by Ruby Forrest
At that point the fox extended his tail once more, and the young fellow sat himself down, and away they went over stock and stone till their hair shrieked in the breeze. Before the château entryway all was as the fox had stated: so the child went in and found the chamber where the brilliant flying creature hung in a wooden pen, and beneath stood the brilliant pen, and the three brilliant apples that had been lost were lying near to it. At that point figured he to himself, 'It will be an extremely funny thing to bring without end such a fine winged creature in this decrepit enclosure'; so he opened the entryway and grabbed hold of it and place it into the brilliant confine. In any case, the winged creature set up such a noisy shout, to the point that every one of the warriors got up, and they took him prisoner and conveyed him before the ruler.
The following morning the court sat to judge him; and when all was heard, it condemned him to kick the bucket, unless he ought to bring the lord the brilliant steed which could keep running as quickly as the breeze; and in the event that he did this, he was to have the brilliant winged animal given him for his own.
The plane jostled, beginning to move down the runway and Janet set her book down. She glanced up as the safety videos started to play. Out of habit, she familiarized herself with everything, although she had a pretty good idea where everything was. She sighed and settled back, watching the runway wiz by at high speeds. The announcement chimed that they were about to lift off and Janet braced herself a little.
They were going faster, faster, faster…and suddenly, the plane was lifted up, and they were gliding, through the air. Janet felt weightless. She always loved that moment. The moment of weightlessness as they were lifted into the air, a moment where they didn’t seem to weigh anything at all, a moment where she felt free and lighter than air. It was perfect. It was blissful. Janet loved it, loved the feelings that came with it, loved the sensation of flying through the air at great speeds.
It was intoxicating and it was so easy to lose herself in the movement, the momentum of the plane. She stared out of the window, her eyes lighting up with enjoyment as she gazed out of the window, sparking as she saw the lights before. It was stunning, just stunning. She loved her city. The view in the plane was so much better than the view from the office block, so much better than the view from her home. It was gorgeous and she truly felt, for a long, lingering moment, that she was above it all, above all of the panic and pain and the responsibilities that weighed on her like a too-heavy blanket.
She felt free, she felt comfortable, and she felt, for the first time in a long, long while, like she had some sort of privacy, had some sort sense of being on her own. Sure, the air hostesses were around, but that was okay. She didn’t feel so terribly crowded in anymore.
As the plane eased into an even plateau, Janet settled back a little more. She was free to undo her seatbelt and she did so gratefully. The flight attendant brought hot towels, a menu and offered her a glass of champagne, which she happily accepted. She was also given toiletries, a lovely pillow and a menu for later.
Janet took a look at the options on the menu and smiled softly. They looked lovely. She was happy that she’d be okay in terms of food choices for the flight and, after picking out a few things, she set the menu down and looked out the window again.
They were high above the clouds, so high up that Janet could barely see what was happening below. She sighed, finally feeling above her worries, and grabbed her book again. When she was finished reading, she’d probably turn on some music, or see if there were any good movies. Still, reading had always been her first love and she wanted to finish the fairy tale. She remembered when she could read, uninterrupted for ages. Now, she could barely finish a story that spanned a few pages, because she kept having to move onto the next step.
Still, she was grateful for the luxury she was enjoying and she opened up the book again, scanning through its pages.
So he set out again on his excursion, murmuring, and in awesome sadness, when all of a sudden his companion the fox met him, and stated, 'You see now what has occurred by virtue of your not tuning in to my guidance. I will even now, be that as it may, reveal to you how to locate the brilliant stallion, on the off chance that you will do as I offer you. You should go straight on till you go to the stronghold where the steed remains in his slow down: close by will lie the prepare sleeping soundly and wheezing: take away the stallion discreetly, however make sure to put the old leathern saddle upon him, and not the brilliant one that is near to it.' Then the child sat down on the fox's tail, and away they went over stock and stone till their hair shrieked in the breeze. All went right, and the prepare lay wheezing with his hand upon the brilliant seat. Yet, when the child took a gander at the stallion, he thought it an incredible pity to put the leathern saddle upon it. 'I will give him the great one,' said he; 'I am certain he merits it.'
As he took up the brilliant seat the prepare arose and shouted out so noisy, that every one of the watchmen came running in and took him prisoner, and early in the day he was again brought under the steady gaze of the court to be judged, and was condemned to kick the bucket. In any case, it was concurred, that, on the off chance that he could bring thither the delightful princess, he should live, and have the flying creature and the steed given him for his own. At that point he went his direction exceptionally sad; however the old fox came and stated, 'For what reason did not you hear me out?
On the off chance that you had, you would have diverted both the feathered creature and the steed; yet will I yet again give you advice. Go straight on, and at night you will touch base at a mansion. At twelve o'clock around evening time the princess goes to the showering house: go up to her and give her a kiss, and she will give you a chance to lead her away; yet take mind you don't endure her to go and withdraw of her dad and mom.' Then the fox extended his tail, thus away they went over stock and stone till their hair shrieked once more. As they went to the stronghold, everything was as the fox had stated, and at twelve o'clock the young fellow met the princess heading off to the shower and gave her the kiss, and she consented to flee with him, however asked with numerous tears that he would give her take a risk to leave of her dad.
“What would you like for dinner, Ma’am?” A polite voice chimed in, from a few feet away. Janet had been so engrossed in her book that she had not even noticed. She looked up, feeling her cheeks flush softly with embarrassment.
She grabbed the menu, “I’ll have the salad, the duck and then the, hmm… the cheese platter and the chocolate parfait.” She handed the menu back and the attendant smiled, nodding.
“That will be ready shortly.” She informed Janet, who nodded and smiled.
“Thank you very much.” The attendant headed off to the next customer and Janet snuggled down. These seats were unusually comfortable for an airplane. She felt good about snuggling into the comfort, and stretching out her legs. She checked the levers and was happy to see that the seat reclined fully. Good, that would hopefully mean she could catch some sleep before it was time to land.
She’d read for a bit more, until it was time for dinner. Hopefully, she’d have time to read more than a paragraph or two. After all, they were just getting to her favorite parts of the book and she really didn’t want to miss out on enjoying the story!
At first he won't, however she sobbed still to an ever increasing extent, and fell at his feet, till finally he agreed; yet the minute she went to her dad's home the gatekeepers stirred and he was taken prisoner again. At that point he was brought before the lord, and the ruler stated, 'You should never have my girl unless in eight days you burrow away the slope that prevents the view from my window.' Now this slope was big to the point that the entire world couldn't take it away: and when he had labored for seven days, and had done practically nothing, the fox came and said. 'Rests and rest; I will work for you.' And toward the beginning of the day he arose and the slope was gone; so he went cheerfully to the ruler, and revealed to him that now that it was expelled
he should give him the princess.
At that point the lord was obliged to keep his oath, and away went the young fellow and the princess; and the fox came and said to him, 'We will have every one of the three, the princess, the steed, and the feathered creature.' 'Ah!' said the young fellow, 'that would be an awesome thing, yet how might you think up it?' 'On the off chance that you will just tune in,' said the fox, 'it should be possible. When you go to the ruler, and he requests the wonderful princess, you should state, "Here she is!" Then he will be exceptionally blissful; and you will mount the brilliant steed that they are to give you, and put out your hand to disappear of them; however shake hands with the princess last.
At that point lift her rapidly on to the stallion behind you; applaud your goads to his side, and run away as quick as possible.' All went right: at that point the fox stated, 'When you go to the manor where the winged creature is, I will remain with the princess at the entryway, and you will ride in and address the ruler; and when he sees that it is the correct steed, he will draw out the fowl; yet you should sit still, and say that you need to take a gander at it, to see whether it is the genuine brilliant flying creature; and when you get it into your hand, ride away.'
Janet sighed, feeling excitement and pleasure tingle through her. She loved this story. She enjoyed the fox the most, but talk of exciting creatures, like the bird and the horse also thrilled her. It was magical. Magic and intrigue and romance, to an extent. She wouldn’t admit to anyone how much she loved this story, but she did. She loved it.
Janet was again, taken from the story by the sound of someone clearing their throat. She looked up to see an attendant standing there, a tray in her hands.
“Oh!” Janet pushed herself up, setting the book down and clearing some space, “Sorry!”
The attendant smiled, “It’s no problem, honestly.” There was a kindness in her eyes, something soft and welcoming and it settled Janet. She accepted the tray and smiled as she looked at it, “It looks great.”
The attendant nodded, “The next course will arrive shortly.”
Janet nodded and grabbed her glass of champagne. She took a sip, relishing the bubbles on her tongue. She started on the first course, a lovely salad. It looked remarkably fresh, considering it was made on a plane and Janet had no problem at all digging into it and enjoying herself.
She idly flicked the pages while she ate.
This, as well, occurred as the fox said; they carted away the fowl, the princess mounted once more, and they rode on to an incredible wood. At that point the fox came, and stated, 'Ask execute me, and remove my head and my feet.' But the young fellow declined to do it: so the fox stated, 'I will at any rate give you great guidance: be careful with two things; deliver nobody from the scaffold, and take a seat by the side of no stream.' Then away he went. 'Well,' thought the young fellow, 'it is no hard issue to keep that guidance.' He rode on with the princess, till finally he went to the town where he had left his two siblings. What's more, there he heard an extraordinary commotion and mayhem; and when he asked what the issue was, the general population stated, 'Two men will be hanged.'
As he came closer, he saw that the two men were his siblings, who had turned criminals; so he stated, 'Would they be able to in any capacity be spared?' But the general population said 'No,' unless he would give all his cash to the miscreants and purchase their freedom. At that point he didn't remain to consider the issue, however paid what was asked, and his siblings were surrendered, and went ahead with him towards their home.
When the duck came, Janet put her book away. It tasted absolutely fantastic and she enjoyed every moment of it, even the sides. By the next course, Janet was starting to feel stuffed.
She nibbled at the platter and tasted the lovely cheese and crackers that they had served. She didn’t eat it all, deciding to leave a bit of space for dessert. Dessert definitely didn’t disappoint. A rich chocolate, served with coffee, Janet was happy to take her time savoring it all. It tasted great and she enjoyed every moment of it. She decided to flick through the channels, settling on some peaceful music, playing through her headphones and really setting the mood.
She only had about a page left of her book and she was determined to get through it before she rested. She felt a pleasant sort of comfort descend on her and she settled in, opening the book, savoring the last mouthfuls of her coffee.
What's more, as they went to the wood where the fox initially met them, it was so cool and lovely that the two siblings stated, 'Let us take a seat by the side of the stream, and rest a while, to eat and drink.' So he stated, 'Yes,' and overlooked the fox's advice, and sat down in favor of the waterway; and keeping in mind that he didn't speculate anything, they came behind, and tossed him down the bank, and took the princess, the steed, and the winged animal, and went home to the ruler their lord, and said. 'This have we won by our work.' Then there was incredible celebrating made; yet the steed would not eat, the winged animal would not sing, and the princess sobbed.
The most youthful child tumbled to the base of the waterway's bed: fortunately it was about dry, yet his bones were relatively broken, and the bank was steep to the point that he could discover no real way to get out. At that point the old fox came yet again, and chastened him for not following his recommendation; generally no insidiousness would have come to pass for him: 'Yet,' said he, 'I can't abandon you here, so lay hold of my tail and hold quick.' Then he hauled him out of the waterway, and said to him, as he got upon the bank, 'Your siblings have set watch to slaughter you, on the off chance that they discover you in the kingdom.' So he dressed himself as a poor man, and came furtively to the lord's court, and was hardly inside the entryways when the stallion started to eat, and the winged animal to sing, and princess left off sobbing.
At that point he went to the lord, and disclosed to him every one of his siblings' roguery; and they were seized and rebuffed, and he had the princess given to him once more; and after the ruler's demise he was beneficiary to his kingdom. A drawn-out period of time after, he went to walk one day in the wood, and the old fox met him, and besought him with tears in his eyes to kill him, and remove his head and feet. Also, finally he did as such, and in a minute the fox was changed into a man, and ended up being the sibling of the princess, who had been lost a considerable number of numerous years.
Janet shut the book, a dreamy look in her eyes. That was probably her favorite part of the book. The part where the fox, who was the real hero of the story, turns into a human again, the spell broken. She remembered getting really upset as a child, when the fox had been killed. She had been really distressed, really upset to think that the fox, who had done so much to help everyone, would be killed.
But when he had changed into the price, Janet’s heart had lit up, and it had stayed that way ever since. Part of her longed for magic, longed for the magic of these tales, longed to experience it, hide away from the real world, the world that she found herself in now.
She sighed and looked out of the window. She knew that it wasn’t a reality. She knew that her life was a life of business, a life of meetings and responsibility, even if it did come with fantastic perks like travel. It was, at the end of the day, in no way magical.
She hadn’t even met someone who she connected with, let alone experienced any sort of enchanted world. The dreams of a child. It was a dream she had as a little girl and one that she didn’t want to let go of, but one that she knew wasn’t real.
Still, she couldn’t help but dive into these stories, these poems, the works of another world, and the works of someone who had opened up her eyes and shown her how different everything could be. The tale of the golden bird was probably her favorite. It showed so much about the way humans thought and worked, and Janet couldn’t help but draw parallels to her own life.
She sighed and tilted her head back, picking out another playlist. She stayed like that for a while, just thinking about the story, thinking about her own life and her own family. An hour
or so later, the attendant brought Janet a blanket and she snuggled beneath it with her pillows. The lights in the cabin dimmed and Janet flicked through the channels on offer. She settled on a movie that she hadn’t seen in years and stared at the screen.
She was only half following the plot. As she reclined her chair a little bit, Janet found herself dozing off a little, idly watching the movie, gazing out of the window and enjoying the view, just letting her mind switch off.
For a moment, there was no panic about the days ahead, no worry about what happened to her father. For a moment, Janet didn’t find herself wondering about the diamond market and what she had to learn. She didn’t find herself concerned that she would do the wrong thing and plunge the company into ruin. She didn’t fear for her life.
For a moment, she just felt blissfully blank and unaware, restful. She realized, quite suddenly, that the people who had booked her this flight knew what they were talking about when they booked her first class. She didn’t feel pressured, and she felt, just for a moment, like she was flying above her worries.
She had needed this break far more than she realized, and if they only place she could get it was up in the air, then that was fine by her. Janet shut her eyes and breathed deeply.
Chapter 3
The rest of the flight passed in relative peace and silence. Janet was left staring out of the window between dozes, flicking through the channels, watching snippets of movies. Breakfast was served several hours later and Janet dined on poached eggs and pancakes, sipping orange juice, before she had her morning coffee. She picked up the book again, to skim through a few of the pages, but spent most of her time dozing and relaxing. After all, she knew that she would be exceptionally busy once she landed and it was only smart to get as much rest as she possibly could while she was on the plane, with no reception and nothing to do except wait and relax.
