Wings

Princess Arianna sat on the single chair in her bedroom, which she had moved to allow her to look out the large glass doors leading out on to her balcony. She watched the stars twinkling up in the sky as she sat in her warm room in her nightgown. She imagined herself pushing the doors open and leaping off of the balcony, spreading her arms to reveal a beautiful set of wings as she flew away from the castle and her cramped life. She knew better than to try. But that didn't mean she couldn't dream.

Suddenly a servant burst in to her room without knocking. Arianna let out a small scream voluntarily. The servants were supposed to knock before they entered a room. "Princess!" the man gasped. He seemed short of breath, and his face was drawn and terrified. "There's an intruder in the castle! You're not safe here!"

Arianna leapt to her feet and pulled her nightgown tight around herself. She suddenly felt very cold. "What about my parents?" she demanded.

"They've commanded me to make sure of your protection," the man responded. He turned and pulled the door shut behind him, pushing the lock firmly into place. "They are going to stand their ground in the castle, but they've said you must escape."

"But where am I supposed to go?" she asked, becoming scared and desperate. She could feel her mind starting to shut down, unable to think properly.

The servant reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter, holding it out to Arianna. "The King advised that you should escape to your uncle. It probably won't be safe there for long either, but it will give you time to plan." Arianna nodded, taking the letter shakingly in her hands. Abruptly she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her servant. 

"Thank you, Perman," she whispered, trying not to cry. 

Just then, there came a powerful pounding on the door. It was as though they could feel the entire room shake woth each slam of the door. 

"You should go," Perman whispered back. Arianna nodded and, without hesitation, ran to the glass doors she had been looking out of earlier. She took two long strides to cross the balcony, then leaped, taking a step off of the railing to throw herself into the air, three stories off ground level. 

Behind her, Perman quickly closed the glass doors and turned around as the main doors exploded open. He could feel the remains of the lock just barely miss his head. A huge man entered, towering above Perman, anger on his face as he scanned the room. "Where is the princess?" He demanded. 

"You're too late," Perman said defiantly. 

Outside, Arianna's discarded nightgown flopped to the ground, as the letter she had been holding on to was caught by the wind and floated gently through the air. A moment later, a bluejay gracefully soared down and caught the letter in its claws, then flew high into the air, headed in the direction of the Kingdom of Vastria, where Arianna's uncle lived.