Castle Of Dreams

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On a hillside stood the castle of Belvoir owned by the Baron and
Baroness
Bowralorn . From the front gates of Belvoir a row of Silver Birch tress
flanked a well walked pathway to a gentle pond bordered by a circular
shaped retaining wall . In the middle of the pond water cascaded from a
three tiered fountain . A short distance from the pond stood the high
limestone walls that protected the front courtyard Belvoir . All around
the courtyard were gardens
scattered with water fountains and small ponds . There was a swimming
pool also dressed by water fountains and statues . Belvoir held captive
a sense of wonder that none had ever seen . The presence of
tranquillity had descended upon the castle and its grounds .

Inside the castle the Baron and Baroness were happy and kept themselves
distanced from the world . They were deeply in love and required
nothing else from life except one thing . The thing that they could not
have was children .
They both desired a child and yet it was the only thing they could not
have .

One evening as Baroness looked out her window into the night sky she
softly cried . The Baron approached her and placed his hands on her
shoulders and he sang an old song very gently to her ,
"Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are ."

Looking up at the sky the Baroness turned and smiled and then she sang
,
" Come twinkle twinkle my little star from heaven to me where ever you
are ."

As she stopped singing they both embraced and in silence the heard the
water stop flowing in the fountains . They held each other tightly as
time seemed to stop .

" I better go and check what's happening out there ."
The Baron said .

"l will come with you ."
The baroness replied .

They both made their way downstairs into the courtyard and where
greeted by their two guard Dogs Lulu and Dalia . Accompanied by them
they walked around the gardens and were surprised to find all the water
had stopped flowing . Outside the limestone walls however the fountain
in the pond was still working . They made their way to the pond and
suddenly as if a star fell from the sky a light began to shine .
The Baron and Baroness walked over to investigate and heard a soothing
voice speak to them . At first the voice came from the light in the
middle of the pond and then they saw a tiny fairy jump up on the top of
the fountain .

" Hello . I am Liza the hope of good come to bring you good news
."

The Baron was shocked and immediately struck out saying ,
"Go away and leave us alone . "

"All I ask is a moment of your time ."
Came the reply .

The Baroness said ,
"What do you want from us ?"

Liza answered .
"You sang a song that was heard from afar . You asked for a twinkle to
come from where ever and that's why I came . "

The Baron said
"It was just a song ".

But Liza replied ,
"Oh no . It was a request from the heart ."

"What do you mean a request ?"
Said the Baron and the tiny fairy continued ,
.
"There is something missing from your lives . Am I right ?"
"What do you mean ?".
The Baron said .

"I am talking about a child . For a small price I can give you what you
need "

The Baron asked
'what price do you ask ?"

The fairy pointed to the gates of the castle .
" The gates of Belvoir must be open to all who call and for those who
do you must be like servants to them . They must be fed and given rest
without question . "

"If you can give us the child we have always wanted then your request
is granted ."
Replied the Baroness .

Immediately the fairy spat on the ground and rubbed the dirt into her
hands .
The dirt was placed into the light in the pond and there and then the
crying of a baby was heard .

The Baroness grabbed the child and cradled it in her arms .
"Oh you are a welcome sight . "
She said .

"What of my price ."
The fairy said .

"The castle is open to all ."
The Baron said .

As the happy threesome made their way back inside the castle the front
gates of the castle opened up . At first birds and small animals came
in followed by some other visitors . The castle grounds were soon
swarming with people looking for food and drink .
The baron and baroness were so busy trying to look after everyone that
they had no time to enjoy their new baby who lay asleep in the chamber
at the top of the castle .

"Come in lease and make yourself at home "
Was the welcome everyone had . Sure enough everyone did .
They eat and drank everything until nothing was left and then everyone
left .
In the morning the Baron had to go out and buy more provisions for the
castle and as soon as he had returned and filled the cellar and pantry
once again the front gates of the castle opened up . It wasn't long
before the castle grounds were filled with people again . They eat and
drank all that was there .
As the weeks turned into months the story remained the same .
It was getting too much too bear for the Baron and Baroness and so they
secretly made a plan to run away with the child to a place far away
.
Early one morning before the sun arose the three dressed up in common
clothes and making their way past the front gates of Belvoir they
walked down the hill to the junction of the Greenwood River . There
they took a small boat and set off on their way towards the glens of
Kohorn .
Once they were back on land they walked along a yellow path until they
found a junction with a signpost that said "This Way "
They both shrugged their shoulders and made their way a little way
along that path until they discovered another junction with another
signpost that said

"That Way . "

With another shrug of their shoulders they walked down that way until
they found another junction with a signpost that said
"Which Way "

They began to laugh and feeling quite out of place they walked in the
direction they were pointed in . Eventually when they came to the Glens
of Kohorn they found a cave in the mountainside where they stayed the
night .
That night the stars shine brightly and one in particular was much
brighter than the rest . It was the baroness who saw it fall . She
called her husband and told him what she had seen .

In a cave the light crept in but could not shine at all .
The light was dim and almost gone and the fairy Liza called out to them
.

"The guests are hungry and thy thirst but at Belvoir the gates are shut
."

"Go away and leave us alone ."
The Baron said .

"Then give back the child ."
Came the reply .

"We did what you asked . All who came were fed and treated kindly . We
need time for our child . You must allow us time ."

"How much time ?"
The fairy said .

"Time for us to see her grow and to know she is all right ."
The Baroness answered .

"The time you shall have ."
The fairy replied as the star retuned to the sky .
The three remained in the Glens of Kohorn with the cave for their
shelter .
The caught fish and collected fruit and lived healthy and happy for a
number of years until the child grew into a beautiful young lady
.
Then one night the fairy returned and told the Baron it was time to
that they returned to Belvoir .

They never told their daughter Dorothy about the arrangement they had
made and tried to explain it on the way back to their castle .
Dorothy was so confused and lost that she ran away into the Glens
.
Devastated they gave up looking after a while and returned to Belvoir
.
It was a terrible sight that greeted them at the Castle gates .
As they walked through the front gates the weeds had overgrown the
grounds and the castle walls lay in ruins .
No birds were singing .
No flowers were growing .
To the front door of the castle they walked hand in hand .
The Baron placed his hands on his head and said ,
"We have lost everything we ever had ."

Looking into his eyes she smiled and replied.
"What do you mean . We still have each other . We have memories of our
beautiful child who is now a woman . We have not lost anything my love
but we have found more happiness that we could have ever wished for
."

Suddenly the flowers began to grow around the gardens and the water
began to flow from the fountains . The birds began to sing and a glow
brighter that any star appeared at the gates of Belvoir .
As the gates opened a horse pulling a silver carriage approached
.
Stepping out from the carriage was Dorothy and a well dressed man
.
The man spoke first .
"I understand more than you could ever realise . Sing and be happy once
again . For time has stood still for you both "

The Baron and Baroness awoke in the morning as if nothing had ever
changed . The water fountains were flowing and Lulu and Dalia were
waiting for their breakfast .

The Baroness looked at her husband and said ,
"Was it all just a dream ."

"Isn't everything ."
He replied .

THE END