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ChapterFour
Dad and Mom move as fast as lightning, moving out of the jail cell to pull me into a hug.
I can’t remember the last time the two of them hugged me at the same time. I must have been a little girl, like five or six years old.
A tear rolls down my cheek as they tighten their arms around me.
Dad leans closer to me and whispers in my ear, “Go and enjoy your life. We will be fine here.”
Dad must be as crazy as Gavin thinks Dad is if he honestly thinks that I am going to let the two of them live the rest of their days behind iron bars.
“I know the two of you will be happy together. Make the most of it.”
With a quick shove, I push them out of the cold stone jail cell as I take their previous place and slam the iron bar door closed behind them.
“Wait, what?” Mom whispers as she turns around to look at what just happened.
“No!” Dad yells as he runs towards the now locked door that is separating them from me.
Mom stretches her arms through the iron bars. “Arabella, why would you do this?”
Her voice is full of worry and unease. She bites down on her lower lip as a tear rolls down her face.
Dad wraps his arms around her waist before leaning closer to the door. “We will find a way to get you out and back home safely.”
The beast guffaws like Dad just said the funniest joke ever. “Don’t bother trying. She is my prisoner for life.”
I glare in his direction which only makes him laugh harder. His laugh echoes off the walls.
In a blink of an eye, the beast grabs both Mom and Dad, throws them over his broad shoulders, and carries them down the stone staircase like they weigh no more than a feather.
“No!” I scream as I stretch my arms towards their retreating bodies, reaching through the flaking iron bars and plastering myself against the door, hoping for one last embrace that we all know won’t happen.
A few moments later, the sound of the front door banging open reaches me up in the castle.
I run towards the window on the opposite wall of the jail cell. This has to be the tiniest window I have ever seen. Pressing my body against the wall I look through the glass pane and am surprised to see the front gate and my car in the distance.
Motion down below draws my gaze away from my car. I look down just in time to see Mom and Dad hit the barren ground as they are forcibly thrown out of the castle.
They scamper away like frightened mice as the front door slams closed.
Mom turns her head towards me in the tower. I know from earlier that she can’t see me from down there, but it seems as if her gaze locks onto mine.
I watch as Ed gets out of the driver’s seat, walks inside the gate, and embraces both of them before looking towards the tower.
They exchange very few words before heading back through the front gate without giving the castle another glance.
It isn’t until Mom and Dad are safely outside of the front gate and nestled in the backseat of my car, that I let out a sigh of relief.
Ed turns my car around and speeds down the gravel road, taking them back to the safety of our town.
With that problem solved, I make my way over to the bed and sit down, too mentally exhausted to care about my current predicament.
I take a deep breath and wait until my eyes get used to the darkness of this jail cell before looking around at my new but hopefully temporary home. There is a toilet in the back corner of the cell on the opposite wall from the bed.
Craning my head to get a better look at it without having to stand up, I am surprised to see that it appears to be clean.
I guess Mom made sure it was always clean and sanitary. Picking up the edge of the cover that I am sitting on, I hesitantly give it a sniff. It also smells clean.
