Fiction

By Jodi Ho



Editor's Note: The writer is a Canadian schoolgirl from near Toronto.

BREENA picked up a book and started to read.

“Maria climbed onto her horse and rode into the forest. The flowers were blooming and the birds were back from the south. But even the beauty of the forest couldn't ease the pain of marrying a young man she didn't know. Although the young man appeared to be handsome and nice, she couldn't believe that her father, Lord Torin, would make her marry him!”

Breena stopped reading as a shadow loomed over her.

“That's a great book,” said the shadow. “Lots of people enjoy it.”

“Who are you?” stammered Breena.

“You're new here, aren't you?” asked the shadow.

Breena nodded.

“I'm the librarian. You can call me Mrs Roosher.”

A wave of relief crashed over Breena. She had arrived yesterday. Her parents, still moving in the family's furniture, had told her to explore the neighborhood and make new friends. So she'd gone to the library. Reading always made her feel good.

“My name's Breena,” she said. “I moved from London, Ontario.”

“Well, Breena! Welcome to Barrie,” Mrs Roosher warmly replied.

“Thank you, Mrs Roosher. Oh, would you help me to sign out this book?”

“Sure,” said Mrs Roosher. “May I have your library card?”

Breena provided the card. The librarian handed over the book after slipping a receipt and the card inside the front cover.

On Breena's way home, she opened the book to get her library card and noticed a small note inserted there. It read: “Be careful what you wish for, Breena!”

Puzzled, Breena slipped the note into her pocket. “It's probably from Mrs Roosher,” she thought.

Once home, she promptly got knocked down by her little brother, Ivan. “Ivan, get off. Mom!” she screamed.

Hearing the commotion, their mother sighed. “Take care of it yourselves,” she said, sounding tired.

After pushing away her little brother, Breena bolted upstairs to her new room, slamming the door behind her.

Lying on the bed, she resumed reading. “Maria decided that perhaps her father would cancel the marriage if she told him she didn't want to marry the young man, what with her being his most cherished and only daughter. And so with high hopes, she went to see her father.”

Breena continued reading about Maria's life, family and home. “How lucky she is!” Breena thought. “Not to mention how rich she is.”

“Dinner's ready, Breena,” yelled her dad.

“Coming!” Breena inserted a bookmark and went downstairs.

An excellent cook, Breena's dad knew how to make almost anything. But tonight she knew he felt tired, even exhausted, because on the table waited cold and sloppy TV-dinners. “Dad, you know I absolutely hate those,” she moaned.

“We asked you to drop by the supermarket, but you refused and went to the library instead.” explained her dad.

Trying to remember, Breena felt guilty. Her parents had asked her, but she'd ignored them. Suddenly her guilt turned into anger.   “Adults are supposed to do the shopping!  It's my right to go where I please,” she thought bitterly.  But she kept her mouth shut, knowing that revealing her thoughts would mean being grounded. Instead she sighed and ate dinner.

After eating, she ran back upstairs. “ How much I hate my family,” she thought. Picking up the book, she read: “Just as Maria was about to open the door to her father's study, one of the maidens called out, ‘Milady! A horse is giving birth!’ ”

Suddenly Breena's mother knocked on the door and said, “Go to sleep, darling.”

Obeying, Breena got ready and crawled into bed. Really, she wanted to go elsewhere, to a place without little brothers or TV dinners. In fact, she wished to be Maria from the book.

“Please, oh, please,” she whispered to herself. Instantly she fell asleep and missed seeing the book start to glow.

Breena came to with a start. No wonder because she was riding a horse through a beautiful forest. Luckily she had taken riding lessons one summer. Once settled, she looked around. Flowers bloomed and birds flew about. The scene seemed vaguely familiar. Ahead, she saw a huge castle with large stables and vibrant gardens. Wondering who lived there, she sped toward it.

“Hello, milady,” said a middle-aged woman who tended to the gardens. “You're back from your short ride, I see. Good Lord! What are you wearing?”

Looking down, Breena saw that she still wore her pajamas.

“Umm, these are pajamas,” she replied, embarrassed. “Excuse me, but whose castle is this? And what's the date?”

“Oh, you must have hit your head hard,” the woman giggled. “Of course, the castle belongs to Lord Torin, your father. I didn't realize the coming marriage would weaken your memory.”

“What marriage? What's the date? And I'm not crazy,” Breena retorted.

“Oh, milady, you forgot? Lord Torin has arranged for you and Lord Henry's son, Sir Richards, to marry each other. It's so you can live a great life with Sir Richards and to build a good relationship with Lord Henry so your father also can rely on his knights in case of war.” The woman sighed. “We'll all miss you, milady.”

“Please tell me the date?” Breena prompted, her patience ebbing.

“Today is the 5th day of the 4th month in the year 1379.”

Breena gulped. Lord Torin? 1379? Arranged marriage? It's all from the book! Swallowing fear and confusion, she said:  “Thank you.  And which is this horse's stable?”

“Beauty's stable is to the far left. Should I help you to change into a dress?” asked the woman.

“Sure. Will you wait here while I take Beauty to her stable?” Breena asked as casually as she could.

“No, I'll accompany you. That way you don't need to run around so much.”

The woman led the way to Beauty's stable and then into the castle, where Breena caught her breath. The walls were covered by beautifully sewn tapestries and colorful paintings. Elegant white-marble columns extended to the high ceilings.  

In Breena's “chamber", the servant helped her into a dress. It wasn't very comfortable. Another woman combed her hair. When they finished, Breena was taken to a seat at a long table with beautifully arranged food. But as Breena took her first bite, she noticed that many women stood around the table. All wore identical clothing: simple brown dresses, brown slippers and cheap-looking brown hats. None of them ate, and Breena sat alone. She asked why they didn't eat and why no one else sat there. Several women answered: “We aren't allowed.” And “Lord Torin is busy”. Most of them said nothing.

The next few days seemed like years. Breena stayed alone in her chamber or paced in the garden. She saw no sign of Lord Torin.   When she asked the familiar woman from the gardens, she again heard that he was busy.

By now, Breena assumed that the women were maids or servants since they wore matching clothing and did all the chores. Finally weary of boredom, Breena searched the castle for Lord Torin's study. Just as she prepared to knock on the door, a maid came running.

“Milady! A horse is giving birth,” she called out.

Breena and the maid rushed to the stables to see the newborn.  On the way, she realized that everything matched the book. People thought she was Maria!  

At the stables, she saw the new foal, a dark brown one with a black mane. Its fur was ruffled and its blue eyes sparkled. To Breena, it looked beautiful.

“I'll call it Chestnut,” she announced. 

“Ah, Maria, you're here. Now that the horse has given birth, we can resume preparing for the wedding,” said a man behind Breena.

Whirling, Breena saw a middle-aged man with white strands in his dark hair. He had a slightly bulging stomach and stood about a foot taller than her.

“And you are Lord Torin?” she asked.

“Well of course! You forgot your own father!” he bellowed.

“I'm not marrying Sir Richards,” Breena said firmly, remembering how Maria felt.

“Oh, yes, you are. You have no choice!” Lord Torin said.

“But I don't want to,” shouted Breena.

“I don't care! You'll marry him or I'll kick you out,” roared Lord Torin, purple with rage, “We already had this conversation, and you can't change my mind.”

“If you won't change your mind, I'll just leave,” said Breena, furious at how Lord Torin treated his supposed daughter.

That night Breena packed some bread and money into a small bag. Rushing to the stables, she climbed onto Beauty. They raced into the forest, moving silently.

Without warning, heavy rain fell. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. As Beauty tried to leap across a stream, Breena tumbled off her back. The horse ran off and didn't return, despite Breena calling out to her.

Covered in mud and with a sore leg, Breena started to cry at the realization that she'd been lucky when living in the 21st century. She'd had loving parents and a little brother as a playmate.

“I wish I could return home to my family. I love them. Please send me home, please,” she whispered.

She closed her eyes. Everything went quiet.

Opening her eyes, she found herself back in the modern room in Barrie, Ontario. Morning light streamed through the window.

Breena was soaked, covered in mud and her leg had a big bruise. Despite the bruise, she ran nimbly to her parents' room and hugged them both.

“Sweety, what happened? Why are you in such a dirty dress?” asked her mom drowsily.

“I was playing outside, Mom. There's nothing wrong with wanting to hug my parents, is there?” Breena said.

Then Ivan burst into the room. “What's Breena doing?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing, you little monster,” Breena said, hugging him. “I love you.”