By Lydia Barrientos

Chapter 1
Once upon a time, there was an ancient
kingdom named Balderain. Within its walls were an
ancient family. The family had a dark past,
poisoning and beheading their rivals. Despite it all,
1

their kingdom of seven hundred years absolutely

adored them. The first king had made a law stating
that there was no taxes, so the poor people of the
kingdom loved him. The neighboring kingdom,
Arenthawe, had been the archenemy since the the
two kingdoms had existed. The latest ruler, King
Eringger of Arenthawe had rivaled King Swarren of
Balderain for fifty years. Their incompetent
attitudes toward one another were surprisingly
funny, and very predictable. The king of Balderain
had two children, a fourteen year-old girl and a five
year-old boy. Both were surprisingly plain and
average, even though their parents were dropdead gorgeous, (the more deceiving). The girl had
plain dark brown hair, always braided down her
back, plain green eyes, a cheesy smile, and a really
goofy laugh. The young boy had short dark brown
hair, green eyes, a catchy smile which could melt
your heart, and a quiet laugh. The parents both
had blond hair and blue eyes. The children were
pushed hard to work and get along with everyone,
even though generations before them had been
murderers and deceivers, including their frail, old
grandparents. The girls name was Amara and the
boys name was William, Willi for short. ThI stopped short of writing in my journal. I looked at
Willi. He laughed quietly and smiled at me innocently.
2

Then I looked at the gross bowl of slop he pushed towards

me.
Evely made it, for us, Amara. I ate my bit, so its your
turn!
Willi was laughing and couldnt seem to stop, so I
grabbed the bowl and dumped it onto the floor. Our kitty,
Tavi would eat it later.
The glop slithered over the floor, and I swear I could
see something moving inside it. I held back a barf.
Willi noticed and his laugh got louder.
Quiet or youll disturb your parents! You know what
will happen then, right? Evely came out of the kitchen and
tried to lecture us, but her smile ruined the effect.
Evelyn, she makes us call her Evely because she was
named after her mother who was an evil enchantress, is
our governess. She teaches us and loves us because our
own parents wont. Evely is younger than Mother and we
absolutely adore her. Willi loves her to read to him at night,
while I love to write the stories she reads. She always
cuddles and shes the best, like a real mother. She has
been with us since I was born. Evely is like an angel, with
gorgeous auburn hair, always braided and piled on her
head. She has dark cerulean eyes that look at us with
pure love. If anything ever happened to her, I would die!
Evely sat down. Were you guys laughing at my
food?
Willi started to uncontrollably giggle. I blushed. No, I
3

lied.
Be quiet, you children! Father came in. His face was
red from drink and his beard was bouncing. He sure
looked angry.
Willi was shaking. Hes been afraid of Father for
years. I stood up defiantly. Father, we were trying to be
quiet! Dont get mad at Wi-
I got cut off as Father slapped me hard. I flew to the
wall. My vision got blurred and blackness overcame me.
The last thing I heard was Willi crying.
...
I woke up in my chambers. I felt my head. There was
a huge welt. A huge headache started and I almost
blacked out from the pain. My memories resurfaced of
Father hurting me and Willi crying. I dont care as much as
me getting hurt, he made Willi cry. My anger towards
Father increased tenfold. I tried to get up to see if Willi was
okay, but a wave of nausea overcame me. I looked up to
the ceiling. I knew we had to get out of there as fast as
possible. The abuse had been going on for a while, and I
was getting sick of it.
Then I heard a quiet scuffling sound. Evely came
from the dark shadows. Tears moistened her eyes as she
looked at me.
I am so sorry, my dear, I wish I couldve prevented
that. She was starting to get loud.
Shhh! Its okay, I am used to it. But Evely, is Willi
4

okay? He wasnt hurt right? Tears started to run down my

cheeks.
No. He is just fine. Your father passed out after he hhit y-you. She was crying louder and fussing over me.
Oh um Evely, I was thinking that maybe tonight you
could take Willi and me out of the castle tonight? Father
has hurt us for years and I dont want Willi to be
permanently damaged. Please? I cant handle this
anymore! I was starting to feel desperate.
After a few long moments she answered. Honey, we
cant. Its too late.
Bu-
You didnt let me finish. We cant go tonight, its too
late. We might be able to make it tomorrow night though.
Sleep for now. And make sure you act normal tomorrow. If
they catch us, I would be named a traitor and sentenced to
death and you would be severely punished.
..
I was trembling all morning and afternoon. Every time
I passed the Royal Chambers, I shivered. I couldnt
imagine what life was going to be like in less than a day. I
tried to act normal, but I am pretty sure the servants
noticed something was up.
As soon as the sky got darker, I discretely ran to my
chambers. Evely met me there, and she was wearing a
dark full-body cloak. She had bags full of what I guessed
5

was clothes. Then she handed me a cloak and held

another in her left hand. She pulled me close and hugged
me tight.
We better get Willi, we dont have much time.
Right. Thank y- I was cut off by her shushing.
We ran down the massive stone halls as quietly as
possible. I saw a shadow that looked strangely like a
fabled wisp, but I shrugged it off due to tiredness. I hadnt
slept barely at all last night. We kept running. As we came
nearer to Willis chambers, which was close to Mother and
Fathers chambers, Evely quietly put a finger up to her
closed mouth. I stood still, not daring to move. Evely
quickly padded to Willis door and opened it, flinching
when it creaked.
A minute later, Evely came out dragging a confused
little boy with a dazed look on his face. I couldnt believe
this was Willi, he looked so-so not him. Evely tapped me
on the shoulder. It was time to go.
All of a sudden, I heard another creaking. This time it
came from Fathers chamber. We all froze. Evely quickly
helped Willi get his cloak on and then signaled me to do
the same. After we all had our cloaks on and hidden our
faces with the hoods, we followed Evely as quietly as
possible.
All of a sudden, there was a long and loud creak. We
all froze.
I am so sorry, but I dont even know what were even
6

doing. Willi quietly apologized.

It is fine. Lets run as soon as we get to the servant
passage. Then we can go straight to the waiting horses
and carriage. whispered Evely.
We walked for a while more, going through even
some parts of the castle I have never explored. After some
time, it was obvious Willi was falling asleep on his feet, so
Evely picked him up. Soon after that, We came to a barely
lit passage with a couple of webs.
Evely then said rushed, this is it. Lets run!
I ran, but with my nightgown and the huge, heavy
cloak, I kept tripping and stumbling. I have never had
much graceful experience as I have always been a clutz.
Soon we passed a kitchen, a chamber room, and
several tiny quarters. This is so sad and pitiful, I said
rather rudely.
This is where I grew up, actually, and yes, I do agree
it is pitiful, Evely scrunched up her nose in a funny matter.
Lets just keep running, okay?
O-k-k-ay, I wheezed. I was not used to this.
Finally, we came to a heavy wooden door. Evely
gently set down Willi and opened it. A gush of fresh air
flew at me. I shivered. Evely picked Willi up again and
walked to a hidden carriage. Evely opened the door and
set Willi inside. I followed. I sat down on the hard wooden
seat and shifted around.
Evely smiled at me, her eyes apologizing. I thanked
7

her back.
She patted Willi