard today. I wanted to go see Marry, she was my favorite little girl in the orphanage, she is 12 and is quiet but I like her. Looking for her was always hard since she was always hiding. Eventually I did find her though,

"Hello Marry!" She turned to me, we both looked similar with blond hair past our shoulders.

"Hi Iris." She always spoke softly, I felt bad for her, but she never opened up to me, so I never found out why.

"So, how's your day today Marry?" I sat down next to her.

"Everything's been ok, I guess." She always responded like this.

"Anything interesting?" The only thing I knew about Marry is that she had been from a ghost town in another kingdom far away.

"No not really, it's all the same as usual." The usual for her was nothing. I loved Marry but I wish she trusted me more; I wish she would tell me what's wrong and what makes her happy and sad. I wanted to adopt Marry, but I need a beautiful husband first. One that can support poor old me and Marry and who can protect us. Then maybe Marry will tell me all about herself. Oh! Maybe she comes from an abusive household and that's why she never talks. Is that rude of me to think? It can't be, it's not like I'm hoping she from an abusive household it's just kids who are quiet are usually from bad homes.

"Oh. I see, same as usual huh. Well, I should get going, I'll be back soon, bye Marry." I stood up to leave and Marry didn't even say bye. She never really seemed to say bye, only rarely would she say bye, but I guess it was ok with me. Regardless of all that, I had to head back to the cathedral before father arrived, the noon bell was going to ring soon. I returned to the shoe store and returned the shoes to the shoe store owner before leaving to go back to the cathedral. It was getting a bit dark since it was almost noon. Walking back through the forest was nothing interesting but it does look creepier when it gets dark. If only I had a boy to walk me through these scary woods. I wish I could get a boyfriend like all the regular girls, they all get boyfriends, date them for a while, then get married. My father wants me to get married to some prince so that we could have peace in the kingdom, but I want to marry someone I actually love. My father doesn't understand true love, he only married my mother to make "peace" with some other kingdom, one that's not too far from here actually. Well now I must climb back into the cathedral which isn't too hard. Now that I'm inside I must hide the rope again and then lie down and just in time too, I can hear the noon bell softly ringing.