Alexandria: The Lost Princess

Chapter 1 - Part 1

Wind whistles through the trees and whips the sheets hanging out to dry. A sheet flips off the line and falls to the ground, and I frown. Snatching it from the dirt, I grimace at my pale fingers gripping the cloth.

Deprived of the sun since birth my skin shines with a pale, delicate glow. After the loss of my mother, Uncle caged me deep inside the forest.

Leaning my head back, I smile, watching the branches rustle above. The wind fights to force them apart. A ray of light slips past a break and shoots through the shaking branches above warming my skin, I release a moan. It had been a long time since I felt the sun. Desperately, the trees fight to seal up this small clearing, once more.

Flicking the sheet, I launch it into the air, floating up and unwrinkling. Fluttering down, it reveals a man stands before me, startling me with his unexpected arrival, I gasp. His plump figure brings a chuckle of relief to my lips, Uncle's broad shoulders nearly touching the walls of sheets surrounding us.

Shaking my head in relief, I stretch up to drape another cloth over the line. His gruff voice fills the silence, "That can wait, Chloe."

Huffing in defeat, I crumple the cloth into a ball and toss it into the basket below. "Everything alright?"

Ushering me forward with his hand, he instructs, "Come inside, Tristan would like a word."

My heart skips a beat, and my jaw goes slack. Uncle chuckles at my frozen reaction. It has been so long since Tristan returned home. Tears of joy prick my vision, and I bolt for the cottage. Ducking under the dripping sheets, my heart racing with anticipation. Tristan is home.

Thrusting the door open, I bound in, skidding to a stop. My throat clotting with thickness at a stranger's appearance. Elbows dug into the small table, he leans over it, muscles flexing anxiously. I take an uncertain step forward.

Is this really him?

Skin that was once pale like mine, now burnt from constant exposure to the sun. His tan is defining the scars that litter his skin. A foreigner, making himself at home in this one-roomed cottage.  I can't place the man sitting before me.

Many times before, Tristan visited while his father was away.  It is like a whole new scene before me. This house hasn't changed much from my childhood, our beds still by the fireplace, with the same blankets I grew up snuggling into during bedtime stories. Now, the small boy is a man, almost unrecognizable to me.

Tristan glances over, giving me his famous lopsided grin.

Uncle pushes pass me, ripping me from my stare and I bounce out of the way. His round shape envelopes the small wooden chair beside Tristan. Patiently, they wait for me to join.

Uncle scratches his speckled beard. "Come now, have a seat. He isn't going to disappear if you blink."

A shiver runs through me, Tristan had disappeared once before. What if it happens again? My heart aches uncomfortably, I don't think I can go through that again.

Making my way to the spare stool, the memory flashes in my mind.

Tending to my chores, I saw through the trees men departing our makeshift village. Equipped with gear, they returned to the war. Another battle yet to be won. Uncle had explained they were part of a rebellion called the Northern Clan, fighting to restore peace to Alexandria. An order where I could return to the outside world. My legs moved faster than my mind when I saw Tristan no more than fifteen saddled upon a donkey.

Clinging to his leg, I cried, looking up into his eyes. "Don't go, please!"

He smiled down at me, his boyish light brown shag framing his face. In his eyes, I could see the fear clear as day reflecting back to me. Swallowing down his terror, he put a brave face on for me. "It's only for a few months."