Home: 2017 – Group One – Heaton Extension Writers Anthology

By Beaulah Pragg

Stories included:
The Hijacking - Charlotte Cotton
The Canary-Coloured Wagon - Heather Paget
The Camp - James Downing
To Love Someone - Juliana Chapman
Cedaric’s Mission - Molly Rochford
Lost & Found - Natasha Wensley
High Seas - Olivia Towns
One Boy One Mission - Samuel Kolawole
The Runaway Orphan - Sara Gillman
Jimmy Bills - Scarlett Kentish-Barnes
Seven Seashells - Sienna McEwan
Lottie - Sophia Watts
Jayei - Thesara Dissanayake

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beaulah Pragg
• Release date: Feb 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370292462

Beaulah Pragg

Beaulah works for Christchurch City Libraries, as well as teaching creative writing and independent publishing. She is a founding member of the Christchurch Writers' Guild, a free and accessible space for new writers to find encouragement and support. Her novel, The Silver Hawk, is the first in a science fiction / fantasy trilogy for young adults.

Book preview

Home: 2017

Group One

Heaton Extension Writers Anthology

Edited by Beaulah Pragg and Fran Atkinson

Smashwords Edition (2018)

Copyright © respective authors (Charlotte Cotton, Heather Paget, James Downing, Juliana Chapman, Molly Rochford, Natasha Wensley, Olivia Towns, Samuel Kolawole, Sara Gillman, Scarlett Kentish-Barnes, Sienna McEwan, Sophia Watts, Thesara Dissanayake) 2017

Cover image by Tama66 (https://pixabay.com/en/users/Tama66-1032521/), used under Pixabay's amended Creative Commons License CC0 (https://pixabay.com/en/service/license/)

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www.beaulahpragg.com

Table of Contents

The Hijacking - Charlotte Cotton

The Canary-Coloured Wagon - Heather Paget

The Camp - James Downing

To Love Someone - Juliana Chapman

Cedaric’s Mission - Molly Rochford

Lost & Found - Natasha Wensley

High Seas - Olivia Towns

One Boy One Mission - Samuel Kolawole

The Runaway Orphan - Sara Gillman

Jimmy Bills - Scarlett Kentish-Barnes

Seven Seashells - Sienna McEwan

Lottie - Sophia Watts

Jayei - Thesara Dissanayake

About the Editors

Other Titles

The Hijacking

by Charlotte Cotton

Just a little bit further…

I stretch my arm up to grab hold of the small, slippery ledge above me, the sound of crashing water in my ears.

If was only a tiny a bit taller I could grab it. Curse my short arms!

I focus on the sound of rushing water pounding violently at the bottom on the waterfall, telling me to keep going.

Just one more stretch…

Princess!

With a sudden jolt, my shocked body lurches off the rock face and I tumble into the water far below.

***

Oh come on, you can’t be serious. I say, focusing on the hard, leather-bound books on the shelves in the king’s study. My father’s study. I look at them only for the single purpose of avoiding his stare, not because they look even remotely interesting (unless you are someone who loves dusty volumes that smell of age-old sweat).

Of course I am serious, Father replies. This is the fifth time you’ve broken the rules.

Yeah… but those others were only… mild offences.

Really? Let’s see… Oh, yes! You ran away into the village—twice—to dance with low-life hooligans.

Yeah… I start before he cuts me off.

And don’t think I don’t remember that time you went shopping and came back drunk on rum.

Okay… but, that wasn’t my fault—they said it was apple cider!

By the look on his face, he obviously doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t have to. Who is he to decide what’s right and wrong?

Oh, and what about that time you went foraging in the hills and ended up getting ensnared in a hunting trap? Father continues.

Hmm… I see your point. They really shouldn’t leave those lying around.

Father sighs deeply. He paces back and forth across the study, his jewel adorned fingers wringing together into impossible knots, the worry lines etched deeply on his forehead.

You could have been seriously hurt today—what were thinking, climbing a waterfall?

I can think of several examples… probably none of which would be convincing.

It was only a small one. I try, but deep down I know it will be no use.

You have a reputation to uphold. Not only for yourself, but the whole palace too.

I open my mouth to throw out a comment about, what reputation, (simply because I know this will annoy him—it always does), but before I get the chance to say anything he cuts me off.

With a deep breath he says: From now on you are forbidden to leave the palace grounds.

His words knock me back a step. I can’t believe it.

What?! But that’s not fair!

Oh, I think it is. Your mother and I couldn’t have been clearer on the rules—no leaving the palace grounds unsupervised.

How dare he? I have so, so many things I want to say to that, most of which would make even a sailor blush. The colourful sentences never escape me though. I am utterly lost for words in outrage. He can’t do this to me. I hate it at the palace. I hate this home!

Father! You can’t!

Yes I can. My father says. And that’s that.

***

I slump onto my crisp linen bed and twist my fingers violently through my golden-blonde hair. Contemplating my next moves. Through furious stormy-turquoise eyes, I stare up at the great scenes depicted in their colourful glory on my bedroom ceiling. All the pillows around me are too big, too small, too wrong. I throw them all at the ceiling until there are no more stock-still painted warriors to bash in the face with a pillow.

My family obviously doesn’t know me at all if they think I’m going to follow their petty rules. I hate it here! Everyone expects me to be some kind of perfect princess, but I’m not! And they know it too. Maybe that’s why I’m not allowed out. What a disaster it would be if the crown’s golden girl was to condemn the palace to public scrutiny, with her wild ways! I choke up. I don’t belong. I hate it so much here! Everyone keeps me locked up like china in a cabinet, even the ones who I thought were on my side. Turns out they were only acting. And I was dumb enough to believe them.

Berkeley and Garrick. My dear brothers! The only people I thought I could go to for support. Well, they can watch the knife they thrust in my back as I leave them all. This is what I need. Revenge. No, what I actually need is leverage. Leverage to get me back my freedom. I’ll leave for a while. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll leave, then come back perfectly safe and fine—they’ll see that I can look after myself. I’ll show my parents, I’ll show everyone, that their rules are unnecessary.

***

I hastily tack up Naida as she looks on curiously, with those deep, brown eyes. I wonder if she understands what I’m doing. That I’m running away, taking a stand. Surely she’d be on my side, she’s my horse after all. Plus I really need the support, can’t she sense that? Maybe it’s best she can’t talk though, because based on like… everyone’s opinion, it’s starting to look like no one (even horses) are on my side.

I don’t get why no one understands how unfair they are being. My family gets all the freedom they could want, and all they want to do is stop other people from getting it!

They’re right, you know Garrick said.

You should listen to them Berkeley added.

Traitors. They’re both traitors. Whatever happened to our sibling pact—where we stood up for each other? Don’t they remember all those times when I saved their traitorous backsides?

Well, I won’t listen to them. No. I. Shall. Not.

I mount Naida, stroking her soft, cream-coloured flank, feeling her chest rise and fall with every breath. That’s when I realise my plan has a minor hitch in it. Where to go.

I could always ride out into the village… No, that would be the first place they would go to look for me, I wouldn’t even get the chance to prove myself. What about the hills? I sigh. No. As much as it would be a great place to hide, it is far too easy to stumble across hidden hunting traps (I am proof of that). I scan the surroundings of the palace, my eyes stopping on the sprawling forest to the south of the kingdom. Nah, I shouldn’t. But… it would be so easy to hide. And probably too easy to get lost though. I have always been forbidden from going in the woods—surely not for no reason. Yeah, that’s a no.

I almost rule out the possibility, when it hits me. Maybe this is what I need. Yes, survival in the woods—this is brilliant, they have always told me the woods are dangerous, what better place to prove I can look after myself!

I’ll come back unscathed, unharmed and within reach of freedom.

Come on, Naida! Were going on an adventure!

***

We race into the cool, dark depths of the forest, the birds’ calls and the rushing wind in my ears. We reach a small, shady clearing in the trees and stop to grab some food out of my saddle bag. I feed Naida some sugar cubes I always have in there and I eat an apple, which I’m pretty sure I put in there for the horse, but I didn’t even think about bringing food. So…

I look around and sigh happily. They (my family, that is) won’t find me if I don’t want to be found—at least I’m granted that freedom. It feels great. I swear this is the most freedom I’ve ever had in my life. I fling stones at the birds in the trees and watch them fly off. They have the freedom to fly away and never come back. I know I should probably return home by dinner time, unless I want to be under intense search. That should still be enough time to prove my point though. I raise my gaze, spotting another bird—Ah ha!

I lift my arm up to frighten the poor bird with a flying stone. Aim… and… the bird is gone!?

It just disappeared! It was there just a second ago. Now it’s gone! (And no, I am NOT going crazy.)

Trying to locate where the bird went, I look around. That’s when I realise there are none of the immense amount of birds that were here only a minute ago. That’s when I realise the whole forest has gone silent.

I cautiously look sideways—maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, maybe I should go…

Ahhhhhhh!

(*cut where I say a few things princesses probably shouldn’t*)

I scream shrilly as the rough, well used rope net falls on my shoulders, knocking me off Naida.

***

Free-falling is a neutral feeling I’ve decided. For a glorious second you are weightless, flying, but then it hits you, much in the same way you know you are about to hit the ground below you. If you’re lucky, the ground will be a mountain of feathers (most likely not, but hey, we can be optimistic). Otherwise you should probably prepare yourself for pain. I look down for my mountain of feathers, but all I see is dirt staring me in the face. This isn’t going to