Chosen
By Danielle Asbury
Tick, tock, tick tock…..
Anna glanced from her sewing to look up at the old grandfather clock against the wall, it’s only eight
o’clock.
Why must the evening before Christmas always be so slow?
The heat of the crackling fire in the hearth beside her had already started to warm her legs beneath the
thick layers of her skirts.
The sweet smell of peppermint and freshly cut pine penetrated her nose; the scent which had always
caused Anna to feel safe and cosy away from the bitter cold outside.
Across the room, gracefully stood in the corner was the impressive, decorated tree. Many red bows,
gold plated beads and small ornaments hung from the many branches. The flickering light from the fire
reflected off the beads, created an illusion of the tree sparkling in the darkness.
Shame we couldn’t afford candles for the tree this year.
“Get back to your sewing young lady.” Her mother nudged her.
Anne looked over to her right and watched her mother amend some of her younger brothers’ breeches;
her mother had always been so gifted with the use of a needle. Anna sighed, for she will never be alike
her mother on that regard.
“You’re always so idle!” Her mother commented, still continued to sew.
Anna rolled her eyes; she wanted to tut out loud but thought otherwise, for she didn’t want a clip
around her ear.
“Do as your mother says.” Her father was sat in his favourite rocking chair, smoking his long pipe with
his eyes closed opposite her. Anne remained silent and returned back to her ______ sewing.
There was a loud thump upstairs which caused all three of them to look up at the ceiling with frowning
eyes.
“That was your fault!” they heard a muffled child’s voice from upstairs.
“Damn children will put me in an early grave!” her father grumbled.
Anne couldn’t help but think how old her father now looked; his hair and stubble had started to grey,
deep wrinkles are now visible around his pale blue eyes. He recently always looked tired and out of
breath. When her mother announced her pregnancy six years prior, many women in the village had
commented she was too old to bare children, especially twins. But Anna’s mother had always been
strong willed; her complexion continuously more youthful than her actual age. Her Mother was indeed
fortunate.
“Boys, get to bed!” her mother shouted.
“Yes mother.” Both boys replied instantaneously; verbally not pleased with the command.
Anna felt privileged, for she was now of age to be allowed up with her parents.
“Oh, I’ve almost forgotten.” Anna glanced up at her father as he reached his hand down the right side of
his rocking chair. Anna gasped as he held out a beautiful glass globe, he wound the small metal key at
the base and it began to play a small melody she had never heard before. The base of it was delicately
detailed with comprehensive carvings of small fairies and flowers; the small pale pink gem stones
glistened from the fire light. Inside the globe was a small cloaked figure standing alone on a cobbled
street. She shook it and watched the replica snowflakes drift down. “H..how could you afford such a
thing?” Anne held it in her trembling hands, for she hadn’t seen or touched something so grand.
With her mother working as a teacher and her father a respectable dairy farmer, Anna had always been
more fortunate than the other children in the nearby village. But something as magnificent as this, a
very wealthy Lady could easily possess this.
“Now that you are young woman, it is now time to pass this down to you. It belonged to your
grandmother. She treasured it all her life. She wanted me to give it to you once you enter society.”
“Oh my! Look mother, haven’t you seen anything so beautiful?”
Anna looked across to her mother, but her smile faltered as she saw her mother was staring at her
father with a look of disbelief. Her mother must’ve quickly realised what Anna had said and hastily
placed a smile on her face and agreed with her.
Anna watched her mother inspect the globe frowning, for why was mother looking at father like that?
***
After a short while, her parents gave her a hug, kissed her cheek and climbed the creaky stairs to bed.
Anna was asked to clear the wooden table in the kitchen and disperse the fire in the sitting room. She
felt uneasy with how her parents acted before departing for bed, for her parents had never hugged and
kissed her goodnight before. She recalled her mother quickly wiping away some tears before anyone
else had noticed. Whilst cleaning the kitchen, she could not help admire the glass globe as it stood
proudly on top of the large hearth. After clearing the kitchen and filling the large iron pot of water from
the outside pump, she sat at the table to catch her breath. She looked down at her hands and grimaced,
for her hands were red, scared and blistered; evidence of hard work on a daily basis. She sighed;
relieved to know she can mostly rest tomorrow on Christmas Day.
“I wish everyday was Christmas Day; not had to do chores and cut my hands.”
She pushed herself off the bench, walked over stone floor to the hearth and gazed upon the fancy globe.
“I wish I was a Lady.” She sighed. She picked up the globe and gave it a shake once more to watch the
snowflakes dance around the lone figure. Suddenly she saw the small figure bow to her. Anna shrieked
and dropped the globe, but before it touched the floor it disappeared. Anna froze still, stunned, stared
at the floor. There was a loud knock at the door.
“M…mother? Father? Somebody is at the door!” she shouted up from the base of the staircase, there
were no reply.
Strange.
There was another knock. Anna slowly crept towards the small window beside the door and peeped out.
Nobody was there. She stepped back, convincing herself she was simply exhausted, for she had
imagined the figure moving, the globe disappearing…
“Good evening.” A man’s voice spoke out from inside the kitchen. Startled, Anna turned and peered
through the door way. She gasped as she saw a tall, black, cloaked figure stand in front of the hearth. He
wore a black top hat, his face hidden in the shadows from the burning fire behind him. The figure bowed
down to her.
Anna shrieked back.
“Please don’t fear me for I won’t harm you.”
Words felt trapped in her mouth as she stared at him startled. Sweat began to clam up her palms, her
heart pounding hard within her chest.
“H….Who are you?”
“I’m John Lyons, at your service Ma’am.”
“John Lyons?” she whispered.
The figure nodded his head.
“Oh! Do forgive me! How rude I must seem.” She watched him quickly take off his hat and ran his gloved
hand through his thick, dark hair.
Anna remained rooted at the doorway, one hand placed upon the banister and the other on the iron
front door handle.
For what should she do!? Go tell her parents or run away and find help?
“Your grandmother warned me about you ma’am.”
Anna frowned, “excuse me?”
She still couldn’t see the man’s face.
“Your grandmother.” He pointed to an old photograph of her grandmother, which leant against one of
the large wooden beams above the doorframe from which she stood. Anna swallowed hard, “you met
her?”
The man nodded. “She told me you would be fearful. In fact, your grandmother reacted the same way
now that I recall. Her exact words were ‘don’t startle the poor girl, you must remain distant and
introduce yourself’. Well….” He outstretched his arms, “here I am, doing just that. Please, don’t be shy. I
promise I will not harm you.”
Anna looked around the kitchen whilst she slowly stepped further in. She heard him snicker behind his
gloved hand. She looked at him frowning. “Apologies ma’am, it’s just you look so….so….”
“So?” she questioned.
“Innocent.” He finished.
Anna’s brow deepened, for she didn’t expect him to finish the sentence with that word.
“You’re skinnier than I’d imagined, and shorter” he added.
Anna huffed, for how dare he be so rude!
As her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, she could see the man was young; almost the same age as
herself. With his figure blocking the hearth behind him, she could only see he had pale eyes, of what
colour she was unaware of. He had a straight nose, strong jaw line with a faint scar down his left cheek.
She couldn’t help but admit to herself that he was rather handsome. She gave herself a mental shake.
“Don’t be so imprudent” she hissed to herself.
“Pardon?”
Anna froze and shook her head vigorously. She felt her cheeks blush.
“You couldn’t possibly know my grandmother; she passed away before I was born. You look to be my
age!”
“Arh yes. She did mention that to me as well.”
Anna remained silent.
John cleared his throat.
“Your Grandmother isn’t who you think she is. You see, she isn’t dead, she’s very much alive.” He
laughed a little.
Anna instantly felt very uneasy, realising he may actually be a mad man. She looked around the kitchen
for any form of weapon to protect her. Suddenly she saw her father’s stirrups for his horse hanging from
a nail on the wall to her right. She slowly began to step to her right, careful not to alarm the young man.
“Your grandmother has sent me to bring you back. She placed me in that awful globe. Twenty years I
have been waiting. I must express how thankful I am to you for releasing me. Your grandmother can be
quite stubborn sometimes.”
“You’re mad!” Anna exclaimed.
John laughed; his voice seemed to have echoed off the walls, “I’m afraid not.” He stepped closer to her,
which cause Anna’s back to press hard against the cold, metal stirrups. She could see his blue eyes were
intense as he looked into her frightened eyes. A smirk grew on his face. “It is now your turn to learn the
truth.”
“I don’t think so!” she shouted as she wrapped her fingers around the stirrups behind her back and
pulled them around her waist and aimed them at his head.
Within a mini second, the heavy stirrups crumbled into dust, leaving the leather straps wrapped around
her hand. John simply smiled down at her sweetly.
“She warned me about the stirrups.” He added confidently.
Anna looked upon her empty hand amazed.
John then straightened his cloak collar and turned away from her. She watched him walk across the
stone floor and lowered himself on her mother’s favourite wooden chair beside the fire. The ambers of
the fire reflected off his skin like millions of tiny diamonds.
“What are you?”
“Arh; a good question at last.” John stretched out his strong legs, crossed his black leather boots at the
ankles and rested his gloved hands on his torso. “I am a Dranzah; a Being able to transport from one
world to another through selected portals. However, we have limitations and this particular mission will
be my last. That is why I remained in the glass globe until the right time; to bring you back! Your
grandmother trusted me most.”
“What is my Grandmother, if she isn’t dead?”
John grinned. “You shell see.” He then stood from off the chair. “You’re the chosen one Anna. You were
the next first born female since your grandmother. Your father is aware of this, as he was instructed to
give you the globe on your 21st Birthday.”
Anna frowned, “But I’m not twenty one and my birthday is in June.”
“We all had to lie to protect you. It’s a dangerous world here and the next. Many are in search of you,
both good and evil. You must come. You must learn the truth, but staying here isn’t wise, not now.”
“B…but why?”
“The moment you broke the glass globe, you had unsealed the protection spell crafted by your
grandmother. They all know where you are. Your family are still protected don’t fear, but you’re not. It is
now up to me to take you back and be with your grandmother; she will explain more once we arrive.”
“I…I can’t just leave my family. This doesn’t even make sense!” Anna exclaimed. She could feel an
almighty sense of panic. After hearing what he’d said, somehow something deep inside her spirit made
sense and she couldn’t explain it.
“Your Grandmother Rules Valum, a kingdom not from this universe; a different world. You’re next in the
bloodline.”
“But my family, will I ever see them again?”
“In time yes, time lapse are different between two worlds. Thirty years in Valum could be three years
here on Earth. Now we must go!”
Before Anna could do anything, John out stretched his arm towards the bare wall to their left. Slowly the
wall began to collapse inwards; a bright white light began to pierce the whole kitchen. Anna shielded her
hands against the intense brightness. “Trust me Anna.”
She looked through the new whole in the wall and could see a snow-white forest ahead, waiting for
their presence.
“Will I ever come back?” she asked urgently.
John grabbed hold of her hand and looked down at her with a grin on his face, “of course. Now where’s
your positive thinking, the Christmas Spirit?”
Anna looked behind her up the staircase to the dark landing and silently said her goodbyes.
With that, Anna inhaled deeply and allowed a mere, mystical stranger guide her through the portal.
Was she a fool to believe him? She hoped not.