The Test 10

I woke with a start.

My chest pounding, I leaned against my chair. I had dreamt of being caught again by President White, thrown into a dungeon. I remembered this dream with a sort of undetailed fashion. I got caught. Got thrown into a cell. I couldn’t find them-Celeste and Mother-and I was doubtful about their safety. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve learned to have faith in my family, but in such situations, I struggle not to feel like they are in danger.

I was still in that house.

I calmed down after the shock of the dream. But it wasn’t a dream. Well, technically, it was, but it didn’t quite feel like one. It didn’t quite feel like a dream should feel. A dream should feel scary at first, but faint, and easy to wash away, to forget. This one didn’t feel like that, it felt like I was literally there, in that dungeon, and I could feel all the emotion and anger I had, and I could feel myself moving as I fought those guards, felt the pain of the few wounds I had achieved while doing so.

But I wasn’t there, I was safe, in this little house. It was thundering outside, but no rain fell to nourish the grass. I looked out a window. Truth was, this house was in the middle of the forest. A wide area of it, sprinkled with trees and colorful wildflowers that decorated the grass. I got up, surprised not to feel the pain of my wound, and glanced outside. The house was right next to a flowing turquoise river, leading through the forest like a pathway.

It was quite freezing outside, with the morning dew in the air. I stepped back inside, startled when I felt something under my foot. Moving my foot, I saw there was a little envelope, delivered to the front of the house. It was poorly managed. I read the top of the envelope, where scraggly letters read:

For Aspyn Winters

I picked it up, ripping it open. Inside lay a messy piece of paper, stained with rain and torn by the sides. It was a letter. I read it carefully.

Dear Aspyn,

This is Celeste. By the time you receive this message, me and mother would have escaped from the prison safely. We’re FINE, really. So this is how we got out: So just when we thought we were doomed, we got saved by an old friend of mother’s, who somehow knew where we were and rushed to help us. I can’t tell you who this friend is (mother’s regulations) but I can tell you that this friend was seriously helpful, and sneaked us out in no time.

The guards did catch us in the middle, but we outran them, and since we did, we didn’t get a single scratch-well, except mother, who got a little scar on her arm from a close call she had with one soldier. While we were in the prison, the soldiers left us alone. They took me for questioning, but didn’t beat me up (not too much). I know you’ll get angry at the soldiers for even touching me, I know you will. I appreciate it, but please don’t take out your anger by coming to the palace or doing something totally out of whack (no offense).

For one night, this friend of mother’s let us stay in this weird secret underground home thingy that we enjoyed quite much. There was plenty of food and snacks, and we were so hungry we ate down to the crumbs. We stayed in a room there, and the next morning, the friend gave us paper to write you a note.

Mom was so happy, she insisted I write it. The friend left, leaving us with a destination to go to, so we can find the messenger to deliver our message.

We will have to travel through some train stations, which is totally fine.

Okay, I’m writing this on the train to our destination.

So here’s the thing, our messenger is three minutes away.

Mother says that we’ll be having to travel through the forest to get to our destination.

Okay, so me and mom have a very risky idea.

You can come and see us, in the forest. It’s the forest right next to Spring Falls Town. Just go there, there should be a gate that separates the town from the forest, come see us there.

Here’s the thing, the guards from president White’s castle guard those gates day till night. It’ll be more than hard to get past those gates into the forest.

BE CAREFUL. Do not go past if it’s too hard for you.

Anyway, I do love you, Aspyn, so take care.

Love,

Celeste and Mother.

I was too happy to know they were doing well.